"Butterfly on a Wheel" is a song released by English

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

band the Mission in January 1990. It was the first of three singles to be released from their third studio album, '' Carved in Sand'' (1990). It peaked at 12 on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 50 in Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, as well as on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart, where it reached number 23.

Background

The song was recorded along with 17 others for the '' Carved in Sand'' sessions at Jacobs Studios in 1989. The overriding theme in the song was the break up of a romance and the lyrics telling the person that they would be healed in time. Many have stated that the song was written about

Julianne Regan Julianne Regan (born 30 June 1962) is an English/Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. She achieved success in the late 1980s and early 1990s having formed the band All About Eve. Her major role in the band was as lead singer and songwriter ...

, the singer with

All About Eve ''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story (and subsequent 1949 radio drama) "The Wisdom of E ...

, who had recently broken up with The Mission's guitarist,

Simon Hinkler Simon Thomas Hinkler (born 13 November 1959) is an English guitarist, keyboard player, songwriter and producer, most notable for being the lead guitarist for the rock group The Mission (band), The Mission from 1986 to 1990 and since 2011. Earl ...

. This was later confirmed by Hussey himself in the liner notes for their ''Anthology'' compilation album released in 2006 by Phonogram. The name was taken from a 1960s editorial by

William Rees-Mogg William Rees-Mogg, Baron Rees-Mogg (14 July 192829 December 2012) was a British newspaper journalist who was Editor of ''The Times'' from 1967 to 1981. In the late 1970s, he served as High Sheriff of Somerset, and in the 1980s was Chairman of ...

who questioned the severity of the prison sentences applied to members of

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

for minor drug offences. Released on

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

1990, the song peaked at No. 12 in the UK charts and stayed in the top 40 for four weeks. It was released on vinyl (7-inch, 10-inch, and 12-inch extended play) and on a compact disc single. Its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

is "The Grip of Disease", with extended versions also offering remixes of Kingdom Come (from the 1988 album "''

Children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

)''" and Butterfly on a Wheel.

Critical reception

'' The Orlando Times'' described the song as a "poor imitation of

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

, fraught with such spiritual observations". They also awarded the album it was culled from one star out of five. Conversely, ''

the Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily List of newspapers in California, newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digit ...

'' stated that "both ''Butterfly on a Wheel'' and ''Sea of Love'' (the fourth track from Carved in Sand) show what The Mission UK can do if they cut down on the bombast". The track was also described as being a vehicle to "show off ayneHussey's offbeat romanticism". The ''

South Wales Echo The ''South Wales Echo'' is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed throughout the surrounding area. It has a circulation of 6,026. Background The newspaper was founded in 1884 and was based in Thomson House, C ...

'' said that "The Mish have really outdone themselves this time, dumping their goth mish mash for a truly wonderful song, swathed in iridescent melody."

Personnel

* Craig Adams – bass guitar * Mick Brown – drums *

– guitar, keyboards * Wayne Hussey – vocals, guitar

Charts

References

Sources

External links

Butterfly on a Wheel at AllMusic
{{Authority control 1989 songs 1990 singles The Mission (band) songs Mercury Records singles Phonogram Records singles Songs written by Wayne Hussey