"Lily Was Here" is an instrumental duet by English musician

David A. Stewart David Allan Stewart (born 9 September 1952) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for Eurythmics, his successful professional partnership with Annie Lennox. Sometimes credited as David A. Stewart, he won Best British ...

and Dutch saxophonist

Candy Dulfer Candy Dulfer (born 19 September 1969) is a Dutch jazz and pop saxophonist. She is the daughter of jazz saxophonist Hans Dulfer. She began playing at age six and founded her band Funky Stuff when she was fourteen. Her debut album '' Saxuality'' ...

. It was released as a single in 1989 from the soundtrack of the same name for the Dutch movie ''

De Kassière ''Lily Was Here'' (original title in Dutch: ''De Kassière'', ''The Cashier'') is a 1989 Dutch drama film directed by Ben Verbong. One song from the film's soundtrack, performed by Candy Dulfer and Dave Stewart, was later released as a single � ...

'', also known by the English title ''Lily Was Here''. The song reached number one in the Netherlands and became a top-twenty hit in several other European countries, Australia, and the United States.

Background

invited

, who had not previously released any of her material, to play the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

on this

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

. The single became a major hit and stayed at the number one position for five weeks in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Because of this success, the single was also released in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States where it became a hit as well, reaching number six in the UK and even rising to number 11 in the tough U.S. market. The success of this instrumental encouraged Dulfer to compose music for her own album, which she titled '' Saxuality''.

Recording

According to Candy's father, Hans Dulfer, on Dutch radio, the recording was done in just one take, actually a

jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...

, and at that time it was not meant to be released. This jam session was done at the end of a day of recording for the movie ''De Kassière'', and Dave Stewart later decided to release this as a single.Dutch radion station Radio 2, Gijs 2.0
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Track listings

CD maxi # "Lily Was Here" — 4:19 # "Lily Was Here" (Space Centre Medical Unit Hum) — 8:10 # "Lily Robs the Bank" — 2:33 CD maxi # "Lily Was Here" — 4:19 # "Lily Robs the Bank" — 2:33 # "Here Comes the Rain Again" — 6:00 7-inch single # "Lily Was Here" — 4:19 # "Lily Robs the Bank" — 2:33 3-inch single # "Lily Was Here" — 4:19 # "Lily Robs the Bank" — 2:33 12-inch maxi # "Lily Was Here" (Space Centre Medical Unit Hum) — 8:10 # "Lily Was Here" (Orbital Space Lab Mix) — 6:57 # "Lily Robs the Bank" — 2:33

Personnel

General * Guitar by David A. Stewart * Saxophone by Candy Dulfer * Drums by Swedish producer & percussionist Olle Romo (formerly Eurythmics drummer mid-to-late 80's) * Artwork by The Leisure Company "Lily Was Here" * Engineered by Stephen McLaughlin * Remixed by Gary Bradshaw "Lily Was Here" (Space Centre Medical Unit Hum) * Engineered by Steve McLaughlin * Remixed by

The Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential ...

Lily Was Here (Orbital Space Lab Mix) * Remixed by The Orb

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1989 songs 1989 debut singles Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) songs Candy Dulfer songs Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Number-one singles in the Netherlands Instrumental duets Jazz instrumentals 1980s instrumentals