"Northern Lites" is the ninth single by
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian C ...
. It was the first single to be taken from the ''
Guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
'' album and reached number 11 in the
UK Singles Chart after its release on 10 May 1999. The song was written by singer
Gruff Rhys
Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He forme ...
and was inspired by the
El Niño
EL, El or el may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional entities
* El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit
* Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things''
* El, fami ...
phenomenon. The track's title refers to the
Aurora Borealis
An aurora ( aurorae or auroras),
also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
, a natural light display which the band were convinced they had seen prior to the song being written. Rhys wrote the melody for "Northern Lites" several years before it was completed but only decided on a
calypso style after he wrote the lyrics. The
steel drums
The steelpan (also known as a pan or steel drum) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro-Trinidadians. Steelpan musicians are called pannists.
In 1992, the steelpan was declared Trinidad and Tobago’s national in ...
on the track are played by
keyboardist
A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...
Cian Ciaran and were added on the spur of the moment after the group saw them "lying around"
Real World Studios
Real World Studios is a residential recording studio complex founded by Peter Gabriel and situated in the old Box Mill building in the village of Box, Wiltshire, England, near to the city of Bath. It is closely associated with the Real World R ...
during recording.
Critical reaction was largely positive with the song being named "Single of the Week" in both the ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' and ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', with the latter also listing the song at number 3 in their
single of the year list for 1999. The
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "Northern Lites" was directed by Super Furry Animals and Martin McCarthy and consists of stock footage of
curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...
and
Irish road bowling although Rhys has blamed the song's failure to chart higher on the fact that it "didn't have a video".
Themes and recording
"Northern Lites" was written by singer
Gruff Rhys
Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He forme ...
about "the weather", and was particularly inspired by coverage of the "terrifying, worldwide, seven-year phenomenon" of the west Pacific
El Niño
EL, El or el may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional entities
* El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit
* Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things''
* El, fami ...
climate pattern
Climate variability includes all the variations in the climate that last longer than individual weather events, whereas the term climate change only refers to those variations that persist for a longer period of time, typically decades or more ...
on "weather channels" in 1998.
The song's title refers to the
Aurora Borealis
An aurora ( aurorae or auroras),
also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
, a natural light display which can be observed particularly in the polar regions, and usually at night. The band were convinced that they had seen the lights before the track was written but, as no one else was present, they could not get confirmation that what they had witnessed was not simply a "Furry fantasy".
Rhys has claimed that he would have called the song "Aurora Borealis" but "
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
song titles are out of the question".
Although Rhys has said that the song is "about asking Jesus if he decides to seek his revenge on us, to get it over with as soon as possible and blow us away to the Northern Lights" he has also stated that, although some critics have interpreted the track as being about "questioning one's faith", it is really "just a song about the weather".
The melody of "Northern Lites" was written by Rhys several years before the track was released. The band experimented with
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
and "
dirgy rock" styles before Rhys wrote the lyrics and, because they were inspired by adverse weather conditions affecting
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
, tried playing along to a preset
calypso rhythm track which was on his
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Mus ...
.
The singer has stated that, although he does not think the band have "any right to make Latin-influenced" songs, they did not choose a calypso style for the track in a cynical attempt to "crack South America".
The group are not "purists" and feel that Latin music is "part of
cultural
esperanto
Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...
".
The track was recorded in the middle of 1998 at
Real World Studios
Real World Studios is a residential recording studio complex founded by Peter Gabriel and situated in the old Box Mill building in the village of Box, Wiltshire, England, near to the city of Bath. It is closely associated with the Real World R ...
,
Box, Wiltshire
Box is a large village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wiltshire, England, about west of Corsham and northeast of Bath, Somerset, Bath. Box also falls in the easternmost pa ...
, along with the rest of ''
Guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
'', and was
produced by Super Furry Animals.
The band allowed "the music to dictate itself" during recording sessions, choosing to add
steel drums
The steelpan (also known as a pan or steel drum) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro-Trinidadians. Steelpan musicians are called pannists.
In 1992, the steelpan was declared Trinidad and Tobago’s national in ...
on the spur of the moment after seeing the instruments "lying around" Real World during recording.
The steel drum parts were performed by keyboardist
Cian Ciaran, despite the fact he did not know how to play them.
Composition
"Northern Lites" is 3 minute and 31 seconds long and is in the
key of
E major
E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...
.
The song begins with an
intro with steel drums, featuring a
flanging
Flanging is an audio signal processing, audio effect produced by mixing two identical audio signal, signals together, one signal delayed by a small and (usually) gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a ...
effect, before a
brass section
The brass section of the orchestra, concert band, and jazz ensemble consist of brass instruments, and is one of the main sections in all three ensembles. The British brass band, British-style brass band contains only brass and percussion instrume ...
enters after 6 seconds playing a melody line accompanied by a
güiro
The güiro () is a percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines (see photo) along the notches to produce a ratchet sound.
The güiro is commonly ...
, sparse drums and an
acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
playing the
chords
Chord or chords may refer to:
Art and music
* Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously
** Guitar chord, a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning
* The Chords (British band), 1970s British mod ...
F#m
7 and B.
The melody line plays twice after which Gruff Rhys begins singing the first verse alongside the güiro, guitar and steel drums which no longer have a flange effect. Towards the end of the verse a
distorted guitar melody line plays alongside Rhys's vocal and
harmony backing vocals enter. The song's first chorus begins at 48 seconds with Rhys singing "There's a distant light, a forest fire burning everything in sight".
During the second verse the brass section rejoins, playing the same melody line from the intro. After another chorus the song's extended "play-out" section begins at 2 minutes and 13 seconds with Rhys repeating the lines "Don't worry me, or hurry me, blow me far away to the Northern Lites" accompanied by harmony backing vocals.
The track
breaks down to just drums and vocals at 2 minutes and 40 seconds after which the band and brass section rejoin. A prominent
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
melody begins after 2 minutes and 47 seconds and plays alongside the vocals, acoustic guitar, brass and drums until the track
fades out and ends at 3 minutes and 31 seconds.
Release and critical reception
"Northern Lites" was released on
CD,
cassette and
7" on 10 May 1999 and reached number 11 on the
UK Singles Chart.
The cover features a model of a "three-eyed, four-armed, squid-headed Eskimo warrior" designed by artist
Pete Fowler. The warrior is shown holding "two portable poles of latitude and longitude" and has "the heating regulator of the world" around his neck.
The track was included on the band's
greatest hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
compilation album ''
Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1'', issued in 2004.
"Northern Lites" received mostly positive reviews. The ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' listed the song as the "Single of the Week" on its release, with reviewer Johnny Cigarettes stating that the track was "head and shoulders above anything released this or most other weeks".
Cigarettes saw "Northern Lites" as indicative of the Super Furry Animals' "genius idiosyncrasy and elegantly eccentric class" and described the song as "somewhere between a Mexican cocktail bar, a '60s surf party, a Vegas lounge show and a really good acid trip".
Cigarettes compared the vocal harmonies on the track to those of
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
and stated that the song has a "classic,
Bacharach
Bacharach (, also known as ''Bacharach am Rhein'') is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Rhein-Nahe, whose seat is in Bingen am Rhein, although that town is not with ...
" quality" although he did criticise the indecipherable lyrics which he felt could prevent the record from "its deserved 23-week residence at Number One".
In a later review of ''
Guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
'', the ''NME'' described the song as a "seamless fusion of tumbling xylophones and Caribbean brass".
The magazine listed the track at number 3 in their
single of the year list for 1999.
"Northern Lites" was also awarded "Single of the Week" in the 15 May 1999 issue of the ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' by guest reviewers
Gay Dad
Gay Dad were an English rock band that formed in London in 1994 and broke up in 2002. The line-up of the band has included Cliff Jones (guitarist/vocalist), Nick "Baz" Crowe (drummer), James Riseboro (keyboardist), Nigel Hoyle (bassist) and ...
, who described the song as "twisted and psychedelic".
Echoing the views of Johnny Cigarettes, Gay Dad likened the song to the work of Bacharach and
Hal David
Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick.
Early life
David was born and raised in New ...
and complained that they could not fully understand Rhys's lyrics, as his vocals were too low in the
mix.
Writing for ''
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
* Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi
* '' ...
'', James McNair described "Northern Lites" as a mix of "Tijuana brass, steel drums, and itch-scratching Latin percussion" and claimed that the "great" song was "one of the most frothily inventive pop confections" since Super Furry Animals' 1998 track, "
Ice Hockey Hair
''Ice Hockey Hair'' is an EP by the Welsh alternative rock band Super Furry Animals, released in 1998. The record contains four songs which the band felt did not fit in with either their previous album, 1997's '' Radiator'', or its follow-up '' ...
".
In ''
Q'', reviewer Peter Kane stated that the song's combination of "cheesy calypso sway" and "Tijuana brass" were wonderful.
Dave Simpson, writing in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', claimed that the song was "possibly the first hit to be massively influenced by
Tito Puente
Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...
."
In ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', Tim Perry stated that the "undeniably brilliant" "Northern Lites" was one of the highlights of the ''Guerrilla'' album.
In a 2005 review of the reissued ''Guerrilla'',
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
's Marc Hogan described the track as "horn-laden tropicalia"; in an earlier review of ''Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1'', he had called "Northern Lites" "'
Deadweight'-era
Beck
Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...
tropicalia".
Reviewing ''Songbook...'' for
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
, Zeth Lundy described "Northern Lites" as "Brazilian-infected", while Ian Wade, reviewing the album for the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, called the song an "indie/calypso crossover" and Alan Woodhouse, reviewing ''Songbook...'' for the ''NME'' labelled the track an "irresistible Caribbean-flavoured tune."
Marc Hogan of Pitchfork claimed that the single's
b-sides
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
, including the "shiny, distorted mid-tempo number" "This, That and the Other", pale beside "Northern Lites" and the other tracks on ''Guerilla'' although they "do manage to scratch the itch for more SFA".
Accolades
Music video
A promotional
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
, directed by Super Furry Animals and Martin McCarthy, was produced to accompany the release of "Northern Lites" as a single.
The video begins with a shot of Super Furry Animals' 'SFA'
logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...
, which appears on the cover of "Northern Lites", displayed above the words "Public information service". This shot fades to show a full-screen
translucent
In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable light scattering by particles, scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale ...
,
fluorescent
Fluorescence is one of two kinds of photoluminescence, the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation, many substances will glow (fluoresce) with color ...
blue, image of the "warrior", also from the single's cover, which moves from the centre to the bottom right before shrinking and remaining stationary in the top right for the duration of the video. The SFA logo from the introduction is shown in the top left, opposite the "warrior" image, and also remains throughout the video. The island
Ailsa Craig
Ailsa Craig (; ) is an island of in the outer Firth of Clyde, west of mainland Scotland, upon which microgranite has long been quarried to make curling stones. The now-uninhabited island comprises the remains of a magmatic pluton formed d ...
is briefly shown, the island where in 2004 when the single was released, 60 to 70% of all curling stones in use were made from granite from the island and is one of only two sources for all stones in the sport, the other being the Trefor Granite Quarry in Wales. Next, images of the sea and birds in flight are shown before footage of a bearded man, sitting on rocks beside the sea and singing along to the first verse is shown. This footage is
intercut with shots of a man using a
hammer
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...
and
chisel
A chisel is a hand tool with a characteristic Wedge, wedge-shaped cutting edge on the end of its blade. A chisel is useful for carving or cutting a hard material such as woodworking, wood, lapidary, stone, or metalworking, metal.
Using a chi ...
on some boulders before walking away with a large rock. The rock is shown being spun and polished into a
curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...
stone. A yellow handle is added to the stone and it is placed into a wooden box alongside another stone with a red handle. The box is closed and the word
Nagano is seen printed on the lid. The video then cuts to shots of a
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023.
After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...
before wintery scenes of Nagano are shown, including a shot of people with umbrellas stood in the snow in front of a sign that reads "
Nagano Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...
". Footage from curling events are then shown until 2 minutes and 40 seconds when the video cuts to show a man in a grey suit dropping a handful of grass on a road. The video then ends with shots of
Irish road bowling–several men are shown throwing a bowl down a road surrounded by spectators alongside scenes of men with measuring sticks and men exchanging
banknote
A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commerc ...
s. In a 2008 interview with ''
Uncut'',
Gruff Rhys
Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He forme ...
stated that "Northern Lites" "didn't have a video" and suggested this as the reason the track was not a bigger hit than it was.
The director who was originally scheduled to work on the video took up an offer of a
Red Stripe
Red Stripe is a 4.7% ABV pale lager brewed by Desnoes & Geddes in Jamaica and the Netherlands. Since 2015 Red Stripe has also been brewed in the United Kingdom by Heineken under licence from Desnoes & Geddes. It was first introduced in 1928 fr ...
commercial in
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, leaving the band to collaborate with McCarthy. According to Rhys the group met the original director later and told him "We understand, we'd have done the same."
Despite this,
bassist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...
Guto Pryce
Guto Dafydd Pryce ( Welsh pronunciation: ; born 4 September 1972) is a Welsh musician best known as bass guitar player and songwriter in the band Super Furry Animals. With them he has recorded nine UK Albums Chart Top 25 studio albums, plus num ...
has described the "Northern Lites" music video as one of only a handful of the group's videos that he actually likes.
Track listing
All songs by Super Furry Animals.
*
CD (CRESCD314),
MC (CRES314),
7" (CRE314)
#"Northern Lites" – 3:30
#"Rabid Dog" – 3:47
#"This, That and the Other " – 5:59
Personnel
*
Gruff Rhys
Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He forme ...
– vocals
*
Huw Bunford
Huw "Bunf" Bunford (born Huw Cennydd Bunford; 15 September 1967 in Cardiff, Wales) is a musician best known as the guitarist in Super Furry Animals.
Biography
Bunford studied at Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University) and worked as a te ...
–
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
*
Guto Pryce
Guto Dafydd Pryce ( Welsh pronunciation: ; born 4 September 1972) is a Welsh musician best known as bass guitar player and songwriter in the band Super Furry Animals. With them he has recorded nine UK Albums Chart Top 25 studio albums, plus num ...
–
bass guitar
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
*
Cian Ciaran –
keyboards,
steel drums
The steelpan (also known as a pan or steel drum) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro-Trinidadians. Steelpan musicians are called pannists.
In 1992, the steelpan was declared Trinidad and Tobago’s national in ...
*
Dafydd Ieuan
Dafydd Ieuan (born 1 March 1969) is a Welsh musician, best known as the drummer with the band Super Furry Animals, The Peth and The Earth.
Ieuan played with Gruff Rhys in their early band Ffa Coffi Pawb. He was a drummer for Welsh band Ca ...
–
drums
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
*Steve Waterman -
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
*A D Gibson - trumpet
*Andrew Robinson -
trombone
The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...
*Euros Wyn -
flute
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
*Kris Jenkins -
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
Singles chart position
References
Notes
References
{{authority control
Super Furry Animals songs
Creation Records singles
1999 singles
1998 songs
Calypso songs