''Searchlight'' is the sixth studio album released by

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Celtic rock Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock, as well as a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context. It has been prolific since the early 1970s and can be seen as a key foundation of the ...

band

Runrig Runrig were a Scottish Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye in 1973. From its inception, the band's line-up included brothers and songwriters Rory MacDonald (musician), Rory MacDonald (bass, vocals) and Calum MacDonald (musician), Calum ...

. The album was released on 25 September 1989 by

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British independent record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ell ...

. It spawned one single, " News from Heaven", which reached number ninety on the UK Singles Charts.

Release and promotion

The album was released on 25 September 1989 via Chrysalis in the United Kingdom,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. In 1990, Runrig performed the albums only single "News From Heaven" live on 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 ...

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

'' broadcast. In 2014, ''Searchlight'' was included on a 5 CD Box released by the band under Chrysalis, along with four of the bands other studio albums – ''

The Cutter and the Clan ''The Cutter and the Clan'' is the fifth studio album by Scottish Celtic rock band Runrig. Released on 1 December 1987, it was the band's breakthrough album, taking them from cottage industry to the international stage. Initially, it peaked at nu ...

'', '' The Big Wheel'', '' Amazing Things'' and ''

Mara Mara or MARA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials * Mara (She-Ra), fictional characters from the ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' and ''The New Advent ...

''. Following its release, ''Searchlight'' was certified Silver by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI) on 12 October 1989. It was later awarded a Gold certification from the BPI, indicating sales of over 100,000 copies, on 1 January 1991.

News from Heaven

News from Heaven is a 1989 single released in September 1989 as the lead single from Searchlight. The single marked the second appearance of the band on the UK Top 100 Singles Charts following its peak at number ninety on the week of 16 September 1989. It remained on the UK Singles Charts for two weeks. The release of "News from Heaven" marked one of the first releases by the band since they signed with new record label,

. The bands spokesperson confirmed that Runrig were already in talks to sign with Chrysalis Records in late 1988 and early 1989 before Runrig were scheduled to appear on stage during Aural Sects Rock Week. In 1990, Runrig performed "News from Heaven" on the television broadcast by the

for ''

''. "News from Heaven" was added to the groups setlist for concerts in 1989, beginning with a concert at the

Barrowland Ballroom The Barrowland Ballroom (also known as ''Barrowland'' and ''The Barras'') is an entertainment venue, dance hall and music venue located in the Calton district in Glasgow, Scotland. A prominent feature of the music scene in Glasgow, the venue ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

on 27 September 1989. Part of the song served as the opening of the bands concert in November 1989 at Un Año De Rock Madrid,

Track listing

Album

All songs written by Calum Macdonald and Rory Macdonald. # "News from Heaven" - 3:36 # "Every River" - 4:46 # "City of Lights" - 4:25 # "Èirinn" (Ireland) - 4:55 # "Tìr A' Mhurain" (Land of the

Marram ''Ammophila'' (synonymous with ''Psamma'' P. Beauv.) is a genus of flowering plants consisting of two or three very similar species of grasses. The genus name ''Ammophila'' originates from the Greek words ἄμμος (''ámmos''), meaning "sand" ...

Grass) - 3:54 # "World Appeal" - 2:20 # "Tear Down These Walls" - 4:08 # "Only the Brave" - 3:58 # "Sìol Ghoraidh" (The Genealogy of Goraidh) - 5:21 # "That Final Mile" - 3:07 # "Smalltown" - 4:02 # "Precious Years" - 4:46

Lead single

Vinyl, 12", single (UK)

# "News from Heaven" # "Smalltown" # "Chi Mi'n Tir / I See the Land" (composed by D.J. McCuish) # "Times They Are A-Changin" (composed by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

)

CD single (UK)

# "News from Heaven" # "Smalltown" # "Chi Mi'n Tir / I See the Land" (composed by D.J. McCuish) # "Times They Are A-Changin" (Composed by

)

Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM (Australia)

# "News from Heaven" # "Smalltown"

Chart performance

Album charts

Singles charts

Certifications

Personnel

;Runrig *Iain Bayne -

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 ...

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 ...

* Malcolm Jones -

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 ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

*Calum Macdonald - percussion * Rory Macdonald -

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

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 ...

Donnie Munro Donnie Munro (Scottish Gaelic: Donaidh Rothach /dɔnɪ rɔhəx/) (born 2 August 1953) is a Scottish musician and politician, best known as the former lead singer of the band Runrig. Munro served as the bands lead vocalist during their most commer ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Peter Wishart - keyboards

References

{{Authority control Runrig albums 1989 albums Scottish Gaelic music