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"There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" is a song by the British musical duo
Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...
, released as the second single from their fifth studio album, ''
Be Yourself Tonight ''Be Yourself Tonight'' is the fourth studio album by British pop duo Eurythmics, released on 29 April 1985 by RCA Records. It spawned four singles – " Would I Lie to You?", "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)", "Sisters Are Doin ...
'' (1985). It features a
harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...
solo by American musician
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
. The song became a worldwide success; reaching number one in Ireland, Norway, Finland, and the United Kingdom, where it remains the duo's only chart-topper.


Original version

David Stewart recalled that he served as the producer for the overdub session with
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
, who played harmonica on the song. At one point during the recording session, Wonder inquired if his playing was sufficient. Stewart assured Wonder that this was the case and advised him to improvise for 16 bars on the harmonica. Wonder ended up playing various
sea shanties A sea shanty, shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large merchant sailing vessels. The term ''shanty'' most accurately refers to a sp ...
as a joke, which helped to bring levity to the recording studio according to Stewart, who also documented the interaction on a cassette. Upon its release, "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" became Eurythmics' first (and to date only) number-one single in the United Kingdom, reaching number one on 27 July 1985 and staying there for one week, whilst also topping the charts in Finland, Ireland and Norway. The song also reached the top 10 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden, while peaking at number 22 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.


Reception

''
Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' said that the "
Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...
harmonies, slick Dave Stewart
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...
work and Stevie Wonder's incredible harmonica" were highlights of the song. ''
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 ...
'' similarly praised Wonder's harmonica
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
and Lennox’s "absolutely happy" lead vocals. ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' wrote it was, "in the tradition of the best MOR pop, reminiscent of
Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...
and
Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...
. It's sweet but not syrupy, the background voices so otherworldly I can only guess if they are human or synthesized."


Music video

The music video for "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)", directed by Eddie Arno and Mark Innocenti, was shot at
New Wimbledon Theatre The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on the Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a Listed building, Grade II listed Edwardian era, Edwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J. B. Mulholland, w ...
in London in June 1985. It portrays the court of
Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
(
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 ...
) being entertained while watching a theatrical performance of Annie Lennox with a troupe of singing cherubs and angels (one of which is played by Steven O'Donnell).


Track listings

*7-inch single :A. "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (7″ edit) – 4:36 :B. "Grown Up Girls" – 4:17 *12-inch single :A. "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (LP version) – 5:22 :B. "Grown Up Girls" – 4:17 *12-inch single (Special Dance Mix) :A. "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (Special Dance Mix) – 6:20 :B. "Grown Up Girls" – 4:17


Credits and personnel


Eurythmics

*
Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...
– vocals, keyboards *
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 ...
– keyboards


Additional personnel

*
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
– harmonica *
Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, record producer and musician. Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born in ...
– strings *
Dean Garcia Dean Garcia (born 3 May 1958) is an English multi-instrumentalist musician, best known as a member of the alternative rock duo Curve from 1990 to 2005. He also released solo work and collaborated with many other artists. Biography Garcia was ...
– bass guitar *
Olle Romo Olle Romö is a Swedish music producer, songwriter, and drummer. Romo rehearsed with Swedish progressive rock group Kaipa in early 1982; however, he left the group after a few weeks to join Eurythmics, and he was a drummer for them from the mid ...
– drums * Angel Cross – backing vocals


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


No Angels version


Recording and release

In mid-2001, producers Patrik Majer, Ulf Leo Sommer, and
Rosenstolz Rosenstolz () was a German Pop music, pop duo from Berlin that was active between 1991 and 2012 and had chart hits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The duo consisted of singer AnNa R. and musician Peter Plate, who occasionally provided ...
member
Peter Plate Peter Plate (born 1 July 1967) is a German musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Between 1991 and 2012, he was the keyboardist and occasional vocalist of Rosenstolz, a German pop duo that had chart hits in Germany, Austria and Swit ...
consulted on a contemporary version of the track, recorded by German girl band
No Angels No Angels are an all-female Pop music, pop group from Germany, formed in 2000. Originally a quintet, consisting of band members Nadja Benaissa, Ludmilla Diakovska, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls, they originat ...
. Suggested for re-recording by band manager Joy Behar, the Eurythmics song was one of a couple of tracks considered to be remade by the quintet but was eventually picked when the producers of the animated feature ' agreed to accept the track as film's theme song. "We were speechless and very happy about
he decision He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...
The animated movie was a world premiere and something really big for us. We immediately said 'yes',"
Lucy Diakovska Lyudmila Lyubomirova Dyakovska (; born 2 April 1976), better known as Lucy Diakovska (), is a Bulgarian singer and television personality. She rose to prominence as one of the founding members of the all-female pop band No Angels, the " biggest ...
said in an interview.
Sandy Mölling Sandy Mölling (born 27 April 1981) is a German singer and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the members of the girl group No Angels, which were formed in 2000 on the German television talent show ''Popstars (Germany), Popstars ...
noted, that the song was an all-time favourite of the band: "I liked
Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...
' voice ever since I can remember." However, in a 2005 interview,
Vanessa Petruo Vanessa Anneliese Petruo-Zink (born 23 October 1979) is a German former singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. Born and raised in Berlin within a family of actors, she had minor roles in television and as a voice actress before ...
revealed her discontent with the song, calling it the "most unnecessary" of all
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s the band had released between the years of 2001 and 2003."Vanessa Petruo Interview". '' Rent a Pocher''. Retrieved on 30 August 2009. "There Must Be an Angel" premiered on 9 July 2001, on the RTL Berlin radio network, receiving a positive reception from music critics, and on 17 July 2001 a preview was available
on-demand On-demand or on demand may refer to: Manufacturing * Build-on-demand * Just-in-time manufacturing, a methodology for production * Print on demand, printing technology and business process in which new copies of a document are not printed until an ...
in its entirety on the band's official website. Finally released as the band's third single on 12 August 2001 in
German-speaking Europe This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the German language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the Germanosphere () in Europe, German-speaking minority languag ...
, the original
CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...
spawned both an unplugged and an orchestral version, latter featuring music by the
Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg The German Film Orchestra Babelsberg (also known as ''Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg'' or DFOB in German) is a symphony orchestra and music studio based in Potsdam, Germany. History It was founded in 1918 as Ufa-Sinfonieorchester. Following W ...
. The record was subsequently included on the ''Special Winter Edition'' reissue of the ''
Elle'ments ''Elle'ments'' is the debut studio album by German girl group No Angels. It was first released by Polydor–Zeitgeist and Cheyenne Records on 12 March 2001 in German-speaking Europe. After winning the inaugural season of the reality talent conte ...
'' album (2001). "There Must Be an Angel" was awarded for "Top Single Germany" at the 2001 Top of the Pops Awards.


Commercial performance

The group's first non-album release following "
Daylight in Your Eyes "Daylight in Your Eyes" is the debut single by German girl group No Angels. It was written by Tony Rey (musician), Tony Bruno and Tommy Byrnes and initially recorded by American rock band New Life Crisis. A Tony Moran (DJ), Tony Moran-produced r ...
" and "
Rivers of Joy Donald James Moen (born June 29, 1950) is an American singer, pianist, and songwriter, specializing in Christian worship music. Early life and education Moen grew up in Two Harbors, Minnesota, where he attended high school, graduating in ...
", the single debuted at number one on the
German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...
, staying at the top for five consecutive weeks, 12 weeks in the top 40, and 17 weeks inside the top 60. "There Must Be an Angel" was eventually certified gold by the
Bundesverband Musikindustrie The ( English: Federal Music Industry Association), or simply BVMI, represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 280 labels and music industry related enterprises, which comprise 90% of the music i ...
(BVMI) for more than 250,000 shipped copies and ranked 13th on the 2001 year-end chart in Germany. In Austria, the single opened at number eight on the
Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired on Tuesdays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as ...
singles chart. However, it was not until 23 September 2001, the song's fifth week of release, "There Must Be an Angel" eventually climbed to the top spot. It remained another week at number one and spent 21 weeks within the top 60 of the chart, ranking 19th on the Austrian year-end chart in 2001. In Switzerland, the single debuted at number 36 on the
Swiss Singles Chart The Swiss Hitparade () is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top 75 (released since 1968) * Singles T ...
. Benefiting from strong airplay, the song reached number two in its third week of release, becoming No Angels' second highest-charting single there to date. As in Germany, "There Must Be an Angel" was certified gold by the Swiss arm of the
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...
(IFPI) and ranked 21 on the Swiss year-end chart. In Poland, "There Must Be an Angel" reached number 29 on the Polish Airplay Chart.


Music video

The music video for "There Must Be an Angel" was directed by Jörn Heitmann and filmed near the General-Steinhof-Kaserne at the
Gatow Airport Royal Air Force Gatow, or more commonly RAF Gatow, was a British Royal Air Force station (military airbase) in the district of Gatow in south-western Berlin, west of the Havel river, in the borough of Spandau. It was the home for the only kn ...
in
Berlin-Spandau Spandau () is a locality (''Village, Ortsteil'') of Berlin, Germany's capital and largest city, in the homonymous Boroughs and neighborhoods of Berlin, borough (''Bezirk'') of Spandau. The historic city is situated, for the most part, on the west ...
, Germany, on 19 July 2001. Inspired by
Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was a British film director and producer. He made his theatrical film debut with ''The Hunger (1983 film), The Hunger'' (1983) and went on to direct highly successful action and t ...
's 1986 film ''
Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired ...
'', the clip features the quintet as
fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...
s of the fictional US military squadron 68 at an also-fictional
airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...
in Angelville, United States. Additionally, it incorporates a 1940s
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
theme, heavily inspired by performances of
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
,
The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (1911–1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (1916–1995), and mezzo ...
and others during their
USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
shows. Among the aircraft shown in the video are
MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...
s, a
B-57 Canberra The Martin B-57 Canberra is an American-built, twin-engined tactical bomber and reconnaissance aircraft that entered service with the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1953. The B-57 is a license-built version of the British English Electric ...
, an
F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic interceptor. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an all ...
and a
Dassault Mystère The Dassault MD.452 Mystère is a 1950s French fighter-bomber. It was a straightforward development of the successful Dassault Ouragan Development After the success of the Ouragan, Dassault was working on a more advanced machine which woul ...
. "There Must Be an Angel" world premiered in early August 2001 on television but was temporarily banned from music networks due to its military theme, following the 11 September 2001 attacks.


Track listings


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the Special Winter Edition of ''Elle'ments''. * Vocals: N. Benaissa, L. Diakovska, S. Mölling, V. Petruo, J. Wahls * Writers: Patrik Majer,
Peter Plate Peter Plate (born 1 July 1967) is a German musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Between 1991 and 2012, he was the keyboardist and occasional vocalist of Rosenstolz, a German pop duo that had chart hits in Germany, Austria and Swit ...
, Ulf Leo Sommer * Mixing and recording: Patrik "El Pattino" Majer *Mastering: Michael Schwabe * Keyboards and programming: P. Majer **Additional keyboards: Peter Plate * Guitars: Peter Weihe * Strings: The Hamburg Strings


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References

{{Authority control 1985 songs 1985 singles 1997 singles 2001 singles Eurythmics songs Gospel songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles No Angels songs Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Norway Polydor Records singles RCA Records singles Songs written by Annie Lennox Songs written by Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) Song recordings produced by Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) UK singles chart number-one singles