Clouds Across the Moon

"Clouds Across the Moon" is a song written by Richard Anthony Hewson. It was released as a single on 18 March 1985 on his studio group the RAH Band's album Mystery. The single reached the top 10 of the singles charts in the UK, The Netherlands and Sweden.

"Clouds Across the Moon"
Artwork for original release
Single by RAH Band
from the album Mystery
B-sideClouds Across the Moon (Solar Horizon Mix)[1]
Released18 March 1985
GenreJazz-funk, synthpop, new wave, space disco
Length6:49 (album version)[2]
4:12 (single edit)[3]
LabelRCA[1]
Songwriter(s)Richard Anthony Hewson[3]
Producer(s)Richard Anthony Hewson[3]
RAH Band singles chronology
"Are You Satisfied? (Funka Nova)"
(1984)		 "Clouds Across the Moon"
(1985)		 "Sorry Doesn't Make It Anymore"
(1985)
Alternative cover

Background

In an interview with Smash Hits on 8 May 1985, Richard Anthony Hewson said that the song took place in the future where there was a 100-year long war on Mars. In regard to the phone call featured in the song, Hewson said that it was "much more difficult to make these calls since British Telecom was privatized." Hewson also mentioned that the phone call cost about "five million six hundred and forty thousand pounds and forty pence." It’s been suggested the song’s reference to "Flight 247" was included to garner airplay from BBC Radio 1 who at one time had broadcast on the wavelength of 247 metres on the medium wave band. This however is unlikely as Radio 1 had switched to broadcasting on 275 & 285 metres in 1978, nearly 7 years before the song’s release.”[4] The vocals were performed by Hewson's wife Liz.[5]

Charts

Peak position
Chart (1985) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 6
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[7] 46
France (SNEP)[8] 28
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 9
Italy (Musica e dischi)[10] 19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 8
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 9
UK Singles (OCC)[14] 6

Year-end charts
Chart (1985) Position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[15] 48
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 41
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 54

Remixes
  • "Clouds Across the Moon" was first remixed in 1999 by German house group Tiefschwarz. The remix peaked at No. 85 on the GfK Entertainment Charts.[18]
  • "Clouds Across the Moon 07" is a remix of the original recording. The vocals were re-recorded by vocalist Emma Charles and the single was released by Shocking Music in July 2007. Hewson states that the single was remixed and released in response to "the phenomenal demand by fans and DJs, for a modern mix of the 1985 'classic'". As well as new vocals, the new version has a more jazz-funk feel than the original, but still retains the original synthesizer and drum machine.[19]

Covers
  • In 1995, Japanese techno producer Yoshinori Sunahara covered the song for his debut album, Crossover.[20]
  • In 1998, Norwegian electronic duo Frost covered the song for their debut album, Bedsit Theories. It peaked at No. 13 on the VG-lista chart.[21]
  • In 2008, Regine Velasquez covered this song from her album, Low Key.
  • Clouds Across the Moon is the name of an episode of the British crime drama television series McDonald & Dodds which features one of the characters repeatedly singing a smooth jazz version of the song.

References
  1. "RAH Band - Clouds Across The Moon". Discogs. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  2. "RAH Band - Mystery". Discogs. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  3. "RAH Band - Clouds Across The Moon (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  4. "Rah Band - Foiled Again". Smash Hits. 10 (7): 4. 8 May 1985.
  5. "RAH Band Discography". Discogs. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  6. "Rah Band – Clouds Across the Moon" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  7. "European Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 2, no. 17. 29 April 1985. p. 14. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  8. "Rah Band – Clouds Across the Moon" (in French). Les classement single.
  9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Clouds Across the Moon". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  10. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Rah Band".
  11. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Rah Band" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  12. "Rah Band – Clouds Across the Moon" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  13. "Rah Band – Clouds Across the Moon". Singles Top 100.
  14. "Rah Band: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  15. "Jaaroverzichten 1985 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  16. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  17. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  18. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de (in German). 3 May 1999. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  19. Euro Solution | Release information | The Rah Band feat Emma Charles: Clouds Across The Moon Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  20. Porter, Charlie (24 January 1998). "New album releases". The Times. p. 11. What's best is the first known cover of that Eighties space-age weepy, Clouds Across the Moon by the Rah Band, which sounds as if it were performed by an Oriental Bucks Fizz.
  21. "Clouds Across The Moon" (in Norwegian Bokmål). VG-lista. 14 September 1998. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
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