Moonlight Shadow

"Moonlight Shadow" is a song written and performed by English multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield, released as a single in May 1983 by Virgin Records, and included on his eighth album, Crises, of the same year.[5] The vocals were performed by Scottish vocalist Maggie Reilly, who had collaborated with Mike Oldfield since 1980. It is Oldfield's most successful single, reaching number one on numerous charts around Europe.

This article is about the song. For the short novel, see Moonlight Shadow (novella). For the album by The Shadows, see Moonlight Shadows.

"Moonlight Shadow"
Artwork for original single
Single by Mike Oldfield
from the album Crises
B-side"Rite of Man"
Released6 May 1983 (1983-05-06)
RecordedFebruary – April 1983[1]
StudioDenham, England[1]
Genre
Length
  • 3:37 (album version)
  • 5:17 (12-inch version)
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Mike Oldfield
Producer(s)
Mike Oldfield singles chronology
"Mistake"
(1982)		 "Moonlight Shadow"
(1983)		 "Shadow on the Wall"
(1983)
"The Bell"
(1993)
"Moonlight Shadow"
(1993)
"In Dulci Jubilo"
(1993)
Music video
"Mike Oldfield ft. Maggie Reilly - Moonlight Shadow (Official Video)" on YouTube

Release

The single peaked at number four in the British charts, making it Oldfield's second-highest ranked single after "Portsmouth", which reached number three in 1976. "Moonlight Shadow" was successful throughout Europe; it reached number one in many countries, including Italy, Austria, Switzerland for four weeks and Norway for six weeks. It spent four weeks at number two in West Germany, hit number six in Australia, and peaked at number three in New Zealand and France. It was re-released as a maxi-CD single in 1993 to promote Oldfield's Elements box set, charting at number 52.

A 12-inch single (later reissued on a 3" CD single) featured an extended version of the song with an extra verse, and the single B-side was "Rite of Man", which was a rare instance of Oldfield singing lead vocal. The extended mix also appears on his compilation album The Platinum Collection.

In 1991, the song was re-released in France, and in 1993 it was featured on promos for Elements in France and Spain. The 1993 reissue included "Bones" and "In the Pool" as B-sides, which had previously been released as B-sides with "To France". Furthermore, the name of the song was used for the 2013 Universal Music compilation album of Oldfield's music, Moonlight Shadow: The Collection.

Live performances

Maggie Reilly sang "Moonlight Shadow" live when she toured with Oldfield in the 1980s. However, since then, other singers have performed the song live with Oldfield, including Anita Hegerland during the late 1980s, Pepsi Demacque at the Tubular Bells III premiere and at the Live Then & Now 1999 tour, Miriam Stockley at the Millennium concert and Nokia Night of the Proms in Germany, and Rosa Cedrón at Nokia Night of the Proms in Spain.

In 2020 Maggie Reilly released an updated version where she is the vocalist.

Artwork

The original cover art is an enlargement of the lower right corner of the Crises album cover by UK artist Terry Ilott. This shows a man with his foot on a ledge with the sea and sky in the background. The moon, the tower and its shadow from the album cover cannot be seen on the single cover.

The artwork for the 1993 reissue followed the style of the Elements artwork in most countries.

Production

An early version of the song was entitled "Midnight Passion" with vocals by British singer Hazel O'Connor.[6] Along with Maggie Reilly, a girlfriend of one of the roadies when Oldfield was on tour, Oldfield used a rhyming dictionary and recorded many of the lyrics word by word.[7]

According to bassist Phil Spalding the initial tracks recorded simultaneously for "Moonlight Shadow" were acoustic guitar (Oldfield), bass (Spalding), drums (Phillips) and electric guitar (Tim Renwick) in early February 1983 at Oldfield's studio in Denham, Buckinghamshire.[1] Renwick's guitar track was apparently not used in the final track.[1] The remaining tracks including the vocals and Oldfield on electric guitar were later overdubs.[1]

According to Oldfield, Virgin Records were immediately happy with the song and wanted more pieces similar to it. Reilly also sang on "Foreign Affair" on Crises. An unplugged mix of the song appears on the 2013 Mercury Records reissue of the Crises album.

Oldfield later sampled the drums from "Moonlight Shadow" for the song "Man in the Rain" on his 1998 album, Tubular Bells III.[8]

Lyrical content

It has been suggested that the lyrics of the song are a reference to the murder of John Lennon, despite the fact that the events in the song do not correspond with those of Lennon's murder.[9][10] Lennon was shot four times just before 11 pm, whereas in the song the time is 4 am and the number of shots is six. Also, the night Lennon was shot (8 December 1980) was a new moon, so there was no moonlight,[11] and in the song, it is Saturday night, while Lennon was killed on a Monday night. When asked whether "Moonlight Shadow" is a reference to John Lennon's murder in a 1995 interview, Oldfield responded:

Not really... well, perhaps, when I look back on it, maybe it was. I actually arrived in New York that awful evening when he was shot and I was staying at the Virgin Records house in Perry Street, which was just a few blocks down the road from the Dakota Building where it happened, so it probably sank into my subconscious. It was originally inspired by a film I loved – Houdini, starring Tony Curtis, which was about attempts to contact Houdini after he'd died, through spiritualism... it was originally a song influenced by that, but a lot of other things must have crept in there without me realising it.

— Mike Oldfield[12]

Video

There are two versions of the video: the full-length original, and a shorter one which omits a verse. The reason for the shorter version was for the requirements of some TV broadcasters, and the way both versions are edited suggests that Oldfield's touring guitarist "Ant" (Anthony Glynne) performs the second, overdriven half of the guitar solo, which is not the case. Also in the video is Oldfield's touring drummer, Pierre Moerlen, miming the part played by Simon Phillips on the recording. The music video was directed by Keith McMillan and shot on location at Hatfield House and Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire, England (the band are seen performing in Brocket Hall's ballroom and the girl runs in through the door and up the staircase in Brocket's hallway).[13][14]

Track listing
  • 7-inch vinyl
  1. "Moonlight Shadow" (7" mix) – 3:37
  2. "Rite of Man" – 2:21
  • 12-inch vinyl
  1. "Moonlight Shadow" (Extended version) – 5:18
  2. "Rite of Man" – 2:21
  • West German vinyl
  1. "Moonlight Shadow" – 3:37
  2. "Moonlight Shadow" (Extended version) – 5:18
  3. "Rite of Man" – 2:21
  4. "To France" – 4:43
  5. "Jungle Gardenia" – 2:45 (Mike Oldfield)
  6. "Taurus 3" – 2:25
  • 1988 CD
  1. "Moonlight Shadow" (Extended version) – 5:18
  2. "Rite of Man" – 2:21
  3. "To France" – 4:44
  4. "Jungle Gardenia" – 2:44
  • 1993 CD
  1. "Moonlight Shadow" – 3:35
  2. "Moonlight Shadow" (Extended version) – 5:18
  3. "In the Pool"* – 3:40
  4. "Bones"* – 3:19

(*: original B-sides for the 1984 "To France" single)

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[44] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[45] Silver 250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Appearances and influence in other media

"Moonlight Shadow" appeared on the soundtrack of the Italian comedy Vacanze di Natale (1983).[46] It is also the theme song for Dave Angel, Eco-Warrior, a character in the BBC TV comedy series The Fast Show.[47]

Groove Coverage version
"Moonlight Shadow"
Single by Groove Coverage
from the album Covergirl
Released2002
Length2:52
Label
Songwriter(s)Mike Oldfield
Groove Coverage singles chronology
"Are U Ready"
(2002)		 "Moonlight Shadow"
(2002)		 "God Is a Girl"
(2002)
Music video
"Moonlight Shadow" by Groove Coverage on YouTube

In 2002, a cover by Groove Coverage peaked at No. 3 in the German Top 10 (simultaneously, a similar version of Oldfield's "To France" by Novaspace was in the German Top 30). "Moonlight Shadow" appeared on Groove Coverage's debut album, Covergirl. The vocals are by Melanie Munch, who is known by her stage name Mell. Aside from the single remixes, the album also contains a piano version, featuring piano by Verena Rehm.

CD single
  1. "Moonlight Shadow" (Radio version) – 2:52
  2. "Moonlight Shadow" (Original radio edit) – 2:54
  3. "Moonlight Shadow" (Extended version) – 6:56
  4. "Moonlight Shadow" (Rocco remix) – 6:58
  5. "Moonlight Shadow" (Warp Brothers remix) – 7:37
  6. "Moonlight Shadow" (Video) – 2:53

Maxi single
  1. "Moonlight Shadow" (Radio version) – 2:52
  2. "Moonlight Shadow" (Original radio edit) – 2:59
  3. "Moonlight Shadow" (Extended version) – 6:58
  4. "Moonlight Shadow" (Rocco remix) – 6:58
  5. "Beat Just Goes" – 3:53

Remix single

A-side

  1. "Moonlight Shadow" (Extended version)

B-side

  1. "Moonlight Shadow" (Club version)
  2. "Beat Just Goes" (Club mix)

US maxi single
  1. "Moonlight Shadow" (Josh Harris Radio Edit) – 3:46
  2. "Moonlight Shadow" (Josh Harris Club Mix) – 7:21
  3. "Moonlight Shadow" (Josh Harris Dub) – 6:39
  4. "Moonlight Shadow" (French Club Mix) – 6:36
  5. "Moonlight Shadow" (French Short Cut) – 3:05
  6. "Moonlight Shadow" (Plastic Men UK Mix) – 6:16
  7. "Moonlight Shadow" (Warp Brothers Remix) – 7:36
  8. "Moonlight Shadow" (North Starz Remix) – 6:57
  9. "Moonlight Shadow" (Alternate Radio Version) – 2:51
  10. "Moonlight Shadow" (Original Mix) – 2:53
  11. "Moonlight Shadow" (Extended Mix) – 6:54
  12. "Moonlight Shadow" (Rocco Remix) – 6:56
  13. "Moonlight Shadow" (A cappella) – 1:50
  14. "Moonlight Shadow" (Pure & Direct Version) – 4:17

Weekly charts
Chart (2002–2003) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[48] 39
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[49] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[50] 50
Germany (Official German Charts)[51] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[52] 68
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[53] 52
UK Singles (OCC)[54] 100

Year-end charts
Chart (2002) Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[55] 31
Germany (Official German Charts)[56] 19

See also

References
  1. "Mike Oldfield – Crises". Phil Spalding. July 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  2. Guaitamacchi, Ezio (2011). 1000 canzoni che ci hanno cambiato la vita (in Italian). Rizzoli Libri. ISBN 978-88-58-61742-7.
  3. Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "Progressive Rock (And Simpler Pleasures)". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 364. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
  4. "Singles". Amadian. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  5. "Information about the single". Tubular-World.com. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  6. "Oldfield albums part 2". Toucan Solutions. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008.
  7. "Archiv Sendung vom 02.04.2008, kulturplatz, Mike Oldfield video interview" (in German). SF 1. 2 April 2008. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008.
  8. "Rare Tracks Part 1". Ommadawn.net. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  9. "Is Moonlight Shadow about the murder of John Lennon?". Experts123.com. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  10. "FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)". Tubular.net. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  11. "Moon Phases December 1980". Calendar-12.com. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  12. Randall, Gareth (1 June 1995). "Gareth Randall Interviews Mike Oldfield". Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  13. The Wind Chimes (VHS rear cover credits). Mike Oldfield. Virgin Vision. 1988. VVD 353.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. Powell, Mark (2013). Crises (liner notes book). Mike Oldfield. Mercury Records. 37 4044-8.
  15. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  16. "Mike Oldfield – Moonlight Shadow" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  17. "Mike Oldfield – Moonlight Shadow" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  18. "UK, Eurochart, Billboard & Cashbox No.1 Hits". MusicSeek.info. Archived from the original on 14 June 2006.
  19. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Mike Oldfield". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 189. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  20. "Accès direct aux Artistes (O)". InfoDisc (in French). Select "Mike Oldfield" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
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  26. "Mike Oldfield – Moonlight Shadow". VG-lista. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  27. "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (O)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  28. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 978-84-8048-639-2.
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  31. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
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  33. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  34. "National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 5 August 2020 – via Imgur.
  35. "Jahreshitparade 1983" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  36. "Jaaroverzichten 1983" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  37. "TOP – 1983". Top-france.fr (in French). Retrieved 1 May 2014.
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  44. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  45. "British single certifications – Mike Oldfield – Moonlight Shadow". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  46. "Vacanze di Natale". Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  47. "Dave Angel – Eco Warrior". BBC Online. 21 January 2003. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  48. "Groove Coverage – Moonlight Shadow". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  49. "Groove Coverage – Moonlight Shadow" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  50. "Groove Coverage – Moonlight Shadow" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  51. "Groove Coverage – Moonlight Shadow" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  52. "Groove Coverage – Moonlight Shadow" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  53. "Groove Coverage – Moonlight Shadow". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  54. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  55. "Jahreshitparade 2002". Austriancharts.at. (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
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