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One Night in Heaven

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"One Night in Heaven"
Single by M People
from the album Elegant Slumming
Released14 June 1993
Genre
Length3:39
LabelDeconstruction
Songwriter(s)
  • Mike Pickering
  • Paul Heard
Producer(s)M People
M People singles chronology
"How Can I Love You More (Mixes)"
(1993) 		"One Night in Heaven"
(1993) 		"Moving on Up"
(1993)
Music video
"One Night in Heaven" on YouTube
Alternative cover
US cover of "One Night in Heaven".

"One Night in Heaven" is a song by British band M People, released as their sixth overall single and the first single from their second album, Elegant Slumming (1993). Written by band members Mike Pickering and Paul Heard, and produced by the band, the song was released on 14 June 1993 by Deconstruction Records. It was successful in Europe, peaking at number six on the UK Singles Chart. In Iceland, it reached number five, while peaking at number 26 on the Eurochart Hot 100. Its accompanying music video was filmed in Barcelona, Sitges and Montserrat in Spain.

Composition

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The song was recorded at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London. The key refrain "One Night in Heaven, One Night in Heaven" is sung by British vocalist Juliet Roberts who sings backing vocals throughout. The song is made up of a variety of key elements, most notably, the sequenced "brass bottle" synths at the intro and in the break. The melody line is guided by the moog bassline, programmed drumming and layered with high hat synths and a continuous beat. This is embodied by the progressive chords and additional chords during the choruses. In the chorus the song bears a startling resemblance to a Top 20 1975 hit song called "Highwire" by Linda Carr and The Love Squad.

Chart performance

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Like the previous single, "One Night in Heaven" became the second consecutive single to enter the top 10 and climb higher. It is the only M People single to climb not once, but twice. It spent the first three weeks climbing from its introductory chart position of number nine to seven to then peak in its third week at number six. The single sold 190,000 copies and spent a total of 11 weeks on the chart.

"One in Night in Heaven" became a massive success Europe-wide, scoring a top 10 hit also in Iceland (5), and a top 20 hit in Belgium (19), Germany (15), Ireland (12), and Sweden (12). On the dance chart, M People were held off the top spot by Haddaway's "What Is Love". The song also reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US in 1994.

Critical reception

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Keith Farley from AllMusic described the song as "driving British house".[3] Another AllMusic editor, Jon O'Brien felt it is "still as joyously infectious as ever".[4] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that Heather Small "continues to shine as a unique and compelling frontwoman, while tunesmiths/musicians Mike Pickering and Paul Heard provide a track that combines disco, house, and Philly soul flavors." He added, "A club smash that is ripe for radio picking. Don't be left out."[5] Ben Thompson from The Independent viewed it as "vibrant", adding that "contemporary pop-soul" does not get much better than this.[6] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton noted that "this totally new track is if anything even more commercial [than 'How Can I Love You More?']?".[7] Pan-European magazine Music & Media stated that "the dance avant gardists have become more poppy than ever. With this heavily sequenced song on an "old fashioned" disco beat, these people are again probably light years ahead of their time."[8] Alan Jones from Music Week praised it as a "pop/dance gem from Manchester's finest, with some particularly attractive wailing from Heather Small. It's immediate and highly commercial."[1]

Another editor of Music Week, Andy Beevers, named it Pick of the Week in the category of Dance, describing it as "upbeat soul, driven by an inventive house mix", that "should make the mainstream charts".[9] A reviewer from The Network Forty stated that it "picks up right where their first smash, "Moving On Up", left off. Huge in the UK, M People are beginning to spread their magic to the colonies."[10] Iestyn George from NME said that "One Night in Heaven" is "encapsulating euphoria within a three minute pop song".[11] Sam Taylor from The Observer called the song "joyous".[12] James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update complimented it as "gloriously catchy cantering" with a "Sixties soul chorus".[13] Tom Doyle from Smash Hits felt it "proved M People are the finest exponents of the party garage sound."[14] Jonathan Bernstein from Spin complimented Small's "smoky alto" and an "all-time great one-two sucker punch" of the "aptly titled" "One Night in Heaven".[15]

Airplay

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"One Night in Heaven" was serviced to radio four weeks before physical release on 19 May as the follow-up to previous airplay top 10 smash "How Can I Love You More (Mixes)". By the end of week one on airplay, the single had become the highest new entry being played 315 times on UK Radio placing it straight in at Number 58. All UK Independent Local Radio stations, BBC Radio 2 and even Radio 1 had added the song to their A-Lists. It became M People's first Airplay Chart number one in the UK where it remained for two weeks. It then took another eleven weeks to leave the Airplay Top 75 which meant it was still being heavily played when its successor "Moving on Up" was released to radio.

Music video

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The accompanying music video for "One Night in Heaven" was filmed in Barcelona, Sitges and Montserrat at the end of April 1993 and filmed over two days. It was the first M People music video to be filmed abroad with a relatively larger budget. The premise was to introduce the band and show them singing along to the song and having fun. The band's three members Heather Small, Mike Pickering and Paul Heard and the band's percussionist Shovell (for the first time, who would later become full-time member) are all featured in various scenes within popular tourist spots including Park Güell and the Sagrada Família both designed by Antoni Gaudí.[16]

Live performances

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In its original live incarnation, "One Night in Heaven" gets arguably one of the largest rapturous audience response, than any other single. During the Elegant Slumming, Bizarre Fruit, Bizarre Fruit II tours as well as T in the Park and Glastonbury in 1994, it has been performed as the full-length album version towards the end of the second half their shows (pre-encore). From 1996 onwards they have performed the song with the David Morales Classic Mix intro found on Elegantly American. Snake Davis also no longer plays flute during the choruses.

Track listings

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In the UK, the CD single does not contain the radio edit. At the time the radio edit was only made available on the 7-inch version of the single, whilst compilations featured a shorter 3.25 edit. The US release of the single includes remixes by David Morales, which were later released in the UK on the EP Elegantly American in 1994.

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ a b Jones, Alan (12 June 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 8. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Elegant Slumming - M People - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  3. ^ Farley, Keith. "M People - Elegant Slumming". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  4. ^ O'Brien, Jon. "M People – The Ultimate Collection [BMG International]". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  5. ^ Flick, Larry (20 August 1994). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  6. ^ Thompson, Ben (31 October 1993). "Records". The Independent.
  7. ^ Masterton, James (20 June 1993). "Week Ending June 26th 1993". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  8. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 25. 19 June 1993. p. 13. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  9. ^ Beevers, Andy (5 June 1993). "Market Preview: Dance - Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 7. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Mainstream: Music Meeting" (PDF). The Network Forty. 5 August 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  11. ^ George, Iestyn (23 October 1993). "Long Play". NME. p. 35. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  12. ^ Taylor, Sam (17 October 1993). "Small but very powerful". p. 11. The Observer.
  13. ^ Hamilton, James (12 June 1993). "Djdirectory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). p. 2. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  14. ^ Doyle, Tom (15 September 1993). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 51. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  15. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (July 1994). "Heavy Rotation". Spin. p. 16. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  16. ^ "M People - One Night in Heaven". YouTube. 25 October 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  17. ^ "M People – One Night in Heaven". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  18. ^ "M People – One Night in Heaven" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  19. ^ "Belgian peak". Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  20. ^ "RPM (Nov 21, 1994)". RPM. 21 November 1994. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  21. ^ "RPM Dance (Oct 24, 1994)". RPM. 24 October 1994. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  22. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 31. 31 July 1993. p. 19. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  23. ^ "European Dance Radio Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 32. 7 August 1993. p. 13. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  24. ^ "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 35. 28 August 1993. p. 26. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  25. ^ a b "M People - One Night In Heaven (song)". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  26. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (18.11.1993 - 24.11.1993)" (PDF) (in Icelandic). Dagblaðið Vísir - Tónlist. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  27. ^ "M People - One Night In Heaven" (in Dutch). top40.nl. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  28. ^ "M People – One Night in Heaven". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  29. ^ "M People – One Night in Heaven". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  30. ^ UK Singles Chart [1] (Retrieved 28 March 2009)
  31. ^ UK Dance Chart [2] (Retrieved 18 April 2022)
  32. ^ "Top 50 Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. 17 July 1993. p. 14. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  33. ^ "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 26 June 1993. p. 28. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  34. ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 19 June 1993. p. 4. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  35. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 183.
  36. ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1993" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  37. ^ "Árslistinn 1993". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 4 January 1994. p. 17. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  38. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1993". Music Week. 15 January 1994. p. 24.
  39. ^ "Airplay Top 50 1993" (PDF). Music Week. 15 January 1994. p. 41. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  40. ^ "Top 50 Dance Tracks of 1994". RPM. Retrieved 1 June 2020 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  41. ^ "The Year in Music: Hot Dance Music Club Play Singles". Billboard. 24 December 1994. p. YE=74. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
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See also

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