Eternal Flame (song)

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"Eternal Flame"
Single by The Bangles
from the album Everything
Released January 20, 1989
Format Vinyl record (7"), CD (3"), Cassingle
Recorded Ocean Way, Studio 55 (1988)
Genre Pop, soft rock
Length 3:56
Label CBS
Writer(s) Susanna Hoffs
Tom Kelly
Billy Steinberg
Producer Davitt Sigerson
The Bangles singles chronology
"In Your Room"
(1988)		 "Eternal Flame"
(1989)		 "Be With You"
(1989)
Alternate cover
UK cover

"Eternal Flame" is a song by The Bangles from their 1988 album Everything. It became a hit single, when released in 1989, peaking at number one in the charts in nine countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was written by popular songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and The Bangles' own Susanna Hoffs. With this song and Walk Like An Egyptian (both reach to the Top), The Bangles becoming only the third "all-girls group" to have scored multiple No. 1s in the United States. (The others are The Supremes, who had 12, and The Shirelles, with 2.).

Contents

[edit] History

Unlike the rest of the garage-band pop songs on their album Everything, the song was a ballad. Co-writer Billy Steinberg describes it as "The Beatles meet The Byrds".

The song was inspired by two eternal flames: one at the gravesite of Elvis Presley that the Bangles saw when the band visited Graceland,[1] and one at a local synagogue in Palm Springs which Steinberg attended as a child.[2] Steinberg recalled to Songfacts: "Susanna was talking about The Bangles having visited Graceland, and she said there was some type of shrine to Elvis that included some kind of eternal flame. As soon as those words were mentioned, I immediately thought of the synagogue in the town of Palm Springs, California where I grew up. I remember during our Sunday school class they would walk us through the sanctuary. There was one little red light and they told us it was called the eternal flame."[3]

It spent one week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, blocking Milli Vanilli's "Girl You Know It's True" from reaching the summit position.[4] It was preceded at #1 on the Hot 100 by Mike + The Mechanics' "The Living Years" and succeeded by Roxette's "The Look".

The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart in February 1989 at number 81 and peaked at number one in April spending four weeks there and went on to spend twenty weeks in the chart and was the UK's third best-selling song of 1989.

The song also spent seven weeks at the #1 position in the Dutch Top 40. It also topped the U.S. adult contemporary chart for two weeks.[5]

The song was Australia's 4th biggest selling single of '89 and was sent up on the Australian TV show Fast Forward.

The song was featured in "Zach Galifianakis" "Comedy Central' Presents stand-up comedy routine where all of his ex-girlfriends form an a cappella group and sing this song about him. The song is performed by the Night Owls.

[edit] Track lists

Side Title Length
A "Eternal Flame" 3:56
B "What I Meant to Say" 3:20


"What I Meant to Say" is a non-album track, written by Debbi and Vicki Peterson and sung by Debbi.

[edit] Charts

[edit] Peak positions

Chart Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[6] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[7] 3
Canadian Top Singles (RPM)[8] 4
France (SNEP)[9] 5
Germany (Media Control AG)[10] 4
Ireland (Irish Singles Chart)[11] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 1
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[13] 1
New Zealand (RIANZ)[14] 4
Norway (VG-lista)[15] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 2
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[18] 1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[19] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 1

[edit] Year-end charts

End of year chart (1989) Position
UK Singles Chart 3
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 4
Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart 32

[edit] Certifications

Country Certification
United States Gold

[edit] Personnel

Preceded by
"Now You're in Heaven" by Julian Lennon		 Australian Music Report number one single
12 June 1989		 Succeeded by
"Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler
Preceded by
"Alles kan een mens gelukkig maken" by René Froger and Het Goede Doel		 Dutch Top 40 number one single
15 April 1989 – 27 May 1989		 Succeeded by
"Me Myself and I" by De La Soul
Preceded by

"Paradise City" by Guns N Roses
"When Love Comes To Town" by U2 feat. BB King		 Irish Singles Chart number one single
6 April 1989 (first run)
20 April 1989 - 27 April 1989 (second run)		 Succeeded by

"When Love Comes to Town" by U2 feat. BB King
"Far From Home" by Daniel O'Donnell
Preceded by
"The Look" by Roxette		 Norwegian Singles Chart number one single
19 June 1989 – 26 July 1989		 Succeeded by
"Licence To Kill" by Gladys Knight
Preceded by
"Like A Prayer" by Madonna		 Swedish Singles Chart number one single
31 May 1989 – 19 July 1989		 Succeeded by
"Licence To Kill" by Gladys Knight
Preceded by
"The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics		 Billboard Hot 100 number one single
April 1, 1989		 Succeeded by
"The Look" by Roxette
Preceded by
"You Got It" by Roy Orbison		 Billboard Adult Contemporary (chart) number-one single
April 8, 1989 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"After All" by Cher and Peter Cetera
Preceded by
"Like a Prayer" by Madonna		 UK Singles Chart number one single
9 April 1989 - 30 April 1989		 Succeeded by
"Hand on Your Heart" by Kylie Minogue

[edit] Cover versions

[edit] Tomoya Nagase feat. 3T version

"Eternal Flame"
Single by Tomoya Nagase feat. 3T
Released 1997
Format CD
Recorded 1996
Genre J-pop, soft rock
Length 3:56
Label Universal Music Japan
Writer(s) Susanna Hoffs
Tom Kelly
Billy Steinberg
Producer 3T
Tomoya Nagase feat. 3T singles chronology
"Gotta Be You"
(1996)		 "Eternal Flame"
(1997)		 "Stuck on You"
(2003)

In 1997 has been covered in Japanese language the song by Tomoya Nagase, the vocalist of the Japanese idol rock group Tokio, featuring 3T. This song was used as the theme song of the Nippon TV drama "DXD", in which Nagase played the main role. He also wrote the Japanese version lyrics. This version was released as a single in Japan under the name of "Tomoya with 3T".

[edit] Charts
Chart (1997) Peak
position
Oricon Japanese International Chart 12

[edit] Atomic Kitten version

"Eternal Flame"
Single by Atomic Kitten
from the album Right Now (Re-issue)
Released July 23, 2001
Format CD single, Cassette
Recorded 2001
Genre Pop
Length 3:17
Label Virgin
Producer Ray Ruffin
Certification Gold
Atomic Kitten singles chronology
"Whole Again"
(2001)		 "Eternal Flame"
(2001)		 "You Are"
(2001)

Atomic Kitten subsequently recorded the song in 2001 and released as the first single and sixth overall single from the reissue of the debut studio album, Right Now. It was the group's first single to feature new band member Jenny Frost. Their version was produced by Susanna Hoffs, who subsequently teamed up with Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly to write "Love Doesn't Have to Hurt", a single from the band's next album, Feels So Good. The single version of "Eternal Flame" is slightly different to the album version, featuring a new musical arrangement and new vocals.

[edit] Track listing

UK CD1
  1. "Eternal Flame" – 3:15
  2. "Right Now" (Jenny Frost version) – 3:35
  3. "Right Now" (K-Klass Phazerphunk Club Mix) – 7:22
  4. "Eternal Flame" (Blacksmith RnB Club Dub) – 3:55
  5. "Right Now" (video)
UK CD2
  1. "Eternal Flame" – 3:15
  2. "Album Medley" – 5:30
  3. "Eternal Flame" (Blacksmith RnB Club Rub) – 3:54
  4. "Eternal Flame" (video)
UK cassette
  1. "Eternal Flame" – 3:15
  2. "Album Medley" – 5:30
  3. "Dancing in the Street" – 3:39

[edit] Music video

The video begins with the band members walking up to the screen in a stylized pace, in plain white clothes and bare feet, with a dark background. This is shown often in the video, and is also how the video ends. Throughout the video, each of the band members do different poses and dance moves in time to the song, with the dark, cloudy background in place. Also in one of the scenes in the video, all three band members are seen in a line, with a glass floor and four metal posts with lights in the background that accompanies the perennial dark background. In this scene, the girls are seen doing a basic dance routine in time with the song. For Jenny's solo, she is seen lying down on the floor doing a sexy pose. However, Frost later claimed in the So Far So Good DVD, that she had tonsillitis for the video shoot, and was laying down due to being ill and couldn't stand up.[21] There is also a version of the video that contains clips from the movie The Parole Officer.

[edit] Chart performance

Atomic Kitten made the song another massive success, entering at number one in the UK, staying at the top for two weeks. "Eternal Flame" sold over 140,000 copies in its first week and 70,000 copies in its second week. On its first day, "Eternal Flame" sold 35,358 copies, and their closest rival was Destiny's Child with "Bootylicious", which sold 13,182 copies in its opening day. The song sold over 400,000 copies in the UK, and was certified Gold. The single entered the top five in over ten countries. The single went to number two in the French singles chart, a huge success, and became one of the best selling singles by a girl group of all time in France. However, it was their only single to reach the top twenty, making them one-hit wonders there. It was certified gold for sales of over 250,000 copies. Atomic Kitten's cover of "Eternal Flame" charted higher than the original version by The Bangles. Over a year later, the single appeared in the Canadian singles chart. "Eternal Flame" was Atomic Kitten's only single to chart over there. It debuted at number twenty, and peaked at number fifteen. It spent twelve weeks in the top forty—five of which were in the top twenty, making the song a moderate success. The single was a worldwide success entering the top twenty in every country it was released, except for Australia, where it peaked at number forty-seven. The single was also a number one hit in the Flanders region of Belgium, and it became their best-selling single there, subsequently lasting sixteen weeks on the chart; it became the 28th best selling single of 2001 in Belgium. It also spent one week at number one in New Zealand. "Eternal Flame" went on to sell over one million copies worldwide and was certified Gold in the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, and New Zealand.

[edit] Charts and certifications

[edit] Charts
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[22] 47
Austrian Singles Chart[23] 3
Belgium Singles Chart (Flanders)[24] 1
Belgium Singles Chart (Wallonia)[25] 18
Canadian Hot 100[26] 15
Danish Singles Chart[27] 12
Dutch Top 40[28] 9
European Hot 100 Singles[29] 4
French Singles Chart[30] 2
German Singles Chart[31] 5
Irish Singles Chart[32] 2
New Zealand Singles Chart[33] 1
Norwegian Singles Chart[34] 13
Portugese Singles Chart 5
Spanish Singles Chart 19
Swedish Singles Chart[35] 2
Swiss Singles Chart[36] 9
UK Singles Chart[37] 1
[edit] Certifications
Country Certification
 Sales
France Gold[38] 268,000[39]
New Zealand Gold[40] 7,500
Sweden Gold[41] 30,000
United Kingdom Gold[42] 412,501
[edit] Year-end charts
Chart (2001) Position
Austrian Singles Chart[43] 22
Belgium Singles Chart (Flanders)[44] 28
Belgium Singles Chart (Wallonia)[45] 99
French Singles Chart[46] 32
Irish Singles Chart[47] 25
New Zealand Singles Chart[48] 40
Swiss Singles Chart[49] 59
UK Singles Chart[50] 15
[edit] Chart procession and succession
Preceded by
"Tele-Romeo / Blub, ik ben een vis" by K3		 Ultratop number-one single
September 8, 2001 – September 15, 2001		 Succeeded by
"Let me blow ya mind" by Eve and Gwen Stefani
Preceded by
"19-2000" by Gorillaz		 Recording Industry Association of New Zealand number-one single
September 23, 2001 – September 30, 2001		 Succeeded by
"Eternity/The Road to Mandalay" by Robbie Williams
Preceded by
"Eternity/The Road to Mandalay" by Robbie Williams		 The Official Charts Company number-one single
July 29, 2001 – August 11, 2001		 Succeeded by
"21 Seconds" by So Solid Crew

[edit] Other cover versions

"Eternal Flame"
Single by Rollergirl
from the album Now I'm Singin'... And the Party Keeps Rollin'
Released 2000
Recorded 2000
Genre Pop
Writer(s) Susanna Hoffs
Tom Kelly
Billy Steinberg
Rollergirl singles chronology
"Luv U More"
(1999)		 "Eternal Flame"
(2000)		 "Superstar"
(2000)
  • In 1991, jazz fusion/contemporary jazz guitarist Chuck Loeb offered Chuck's version from the album "Balance."[51]
  • A Japanese rendition of "Eternal Flame" was also performed by Seiko Matsuda
  • The song has also been covered by Atomic Kitten (band) in 2001.
  • The song has been covered in 1999 by the Australian group Human Nature on the Counting Down album.
  • An uptempo eurodance remix was recorded by DJ Kaos for Dancemania SPEED 3 released in 1999.
  • The song has been covered in 2000 by Rollergirl on the Now I'm Singin'... And The Party Keeps On Rollin' and released as a single which peaked at #87 in the Swiss Charts[52]
  • A eurodance cover by Rochelle was released in the 2000s by Almighty Records. An audio sample can be heard on the official Almighty Records website.[53]
  • A punk rock version by Tagtraum was included on the 2001 compilation Punk Chartbusters Vol. 4.
  • The song was covered in 2001 by the Argentine band Smitten on them Let me be album.
  • The song was covered in 2004 by Japanese pop singer Beni Arashiro on her Infinite... single.
  • The song was covered in 2005 by Jeremy Udden on his Torchsongs album.
  • The song was covered in 2005 by Japanese artist LISA on her Melody Circus album.
  • A cover version has been made in 2005 by the Filipino acoustic duo M.Y.M.P. on the Versions album.
  • Portuguese power metal band Oratory included a rendition of the song on their 2005 "Interludium" EP.
  • In 2006, the song was covered by former Deutschland sucht den SuperStar contestant Lena Hanenberg on the Love Songs album.
  • A hi-NRG cover by Lady Crew was released as a single in 2008.
  • Indie artists Marx/Engels recorded a cover of the song which was available for download on the Internet.
  • The song was covered in 2008 by Human Nature on their album A Symphony of Hits
  • Bonnie Tyler and French singer Laura Zen recorded a version in 2011 which went to French radio stations on Monday August 29th. The song was named "Eternal Flame (Amour éternel)".[54]

[edit] Solo and live performances

[edit] References

  1. ^ Susanna Hoffs, "Commentary", the Bangles, Return to Bangleonia, DVD, 2007
  2. ^ Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, 500 Nr. 1 hits uit de Top 40, page 261, 9023009444
  3. ^ "Eternal Flame". Songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=627. Retrieved 2009-07-02. 
  4. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 Archives". http://www.billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100#/charts/hot-100?chartDate=1989-04-01. Retrieved 2011-06-25. 
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 28. 
  6. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Bangles – Eternal Flame". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
  7. ^ "Bangles – Eternal Flame – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
  8. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 50, No. 1, May 01 1989". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.6330. Retrieved July 6, 2011. 
  9. ^ "Lescharts.com – Bangles – Eternal Flame" (in French). Les classement single. Hung Medien.
  10. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  11. ^ "Irish Singles Chart – Search for song". Irish Recorded Music Association. http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved July 6, 2011. 
  12. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 15, 1989" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Stichting Nederlandse Top 40.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bangles – Eternal Flame" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
  14. ^ "Charts.org.nz – Bangles – Eternal Flame". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
  15. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bangles – Eternal Flame". VG-lista. Hung Medien.
  16. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Bangles – Eternal Flame". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien.
  17. ^ "Bangles – Eternal Flame – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien.
  18. ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. The Official Charts Company.
  19. ^ "Bangles Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs for Bangles. Prometheus Global Media.
  20. ^ "Bangles Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Bangles. Prometheus Global Media.
  21. ^ "Atomic Kitten - So Far So Good (DVD part 4)". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrVMa9632Vg&feature=related. Retrieved 2012-01-09. 
  22. ^ "Australian Charts > Atomic Kitten". australian-charts.com Hung Medien. http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Atomic+Kitten. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  23. ^ "Austrian Charts > Atomic Kitten" (in German). austriancharts.at Hung Medien. http://austriancharts.at/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Atomic+Kitten. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  24. ^ "Belgian (flanders) charts > Atomic Kitten". ultratop.be. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Atomic+Kitten&titel=Eternal+Flame&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  25. ^ "Belgian (wallonia) charts > Atomic Kitten". ultratop.be. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?interpret=Atomic+Kitten&titel=Eternal+Flame&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  26. ^ "Atomic Kitten > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic Macrovision. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p398542. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  27. ^ "Danish Charts > Atomic Kitten". danishcharts.com Hung Medien. http://danishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Atomic+Kitten. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  28. ^ "Dutch Top 40 > Atomic Kitten" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. http://www.top40.nl/search.aspx?keyword=atomic%20kitten. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  29. ^ "Atomic Kitten Crawls Up Euro Albums Chart". billboard.biz. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1017519. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  30. ^ "French Charts > Atomic Kitten" (in French). lescharts.com Hung Medien. http://lescharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Atomic+Kitten. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  31. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Atomic Kitten / Single" (in German). musicline.de PhonoNet. http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Atomic+Kitten/single?sort=entry. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  32. ^ "Irish Charts > Atomic Kitten". irish-charts.com Hung Medien. http://irish-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Atomic+Kitten. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  33. ^ "New Zealand Charts > Atomic Kitten". charts.org.nz Hung Medien. http://charts.org.nz/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Atomic+Kitten. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  34. ^ "Norwegian Charts > Atomic Kitten". http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Atomic+Kitten&titel=Eternal+Flame&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  35. ^ "Swedish Charts > Atomic Kitten". http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Atomic+Kitten&titel=Whole+Again&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  36. ^ "Swiss Charts > Atomic Kitten" (in German). http://hitparade.ch/artist/Atomic_Kitten. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  37. ^ "UK Charts > Atomic Kitten". Official Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/atomic%20kitten/. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  38. ^ "Disque en France > Certifications Singles > Or > 2002". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/page-259165.xml?year=2002&type=7. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
  39. ^ "InfoDisc : Les Certifications (Singles) du SNEP (les Disques d'Or)". Infodisc.fr. http://www.infodisc.fr/S_Certif_Or.php. Retrieved 2012-01-09. 
  40. ^ "New Zealand Top 50 Singles > 9 December 2001". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. http://rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp?ChartNum=1289&ChartKind=S. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
  41. ^ "Swedish Certifications 2001". http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/ar-20013.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  42. ^ "BPI Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  43. ^ Steffen Hung (2001-12-23). "Best selling singles in Austria (2001)". Austriancharts.at. http://www.austriancharts.at/2001_single.asp. Retrieved 2012-01-09. 
  44. ^ "Best selling singles in Belgium Flanders (2001)". Ultratop.be. 2011-12-24. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2001. Retrieved 2012-01-09. 
  45. ^ "Best selling singles in Belgium Wallonia (2001)". Ultratop.be. 2011-12-24. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/annual.asp?year=2001. Retrieved 2012-01-09. 
  46. ^ "Best selling singles in France (2002)". Disqueenfrance.com. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/page-259376.xml?year=2002. Retrieved 2012-01-09. 
  47. ^ "Best selling singles in Ireland (2001)". Allcharts.org. http://allcharts.org/music/years/ireland-singles-2001.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-09. 
  48. ^ "Top 50 singles of 2001 in NZ". Rianz.org.nz. http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart_annual.asp. Retrieved 2012-01-09. 
  49. ^ Steffen Hung. "Best selling singles in Switzerland (2001)". Swisscharts.com. http://www.swisscharts.com/year.asp?key=2001. Retrieved 2012-01-09. 
  50. ^ http://www.bpi.co.uk/assets/files/yearly%20best%20selling%20singles.pdf
  51. ^ "Balance overview". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r69487. 
  52. ^ SwissCharts.com "Eternal Flame" (Rollergirl) page. Accessed: November 2, 2006
  53. ^ http://www.almightyrecords.com/product/ALMY168/
  54. ^ "Bonnie Tyler est de retour : elle reprend le hit "Eternal Flame"". Chartsinfrance.net. 2011-08-29. http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Bonnie-Tyler/news-75346.html. Retrieved 2012-01-09. 

Additional sources used:

  • The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition)

[edit] External links

The Bangles
Studio albums
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Atomic Kitten
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Compilation albums
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