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 in the album Crises of the same year. The vocals were performed by Scottish vocalist Maggie Reilly, who had been collaborating with Mike Oldfield since 1980. It is Oldfield's most successful single, reaching number one on a number of charts around Europe.

Release
The single peaked at number 4 in the British charts, making it Oldfield's second highest ranked single after "Portsmouth", which reached number 3 in 1976. "Moonlight Shadow" was successful throughout Europe. It reached number 1 in many countries, including Italy, Austria, Switzerland for four weeks and Norway for six weeks. It spent four weeks at number 2 in Germany, hit number 6 in Australia, and peaked at number 3 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 Rosa Cedrón (at Nokia Night of the Proms).

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. 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.

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. Renwick's guitar track was apparently not used in the final track. The remaining tracks including the vocals and Oldfield on electric guitar were later overdubs.

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.

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. Lennon was shot four times just before 11pm, whereas in the song the time is 4am and the number of shots is six. When asked if "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 [sic] 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 realizing it."

- Mike Oldfield

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.

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

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

Chart positions
The song performed particularly well in European charts, reaching number one in countries such as Norway, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland and Austria.

Personnel

 * Mike Oldfield: guitars, Fairlight CMI, writer, producing
 * Maggie Reilly: vocals
 * Phil Spalding: bass guitar
 * Simon Phillips: drums, producing

Appearances and influence in other media
The song has been used in other media, such as:
 * It appeared on the soundtrack of the Italian comedy Vacanze di Natale (1983).
 * It is used by the League of Gentlemen to introduce their character, Reverend Bernice Woodall.
 * A portion of the song is used in the 2006 DVD of the live stage show The League of Gentlemen Are Behind You.
 * It is the theme song for Dave Angel, Eco-Warrior, a character in the BBC TV comedy series The Fast Show.
 * The French television station Direct 8 used a guitar-based instrumental cover version of "Moonlight Shadow" as its main jingle in 2005.
 * Banana Yoshimoto's novella, Kitchen, has a story called "Moonlight Shadow", which is influenced by this song.

Cover versions
Numerous cover versions of "Moonlight Shadow" have been recorded over the years, including one from 2002 that reached the German Top 10 by Groove Coverage.


 * In 1983 Juliane Werding released a German-language version, "Nacht voll Schatten", as a single; the following year it was included on her album Ohne Angst.
 * In 1986, The Shadows released an instrumental version on their album Moonlight Shadows.
 * In 1989, Annie Haslam covered the song on her self-titled third solo album.
 * In 1998, Ruslana covered the song for a live radio performance.
 * In 1990, Koto released an instrumental version on their Plays Synthesizer World Hits album.
 * In 1994, Takako Minekawa included a cover version on her solo debut album, Chat Chat.
 * In 1997, Missing Heart released a version of the song which was also used in Konami's 2001 Dance Dance Revolution 5thMix game.
 * In 2001, KBO! recorded a version on their 2001 cover album (Ne) Menjajte Stanicu ((Do Not) Change the Station).
 * In 2002, Kokia included a cover version on her single, "Ningen-tte Sonna Mono ne".
 * In 2002, Aselin Debison covered it on her Sweet Is the Melody album.
 * In 2002, Renaissance released a live version on their album In the Land of the Rising Sun (vocalist Annie Haslam had released her own solo version in 1989)
 * In 2003, X-Perience covered "Moonlight Shadow" as a planned single for 2006, but was never released.
 * In 2005, Skylark covered the song on their album Fairytales.
 * In 2005, Gigi D'Agostino's Disco Tanz compilation album included Luca Noise's Italian house version.
 * In 2005, Suidakra included a version as a hidden track on their album Command to Charge.
 * In 2005, Dana Winner released a version on her albums Unforgettable and Märchenland Der Gefühle.
 * In 2007, Mägo de Oz released a version as a B-side on their single "Y Ahora Voy a Salir (Ranxeira)".
 * In 2007, ItaloBrothers released a cover version as a single.
 * In 2008, Laurent Voulzy included the song in the medley track "Jukebox", on his album Recollection.
 * In 2009, the original singer, Maggie Reilly, re-recorded the song for her album Looking Back, Moving Forward.
 * In 2009, Marcela Morelo released a Spanish-language version, "Luz del cielo" on her album Otro Plan.
 * In 2010, Pathfinder released a cover version as a single.
 * In 2010, Vox Angeli included a version on their album Irlande.
 * In 2011, Nolwenn Leroy included a version on the re-release of her album Bretonne.
 * In 2011, Chris Norman included a version on his album Time Traveller.
 * In 2013, a version by York and Steve Brian with vocals by Caribbean singer Odessa, was released on the remix album Tubular Beats.
 * "Moonlight Shadow 2k14" (Michael Fall remix) was released on 23 May 2014 on German label ZYX.
 * In 2014, Spanish singer and Eurovision representative Lucía Pérez included a Spanish-language cover entitled "Sombra de la luna" in her album Quitapenas.
 * In 2015, folk rock duo Blackmore's Night covered the song on their album All Our Yesterdays.

Groove Coverage version
In 2002, a dance version of "Moonlight Shadow" by Groove Coverage reached 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 B-side
 * 1) "Moonlight Shadow" (Extended version)
 * 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