“Moonlight Shadow”
Single by Mike Oldfield from the album Crises
B-side	"Rite of Man"
Released	May 6, 1983 (1983-05-06)
Format	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:37
Label	Virgin Records
Writer(s)	Mike Oldfield
Producer	Mike Oldfield Simon Phillips
Mike Oldfield singles chronology
"Mistake" (1982) "Moonlight Shadow" (1983) "Shadow on the Wall" (1983)
Music sample
Mike Oldfield "Moonlight Shadow" Problems? See media help. Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953 in Reading, Berkshire) is an English Multi-instrumentalist Musician Crises is the 8th Album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1983. Oldfield's well known " Moonlight Shadow " appears on the A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of 7 inch Vinyl records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s Events 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Pop rock is a hybrid of Pop music and Rock music that uses catchy pop style with light lyrics over top of guitar-based songs In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing Simon Phillips (born 6 February 1957 in London) is a prolific English Jazz and rock Drummer. Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953 in Reading, Berkshire) is an English Multi-instrumentalist Musician "Mistake" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music) " Shadow on the Wall " is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1983 (see 1983 in music)

“Moonlight Shadow”
Single by Mike Oldfield from the album Elements - The Best of Mike Oldfield
Released	September 1993 (1993-09)
Format	Maxi-CD
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:37
Label	Virgin Records
Writer(s)	Mike Oldfield
Producer	Mike Oldfield Simon Phillips
Mike Oldfield singles chronology
"The Bell" (1993) "Moonlight Shadow" (reissue) (1993) "In Dulci Jubilo" (reissue) (1993)

"Moonlight Shadow" is a pop song written by British multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield and released as a single in May 1983 and included on the album Crises in the same year. Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953 in Reading, Berkshire) is an English Multi-instrumentalist Musician Elements - The Best of Mike Oldfield is the single CD compilation album released in 1993 (See 1993 in music) A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Pop rock is a hybrid of Pop music and Rock music that uses catchy pop style with light lyrics over top of guitar-based songs In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953 in Reading, Berkshire) is an English Multi-instrumentalist Musician " The Bell " is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1993 "In Dulci Jubilo" / "On Horseback" is a double A-side single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A multi-instrumentalist is a Musician who plays a number of different instruments The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953 in Reading, Berkshire) is an English Multi-instrumentalist Musician Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Crises is the 8th Album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1983. Oldfield's well known " Moonlight Shadow " appears on the The vocals were performed by the Scottish vocalist Maggie Reilly, who had joined Mike Oldfield in 1980. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Maggie Reilly (born September 15 1956 in Glasgow) is a Scottish vocalist best known for her collaborations with the composer Mike Oldfield between 1980 and 1984 Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar)

Release

The single peaked at #4 in the British charts, making it Oldfield's second highest ranked single after "Portsmouth" which reached #3 in 1976. The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC on behalf of the British record industry " Portsmouth " is a single released by musician Mike Oldfield in 1976 (see 1976 in music) Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. "Moonlight Shadow" was successful throughout Europe, It reached #1 in countries including Italy, Austria, Switzerland for four weeks and Norway for six weeks. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional It spent four weeks at #2 in Germany and also hit #6 in Australia. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. It was re-released as a maxi-CD single in 1993 to promote Oldfield's Elements box set, charting at #52. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Elements - The Best of Mike Oldfield is the single CD compilation album released in 1993 (See 1993 in music) A box set (sometimes referred to as a boxed set) is a compilation of various musical recordings Films Television programs or other collection

A 12" 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. A CD single (abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of 7 inch Vinyl records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s The extended mix also appears on his compilation album The Platinum Collection. The Platinum Collection is a compilation Album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield.

In 1991 the song was re-released in France and in 1993, it was featured on promos for Elements in France and Spain. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.

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 and Miriam Stockley. Anita Hegerland (born 3 March 1961 in Sandefjord) is a Norwegian singer famous for her childhood career in the Scandinavian and German markets Miriam Stockley (born on April 15, 1962 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a British singer

The original cover art is an enlargement of the lower right corner of the Crises album cover.

Production

An early version of the song was entitled "Midnight Passion" with vocals by British singer Hazel O'Connor. Hazel O'Connor (born 16 May 1955) is a British Singer-songwriter and actress originating from Coventry. ^[1] 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^[2]. According to Oldfield, Virgin Records were immediately happy with the song and wanted more pieces similar to it. Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell

Oldfield later sampled the drums from "Moonlight Shadow" for the song "Man in the Rain" on his 1998 album, Tubular Bells III. "Man in the Rain" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1998 Tubular Bells III is the 17th Album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1998. ^[3]

Lyrical content

It was long believed that the lyrics are a reference to the murder of John Lennon, although when asked about this in a 1995 interview, Oldfield responded:

[It's] not really [about Lennon]. John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (born Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 . . 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. The City of New York The Dakota, constructed from October 25, 1880 to October 27, 1884, is an Apartment building located on the northwest corner of 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. Houdini is a 1953 Biographical film about the life of the magician and Escapologist Harry Houdini. Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz June 3, 1925) is an American film actor . . 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, http://tubular.net/articles/95_06.shtml

The Lennon story may have arisen as a consequence of the content of the promo video that accompanied the song, which juxtaposes footage of Oldfield and his band playing the song with a loose storyline in which Oldfield plays a man who gets killed in a pistol duel. Video is the technology of electronically capturing, Recording, processing storing transmitting and reconstructing a sequence of Still images As practiced from the 11th to 20th centuries in Western societies a duel is an engagement in combat between two individuals with matched weapons in accordance with their combat It is worth noting that 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 being created is unknown), and the way both versions are edited suggests that Oldfield's touring guitarist "Ant" performed the second, rockier half of the memorable guitar solo, which is not the case.

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

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

Chart (1983)	Peak position
Norwegian Singles Chart	1
Italian Singles Chart	1
Swedish Singles Chart	1
Dutch Singles Chart	2
Swiss Singles Chart	1
German Singles Chart	2
Austrian Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	4
Australian Singles Chart	6

Personnel

• Mike Oldfield: Guitars, Fairlight CMI
• Maggie Reilly: Vocals
• Phil Spalding: Bass guitar
• Simon Phillips: Drums

Appearances in other media

The original song also appeared on the soundtrack of the Italian comedy Vacanze di Natale (1983). " To France " is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music) VG-lista is a Norwegian Record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the NRK program Topp 20. The Dutch Top 40 ( Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly Music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40" because the Pirate radio channel Radio The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC on behalf of the British record industry The Kent Music Report was a weekly Record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by a music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953 in Reading, Berkshire) is an English Multi-instrumentalist Musician The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles The Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument was the first polyphonic digital sampling Synthesizer. Maggie Reilly (born September 15 1956 in Glasgow) is a Scottish vocalist best known for her collaborations with the composer Mike Oldfield between 1980 and 1984 Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with Speech. Phil Spalding (born 19 November 1957 in London is an English bass player The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the Simon Phillips (born 6 February 1957 in London) is a prolific English Jazz and rock Drummer. A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Also, it is the theme song for Dave Angel, Eco-Warrior, a character in the BBC TV comedy series The Fast Show. Dave Angel Eco-Warrior was one of the many characters brought to life by comedian Simon Day as part of the long-running comedy sketch show The Fast Show The Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US was a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for three series from 1994 to 1997 The French television station Direct 8 used "Moonlight Shadow" as its main jingle. Direct 8 is a new French television network owned by Vincent Bolloré.

Cover versions

Numerous cover versions of "Moonlight Shadow" have been performed over the years, including by The Shadows (a band whom Oldfield was influenced by) on their 1986 album Moonlight Shadows. In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released The Shadows are an English instrumental and vocal Rock and roll group active from the 1950s to the 2000s Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Notably Oldfield had also covered a Shadows song, "Wonderful Land".

Japanese artist Kokia included a cover version on her 7th single, "Ningen-tte Sonna Mono ne". is a Japanese Singer-songwriter from Tokyo. She is known mostly for her performances in video game and anime soundtracks having appeared in eight different game/anime soundtracks A cover of the song appears as a hidden track on the album Command To Charge by German melodic death metal band Suidakra. SuidAkrA is a Melodic death metal band from Germany with Celtic folk influences A techno remix version was also released by DJ Mystik. Frérérique covered the track on their Irish Ties album. German band X-Perience have also covered "Moonlight Shadow". X-Perience is a pop band from Berlin, Germany. Their music style varies between Synthpop, Trance and Ethnopop. Juliane Werding released a German-language version of the song, titled "Nacht Voll Schatten".

In 1997, a dance version by Missing Heart which was a project managed by German Producers David Brandes, Felix J. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar David Brandes is a German songwriter and producer. Brandes has written and produced for many artists including E-Rotic, Bad Boys Blue Gauder, and Domenico Labarile. The vocals for this eurodance track were recorded by a E-Rotic's singer Lyane Leigh. E-Rotic is a Swiss / German Hip house / Eurodance group They are mostly known for their use of Sexual topics and Innuendo The game Dance Dance Revolution has the Missing Heart version on Dance Dance Revolution 5thMIX for PlayStation/Arcade, Dance Dance Revolution Party Collection for PlayStation 2, and Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2 for Xbox. Dance Dance Revolution (abbreviated DDR) previously known as Dancing Stage in PAL territories until the announcement of The PlayStation (abbreviated PS, PSone, PS1, or informally as PSX) is a 32-bit fifth generation Video game console Dance Dance Revolution Party Collection is a Music video game that is part of the Dance Dance Revolution and Bemani Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 2, or DDR Ultramix 2, is the eighth home version of Dance Dance Revolution to be released in the United States The Xbox is a sixth-generation Video game console produced by Microsoft Corporation. Child singer Aselin Debison covered it on her Sweet Is the Melody album. Aselin Debison (born June 27, 1990) is a Canadian pop and Celtic music singer sometimes known affectionately as Azi Austrian band 'Code 7' covered the track. The band 1000 Years covered "Moonlight Shadow" on the compilation Crazy Mix 2002.

The British band Renaissance covered the song on the 2002 live album In the Land of the Rising Sun. Renaissance were an English Progressive rock band most notable for their 1978 UK top 10 hit "Northern Lights" Italian power metal band Skylark also covered the song on their 2005 album Fairytales. For more uses of the word Skylark, see Skylark (disambiguation Skylark is an Italian Power metal band founded in The track also appears as a B-side on the 2007 single "Y Ahora Voy a Salir (Ranxeira)" by Spanish folk metal band Mägo de Oz. Mägo de Oz (" Wizard of Oz " with a Heavy-metal umlaut) (also known as simply Mägo) is a Folk Rock and Heavy Metal In 2007 the song was covered by ItaloBrothers, an italo dance project from Germany. ItaloBrothers are a German dance project from Nordhorn ( Lower Saxony) Also in 2007 hardcore group Noize Incorporated also covered the song for their 2007 album Mutilation.

Groove Coverage cover

“Moonlight Shadow”
Single by Groove Coverage from the album Covergirl
Released	2002
Format	12" single CD Single, Maxi
Genre	Eurodance
Label	Zeitgeist (Universal) Suprime:Music
Groove Coverage singles chronology
"Are U Ready" (2002) "Moonlight Shadow" (2002) "God is a Girl" (2002)

In 2002 a dance version 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). Groove Coverage is a German Euro-trance band The Groove Coverage project consists of Axel Konrad, DJ Novus, Melanie Munch better known as Mell Covergirl is the first album of the German trance group Groove Coverage, released in 2002. This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002 A CD single (abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks (generally an a-side song and a b-side song A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Eurodance is a subgenre of Electronic dance music originating in the early 1990s. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Groove Coverage is a German Euro-trance band The Groove Coverage project consists of Axel Konrad, DJ Novus, Melanie Munch better known as Mell " Are U Ready " is the first (sometimes the second single of German trance group Groove Coverage. " God is a Girl " is the third and last single from the first album of the German trance group Groove Coverage, titled Covergirl See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Groove Coverage is a German Euro-trance band The Groove Coverage project consists of Axel Konrad, DJ Novus, Melanie Munch better known as Mell " To France " is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music) Novaspace is a German Eurodance group Between 2002 and 2004 they covered several 80's hits such as " Time After Time " and " Beds The retail clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch is currently using a re-mixed Groove Coverage version of the track on its April 2006 in-store ProDisc music CD from vendor "DMX" or Digital Music Express. Abercrombie & Fitch ('æbɝkrɒmbiː ænd 'fɪtʃ ( (A&F is an American clothing Retailer. Groove Coverage is a German Euro-trance band The Groove Coverage project consists of Axel Konrad, DJ Novus, Melanie Munch better known as Mell Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

Track listings

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)

Chart positions

Chart (2002)	Peak position
German Singles Chart	3
Austria Singles Chart	5
Swiss Singles Chart	52
Australian Singles Chart	39
Europe Singles Chart	12
World Singles Chart	30

References

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