"Heavenly Action" is a song by the British

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

duo

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

, released in November 1985 as their second single. It is a mid-tempo pop song, written by Erasure members

Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...

and Andy Bell as a straightforward ode to love. Issued by

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

in the UK and

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, the single proved to be the second commercial failure for the duo (following "

Who Needs Love Like That "Who Needs Love Like That" is the debut single of British synthpop duo Erasure. The song was released in the UK on Mute Records in 1985 as a prelude to their debut album, '' Wonderland'' (1986). The accompanying music video was directed by John ...

"). The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was directed by John Scarlett Davies and produced by Nick Verden for Aldabra. It features Clarke and Bell in an outer space/celestial setting, with several young children appearing as

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

s. To this day, "Heavenly Action" remains Erasure's lowest-charting single on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, peaking at number 100. In the United States, "Heavenly Action" was paired with "Who Needs Love Like That" on the

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

and, as a double-sided hit, climbed to number eight on the U.S.

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart. It was later included on the duo's debut album '' Wonderland'', released in June 1986.

Critical reception

In his review of '' Wonderland'', Ned Raggett from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

said that "

" and "Heavenly Action" "aren't quite as strong but work in the general formula quite well regardless."

Track listings

; 7", Mute / MUTE42 (UK) # "Heavenly Action" # "Don't Say No" ; 12", Mute / 12MUTE42 (UK) # "Heavenly Action" (12" Mix) # "Don't Say No" (Instrumental) # "My Heart... So Blue" (Incidental) ; 12", Mute / L12MUTE42 (UK) # "Heavenly Action" (Yellow Brick Mix) # "Don't Say No" (Ruby Red Mix) ; 2x12", Mute / D12MUTE42 (UK) # "Heavenly Action" (12" Mix) - 6:03 # "Don't Say No" (Instrumental) - 3:20 # "My Heart... So Blue" (Incidental) - 3:36 # "Who Needs Love Like That" (Mexican Mix) - 6:08 # "Push Me Shove Me" (Tacos Mix) - 5:46 ; CD, Mute / CDMUTE42 (UK) # "Heavenly Action" # "Don't Say No" # "Heavenly Action" (12" Mix) # "Don't Say No" (Instrumental) # "My Heart... So Blue" (Incidental)

Charts

Cover versions

*In June 2011, Maurice Harris, a singer, songwriter and music producer from Cincinnati, Ohio, released a country-themed, pop raggaeton cover version. Harris' version can be heard on his personal

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

page.

References

{{authority control 1985 singles Erasure songs Songs written by Vince Clarke Songs written by Andy Bell (singer) Song recordings produced by Flood (producer) Mute Records singles 1985 songs