''Night on My Side'' is the debut album by

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

singer-songwriter

Gemma Hayes Gemma Hayes (born 11 August 1977) is an Irish musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments, including the piano and the harmonica. She is also a m ...

, first released by Source Records on 24 May 2002 in the Republic of Ireland, 27 May 2002 in the United Kingdom, and 10 July 2002 in Japan. The album's release in North America was delayed until 22 April 2003, where it was released by

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with a different track listing and album artwork. The album was nominated for the 2002

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

but lost out to Ms. Dynamite's ''

A Little Deeper ''A Little Deeper'' is the debut studio album by English singer and rapper Ms. Dynamite. It was released on 10 June 2002 by Polydor Records. The album won the Mercury Prize in 2002. As of September 2011, it had sold 495,000 copies in the United Ki ...

''.

Background

Following the release of two acclaimed EPs in 2001 ('' 4.35am'' and ''

Work to a Calm This is the discography of the Irish alternative rock singer-songwriter, Gemma Hayes. Since first becoming musically active in 2001, Hayes has released four studio albums. Albums Studio albums Extended plays Singles ...

''), Hayes returned to record her debut album at Tarbox Road Studios in New York and Black Box Studios in France, with some of the original demos previously recorded in

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. The album was produced by

Dave Fridmann David Lawrence Fridmann is an American record producer and musician. Career From 1990 onwards he co-produced most releases by Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips. Other bands he has worked with include Weezer, Saxon Shore, Neon Indian, Wolf Gang, ...

and

David Odlum David Odlum is an Irish music producer, engineer, guitarist, and drummer who has worked and played with Academy Award winners and Mercury Prize nominees. Originally a member of Kíla, a band which was founded during his schooldays at Coláiste Eo ...

. Hayes later forged a relationship with Odlum who continues to work with her to this day. ''Night on My Side'' was released in Europe in May 2002. Upon its release, Hayes was compared to Joni Mitchell and

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

. To coincide with the album's release, Hayes went on an extensive European tour, with dates across Ireland, the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands. She would later go on to support

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and

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on their European tours. Hayes continued to appear on European radio performing live for

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France Inter France Inter () is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a " generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, li ...

and

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. She made appearances on radio and television in Ireland and also made appearances on radio to perform on

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for France Inter, and BBC Radio 1 Live Sessions in the UK. By summer 2002, at the age of 24, her debut album was nominated for the 2002

. Hayes later went on a tour of the US with

Josh Ritter Josh Ritter (born October 21, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author who performs and records with the Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006, he was named one of ...

supporting her.

Track listing

European version

All songs written by

. #"Day One" #" Hanging Around" #" Back of My Hand" #"Over & Over" #" Let a Good Thing Go" #"Ran For Miles" #"What A Day" #"Tear In My Side" #"I Wanna Stay" #*The

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...

"Dartmouth Square" appears at the end of "I Wanna Stay" #"Lucky One (Bird Of Cassadaga)" #"My God" #"Night On My Side" #*"Pieces Of Glass" (hidden track)

LP version

All songs written by

. #"Day One" #" Hanging Around" #" Back of My Hand" #"Over & Over" #" Let a Good Thing Go" #"Ran For Miles" #"What A Day" #"Tear In My Side" #"I Wanna Stay" #*The

"Dartmouth Square" appears at the end of "I Wanna Stay" #"Lucky One (Bird Of Cassadaga)" #"My God" #"Night On My Side" #*"Pieces Of Glass" (hidden track)

French version

A special edition of Night on My Side was released in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

by Source Records France it contains the original album plus an additional bonus CD. #"Day One" #" Hanging Around" #" Back of My Hand" #"Over & Over" #" Let a Good Thing Go" #"Ran For Miles" #"What A Day" #"Tear In My Side" #"I Wanna Stay" #*The

"Dartmouth Square" appears at the end of "I Wanna Stay" #"Lucky One (Bird Of Cassadaga)" #"My God" #"Night On My Side" #*"Pieces Of Glass" (hidden track) *Bonus CD #"Brightness" #"Hanging Around (acoustic version)" #"Summers in Doubt" #"Pieces of Glass (radio session version)" #"Let a Good Thing Go (video)"

Japanese version

The track listing for the Japanese release is different from the original European version. #"Day One" #" Hanging Around" #"Making Waves" #" Let a Good Thing Go" #"Back of My Hand" #"4:35AM" #"I worked myself into a calm" #"Ran For Miles" #"Tear In My Side" #"What A Day" #"I Wanna Stay" #*The

"Dartmouth Square" appears at the end of "I Wanna Stay" #"Lucky One (Bird Of Cassadaga)" #"My God" #"Night On My Side" #*"Pieces Of Glass" (hidden track) *"Hanging Around" (Video)

American version

The

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release features a different cover and track listing, including songs from the 4.35am EP but omitting songs featured on the European release of the album: #"Hanging Around" #"Back of My Hand" #"Let a Good Thing Go" #"Tear in My Side" #"Work to a Calm" #"Lucky One" #"Making Waves" #"Ran for Miles" #"My God" #"4.35am" #"I Wanna Stay" #"Evening Sun" #Extras #"Let A Good Thing Go" (Video)

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control Gemma Hayes albums 2002 debut albums Albums recorded at Tarbox Road Studios