"No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" is a song by German pop band

No Angels No Angels are an all-female pop group from Germany, formed in 2000. Originally a quintet, consisting of band members Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls, they originated on the debut season of th ...

. It was written by

Pete Kirtley Peter Edward Kirtley (born 14 April 1972) is an English songwriter, record producer and music entrepreneur. He has produced over 200 records worldwide with sales exceeding 15 million and 100 million streams, including seven number-one hit sing ...

Tim Hawes Tim Hawes (born 30 April 1965) is an English born songwriter, record producer and music publisher who has achieved in excess of ten million record sales including five number one singles. He is also a recipient of the prestigious Ivor Novello a ...

and Liz Winstanley for the group's third studio album, ''

Pure Pure may refer to: Computing * A pure function * A pure virtual function * PureSystems, a family of computer systems introduced by IBM in 2012 * Pure Software, a company founded in 1991 by Reed Hastings to support the Purify tool * Pure-FTPd, F ...

'' (2003), while production was helmed by Nik Hafemann along with Arno Kammermeier, Peter Hayo, and Walter Merziger who are credited under their production moniker Perky Park. The mid-tempo pop track incorporates minor

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

and

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

elements; the song's instrumentation includes

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s. Lyrically, it deals with picture-perfect

illusion An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may o ...

s in a relationship. The song was released as the album's lead single along with a cover version of Dutch rock band

Shocking Blue Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in 1967 in The Hague. It was part of the music movement in the Netherlands that was generally known by the name Nederbeat. The band had a number of hits throughout the counterculture movement during ...

's "

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

" (1969) on 22 April 2003 in

German-speaking Europe This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the German language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the German-speaking area (german: Deutscher Sprachraum) in Europe, ...

. "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" marked the group's first release without fifth band member

Jessica Wahls Jessica Martina Wahls (born 2 February 1977), also known under her nickname Jess, is a German pop singer and television host, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the " biggest-selling ...

following her break from the band due to maternity. Commercially, the single was an instant success: It debuted at number-one on the

German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

, the group's fourth single to do so. It also peaked at number ten in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and reached number seven on a composite

European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and '' Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

chart. The accompanying music video was directed by

Marcus Sternberg Marcus Sternberg (born 14 September 1965) is a German music video director and creative-producer. Biography Sternberg studied at the International Film School in London and has lived in Paris and Buenos Aires. Besides music videos he also direct ...

, and features the girls in a

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

-type building that was inspired by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

's ''Silver Clouds'' art installation and its large helium-filled, pillow-like forms made from silver

plastic film Plastic film is a thin continuous polymeric material. Thicker plastic material is often called a "sheet". These thin plastic membranes are used to separate areas or volumes, to hold items, to act as barriers, or as printable surfaces. Plas ...

. Each member of the band is also shown on other locations, following several story lines. "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" was promoted through numerous live appearances, including its world premiere at the '' Bravo Super Show'' on 8 March 2003 as well as performances on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' and '' Interaktiv''.

Background

After band member

' pregnancy break from the group after the end of the

Four Seasons Tour The Four Seasons Tour is a 2002 concert tour by German female pop group No Angels, organized to promote their second studio album '' Now... Us!'' (2002). Reception Local online magazine ''ka-news'' declared the concert "''the'' perfect show an ...

, the remaining four members of No Angels began intensifying work on their then-untitled third studio album. Encouraged to exercise more self-control on the longplayer after their critically acclaimed contribution to predecessor '' Now... Us!'', the band took over responsibility in composing, recording and selecting songs to guarantee a more personal theme on the album — a step that challenged criticism and growing scepticism among the band's label

Cheyenne Records ''Popstars'' is a German reality television series that began its first installment on the RTL II network on 14 November 2000. Part of the international ''Popstars'' franchise, it originated from the New Zealand reality programme of the same na ...

and recording company

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" was written by

and

from British production team

Jiant Jiant was a British record producer, record production and songwriter, songwriting team, headed by Tim Hawes and Pete Kirtley, working in the genres of pop music, pop, contemporary R&B, R&B and dance music, dance. Following their formation in 1999 ...

along with songwriter Liz Winstanley. Production was overseen by trio Perky Park, consisting of Arno Kammermeier, Peter Hayo, and Walter Merziger, and Nik Hafemann for Cheyenne Records. Thomas Blug played the

, while mixing was handled by Park. All vocals were recorded at the Weryton Studios in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, with Hafemann also serving as vocal producer and arranger.

Release and reception

Selected as the album's leading single by the group's records company, physical singles of "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" were issued on 22 April 2003 by Cheyenne Records. The

maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...

includes several remixes of the song, including a Video Mix and a Rock Version, as well as two versions of the band's rendition of Dutch rock band

's 1969 song "

." Written by

Robbie van Leeuwen Robbie van Leeuwen (born 29 October 1944) is a Dutch musician who was a guitarist, sitarist, background vocalist and main songwriter for Dutch bands, including The Motions and Shocking Blue. In 1967 he played guitar on the only single ever rele ...

and produced by frequent collaborator

Thorsten Brötzmann Thorsten Brötzmann is a German record producer, composer, and arranger. He collaborated with No Angels, Bro'Sis, Christina Stürmer, Monrose, Jeanette, Nina Kraljić, Oonagh, Alexander Klaws, and Modern Talking Modern Talking was a Germa ...

, No Angels initially recorded "Venus" for the commercials of

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...

's ''Women Venus Passion'' razors division. Critical reception towards "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" was generally positive, with ''CDstarts'' calling it "very best radio feed." Upon release, "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" peaked and debuted at

number one Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...

on the

in the week ending 5 May 2003. It became the band's fourth non-consecutive chart topper in Germany after "

Daylight in Your Eyes "Daylight in Your Eyes" is the debut single by German girl group No Angels. It was written by Tony Bruno and Tommy Byrnes and initially recorded by American rock band New Life Crisis. A Tony Moran-produced remix of their version appeared on the ...

" (2001), "

There Must Be an Angel "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" is a song by the British musical duo Eurythmics, released as the second single from their fifth studio album, '' Be Yourself Tonight'' (1985). It features a harmonica solo by American musician ...

" (2001) and " Something About Us" (2002). The song spent one week at the top of chart and remained another eight weeks within the top 75. It was eventually ranked 73rd on the national year-end chart. In

, "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" reached number ten, making it their sixth and final top ten single. It remained four weeks within the top twenty, and spent eleven weeks on the

Austrian Singles Chart Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

. In Switzerland, the song had a peak position of number forty-six. On ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s composite

, it peaked and debuted at number seven.

Music video

An accompanying music video for "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" was directed and produced by German music video director

for Marcus Sternberg Filmproduktion. His fourth collaboration with the band, filming took place in a

-type

loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...

Berlin-Tempelhof Tempelhof () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. The former airport and surroundings are now a park called ...

on 22 March 2003 and lasted 17 hours. Thomas Wedekind served as Sternberg's assistant, with Rüdiger Schwarz acting as camera and boom operator. Martin Lieckfeld was hired as lightning technician, while Volker Rehm was consulted as production designer. Based on an idea by Sternberg, the visuals in the video were inspired by American artist

's visual art movement, especially by his ''Silver Clouds'' art installation which consists of large helium-filled, pillow-like forms made from silver

. Thus, most scenes feature heavy late-

1960s fashion In a decade that broke many traditions, adopted new cultures, and launched a new age of social movements, 1960s fashion had a nonconformist but stylish, trendy touch. Around the middle of the decade, new styles started to emerge from small vil ...

and pop art images. Throughout the video, each member is seen interacting with a man who films her with a hand camera. Only

Nadja Benaissa Nadja Benaissa (born 26 April 1982) is a German singer and television personality. She rose to fame in late 2000 when she auditioned for the German adaption of the reality television show ''Popstars'' and became a member of the girl group No An ...

acts as a cinematographer herself, who in turn films a topless dancer. The first verse is sung by a curly-haired

Sandy Mölling Sandy Mölling (born 27 April 1981) is a German singer and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the members of the girl group No Angels, which were formed in 2000 on the German television talent show ''Popstars'', becoming one of ...

, who is filmed while performing in a narrow corridor made of

fluorescent tube A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet ligh ...

s at either side of her.

Vanessa Petruo Vanessa Anneliese Petruo-Zink (born 23 October 1979) is a German former singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. Born and raised in Berlin within a family of actors, she had minor roles in television and as a voice actress before ...

is seen dancing in front of a sitting man in a

tin foil Tin foil, also spelled tinfoil, is a thin foil made of tin. Tin foil was superseded after World War II by cheaper and more durable aluminium foil, which is still referred to as "tin foil" in many regions (an example of a misnomer). History ...

covered room with a

light bulb An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the soc ...

dangling from the ceiling.

Lucy Diakovska Ludmila Lubomirova "Lucy" Diakovska ( bg, Людмила Любомирова Дяковска; born 2 April 1976) is a Bulgarian and German singer and television personality. She rose to prominence as one of the founding members of the all-fem ...

is wearing a short dark

sequin A sequin () is a small, typically shiny, generally disk-shaped ornament. Sequins are also referred to as paillettes, spangles, or ''diamanté'' (also spelled ''diamante''). Although the words sequins, paillettes, lentejuelas, and spangles can ...

dress and is posing for a photographer against a silver brick wall, with lights pointed at her. Finally, Benaissa is sitting in an opulent wicker chair while a man is dancing in the window light behind her. During the instrumental break, the quartet is seen throwing helium-filled, pillow-like balloons around. Towards the end of the video, the members of No Angels are lined up in black clothes with microphones in front of them, and finish off with a basic dance routine.

Track listings

Notes * denotes co-producer

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Pure''. *

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

– Perky Park, Nik Hafemann * Vocal production – Nik Hafemann *

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

– Thomas Blug * Mixing – Jeo * Supervising producer – Nik Hafemann

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:No Angel (It's All In Your Mind) 2003 singles No Angels songs Number-one singles in Germany Songs written by Pete Kirtley Songs written by Tim Hawes