"Of the Night" is a song by British band

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...

, released on 11 October 2013 as the lead single from ''

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'' (2013), a reissue of their debut studio album '' Bad Blood'' (2013). The song debuted at number two 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 ...

, and has also charted in several other countries. The song was covered by

Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and Artists and ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

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Background and release

"Of the Night" is a mash up of two 1990s

Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...

songs, the 1993 hit "

The Rhythm of the Night ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

" by Italian act

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and the 1992 hit " Rhythm Is a Dancer" by German group

Snap! Snap! is a German Eurodance group formed in 1989 by Record producer, producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has been through a number of line-up changes over the years, including American singers, songwriters and rappers Thea A ...

. The song was first featured on Bastille's mixtape ''

Other People's Heartache ''Other People's Heartache'' is a series of mixtapes by Bastille. The first was released in February 2012, the second in December 2012, the third in December 2014, and the fourth in December 2018. Part one ''Other People's Heartache'' is a co ...

'', which was released in 2012 as a free download. "Of the Night" was later used in a promotional trailer for the eighth series of

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's ''

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'' in January 2013. It received its first radio play on

Huw Stephens Huw Meredydd Stephens (born 25 May 1981) is a Welsh radio and television presenter, currently broadcasting on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 6 Music. Stephens founded the Sŵn music festival with John Rostron and the yearly s ...

show on 9 October 2013, and was released digitally on 11 October 2013. On 15 November 2013, ''Of the Night'' EP was released, featuring three remixes of the song and a live recording of "Oblivion".

Critical reception

Paul Leake of Click Music gave the track five out of five stars, and called it "one of the most inspired covers ever made," adding that it evokes "doe-eyed nostalgia for the purity of 90s' dance music" and "modulates between the sombre heartbreak and quiet intensity."

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's Robert Copsey wrote, "On paper, Dan Smith & Co.'s gloomy, atmospheric re-working sounds like career-suicide, and while it certainly isn't that, by opting for such a daring choice it feels like all their hard work at carefully carving out their own niche has come undone."

Commercial performance

While set to become the band's first number one single at the midweek stage, the song debuted at number two on the

, selling 80,257 copies in its first week, only 660 copies less than

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings publi ...

's version of "

Somewhere Only We Know "Somewhere Only We Know" is a song composed and performed by English alternative rock band Keane, officially released as the first single from their debut album, ''Hopes and Fears'' (2004). The single peaked at number three on the UK Singles C ...

", becoming the narrowest chart race of 2013.

Music video

An official music video promoting the song was released onto

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on 9 October 2013. It was directed by Dave Ma (who has previously worked with

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Ghostpoet Obaro Ejimiwe (born 18 January 1983) is a British singer, songwriter and musician better known by his stage name Ghostpoet. His first album, ''Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam'', was shortlisted for the 2011 Mercury Prize. His 2015 album ''S ...

and Delphic), and stars American actor

James Russo James Vincent Russo (born April 23, 1953) is an American film and television actor. He has appeared in over 150 films in three decades. Early life Russo was born in New York City, New York, to an Italian father and German mother. A graduate of ...

(''

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'', ''

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'') as the main protagonist, a

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police detective who visits several crime scenes, including a woman shot at a motel, a woman overdosed on pills, a man drowned in a pool, a woman asphyxiated in a car trunk, a store clerk shot during a robbery, and a woman in a bathroom with her throat slashed. The corpses sing along with the music (it is heavily implied that the police detective is going crazy, hallucinating seeing the corpses sing, with their voices lip-synced). At one point the band members are seen conversing with the police, then told to face the wall and put their hands on their heads, while an officer searches them. The video ends with the police detective lying on the floor of a bathroom, singing along with the last few lines of the song. The camera pans out to reveal he has slashed his wrists. Mike Wass of

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called the video "quite possibly the most depressing video of the year."

Track listing

;Digital download # "Of the Night" – 3:34 ;Digital download (EP) # "Of the Night" – 3:34 # "

Oblivion Oblivion may refer to: Film * ''Oblivion'' (1994 film), an American space Western * ''Oblivion'' (2013 film), an American post-apocalyptic science fiction film Literature * ''Oblivion'' (''Power of Five''), a 2012 novel by Anthony Horowitz * ...

" (Live from

Capitol Studios Capitol Studios are recording studios located at the landmark Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, California. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capitol Records. While t ...

) – 3:08 # "Of the Night" (

MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK (, ), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Awards, Brit Award, and has received the ...

Remix) – 4:38 # "Of the Night" (Icarus Remix) – 5:20 # "Of the Night" ( Kove Remix) – 6:15 # "Of the Night" (music video) – 3:51 ;CD maxi single # "Of the Night" – 3:34 # "Of the Night" (MNEK Remix) – 4:38 ;10" vinyl (limited to 1,000 copies) ;;Side A # "Of the Night" – 3:34 # "Of the Night" (MNEK Remix) – 4:38 ;;Side B # "Oblivion" (Live from Capitol Studios) – 3:08 # "Of the Night" (Icarus Remix) – 5:20

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control Bastille (band) songs 2013 singles Mashup songs 2013 songs Virgin Records singles Songs written by Ann Lee (singer) Synth-pop songs Songs written by Giorgio Spagna