"On the Beach" is a song by British singer-songwriter

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, fie ...

that was released in 1986 as the second single from his eighth studio album, '' On the Beach''. It was written by Rea and produced by Rea and David Richards. "On the Beach" reached No. 57 in the United Kingdom in 1986 and also charted in France and the Netherlands. In 1988, Rea re-recorded "On the Beach" for his album ''

New Light Through Old Windows ''New Light Through Old Windows'' is the first compilation album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1988. The album consists primarily of re-recordings of songs from Rea's earlier albums, as well as the new track "Working on It" ...

'' and released it as a single. Produced by Rea and

Jon Kelly Jon Kelly is a British audio engineer and record producer, who began his career as an engineer at Air London Studios. He has produced albums and singles for Chris Rea, the Damned, Kate Bush (where he co-produced with Bush on her third album '' ...

, it reached No. 12 in the UK and No. 18 in Ireland. In 1989, it reached No. 9 on the US ''

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 ...

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart.

Background

"On the Beach" was inspired by the Spanish island

Formentera Formentera (, ) is the smallest and most southerly island of the Pityusic Islands group (comprising Ibiza and Formentera, as well as various small islets), which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community (Spain). It covers an area of ...

off the coast of

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

. Speaking to ''Songfacts'', Rea said, "That's where me and my wife became me and my wife. That's what it's about. Yeah, I was 'between the eyes of love.' It's a lovely island if ever you're in Europe."

Critical reception

In a retrospective review of the ''On the Beach'' album, Rob Caldwell of

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 ...

described the song as the "standout track", adding that the original version was "the most evocative, a little slower and more meditative than heothers." He recommended the song further by selecting it as an AMG Pick Track. Mike DeGagne, in an AllMusic review of ''New Light Through Old Windows'' commented that the song, along with "Let's Dance", "represent a lean toward a more commercial sound."

Track listing

Original release

7-inch single # "On the Beach (Special Remix)" – 4:20 # "If Anybody Asks You" – 5:00 7-inch single (alternative release) # "On the Beach" – 5:03 # "On the Beach (Special Remix)" – 4:20 2x 7-inch single (UK limited edition release) # "On the Beach (Special Remix)" – 4:20 # "If Anybody Asks You" – 5:00 # "Chris Rea Live" – 3:37 Live at the Hammersmith Odeon - London 2 May 1986 # "Chris Rea Live" – 4:31 Live at the Hammersmith Odeon - London 2 May 1986 7-inch single (US release) # "On the Beach (Edit)" – 3:47 # "Se Sequi" – 5:03 7-inch single (US promo) # "On the Beach (Edit)" – 3:47 # "On the Beach (Edit)" – 3:47 12-inch single # "On the Beach (Special Extended Remix)" – 6:02 # "If Anybody Asks You" – 5:00 # "On the Beach (Special Remix)" – 4:20 12-inch single (Italian promo) # "On the Beach (Special Remix)" – 4:20 # "If Anybody Asks You" – 5:00 # "One Golden Rule" – 4:45 # "Midnight Blue" – 6:28

1988 release

7-inch single # "On the Beach Summer '88" – 3:45 # "I'm Taking the Day Out" – 3:25 12-inch single # "On the Beach Summer '88" – 6:50 # "I'm Taking the Day Out" – 3:25 # "It's All Gone (Live in Montreux)" – 8:10 CD single # "On the Beach Summer '88" – 3:44 # "I'm Taking the Day Out" – 3:23 # "It's All Gone (Live in Montreux)" – 8:11 # "September Blue" – 3:06 CD single (US promo) # "On the Beach (Edit)" – 3:47 # "On the Beach (LP Version)" – 6:50

Personnel

1986 version *

- vocals, instruments, producer * David Richards - producer, mixing on "On the Beach" * David Scavenger - mixing on "If Anybody Asks You" * Ekkeheart Gurlitt - photography 1988 version * Chris Rea - vocals, instruments, producer *

- producer, engineer * Justin Shirley-Smith - assistant engineer

Charts

1986 release

1988 release

York version

In 1999, German dance music group

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

the guitar riff for their track "O.T.B. (On the Beach)". In June 2000, it debuted and peaked at No. 4 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 sold over 200,000 copies to earn a Silver certification from the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

. Rea himself played guitar with them for their performance of the track 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 ...

''. Rea also stated on British radio that he had intended to go to Ibiza with York for live promotions but was unable due to a recent heart attack.

Track listings

German maxi-CD single # "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Vocal Radio Mix) – 3:36 # "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Magic Marc's Radiomix) – 3:41 # "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Milk & Sugar Radio Version) – 3:40 # "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Hitch Hiker & Dumondt Radio Version) – 3:30 # "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Eivissa@night.mix) – 6:36 # "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Milk & Sugar's "Munich Is Burning" Club Mix) – 8:07 # "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Hitch Hiker & Dumondt Club Mix) – 8:10 Italian CD single # "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Basic Connection Edit) – 3:18 # "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Basic Connection Mix) – 6:40 # "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Hitch Hiker & Dumondt Club Mix) – 8:10 # "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Eivissa@Night.Mix) – 6:33 Belgian 12-inch single :A1. "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Milk & Sugar Club Mix) – 8:07 :A2. "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (CRW Mix) – 6:52 :B1. "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Original Mix) – 7:13 :B2. "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Hitch Hiker & Dumondt Club Mix) – 8:10 US 12-inch single :A1. "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (CRW Mix) – 6:40 :A2. "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" – 8:07 :B1. "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Eivissa@Night Mix) – 6:36 :B2. "O.T.B. (On the Beach)" (Hitch Hiker & Dumondt Club Mix) – 8:10

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Chris Rea 1986 songs 1986 singles 1988 singles 1999 singles Chris Rea songs Magnet Records singles Songs about beaches Songs written by Chris Rea Warner Records singles