"Shine On" is a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

the House of Love The House of Love are an English alternative rock band, formed in London in 1986 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Guy Chadwick and co-founder and lead guitarist Terry Bickers. They rose to prominence in 1987 with their first single " Shine On", r ...

, written by

Guy Chadwick Guy Stephen Chadwick (born 21 March 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the frontman of alternative band the House of Love for which he wrote the majority of the band's material. The son of a soldier, Chadwick was ...

. It was originally released in 1987, when the band was on

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

, but failed to reach the UK top 100. The band's subsequent singles peaked outside of the top 40 until, in early 1990, "Shine On" was re-recorded, produced by

Tim Palmer Timothy J. Palmer (born 4 October 1962, in North Shields) is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter of rock music, rock and alternative rock, alternative music. He Audio mixing (recorded music), mixed Pearl Jam's d ...

and re-released. This time the song peaked at #20 in the UK, #24 in Ireland, and #171 in Australia. Their follow-up single, "Beatles and the Stones", was their final single to reach the UK top 40. The song is used for the skateboarder Corey Duffel's part in the

Osiris Shoes Osiris is a skateboard clothing brand founded in California by Swedish skater Tony Magnusson Tony Magnusson (born February 23, 1963) is a Swedish semi-retired professional skateboarder and part-owner of Osiris Shoes. Magnusson gained sign ...

video "Feed The Need" and in ''

Trigger Happy TV ''Trigger Happy TV'' is a hidden camera/ practical joke comedy television series. The original British edition of the show, produced by Absolutely Productions, starred Dom Joly and ran for three series on the British television channel Channel 4 ...

'' series 1. In 2006, the song was covered by

Apoptygma Berzerk Apoptygma Berzerk (; commonly abbreviated to APB or APOP) is a Norwegian musical group. They have achieved success with a brand of synth-pop, and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene and referring to themselve ...

and

Stephan Groth Stephan Groth (born 10 August 1971) is a Danish-Norwegian singer. He is the man behind Apoptygma Berzerk, an electronic body music act that plays in styles such as synthpop and futurepop. Groth was born in Odense but relocated with his famil ...

Composition

"Shine On" has been described as a "classic, full of dark glamour, shimmering, squalling, pre-shoegaze guitars and a massive chorus." It contains heavy use of

reverb Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abso ...

, with vocals sung by Guy Chadwick. The original version contained background harmonies by Andrea Heukamp, who left the band before the release of The House of Love's self-titled debut album. ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' listed "Shine On" as the 66th-best

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

single of the 1980s, praising the song for its "cinematic swirl of delicate beauty, with a thunderous rhythm and Terry Bickers' darkly shimmering guitar." A re-recorded version of the song in 1990 reached No. 20 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 ...

, one of two top-40 hits for the band in their native country.

Charts

References

1987 songs 1987 singles {{1980s-rock-song-stub