"Signal Fire" is a song from British

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 ...

band Snow Patrol, appearing on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of the film '' Spider-Man 3'', released on 24 April, 30 April, 2 May and 14 May 2007, depending on the region. It was the only single released from the soundtrack. It was recorded at

Grouse Lodge Grouse Lodge is a recording studio near Rosemount, County Westmeath, Ireland. Designed by Andy Munro it has two studios and living quarters in nine stone outhouses, integrating the existing 275-year-old stone structure. Artists It has record ...

and was produced by long-time Snow Patrol producer

Jacknife Lee Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including the Cars, U2, R.E.M., the Killers, Robbie Williams, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, Two Door Cinema Club, AFI, the Hives, Weezer, One Dir ...

. The song was also initially offered to ''

Shrek the Third ''Shrek the Third'' (also known as ''Shrek 3'') is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The se ...

''. The single was released as a special web-shaped vinyl in the UK, where it became the band's most successful single, peaking at number 4. However, critical reception towards the single was generally mixed, with one critic calling it "unoriginal". The music video for the song was nominated for the Best Video from a Film category at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2008.

Background

The band visited Grouse Lodge with producer Jacknife Lee in early 2007 to record the song. Drummer

Jonny Quinn Jonathan Graham Quinn (born 26 February 1972) is a Northern Irish musician, best known as the drummer for alternative rock band Snow Patrol, and was previously a member of bands like The Mighty Fall, The New Brontes and Disraeli Gears. As drumm ...

, injured at the time because of his snowboarding accident in January, drummed with one hand during the recording sessions. A demo of the song was initially offered by the band for ''

'', but was rejected.

Gary Lightbody Gareth John Lightbody (born 15 June 1976) is a Northern Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has also founded the musical supergroups The ...

revealed the band's involvement with ''

Spider-Man 3 ''Spider-Man 3'' is a 2007 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi from a screenplay by Raimi, his older brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent. It is the final installment in Raimi's ...

'' on 5 March 2007. Quinn later said: "Shrek didn't like it, but Spider-Man did." Though he wasn't sure where the song would be appearing in the film, he was excited at being associated with the franchise and was quoted as saying: "'Signal Fire' will be featured in the trailers and the movie itself. It may only appear over the end credits, but hey, it's Spidey!" The song was finally used in the credits.

Promotion and release

Snow Patrol's website organized a competition to give away two tickets for

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

, which was open to UK and Ireland fans. Fans were required to create a video, which could be about anything, but the song had to be used as the soundtrack. Before the song was officially released, it was put up on the band's official website as a live stream. The website also revealed the single's artwork on 5 April. The single was released in three formats: Vinyl, CD and Digital Download and first appeared on sale on the US iTunes on 24 April, followed by rest of the world on the 30th. The physical CD single was released in Australia and Japan on 2 May. The Australian CD single was backed with three b-sides, all songs taken from a live performance. The single was released in the UK and Ireland in two formats: Vinyl and CD. Both formats were released on 14 May, which included a remix of the song "Wow". Remixed by

Eddy Temple-Morris Edward Owen Kayvan Temple-Morris (born 26 April 1965 in Cardiff) is a British DJ, record producer and TV presenter. He hosted London radio station XFM's specialist show ''The Remix'' for 15 years, The remix was later included on Temple-Morris' compilation album ''Dance Rocks''. The vinyl release was on a specially created web-shaped vinyl housed in a PVC sleeve. The single could also be pre-ordered from

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

and

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

Reception

Critical reception of the single was generally mixed. ''

MusicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

''s Jenni Cole reviewed the song positively, calling it "a decent song, whether it's tied to a blockbuster movie or not." She noted the crescendo at the song's end saying that it's an "unusual tempo that gives a definite impression of needing some accompanying visuals before it will make complete sense. Then it quietens down again, a bit like the fast, slow, fast, fast, slow that's supposedly the magic formula for plotting movie acts." She found the song gets "catchier the more times you hear it and it works remarkably well." She also felt the band "manage(d) to keep their own identity throughout the song - not always easy on a franchise soundtrack - and that deserves some praise on its own." The '' Daily Record''s Rick Fulton reviewed the single positively as well, writing it has Snow Patrol's "trade-mark epic quiet-slow, then loud-fast blueprint". He awarded it 4 stars out of 5 and named it the single of the week. ''

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 review was positive as well. If felt the song was "a powerful love song written in the first person". It praised Lightbody's vocals, saying that though it would be easy for a singer to overdo the chorus, Lightbody did it as if he was "unimpressed". However, ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

''s review of the single was extremely negative. It called the song "drab" and mocked the band for "doing the piano sap rock so effectively", saying only "moms and first dates" will like it. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' made comparisons between Gary Lightbody and "Spider-man" Peter Parker, saying both live double lives, with Lightbody's duality being a "mainstream/indie bastard hybrid". It said that both had to choose between their "good and dark sides". It then reviewed the single negatively, writing that the single "cops out, squatting uncomfortably between the two and leaving us in a web of indifference". ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...

'' Glenn Meads reviewed the single negatively. He called it "samey" and "unoriginal", with "all of the usual Snow Patrol trademarks; slow burning chorus, big production values, and heart felt lyrics - it all builds to a big crescendo". He further criticized the song as "empty" as a "summer blockbuster; like Spidey". The song made its live debut on 5 June 2007 at an exclusive show at

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, also known as King Tut's, is a live music venue and bar on St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and managed by Glasgow-based gig promoters DF Concerts. The Glasgow live music venue takes its name from a ...

for Xfm to good reception by the 350-strong crowd. ''

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...

'' had praise for the Eddy Temple-Morris remix of "Wow". The magazine also ordered ten copies of the vinyl, calling it "nifty". The single was a moderate success on the charts, charting in six charts around the world, where it spent a collective fifty-seven weeks. However, it was a success in the UK and Ireland, reaching number four and number two, respectively. It additionally reached the top 30 in Australia and France. Furthermore, the single is the band's biggest chart hit to date. The music video for "Signal Fire" was nominated for the "Best Video from a Film" category at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2008, which was won by

Hikaru Utada , who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential, and best-selling, musical artists in Japan. Born in the United States to Japanese parent ...

for her song " Beautiful World".

Music video

The band flew to Canada to shoot the video for the song, which premiered on the '' Q'' website on 13 April. On 16 April 2007 a 60-second promotional clip was shown on the band's official website, with members able to see the full video in the members section. The video was directed by Paul McGuigan, who had previously worked with the band for the video to "

Set the Fire to the Third Bar "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" is a song from Snow Patrol's fourth album, '' Eyes Open'', featuring Martha Wainwright on vocals. The song was released as a single on 13 November 2006. Background The song was the last track to be recorded ...

". Lightbody has also expressed his desire to work with McGuigan (among other independent film directors) on a film someday in the future. The video features school children enacting scenes from the first two

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

films on stage, with the band playing the song. It opens with a scene showing the children's parents making their way into the hall beside a board reading: "Tonight: Spider-Man". The curtain opens and children dressed as

Peter Parker Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...

and Mary Jane Watson appear on stage, with Parker taking photographs of Watson. A boy dressed as a spider is then shown being pulled up with ropes. He is then lowered down to the stage and proceeds to bite Parker on the neck. The next scenes show Parker's affinity for Watson, with Parker peeking at her through his bedroom window while she combs her hair. He then lies down to sleep as the song reaches its chorus. During the chorus he is shown to be "writhing" in the bed, which ends with him tearing his shirt open and revealing the Spider-Man costume underneath. He is then shown crawling and climbing buildings in the city in the full costume. As Lightbody sings "In the confusion and the aftermath...", a scene shows robbers who have just come out of a bank. Spider-Man arrives and proceeds to "hit" them; signs such as "POW!" are shown to create the effect. He then "catches" them with his web and the police arrives. Throughout this there are scenes of the boy dressed as the spider looking on. A child then shows a board saying "Spider-Man saves the day!!!", and Watson is shown swooning over the hero. The next scene shows the Green Goblin trying to kidnap Watson, but Spider-Man disorients him by throwing a web over him and Watson uses the distraction to escape.

Doctor Octopus Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''Th ...

then appears and begins to catch and kill various citizens with his claws. The next scene atop a bus shows Doctor Octopus trying to take Watson away, but she manages to run away after hitting him. Spider-Man then appears, fighting the villain and "killing" him. He is shown being lowered down and Watson comes to him, removing his goggles and revealing his identity. Then, the boy dressed as the spider comes up to her and kisses her on the cheek. The children bow down to thank the applauding audience, and a scene then shows the "spider" and Watson on a web, with the "spider" smiling for the first time. The "black Spider-Man" then makes an appearance, holding a board which reads "Coming soon! Spider-Man 3".

Track listing

*UK/Irish CD single: #"Signal Fire" – 3:57 #"Wow" (Eddy TM Loser Remix) – 5:39 *UK/Irish Web-shaped Vinyl: :A: "Signal Fire" – 3:57 :B: "Wow" (Eddy TM Loser Remix) – 5:39 *Digital Download: #"Signal Fire" – 3:57 *Australian CD single: #"Signal Fire" – 3:57 #"

Chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

" (Live) – 3:03 #"

Run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

" (Live) – 5:38 #"Spitting Games" (Live) – 4:17 Live tracks recorded at Columbiahalle,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on 9 February 2007. *UK Promo CD: #"Signal Fire" (Album Version) – 4:29

Charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

;Snow Patrol *

– lead vocals, guitar *

Nathan Connolly Nathan Connolly (born 20 January 1981) is a Northern Irish musician, who is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for alternative rock band Snow Patrol. Early life Connolly, who was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, sang for a ...

– guitar, backing vocals * Paul Wilson – bass guitar, backing vocals *

– drums *

Tom Simpson Thomas Simpson (30 November 1937 – 13 July 1967) was one of Britain's most successful professional cyclists. He was born in Haswell, County Durham, and later moved to Harworth, Nottinghamshire. Simpson began road cycling as a teenager b ...

– keyboards, backing vocals ;Other personnel *

– producer, programming, engineering *

Cenzo Townshend Vincenzo Capellini Townshend (born 28 October 1963) is an English record producer, mixer, and audio engineer, and has worked with artists and bands including the Rolling Stones, a-ha, Kaiser Chiefs, U2, Snow Patrol, Florence and the Machin ...

– mixing *Neil Comber – mixing (assistant) *John Davis – mastering *James Banbury – strings arrangement

Release history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Signal Fire (Song) 2000s ballads 2007 singles Snow Patrol songs Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Jacknife Lee 2007 songs Songs written by Gary Lightbody Spider-Man (2002 film series) Songs from Spider-Man films