"There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" is a song by the British musical duo

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...

, released as the second single from their fifth studio album, '' Be Yourself Tonight'' (1985). It features a

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

solo by American musician

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

. The song became a worldwide success; most notably in Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom, where it remains the duo's only chart-topper. The song has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by several musical artists, including

Brittany Murphy Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack (; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009) was an American actress and singer. Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and pursued a career in acting. Her breakthrough role was as Tai Fras ...

, Fantastic Plastic Machine,

Leningrad Cowboys The Leningrad Cowboys are a Finnish rock band who perform rock and roll covers of other songs. They have exaggerated pompadour hairstyles and wear long, pointy shoes. They often work with the Russian military band the Alexandrov Ensemble. Be ...

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

, Jessica G. Pilnäs and German girl group

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 ...

, who obtained their second number-one single in Austria and Germany with their rendition for the reissue of their album ''

Elle'ments ''Elle'ments'' is the debut studio album by German girl group No Angels. It was first released by Polydor–Zeitgeist and Cheyenne Records on 12 March 2001 in German-speaking Europe. After winning the inaugural season of the reality talent contes ...

'' in August 2001.

Original version

Upon its release, "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" became Eurythmics' first (and to date only) number-one single in the United Kingdom, reaching number one on 27 July 1985, whilst also topping the charts in Finland, Ireland and Norway. The song also reached the top 10 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, while peaking at number 22 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that the "

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

harmonies, slick Dave Stewart

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 ...

work and

's incredible harmonica" were highlights of the song. ''

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 ...

'' similarly praised Wonder's harmonica

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

and Lenox's "absolutely happy" lead vocals.

Music video

The music video for "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)", directed by Eddie Arno and Mark Innocenti, was shot at

New Wimbledon Theatre The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on the Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a Listed building, Grade II listed Edwardian era, Edwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J. B. Mulholland. B ...

in London in June 1985. It portrays the times of

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

(

David A. Stewart David Allan Stewart (born 9 September 1952) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for Eurythmics, his successful professional partnership with Annie Lennox. Sometimes credited as David A. Stewart, he won Best British ...

) being entertained while watching a theatre performance of singing angels (one of which is played by Steven O'Donnell).

Track listings

*7-inch single :A. "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (7″ edit) - 4:36 :B. "Grown Up Girls" - 4:17 *12-inch single :A. "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (LP version) - 5:22 :B. "Grown Up Girls" - 4:17 *12-inch single (Special Dance Mix) :A. "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (Special Dance Mix) - 6:20 :B. "Grown Up Girls" - 4:17

Credits and personnel

Eurythmics

– vocals, keyboards *

– keyboards

Additional personnel

– harmonica *

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born in ...

– strings *

Dean Garcia Dean Garcia (born 3 May 1958) is an English multi-instrumentalist musician, best known as a member of the alternative rock duo Curve from 1990 to 2005. He also released solo work and collaborated with many other artists. Biography Garcia was ...

– bass guitar *

Olle Romo Olle Romö is a Swedish music producer, songwriter, and drummer. Romo rehearsed with Swedish progressive rock group Kaipa in early 1982, however he left the group after a few weeks to join Eurythmics, and he was a drummer for them from the mid-to ...

– drums * Richard Cross – backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

No Angels version

Recording and release

In mid-2001, producers Patrik Majer, Ulf Leo Sommer, and

Rosenstolz Rosenstolz () was a German pop duo from Berlin that was active between 1991 and 2012 and had chart hits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The duo consisted of singer AnNa R. and musician Peter Plate, who occasionally provided vocals. R ...

member

Peter Plate Peter Plate (born 1 July 1967) is a German musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Between 1991 and 2012, he was the keyboardist and occasional vocalist of Rosenstolz, a German pop duo that had chart hits in Germany, Austria and Switzerl ...

consulted on a contemporary version of the track, recorded by German girl band

. Suggested for re-recording by band manager Joy Behar, the Eurythmics song was one of a couple of tracks considered to be remade by the quintet, but was eventually picked when the producers of the animated feature ' agreed to accept the track as film's theme song. "We were speechless and very happy about

he decision He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

The animated movie was a world premiere and something really big for us. We immediately said 'yes',"

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 ...

said in an interview.

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 ...

noted, that the song was an all-time favourite of the band: "I liked

' voice ever since I can remember." However, in a 2005 interview,

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 ...

revealed her discontent with the song, calling it the "most unnecessary" of all

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s the band had released between the years of 2001 and 2003. "There Must Be an Angel" premiered on 9 July 2001, on the RTL Berlin radio network, receiving a positive reception from music critics, and on 17 July 2001 a preview was available on-demand in its entirety on the band's official website. Finally released as the band's third single on 12 August 2001 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, ...

, the original

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

spawned both an unplugged and an orchestral version, latter featuring music by the

Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg The German Film Orchestra Babelsberg (also known as ''Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg'' or DFOB in German) is a symphony orchestra and music studio based in Potsdam, Germany. It was founded in 1918 as Ufa-Sinfonieorchester and was re-establish ...

. The record was subsequently included on the ''Special Winter Edition'' reissue of the ''

'' album (2001). "There Must Be an Angel" was awarded for "Top Single Germany" at the 2001 Top of the Pops Awards.

Commercial performance

The group's first non-album release following "

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 ...

" and " Rivers of Joy", the single 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 ...

, staying at the top for five consecutive weeks, 12 weeks in the top 40, and 17 weeks inside the top 60. "There Must Be an Angel" was eventually certified gold by the

Bundesverband Musikindustrie The Bundesverband Musikindustrie (English: Federal Music Industry Association), or simply BVMI, represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 280 labels and music industry related enterprises, which ...

(BVMI) for more than 250,000 shipped copies and ranked 13th on the 2001 year-end chart in Germany. In Austria, the single opened at number eight on the

Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Tuesdays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as ...

singles chart. However, it was not until 23 September 2001, the song's fifth week of release, "There Must Be an Angel" eventually climbed to the top spot. It remained another week at number one and spent 21 weeks within the top 60 of the chart, ranking 19th on the Austrian year-end chart in 2001. In Switzerland, the single debuted at number 36 on the

Swiss Singles Chart The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer Hitparade) is Switzerland's main Record chart, music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * ...

. Benefiting from strong airplay, the song reached number two in its third week of release, becoming No Angels' second highest-charting single there to date. As in Germany, "There Must Be an Angel" was certified gold by the Swiss arm of the

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 19 ...

(IFPI) and ranked 21 on the Swiss year-end chart. In Poland, "There Must Be an Angel" reached number 29 on the Polish Airplay Chart.

Music video

The music video for "There Must Be an Angel" was directed by Jörn Heitmann and filmed near the General-Steinhof-Kaserne at the

Gatow Airport Royal Air Force Gatow, or more commonly RAF Gatow, was a British Royal Air Force station (military airbase) in the district of Gatow in south-western Berlin, west of the Havel river, in the borough of Spandau. It was the home for the only kn ...

Berlin-Spandau Spandau () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') of Berlin in the homonymous borough (''Bezirk'') of Spandau. The historic city is situated, for the most part, on the western banks of the Havel river. As of 2020 the estimated population of Spandau was 39, ...

, Germany, on 19 July 2001. Inspired by

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as ''Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Day ...

's 1986 film ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an a ...

'', the clip features the quintet as

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

s of the fictional US military

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

68 at an also-fictional

airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

in Angelville, United States. Additionally, it incorporates a 1940s

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

theme, heavily inspired by performances of

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the Swing music, swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andre ...

and others during their

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

shows. Among the aircraft shown in the video are

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...

s, a

B-57 Canberra The Martin B-57 Canberra is an American-built, twin-engined tactical bomber and reconnaissance aircraft that entered service with the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1953. The B-57 is a license-built version of the British English Electric C ...

, an

F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fi ...

and a

Dassault Mystère The Dassault MD.452 Mystère is a 1950s French fighter-bomber. Development After the success of the Ouragan, Dassault was working on a more advanced machine which would take to the air in early 1951 as the MD.452 Mystère I. The first proto ...

. "There Must Be an Angel" world premiered in early August 2001 on television, but was temporarily banned from music networks due to its military theme, following the 11 September 2001 attacks.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the Special Winter Edition of ''Elle'ments''. * Vocals: N. Benaissa, L. Diakovska, S. Mölling, V. Petruo, J. Wahls * Writers: Patrik Majer,

, Ulf Leo Sommer * Mixing and recording: Patrik "El Pattino" Majer *Mastering: Michael Schwabe * Keyboards and programming: P. Majer **Additional keyboards: Peter Plate * Guitars: Peter Weihe * Strings: The Hamburg Strings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other cover versions

* In 1996,

covered the song in the television film ''Double Jeopardy''. * In 1997, Finnish parody rock band

recorded a cover for their 1997 album '' Mongolian Barbeque''. * In 1998, Fantastic Plastic Machine covered the song on his second album ''

Luxury Luxury may refer to: * Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge pu ...

''. * In 2001, German singer/band leader

Max Raabe Max Raabe (born Matthias Otto, 12 December 1962) is a German jazz singer. He is best known as the founder and leader of the Palast Orchester. Career Raabe developed an interest in the sound of German dance and film music of the 1920s and 193 ...

and Palast Orchester covered the song in

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

style for his ''Super Hits'' album. * In 2009, Brazilian artist

Fernanda Takai Fernanda Barbosa Takai (; born 25 August 1971) is a Brazilian singer, better known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Pato Fu. She has also been working on a solo career since 2007. In 2011, she collaborated with Atom™, ...

included a version for her solo ''Luz Negra'' album.Folha de S.Paulo, 1 November 2009. Retrieved on 4 February 2015
* In 2011,

covered the song for her Aphrodite Les Folies Tour. * In 2012, French singer

Louisy Joseph Lydy Louisy-Joseph (born 14 April 1978 in Vénissieux, a suburb of Lyon, France), better known by the shorter name Louisy Joseph, is a French singer of Martinique origin. She first joined the French series of ''Popstars'' as part of the girl b ...

covered the song on her second album ''Ma Radio''.

References

{{Authority control 1985 singles 1985 songs 1997 singles 2001 singles Eurythmics songs Gospel songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles No Angels songs Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Norway Polydor Records singles RCA Records singles Songs written by Annie Lennox Songs written by David A. Stewart UK Singles Chart number-one singles