"Waterfront" is a song by Scottish rock band

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United St ...

, released as the first release from their sixth studio album, ''

Sparkle in the Rain ''Sparkle in the Rain'' is the sixth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released on 6 February 1984 by record label Virgin in the UK and A&M in the US. A breakthrough commercial success for the band, the record peaked at number 1 ...

'' (1984), in 1983. It features a bass line consisting of a single note (D) throughout. The version as released on 7-inch vinyl single differs from versions available on CD. The original single did not feature the repetitive bass-line that leads into the main body of the song, but had a "one, two....one, two, three, four.." drumstick count-in by drummer

Mel Gaynor Mel George Gaynor (born 29 May 1959) is a British drummer, best known as the longtime drummer for the rock band Simple Minds. Biography Gaynor was born to a Jamaican father and an Afro-Brazilian mother. He began drumming at age 11 and had ...

. "Waterfront" became a chart hit around the world, topping the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

for two weeks during February 1984. It also reached number 13 on the

UK Singles Charts 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 ...

, number 16 in Sweden, number 19 in Australia, and number five in Ireland. Today, it is a live favorite and is regarded as one of the band's

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

Track listings

7-inch single # "Waterfront" – 4:43 # "Hunter and the Hunted" (recorded live at the City Hall, Newcastle, 20 November 1982) – 6:00 12-inch single # "Waterfront" (extended version) – 5:48 # "Hunter and the Hunted" (recorded live at the City Hall, Newcastle, 20 November 1982) – 6:00

Personnel

* Produced by

Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Big ...

* Engineered by Howard Gray * Words and music by Simple Minds * Additional production and remix on "Waterfront" (extended version) by Steve Lillywhite

Charts

In popular culture

An instrumental version of the track was used as the theme music for the 1989 Glasgow-set

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

drama serial ''The Justice Game''. It has been used for many years as the song

Sheffield Wednesday football club Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot o ...

come out to before home matches. The version originally played was a live version, but has since been changed to the studio recording. The track was used by

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

as the theme tune for their coverage of the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

in Glasgow. The track is featured in the 2021 documentary ''

Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

'', which is about

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...

References

{{Authority control 1983 singles 1983 songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Simple Minds songs Song recordings produced by Steve Lillywhite Songs written by Charlie Burchill Songs written by Derek Forbes Songs written by Jim Kerr Songs written by Mick MacNeil Virgin Records singles