"Right Here, Right Now" is a song by British

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Jesus Jones Jesus Jones are a British alternative rock band from Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, formed in late 1988, who continue to record and perform, as of 2025. Their track " Right Here, Right Now" was an international hit, and was subsequently globall ...

from their second studio album, ''

Doubt Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, and is certainty, uncertain about them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and wikt:disbelief, disbelief. It may i ...

'' (1991). It was released as the album's second single on 24 September 1990. Although it spent only nine nonconsecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 31, it became a top-10 hit in the United States; it topped the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart and reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in July 1991. The single sold over one million copies, won a

BMI Award The BMI Film & TV Awards are accolades presented annually by Broadcast Music, Inc., honoring songwriters, composers, and music publishers in various genres. Based in the United States, the main pop music award was founded in 1952. The awards inclu ...

, and was the most-played song on college radio in 1991.

Content

The song was inspired by the

Revolutions of 1989 The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Communist state, Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts ...

in Europe, particularly

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...

in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Mike Edwards has said that some of the lyrics were influenced by the band's experiences playing in Romania in February 1990 shortly after the overthrow of Nicolae Ceaușescu. The lyrics were also inspired by the 1987

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

song "

Sign o' the Times ''Sign o' the Times'' (often stylized as ''Sign "☮︎" the Times'') is the ninth studio album by the American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was first released on March 31, 1987, as a double album by Paisl ...

" and a 1989 cover version of it by

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

, which the members of Jesus Jones had first heard during television coverage of the

fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (, ) on 9 November in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions we ...

. Edwards' original demo for "Right Here, Right Now" featured samples of the Prince song, as well as guitar solos by

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

, but producer Martyn Phillips removed both elements from the song before the band recorded it. The official video for the song shows the band performing on stage mixed with images from contemporary political events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, news footage of the

collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

and speeches by American and Soviet leaders.

Reception

The song was number 14 on a list of the 50 greatest conservative rock songs by the ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'' in June 2006. The list's author John J. Miller explained, "The words are vague, but they’re also about the fall of

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

and the end of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

."Miller, John J. "Rockin’ the Right," ''National Review'', June 5, 2006.
Retrieved September 6, 2023.

Credits

* Produced by Martyn Phillips * Recorded at Matrix Studios and Ezee Studios in London * Engineer

Darren Allison Darren Allison (born May 1968, Ashington, Northumberland, England) is an English record producer, musician, and audio engineer, best known for his production work with artists such as Spiritualized,Kempster, Chris "Studio secrets of the sta ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Covers

A cover version was recorded by

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

band

the Feelers The Feelers are a New Zealand pop rock band formed in the early 1990s in Christchurch by James Reid (singer/guitarist) and Hamish Gee (drums/guitar). History The Feelers were signed by Warner Music and released their first album, '' Super ...

and released as a single in 2010 and on the album '' Hope Nature Forgives''. It was chosen as the anthem to the 2011 Rugby World Cup advertising campaign.

References

{{Authority control 1990 singles 1990 songs Anti-war songs Cashbox number-one singles EMI Records singles Environmental songs Food Records singles Jesus Jones songs SBK Records singles