"Heartbeat" is a song by Scottish pop singer-songwriter Jimmy Somerville, formerly the lead vocalist of the bands Bronski Beat and Communards. Released in January 1995 by London Records as the first single from his second solo album, Dare to Love (1995), it peaked at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart in February of that year and reached number in his native Scotland. The song also topped the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play for one week in April 1995, becoming Somerville's first and only solo number one on that chart. Backing vocals on the song are performed by American dance music singers Shawn Christopher and Yvonne Gage. The accompanying music video for "Heartbeat" was filmed in black-and-white.[2]
| "Heartbeat" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Jimmy Somerville | ||||
| from the album Dare to Love | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | January 16, 1995[1] | |||
| Genre | Hi-NRG | |||
| Length | 4:26 | |||
| Label | London | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Jimmy Somerville singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Heartbeat" on YouTube | ||||
Critical reception
editIn his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "This new single marks his re-emergence from a musical lay-off with an inoffensive piece of Hi-NRG pop but not a record that is destined to make major waves on the chart."[3] Sylvia Patterson from NME declared it as a "thigh-blistering" single.[4]
Personnel
edit- Jimmy Somerville – writing, lead vocals
- Shawn Christopher – backing vocals
- Yvonne Gage – backing vocals
- Richard Stannard – writing
- Matt Rowe – writing
- Stephen Hague – production, mixing
- Gianfranco Bortolotti – production
- Danny Weatherspoon – keyboards
- Eric Miller – remixing, arranging
- Luca Lauri – mixing, arranging
- Massimo Braghieri – arranging
- Mike Drake – remixing
- DJ R.A.F. – remixing
- Plus Staples – remixing
- George Maniatis – editing
- Jeff Luif – engineering, mixing
- Tiziano Giupponi – mixing
- Mauro Picotto – arranging
- Massimo Castrezzati – arranging
- Roberto Cipro – arranging
- Gary Butcher – writing, production, (B-side)
- Gary Wilkinson – production, mixing (B-side)
Charts
edit| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[5] | 26 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] | 39 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[7] | 71 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] | 18 |
| Germany (Media Control Charts)[9] | 54 |
| Italy (Musica e dischi)[10] | 21 |
| Scotland (OCC)[11] | 15 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[12] | 24 |
| UK Dance Singles (OCC)[13] | 8 |
| UK Club Chart (Music Week)[14] | 36 |
| UK on a Pop Tip Club Chart (Music Week)[15] | 26 |
| US Hot Dance Club Play (Billboard)[16] | 1 |
| US Hot Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[17] | 15 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 14 January 1995. p. 31.
- ^ "Jimmy Somerville – Heartbeat (Official Video)". YouTube. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ Masterton, James (22 January 1995). "Week Ending January 28th 1995". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ Patterson, Sylvia (24 June 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 56. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ Belgium – VRT Top 30 – "Heartbeat" Archived 9 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Belgium – Ultratop 50 – "Heartbeat"
- ^ "Music & Media: Europe's Music Radio Newsweekly. Volume 11. Issue 6" (PDF). Music & Media. BPI Communications. 11 February 1995. worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 9 June 2023. (see section 'Eurochart Hot 100 Singles', p. 13)
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Jimmy Somerville". Sisältää hitin – 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 240. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
- ^ Germany – Media Control Charts – "Heartbeat"
- ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 7 June 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Jimmy Somerville".
- ^ Scotland – Singles Chart – "Heartbeat"
- ^ UK – Singles Chart – "Heartbeat"
- ^ UK – Dance Singles Chart – "Heartbeat"
- ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). 28 January 1995. p. 6. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "The RM on a Pop Tip Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). 4 February 1995. p. 13. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ U.S. – Hot Dance Club Play – "Heartbeat"
- ^ U.S. – Hot Dance Singles Sales – "Heartbeat"