London Nights Explained

London Nights
Cover:London-boys-london-nights.jpg
Type:single
Artist:London Boys
Album:The Twelve Commandments of Dance
B-Side:"London Days" (the instrumental)
Released:[1]
Genre:Disco
Length:4:00
Label:WEA, TELDEC
Producer:Ralf René Maué
Prev Title:Requiem '89
Prev Year:1989
Next Title:Harlem Desire '89
Next Year:1989

"London Nights" is a song by British Europop duo London Boys, released in 1989 from their debut album, The Twelve Commandments of Dance. The single was written and produced by Ralf René Maué, and its cover artwork features photography from Andy Knight. It was a hit in the United Kingdom, Finland and Ireland where it was a top five hit, thus becoming the band's biggest hit single. Several formats of the single include an instrumental version of "London Nights", titled "London Days".

Lyrics and music

According to James Masterton, "London Nights" is similar to "Requiem", the duo's previous single, as it uses "the same formula of Gregorian chants, rap verses and uplifting choruses". Lyrically, it deals with parties and romance in London.[2]

Critical reception

A review in Pan-European magazine Music & Media said it found "shades of Boney M on this disco single. Basic but effective. After the big success in the UK, ready for the Continent".[3] To Masterton, "Maue's wall of sound production gave the track a swagger which turned it into a true disco epic".[2] Tim Nicholson of Record Mirror considered that the song marked London Boys' end of the game, as their performance "start[ed] to lose its impact".[4] Retrospectively, in a 2015 review of the parent album, the Pop Rescue website considered that "the tempo, throbbing basseline, and the mixture of choral synth samples and dance beat really makes this song really catchy", adding that many features are reminiscent of Pet Shop Boys.[5]

Chart performance

"London Nights" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 19 on July 1st, 1989, then climb to number three where it stayed for another week, reached a peak of number two the next week, being blocked from the number one slot by Sonia's "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You", and remained on the chart for nine weeks. It received a silver disc. It also entered the top five in Ireland where it hit number four and totaled eight weeks on the chart. In the other European countries, it reached number one in Finland, number nine in Switzerland, and number 24 in Germany. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it started at number 63 on July 8th, 1989, jumped to number 11 the next week and peaked at number six in its fourth week, and fell of the chart after 13 weeks. Mainly aired on UK radios, it reached number 24 on the European Airplay Chart and appeared on the chart for six weeks.

Track listings

A. "London Nights" – 4:00

B. "London Days" (the instrumental) – 3:56

A. "London Nights" – 8:22

B. "London Days" (the instrumental) – 3:56

A1. "London Nights" (London remix) – 7:33

B1. "London Nights" – 3:28

B2. "London Days" (the instrumental) – 3:56

  1. "London Nights" (single version) – 4:00
  2. "Requiem" (Continental remix) – 7:40
  3. "London Nights" (12-inch version) – 8:10

Charts

Weekly charts

1989 weekly chart performance for "London Nights"!Chart (1989)!Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 165
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[11] 6
Europe (European Airplay Top 50)[12] 24
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 1
UK (Airplay Top 20)[14] 4
UK Dance (Music Week)[15] 4

Year-end charts

1989 year-end chart performance for "London Nights"!Chart (1989)!Position
UK Singles (OCC)[16] [17] 39

Notes and References

  1. Smith. Robin. 17 June 1989. News. Record Mirror. 4.
  2. Book: Masterton, James . Chart Watch UK - Hits of 1989 . James Masterton . 2019 . London Boys . 9781090753205.
  3. Previews – Singles. Music & Media. 6. 30. 29 July 1989. 13. 29800226. World Radio History . 31 July 2023.
  4. Nicholson . Tim . 45 reviewed by Tim Nicholson . . 24 June 1989 . 31 . London . Spotlight Publications Ltd.. World Radio History . 0144-5804 . 24 October 2021.
  5. Web site: REVIEW: "THE TWELVE COMMANDMENTS OF DANCE" BY LONDON BOYS (CD, 1989) . Pop Rescue . 13 July 2015 . 25 October 2023.
  6. London Nights. London Boys. 1989. German 7-inch single sleeve. TELDEC. 247 019-7.
  7. London Nights. London Boys. 1989. UK 12-inch single sleeve. Warner Music Group. YZ 393T, 247 018-0.
  8. London Nights. London Boys. 1989. UK 12-inch remix single sleeve. Warner Music Group. YZ393 TX, 246 824-0.
  9. London Nights. London Boys. 1989. European mini maxi-CD single liner notes. Warner Music Group. YZ 393 CD, 247 017-2.
  10. Web site: Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 15 July 2015. January 27, 2024. imgur.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150716153430/http://i.imgur.com/oyPN1pW.jpg. July 16, 2015.
  11. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 6. 30. IV. 29 July 1989. 8 February 2021.
  12. European Airplay Top 50. Music & Media. 6. 32. 12 August 1989. III. 29800226. World Radio History. 31 July 2023.
  13. Book: Nyman, Jake. 2005. Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja. 1st. Tammi. Helsinki. 951-31-2503-3. fi.
  14. Playlist Report - The most played records in Europe. Music & Media. 6. 32. 12 August 1989. II. 29800226. World Radio History. 1 August 2023.
  15. Top Dance Singles . . 15 July 1989 . 34 . World Radio History . 2 August 2023.
  16. Year End Singles. Record Mirror. 44. 27 January 1990.
  17. Web site: Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1989. . Rob . Copsey . 7 May 2021. 25 October 2023.