Promised You a Miracle

This article is about the song. For the book, see Andy Beckett.

"Promised You a Miracle"
Single by Simple Minds
Single by Simple Minds
from the album New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)
B-side"Theme for Great Cities"
Released2 April 1982 (1982-04-02)
Recorded12–14 February 1982[1][2]
StudioThe Town House, London
Genre
Length3:59
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Derek Forbes and Mick MacNeil
Producer(s)Peter Walsh
Simple Minds singles chronology
"I Travel (reissue)"
(1982) 		"Promised You a Miracle"
(1982) 		"Glittering Prize"
(1982)

"Promised You a Miracle" is a 1982 song by Scottish band Simple Minds and was released as the first single from their fifth studio album New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84). It was the band's first chart hit in the UK,[5] reaching #13 in the UK singles chart and charting for 11 weeks.[6] Their previous nine UK singles yielded no Top 40 hits in that country[7] although some had sold well in Scotland.

It was the only song on the album that included Kenny Hyslop as the studio session drummer.[8] Mike Ogletree and Mel Gaynor contributed for the other eight tracks.

The song triggered a prolonged period of commercial success for the band, during which they yielded 21 original UK hit singles in a row, up to and including 1998's "Glitterball" from the album Neapolis.[9][10] It also enabled them to make their debut on the British music television show Top of the Pops.[11][12]

The music video, directed by Steve Barron,[13] features the band members playing amidst colour television imagery, interspersed with an uncredited female model passing through an airport X-ray and sunbathing.

A live version from the album Live in the City of Light was released in 1987. The video was a simulated live performance filmed in London's east end. Directed by John Scarlett-Davis and produced by Nick Verden.

Style

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"Promised You a Miracle" is a dance track which is driven by a combination of "deep electronic beats"[14] from the keyboards of Mick MacNeil and a "deft hook line and riff"[5] courtesy of Charlie Burchill's guitar play. The song was inspired by a Funk band that drummer Kenny Hyslop had recorded from an American radio station on a tape. The band got fascinated by a brass riff they heard and worked on the idea that eventually became the riff on "Promised You a Miracle", and, inspired to summon up the positive feel of the music, Jim Kerr wrote the lyrics to the song.[15] It was considered by Jim Kerr to be the first "pure pop" song written by the band, as their first attempt to craft a song specifically for radio listeners.[15] The song is considered to be a bridging point between the atmospheric and "echo-laden"[16] New wave sound of Sons and Fascination and the stadium pop-rock of the band's later years, due to the clean, crisp production of the band's new producer Peter Walsh, which AllMusic notes gives it a "brash pop edge".[17]

Release

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"Promised You a Miracle" was released as a single in April 1982 during the second leg of the band's Sons and Fascination Tour, where the song was performed live. As the band at that point had not recorded any other new material, the instrumental track "Theme for Great Cities" was lifted from their 1981 album Sister Feelings Call as the b-side of the single. The 12" release also featured an instrumental remix of "Seeing Out the Angel" from the Sons and Fascination album. The cover, designed by Malcolm Garrett, featured a still from the "Sweat in Bullet" video.[15]

Critical reception

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"Promised You a Miracle" has been praised by many critics as one of Simple Minds' strongest songs. Cashbox called it "a cute attempt by this English outfit to boogie with the best of them."[18] Dave Thompson of AllMusic noted its "funky bass line", "bright melody", and "splashy keyboard hook".[19] Dave Simpson in The Guardian referred to the song as a "showcase of early-80s optimism" with a "wistful edge".[20] A feature in a 2002 edition of Uncut by David Stubbs said: "What's so great about this track, and indeed 'Big Sleep', isn't just its combination of stinging riff with delicate mosaic musical colouring, but its subtle rhythmical patterns, which are a feature of the whole album".[21] A later Uncut review described the song as a "teetering moment of pop promise they could never surpass".[22]

Chart performance

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Weekly charts

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Year-end charts

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Chart (1982) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[34] 89

Track listing

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7" single

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  • Virgin VS 448
  1. "Promised You a Miracle" – 3:59
  2. "Theme for Great Cities" – 5:50

12" single

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  • Virgin VS 488-12
  1. "Promised You a Miracle" (Extended) – 4:49
  2. "Themes for Great Cities" – 5:50
  3. "Seeing Out the Angel" (Instrumental) – 6:32[35]

References

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  1. ^ "dream giver redux | songs | released | promised you a miracle". simpleminds.org.
  2. ^ "dream giver redux | timeline". simpleminds.org.
  3. ^ a b Reynolds, Simon (1 January 2005). "New Gold Dreams 81-82-83-84: The Peak and Fall of New Pop". Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984. Faber & Faber. p. 40>. ISBN 0-571-21570-X. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  4. ^ Heller-Nicholas, Alexandra (2016). "Simple Minds – New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 491.
  5. ^ a b Glittering Prize 81/92 Cassette Sleeve Notes by Brian Hogg, 1992
  6. ^ a b "1982 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive – 15th May 1982". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  7. ^ "Glittering Prize". AllMusic.
  8. ^ New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) Sleeve Credits, 1982
  9. ^ "Simple Minds Singles". Dream Giver Redux.
  10. ^ "Simple Minds Hits". everyHit.com.
  11. ^ The Best of Simple Minds CD Sleeve Notes by Billy Sloan, 2001
  12. ^ "Promised You A Miracle". Dream Giver Redux.
  13. ^ Zoë Howe (2014). "17". Stevie Nicks: Visions Dreams & Rumours. Omnibus Press.
  14. ^ "AllMusic – New Gold Dream". AllMusic.
  15. ^ a b c "Quotes". Dream Giver Redux.
  16. ^ "AllMusic – Early Gold". AllMusic.
  17. ^ "AllMusic – Promised You A Miracle". AllMusic.
  18. ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cashbox. 26 March 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Promised You A Miracle". AllMusic.
  20. ^ Simpson, Dave (30 November 2008). "Simple Minds". The Guardian. London.
  21. ^ "New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)". simpleminds.org.
  22. ^ "Uncut – Early Gold". Uncut.
  23. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  24. ^ "Simple Minds – Promised You A Miracle" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  25. ^ a b "Promised you a miracle and Promised you a miracle (live) in Irish Chart". IRMA. Retrieved 17 June 2013. Only results when searching "Promised you a miracle"
  26. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Simple Minds" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  27. ^ "Simple Minds – Promised You A Miracle" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  28. ^ "Simple Minds – Promised You A Miracle". Top 40 Singles.
  29. ^ "Simple Minds – Promised You A Miracle". Singles Top 100.
  30. ^ "Simple Minds awards on AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  31. ^ "Promised You A Miracle in French Chart" (in French). Dominic DURAND / InfoDisc. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013. You have to use the index at the top of the page and search "Simple Minds"
  32. ^ "Promised you a miracle (live) in GfK Dutch Chart". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  33. ^ "Promised You A Miracle (Live) – 1987 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive – 4th July 1987". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  34. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1982". Kent Music Report. 3 January 1983. Retrieved 22 January 2023 – via Imgur.
  35. ^ "Track listing". Dream Giver Redux.
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