Eternal Flame (song)

"Eternal Flame"
U.S. commercial cassette release
Single by The Bangles
from the album Everything
B-side "What I Meant to Say"
Released February 17, 1989
Format
Recorded 1988; Studio 55, Ocean Way Recording (Los Angeles, California)
Genre Soft rock[1]
Length 3:56
Label CBS
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Davitt Sigerson
The Bangles singles chronology
"In Your Room"
(1988)		 "Eternal Flame"
(1989)		 "Be with You"
(1989)
Music video
"Eternal Flame" on YouTube

"Eternal Flame" is a love song by American rock group the Bangles from their 1988 album Everything. It became a hit single, when released in 1989, peaking at number one in the charts in nine countries, including Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was written by the established songwriting partnership of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly (becoming the pair's fifth Billboard Hot 100 number one in five years) along with the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs. Having previously reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1986 with "Walk Like an Egyptian," the Bangles became only the third all-female group to score multiple number-ones in the United States, after the Supremes (twelve) and the Shirelles (two).

History

Unlike the rest of the more uptempo songs on their album Everything, "Eternal Flame" is a ballad. Co-writer Billy Steinberg describes it as "the Beatles meet the Byrds."

The song was inspired by two eternal flames: one at the gravesite of Elvis Presley that the Bangles saw when the band visited Graceland,[2] and one at a local synagogue in Palm Springs which Steinberg attended as a child.[3] Steinberg recalled to Songfacts: "Susanna was talking about the Bangles having visited Graceland, and she said there was some type of shrine to Elvis that included some kind of eternal flame. As soon as those words were mentioned, I immediately thought of the synagogue in the town of Palm Springs, California where I grew up. I remember during our Sunday school class they would walk us through the sanctuary. There was one little red light and they told us it was called the eternal flame."[4]

In the BBC programme I'm in a Girl Group, Hoffs revealed she actually sang the studio recording of the song completely naked after producer Davitt Sigerson pranked her by telling her Olivia Newton-John had done the same thing, but he later told Hoffs he had been lying the whole time.

It spent one week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100[5] and topped the US adult contemporary chart for two weeks.[6]

The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart in February 1989 at number 81 and peaked at number one in April, spending four weeks there. It went on to spend twenty weeks in the chart and was the UK's third best-selling song of 1989.

The song spent three weeks at number one in Sweden and 18 weeks in the Swedish charts

The song also spent seven weeks at number one in the Dutch Top 40. The song was Australia's 4th biggest selling single of 1989 and was sent up on the Australian TV show Fast Forward.

Charts and certifications

Personnel

Tomoya Nagase featuring 3T version

"Eternal Flame"
Single by Tomoya Nagase featuring 3T
Released 1997
Format CD
Recorded 1996
Genre J-pop
Length 3:56
Label Universal Music Japan
Songwriter(s) Susanna Hoffs
Tom Kelly
Billy Steinberg
Producer(s) 3T
Tomoya Nagase featuring 3T singles chronology
"Gotta Be You"
(1996)		 "Eternal Flame"
(1997)		 "Stuck on You"
(2003)

In 1997, a Japanese version of the song was recorded by Tomoya Nagase, the vocalist of the Japanese idol rock group Tokio, featuring 3T. This song was used as the theme song of the Nippon TV drama DXD, in which Nagase played the main role. He also wrote the Japanese version lyrics. This version was released as a single in Japan under the name of "Tomoya with 3T".

Charts

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Oricon Japanese International Chart 12

Human Nature version

"Eternal Flame"
Single by Human Nature
from the album Counting Down
Released October 17, 1999
Format CD single
Recorded 1999
Genre Pop
Length 3:25
Label Sony Music Entertainment/Columbia Records
Songwriter(s) Susanna Hoffs
Tom Kelly
Billy Steinberg
Producer(s) Andrew Klippel
Human Nature singles chronology
"Don't Cry"
(1999)		 "Eternal Flame"
(1999)		 "Be There With You"
(2000)

In 1999, Australian group Human Nature covered "Eternal Flame" and released it as the fourth single from their second album Counting Down. It peaked at number eight on the ARIA singles chart and was certified gold.[37]

Track listings

  • Australian CD single 1 Cat. 667915 2
  1. "Eternal Flame"
  2. "She's So Gone"
  3. "Breaking Me Down"
  4. "Don't Cry" (Discothèque Club remix)
  5. "Eternal Flame" (music video)
  • Australian CD single 2 Cat. 667915 5
  1. "Eternal Flame"
  2. "Shake You Outta My Head" from the Happy Days production
  3. "She's So Gone"
  4. "Breaking Me Down"
  5. "Don't Cry" (Discothèque Club remix)
  6. "Eternal Flame" (music video)

Charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[38] 8
Year-end chart (1999) Position
Australia (ARIA)[39] 58

Atomic Kitten version

"Eternal Flame"
Single by Atomic Kitten
from the album Right Now (re-issue)
Released July 23, 2001
Format CD single, cassette
Recorded 2001
Genre Pop
Length 3:17
Label Virgin
Songwriter(s) Susanna Hoffs
Tom Kelly
Billy Steinberg
Producer(s) Ray Ruffin
Atomic Kitten singles chronology
"Whole Again"
(2001)		 "Eternal Flame"
(2001)		 "You Are"
(2001)

British pop girl group Atomic Kitten subsequently recorded the song in 2001 and released as the sixth overall single and lead single from the reissue of the debut studio album, Right Now. It was the group's first single to feature new band member Jenny Frost. Their version was produced by multi-platinum singer producer Ray Ruffin.

Track listing

Australian CD

  1. "Eternal Flame" (Single Version) – 3:15
  2. "Right Now" (Jenny Frost version) – 3:35
  3. "Right Now" (K-Klass Phazerphunk Club Mix) – 7:22
  4. "Eternal Flame" (Blacksmith RnB Club Dub) – 3:55
  5. "Right Now" (video)

UK CD

  1. "Eternal Flame" (Single Version) – 3:15
  2. "Album Medley" – 5:30
  3. "Eternal Flame" (Blacksmith RnB Club Rub) – 3:54
  4. "Eternal Flame" (video)

UK cassette

  1. "Eternal Flame" (Single Version) – 3:15
  2. "Album Medley" – 5:30
  3. "Dancing in the Street" – 3:39

Music video

The video begins with the band members walking up to the screen in a stylized pace, in plain white clothes and bare feet, with a dark background. This is shown often in the video, and is also how the video ends. Throughout the video, each of the band members do different poses and dance moves in time to the song, with the dark, cloudy background in place. Also in one of the scenes in the video, all three band members are seen in a line, with a glass floor and four metal posts with lights in the background that accompanies the perennial dark background. In this scene, the girls are seen doing a basic dance routine in time with the song. For Jenny's solo, she is seen lying down on the floor doing a sexy pose. However, Frost later claimed in the So Far So Good DVD, that she had tonsillitis for the video shoot, and was lying down due to being ill and couldn't stand up.[40] There is also a version of the video that contains clips from the movie The Parole Officer which was taken from the DVD "So Far So Good".

Chart performance

Atomic Kitten made the song another massive success; it entered the top twenty in every country it was released, except for Australia, where it peaked at number 47. It entered at number one in the UK, staying at the top for two weeks. On its first day, "Eternal Flame" sold 35,358 copies, and its closest rival was Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious", which sold 13,182 copies in its opening day. The song sold over 140,000 copies in its first week and 70,000 copies in its second week. The song sold over 400,000 copies in the UK, and was certified Gold. The single entered the top five in over ten countries. The single went to number two in the French singles chart, a huge success, and became one of the best selling singles by a girl group of all time in France. However, it was their only single to reach the top 20, making them one-hit wonders there. It was certified gold for sales of over 250,000 copies. Atomic Kitten's version charted higher in France than the original version by the Bangles.

Over a year later, the single appeared in the Canadian Singles Chart. "Eternal Flame" was Atomic Kitten's only single to chart over there. It debuted at number 20, and peaked at number 15. It spent twelve weeks in the top forty—five of which were in the top twenty, making the song a moderate success. The single was also a number-one hit in the Flanders region of Belgium, and Atomic Kitten's became their best-selling single there, subsequently lasting sixteen weeks on the chart; it became the 28th best selling single of 2001 in Belgium. It also spent one week at number one in New Zealand. "Eternal Flame" went on to sell over one million copies worldwide and was certified Gold in the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, and New Zealand.

Charts and certifications

Other cover versions

The song was covered in 2000 by Rollergirl on the album Now I'm Singin'... and the Party Keeps On Rollin', and released as a single which peaked at #87 in the Swiss Charts.[74] Bonnie Tyler and French singer Laura Zen recorded a version in 2011 which went to French radio stations on Monday August 29. The song was named "Eternal Flame (Amour éternel)".[75] In 2017, Shane Filan of Westlife included this fan-favorite song on his album Love Always which reached Top 3 in Scottish Albums Chart and Top 5 in UK Albums Chart and Irish Albums Chart.

Charts (2017) Peak
position
Nepal (Official Charts Company) 35

References

  1. ↑ Stone, Rolling (June 12, 2014). "Toto Eclipse of the Heart: The Best of Eighties Soft Rock". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  2. ↑ Susanna Hoffs, "Commentary", the Bangles, Return to Bangleonia, DVD, 2007
  3. ↑ Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, 500 Nr. 1 hits uit de Top 40, page 261, 9023009444
  4. ↑ "Eternal Flame". Songfacts.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100 Archives". Billboard.com. Billboard. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  6. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 28.
  7. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Bangles – Eternal Flame". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  8. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Bangles – Eternal Flame" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  9. ↑ Canadian peak
  10. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  11. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Bangles – Eternal Flame" (in French). Les classement single.
  12. ↑ "Musicline.de – Bangles Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  13. ↑ "Irish Singles Chart – Search for song". Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 15, 1989" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  15. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bangles – Eternal Flame" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  16. ↑ "Charts.nz – Bangles – Eternal Flame". Top 40 Singles.
  17. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bangles – Eternal Flame". VG-lista.
  18. ↑ "Top 3 Portugal" (PDF). Music & Media. August 19, 1989. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Bangles – Eternal Flame". Singles Top 100.
  20. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Bangles – Eternal Flame". Swiss Singles Chart.
  21. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  22. ↑ "Bangles Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  23. ↑ "Bangles Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  24. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  25. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Austria Top 40 - Hitparade Österreich". austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  26. ↑ "1989". Luckysdb.be. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  28. ↑ "De Single Top 100 Over 1989" (PDF). Top40.nl. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 22, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  29. ↑ "INFINITY CHARTS: German Top 20". Ki.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de. February 12, 1997. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  30. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1989". hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  31. ↑ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1989". Cashboxcountdowns.com. December 30, 1989. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  32. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1989 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  33. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  34. ↑ "British single certifications – Bangles – Eternal Flame". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Eternal Flame in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  35. ↑ Jones, Alan (January 27, 1990). "Chartfile". Record Mirror. pp. 44–45.
  36. ↑ "American single certifications – Bangles – Eternal Flame". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  37. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 1999 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 12, 2009.
  38. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Human Nature – Eternal Flame". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  39. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 1999". aria.com.au. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  40. ↑ "Atomic Kitten - So Far So Good (DVD part 4)". YouTube. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  41. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  42. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  43. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  44. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  45. ↑ "Brazil" (PDF). ABPD. October 6, 2001. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  46. ↑ "Atomic Kitten > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic Macrovision. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
  47. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame". Tracklisten.
  48. ↑ "Atomic Kitten Crawls Up Euro Albums Chart". Billboard.biz. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
  49. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame" (in French). Les classement single.
  50. ↑ "Musicline.de – Atomic Kitten Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  51. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Eternal Flame". Irish Singles Chart.
  52. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Atomic Kitten" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  53. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  54. ↑ "Charts.nz – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame". Top 40 Singles.
  55. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame". VG-lista.
  56. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame" Canciones Top 50.
  57. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame". Singles Top 100.
  58. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame". Swiss Singles Chart.
  59. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  60. ↑ Steffen Hung (December 23, 2001). "Best selling singles in Austria (2001)". Austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  61. ↑ "Best selling singles in Belgium Flanders (2001)". Ultratop.be. December 24, 2011. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  62. ↑ "Best selling singles in Belgium Wallonia (2001)". Ultratop.be. December 24, 2011. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  63. ↑ "Best selling singles in France (2002)". Disqueenfrance.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  64. ↑ "Best selling singles in Ireland (2001)". Allcharts.org. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  65. ↑ "Top 50 singles of 2001 in NZ". Rianz.org.nz. Archived from the original on August 27, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  66. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Best selling singles in Switzerland (2001)". Swisscharts.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  67. ↑ "Yearly Best Selling Singles : 1999" (PDF). Bpi.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 5, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  68. ↑ "French single certifications – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  69. ↑ "InfoDisc : Les Certifications (Singles) du SNEP (les Disques d'Or)". Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  70. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame". Recorded Music NZ.
  71. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2001" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  72. ↑ "British single certifications – Atomic Kitten – Eternal Flame". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Eternal Flame in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  73. ↑ Myers, Justin (August 2, 2018). "Flashback: Atomic Kitten beat Destiny's Child to Number 1 in 2001". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  74. ↑ SwissCharts.com "Eternal Flame" (Rollergirl) page. Accessed: November 2, 2006 Archived October 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  75. ↑ "Bonnie Tyler est de retour : elle reprend le hit "Eternal Flame"". Chartsinfrance.net. August 29, 2011. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2012.

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