| "All I Need Is a Miracle" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Mike + The Mechanics | ||||
| from the album Mike + The Mechanics | ||||
| B-side | "You Are the One" | |||
| Released | 3 February 1986 | |||
| Format | 7' 12" | |||
| Recorded | 1985 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock, New Wave | |||
| Length | 4:10 | |||
| Label | Atlantic – Atlantic 89450 | |||
| Writer(s) | Mike Rutherford and Christopher Neil | |||
| Producer | Christopher Neil | |||
| Mike + The Mechanics singles chronology | ||||
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"All I Need Is a Miracle" is a pop rock song performed by Mike + The Mechanics. Written by guitarist Mike Rutherford and producer Christopher Neil, it was first included on their 1985 self-titled debut album, and later released as a single, where it reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986.[1]
In an interview prior to the song's release as a single, Rutherford commented, "The thing that makes 'Miracle' different, to me, is that it's a happy song - or it's primarily a happy song. It's 'up'. And I don't do that very often. ...It may not be optimistic, but it's a positive attitude to life."[2]
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"All I Need Is a Miracle" was the second single released by Mike + The Mechanics, following "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)", which also reached the top ten.[1] "All I Need Is a Miracle" featured lead vocals by former Sad Café vocalist Paul Young.[3]
The cover of the single was twice recycled for Mike + The Mechanics albums, first for their greatest hits package Hits in 1996, and then for Mike & the Mechanics in 1999.
A new version of the song, titled "All I Need Is a Miracle '96", was included on Hits.[4]
The music video for "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" ends with footage of Mike + The Mechanics performing the song at a restaurant, and segues into the video for "Miracle". In the video, "All I Need is a Miracle" is the final song in the band's fictional set, so Mike + The Mechanics's tour manager (played by Roy Kinnear) attempts to settle up with the restaurant owner (played by Victor Spinetti) for the agreed sum of £250. However, the owner points out that due to the gig being arranged at the last minute, the restaurant is more than half empty, and refuses to pay. Moreover, he threatens to hold all the band's equipment as collateral until he is paid £500.
The bulk of the video than alternates between the band's performance (with Paul Carrack acting as the bassist) and the manager's adventures in trying to acquire the necessary £500. He attains his goal when he finds a lost dog and the grateful owner hands him some money. Thinking nothing of this encounter, the manager eventually glances at the money and realizes that the man handed him a thousand-pound note by mistake. He tries to return the money, but the dog owner is already gone. He then returns to the restaurant, pays the owner the £500, and gives the change to Rutherford, telling him to split it among the band.
Both the greenhorn tour manager and the closing quip "That's an easy way of making a living" would make return appearances in the video for "Taken In".
In 2003, the song was covered by classically-trained vocalist Tina Ann.[5]
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 10 |
| German Singles Chart | 26[6] |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 31 |
| UK Singles Chart | 53 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 5[1] |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 7 |
| US Billboard Dance Play Singles | 24 |
| US Billboard Top Rock Tracks | 6 |
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