| "Here Comes the Night" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Lulu | ||||
| B-side | "That's Really Some Good" | |||
| Released | November 1964 | |||
| Format | 7" vinyl | |||
| Label | Decca Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Bert Russell | |||
| Producer | Bert Berns, Music director: Mike Leander | |||
| Lulu singles chronology | ||||
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| "Here Comes the Night" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Them | ||||
| A-side | "Here Comes the Night" (Bert Berns) | |||
| B-side | "All for Myself" | |||
| Released | March 1965 | |||
| Format | 7" vinyl | |||
| Recorded | October 1964 | |||
| Length | 2:47 | |||
| Label | Decca Records (UK), Parrot Records (USA) | |||
| Writer(s) | Bert Berns | |||
| Producer | Bert Berns | |||
| Them singles chronology | ||||
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"Here Comes the Night" is a 1964 song, written by Bert Berns and originally released by Scottish singer Lulu. Her version charted at No. 50.[1][2] The band Them, whose lead singer was Van Morrison, had a hit with it when their version was released in March 1965. Them's version charted at No. 2 in the UK and No. 24 in the US and was listed as No. 33 on the list of the Top 100 most popular hits in UK singles for the year 1965.[3]
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This was the second Them record produced by Bert Berns and the first time that Them recorded one of his songs. It was recorded in a session at Decca Studios in West Hamstead, London in October 1964 along with "Baby, Please Don't Go" and "All For Myself".[4]
Jimmy Page played guitar on this arrangement. Andy White and Tommy Scott performed backing vocals with Phil Coulter on keyboards. Drummer Ronnie Millings recalled that the band worked on the song at the studio with rehearsals lasting four days. Billy Harrison noted that "I remember sitting in Decca when Bert said he had this song, and he came out with "Here Comes the Night". He had a riff and that's all he had, and we sat and we worked on it, and we came up with what you hear. We worked at it sitting in the studio—but no engineers or anything."[5] Phil Coulter later said, "I knew I'd heard a smash. It was the first time I'd ever heard a hit record in its emerging state."[6]
According to Phil Coulter the band had intended this song to be the follow-up to "Baby, Please Don't Go" but it had been rush released by Decca on a recording by Lulu in November 1964. The band members of Them were said to be bitterly disappointed by this decision made by Decca and Phil Solomon. Phil Coulter remarked: "They bitched to me a lot but they wouldn't dare to have said anything to Solomon." The band was said to have a "certain grim satisfaction" as Lulu's recording reached No. 50 and then dropped off the charts.[7]
Despite a bold, breezy tone the song's lyrics told a tale of obsessive jealousy and approaching loneliness from the point of view of a rejected lover who voyeuristically watches the new couple.
"Here Comes the Night" was Them's third single, released following the success of "Gloria". The first day of its release it sold 16,000 copies, at the time an impressive showing.[8] It peaked at #2 UK and #24 US, spending 10 weeks on the U.S. chart. It was also released on the EP Mystic Eyes. After the record was released, Them immediately was sent on a public relations push with television appearances on Ready Steady Go! and Top of the Pops.
Van Morrison has remarked on this:[8]
Them were never meant to be on Top of the Pops, I mean miming? Lip syncing? We used to laugh at the programme, think it was a joke. Then we were on it ourselves. It was ridiculous. We were totally anti that type of thing. We were really into the blues...and we had to get into suits and have make-up put on and all that..
It was released on the Parrot (US) version of the album THEM in July 1965, and also appears on the album, The Story of Them. It was also re-released on the Deram label in 1973, but did not chart.
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