Belfast Child
| "Belfast Child / Ballad of the Streets" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Simple Minds | ||||
| from the album Street Fighting Years | ||||
| B-side |
"Mandela Day" "Biko" | |||
| Released | 18 January 1989 | |||
| Format | 5" CD, 3" CD, cassette, 7" vinyl | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, Irish folk, World music | |||
| Length | 6:39 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Writer(s) |
Music: traditional Lyrics: Simple Minds | |||
| Producer(s) |
Trevor Horn, Stephen Lipson | |||
| Simple Minds singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Belfast Child" is a 1989 Number 1 UK Charts[1] hit single by Simple Minds from their album Street Fighting Years. The single is also known as the "Ballad of the Streets" EP, highlighting both "Belfast Child" and "Mandela Day" (originally its B-side).
Style and influence
The song uses the music from the Irish folk song "She Moved Through the Fair", but has completely different words.
Jim Kerr recalled in 1000 UK No. 1 Hits why he used the melody, "I first heard the melody (of She Moved Through The Fair) a few days after the Enniskillen bombing (when a bomb planted by the IRA exploded during a Remembrance Day service at Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, killing 12 people and injuring at least 63), and like everybody when you see the images I was sick. In the second part of the song, I'm trying to relate to people in Northern Ireland who lost loved ones. I'm trying to talk about the madness, the sadness and the emptiness. I'm not saying I have any pearls of wisdom, but I have a few questions to ask."
Reception
The song received rave reviews, receiving a five-star review in Q Magazine. In a retrospective review of the single, Allmusic journalist Dave Thompson described "Belfast Child" as being "an epic, heartstring-tugging song. The piece gains even more power in its second half, when the drums and guitar kick in, and the arrangement billows out with instrumentation."[2]
Music video
The video to the song was shot in black and white and displays poignant footage of children and the destruction of the bombing. It was directed by Andy Morahan and edited by Mark Alchin.[3]
B-sides
The B-side of the single was "Mandela Day", a song recorded to commemorate and performed at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert on 11 June 1988 though not released commercially until its inclusion on this single. The CD single and the 12" editions added a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Biko"
Track listings
7" vinyl
- UK, Germany: Virgin / SMX 3
- France: Virgin / 90496
| Side one | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Belfast Child" | Traditional music, lyrics by Simple Minds | 6:39 | |||||||
| Side two | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 2. | "Mandela Day" | Swetnam | 5:42 | |||||||
12" vinyl
- UK: Virgin / SMXT 3
- UK: Virgin / SMX BS (limited edition box set, including 4 black-and-white photographs from the music video)
- France: Virgin / 80432
- Germany: Virgin / 611 998
- Yugoslavia: Jugoton /MXSVIRG 18016
| Side one | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Belfast Child" | Traditional music, lyrics by Simple Minds | 6:39 | |||||||
| Side two | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 2. | "Mandela Day" | Simple Minds | 5:42 | |||||||
| 3. | "Biko" | Peter Gabriel | 7:31 | |||||||
CD
- UK: Virgin / SMXCD3 (3")
- UK: Virgin / SMXCDT3 (5")
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Belfast Child" | Traditional music, lyrics by Simple Minds | 6:39 | |
| 2. | "Mandela Day" | Simple Minds | 5:42 | |
| 3. | "Biko" | Peter Gabriel | 7:31 |
Chart performance
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[1] | 1 |
| Australian Singles Chart[4] | 12 |
| Dutch GfK chart[5] | 1 |
| Dutch Top 40[6] | 1 |
| Irish Singles Chart[7] | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[8] | 9 |
| Spain (AFYVE)[9] | 8 |
| Preceded by "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" by Marc Almond featuring Gene Pitney |
UK Singles Chart number-one single 19 February 1989 – 26 February 1989 |
Succeeded by "Too Many Broken Hearts" by Jason Donovan |
| Preceded by "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry |
Dutch Top 40 number one single 11 March 1989 – 18 March 1989 |
Succeeded by "Alles kan een mens gelukkig maken" by René Froger |
| Preceded by "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" by Marc Almond featuring Gene Pitney |
Irish Top 40 number one single 16 February 1989 – 23 February 1989 |
Succeeded by "Leave Me Alone" by Michael Jackson |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Chart Stats - Simple Minds - Belfast Child". Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ↑ Thompson, Dave. "Belfast Child - Simple Minds : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ↑ http://vimeo.com/3245370
- ↑ "australian-charts.com - Simple Minds - Belfast Child". Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ↑ "dutchcharts.nl - Simple Minds - Belfast Child". Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ↑ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 10, 1989". Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ↑ "irishcharts.ie search results". Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ↑ "norwegiancharts.com - Simple Minds - Belfast Child". Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.