Lamplight

"Lamplight"

German cover of "Lamplight"
Single by Bee Gees
from the album Odessa
A-side "First of May"
Released January 1969 (United Kingdom)
March 1969 (United States)
Format 7", 45rpm
Recorded 1968, Trident and IBC Studios, London
Genre Baroque pop
Length 4:47
Label Polydor
Atco (United States, Canada)
Writer(s) Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Producer(s) Robert Stigwood, Bee Gees
Bee Gees B-side singles chronology
"Kilburn Towers"
(1968)		 "Lamplight"
(1969)		 "Sun in My Morning"
(1969)

"Lamplight" is a song by the Bee Gees, released as the B-side of "First of May", but in Germany, this song was chosen as the A-side.[1][2] and this song was released on their double album Odessa in March 1969.[3][4] The song was written and composed by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb. The song had lead vocals by Robin Gibb, but the Bee Gees' manager Robert Stigwood chose "First of May" for the A-side, No other singles were released from the album, and this was the incident that is thought to have caused Robin to quit the group. In Germany, "Lamplight" was chosen as the A-side of "First of May", but the other versions of both tracks released in Germany, chosen "First of May" as the A-side.

Recording

The song's demo was recorded in October 25, 1968, and the same version was released on Sketches for Odessa; the second version was also released on Sketches. The song starts with a French lyric Alors viens encore cherie J'attendrai ans après ans sous la lampe dans la vieille avenue. The line I close my eyes was appeared on the lyrics, quoting the Bee Gees' song of the same name from 1967 on the album Bee Gees' 1st. The demo was also a similar flow to the final version. There are no French words featured at the beginning; it starts straight in the first stanza.[5]

The single version of the song was released in mono, but the album version was in stereo. The song features French lyrics at the beginning (these were featured on the second and third version of that song, but not on its first version)[6] The musicians who played on the track were Robin Gibb on piano and mellotron, Maurice Gibb on bass, piano, guitar and mellotron, Barry Gibb on guitar, Colin Petersen on drums and an orchestra conducted by Bill Shepherd. The song was recorded in Trident and IBC Studios, London, England, produced by Robert Stigwood with the Bee Gees. This song was included on their EP called I Started a Joke, released in the same year.[7]

Personnel

Cover versions

References

External links