Of the Night (song)

"Of the Night"
Single by Bastille
from the album All This Bad Blood
B-side "Oblivion" (Live from Capitol Studios)
Released 11 October 2013
Format Digital download, 10" vinyl, CD
Recorded 2012
Genre New wave, alternative dance
Length 3:33
Label Virgin
Writer(s) Benito Benitez, John "Virgo" Garrett III, Thea Austin, Giorgio Spagna, Francesco Bontempi, Annerley Gordon, Peter Glenister, Mike Gaffey
Producer(s) Dan Smith
Bastille singles chronology
"Things We Lost in the Fire"
(2013)		 "Of the Night"
(2013)		 "Pompeii/Waiting All Night"
(2014)

"Of the Night" is a song by British indie rock band Bastille, released on 11 October 2013 as the lead single from All This Bad Blood, a reissue of their debut studio album Bad Blood. The song debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, and has also charted in several other countries. The song was covered by Ellie Goulding at BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.[1]

Background and release

"Of the Night" is a mash up of two 1990s dance hit songs, the 1993 hit "The Rhythm of the Night" by Italian Eurodance act Corona and the 1992 hit "Rhythm Is a Dancer" by German Eurodance group Snap!.[2][3] The song was first featured on Bastille's mixtape Other People's Heartache, which was released in 2012 as a free download.[4][5]

“ That's a strange one. It's kind of a tongue-in-cheek thing that we did that kind of got out of hand. It started off because Dan [Smith] got really ill when we first got signed, and so to ease his way back into vocal recording we decided to do some mixtapes using old songs that we listened to growing up. These were interesting songs you wouldn't expect us to cover and try to reinvent in a more current kind of way, and then it became one of our biggest songs. Then we started doing it live just because it was a cool song and was fun to play, and audiences started to really kind of dig it. And it all started off like a little experiment." ”

—Will Farquarson, talking about "Of the Night"[6]

"Of the Night" was later used in a promotional trailer for the eighth series of ITV's Dancing on Ice.[7][8] It received its first radio play on Huw Stephens' BBC Radio 1 show on 9 October 2013,[9] and was released digitally on 11 October 2013.[10] On 15 November 2013, Of the Night EP was released, featuring three remixes of the song and a live recording of "Oblivion".[11]

Critical reception

Paul Leake of Click Music gave the track five out of five stars, and called it "one of the most inspired covers ever made," adding that it evokes "doe-eyed nostaglia for the purity of 90s' dance music" and "modulates between the sombre heartbreak and quiet intensity."[12]

Digital Spy's Robert Copsey wrote, "On paper, Dan Smith & Co.'s gloomy, atmospheric re-working sounds like career-suicide, and while it certainly isn't that, by opting for such a daring choice it feels like all their hard work at carefully carving out their own niche has come undone."[13]

Commercial performance

While set to become the band's first number one single at the midweek stage, the song debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart,[14] selling 80,257 copies in its first week, only 660 copies less than Lily Allen's version of "Somewhere Only We Know", becoming the narrowest chart race of 2013.[15]

Music video

An official music video promoting the song was released onto YouTube on 9 October 2013.[16] It was directed by Dave Ma (who has previously worked with Foals, Ghostpoet and Delphic), and stars American actor James Russo (Once Upon a Time in America, Django Unchained) as the main protagonist,[17] a police detective who visits several crime scenes. The video also shows corpses singing. Mike Wass of Idolator called the video "quite possibly the most depressing video of the year."[3]

Track listing

Digital download[18]
  1. "Of the Night" – 3:34
Digital download (EP)[11]
  1. "Of the Night" – 3:34
  2. "Oblivion" (Live from Capitol Studios) – 3:08
  3. "Of the Night" (MNEK Remix) – 4:38
  4. "Of the Night" (Icarus Remix) – 5:20
  5. "Of the Night" (Kove Remix) – 6:15
  6. "Of the Night" (music video) – 3:51
CD maxi single[19]
  1. "Of the Night" – 3:34
  2. "Of the Night" (MNEK Remix) – 4:38
10" vinyl (limited to 1,000 copies)[20]
Side A
  1. "Of the Night" – 3:34
  2. "Of the Night" (MNEK Remix) – 4:38
Side B
  1. "Oblivion" (Live from Capitol Studios) – 3:08
  2. "Of the Night" (Icarus Remix) – 5:20

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2013–14) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[21] 6
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[22] 17
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[23] 39
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[24] 2
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[25] 90
Denmark (Tracklisten)[26] 22
Germany (Media Control Charts)[27] 10
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[28] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 2
Italy (FIMI)[30] 25
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[31] 88
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[32] 28
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[33] 2
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[34] 33
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[35] 80
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[36] 23
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 39
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[38] 28
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 2
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[39] 35

Year-end charts

Chart (2013) Position
Hungarian Airplay Chart[40] 79

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[41] Platinum 70,000^
Germany (BVMI)[42] Gold 150,000^
Italy (FIMI)[43] Gold 15,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[44] Gold 400,000double-dagger

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Format Label
United Kingdom[18] 11 October 2013 Digital download Virgin Records
Italy[45][46] 25 October 2013 Contemporary hit radio Universal Music
8 November 2013
United Kingdom[11][20] 15 November 2013 Digital download (EP) Virgin Records
18 November 2013 10" vinyl
Germany[19] 4 February 2014 Compact disc
United States 19 April 2014 10" vinyl

References

  1. ↑ "Ellie Goulding Covers Bastille’s ‘Rhythm Of The Night': Surfer Stephen’s Viral Video Of The Day". 97.1 AMP RADIO. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  2. ↑ "Bastille unveil 'Of the Night' music video". Click Music. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wass, Mike (9 October 2013). "Bastille Mash Two '90s Dance Classics On "Of The Night": Watch The Crime-Filled Video". Idolator. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  4. ↑ Simpson, Dave (13 March 2013). "Bastille – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  5. ↑ "Other People's Heartache – Bastille". Last.fm. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  6. ↑ Graff, Gary (20 January 2014). "Bastille Working On Sophomore Album In Between Tour Dates". Billboard. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Listen: Bastille’s ‘Of the Night’ mixes Snap and Corona". Click Music. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  8. ↑ "ITV1 – Dancing On Ice 2013". tvadmusic.co.uk. 26 December 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Bastille: Of The Night (Video)". nessymon.com. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "Of the Night - Single by Bastille". iTunes. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Of the Night – EP by Bastille". iTunes Store (GB). Apple. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Leake, Paul. "Bastille: 'Of the Night' review". Click Music. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  13. ↑ Copsey, Robert (15 November 2013). "Bastille: 'Of The Night' - Single review". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Archive Chart: 2013-11-30" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  15. ↑ Lane, Daniel (24 November 2013). "Lily Allen beats Bastille and Gary Barlow to Number 1 in closest chart race of the year!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  16. ↑ "Bastille - Of The Night". YouTube. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  17. ↑ Trendell, Andrew (9 October 2013). "Bastille to re-release Bad Blood with new tracks and new single". Gigwise. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Of the Night – Single by Bastille". iTunes Store (GB). Apple. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Of the Night (2-Track) [Single]" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "'Of The Night' Exclusive 10" Picture Disc". Virgin EMI. Archived from the original on 24 November 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  21. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Bastille – Of the Night". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  22. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Bastille – Of the Night" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bastille – Of the Night" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  24. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bastille – Of the Night" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  25. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201430 into search. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  26. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Bastille – Of the Night". Tracklisten. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  27. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Bastille – Of the Night". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  28. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  29. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 49, 2013". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  30. ↑ "FIMI – Classifiche – Top Digital – Classifica settimanale WK 48 del 2013". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  31. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bastille – Of the Night" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  32. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Bastille – Of the Night". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  33. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2013-11-30". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  34. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201412 into search.
  35. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201429 into search. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  36. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Bastille – Of the Night" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  37. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Bastille – Of the Night". Singles Top 60. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  38. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Bastille – Of the Night". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  39. ↑ "Bastille Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Rock Songs for Bastille. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  40. ↑ "MAHASZ Rádiós TOP 100 - radios 2013" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  41. ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles Chart". ARIA Charts. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  42. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Bastille; 'Of the Night')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  43. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Bastille – Of the Night" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved 10 January 2015. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter Bastille in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
  44. ↑ "British single certifications – Bastille – Of the Night". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 July 2014. Enter Of the Night in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  45. ↑ Gaibotti, Jessica. "Bastille – Of the Night (Universal)" (in Italian). Radio Airplay SRL. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  46. ↑ Mompellio, Gabriel. "Bastille – Of the Night (Universal)" (in Italian). Radio Airplay SRL. Retrieved 8 June 2014.