Bitter Sweet Symphony
Encyclopedia
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a song by English alternative rock
band The Verve
, the lead track on their third album, Urban Hymns
. It is based on music from an Andrew Loog Oldham
adaptation of a Rolling Stones song, "The Last Time
". It was released on 16 June 1997 by Hut Recordings as the first single
from the album, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart
. The song's momentum built slowly in the United States throughout the latter months of 1997, ultimately leading to a CD single release on 3 March 1998 by Virgin Records America, helping the song to reach number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100
. The song also became famous for the legal controversy surrounding plagiarism
charges. It was the 79th best selling single in the United States in 1998. In the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time, 2009
(an online music poll conducted by the Australia
n radio station Triple J
) the track was voted the 14th best song of all time. Rolling Stone
ranked "Bitter Sweet Symphony" as the 392nd best song of all time. In May 2007, NME
magazine placed "Bitter Sweet Symphony" at number 18 in its list of the "50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever". In September 2007, a poll of 50 songwriters published in Q
magazine placed "Bitter Sweet Symphony" in a list of the "Top 10 Greatest Tracks". Pitchfork Media
included the song at number 29 on their "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s" list. In 2011, NME placed it at number 9 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
, it has been credited to Keith Richards
and Mick Jagger
after charges by the original copyright owners that the song was plagiarized from the Andrew Oldham Orchestra
recording of The Rolling Stones
' 1965 song "The Last Time
".
Originally, The Verve had negotiated a licence to use a sample
from the Oldham recording, but it was successfully argued that the Verve had used "too much" of the sample. Despite having original lyrics, the music of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is partially based on the Oldham track, which led to a lawsuit with ABKCO Records
, Allen Klein
's company that owns the rights to the Rolling Stones material of the 1960s. The matter was eventually settled
, with copyright of the song reverting to Abkco and songwriting credits to Jagger and Richards
.
"We were told it was going to be a 50/50 split, and then they saw how well the record was doing," says band member Simon Jones
. "They rung up and said, 'We want 100 percent or take it out of the shops, you don't have much choice.'" [sic]
After losing the composer credits to the song, Richard Ashcroft commented, "This is the best song Jagger and Richards have written in 20 years", noting it was their biggest UK hit since "Brown Sugar
".
The song was later used without the permission of the band by Nike
in a shoe commercial. As a result, it was on the Illegal Art
CD from the magazine Stay Free!
. The song was also used in a Vauxhall Motors
advertisement and several of Opel
, prompting Ashcroft to declare onstage at their homecoming performance at Haigh Hall, Wigan, in May 1998, "Don't buy Vauxhall cars, they're shit." However, the band were able to stop further use of the song by employing the legal concept of moral rights
.
On Ashcroft's return to touring, the song traditionally ended the set list. Ashcroft also reworked the single for VH2 Live for the music channel VH1
, stripping the song of its strings. Ashcroft is quoted as saying during the show: "Despite all the legal angles and the bullshit, strip down to the chords and the lyrics and the melody and you realise there is such a good song there."
He also dedicated the song to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards during a gig at the Sage Gateshead in Gateshead
. After several audience members booed, Ashcroft exclaimed, "Don't boo, man. As long as I can play this song I'm happy to pay a few of those guys' bills."
In a Cash for Questions interview with Q magazine published in January 1999, Keith Richards
was asked (by John Johnson of Enfield) if he thought it was harsh taking all The Verve's royalties from "Bitter Sweet Symphony", to which he replied, "I'm out of whack here, this is serious lawyer shit. If The Verve can write a better song, they can keep the money."
(directed by Walter A. Stern
) focuses on Ashcroft lip-synching the song while walking down a busy London pavement
, refusing to change his stride or direction throughout (oblivious to what is going on around him). He repeatedly bumps into passers-by (causing one young woman to lose balance and fall), narrowly avoids being hit by a car, and jumps on top of the bonnet
of another vehicle stopped in his path (the driver gets out of her car and proceeds to pursue and shout at him, while he continues unflinchingly). At the end of the video, the rest of The Verve join Ashcroft, and the final shot sees them walking down the street into the distance. This then leads into the beginning of the video for "The Drugs Don't Work
".
Ashcroft starts walking from the southeast corner of the intersection of Hoxton and Falkirk Streets in Hoxton
, North London
, subsequently proceeding north along the east side of Hoxton Street. The "pavement journey" format was inspired by the music video for the Massive Attack
song "Unfinished Sympathy
", in which Shara Nelson
sings while walking through a Los Angeles neighbourhood. The British comedy band Fat Les
would later release a direct parody for their 1998 song "Vindaloo
"; Paul Kaye
takes the role of an Ashcroft look-alike who is mocked by a growing group of passers-by as the video progresses.
concert in Hyde Park
, Coldplay
invited Ashcroft to perform the song with them in their set. They played it after only one rehearsal in Crystal Palace. Ashcroft was introduced by Chris Martin
as "the best singer in the world" and he described the song as "probably the greatest song ever written."
On 25 December 2005, a documentary entitled Live 8: A Bitter Sweet Symphony was aired reliving moments of the day featuring a portion of Ashcroft's performance as the music for the show's opening soundtrack.
frontman Richard Ashcroft
also created an acoustic version of "Bitter Sweet Symphony".
In February 1998, "Treat Infamy" by Alastair Johnson, Laurence Nelson, Harry Sutcliffe and Nick Carter under the pseudonym Rest Assured peaked at 14 in the UK singles chart; the track featured replayed orchestral samples of the strings from "The Last Time" as performed in "Bitter Sweet Symphony". The single was released on London Records
; however, due to copyright
restrictions this version is no longer available commercially. This version is credited as having been written by Mick Jagger
and Keith Richards
, with additional material by Rest Assured.
In 1998, Three Six Mafia's Lord Infamous
made a recording titled "Triple-Six Club House" which sampled both the Halloween
movie theme and "Bitter Sweet Symphony"'s instrumental off the Prophet Posse
album Body Parts. Due to copyright laws, they re-released it with a bastardised version of the original in 1999 as the smaller tiered group, Tear Da Club Up Thugs on the album CrazyNDaLazDayz
.
In 2006 it was featured in an international hit song by Trinidadian soca
group Sugar Daddy titled "Sweet Soca Music".
Noel Gallagher
, a good friend of Ashcroft, performed a live cover of the song in an Oasis
concert.
Madonna
performed "Don't Tell Me" on her 2004 Re-Invention World tour and included the tune of Bittersweet Symphony in the song. There were two versions of "Don't Tell me" used on the tour. Certain dates had the version with bittersweet symphony while other dates had a different version with a French feel and vibe.
In late 2008, American musician Ace Enders, former front man of successful New Jersey emo
act The Early November
, covered the song to kick off his solo project "Ace Enders and a Million Different People". The song's proceeds went to benefit the VH1 Save the Music Foundation. This rendition was exclusively sold via Apple's iTunes Store
, also one of the partners involved in the benefit. The single went on to sell tens of thousands of downloads. Enders invited other successful front men in the genre to join him in singing on the track. Guest performers included Mark Hoppus
of Blink-182
, Matt Thiessen
of Relient K
, Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low
, Craig Owens of Chiodos
, Kenny Vasoli of The Starting Line. All proceeds from the project went to the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.
The song was also featured at the ending of the 1999 film Cruel Intentions
.
The song has also been used by ITV
, as the background music to the opening sequence for England's international football matches, such as the qualifiers
for the 2010 World Cup
. The music can be heard as the camera moves through a digital video of England's football history and eventually ends up at the new Wembley Stadium.
At the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest, it can be heard during the postcard of the Irish entry.
Mexican Institute of Sound
's album Soy Sauce includes a cover of the song in Spanish titled "Sinfonia Agridulce".
The NFL's Seattle Seahawks
entered the field to this song at Super Bowl XL
and continue to use this song before their home games.
A mash-up has been made that puts together "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder
" by Jay-Z
.
The NBA
franchise Denver Nuggets
uses the song during pre-game introductions.
The song also features in a 2009 commercial by Turkish Integrated Food Group Ulker http://www.mutlubiran.com/
The song was featured in a 2009 commercial for The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation
, promoting donations for cancer research.
The 2009 video game DJ Hero
uses the Andrew Oldham Orchestra sample loop exactly as heard in "Bitter Sweet Symphony".
The song appears in an episode of the television series The Simpsons
("That '90s Show", episode 11/Season 19).
The song was sampled in the demo version of "Ridin' Solo
" by Jason DeRülo
, but was removed in the official album version as the sample was not cleared.
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" was performed by Thomas Dolby
and the string quartet ETHEL
, accompanied by bagpipe, to open the TED2010
conference in Long Beach, California on February 10, 2010.
It is featured throughout the 2005 film Fierce People
.
WWE
superstars Trent Barreta and Caylen Croft briefly used an instrumental variation of "Bitter Sweet Symphony", referred to as "Semi Sweet Symphony", as their entrance theme during the first few weeks of their ECW run.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre recorded a cover of the song entitled "Bittersweet Irony".
The song was featured at the end of an episode of Center Stage.
In 2010, McFly
guitarist and vocalist Danny Jones
covered this song in a Live Biz Session for The Sun newspaper.
On January 28, 2011, Umphrey's McGee
mashed up "Bitter Sweet Symphony" with their own original song "Hajimemashite", at their performance at Best Buy Theater in Times Square
, New York City
. They called the mashup
"Bitter Sweet Haj".
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band The Verve
The Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
, the lead track on their third album, Urban Hymns
Urban Hymns
Urban Hymns is the third album by English rock band The Verve, released on 29 September 1997 on Hut Recordings. It earned nearly unanimous critical praise upon its release, and went on to become the band's best-selling release and one of the biggest selling albums of the year...
. It is based on music from an Andrew Loog Oldham
Andrew Loog Oldham
Andrew Loog Oldham is an English producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of The Rolling Stones from 1963, and was noted for his flamboyant style.-Biography:...
adaptation of a Rolling Stones song, "The Last Time
The Last Time (song)
In 1967, after the imprisonment of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, on drugs charges, The Who recorded covers of "The Last Time" and "Under My Thumb" as a single. The intention was to help Jagger and Richards make bail, but by the time the single was made available, they had been released. The...
". It was released on 16 June 1997 by Hut Recordings as the first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from the album, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The song's momentum built slowly in the United States throughout the latter months of 1997, ultimately leading to a CD single release on 3 March 1998 by Virgin Records America, helping the song to reach number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The song also became famous for the legal controversy surrounding plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
charges. It was the 79th best selling single in the United States in 1998. In the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time, 2009
Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time, 2009
The Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time was a music poll conducted in 2009 amongst listeners of Australian youth radio network Triple J. Over half a million votes were compiled, with Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" collecting the highest number of votes. Voters could submit a list of up to ten...
(an online music poll conducted by the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n radio station Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
) the track was voted the 14th best song of all time. Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
ranked "Bitter Sweet Symphony" as the 392nd best song of all time. In May 2007, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
magazine placed "Bitter Sweet Symphony" at number 18 in its list of the "50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever". In September 2007, a poll of 50 songwriters published in Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine placed "Bitter Sweet Symphony" in a list of the "Top 10 Greatest Tracks". Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
included the song at number 29 on their "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s" list. In 2011, NME placed it at number 9 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
Song credits
Although the song's lyrics were written by Verve vocalist Richard AshcroftRichard Ashcroft
Richard Paul Ashcroft is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional guitarist of alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their split in 1999, and continues as a lead vocalist working with guitars and keyboards...
, it has been credited to Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
and Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
after charges by the original copyright owners that the song was plagiarized from the Andrew Oldham Orchestra
The Andrew Oldham Orchestra
The Andrew Oldham Orchestra was a musical side project in the mid 1960s created by Andrew Loog Oldham, the original manager and record producer of The Rolling Stones. There was no actual orchestra per se. The name was applied to recordings made by Oldham using a multitude of session musicians,...
recording of The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
' 1965 song "The Last Time
The Last Time (song)
In 1967, after the imprisonment of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, on drugs charges, The Who recorded covers of "The Last Time" and "Under My Thumb" as a single. The intention was to help Jagger and Richards make bail, but by the time the single was made available, they had been released. The...
".
Originally, The Verve had negotiated a licence to use a sample
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
from the Oldham recording, but it was successfully argued that the Verve had used "too much" of the sample. Despite having original lyrics, the music of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is partially based on the Oldham track, which led to a lawsuit with ABKCO Records
ABKCO Records
ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. is a major independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks as well as the Cameo Parkway label,...
, Allen Klein
Allen Klein
Allen Klein was an American businessman, talent agent and record label executive. His clients included The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.- The accountant :...
's company that owns the rights to the Rolling Stones material of the 1960s. The matter was eventually settled
Settlement (law)
In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. The term "settlement" also has other meanings in the context of law.-Basis:...
, with copyright of the song reverting to Abkco and songwriting credits to Jagger and Richards
Jagger/Richards
The songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, known as Jagger/Richards , is a musical collaboration whose output has produced the majority of the catalogue of The Rolling Stones....
.
"We were told it was going to be a 50/50 split, and then they saw how well the record was doing," says band member Simon Jones
Simon Jones (musician)
Simon Jones is an English bass player. He played bass and provided occasional backing vocals for the English band, The Verve.-Personal life:...
. "They rung up and said, 'We want 100 percent or take it out of the shops, you don't have much choice.'" [sic]
After losing the composer credits to the song, Richard Ashcroft commented, "This is the best song Jagger and Richards have written in 20 years", noting it was their biggest UK hit since "Brown Sugar
Brown Sugar (song)
"Brown Sugar" is a song by The Rolling Stones. It is the opening track and lead single from the English rock band's 1971 album Sticky Fingers...
".
The song was later used without the permission of the band by Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
in a shoe commercial. As a result, it was on the Illegal Art
Illegal Art
Illegal Art is a sampling label that was started by a person using the name Philo T. Farnsworth in 1998. The label was instantly launched to infamy with the legal threats surrounding Deconstructing Beck, a compilation made exclusively from sampling Beck's music. This was followed by two other...
CD from the magazine Stay Free!
Stay Free!
Stay Free! is a non-profit magazine about the politics of culture based in Brooklyn, New York. Founded by Carrie McLaren in 1992 while working at Matador Records, it tends to focus on "the perversions of media and consumer culture." Each issue has a theme, such as pranks, copyright, or marketing...
. The song was also used in a Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...
advertisement and several of Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
, prompting Ashcroft to declare onstage at their homecoming performance at Haigh Hall, Wigan, in May 1998, "Don't buy Vauxhall cars, they're shit." However, the band were able to stop further use of the song by employing the legal concept of moral rights
Moral rights in United Kingdom law
Moral rights in United Kingdom law are parts of copyright law that protect the personal interests of the author of a copyrighted work, as well as the economic interests protected by other elements of copyright...
.
On Ashcroft's return to touring, the song traditionally ended the set list. Ashcroft also reworked the single for VH2 Live for the music channel VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
, stripping the song of its strings. Ashcroft is quoted as saying during the show: "Despite all the legal angles and the bullshit, strip down to the chords and the lyrics and the melody and you realise there is such a good song there."
He also dedicated the song to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards during a gig at the Sage Gateshead in Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
. After several audience members booed, Ashcroft exclaimed, "Don't boo, man. As long as I can play this song I'm happy to pay a few of those guys' bills."
In a Cash for Questions interview with Q magazine published in January 1999, Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
was asked (by John Johnson of Enfield) if he thought it was harsh taking all The Verve's royalties from "Bitter Sweet Symphony", to which he replied, "I'm out of whack here, this is serious lawyer shit. If The Verve can write a better song, they can keep the money."
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
(directed by Walter A. Stern
Walter Stern (director)
-Music videos:Stern began his career directing music videos at Control, a small production company based in London.In 1993, he moved to Stigma where he first directed a promo for the band The Prodigy...
) focuses on Ashcroft lip-synching the song while walking down a busy London pavement
Sidewalk
A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
, refusing to change his stride or direction throughout (oblivious to what is going on around him). He repeatedly bumps into passers-by (causing one young woman to lose balance and fall), narrowly avoids being hit by a car, and jumps on top of the bonnet
Hood (vehicle)
The hood or bonnet is the hinged cover over the engine of motor vehicles that allows access to the engine compartment for maintenance and repair. In British terminology, hood refers to a fabric cover over the passenger compartment of the car...
of another vehicle stopped in his path (the driver gets out of her car and proceeds to pursue and shout at him, while he continues unflinchingly). At the end of the video, the rest of The Verve join Ashcroft, and the final shot sees them walking down the street into the distance. This then leads into the beginning of the video for "The Drugs Don't Work
The Drugs Don't Work
"The Drugs Don't Work" is a song by the British rock band, The Verve and is featured on their third album, Urban Hymns. It was released on September 1, 1997 as the second single from the album, charting at number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's most successful single in the UK...
".
Ashcroft starts walking from the southeast corner of the intersection of Hoxton and Falkirk Streets in Hoxton
Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. The area of Hoxton is bordered by Regent's Canal on the north side, Wharf Road and City Road on the west, Old Street on the south, and Kingsland Road on the east.Hoxton is also a...
, North London
North (London sub region)
The North is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Westminster. The sub region was established in 2004, consisting of Barnet, Enfield, Haringey and Waltham Forest...
, subsequently proceeding north along the east side of Hoxton Street. The "pavement journey" format was inspired by the music video for the Massive Attack
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
song "Unfinished Sympathy
Unfinished Sympathy
"Unfinished Sympathy" is a song by English electronica group Massive Attack, from their debut album Blue Lines . The song was written collaboratively by the members of the group , with Jonathan "Jonny Dollar" Sharp and Shara Nelson, the latter providing lead vocals for the song...
", in which Shara Nelson
Shara Nelson
Shara Nelson is a British singer and songwriter. She is notable for her work with the band Massive Attack in the early 1990s, and for her solo career in which she garnered five UK Top 40 hit singles...
sings while walking through a Los Angeles neighbourhood. The British comedy band Fat Les
Fat Les
Fat Les is a British band consisting of Alex James from Blur, actor Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst. Vocals on their singles were provided by Keith Allen , Alex James , Lily Allen , Andy Kane , Lisa Moorish and Michael Barrymore .Fat Les created the...
would later release a direct parody for their 1998 song "Vindaloo
Vindaloo (song)
"Vindaloo" is a song by British band Fat Les. The music was written by Blur bassist Alex James and the lyrics were written by comedian Keith Allen. It was released as a single in 1998 and recorded for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The song was originally written as a parody of football chants, but was...
"; Paul Kaye
Paul Kaye
Paul Kaye is an English comedian and actor. He achieved notoriety in 1995 portraying the character of Dennis Pennis, a shock interviewer on The Sunday Show...
takes the role of an Ashcroft look-alike who is mocked by a growing group of passers-by as the video progresses.
Live 8
On 2 July 2005, at the Live 8Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
concert in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
invited Ashcroft to perform the song with them in their set. They played it after only one rehearsal in Crystal Palace. Ashcroft was introduced by Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
as "the best singer in the world" and he described the song as "probably the greatest song ever written."
On 25 December 2005, a documentary entitled Live 8: A Bitter Sweet Symphony was aired reliving moments of the day featuring a portion of Ashcroft's performance as the music for the show's opening soundtrack.
Other appearances
The VerveThe Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
frontman Richard Ashcroft
Richard Ashcroft
Richard Paul Ashcroft is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional guitarist of alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their split in 1999, and continues as a lead vocalist working with guitars and keyboards...
also created an acoustic version of "Bitter Sweet Symphony".
In February 1998, "Treat Infamy" by Alastair Johnson, Laurence Nelson, Harry Sutcliffe and Nick Carter under the pseudonym Rest Assured peaked at 14 in the UK singles chart; the track featured replayed orchestral samples of the strings from "The Last Time" as performed in "Bitter Sweet Symphony". The single was released on London Records
London Records
London Records, referred to as London Recordings in logo, is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 to 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label....
; however, due to copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
restrictions this version is no longer available commercially. This version is credited as having been written by Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
, with additional material by Rest Assured.
In 1998, Three Six Mafia's Lord Infamous
Lord Infamous
Lord Infamous is an American rapper. He is a co-founder of the Memphis rap group Three 6 Mafia. He is also considered by fans and critics alike as being the more psychotic member of the group, with his lyrics touching on occult subject matters such as christianity, satanism, mass murder, suicide,...
made a recording titled "Triple-Six Club House" which sampled both the Halloween
Halloween (franchise)
Halloween is an American horror franchise that consists of ten slasher films, novels, and comic books. The franchise focuses on the fictional character of Michael Myers who was committed to a sanitarium as a child for the murder of his older sister, Judith Myers...
movie theme and "Bitter Sweet Symphony"'s instrumental off the Prophet Posse
Prophet Entertainment
Prophet Entertainment is a Memphis, Tennessee based rap record label formerly owned by DJ Paul and Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia. It is now owned by Nick Scarfo.-History:...
album Body Parts. Due to copyright laws, they re-released it with a bastardised version of the original in 1999 as the smaller tiered group, Tear Da Club Up Thugs on the album CrazyNDaLazDayz
CrazyNDaLazDayz
CrazyNDaLazDayz is a debut album by "Tear Da Club Up Thugs" Release date Dec 6, 1999, the original trio of Three 6 Mafia. Singles contained are "Slob On My Knob", "Push'em Off", and "Hypnotize Cash Money".-Track listing:#DaLazDayz...
.
In 2006 it was featured in an international hit song by Trinidadian soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
group Sugar Daddy titled "Sweet Soca Music".
Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
, a good friend of Ashcroft, performed a live cover of the song in an Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
concert.
Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
performed "Don't Tell Me" on her 2004 Re-Invention World tour and included the tune of Bittersweet Symphony in the song. There were two versions of "Don't Tell me" used on the tour. Certain dates had the version with bittersweet symphony while other dates had a different version with a French feel and vibe.
In late 2008, American musician Ace Enders, former front man of successful New Jersey emo
Emo
Emo is a style of rock music and its associated subcultureEmo may also refer to:- Businesses :* Emo , an Irish oil company and filling station chain* Emo Speedway, a racetrack in Emo, Ontario...
act The Early November
The Early November
The Early November is an American rock band from Hammonton, New Jersey. The group formed in 1999 and signed with Drive-Thru Records in 2002. , they have released two EPs , as well as two full-length albums...
, covered the song to kick off his solo project "Ace Enders and a Million Different People". The song's proceeds went to benefit the VH1 Save the Music Foundation. This rendition was exclusively sold via Apple's iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
, also one of the partners involved in the benefit. The single went on to sell tens of thousands of downloads. Enders invited other successful front men in the genre to join him in singing on the track. Guest performers included Mark Hoppus
Mark Hoppus
Mark Allan Hoppus is an American musician, record producer, and television host. He is the bass guitarist and one of the two lead vocalists of the pop punk band Blink-182, as well as the bass guitarist and lead vocalist of the alternative rock band +44. He is a co-founder of both bands...
of Blink-182
Blink-182
Blink-182 is an American rock band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 27 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992...
, Matt Thiessen
Matt Thiessen
Matthew Arnold Thiessen is a Canadian-American musician, known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the Christian rock band Relient K. With Relient K, he has released six full-length albums, including three that were certified Gold, and three that...
of Relient K
Relient K
Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio by Matt Thiessen, Brian Pittman, and Matt Hoopes during the band's junior year in high school and their time at Malone University...
, Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low
All Time Low
All Time Low is an American pop punk band from Baltimore, Maryland, formed in 2003.The band consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alexander Gaskarth, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Jack Barakat, bassist and backing vocalist Zachary Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson...
, Craig Owens of Chiodos
Chiodos
Chiodos is an American post hardcore band from Davison, Michigan. Formed in 2001, the group was originally known as "The Chiodos Bros," the band's name was a tribute to filmmakers Stephen, Charles, and Edward Chiodo, responsible for the film Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Chiodos released their...
, Kenny Vasoli of The Starting Line. All proceeds from the project went to the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.
The song was also featured at the ending of the 1999 film Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions is a 1999 American drama film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair. The film is an adaptation of the 18th-century French epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Laclos and is set among wealthy teenagers living in modern New York...
.
The song has also been used by ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, as the background music to the opening sequence for England's international football matches, such as the qualifiers
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
The European zone of qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup saw 53 teams competing for 13 places at the finals. The qualification process started on 20 August 2008, after UEFA Euro 2008, and ended on 18 November 2009. The qualification process saw the first competitive matches of...
for the 2010 World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
. The music can be heard as the camera moves through a digital video of England's football history and eventually ends up at the new Wembley Stadium.
At the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest, it can be heard during the postcard of the Irish entry.
Mexican Institute of Sound
Mexican Institute of Sound
Mexican Institute of Sound is an electronic music project created by Mexico City-based DJ and producer Camilo Lara. By day, Lara is the president of EMI Mexico and at night he is mastermind of M.I.S. Along with groups like Nortec Collective and Kinky, M.I.S...
's album Soy Sauce includes a cover of the song in Spanish titled "Sinfonia Agridulce".
The NFL's Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
entered the field to this song at Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
and continue to use this song before their home games.
A mash-up has been made that puts together "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder
Dirt off Your Shoulder
"Dirt off Your Shoulder" is the second single released from Jay-Z's 2003 album The Black Album.In 2004, the song was combined with the Linkin Park single "Lying from You" and released as a single for the mash-up album Collision Course....
" by Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
.
The NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
franchise Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...
uses the song during pre-game introductions.
The song also features in a 2009 commercial by Turkish Integrated Food Group Ulker http://www.mutlubiran.com/
The song was featured in a 2009 commercial for The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation
Princess Margaret Hospital (Toronto)
Princess Margaret Hospital is located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada on University Avenue at College Street. It is part of the University Health Network...
, promoting donations for cancer research.
The 2009 video game DJ Hero
DJ Hero
DJ Hero is a music video game, developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision as a rhythm game spin-off of the Guitar Hero franchise. It was released on October 27, 2009 in North America and on October 29, 2009 in Europe...
uses the Andrew Oldham Orchestra sample loop exactly as heard in "Bitter Sweet Symphony".
The song appears in an episode of the television series The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
("That '90s Show", episode 11/Season 19).
The song was sampled in the demo version of "Ridin' Solo
Ridin' Solo
"Ridin' Solo" is the third single from Jason Derülo's debut self-titled album, Jason Derülo produced by J.R. Rotem. The demo originally sampled "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve, but the sample was not cleared and was subsequently replaced with electronic motifs which are featured throughout the...
" by Jason DeRülo
Jason Derulo
Jason Joel Desrouleaux , better known by his stage name Jason Derülo, is an American singer-songwriter, actor and dancer. After producing records for several artists and writing songs for Cash Money Records, co-founder of the label Birdman, Young Money Entertainment owner Lil Wayne and rapper...
, but was removed in the official album version as the sample was not cleared.
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" was performed by Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby is an English musician and producer. Best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science", and 1984 single "Hyperactive!", he has also worked extensively in production and as a session musician.-Early life:Dolby was born in London, England, contrary to information in early 1980s...
and the string quartet ETHEL
Ethel (string quartet)
ETHEL is a New York based string quartet that was co-founded in 1998 by Ralph Farris, viola; Dorothy Lawson, cello; Todd Reynolds, violin; and Mary Rowell, violin. Unlike most string quartets, ETHEL plays with amplification and integrates improvisation into its performances...
, accompanied by bagpipe, to open the TED2010
TED (conference)
TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
conference in Long Beach, California on February 10, 2010.
It is featured throughout the 2005 film Fierce People
Fierce People (film)
Fierce People is a 2005 drama thriller film adapted by Dirk Wittenborn from his 2002 novel of the same name. Directed by Griffin Dunne, it starred Anton Yelchin, Diane Lane, Kristen Stewart, Chris Evans, and Donald Sutherland.-Plot:...
.
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
superstars Trent Barreta and Caylen Croft briefly used an instrumental variation of "Bitter Sweet Symphony", referred to as "Semi Sweet Symphony", as their entrance theme during the first few weeks of their ECW run.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre recorded a cover of the song entitled "Bittersweet Irony".
The song was featured at the end of an episode of Center Stage.
In 2010, McFly
McFly
McFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records...
guitarist and vocalist Danny Jones
Danny Jones
Daniel Alan David "Danny" Jones is an English musician who is one of the lead vocalists and guitarists for pop rock band McFly, alongside fellow members Tom Fletcher , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd .-McFly:McFly rose to fame in 2004, in part due to their association with Busted who helped launch...
covered this song in a Live Biz Session for The Sun newspaper.
On January 28, 2011, Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee is an American progressive rock jam band based in Chicago whose music is often referred to as "progressive improvisation", or "improg" ....
mashed up "Bitter Sweet Symphony" with their own original song "Hajimemashite", at their performance at Best Buy Theater in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. They called the mashup
Mashup (music)
A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...
"Bitter Sweet Haj".
Track listings
- CD 1 HUTDG 82
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (original) – 6:00
- "Lord I Guess I'll Never Know" – 4:51
- "Country Song" – 7:50
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (radio edit) – 4:35
- CD 2 HUTDX 82
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (extended version) – 7:52
- "So Sister" – 4:11
- "Echo Bass" – 6:39
- Cassette HUTC 82
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (radio edit) – 4:35
- "Lord I Guess I'll Never Know" – 4:51
- 7" HUTLH 82
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (radio edit) – 4:35
- "Lord I Guess I'll Never Know" – 4:51
- 12" HUTT 82
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony (original) – 6:00
- "Lord I Guess I'll Never Know" – 4:51
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (James Lavelle Remix)
- "Country Song" – 7:50
- Promo CD HUTCDP 82
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (radio edit) – 4:35
- Promo 12" HUTTP 82
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (alt version)
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (MSG)
- Remix 12" HUTTR 82
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (James Lavelle Remix)
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (James Lavelle Instrumental Remix)
US version
On 10 March 1998 Bitter Sweet Symphony was released in America. The single was distributed by Virgin RecordsVirgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
- CD V25D-38634
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (original) – 5:58
- "Lord I Guess I'll Never Know" – 4:52
- "So Sister" – 4:11
- "Echo Bass" – 6:39
- Cassette 4KM-38634
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (original) – 5:58
- "Lord I Guess I'll Never Know" – 4:52
- Promo CD DPRO-12727
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (radio edit) – 4:16
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (original) – 5:57
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (Call Out Research Hook 1 Vocal) – 0:12
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (Call Out Research Hook 2 Instrumental) – 0:11
- Promo 12" SPRO-12775
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (James Lavelle Remix) - 5:50
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (album version) – 5:57
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (James Lavelle Instrumental Remix) - 5:50
Japanese version
- CD VJCP-12077
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (original) – 6:00
- "Lord I Guess I'll Never Know" – 4:51
- "Country Song" – 7:50
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (radio edit) – 4:35
Dutch version
- CD 8943752
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (original) – 6:00
- "Lord I Guess I'll Never Know" – 4:51
- "Country Song" – 7:50
- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (radio edit) – 4:35
Peak positions
| Chart (1997-98) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
|
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
|
| Belgium Singles Chart (Vl) Ultratop 40 Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization... |
|
| Belgium Singles Chart (Wa) Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... |
|
| Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Singles Chart |
|
| Canadian RPM Alternative 30 Canadian rock/alternative chart The Canadian rock/alternative chart was first published on June 11, 1995 by RPM magazine under the name Alternative 30. The song which held the number-one spot on this first chart was "More Human than Human" by White Zombie... |
|
| Dutch Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
|
| Finnish Singles Chart | |
| French Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
|
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
|
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
|
| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
|
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
|
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
|
| US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1998) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 79 |
| Canadian RPM Alternative 30 | 27 |