Recent from talks
A Red Letter Day
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
A Red Letter Day
"A Red Letter Day" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 17 March 1997 as the fourth single from their sixth studio album, Bilingual (1996). It debuted at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, making it another top 10 single for the group. However, it then fell straight out of the top 40 to number 42 the following week. At the time, it was the highest-charting single to last only one week in the top 40.
"A Red Letter Day" originated as an experiment to write a song using the chord progression from Beethoven's "Ode to Joy". The single's B-side "Delusions of Grandeur" is similarly based on Moonlight Sonata.
In keeping with the international theme of Bilingual, Neil Tennant traveled to Russia to record a choir from the Choral Academy of Moscow for the track. The choir was supplemented using the Hallelujah sample library from Best Service to give it a bigger sound. Barbara Tucker, Karen Bernod, and Carole Sylvan also provided backing vocals.
A red letter day is a term for a special day, derived from the use of red ink to mark important dates on calendars. In the song, the red letter day is when someone says, "I love you".
Pet Shop Boys decided to work with Steve Rodway, known as Motiv 8, after they had enjoyed Gina G's hit single "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (1996), which he co-wrote and produced. Motiv 8 did a remix of "A Red Letter Day" and also reworked the song for the single by making the bassline follow the chords and adding a synth line that he had used in his remix.
"A Red Letter Day" was the last single from Bilingual, released on 17 March 1997. It was the duo's 30th hit in the UK, entering the chart at number nine. Music Week chart analyst Alan Jones described the single falling "dramatically" to number 42 the following week as part of "The constant 'revolving door' that is the top end of the singles chart … consigning most of one week's high new entries to become the following week's big droppers". He attributed this trend to large retailers like Woolworths and Asda offering discounted prices for the first week of release, whereas previously only independent and specialty stores had done so.
To promote the single, Pet Shop Boys appeared on the ITV programme This Morning on 12 March for an interview with hosts Richard and Judy. The duo also made an appearance on Top of the Pops at the end of the month.
In the United States, "A Red Letter Day" was released as a double A-side with the Pet Shop Boys version of "Somewhere" from West Side Story, which had been a non-album single in the UK. The US maxi-single, issued by Atlantic Records, entered the Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales chart at number 10 on 15 November 1997 and peaked at number eight the following week.
Hub AI
A Red Letter Day AI simulator
(@A Red Letter Day_simulator)
A Red Letter Day
"A Red Letter Day" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 17 March 1997 as the fourth single from their sixth studio album, Bilingual (1996). It debuted at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, making it another top 10 single for the group. However, it then fell straight out of the top 40 to number 42 the following week. At the time, it was the highest-charting single to last only one week in the top 40.
"A Red Letter Day" originated as an experiment to write a song using the chord progression from Beethoven's "Ode to Joy". The single's B-side "Delusions of Grandeur" is similarly based on Moonlight Sonata.
In keeping with the international theme of Bilingual, Neil Tennant traveled to Russia to record a choir from the Choral Academy of Moscow for the track. The choir was supplemented using the Hallelujah sample library from Best Service to give it a bigger sound. Barbara Tucker, Karen Bernod, and Carole Sylvan also provided backing vocals.
A red letter day is a term for a special day, derived from the use of red ink to mark important dates on calendars. In the song, the red letter day is when someone says, "I love you".
Pet Shop Boys decided to work with Steve Rodway, known as Motiv 8, after they had enjoyed Gina G's hit single "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (1996), which he co-wrote and produced. Motiv 8 did a remix of "A Red Letter Day" and also reworked the song for the single by making the bassline follow the chords and adding a synth line that he had used in his remix.
"A Red Letter Day" was the last single from Bilingual, released on 17 March 1997. It was the duo's 30th hit in the UK, entering the chart at number nine. Music Week chart analyst Alan Jones described the single falling "dramatically" to number 42 the following week as part of "The constant 'revolving door' that is the top end of the singles chart … consigning most of one week's high new entries to become the following week's big droppers". He attributed this trend to large retailers like Woolworths and Asda offering discounted prices for the first week of release, whereas previously only independent and specialty stores had done so.
To promote the single, Pet Shop Boys appeared on the ITV programme This Morning on 12 March for an interview with hosts Richard and Judy. The duo also made an appearance on Top of the Pops at the end of the month.
In the United States, "A Red Letter Day" was released as a double A-side with the Pet Shop Boys version of "Somewhere" from West Side Story, which had been a non-album single in the UK. The US maxi-single, issued by Atlantic Records, entered the Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales chart at number 10 on 15 November 1997 and peaked at number eight the following week.