"Saviour's Day" is a song by Cliff Richard. It was the United Kingdom Christmas number one single in 1990, the second occasion Richard had a solo Christmas number one (the first being "Mistletoe and Wine"). The video for the song was filmed in Dorset.
| "Saviour's Day" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Cliff Richard | ||||
| from the album From a Distance: The Event | ||||
| B-side | "Where You Are" (Dave Cooke, Cliff Richard) | |||
| Released | 26 November 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 16–18, 20–23 July 1990 | |||
| Studio | RG Jones, London | |||
| Length | 4:55 | |||
| Label | EMI Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Chris Eaton | |||
| Producer(s) | Cliff Richard and Paul Moessl | |||
| Cliff Richard singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Saviours Day" on YouTube | ||||
Composition
edit"Saviour's Day" was written by Chris Eaton and produced by Cliff Richard and Paul Moessl.[1] Eaton wrote the song in October 1989, and took his original version of the song with him to a Christmas party to show to Richard. Eaton had been warned that all of Richard's songs for the following year were already booked in and there would not be space for it. However, Eaton insisted that Richard listen to the tape he brought along, and so they left the party and listened to it in Richard's Rolls-Royce. Richard immediately liked the song and predicted that it could be a number one record.[2]
Music video
editThe music video for "Saviour's Day" was filmed in Dorset, in the town of Swanage and at Durdle Door.[3] The video was shot in September 1990. Richard and the extras in the video were asked to wear winter clothes for the Christmas song, but the day's filming took place on a warm September day with blue sky and sunshine.[4] The video featured Richard and the extras singing together on top of the limestone arch of Durdle Door.
Release and reception
editIn the UK, "Saviour's Day" entered the UK Singles Chart on 8 December 1990 at number six. It went to number three the following week, and up a further spot in the week before Christmas. The song was broadcast on radio 1 chart show as number one on 23 December 1990, when the charts radio show is aired weekly, (the artists know beforehand) becoming that year's Christmas number one and replacing the previous week's UK number one, "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice.[5] A week later "Saviour's Day" dropped back down to number three, and spent only one more week in the top 40 at number twenty. The final charted spot in the top 100 was on 19 January 1991, when "Saviour's Day" was at number 53.[6] The song was Richard's second solo Christmas number one in the UK, after "Mistletoe and Wine" in 1988.[7]
In 2017, ShortList's Dave Fawbert listed the song as containing "one of the greatest key changes in music history".[8]
Charts and certifications
editChart positions
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Year-end chartsedit
Certificationsedit
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References
edit- ^ a b "Cliff Richard – Saviour's Day" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ Turner, Steve (2008). Cliff Richard: The Biography. Oxford: Lion. p. 324. ISBN 9780745952796.
- ^ "Gulf Holiday Ad 'Borrows Dorset Landmark'". Sky News. 15 August 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ^ Durdle Door, Cliff Richard and me (20 December 2007). "Dorset - History - Durdle Door, Cliff Richard and me". BBC. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ "All The Number One Singles - 1990". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ Whiting, Kate (15 December 2008). "Cliff Richard - stepping back into the shadows". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ^ "The 19 greatest key changes in music history". ShortList. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
- ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 13 Jan 1991 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 51)". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 20 April 2017.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Saviour's Day". Irish Singles Chart.
- ^ UK Best Selling Singles of 1990
- ^ "British single certifications – Cliff Richard – Saviour's Day". British Phonographic Industry.
