Peak
22
Weeks
11
Score
1,434
Chart Year
1985
The music video for "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)", directed by Eddie Arno and Mark Innocenti, was shot at New Wimbledon Theatre in London in June 1985. It portrays the times of Louis XIV of France (David A. Stewart) being entertained while watching a theatre performance of singing angels (one of which is played by Steven O'Donnell)
Many Eurythmics songs were fraught with dynamic tension, reflecting the unsettled romantic and professional relationship between lead signer Annie Lennox and instrumentalist Dave Stewart. This song though is pure joy, with Lennox singing about being so happy in love, it feels like angels are playing with her heart. Lennox and Stewart had moved on in their personal lives, and in 1984 Lennox married a man named Radha Raman. The couple got divorced a short time later, and Lennox wrote the incisive "Would I Lie to You?" (also on the Be Yourself Tonight album) about him. No matter her romantic travails, Lennox looked to capture different emotions in her songs, so this one recalls the happier times. The song features Stevie Wonder, who provides the harmonica solo. Wonder worked on this own schedule, so when Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart went to Los Angeles to record the song, they weren't sure if or when he would show up. "It was getting very late and we were getting pessimistic whether he'd even turn up at all," Lennox recalled in Q magazine. "Finally he showed up, and he was really an adorable person. He had these braids on his hair with beautiful gold beads, and when he plays he shakes his head so the beads make a loud noise. But his assistant, who takes care of him, took out this beanbag thing and gently tied Stevie's hair into it so it didn't make a sound down the mikes. The man is a supreme musician, worth waiting for." This is the duo's only UK chart topper. It was also #1 in Norway. In the lavish video, Dave Stewart plays the Sun King, Louis XIV of France. Annie Lennox is a singer brought forth to entertain the King at Versailles. In 2001, the song was covered by the German group No Angels, and their version peaked at #1 in Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, and Brazil.
No one on earth could feel like this I'm thrown and overblown with bliss There must be an angel playing with my heart I walk into an empty room And suddenly my heart goes boom There's a multitude of angels and they're playing with my heart Must be talking to an angel [x12] No one on earth could feel like this I'm thrown and overblown with bliss There must be an angel playing with my heart And when I think that I'm alone It seems there's more of us at home There's an orchestra of angels and they're playing with my heart Must me talking to an angel [x12] I was feeling, Ooh, sedated Watching angels celebrating Could this be reactivating All my senses dislocating This must be the strange deception By celestial intervention Leaving me the recollection Of your heavenly connection I walk into an emtpy room And suddenly my heart goes boom There's a multitude of angels and they're playing with my heart
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 3, 1985 | 64 | 62 |
| 2 | Aug 10, 1985 | 48 | 78 |
| 3 | Aug 17, 1985 | 38 | 88 |
| 4 | Aug 24, 1985 | 32 | 94 |
| 5 | Aug 31, 1985 | 27 | 99 |
| 6 | Sep 7, 1985 | 26 | 100 |
| 7 | Sep 14, 1985 | 24 | 102 |
| 8 | Sep 21, 1985 | 22 | 104 |
| 9 | Sep 28, 1985 | 33 | 93 |
| 10 | Oct 5, 1985 | 57 | 69 |
| 11 | Oct 12, 1985 | 80 | 46 |