Emma (song)
Encyclopedia
Emma, also known as Emma, Emmaline or Emmeline, is a song by Errol Brown
and Tony Wilson released as a single by Hot Chocolate in 1974. It reached No.3 in the UK charts
and No.8 in the US charts. Brown explained to The Mail on Sunday
in 2009: "The story is tied to the death of my mother, aged 38. It was almost not released, as Mickie
(Most, producer) thought it too slow and morbid. The girls in his offices at RAK Records
changed his mind."
at an unspecified later date. Emma it seems wanted to be a "movie queen" but could never find the breaks and eventually kills herself because "I just can't keep on living on dreams no more."
Errol Brown
Errol Brown MBE is a singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman of Hot Chocolate. He has British citizenship by marriage to Ginette and they live in The Bahamas...
and Tony Wilson released as a single by Hot Chocolate in 1974. It reached No.3 in the UK charts
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 ...
and No.8 in the US charts. Brown explained to The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
in 2009: "The story is tied to the death of my mother, aged 38. It was almost not released, as Mickie
Mickie Most
Mickie Most was an English record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Arrows, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group often issued on his own RAK Records label....
(Most, producer) thought it too slow and morbid. The girls in his offices at RAK Records
RAK Records
Rak Records was a British record label, founded by record producer Mickie Most in 1969. Rak was home of artists like Herman's Hermits, Suzi Quatro, Mud, Kenny, Hot Chocolate, Smokie, Arrows, Span, Racey and Kim Wilde. Rak Records were distributed via a licensing deal with EMI, which bought the...
changed his mind."
Plot
The song details the love of the (nameless) singer and a girl called Emmaline from the age of five, through a wedding at 17 until her suicideSuicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
at an unspecified later date. Emma it seems wanted to be a "movie queen" but could never find the breaks and eventually kills herself because "I just can't keep on living on dreams no more."
Cover versions
- The Sisters of MercyThe Sisters of MercyThe Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
started performing the song live in 1985. The studio version was released on the b-sideA-side and B-sideA-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of the 12" version of their 19881988 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert....
single, "DominionDominion/Mother Russia"Dominion/Mother Russia" is a song from the album Floodland by The Sisters of Mercy. It was written by Andrew Eldritch and produced by Jim Steinman...
" and on the 2006 re-release of the album FloodlandFloodlandFloodland is the second album by the British band The Sisters of Mercy, which was released in 1987 and marked their commercial break-through.-Break-up of the original band:...
. - Urge OverkillUrge OverkillUrge Overkill is an alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, United States, consisting of Nash Kato , and Eddie "King" Roeser . Their cover of Neil Diamond's song "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" appeared prominently in the movie Pulp Fiction, and became a hit in 1994...
recorded a version for 1990 Touch and Go Records release "Supersonic Storybook". - The Arts and Sciences included the song as a bonus track on their 2004 album Hopeful Monsters.