Spiralling
Encyclopedia
"Spiralling" is a song released by Keane, on August 4, 2008 at 10:59 (CEST
) as the first single of their third album, Perfect Symmetry
. It was released in a similar fashion to that of "Atlantic
" as a digital download only single; however, it was available as a free download from Keanemusic.com for the first week of release.
On July 31, the message "When we fall in love, we're just falling in love with ourselves" appeared on the band's website in reference to the track. On August 11, 2008, the song was released as an official digital download on iTunes
. The song was said to be inspired by wrestling legend Ric Flair
who Tom Chaplin
described as a personal hero for his try hard mentality in the ring. His trademark "woo" inspired the song.
Frontman Tom Chaplin
described the song as "a train of thought about human endeavour, built on an outrageous groove".
The song went on to become the most broadcast song of the world during its first week of release, as well as the fastest-downloading song ever for Universal
, reaching 500,000 downloads in less than a week.
Keane performed the song live to an audience for the first time at the 2008 GQ Awards on September 2, 2008.
The song won Best Track at the Q Awards
on October 6, 2008, with all three members of the band present at the ceremony to accept the award.
It also spent a total of 18 weeks in the UK Singles Chart
despite only being a download single.
left a note reading "Andras Ketzer has perfectly represented the difference between the idealised dream and the dystopian reality of human existence". It features robots walking in such a manner of the I, Robot
film adaptation and shots of lead singer Tom Chaplin
staring at TV sets while sitting in a couch. There are also shots of him singing the song from inside a blue room.
at #28 on downloads alone and peaked at #23 without a video or physical release.
The song debuted on #26 in the Dutch Top 40
on the August 23, 2008 issue and peaked at #12.
On October 5, 2008, the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart
at #36 and peaked at #23 again.
The song has spent 10 weeks in the UK Top 40 without entering the Top 20. Despite remaining as Keane's longest lasting single in the UK Top 100 (18 weeks), it became the band's joint-lowest charting single at the time mainly due to it not being physically released. However, it marked the band's ninth consecutive UK Top 40 single.
performed an acoustic cover of "Spiralling" in the BBC Radio 1
Live Lounge
on 9 October 2008 and features on the "No Can Do" Single which peaked also at #23
Central European Summer Time
Central European Summer Time is one of the names of the Daylight saving time offset using the UTC offset of UTC+02:00, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in most European countries. During the winter, Central European Time is used...
) as the first single of their third album, Perfect Symmetry
Perfect Symmetry (Keane album)
Perfect Symmetry is the third studio album by English rock band Keane, released on 13 October 2008 in the United Kingdom. The album's title was released on 31 July 2008. The band had completely transformed their look and their new album was said to be also very unexpected...
. It was released in a similar fashion to that of "Atlantic
Atlantic (song)
"Atlantic" is a song performed and composed by English alternative rock band Keane and is featured on their second studio album, Under the Iron Sea as the opening track. The cover of the album is also the illustration representing the song in the inner pages of the book-shaped CD+DVD edition...
" as a digital download only single; however, it was available as a free download from Keanemusic.com for the first week of release.
On July 31, the message "When we fall in love, we're just falling in love with ourselves" appeared on the band's website in reference to the track. On August 11, 2008, the song was released as an official digital download on iTunes
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...
. The song was said to be inspired by wrestling legend Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
who Tom Chaplin
Tom Chaplin
Thomas Oliver "Tom" Chaplin is a singer, musician and composer, best known as the lead vocalist of the piano rock band, Keane.-Life and career:...
described as a personal hero for his try hard mentality in the ring. His trademark "woo" inspired the song.
Frontman Tom Chaplin
Tom Chaplin
Thomas Oliver "Tom" Chaplin is a singer, musician and composer, best known as the lead vocalist of the piano rock band, Keane.-Life and career:...
described the song as "a train of thought about human endeavour, built on an outrageous groove".
The song went on to become the most broadcast song of the world during its first week of release, as well as the fastest-downloading song ever for Universal
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
, reaching 500,000 downloads in less than a week.
Keane performed the song live to an audience for the first time at the 2008 GQ Awards on September 2, 2008.
The song won Best Track at the Q Awards
Q Awards
The Q Awards are the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine Q. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards have become one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards, helped in no small part by the often boisterous behavior of the celebrities who attend the event...
on October 6, 2008, with all three members of the band present at the ceremony to accept the award.
It also spent a total of 18 weeks in 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 ...
despite only being a download single.
UK 7" vinyl
- "Spiralling"
- A special one-sided limited edition 7" of 1,000 copies of the single was released and sent to members of the messageboard. The single came inside a special box designed to contain the remaining singles of the "Perfect Symmetry era" (similar to the one released with "AtlanticAtlantic (song)"Atlantic" is a song performed and composed by English alternative rock band Keane and is featured on their second studio album, Under the Iron Sea as the opening track. The cover of the album is also the illustration representing the song in the inner pages of the book-shaped CD+DVD edition...
")
- A special one-sided limited edition 7" of 1,000 copies of the single was released and sent to members of the messageboard. The single came inside a special box designed to contain the remaining singles of the "Perfect Symmetry era" (similar to the one released with "Atlantic
US 7" vinyl
- "Spiralling"
- "Spiralling" (Diplo vs Keane Mad Spirals Mix)
- Promo issued on InterscopeInterscope RecordsInterscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
with the same artwork as the UK version.
- Promo issued on Interscope
Music video
The music video for "Spiralling" was released on the Keane Official Website on September 26. Composer Tim Rice-OxleyTim Rice-Oxley
Timothy James Rice-Oxley , is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known as co-founder, the principal composer and pianist, backing vocalist of piano rock band Keane.-Life and career:...
left a note reading "Andras Ketzer has perfectly represented the difference between the idealised dream and the dystopian reality of human existence". It features robots walking in such a manner of the I, Robot
I, Robot (film)
I, Robot is a 2004 science-fiction action film directed by Alex Proyas. The screenplay was written by Jeff Vintar, Akiva Goldsman and Hillary Seitz, and is very loosely based on Isaac Asimov's short-story collection of the same name. Will Smith stars in the lead role of the film as Detective Del...
film adaptation and shots of lead singer Tom Chaplin
Tom Chaplin
Thomas Oliver "Tom" Chaplin is a singer, musician and composer, best known as the lead vocalist of the piano rock band, Keane.-Life and career:...
staring at TV sets while sitting in a couch. There are also shots of him singing the song from inside a blue room.
Release history
| Country | Date |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
4 August 2008 |
| Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... |
5 August 2008 |
Charts
On August 17, 2008, the song entered the UK Singles ChartUK 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 ...
at #28 on downloads alone and peaked at #23 without a video or physical release.
The song debuted on #26 in the Dutch Top 40
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...
on the August 23, 2008 issue and peaked at #12.
On October 5, 2008, the song re-entered 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 ...
at #36 and peaked at #23 again.
The song has spent 10 weeks in the UK Top 40 without entering the Top 20. Despite remaining as Keane's longest lasting single in the UK Top 100 (18 weeks), it became the band's joint-lowest charting single at the time mainly due to it not being physically released. However, it marked the band's ninth consecutive UK Top 40 single.
| Chart (2008) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Top 40 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... |
12 |
| UK Download Chart | 21 |
| Ireland Singles Chart | 22 |
| 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 ... |
23 |
| Belgian Flanders Singles Chart | 41 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
52 |
| European Hot 100 Singles | 66 |
Covers
SugababesSugababes
The Sugababes are an English pop girl group based in London, consisting of members Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen. The Sugababes were formed in 1998 with founding members Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. Their debut album, One Touch, was released in 2000 under London...
performed an acoustic cover of "Spiralling" in the BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
Live Lounge
Live Lounge
The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio station BBC Radio 1. Originally hosted by Jo Whiley on her mid-morning radio show and now hosted by Fearne Cotton, it exhibits well-known artists usually performing one song of their own and one by another artist, in an acoustic format...
on 9 October 2008 and features on the "No Can Do" Single which peaked also at #23
External links
- Official Keane site
- Keaneshaped on "Spiralling"
- Sugababes Live Lounge cover (not available in North America)