Martha's Harbour
Encyclopedia
"Martha's Harbour" is the 1988 hit single by British
rock group, All About Eve
. It has become known as the group's signature song, reaching #10 in the UK Singles Chart
and helping the group's self-titled debut album
reach #7 in the UK albums chart.
The song is also well-known for an incident on the popular BBC
UK music show Top of the Pops
, when the group, ready to do a mimed (as was BBC policy at the time) performance of their hit, were not played the backing track through their monitors, and so sat motionless while the television and studio audience could hear the song. Due to this error on the part of the BBC, the band were invited back the following week and insisted on playing the song live.
On its creation, Julianne Reagan has said, in an interview on BBC radio, "This song happened by accident when we were recording the first album. It was one of those things when we had the day off and we were sat in this very idyllic setting beneath a willow tree besides a stream by this beautiful residential recording studio and it just came out so naturally. It was a miracle of a little song and its very dear to us because of that, because it was very pure, a really happy accident. Everybody went to the pub and we put it down and by the time they got back Martha's Harbour was committed to tape. Martha's Harbour is a fictitious backdrop for this happening."
The song has also been covered other by artists including Victoria Newton
, Méav Ní Mhaolchatha
, and Celtic Spirit.
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...
rock group, All About Eve
All About Eve (band)
All About Eve were a British rock/pop band. The creative core consisted of the Coventry born Julianne Regan , and the Huddersfield born Andy Cousin , with other members changing over the years...
. It has become known as the group's signature song, reaching #10 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 ...
and helping the group's self-titled debut album
All About Eve (album)
All About Eve is the self-titled first album of All About Eve. Commercially, this was their most successful, reaching No.7 in the UK charts and spawning four Top 40 singles...
reach #7 in the UK albums chart.
The song is also well-known for an incident on the popular BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
UK music show Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, when the group, ready to do a mimed (as was BBC policy at the time) performance of their hit, were not played the backing track through their monitors, and so sat motionless while the television and studio audience could hear the song. Due to this error on the part of the BBC, the band were invited back the following week and insisted on playing the song live.
On its creation, Julianne Reagan has said, in an interview on BBC radio, "This song happened by accident when we were recording the first album. It was one of those things when we had the day off and we were sat in this very idyllic setting beneath a willow tree besides a stream by this beautiful residential recording studio and it just came out so naturally. It was a miracle of a little song and its very dear to us because of that, because it was very pure, a really happy accident. Everybody went to the pub and we put it down and by the time they got back Martha's Harbour was committed to tape. Martha's Harbour is a fictitious backdrop for this happening."
The song has also been covered other by artists including Victoria Newton
Victoria Newton
Victoria Newton is an English journalist and showbiz correspondent. She is best known for being the former editor of the Bizarre showbiz column of Rupert Murdoch's The Sun newspaper.-Early life:...
, Méav Ní Mhaolchatha
Méav Ní Mhaolchatha
Méav Ní Mhaolchatha is an Irish singer and recording artist specializing in the traditional music of her homeland. She was one of the original soloists in the musical ensemble Celtic Woman. She sings in multiple languages: English, Gaelic, French and Latin....
, and Celtic Spirit.