Song of the Day 10/11: Renaissance, “Northern Lights”
Thanks to an unusually strong solar flare, the aurora borealis made a rare appearance over Delaware last night. Fittingly, I suppose, “Northern Lights” was a rarity, too. It was the only track by British rock band Renaissance to reach the singles charts, and that was only in their native UK – a bit ironic, considering their cult following was centered in the Northeastern U.S.
Despite the bardcore-sounding name, a legacy of its founding by a couple of ex-Yardbirds in the late /60s as a folk/rock/classical hybrid, the classic Renaissance lineup played orchestral prog highlighting Annie Haslam’s vocals and John Tout’s keyboards. They had their greatest run of success in the mid-’70s under the management of Miles Copeland III, capped by this single, which reached No. 10 in the UK in 1978. The band tried adapting to changing times in the ’80s but drifted apart before, fittingly, going through a couple of resurrections. Haslam still leads a version of it today. She lives in Bucks County, Pa.
“Northern Lights” isn’t actually about the aurora, but rather Haslam’s breakup with Roy Wood of ELO and Wizzard after a four-year relationship.
In case you doubted its chops, the band played the tune live during its appearance on the Philadelphia-produced Mike Douglas Show.
Another great northern lights song. One commenter described it thusly:
“I live in northern Canada in shield country. I know what he’s talking about. You go to a special clearing or hollow perhaps near your cabin to take in the northern lights swirling overhead in winter at night and the midnight sun in summer when all is still and the sun is up in the middle of the night. These are both very magical otherworldly events. The place where you take it in becomes like a cosmic mystical temple.”
Oh, the song?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJkL2co5JVo