No More Lonely Nights

Song facts

From Wikipedia:

“No More Lonely Nights” is a song written and performed by Paul McCartney, first released on 24 September 1984 on the soundtrack Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984).

Contents

Release and charts

Two versions of the single on both 7″ and 12″, and a 12″ picture disc, were issued in both the UK and US. The first 7″ version featured “No More Lonely Nights” backed with the playout version. The second featured the Arthur Baker Dance Mix as the B-side.

The power ballad reached number 6 in the US and number 2 in the UK. It was included on McCartney’s double album compilation, All the Best! (1987).

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said the song was “an absolutely lovely mid-tempo tune graced by a terrific David Gilmour guitar solo.” In a radio interview prior to 1990’s Knebworth concerts, Gilmour told Jim Ladd that “No More Lonely Nights” was the last thing McCartney recorded for the film, and that he told McCartney to give his session fee to a charity of his choice.

“No More Lonely Nights” was the main song of the soundtrack of “Give My Regards To Broad Street“, written after the movie was entirely filmed.

For Give My Regards To Broad Street, I couldn’t think for a lifetime to write a song saying that. (…) So anyway, in the end, I decided, that was none, and nothing was coming, and I didn’t feel good about it. It felt like too intense a problem, so I do what I always do: I give up, haha! (…) So, that was good, that was of my brain.

Paul McCartney

Another track written specially for the film. We originally had me walking around Broad Street station with just sound effects, and we felt we needed some music in there. I had been thinking the film should have a theme tune, and it seemed like the right place to bring it in – you will hear bits of it throughout the film. I just the song to go with the music.

Then Twentieth Century Fox asked for an upbeat play-out as people leave the cinema, so I was happy rearrange it in an up-tempo version as the play-out; that’s more of a dance version.

Paul McCartney – From the “Give My Regards To Broad Street” book, Pavilion Books, 1984

That was difficult, because the film had to have a song from it. When you’ve got a project, it’s nice to have a hit: it makes the show look good. I knew it was a little bit essential, ’cause it was coming out before the film too, so if that hadn’t been a hit…Actually, it wouldn’t have made much difference! [Laughs.] The song was a hit and the film was a flop! I liked that song.

Paul McCartney, from Club Sandwich N°47-48, Spring 1988

“No More Lonely Nights” was recorded live in three hours, at Elstree Film Studios, where “Give My Regards To Broad Street“, the movie, was filmed.

I had been messing around in the studio with a bass thing. And it was just jamming, one day, when I had nothing to do, coming here, just having some fun on some of the equipment. And this was a bass I had, with an echo device on it. And I’d been playing, those notes (humming the melody line). And the echo was taking care of the rest of it. So it was going… (humming again) …and it made this tune. It was a riff and it went on and on and on for hours. But I asked them to tape it, just in case, because I thought it was just a good idea for something. (…) We ended up using that little peace of echoed bass at the very beginning of the picture, when the titles came on. So I took those notes, and wrote the tune called No More Lonely Nights, which then we used it as a theme tune.

Paul McCartney

I found it quite amazing doing No More Lonely Nights with Paul McCartney. In one three-hour session with a band we learnt it and put it down, and Paul played piano and sang the lead vocal live, and I put the guitar solo down, bang.

David Gilmour

Last updated on February 8, 2022

Lyrics