Echo Beach

"Echo Beach" is a song recorded by the Canadian group Martha and the Muffins in 1979. Written by band member Mark Gane, it was released as a single from their album Metro Music in 1980 and won the Juno Award for Single of the Year. It was certified gold in Canada on 1 October 1980, a month after Metro Music achieved gold status.[3] It was the band's only significant international hit, although they had several others in Canada. It reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart,[4] and No. 6 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report).[5]

For other uses, see Echo Beach (disambiguation).

"Echo Beach"
Single by Martha and the Muffins
from the album Metro Music
B-side"Teddy the Dink"
Released8 February 1980[1]
RecordedAugust 1979
GenreNew wave[2]
Length3:38
LabelDindisc
Songwriter(s)Mark Gane
Producer(s)Mike Howlett
Martha and the Muffins singles chronology
"Insect Love"
(1979)		 "Echo Beach"
(1980)		 "Saigon"
(1980)

In 2003, Q magazine listed it among the 1001 best songs ever.[6] In 2005, "Echo Beach" was named the 35th greatest Canadian song of all time on the CBC Radio One series 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version.

Background

Echo Beach, as mentioned in the song, does not refer to a real beach, (however there is a real Echo Beach in the Qu'Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan, which is and was a very popular camping / sunbathers spot) but rather a symbolic notion of somewhere the narrator would rather be, somewhere "far away in time". The song was created while Gane was working checking wallpaper for printing faults. He found the work rather dull and his mind drifted to times he would like to live over again. One such time was an evening spent at Sunnyside Beach on the shoreline of Lake Ontario in Toronto in summer. Echo Beach was a reference made to a faded time and place gone in the lyrics of the song "Hiroshima Mon Amour" by the band Ultravox.

"Echo Beach" was only the third song that Gane had written.[7]

The map shown on the cover of one version of the single is of Toronto Islands, while another single shows the north-western end of the Fleet Lagoon and the bar of Chesil Beach, the location of Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset.

30th anniversary version

In 2010, the band released a "30th anniversary version" of "Echo Beach." A commentator described the new version as "definitely a different song compared to the previous version; it's slower and the famous guitar riff that introduces the song is acoustic. [The original] was also good to be danced to, whereas the new one is darker and languid."[8] Mark Gane explained, "We wanted to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the song, by not trying to replicate the version that we originally recorded, but as musicians who've experienced three decades of living. We'd like to refer to the new recording of Echo Beach as our 'grown-up' version."[9]

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[10] Gold 75,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Silver 200,000

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other versions
"Echo Beach"
Single by Toyah
from the album Desire
B-side"Plenty"
Released1987
GenreNew wave
LabelE.G.
Songwriter(s)Mark Gane
Producer(s)Mike Hedges
Toyah singles chronology
"World in Action"
(1985)		 "Echo Beach"
(1987)		 "Moonlight Dancing"
(1987)

The song was covered by British pop star Toyah in 1987, reaching number No. 54 in the UK Singles Chart,[12] and was also released in Germany. Gabriella Cilmi also covered "Echo Beach", which was used as the theme song for the soap opera of the same name and appeared exclusively on the deluxe UK edition of her 2008 album Lessons to Be Learned.[13]

French adaptation

An adaptation of the song, titled 'Egoiste' (translated as 'Selfish'), was released by French singer-songwriter La Grande Sophie for her 2005 album La Suite, in which the lyrics have been changed, while the music and layout of the song remains the same.[14][15]

Concert venue

In June 2011, concert promoter Live Nation opened a 4,000-person outdoor concert facility in Toronto and named it after the song.[16][17]

Sampling

The 2009 song "Box 'n' Locks" by MPHO samples the melody from Echo Beach.[18]

References
  1. http://www.45cat.com/record/din9
  2. Bush, John. "Martha and the Muffins | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved 2011-10-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 351. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  5. "One Hit Wonders". australian-charts.com. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  6. Trynka, Paul, ed. (2003). "1001 Best Songs Ever". Q (Special edition). Top 10 80’s Pop.
  7. "Martha and the Muffins back after 18 years". CBC.ca. February 2, 2010. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013.
  8. Roberta Capuano (August 20, 2010). "Martha and the Muffins – Echo Beach". AAA Music.
  9. Ibid.
  10. "Canadian single certifications – Martha and the Muffins – Echo Beach". Music Canada. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  11. "British single certifications – Martha & The Muffins – Echo Beach". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  12. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 563. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  13. Jones, Chris (2008). "BBC - Music - Review of Gabriella Cilmi - Lessons To Be Learned". BBC. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  14. "Egoïste La Grande Sophie lyrics sheet". paroles-musique.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  15. "La Grande Sophie "Egoiste"". video-streaming.orange.fr. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  16. Vaccaro, Mishki (April 26, 2011). "Live Nation to open Echo Beach, a new 4,000-person venue in Toronto". Toronto Life. ISSN 0049-4194. OCLC 2545264. Archived from the original on July 4, 2011.
  17. "TD Echo Beach Upcoming Shows in W. Toronto, Ontario — Live Nation". Echobeach.ca. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  18. "MPHO - 'Box 'n' Locks'". BBC Radio 1. July 14, 2009. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
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