Format Gramophone Label Attic
Capitol | Genre Pop rock | |
Released 26 April 1985
7 June 1996 (re-issue) Recorded Cambridge Studios, England 1983, 1985 Length 3:16 (original version)
4:00 (re-recorded version) | ||
"Walking on Sunshine" is a song written by Kimberley Rew for Katrina and the Waves' 1983 eponymous debut full-length album. The re-recorded version was at first released on the band's 1985 self-titled album as the album's second single and reached No. 4 in Australia, No. 9 in the United States, and No. 8 in the United Kingdom. It was the Waves' first U.S. top 40 hit, and their biggest success in the United Kingdom until "Love Shine a Light" (1997). Conceived of as a ballad, Katrina decided to belt the song out.
Contents
- Music video
- Dolly Parton cover
- Aly AJ cover
- Other cover versions
- Appearances in popular culture
- References
Royalties from airplay and advertisements of "Walking on Sunshine" have been extremely high. Katrina and the Waves kept the publishing rights and the royalties that typically go to the songwriter have been divided among the band members. Estimates are the song has earned $1 million per year for the ten years ending in 2010. According to a former employee of EMI, "Walking on Sunshine was the crown jewel in EMI's catalog," and that it was one of EMI's biggest earners from advertisers.
2010 was the 25th anniversary of the release of "Walking on Sunshine" and a series of back-catalog re-releases and a re-recorded version of the track were released at the time. A free download of one of the tracks from Kimberley Rew's solo album Bible of Bop was given away in March 2010 from the band's website.
In August 2015, the song was acquired by BMG Rights Management for £10 million, along with all the other songs written by Kimberley Rew and Katrina and the Waves.
Music video
The music video opens with a Docklands alley, the Waves huddling whilst Katrina dances about above them. The video proceeds to depict the band performing live at a United Kingdom concert. Katrina herself is either with or not with them, but either dancing in a disused Docklands warehouse, or walking through Hyde Park on a cloudy day, past a churchyard, Tower Bridge, and the south bank of the Thames. She catches up with the others and feeds ducks (one of them eats the leftovers, referring to the Waves). The four all repair to a backstage dressing room and prepare for a concert.
Dolly Parton cover
In 1996, Dolly Parton included a bluegrass version of "Walking on Sunshine" on her album of covers, Treasures, stating in interviews to promote the album, as well as her CBS TV special to promote the album, that she had long loved the song. In 1997, a dance remix of Parton's version was released.
Aly & AJ cover
Matthew Gerrard produced a cover of "Walking on Sunshine" for American pop rock duo Aly & AJ's debut album, Into the Rush. The song was released as the album's fourth single on June 22, 2005 (see 2005 in music). It was also used to promote the film Herbie: Fully Loaded and makes an appearance on the movie soundtrack. The single's video features Aly & AJ performing and is intercut with clips from the film Herbie: Fully Loaded. The song was shortened down to one minute and 55 seconds (1:55), as it is used for the video. This song was also featured in the 2010 film Ramona and Beezus and the 2011 film Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure.
Other cover versions
Appearances in popular culture
The song is very popular in commercials and advertisers typically pay $150,000 to $200,000 per year to use the song. It has also been featured in several films, including Ask Max (1986), The Secret of My Success (1987), Look Who's Talking (1989), Race the Sun (1996), Bean (1997), American Psycho (2000), High Fidelity (2000), Daddy Day Care (2003), Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), Scandal Makers (2008), Moon (2009) and Camille Rewinds (2012). It has been played on the TV shows Gilmore Girls (as well as sung by character Paris Geller), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Prison Break, Sports Night, The Drew Carey Show and twice on Supernatural. It was also featured in an episode of the Netflix series BoJack Horseman.
In television, it is the favorite song of the character Phillip J. Fry in the animated TV series Futurama. The song is also featured in the video game series Lego Rock Band, SingStar and Band Hero. The song was a theme tune of The Stephanie Miller Show on radio. The song also appears in the intro and credits of the game Lego City Undercover. The song is also featured in M1 TVC. From 2009 to 2012, Nick Jr. had used the song in promos for the series Ni Hao, Kai-Lan.
In 1985, the song was in the Vintage Sports coverage of the Philippine Basketball Association on MBS-4 (later PTV-4) during the PBA All-Filipino Conference. It was used for the commentators during pre-game or post-game huddle and halftime huddle. It also used as the theme song of the Philippine teen-oriented drama T.G.I.S. on GMA Network in 1995 and also used in a 1997 film as T.G.I.S. The Movie.