" Echo Beach" is a song by Canadian musical group Martha and the Muffins. Written by band member Mark Gane,
Background
Echo Beach in the song is not a real place. It is a metaphor for a pleasant location that someone thinks of when they have an unsatisfactory job.
There is now an Echo Beach in Toronto, but it was named after the song. 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. The B-side, 'Teddy The Dink', is featured on the band's second album Trance and Dance.
The map shown on the cover of the Canadian and US version of the single is of the eastern part of Toronto, including the Beaches neighbourhood, the Leslie Street Spit, and a portion of the Toronto Islands. The UK version of the single shows the north-western end of the Fleet Lagoon and the bar of Chesil Beach, the location of Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset. It has been modified to show Chesil Beach being named as Echo Beach.
Reception
In 2003,
Q magazine listed "Echo Beach" among the 1001 best songs ever.
In 2005, it was named the 35th greatest Canadian song of all time on the CBC Radio One series 50 Tracks.
Releases
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 was also good to be danced to, whereas the new one is darker and languid."
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."
In pop culture
In 1996, the song was featured on
, a 4-CD collection of Canadian music.
In June 2011, concert promoter Live Nation opened a 4,000-person outdoor concert facility in Toronto and named it after the song.
Track listing
- A. "Echo Beach" – 3:38
- B. "Teddy the Dink" – 3:32
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Toyah version
British singer
Toyah Willcox cover version "Echo Beach" on her 1987 album
Desire. The song was released as the lead single from the album and reached number 54 in the UK Singles Chart.
It is Toyah's last charting single in the UK to date.
Track listings
- A. "Echo Beach" – 3:20
- B. "Plenty" – 3:40
- A. "Echo Beach" (Surf mix) – 5:36
- B1. "Echo Beach" (7-inch mix) – 3:20
- B2. "Plenty" – 3:40
Charts
External links
