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Many of Horror

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"Many of Horror"
Song

"Many of Horror" is an alternative rock song written by Simon Neil of Scottish band Biffy Clyro for their fifth studio album Only Revolutions. The song was released as the fourth single from the album on 18 January 2010.[2] The song was recorded at Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, CA and mastered at Masterdisk.[3] The lyrics of the song concern Neil's wife and family. Jacknife Lee, who previously remixed "Silhouettes" for the Biffy Clyro and Sucioperro side project Marmaduke Duke, recorded a remix for the song.

Matt Cardle, winner of the 2010 series of The X Factor, recorded a studio version of the song under the title "When We Collide" and released it as his debut single, after having performed it in the final of the competition. Biffy Clyro fans launched an internet campaign to get the original track "Many of Horror" to the festive charts,[4][5] with fans joining a Facebook campaign urging people to buy Biffy Clyro's original single rather than Cardle's cover version. This resulted in the Biffy Clyro version reaching number 8 in the UK Singles Chart, its highest position ever, and Cardle's version became the UK Christmas number 1.

Critical reception

Critical reception of "Many of Horror" was generally positive.

Jamie Fullerton of NME called "Many of Horror" a "perfect rock ballad".[6] Tim Newbound of Rock Sound described it as "beautifully serene" and stated it balances out more aggressive songs on the album.[7] Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic described the song as "mellow". [8]

Thom Gibbs of Drowned in Sound was critical of the song, calling it a "so-so ballad" and describing it as "too emo".[9]

Track listing

CD Single

  1. "Many of Horror" – 4:21
  2. "Toottoottoot" – 4:16

7" Blue Vinyl

  1. "Many of Horror" – 4:21
  2. "Lonely Revolutions" – 2:32

7" Red Vinyl

  1. "Many of Horror" – 4:21
  2. "Creative Burns" – 2:33

iTunes Digital EP

  1. "Many of Horror" – 4:21
  2. "Toottoottoot" – 4:16
  3. "Lonely Revolutions" – 2:32
  4. "Creative Burns" – 2:33

Music video

The video for the song features the band playing in Battersea Power Station. Occasionally, lead singer Simon Neil's face appears distorted.

Chart performance

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[10] 10
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 27
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 11
UK Singles (OCC)[13] 8

Credits

  • Artwork (Cover design, photography) – Stormstudios
  • Music – Biffy Clyro
  • Songwriter (Song lyrics) – Simon Neil
  • Producer – Biffy Clyro, Gggarth (tracks: 1)

Matt Cardle version

"Many of Horror"
Song

"When We Collide" is the debut single from Matt Cardle, the 2010 winner of the seventh series of The X Factor.[14] His version has been re-titled "When We Collide".[5] It was made available as a download on 12 December 2010 shortly after the show had ended, with a physical CD single being released on 15 December 2010.[15]

In December 2010, Cardle stated that "I know there are some Biffy fans that are like, 'What have you done to that song?'...It's a great song. I'm hoping that I've done it justice." Referring to the Facebook campaign to make the original version of the song number 1 in the chart, Cardle said "If that happens then great - it's a great song".[5] On 19 December 2010, it charted number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, beating "What's My Name" by Rihanna featuring Drake and "Surfin' Bird" by The Trashmen, whilst the Biffy Clyro original of Many of Horror re-entered the chart at number 8.[16] The single is the second best-selling single of 2010 according to the UK Singles Chart "Top 100 Selling Singles of 2010" with 815,000 copies sold during that year; the number 1 being "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem featuring Rihanna with sales of 854,000 copies during 2010.[17]

Track listing

Digital download[18]
  1. "When We Collide"
  2. Matt's thank you message
CD single
  1. "When We Collide"
  2. "Just the Way You Are"
  3. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
  4. "Nights in White Satin"

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
BBC[19]
Digitalspy(Positive)[20]
Femalefirst.com[21]
The Beat Review[22]
Unrealityshout.com[23]

Critical reception of Cardle's version of the song was mostly positive although many reviewers noted they preferred the original version. Nick Levine of Digitalspy praised Cardle's vocals, stating he delivered "the violence-tinged lyrics with an appealing sense of intimacy, navigating the inevitable key change with ease and really smashing it on the final note".[20] Rachael Patan of Femalefirst.com[21] and The Beat Review applauded the song choice with the latter stating "his untimely cover of Biffy Clyro’s ‘Many of Horror’ is a very clever and risque thing to do and we applaud him for that".[22]

Fraser McAlpine of the BBC Chart Blog, was much more negative. He stated, "on the evidence of this song, he sure as hell can't sing", comparing his performance to the boyband Westlife.[19] Unrealityshout.com agreed, stating "I actually find it very hard to listen to such a heroically valiant vocal from the Biffy Clyro clan get turned into a whimpering, reedy, falsetto-ridden snoozefest".[23]

Chart positions

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[24] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[25] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2010) Position
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[26] 2

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by UK Singles Chart number-one single
19 December 2010 – 9 January 2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Irish Singles Chart number-one single
17 December 2010 – 14 January 2011 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ "ASCAP ACE - Search Results". ASCAP. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  2. ^ "Many Of Horror by Biffy Clyro Songfacts". Songfacts, LLC. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  3. ^ "Biffy Clyro - Many of Horror (CD) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  4. ^ Lee, Ann (2010-12-13). "Metro Uk: Matt Cardle Xmas No 1 bid challenged by Biffy Clyro Facebook campaign". Metro. Association Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  5. ^ a b c "Matt Cardle defends his 'X Factor' Biffy Clyro cover". NME. 14 December 2010. Archived from the original on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  6. ^ Fullerton, Jamie (9 November 2009). "Album review: Biffy Clyro - 'Only Revolutions' (14th Floor)". NME. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  7. ^ Newbound, Tim (8 November 2009). "Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions". Rock Sound. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  8. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Only Revolutions - Biffy Clyro". Allmusic. Retrieved 15 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  9. ^ Gibbs, Thom (9 November 2009). "Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions". Drownedinsound.com. Retrieved 15 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  10. ^ "Chart Track: Week 50, 2010". Irish Singles Chart.
  11. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Biffy Clyro" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  12. ^ "Biffy Clyro – Many of Horror" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  13. ^ "Biffy Clyro: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  14. ^ "X Factor winner Matt Cardle hailed by his Essex family". BBC News. 2010-12-13. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  15. ^ "When We Collide: Matt Cardle: Amazon.co.uk". Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  16. ^ "Singles Chart For 25/12/2010". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  17. ^ TheOfficialCharts: Cardle at No 1 again - Eminem/Rihanna & Take That scoop 2010 crowns
  18. ^ "When We Collide - Single by Matt Cardle - Download When We Collide - Single on iTunes". Apple Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  19. ^ a b McAlpine, Fraser (13 December 2010). "Matt Cardle - 'When We Collide'". BBC. Retrieved 14 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  20. ^ a b Levine, Nick (13 December 2010). "Matt Cardle: 'When We Collide'". Digitalspy. Retrieved 14 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  21. ^ a b Patan, Rachael (14 December 2010). "Single Review: Matt Cardle-When We Collide". Femalefirst.com. Retrieved 14 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  22. ^ a b "Single Review: Matt Cardle – When We Collide". Wordpress.com. 13 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  23. ^ a b "Single Review: Matt Cardle - 'When We Collide'". Unrealityshout.com. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  24. ^ "Chart Track: Week 50, 2010". Irish Singles Chart.
  25. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  26. ^ "2010 Year-end UK Singles". BBC (BBC Online). 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
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