Shadowplay (song)

Song infobox
Name = Shadowplay
Artist = Joy Division
Album = Unknown Pleasures
Released = June 15, 1979
track_no = 7
Recorded = April 1–17, 1979 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport
Genre = Post-punk
Length = 3:55
Writer = Ian Curtis
Label = Factory Records
Producer = Martin Hannett, Joy Division
prev = "She's Lost Control"
prev_no = 6
next = "Wilderness"
next_no = 8
Misc = Audiosample
Upper caption = Audio sample
Name = Shadowplay
Audio file= Shadowplay sample.ogg
Background = #E6E8FA

"Shadowplay" is a song by the band Joy Division. It appeared on the 1979 album "Unknown Pleasures". The song has been covered by other artists a number of times, most notably by The Killers.

Lyrics

The lyrics, written and originally sung by Ian Curtis include a reference to suicide, he sings "In the shadowplay acting out your own death, knowing no more." Curtis himself committed suicide by hanging on May 18 1980. Early recordings of the lyrics on the "Warsaw" album show the first line of the song as saying "To the centre of the city where all roads meet "looking" for you". In later recordings the word looking is replaced with "waiting".

The Killers version

Single infobox
Name = Shadowplay

---

Type = Song
Artist = The Killers
Album = Sawdust
Released = October 9, 2007 (U.S.)
Format = Download
Recorded =
Genre = Post-punk revival
Length = 4:09
Label = Island, Vertigo
Producer = Flood, Alan Moulder
Last single = "For Reasons Unknown" (2007)
This single = "Shadowplay" (2007)
Next single = "Tranquilize" (2007)
Album = Sawdust
Type = compilation
prev_track = "Tranquilize"
prev_no = 1
this_track = "Shadowplay"
track_no = 2
next_track = "All the Pretty Faces"
next_no = 3
Misc = Audiosample
Upper caption = Audio sample
Audio file= The Killers - Shadowplay.ogg‎
The Killers released a cover of the song as a promotional single for their b-sides and rarities album, "Sawdust". The song was initially recorded for the 2007 film "Control". [ [http://www.nme.com/news/joy-division/25825 "NME", "The Killers cover Shadowplay" (15 Jan 2007)] Access date: 2 August 2007.] Their version plays during the credits to the film and appears on the Control soundtrack. It became a live staple for the band's 2006-2007 "Sam's Town" tour.

It was released as a single on the US iTunes Store on October 9, 2007. The song peaked at #68 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. A music video, directed by Spencer Kaplan and Jonathan V. Sela, was released on November 21, 2007, featuring the band interspersed with clips from "Control".

Charts

External links

* [http://www.joydiv.org/shadowplay/ Shadowplay Fansite]

References