"Sleeping Satellite" is the debut single by British singer-songwriter Tasmin Archer, released as the first single from the album, Great Expectationsin September 1992. The song was a number-one hit in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It also became an international hit, reaching the top 20 in 13 other countries and number 32 on the US BillboardHot 100.
Lyrics and music
Although "Sleeping Satellite" was first released in 1992, Archer and her co-writers, John Beck and John Hughes, actually wrote and composed the song in the late 1980s. It was only when Archer got a record deal that the song saw the light of day. In the song, she questions our human priorities and arrogant attitude towards the planet we inhabit. On the song, John Hughes and Robbie McIntosh played guitar, with John Beck and Paul Wickens playing keyboards. The drummer was Graham Broadhead, whilst Gary Maughan played the Fairlight. Archer sings backing vocals on the track along with Tessa Niles and Carol Kenyon. The lyrics of the song reference the Apollo Missions of the 1960s, characterised as "man's greatest adventure"; the sleeping satellite of the title being the Moon.
Critical reception
editor Roch Parisien noted the song as a "hypnotic, fashionably retro-psych-soul beauty". Tom Ewing from Freaky Trigger wrote, "This, it seems to me, is part of what "Sleeping Satellite"'s articulating: a sense of disappointment bordering on betrayal that having dreamed of the Moon – or indeed, because it got there – humanity now seems confined to a slowly boiling Earth. This is potent, raw stuff and very difficult indeed to cover effectively in a pop song. And in truth Archer doesn't cover it effectively – the song's ambiguous and flowery, its emotional kick comes from Archer's self-belief more than anything you can read into it. But I have to say I like the idea that she tried." In 2012, Porcys listed the song at number 59 in their ranking of "100 Singles 1990-1999", noting it as an "ideal pop-soul ballad". They added that "technically, "Sleeping Satellite" is an elegant blend of acoustics with synthetics, starting from the chic cascade, unloading the pomposity of a piece on a bridge built of psychedelic keyboard variations." Nick Duerden from Select described the song as "sultry" and "soulful" in his review of the album Great Expectations.
Chart performance
"Sleeping Satellite" was released in the United Kingdom on 31 August 1992 and swiftly rose up the charts, replacing The Shamen's "Ebeneezer Goode" at number one in October. It stayed at the top for two weeks before being dethroned by Boyz II Men's "End of the Road". It also topped the charts in neighbouring Ireland, spending four weeks at number one. It remains Archer's only top-ten hit in both the UK and Ireland to date. Outside the British Isles, "Sleeping Satellite" topped the chart in Greece and was a top-ten hit in numerous other European countries, including France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. To date, it is Archer's only charting single in the United States, peaking at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1993 and number 24 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In neighbouring Canada, "Sleeping Satellite" reached number six.
2012: Stereolove released an electronic down-tempo cover in August. The track reached number one on the Juno Records UK Pop/Trance charts in November 2012, as well as reaching the top on Kiss FM and Joy 94.9 in Melbourne, Australia. The track reached number 23 on the US DJ Pool Starfleet Top 50 Dance chart.
