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Pure Morning
1998 single by Placebo

"Pure Morning" is a song by British alternative rock band Placebo, released as the lead single from their second album, Without You I'm Nothing (1998), in August 1998. Along with "Nancy Boy", it is Placebo's highest-charting single on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number four. It is their highest charting single in the United States, reaching number 19 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Elsewhere, the song reached the top 50 in Australia, Canada, Iceland, Ireland and New Zealand. In October 2017, the song was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

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Writing and recording

"Pure Morning" was a last-minute addition to Without You I'm Nothing, being recorded as the band prepared B sides for the album in May, under "Nancy Boy" producer Phil Vinall. After playing with a guitar loop, they decided to develop it into a full song. Brian Molko said the lyrics were written "off the top of my head", so he only noticed their significance after recording.1

Molko said that overall it was "a song about friendship", starting from the situation of "coming down when the rest of the world is waking up", such as when clubgoers get home as the sun rises and everyone else is going to work. The feeling of dislocation, "that point you feel like your life is the least sorted ever", would be solved by someone to "slip their arm around you and make slumber easier."

Molko summed up as "All you really crave is for a friend to put their arms around you and make you feel better. That's the pure morning, when that happens."23

Music video

The music video, directed by Nick Gordon, and shot in slow motion at the junction of Savoy Street and Savoy Hill in London, features Brian Molko as a suicidal person. Police and authorities attempt to stop him from jumping from a building to end his life. Shots of the other band members consist of them being arrested for unseen crimes. News crews report on the scene and a single police officer runs through the building to attempt to dissuade Molko from jumping. Molko eventually jumps immediately before the officer reaches him, briefly falls, then is seen landing in a standing position on the side of the building, facing the street below him. He then walks down the side of the building, astonishing everyone.4

Live performances

The song was a staple of the band's setlist from 1998 through to 2005. After playing it on a number of shows during the band's stint on the Projekt Revolution tour of 2007, it was not performed between 2008 and 2016. In November 2013, in an interview, Brian Molko stated that although he still likes the music, the lyrics of the song nauseate him.5 In October 2016, the song returned to the setlist and has opened almost every Placebo live set since.6

Track listings

UK CD17

  1. "Pure Morning" (radio edit)
  2. "Mars Landing Party"
  3. "Leeloo"

UK CD28

  1. "Pure Morning" (album version)
  2. "Needledick"
  3. "The Innocence of Sleep"

Personnel

Placebo

Technical personnel

  • Phil Vinall – production
  • Paul Corkett – additional engineering
  • Jake Davies – mixing assistant
  • Phelan Kane – programming
  • Teo Miller – engineering
  • Bunt Stafford-Clark – mastering (at Townhouse Studios, London)

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1998–1999)Peakposition
Australia (ARIA)949
Canada Top Singles (RPM)1034
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)1115
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)128
Ireland (IRMA)1325
Netherlands (Single Top 100)1484
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)1521
Scotland (OCC)164
UK Singles (OCC)174
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)1819
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)1940

Year-end charts

Chart (1998)Position
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)2073
UK Singles (OCC)21152
Chart (1999)Position
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)2254

Certifications

RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)23Silver200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
United Kingdom3 August 1998CD24
United States5 October 1998Active rock radio
  • Hut
  • Virgin
25

"Pure Morning" has been featured often in British television advertisements. The song was included on the soundtrack to the film The Chumscrubber (2005). The song was covered by the project of Johnathon Sharp, Biotek, on their album Punishment for Decadence. The intro is featured in an episode of Daria, and it was also used in the Top Gear 2001 J.D. Power Survey, revealing the Lexus LS400.

References

  1. Segal, Victoria. "No More Charlie Angels". NME, August 1998 http://www.placeborussia.ru/press/press-1998-1999/nmeaug98 ↩

  2. The Modern Age, Billboard https://books.google.com/books?id=Fw0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA69 ↩

  3. Segal, Victoria. "No More Charlie Angels". NME, August 1998 http://www.placeborussia.ru/press/press-1998-1999/nmeaug98 ↩

  4. Placebo - Pure Morning on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHQngnnHE_0 ↩

  5. "Interview "Interview: Brian Molko", Nov'13 - LJ Placebo Russia Archive". www.placeborussia.ru. Retrieved 2 February 2016. http://www.placeborussia.ru/press/press-2013/interview-nov13-eng ↩

  6. "Placebo Concert Setlist at 6 Music Live 2016 #1 on October 3, 2016". setlist.fm. Retrieved 19 September 2018. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/placebo/2016/maida-vale-studios-london-england-33fd3c91.html ↩

  7. Pure Morning (UK CD1 liner notes). Placebo. Elevator Music, Hut Records, Virgin Records. 1998. FLOORCD6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) /wiki/Placebo_(band) ↩

  8. Pure Morning (UK CD2 liner notes). Placebo. Elevator Music, Hut Records, Virgin Records. 1998. FLOORDX6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) /wiki/Template:Cite_AV_media_notes ↩

  9. "Placebo – Pure Morning". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 31 August 2019. https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Placebo&titel=Pure+Morning&cat=s ↩

  10. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7010." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 31 August 2019. https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.7010&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.7010.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.7010 ↩

  11. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 34. 22 August 1998. p. 7. Retrieved 11 August 2021. https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1998/MM-1998-08-22.pdf ↩

  12. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (8.10–15.10. 1998)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 9 October 1998. p. 10. Retrieved 4 October 2019. https://timarit.is/page/2975171#page/n9/mode/2up ↩

  13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Pure Morning". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 August 2019. http://irishcharts.ie/search/placement?page=1&search_type=title&placement=Pure+Morning ↩

  14. "Placebo – Pure Morning" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 31 August 2019. https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Placebo&titel=Pure+Morning&cat=s ↩

  15. "Placebo – Pure Morning". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 31 August 2019. https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Placebo&titel=Pure+Morning&cat=s ↩

  16. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 August 2019. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/scottish-singles-chart/19980815/41/ ↩

  17. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 August 2019. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19980815/7501/ ↩

  18. "Placebo Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 August 2019. https://www.billboard.com/artist/Placebo/chart-history/MRT ↩

  19. "Placebo Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 August 2019. https://www.billboard.com/artist/Placebo/chart-history/RTT ↩

  20. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 100 – Vinsælustu Lögin '98". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1999. p. 34. Retrieved 8 February 2020. https://timarit.is/page/2978871?iabr=on#page/n29/mode/2up ↩

  21. "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1998 wg sprzedaży" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20150604184020/http://hosting1642755.az.pl/sp%20uk%20best%201998.html ↩

  22. "Most Played Modern Rock Songs of 1999". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 7, no. 52. 24 December 1999. p. 36. /wiki/Airplay_Monitor ↩

  23. "British single certifications – Placebo – Pure Morning". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 January 2021. https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/14558-426-1 ↩

  24. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 1 August 1998. p. 27. Retrieved 11 July 2021. https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1998/Music-Week-1998-08-01-S-OCR.pdf ↩

  25. "Adds for Rocktober 5 &6". Gavin Report. No. 2226. 2 October 1998. p. 32. /wiki/Gavin_Report ↩