Here Comes the Night

"Here Comes the Night" is a 1964 song, written by Bert Berns. It became a hit for Northern Irish band Them, fronted by Van Morrison, in March 1965, charting at No. 2 in the UK and No. 24 in the US. Them's single is listed at either No. 33 or No. 36 in the Top 100 best-selling UK singles during the calendar year 1965, depending on source.

The song was originally released as a single in both the UK and the US. by another Decca Records' artiste, Lulu, in November 1964. Lulu's recording charted at No. 50 in the UK, and failed to chart at all in the US.

Recording and history
Them's version of the song was the second Them track produced by Bert Berns and the first occasion that Them recorded one of his compositions. It was recorded in a session at Decca Studios in West Hampstead, London in October 1964 along with "Baby, Please Don't Go"  and "All For Myself".

Jimmy Page played guitar on this arrangement. Andy White and Tommy Scott performed backing vocals with Phil Coulter on keyboards. Drummer Ronnie Millings recalled that the band worked on the song at the studio with rehearsals lasting four days. [Billy Harrison noted that "I remember sitting in Decca when Bert said he had this song, and he came out with "Here Comes the Night". He had a riff and that's all he had, and we sat and we worked on it, and we came up with what you hear. We worked at it sitting in the studio—but no engineers or anything." Phil Coulter later said, "I knew I'd heard a smash.  It was the first time I'd ever heard a hit record in its emerging state."

According to Phil Coulter the band had intended this song to be the follow-up to "Baby, Please Don't Go" but Decca rush-released a recording of the song by Lulu in November 1964. The band members of Them were said to be bitterly disappointed by this decision made by Decca and Phil Solomon. Phil Coulter remarked: "They bitched to me a lot but they wouldn't dare to have said anything to Solomon." The band was said to have a "certain grim satisfaction" as Lulu's recording reached No. 50 and then dropped off the charts.

Despite a bold, breezy tone the song's lyrics tell a tale of obsessive jealousy and approaching loneliness from the point of view of a rejected lover who voyeuristically watches the new couple.

"Here Comes the Night" was Them's third single in both the UK and the US; the US release following the success of "Gloria" in that market. The first day of its release it sold 16,000 copies, at the time an impressive showing.  It peaked at No.2 in the UK and No.24 in the US, spending 10 weeks on the US chart. It was also released on the EP Mystic Eyes. After the record was released, Them was immediately sent on a public relations push with television appearances on Ready Steady Go! and Top of the Pops.

Van Morrison has remarked on this:

Them were never meant to be on Top of the Pops, I mean miming? Lip syncing? We used to laugh at the programme, think it was a joke. Then we were on it ourselves. It was ridiculous. We were totally anti that type of thing. We were really into the blues...and we had to get into suits and have make-up put on and all that..

"Here Comes The Night" also achieved chart success in other countries worldwide; for example, it reached No. 17 on the Kent Music Report in Australia, and peaked at No. 2 on the Irish Singles Chart. As of 2020, it remains the highest-charting single for Van Morrison in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, as he has never had a No. 1 single in either country. The song was released on the Parrot (US) version of the album THEM in July 1965, and also appears on the album The Story of Them. It was also re-released on the Deram label in 1973, but did not chart.

Billboard described the single as an "intriguing teen rouser with an equally intriguing vocal performance."  Cash Box described it as "a funky, twangy blues-tinged opus with an infectious rhythmic back-beat."

Appearance on other Van Morrison albums
Van Morrison (1974). Having gone on to a solo career, Morrison revisited "Here Comes the Night" on his live album It's Too Late to Stop Now. This rendition is augmented by a string section.
"Here Comes the Night" (the original 1965 version) was included in the 1990 compilation album The Best of Van Morrison.
This song (the original 1964 version) is one of the hits that is included on Van Morrison's 2007 compilation album Still on Top – The Greatest Hits.

Other versions

The song, sung by Scottish singer Lulu, was first released as a single by Decca Records in the UK and Parrot Records in the US in November 1964. Lulu's recording charted at No.50 in the UK.

 The Exciters (1965). A slight variation of the song, named "There They Go". Released on Roulette 4632.
 David Bowie (1973). On his covers album Pin Ups.
 Streetheart (1979) Under Heaven Over Hell.
 The Rivals (1980). A punk version. The Rivals thought they were covering a David Bowie song.
 Native (1994). A reggae version. Featured memorably in the film (and soundtrack to) Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.
 Dwight Yoakam (1997). On his covers album Under the Covers.
 The Fabulous Thunderbirds (1995), on the album Roll of the Dice.
 Rod Stewart (2013), on the special edition of the album Time.
 South African bands All Night Radio and Big Sky have both covered the song.
 Pate Mustajärvi (1988), titled "Taas iskee yö" in Finnish on his album Lago Nero

References

Bibliography
Heylin, Clinton (2003). Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, Chicago Review Press, 
Rogan, Johnny (2006). Van Morrison: No Surrender, London: Vintage Books 

1964 singles
1965 singles
Lulu (singer) songs
Them (band) songs
Van Morrison songs
Songs written by Bert Berns
Song recordings produced by Bert Berns
1964 songs
Parrot Records singles
Decca Records singles
Songs about loneliness
Songs about nights
Songs about depression
Songs about suicide