‘There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)’ is a song by the British musical duo Eurythmics, released as the second single from their fifth studio album, Be Yourself Tonight (1985). Upon its release, ‘There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)’ became Eurythmics' first (and to date only) number-one single in the United Kingdom, reaching number one on 27 July 1985 and staying there for two weeks, whilst also topping the charts in Finland, Ireland, and Norway. The song also reached the top 10 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden, while peaking at number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The song features Stevie Wonder, who provides the harmonica solo. Wonder worked on this own schedule, so when Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart went to Los Angeles to record the song, they weren't sure if or when he would show up. "It was getting very late and we were getting pessimistic whether he'd even turn up at all," Lennox recalled in Q magazine. "Finally he showed up, and he was really an adorable person. He had these braids on his hair with beautiful gold beads, and when he plays he shakes his head so the beads make a loud noise. But his assistant, who takes care of him, took out this beanbag thing and gently tied Stevie's hair into it so it didn't make a sound down the mikes. The man is a supreme musician, worth waiting for."
Cash Box said that the "Annie Lennox harmonies, slick Dave Stewart production work and Stevie Wonder's incredible harmonica" were highlights of the song. Billboard similarly praised Wonder's harmonica bridge and Lennox’s "absolutely happy" lead vocals. Spin wrote it was, "in the tradition of the best MOR pop, reminiscent of Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick. It's sweet but not syrupy, the background voices so otherworldly I can only guess if they are human or synthesized."
The music video for ‘There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)’, directed by Eddie Arno and Mark Innocenti, was shot at New Wimbledon Theatre in London in June 1985. It portrays the times of Louis XIV of France (David A. Stewart) being entertained while watching a theatre performance of singing angels (one of which is played by Steven O'Donnell).
The song has been covered by several musical artists, including Brittany Murphy, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Leningrad Cowboys, Luciano Pavarotti, Kylie Minogue, Jessica G. Pilnäs and German girl group No Angels, who obtained their second number-one single in Austria and Germany with their rendition for the reissue of their album Elle'ments in August 2001.
Label – RCA
Songwriters – Annie Lennox, David A. Stewart
Producer – David A. Stewart
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]No-one on earth could feel like this
I'm thrown and overblown with bliss
There must be an angel
Playing with my heart
I walk into an empty room
And suddenly my heart goes "boom"!
It's an orchestra of angels
And they're playing with my heart
[Chorus]
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
[Verse 2]
No-one on earth could feel like this
I'm thrown and overblown with bliss
There must be an angel
Playing with my heart
And when I think that I'm alone
It seems there's more of us at home
It's a multitude of angels
And they're playing with my heart
[Chorus]
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
Must be talking to an angel
[Bridge]
I must be hallucinating
Watching angels celebrating
Could this be reactivating
All my senses dislocating?
This must be a strange deception
By celestial intervention
Leavin' me the recollection
Of your heavenly connection
[Outro]
I walk into an empty room
And suddenly my heart goes "boom"!
It's an orchestra of angels
And they're playing with my heart