Heaven Is a Place on Earth

"Heaven Is a Place on Earth"
Single by Belinda Carlisle
from the album Heaven on Earth
B-side	"We Can Change"
Released	September 18, 1987[1]
Format	CD 7" single 12" single
Genre	Pop rock • power pop
Length	4:06 (album version) 3:54 (promo 7" edit) 6:00 (heavenly version)
Label	MCA Records
Writer(s)	Rick Nowels Ellen Shipley
Producer(s)	Rick Nowels
Certification	Silver (BPI)
Belinda Carlisle singles chronology
"Since You've Gone" (1986) "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" (1987) "I Get Weak" (1988)
Music sample "Heaven Is a Place on Earth"

"Heaven Is a Place on Earth" is a song by American singer Belinda Carlisle, featured on her second studio album, Heaven on Earth (1987). Written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, the song was released as the album's lead single in September 1987, and it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 5, 1987, becoming Carlisle's only US chart-topper. A month later it hit number one on the UK Singles Chart and held the spot for two weeks.

The song reached number one in many other countries, among them Switzerland, Ireland, Sweden, South Africa and Norway. The song also reached number three in Germany and Canada, number two in Australia, and number six in Italy. It is widely considered to be Carlisle's signature song because of its success on the charts and its continued relevance today. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Music video

The promotional video was directed by Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton and features an appearance of Carlisle's husband Morgan Mason. It also features children wearing black masks and a cape while each of them holds an illuminated plastic globe. Carlisle appeared wearing a strapless dress and later changed to a black off-the-shoulder blouse. The video was partially filmed at Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park in Valencia, California, on the Spin Out ride.

Production

Carlisle's backup vocalists on the track include songwriters Nowels and Shipley as well as Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas and songwriter Diane Warren. It also featured Thomas Dolby on keyboards.

Track listing

1. "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" - 4:06
2. "We Can Change" - 3:45
3. "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" (Heavenly version) - 6:00
4. "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" (A cappella version) - 3:49

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1987-1988) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[2] 2 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[3] 10 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 3 Canadian Adult Contemporary (RPM)[5] 5 Canadian Top Singles (RPM)[6] 3 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[7] 1 Germany (Official German Charts)[8] 3 Ireland (IRMA)[9] 1 Italy (FIMI)[10] 6 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 7 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[13] 1 Spain (AFYVE)[14] 10 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 1 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[17] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[18] 1 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[19] 7

Year-end charts Chart (1988) Position Australian Singles Chart[20] 11 Dutch Singles Chart[21] 81 German Singles Chart[22] 31 Italian Singles Chart[23] 31 New Zealand Singles Chart[24] 9 Swiss Singles Chart[25] 8 UK Singles Chart[26] 17 US Billboard Hot 100[27] 7 Sales and certifications Region Certification Certified units/Sales Canada (Music Canada)[28] Gold 50,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Silver 250,000^^ ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

In popular culture

The song was featured in the Black Mirror episode "San Junipero", which first aired in October 2016.

Cover versions

• Bessy Argyraki Greek singer in 1988 covered the song in Greek titled I nichta krivi mistika (The night hides secrets)
• The Shadows did an instrumental of the song in 1989 on Steppin' to the Shadows.
• Numerous dance versions of the song have been released by different artists including Nicki French. Soda Club's dance cover reached #13 on the UK Singles Chart.
• Gregorian recorded a cover on their album Masters of Chant Chapter IV
• Italian folk metal band Elvenking covered the song on their 2008 album Two Tragedy Poets (...and a Caravan of Weird Figures)

See also

• List of Billboard number-one singles
• List of number-one singles and albums in Sweden

References

1. Strong, M. C. (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Edinburgh: Canongate Books Ltd. p. 329. ISBN 0-86241-385-0.
2. "Australian-charts.com – Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is a Place on Earth". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
3. "Austriancharts.at – Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is a Place on Earth" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
4. "Ultratop.be – Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is a Place on Earth" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
5. "Adult Contemporary - Volume 47, No. 12, December 26, 1987". RPM. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
6. "Top Singles - Volume 47, No. 11, December 19, 1987". RPM. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
7. "Belinda Carlisle – Chart history" European Hot 100 for Belinda Carlisle.
8. "Musicline.de – Carlisle,Belinda Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
9. "Irish Singles Chart – Search for song". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
10. "Italian Singles Chart – Top Singles of 1988". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
11. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 7, 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
12. "Charts.org.nz – Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is a Place on Earth". Top 40 Singles.
13. "Norwegiancharts.com – Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is a Place on Earth". VG-lista.
14. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
15. "Swedishcharts.com – Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is a Place on Earth". Singles Top 100.
16. "Swisscharts.com – Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is a Place on Earth". Swiss Singles Chart.
17. "Archive Chart: 1988-01-16" UK Singles Chart.
18. "Belinda Carlisle – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Belinda Carlisle.
19. "Belinda Carlisle – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Belinda Carlisle.
20. "1988 Australian Singles Chart". aria. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
21. "1988 Dutch Singles Chart" (in Dutch). dutchcharts. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
22. German Top 20 - The Chart Of 1988
23. Italian Top 100 - The Chart Of 1988
24. "Top Selling Singles of 1988 - The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
25. "1988 Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). swisscharts. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
26. "End Of Year Chart - Top 50 Singles of 1988". mostynhouseschool.com. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
27. "End Of Year Chart - Top 100 Singles of 1988". Retrieved August 19, 2012.
28. "Canadian single certifications – Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is A Place on Earth". Music Canada.
29. "British single certifications – Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is A Place on Earth". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Heaven Is A Place on Earth in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search

External links

• Belinda Carlisle - Heaven Is A Place On Earth music video on YouTube by Universal Music Group.
• Belinda Carlisle - A Place On Earth.
• Belinda discusses "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" - RetroRewind interview
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics