Pure Shores


"Pure Shores" is a song recorded by English-Canadian girl group All Saints. It was released on 7 February 2000 worldwide, as the lead single from their second studio album Saints & Sinners and written for the film The Beach by band member Shaznay Lewis and produced by William Orbit. "Pure Shores" is an electronica song with elements of dream pop and ambient music. The song's lyrics talk about finding a place to relax and calling it one's own.
"Pure Shores" received acclaim from music critics, who praised the production, lyrics and vocals and has featured on several best-song lists. The song was also a commercial success worldwide, entering the UK Singles Chart at number one, where it remained for two weeks. It achieved worldwide success, topping the charts in Belgium, Ireland, Italy and Romania and also reaching the top ten in countries including Australia, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden. It became the second most successful single of 2000 in the United Kingdom, selling a total of 815,000 copies there and received multiple certifications in other countries.
The accompanying music video for "Pure Shores" was directed by Vaughan Arnell and shows the group walking and singing at Wells-Next-The-Sea beach in Norfolk, England. The group performed the song on Top of the Pops, 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards, and the World Sports Awards in 2000. The single received accolades and nominations, and was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Most Performed Work and was nominated for two BRIT Awards for Best British Single and Best British Video. "Pure Shores" was featured on All Saints' compilation albums All Hits and .

Background

In 1999, three of the group's members – Nicole Appleton, Natalie Appleton and Melanie Blatt – were approached by Dave Stewart to appear on the film Honest, playing the main characters. At the same time, remaining member Shaznay Lewis went to the United States to work with William Orbit, noted for his work with American singer and songwriter Madonna, on the songs and backing tracks for their second album, provisionally titled I Need The Mic. Whilst recording for the album, Lewis approached to write a song for The Beach, a film directed by Danny Boyle and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. She was taken to see a 40-second scene in the film where the song was going to go, because they had not finished the whole film yet. The scene consisted of DiCaprio and co-star Virginie Ledoyen swimming underwater.
According to Lewis, she "had a lot of fun writing that song. It was really nice to write something you're asked to do for once, instead of writing from your own experiences". Orbit himself said it was a track he was very proud of. At the time of its release, the group told BBC Radio 1 that they were a little nervous about the song as it was "not very All Saints", elaborating: "As a whole it was the most different song we've ever done, and it was a nice experience. We know we can turn around and do something a bit off the edge now". According to Cameron Adams of the Herald Sun, Madonna was "reportedly livid" when producer Orbit gave the track to the group and not her. On 24 June 2012, Orbit released an instrumental version of the song on the internet.

Composition

"Pure Shores" is set in common time with a key of C# mixolydian and a moderately fast tempo of 102 beats per minute, following a chord progression of C#-D#m-B-F#. During the middle-8 it briefly changes to G# major. It is an electronica song, with elements of dream pop, and ambient music. The track additionally features "deep sea" bass as well as "dolphin splash" keyboards. According to Time Outs James Manning, the "masterpiece builds from languid ripples to an almighty tidal wave of a chorus". Similarly, James Poletti from Dotmusic commehted that the song carries "lush waves of electronic production and surging chorus", whilst Jon O'Brien from AllMusic also noted its "lush, electronic soundscapes". Jim Wirth of NME said "Pure Shores" is an "inane enough confection of bleeps and fieldmouse rhythms". The New Zealand Herald described the song's composition as "high-lustre". The song's lyrics talk about finding a place you can totally relax, and also includes "lyric about deserts".

Critical reception

"Pure Shores" received critical acclaim from music critics. Nigel Packer from BBC Music highlighted the song from Saints & Sinners. John Walshe from Hot Press commented that the track "goes some way towards justifying the fact that it is the biggest selling single so far this year". Simon Evans writing in the Birmingham Post described the song as a "beautiful slice of haunting, hypnotic pop". Russell Bailler from The New Zealand Herald highlighted the song along with "Black Coffee" and "Surrender", saying it is "a great single which is also the best thing here ". Calling it "still a winner", The Sunday Peoples Sean O'Brien gave "Pure Shores" a rating of eight out of ten. A Western Mail reviewer viewed "Pure Shores" and "Black Coffee" as "equally tremendous", Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian said All Saints "lend radiance to twinkling fairy lights". Lindsay Baker from the same newspaper deemed it Saints & Sinners "mellow, infectious" track. In a more negative review, Jim Wirth of NME compared the song to Madonna's album Ray of Light, commenting it "sounds so close to Madonna that it's almost indistinguishable".
Retrospective reviews for "Pure Shores" have been also positive. According to the Daily Mirrors Ian Sturgess, the track "boasts one of the most infectious pop choruses of all time." Clem Bastow of The Sydney Morning Herald said the song along with "Black Coffee" won All Saints "major critical points" over the Spice Girls and complemented their "impeccable back catalogue". Writing for the Daily Record newspaper, Julie MacCaskill wrote that "Pure Shores" along with "Never Ever", "Under the Bridge" and "Black Coffee" are a testament to the group's "pop power". In 2016, Digital Spys Lewis Corner placed the song at number two in his ranking of All Saints singles, naming it "William Orbit production at its very finest".
"Pure Shores" was also featured in several critic lists. It appeared on NMEs year-end list at number 18. The track was also voted the best song of 2000 in a poll conducted by VH1. Cameron Adams from the Herald Sun ranked it at number 17 on his top 100 songs of the 2000s decade, giving it four stars out of five. "Pure Shores" was also included on Time Outs "The 50 best pop songs" list at number 47. Theresa Johnston from About.com listed the song in the "Top Picks for Romantic Songs". According to a survey commissioned by Radox, "Pure Shores" was among the ten most relaxing tracks ever. Amy Fleming from The Guardian added the song to her list of "songs to have babies to", calling it a "harmless, feelgood, uplifting, and a bit of ambient" song.

Accolades

The track was also nominated for several awards. It won the Ivor Novello Award for Most Performed Work, and was placed seventh as a finalist of The Record of the Year award in the United Kingdom with 60 points collected. "Pure Shores" was later nominated for two categories on the 2001 Brit Awards for Best British Single and Best British Video, but lost both awards to Robbie Williams' "Rock DJ".

Commercial performance

"Pure Shores" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 26 February 2000, staying there for two consecutive weeks and remaining on the chart for 16 weeks. It was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. The song remains the group's second best performing single in the United Kingdom, and has sold 824,000 copies there, according to Official Charts Company. The song became the second best-selling single of 2000. According to BBC Radio 2, "Pure Shores" is the 14th most played song on the station since 2009. In Ireland, the song debuted at number three and peaked at number one a week later, becoming the group's only chart-topper in Ireland.
The song was also successful in mainland Europe. It debuted at number 16 in Switzerland and peaked at number six, staying in the charts for 23 weeks, making it the group's most successful single there. It also peaked at number six on the French singles chart, staying in the charts for 20 weeks. The song also charted in Belgium, peaking at number five in Flanders, and number one in Wallonia. It also reached the top five in Finland and Norway. However, the song did not reach the top 10 in Austria, where it debuted at number 39 and peaked at number 11, staying in the charts for 11 weeks. It was eventually certified gold in Sweden and France, selling 10,000 copies in Sweden and 150,000 copies in France.
"Pure Shores" repeated its European success in Oceania. It debuted at number five on the ARIA Charts in Australia, and peaked at number four for three consecutive weeks, remaining in the charts for 16 weeks. The song is the group's second-most successful single in that country. In New Zealand, it debuted at number 44, rose to number 17 the next week, and peaked at number two for one week. It stayed in the charts for 19 weeks. To date, it is the group's most successful single in that country. It was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association and gold by the Recorded Music NZ, selling 70,000 and 7,500 copies respectively.
The song was eventually released in North America, where it failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 or any of the Billboard component charts, but it peaked at number 35 in Canada, where it was the group's last single to chart in Canada. The song was well received internationally, garnering chart success. However, many have suggested that due to the benchmark the song had created for 2000 and the following years, it underperformed commercially.

Music video

The music video for "Pure Shores" was directed by Vaughan Arnell and filmed at Holkham beach in Norfolk, England in January 2000. After the shooting, police investigated a claim by a freelance photographer that he was punched in the face by a security guard protecting All Saints whilst filming the video. The snapper alleged that he was told to leave and warned that it was a place where "nasty accidents could happen". He said the attack left him with a swollen nose and headaches.
The music video for "Pure Shores" premiered on 25 January 2000 on Dotmusic. It features the members of All Saints walking near the beach at night, using various camera effects such as night vision, with some daytime shots of the group in front of the Wells-next-the-Sea beach huts. The video also featured clips from the film The Beach. Additionally, scenes were also filmed with All Saints being featured in a jungle house with bamboo and trees.
CBC Television placed "Pure Shores" at number two in its ranking of the group's music videos, only not placing it at number one "since the video is used mostly as a promotional tool for The Beach", but praised "how the director reflects scenes from the movie with the girls". James Manning from Time Out noted that despite the lyric about deserts, "the shots of the band walking on a beach in the video were filmed on the North Norfolk coast". Lewis Corner of Digital Spy agreed, commenting that it was "just a shame that the video was shot on a chilly beach in Norfolk, instead of tropical Koh Phi Phi". BBC America's Kevin Wicks was more negative, calling it the "most unflattering girl group video ever". He continued, "Whose bright idea was it to light this video in nightvision, making four very pretty girls look like hopelessly dazed raccoons? Not a bad song at all, but dreadful video".

Live performances

To promote "Pure Shores", All Saints performed the song on television shows such as Top of the Pops, ', Sen kväll med Luuk, Wetten, dass..?, and Later with Jools Holland. The song was also included on their sets for Witnness, V2000 and Creamfields festivals in August 2000. The group then performed "Pure Shores" at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards, which were held on 16 November 2000 at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. NME magazine complimented their "flare-clad, pristine performance". A day later, they performed on BBC's Children in Need marathon. All Saints performed the song at the 2001 World Sports Awards, held at London's Royal Albert Hall on 16 January 2001. For the performance, Natalie Appleton wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the legend 'I Love Liam' as a reference to her boyfriend, The Prodigy's Liam Howlett. At the time, the group was at the verge of splitting up, with the media noting the "irreconcilable rift had indeed developed between the four" on stage.
Upon the group's first return in 2006, it was performed on their show at the Sheperd's Bush Pavilion in London. The group wore black or white-coloured shirts teamed with big, loose-knotted ties. Eva Simpson and Caroline Hedley of the Daily Mirror said that the group "put on one hell of a show". "Pure Shores" was then performed live on Popworld on 4 November 2006 as part of promotion leading up to their new album Studio 1s release two days later. Additionally, the song was performed by All Saints on The Chart Show on 18 November 2006, and on Channel 4's T4, aired on the same day. In January 2014, Natalie Appleton performed the song with English singer Melanie C on her Sporty's Forty concert, which celebrated her 40th birthday.
Upon their second return eight years later, All Saints performed "Pure Shores" as the encore on their opening act for Backstreet Boys' In a World Like This Tour in 2014. They also sang the song in a concert at G-A-Y, and the 2014 V Festival. After the announcement of their fourth studio album Red Flag, the group performed it on the 2016 Elle Style Awards, and as the encore on their show at London's KOKO. The group also sang the song at :de:Starnatch|Starnacht am Neusiedler See in Austria, that Energy Fashion Night event, as well as on Michael McIntyre's Big Show. and V Festival 2016. "Pure Shores" was included on the setlist of their 2016 Red Flag Tour. All Saints supported Take That on their Wonderland Live tour in 2017, and performed "Pure Shores" on their set as opening acts. To promote their fifth studio album Testament, they performed again the song on Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park, Children in Need Rocks 2018, and '. "Pure Shores" was also included on the setlist of the Testament Tour later that year.

Usage

In 2002, DJ Osymyso sampled the song on his album Intro-Inspection. It is also included in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V on one of the games radio stations.

Formats and track listings

  1. "Pure Shores" – 4:27
  2. "If You Don't Know What I Know" – 4:36
  3. "Pure Shores" – 4:31
  1. "Pure Shores" – 4:27
  2. "Pure Shores" – 5:01
  3. "Pure Shores" – 10:03
  1. "Pure Shores" – 4:27
  2. "If You Don't Know What I Know" – 4:36
  3. "Pure Shores" – 4:31
  4. "Pure Shores" – 5:01
  1. "Pure Shores" – 4:27
  2. "If You Don't Know What I Know" – 4:36
  1. "Pure Shores" – 10:03
  2. "Pure Shores" – 5:01
  3. "Pure Shores" – 4:27
  4. "Pure Shores" – 4:27

    Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Saints & Sinners.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end chart

Certifications

Release history