The Killing Moon

"The Killing Moon"
Single by Echo & the Bunnymen
from the album Ocean Rain
B-side"Do It Clean"
Released20 January 1984 (1984-01-20)
RecordedDecember 1983
Studio
Genre
Length5:47
LabelKorova
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)David Lord
Echo & the Bunnymen singles chronology
"Never Stop"
(1983)
"The Killing Moon"
(1984)
"The Sound of Echo"
(1984)
Music video
"The Killing Moon" on YouTube

"The Killing Moon" is a song by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 20 January 1984[2] as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Ocean Rain (1984). It is one of the band's highest-charting hits, reaching number 9 in the UK Singles Chart, and often cited as the band's greatest song. Ian McCulloch has said: "When I sing 'The Killing Moon', I know there isn't a band in the world who's got a song anywhere near that."[3] In a retrospective review of the song, AllMusic journalist Stewart Mason wrote: "The smart use of strings amplifies the elegance of the tune, bringing both a musical richness and a sense of quiet dignity to the tune."[4]

The song appeared on the soundtrack to the 2001 science fiction film Donnie Darko.

  1. ^ a b Bates, Theunis (2015). "Echo & The Bunnymen - "The Killing Moon". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. New York: Universe. p. 541.
  2. ^ "Record News". NME. London, England: IPC Media: 29. 14 January 1984.
  3. ^ Harrison, Andrew (12 April 2003). "This much I know". The Observer. London. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  4. ^ Mason, Stuart. "The Killing Moon: Song Review by Stewart Mason". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 January 2014.