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Many of Horror
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Many of Horror
| cover = Many Of Horror.jpg
| alt =
| border = yes
| type = single
| artist = Biffy Clyro
| album = Only Revolutions
| B-side =
| released = 18 January 2010
| recorded = 2009
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Alternative rock
| length = 4:19
| label = 14th Floor
| writer = Simon Neil
| producer = Garth Richardson
| prev_title = The Captain
| prev_year = 2009
| next_title = Bubbles
| next_year = 2010
| misc =
}}
"'Many of Horror'" is an alternative rock song written by Simon Neil of Scottish band Biffy Clyro for their fifth studio album 'Only Revolutions'. The song was released as the fourth single from the album on 18 January 2010. The song was recorded at Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California and mastered at Masterdisk. The lyrics of the song concern Neil's wife and family. Jacknife Lee, who previously remixed "Silhouettes" for the Biffy Clyro and Sucioperro side project Marmaduke Duke, recorded a remix for the song.
Matt Cardle, winner of the 2010 series of 'The X Factor', recorded a studio version of the song under the title "'When We Collide'" and released it as his debut single, after having performed it in the final of the competition. Biffy Clyro fans launched an internet campaign to get the original track "Many of Horror" to the festive charts, with fans joining a Facebook campaign urging people to buy Biffy Clyro's original single rather than Cardle's cover version. This resulted in the Biffy Clyro version reaching number 8 in the UK Singles Chart, its highest position ever, and Cardle's version became the UK Christmas number 1.
The song is featured on the deluxe edition soundtrack to the film 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' and is played during the end credits. It was also used by Sky Sports as the song for their closing montage of their 2014 Ryder Cup coverage on 28 September 2014.
Critical reception
Critical reception of "Many of Horror" was generally positive.
Jamie Fullerton of 'NME' called "Many of Horror" a "perfect rock ballad". Tim Newbound of 'Rock Sound' described it as "beautifully serene" and stated it balances out more aggressive songs on the album. Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic described the song as "mellow".
Thom Gibbs of Drowned in Sound was critical of the song, calling it a "so-so ballad" and describing it as "too emo".
Music video
The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan.
Track listings
'CD single' 14FLR41CD
# "Many of Horror" 4:21
# "Toottoottoot" 4:16
'7-inch blue vinyl' 14FLR41
# "Many of Horror" 4:21
# "Lonely Revolutions" 2:32
'7-inch red vinyl' 14FLR41X
# "Many of Horror" 4:21
# "Creative Burns" 2:33
'iTunes digital EP'
# "Many of Horror" 4:21
# "Toottoottoot" 4:16
# "Lonely Revolutions" 2:32
# "Creative Burns" 2:33
Credits
* Artwork (Cover design, photography) Stormstudios
* Music Biffy Clyro
* Songwriter (Song lyrics) Simon Neil
* Producer Biffy Clyro, Gggarth (tracks: 1)
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Matt Cardle version
In 2010, Matt Cardle, the winner of the seventh series of 'The X Factor', released a cover of "Many of Horror" as his winner's single, although his version was re-titled "'When We Collide'". It was made available as a digital download on 12 December 2010 shortly after the show had ended. A physical CD single was released on 15 December 2010.
Background
In December 2010, Cardle stated that "I know there are some Biffy fans that are like, 'What have you done to that song?'...It's a great song. I'm hoping that I've done it justice." Referring to the Facebook campaign to make the original version of the song number 1 in the chart, Cardle said, "If that happens then great - it's a great song".Critical reception
Critical reception of Cardle's version of the song was mostly positive although many reviewers noted they preferred the original version. Nick Levine of Digital Spy praised Cardle's vocals, stating he delivered "the violence-tinged lyrics with an appealing sense of intimacy, navigating the inevitable key change with ease and really smashing it on the final note". Rachael Patan of Femalefirst.com and The Beat Review applauded the song choice with the latter stating "his untimely cover of Biffy Clyros 'Many of Horror' is a very clever and risque thing to do and we applaud him for that". Fraser McAlpine of the BBC Chart Blog, was much more negative. He stated, "on the evidence of this song, he sure as hell can't sing." Unrealityshout.com agreed, stating "I actually find it very hard to listen to such a heroically valiant vocal from the Biffy Clyro clan get turned into a whimpering, reedy, falsetto-ridden snoozefest".
Chart performance
On 16 December 2010, "When We Collide" debuted at number one on the Irish Singles Chart, where it stayed for five weeks. It has since become the fourth best-selling song in the history of the chart. On 19 December, it charted number one in the UK Singles Chart, beating "What's My Name?" by Rihanna featuring Drake and "Surfin' Bird" by The Trashmen to 2010s Christmas number one, whilst the Biffy Clyro original of "Many of Horror" re-entered the chart at number eight. With sales of 815,000, it was the second best-selling single of 2010; the number one being "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem featuring Rihanna, which sold 854,000 copies during 2010.[http://www.theofficialcharts.com/chart-news/cardle-at-no-1-again-eminemrihanna-take-that-scoop-2010-crowns/ TheOfficialCharts: Cardle at No 1 again - Eminem/Rihanna & Take That scoop 2010 crowns] In June 2012, It became the 123rd single to sell a million copies in the UK, and the fourth by an 'X Factor' contestant, after Shayne Ward's "That's My Goal", Leona Lewis's "Bleeding Love" and Alexandra Burke's "Hallelujah".[https://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1049854&c=1 Official Charts Analysis: Gary Barlow tops Album and Singles lists | Music Week] "When We Collide" is the 124th best selling song of all time in the UK and it is the 4th best selling single of all time in Ireland. It has sold 1,010,000 copies in the UK as of December 2015.Music video
The official music video for Cardle's version of the song was also directed by Andy Morahan.
Track listings
* 'Digital download'# "When We Collide" - 3:38
# "Matt's Thank You Message" - 0:14
* 'CD single'
# "When We Collide" - 3:38
# "Just the Way You Are" ('X Factor' performance) - 2:26
# "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" ('X Factor' performance) - 2:37
# "Nights in White Satin" ('X Factor' performance) - 2:17
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
Category:Singlechart usages for Ireland2
Category:Singlechart called without artist
Category:Singlechart making named ref
Category:Singlechart usages for Dutch40
Category:Singlechart called without song
Category:Singlechart usages for Dutch100
Category:Singlechart usages for UKsinglesbyname
Category:Singlechart usages for Billboardalternativesongs
Category:2009 songs
Category:2010s ballads
Category:14th Floor Records singles
Category:Biffy Clyro songs
Category:Music videos directed by Andy Morahan
Category:Matt Cardle songs
Category:The X Factor (British TV series)
Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in Scotland
Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Pop ballads
Category:Rock ballads
Category:Songs written by Simon Neil
Category:Song recordings produced by Garth Richardson
Category:Syco Music singles
Category:2010 debut singles
Category:Christmas number-one singles in the United Kingdom
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