SONG OF THE DAY

“Boadicea” by Enya (Enya [self-titled album later re-released under the title The Celts], BBC/ Atlantic Records, 1987). Written by Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin (a.k.a. Enya).

INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)

– Enya’s first full-album recording, Enya / The Celts features music written and recorded for the soundtrack of the 1986 documentary television series, The Celts. The album contains only a portion of the music Enya composed for the TV series. In 1992, coinciding with the reissue of the album, a previously unreleased track from these sessions, “Eclipse” was released as a b-side on the CD-single for “the Celts”. In 2005, another previously unreleased track from the same sessions, a “Spaghetti Western Theme” done in the style of Hugo Montenegro, was released on the CD-single for “Amarantine”, in memory of one of the producers of the TV series.

– Recorded in 1986, it was not released until 1987 when the series was first broadcast.

– The album was first released in the UK by the BBC on their own label, and later issued in North America by Atlantic Records. In 1992, Warner Music reissued a remixed and slightly revised version of the album as The Celts.

- The song “Boadicea” was also on soundtrack of the 1992 film Sleepwalkers.

– The Fugees sampled “Boadicea” for their song “Ready or Not” on 1996’s The Score. Enya had prepared to sue the group for copyright infringement because they had not asked for permission and did not give her credit. After learning that The Fugees were not gangsta rappers, Enya declined to follow through with the suit, but stickers were then placed on The Score giving Enya credit for her work.

– Mario Winans also sampled “Boadicea” for the melody of the song “I Don’t Wanna Know”. Producer P. Diddy reportedly personally contacted Enya for permission and gave her 60% of the royalties. She also received name billing (“Mario Winans featuring Enya and P. Diddy”) for the song, which turned out to be a hit, putting her name #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in 2004. It is Enya’s highest charting single in the U.S..

– The song was also sampled on the answer-back song “You Should Really Know” by The Pirates featuring Shola Ama, Naila Boss & Ishani which peaked at #8 on the UK Singles Chart.

– “Boadicea” (with “Ready or Not”) was also sampled by Nina Sky for their hype single “Time To Go” featuring Angie Martinez, from the mixtape presented by Cipha Sounds.

– Boudica (pronounced /ˈbuːdɨkÉ™/), formerly known as Boadicea (/boʊˌædɨˈsiːə/) (d. AD 60 or 61) was a queen of the Brittonic Iceni tribe of what is now known as East Anglia in England, who led an uprising of the tribes against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire. Boudica’s husband, Prasutagus, an Icenian king who had ruled as a nominally independent ally of Rome, left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman Emperor in his will. However, when he died his will was ignored. The kingdom was annexed as if conquered, Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped, and Roman financiers called in their loans. The history of these events, as recorded by Tacitus and Cassius Dio, was rediscovered during the Renaissance and led to a resurgence of Boudica’s legendary fame during the Victorian era, when Queen Victoria was portrayed as her “namesake”. Boudica has since remained an important cultural symbol in the United Kingdom. The absence of native British literature during the early part of the first millennium means that Britain owes its knowledge of Boudica’s rebellion to the writings of the Romans.

– Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin (born 17 May 1961), better known as Enya, is an Irish vocalist, instrumentalist and composer.

– She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band, Clannad, before leaving to pursue her solo career. She gained wider recognition from her appearance in the 1986 BBC series The Celts. Shortly afterward, her 1988 album Watermark propelled her to further international fame and she became known for her unique sound, characterised by voice-layering, folk melodies, synthesised backdrops and ethereal reverberations.

VIDEO OF THE DAY