English Rain

English Rain is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Gabrielle Aplin. It was released on 13 May 2013 and serves as the follow-up to her 2012 extended play, Home. It serves as her first release with a major record label, and was released with Parlophone. The album debuted at number two in the UK Albums Chart, selling over 35,000 copies. It has since been certified gold in the UK for selling 100,000 copies.

English Rain
Studio album by Gabrielle Aplin
Released	13 May 2013
Recorded	2012-13
Genre	Folk pop
Length	49:45
Label	Parlophone
Producer	Mike Spencer
Gabrielle Aplin chronology
Gabrielle Aplin: Live at Koko (2013) English Rain (2013) Gabrielle Aplin: iTunes Festival (2013)
Gabrielle Aplin studio album chronology
English Rain (2013) Light Up the Dark (2015)
Singles from English Rain
"The Power of Love" Released: 9 November 2012 "Please Don't Say You Love Me" Released: 10 February 2013 "Panic Cord" Released: 5 May 2013 "Home" Released: 14 July 2013 "Salvation" Released: 12 January 2014

English Rain
EP by Gabrielle Aplin
Released	6 May 2014 (United States)
Label	Never Fade Warner Bros.
Gabrielle Aplin chronology
Gabrielle Aplin: iTunes Festival (2013) English Rain (2014) Light Up the Dark (2015)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Digital Spy	[2]
The Guardian	[3]
Red Online	(very positive)[4]
Counter Act	[5]
FemaleFirst	[6]

Background

On 29 February 2012, Aplin announced that she had signed to Parlophone[7] and began recording her debut album in March 2012. Aplin was confirmed as the soundtrack to the John Lewis 2012 Christmas television advertisement, covering Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "The Power of Love".[8]

On 12 December 2012, Aplin announced that the title of her debut album would be English Rain. In addition, she also unveiled its artwork and release date of 29 April 2013; however, the release date was pushed back by two weeks to 13 May. On 12 March 2013 Aplin released previews of the songs that would appear on the standard edition of English Rain. Aplin also worked with record producer Mike Spencer.[9]

Reception

Critical

The album was generally well received by critics, praising her for her vocals but calling the album safe and not particularly adventurous. Critics praised tracks such as "Salvation" for taking Aplin out of her "comfort zone" and compared "Please Don't Say You Love Me", the album's second single, to Mumford and Sons.

Commercial

English Rain was well received commercially. English Rain debuted at number two in the United Kingdom selling over 35,000 copies,[10] the following week the album fell seven places to number nine. Internationally, the album achieved moderate success, charting at number 11 in Ireland on 19 May;[11][12] 22 in Australia in 2014; 55 in Belgium and 39 in New Zealand.

On 23 July 2013, Aplin revealed on her Facebook page that English Rain had been certified gold (for selling 100,000 copies).[13]

Promotion

Tours

Aplin performing in Islington, London on 25 June 2010.

To promote the album, Aplin went on two tours. The first was a smaller, mini-tour which took place in March 2013, two months before the album's release, to smaller venues; while the second was a larger tour, where Aplin performed at larger venues such as the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. The second tour took place in Autumn 2013.[14]

Singles

Aplin's cover version of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's 1984 hit "The Power of Love" was released as the album's first and lead single on 9 November 2012 after being sampled in John Lewis' Christmas television advertisement.[15] The song was well received critically and commercially, and entered the UK Singles Chart at number 36. It peaked at number one on 9 December 2012.[16] Aplin's version was certified gold in the United Kingdom on 11 January 2013.[13]

"Please Don't Say You Love Me" was released as the album's second single on 10 February and serves as the singer's first original single signed to Parlophone. On the week ending 16 February, the song debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart, serving as her highest debut on the chart.

Aplin announced live on 17 February Radio 1 Chart Show that her third single would be "Panic Cord", a song taken from the singer's second EP, Never Fade. It was released on 5 May, a week prior to the album's release, and peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart.[17]

"Home" serves as the fourth single from the album. Shooting for the music video began on 20 May 2013 and the video was unveiled on 9 June.[18][19] The single was released on 14 July and peaked at number 48 in the UK. "Home" was also featured on the ninth episode of Wentworth.

"Salvation" serves as the fifth single from the album, released on 12 January 2014.[20] A music video for the song premiered on 3 December 2013.[21]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Panic Cord"	Gabrielle Aplin Nicholas Atkinson Jez Ashurst Aiman Faiz	Mike Spencer	3:25
2.	"Keep on Walking"	Aplin Atkinson	Spencer	2:52
3.	"Please Don't Say You Love Me"	Aplin Atkinson	Spencer	3:00
4.	"How Do You Feel Today?"	Aplin Atkinson Thomas Wilding	Spencer Tom Wilding	3:46
5.	"Home"	Aplin Atkinson	Spencer	4:07
6.	"Salvation"	Aplin Joel Pott	Spencer	4:10
7.	"Ready to Question"	Aplin Atkinson Thomas Wilding	Spencer	3:18
8.	"The Power of Love"	Peter Gill Holly Johnson Mark O'Toole	Spencer David Kosten	4:06
9.	"Alive"	Aplin Spencer	Spencer	4:11
10.	"Human"	Aplin Nicholas Atkinson Thomas Wilding	Spencer	3:26
11.	"November"	Aplin Atkinson	Mike Spencer Luke Potashnik	4:06
12.	"Start of Time[22]"	Aplin Jim Irvin Julian Emery	Spencer Julian Emery	4:01

iTunes bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Take Me Away"	Aplin	Spencer	2:53

Deluxe edition bonus tracks[23]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Take Me Away"	Aplin	Spencer	2:53
14.	"Evaporate"	Aplin Adam Argyle		3:32
15.	"Wake Up with Me"	Aplin Iain Archer		3:26
16.	"Alive" (RAK Session)	Aplin Mike Spencer		4:08
17.	"Please Don't Say You Love Me" (RAK Session)	Aplin Atkinson		3:00
18.	"Home" (RAK Session)	Aplin Atkinson		4:09
19.	"How Do You Feel Today" (RAK Session)	Aplin Atkinson Wilding		3:57

Japanese deluxe edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Through the Ages"		5:01
13.	"Start of Time"	Aplin Irvin Julian Emery	3:59
14.	"Take Me Away"	Aplin	2:52
15.	"Stranger Side" (Live at KOKO)		2:54
16.	"How Do You Feel Today?" (Live at KOKO)	Aplin Atkinson Thomas Wilding	3:47
17.	"Go Your Own Way" (Live at KOKO)		3:39
18.	"Please Don't Say You Love Me" (Live at KOKO)	Aplin Atkinson	3:19

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2013–14) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[24] 10 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 55 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 107 Irish Albums (IRMA)[27] 11 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28] 39 Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] 2 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[30] 33 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 95 UK Albums (OCC)[32] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2013) Position UK Albums (OCC)[33] 66 Chart (2014) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[34] 61

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[35]	Gold	35,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36]	Gold	100,000^*
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Australia	17 May 2013[37]	Digital download, CD, vinyl	Parlophone
United Kingdom	13 May 2013

References

1. "Gabrielle Aplin - English Rain". Allmusic. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
2. "English Rain - Review". Digitalspy.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
3. "Album Review". The Guardian. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
4. "English Rain". Red Online. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
5. "Gabrielle Aplin - English Rain - Review". CounterAct-magazine.com/. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
6. "Gabrielle Aplin - English Rain Review". FemaleFirst.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
7. "Bath singer Gabrielle Aplin signs recording deal". Bath Chronicle. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
8. "Gabrielle Aplin: The Power of a Christmas John Lewis advert?". The Independent. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
9. Steve Holden (17 April 2012). "Introducing... Gabrielle Aplin". Newsbeat. BBC. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
10. "Gabrielle Aplin - Timeline Photos - Facebook". facebook.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
11. "Rod Stewart enjoys first Number 1 album in nearly 40 years!". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
12. ">> IRMA << Welcome to our site >>". irma.ie. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
13. "Certified Awards". bpi.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
14. "Gabrielle Aplin - Cover Photos - Facebook". facebook.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
15. Video on YouTube
16. "Power of Love cover claims number one spot". BBC. 9 December 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
17. "GABRIELLE APLIN". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
18. "Gabrielle Aplin - Timeline Photos - Facebook". facebook.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
19. Video on YouTube
20. "Ultimate Music - Gabrielle Aplin "Salvation" (Video Premiere)". Ultimate Music. Archived from the original on 1 December 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
21. YouTube. Retrieved 3 August 2015 – via YouTube.
22. "Gabrielle Aplin - English Rain". Gabrielle Aplin. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
23. "English Rain (Deluxe Edition) : Target". Target Corporation. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
24. "Australiancharts.com – Gabrielle Aplin – English Rain". Hung Medien.
25. "Ultratop.be – Gabrielle Aplin – English Rain" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
26. "Ultratop.be – Gabrielle Aplin – English Rain" (in French). Hung Medien.
27. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week {{{week}}}, 2013". Chart-Track. IRMA.
28. "Charts.nz – Gabrielle Aplin – English Rain". Hung Medien.
29. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
30. "Spanishcharts.com – Gabrielle Aplin – English Rain". Hung Medien.
31. "Swisscharts.com – Gabrielle Aplin – English Rain". Hung Medien.
32. "{{{artist}}} | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
33. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
34. "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Albums 2014". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
35. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
36. "British album certifications – Gabrielle Aplin – English Rain". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 September 2014. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type English Rain in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
37. "Gabrielle Aplin - Good Morning Australia, the wait is... - Facebook". facebook.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.