Under The Milky Way - Release History

Release History

"Under the Milky Way" was written by the band's vocalist and bassist, Steve Kilbey, and his then-girlfriend Karin Jansson. According to a press release issued with Starfish, the song was written about an Amsterdam music and cultural venue called Melkweg (Dutch for "Milky Way"), which Kilbey used to frequent.

The song was originally released on The Church's Starfish album and won the Australian ARIA award for 'Single of the Year' in 1989. It was the band's only international hit, staying in the U.S. top 40 for several weeks, and charting in Canada (#69) and the UK (#90). In Australia, "Under the Milky Way" peaked at #22—however, it was not their biggest homeland hit; the singles "Almost With You" and "Metropolis" charted at #21 and #19, respectively, in the Australian charts.

I just stumbled upon it and for some reason it has struck this wonderful sense of universality with people that most of my songs don't"

"Under the Milky Way" featured a 12-string acoustic guitar melody along with a solo composed with an EBow on a Fender Jazzmaster, and recorded on a Synclavier, leading to a sound reminiscent of bagpipes. Because the band was unable to get a drum track which sounded right live in the studio by Richard Ploog, the band played to a click track and later session musician Russ Kunkel was brought in to add drums and percussion.

The single was released in several configurations worldwide (7", double 7", 12", CD single), with at least five different cover art designs. The main B-sides were "Musk" and "Warm Spell". Spanish versions added "Anna Miranda" and "Perfect Child". The music video for the song featured on The Church's video compilation Goldfish (Jokes, Magic & Souvenirs).

Kilbey said of the recording, "It's actually flat lifeless 'n' and sterile. Great song, sure, but the performance, the sounds are ordinary. We coulda got that in Australia in a week or two for a 20th of the money we spent. Hey, it's sold almost a million in the US alone, but we'll never see any money 'cause it cost so much to make." Kilbey's assessment was premature, however, because the song has had a second life as a much-licensed track. In 2011, he told a reporter:

"There is almost nothing, except for maybe a cigarette ad, I'd say no to Under the Milky Way being used for. It was used for a car advertisement in America, very lucratively for me. You'd think people would think it's been overused, but the more it's used the more people seem to want to use it. I'm signing off all the time for TV shows or chocolate bars using it. Sure, have it, it's just a song, do whatever you like with it. You can hear it wasn't written for profit. It's an accidental song I accidentally wrote and accidentally became a single and accidentally became a hit. It's been a nice earner. I've written 2000 songs. Thank God one of them came through! The others aren't pulling their weight. They sit and grumble about Under the Milky Way and I say, 'Well, boys, go out and earn the same dough as that one'. I never see Under the Milky Way - it's so busy out there working!"

In 2001, the song was featured in the soundtrack for the movie Donnie Darko. In 2006, the song was performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. Lead singer Steve Kilbey said after the performance that it was as if the song had been made for the occasion, though in his blog he was critical of the Commonwealth Games as an event. In September 2008, readers of The Weekend Australian Magazine voted it as the best Australian song of the last 20 years. Sheet music for "Under the Milky Way" was published by Hal Leonard.