Circle in the Sand

"Circle in the Sand"
Single by Belinda Carlisle
from the album Heaven on Earth
B-side"We Can Change"
ReleasedApril 1988
StudioOcean Way Recording (Hollywood, California)
Length
  • 4:27 (album version)
  • 3:44 (single version)
LabelMCA
Songwriters
ProducerRick Nowels
Belinda Carlisle singles chronology
"I Get Weak"
(1988)		 "Circle in the Sand"
(1988)		 "I Feel Free"
(1988)

"Circle in the Sand" is a song by American singer Belinda Carlisle from her second studio album, Heaven on Earth (1987). The song was written by Rick Nowels, who also produced it, and Ellen Shipley. "Circle in the Sand" was the third single released from Heaven on Earth in April 1988. It reached number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Carlisle's fourth top-10 hit in the United States. It also charted at number five in Canada, ending the year as the country's 69th-most successful single.

Background and writing

"Circle in the Sand" was written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, who wrote many of Carlisle's hit singles in the late 1980s and into the early 1990s, including her signature song "Heaven Is a Place on Earth". The first known appearance of the song in progress is from the Lost Heaven Demos bootleg. The final album version features a keyboard theme provided by Thomas Dolby.

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Peter Care[1] in Half Moon Bay, California, and features Carlisle singing with various beach scenes in the background. The video mirrors the lyrical content with "cold wind", "tide moves in", and "waves crash" throughout. It makes effective use of video editing effects by displaying different images of Carlisle and the surf on large sheets of paper hanging on a clothes line, with waves crashing in the background. The combined effect gives the semblance of a video-based collage.

The music video uses the single edit version of the song and was released by MCA Records in March 1988. Universal Records later posted the video for free viewing on YouTube in March 2007.

Track listing and formats

Personnel

Charts

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Circle in the Sand"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States April 1988
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • cassette
 MCA
United Kingdom April 25, 1988
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
 Virgin [38]
Japan July 21, 1988 Mini-CD [39]

References

  1. ↑ Circle in the Sand Archived 2019-01-10 at the Wayback Machine MVDbase entry
  2. ↑ Circle in the Sand (US & Canadian 7-inch single vinyl disc). MCA Records. 1988. MCA-53308.
  3. ↑ Circle in the Sand (US cassette single sleeve). MCA Records. 1988. MCAC-53308.
  4. ↑ Circle in the Sand (South African 7-inch single vinyl disc). Virgin Records. 1988. VS 734.
  5. ↑ Circle in the Sand (UK & Australian 7-inch single vinyl disc). Virgin Records. 1988. VS 1074.
  6. ↑ Circle in the Sand (European 7-inch single vinyl disc). Virgin Records. 1988. 109 954-100.
  7. ↑ Circle in the Sand (UK & Australian 12-inch single vinyl disc). Virgin Records. 1988. VST 1074.
  8. ↑ Circle in the Sand (European 12-inch single vinyl disc). Virgin Records. 1988. 609 954-213.
  9. ↑ Circle in the Sand (UK 12-inch picture disc). Virgin Records. 1988. VSTY 1074.
  10. ↑ Circle in the Sand (UK CD single liner notes). Virgin Records. 1988. VSCD 1074, 659 954.
  11. ↑ Circle in the Sand (UK cassette single sleeve). Virgin Records. 1988. VSTC1074.
  12. ↑ Circle in the Sand (Japanese mini-CD single liner notes). Virgin Records. 1988. VJD-12012.
  13. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ↑ "Belinda Carlisle – Circle in the Sand" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  15. ↑ "Belinda Carlisle – Circle in the Sand" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Image 8696". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Image 8729". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  18. ↑ Danish Charts Archive. July 1988.
  19. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 24. June 11, 1988. p. 22. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  20. ↑ "European Airplay Top 50" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 27. July 2, 1988. p. 17. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  21. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Belinda Carlisle". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 42. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Circle in the Sand | IRMA". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Radio Luxembourg Singles". umdmusic.com. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Belinda Carlisle" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Belinda Carlisle – Circle in the Sand" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  26. ↑ "Belinda Carlisle – Circle in the Sand". Top 40 Singles.
  27. ↑ "Los Éxitos en Latinoamérica". La Opinion. No. 284. Los Angeles: United Press International. June 25, 1988. p. 10. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  28. ↑ "Palmarès de la chanson anglophone et allophone au Québec" (PDF) (in French). BAnQ. May 21, 1988. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  29. ↑ "SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts C". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  30. ↑ Sweden Charts Archive. June 4, 1988.
  31. ↑ "Belinda Carlisle Songs and Albums | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Belinda Carlisle Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  33. ↑ "Belinda Carlisle Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  34. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending June 18, 1988" (PDF). Cash Box. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  35. ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts (West Germany)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Top 100 Singles of '88" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49, no. 10. December 24, 1988. p. 9. ISSN 0033-7064.
  37. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  38. ↑ "New Singles". Music Week. April 23, 1988. p. 31.
  39. ↑ "サークル・イン・ザ・サンド | ベリンダ・カーライル" [Circle in the Sand | Belinda Carlisle] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
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