Ghost on Sailor's Peak

"Ghost on Sailor's Peak" is a song by British recording artist Iris, taken from her fifth studio album, The Asylum Pt. 3 (2014). The song was written and produced by Iris. It was released as the lead single from The Asylum Pt. 3 on 27 October 2014 in the United Kingdom and released Worldwide the following day, however it was also available for streaming from early October. The song was previously heard, in an teaser form, as the final track on The Asylum Pt. 2, released in June 2014. The song was the first to be recorded for the The Asylum Pt. 3 series, but Iris saved it for the final album to give it a chance of becoming a single.

According to Iris, "Ghost on Sailor's Peak" is a ballad with string sounds, which tells the tale of a woman who's lover sails away to war, and she waits at the same spot everyday until death, and even after death her ghost waits, showing the true everlasting power of love. The song was met with extremely positive reviews from critics, who praised its production and Iris' songwriting. It reached number 3 on the UK chart, matching "Poison Ivy" as her highest charting single. It is also Iris' best selling single to date.

The accompanying music video was directed by Max Vitali. Iris has revealed the video will be "emotional" and "dark". The single was nominated for two awards at the Urapopstar Awards 26 for "Best Rock/Alternative single" and "Best Female Video" for the music video.

Background
"Ghost on Sailor's Peak" was written and produced by Iris. The song was recorded at a studio in Australia. The strings in the song were arranged by Carl Bagge, and played by various cello and violin players The song alongside "Poison Ivy" were among the first songs to be recorded for the The Asylum series, and Iris said that she saved 'Ghosts' for a later release because "[she] knew it had to be a single, or could be a single, and [she] wanted the track to get that chance." Iris described the song to MTV Australia as "a love song ... focusing on love after death and the true length that can be associated with true love". She elaborated on the song's theme and message, saying, "I think 'Ghosts' is a song that shows how beautiful love can be, but in a damaging manner."

A teaser version of the song was featured on The Asylum Pt. 2, released in June 2014. The uptempo version was announced as the first single from The Asylum Pt. 3 on 11 August 2014. The song premiered online on 06 October 2014, via Iris' SoundCloud account.

Promotion
Iris first performed the single on Channel 4's 'Stand Up To Cancer' on 17 October 2014. She later performed the track on Alan Carr's Chatty Man on 24 October and Strictly Come Dancing on 26 October.
 * Stand Up To Cancer - 17 October 2014
 * Alan Carr's Chatty Man - 24 October 2014
 * Strictly Come Dancing - 25 October 2014
 * The X Factor - 26 October 2014

Critical reception
Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the song a positive review, awarding it five out of five stars. Levine praised the synths and strings present on the track, as well as Iris' production. He commented that the lyrics made the song "not just touching, but utterly, utterly life-affirming". Fraser McAlpine of BBC Music noted its modern love story, which like every good love story, ends in tragedy. McAlpine awarded the song five out five stars, and gave it "special points" for its "faux-classical synth solo" in the middle. Emma Gaedeke of Billboard highlighted the songwriting and praised it for being emotionally honest, without "generic pop cheesiness". Molly Lambert of Pitchfork wrote a positive review of the song, saying that the drum machines on the track contrast well with the qualities of her voice. Lambert wrote, "“Ghosts on Sailor's Peak” encapsulates the kind of freedom Iris sings about; freedom from reductionist categories, unfair expectations, and life's daily indignities."

Paul Davey of Drowned in Sound wrote that the song "sits comfortably alongside" previous singles "War Paint" and "Poison Ivy". Davey referred "Ghost on Sailor's Peak" to as "an example of a pop-innovator at the top of her game". Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine praised the song's production and named it one of Iris' best singles. Keefe also named it the standout among the new songs on The Asylum Pt. 3. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone gave it three and a half out of five stars, and wrote that "[Iris] sings an uncommonly elegant melody".

Music video
The official video premiered on Iris' Official YouTube channel on 23 October 2014. The video begins being set around 60 years ago, showing Iris saying goodbye to her lover as he leaves for war. She stands on a high cliff overlooking the ocean as she waves goodbye to the ship in the distance.

Via an emphasis on the sky and the night becoming day, Iris gradually ages throughout the video, singing surrounded by only the stars and the Ocean. Eventually, now appearing as an old woman, Iris is shown to pass away.

The video ends with Iris in heaven being reunited with her lover once again.

As with the song, the video received critical acclaim and was nominated for "Best Female Video" at the Urapopstar Awards 26.

Charts
The single was released on 27 October 2014. Upon it's release, the track debuted at #03 with first week sales of 73,865. It was the second highest new entry on the chart that week behind Kenya at #02 and Ashley! who spent a second week at #01. Therefore, 'Ghost on Sailor's Peak' became Iris' highest charting single to date (alongside 'Poison Ivy'). On 19 October the single debuted at #27 on the Airplay chart, becoming the highest new entry on the chart that week. It rose to #16 the next week and #3 the week after, becoming Iris' highest charting single on the Airplay chart. The song also became Iris most successful on the Download chart, debuting at #3. In January 2015 the song re-entered the download chart due to the release of "Remember Who He Lies Beside". It is also her longest charting single and first to sell over 300,000 copies.

Chart Run
TOTAL: 361,194
 * Week 1: #3 - 73,865
 * Week 2: #7 - 59,866
 * Week 3: #13 - 16,484
 * Week 4: #15 - 15,196
 * Week 5: #17 - 13,725
 * Week 6: #20 - 11,340
 * Week 7: #19 - 10,563
 * Week 8: #32 - 10,261
 * Week 9: #29 - 15,109
 * Week 10: #27 - 7,799
 * Week 11: #13 - 19,685
 * Week 12: #13 - 28,870
 * Week 13: #20 - 11,376
 * Week 14: #19 - 12,393
 * Week 15: #17 - 12,329
 * Week 16: #19 - 11,499
 * Week 17: #26 - 8,714
 * Week 18: #39 - 3,547
 * Week 19: #32 - 5,960
 * Week 20: #18 - 12,613