Slice of Heaven
{{Short description|1986 single by Herbs and Dave Dobbyn}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Slice of Heaven
| cover = SliceOfHeaven.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Dave Dobbyn with Herbs
| album = Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tail Tale soundtrack
| B-side = "Slice of Heaven" (Music mix)
| released = 12 September 1986
| recorded =
| studio = Marmalade
| length = 4:38
| label =
| writer = Dave Dobbyn
| producer = Dave Dobbyn, Bruce Lynch
| chronology = Dave Dobbyn
| prev_title = She Loves Me Back
| prev_year = 1985
| next_title = You Oughta Be in Love
| next_year = 1986
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = Herbs
| type = single
| prev_title = Nuclear Waste
| prev_year = 1985
| title = Slice of Heaven
| year = 1986
| next_title = Sensitive to a Smile
| next_year = 1987
}}
{{Audio sample
| type = single
| file = Dave Dobbyn featuring Herbs - Slice of Heaven.ogg
}}
{{External music video|"[http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/footrot-flats-a-dogs-tale-1986 Slice of Heaven]" at NZ On Screen}}
}}
"Slice of Heaven" is a single by New Zealand singer-songwriter Dave Dobbyn with the band Herbs, released in 1986 on the soundtrack of the animated motion picture, Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tail Tale. The single reached {{abbr|No.|Number}} 1 on the New Zealand Singles Chart for eight weeks and on the Australian Singles Chart for four weeks. It appears on Dobbyn's 1988 album, Loyal.
Background
Dobbyn was writing in Sydney when he was given the opportunity to compose for the Footrot Flats film. He had previously used the line "Slice of Heaven" in the DD Smash album The Optimist, specifically "Don't Give Up" and chose to revisit it. He brought in Herbs to sing in the background based on his childhood experiences of Pacific gospel choirs.{{cite news |title=The National Anthems |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/music/news/article.cfm?c_id=264&objectid=226415 |access-date=3 October 2012 |newspaper=The New Zealand Herald |date=3 November 2001}}
Composition
The song incorporates a synthesised Japanese flute made with an E-mu Emulator II.{{cite web |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/culture/7713823/A-slice-of-Kiwiana-and-a-feel-good-anthem |title=A slice of Kiwiana and a feel-good anthem |work=Stuff (company) |date=21 September 2012 |access-date=21 September 2012}}
Reception
The song gained huge exposure in Australasia through the Footrot Flats trailer being shown before the popular Crocodile Dundee film, leading to high radio play before the single had been released. According to Dobbyn, one New Zealand rock station producer refused to play the song as they considered it "underproduced", but were forced to reconsider due to huge listener demand for the song. The song spent eight weeks at No. 1 in New Zealand and four weeks at No. 1 in Australia. It has been praised for the combination of Dobbyn's and Herbs' vocals. "Slice of Heaven" was awarded Best Song at the 1986 New Zealand Music Awards.{{cite web |title=1986 New Zealand Music Awards |url=http://www.rianz.org.nz/awards2008/history1986.asp |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121220122226/http://www.rianz.org.nz/awards2008/history1986.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 December 2012 |publisher=RIANZ |access-date=27 September 2012}}
Music video
The video features Dobbyn, Herbs and dancers recording the song, interspersed with clips from the Footrot Flats film. The music video was recorded in Wellington's Marmalade Studios. Notably, due to time constraints, the clips of the singers performing are from their live recording takes rather than being a recreation.{{cite web |title=Homegrown Profile: Dave Dobbyn |url=http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/homegrown-profiles-dave-dobbyn-2005 |work=Documentary |publisher=NZ On Screen |access-date=23 September 2012}}
Alternate versions
An alternate version of the song featured in the closing credits of the Footrot Flats movie, featuring less emphasis on the Herbs vocals and more focus on the percussion and bass of the song.{{cite web |title=Slice Of Heaven Alternative |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyFxwNNRKTY |publisher=DVD_Fitzy |access-date=21 May 2022}} In 2021, Dobbyn released a version in the Māori language titled "Hine Ruhi".{{cite news|url=https://www.teaonews.co.nz/2021/09/10/sir-dave-dobbyn-releases-te-reo-version-of-slice-of-heaven/ |title=Sir Dave Dobbyn releases te reo version of Slice of Heaven |first=Jessica |last=Tyson |date=10 September 2021 |website=Te Ao Māori News |publisher=Māori Television |access-date=15 September 2023}} In 2023, Australian-New Zealand band Coterie performed a cover of the song during their 2023 Australasian tour. After a strong response from fans, Coterie contacted Dobbyn to collaborate on recording a new version of the song, which was released as a single in September 2023.{{cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/sir-dave-dobbyns-slice-of-heaven-gets-a-spruce-up-from-aussie-kiwi-band-of-brothers-coterie/HW6YD34I5RBPZENILZEMUK3VZY/ |title=Sir Dave Dobbyn's Slice of Heaven gets a spruce up from Aussie-Kiwi band of brothers Coterie |first=Lillie |last=Rohan |date=13 September 2023 |website=New Zealand Herald |access-date=15 September 2023}} This version reached number four on the New Zealand artists singles chart.{{cite web|url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/aotearoa-singles/2023-09-22 |title=NZ Singles Chart|publisher=Recorded Music NZ|date=25 September 2023|access-date=23 September 2023}}
Legacy
"Slice of Heaven" was included in Nature's Best—New Zealand's Top 30 Songs of All Time, coming in at No. 7. It was voted No. 1 in 2009 by C4 viewers as New Zealand's favourite song and is often considered an unofficial national anthem of New Zealand, especially after its usage in New Zealand tourism ads in the 1980s and 1990s. It has also become synonymous with the Footrot Flats film.{{cite web |title=Footrot Flats |url=http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/feature-project/pages/Footrot.php |publisher=New Zealand Film Archive |access-date=23 September 2012}}
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1986–1987) !Peak |
| scope="row"|Australia (Australian Music Report){{cite book |title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |publisher=Australian Chart Book |location=St Ives, NSW |year=1993 |isbn=0-646-11917-6}}
|1 |
|---|
| {{single chart|New Zealand|1|artist=Dave Dobbyn with Herbs|song=Slice of Heaven|rowheader=true|access-date=24 December 2020}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1986) !Position |
| scope="row"|New Zealand (RIANZ){{cite web |url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/annual-singles/1986-12-31 |title=End of Year Charts 1986 |publisher=Recorded Music NZ |access-date=24 December 2020}}
|3 |
|---|
| Chart (1987)
!Position |
| scope="row"|Australia (Australian Music Report){{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/sPdqqRt.jpg|title=Australian Music Report No 701 – 28 December 1987 > National Top 100 Singles for 1987|publisher=Kent Music Report|via=Imgur|access-date=24 January 2023}}
|4 |
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Dave Dobbyn|title=Slice of Heaven|award=Platinum|number=5|relyear=1986|certyear=2023|id=2023-04-21|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|domestic=true}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true|nosales=true|streaming=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Dave Dobbyn}}
{{Herbs}}
{{Coterie}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Number-one singles in Australia
Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand