Night In The Grand Hotel

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"Night In The Grand Hotel"
If song was released as a single, include single cover art. Otherwise, include album cover artwork to replace the 45 rpm, if available.
Recorded by Last Exit
Released: 1990
Recorded: mid-1981 (while The Police were on Montserrat)

possibly 1982-03-10 at RAK Recording Studios

Length: 3:26
Album(s): World Of His Own
Label(s): I.R.S.
Writer(s): Sting
Producer(s): Jools Holland
Studio(s): RAK Recording Studios (probably)
Released as single: NO

"Night In The Grand Hotel" is a song written by Sting and recorded by Last Exit in YYYY - and later by Jools Holland & Sting.

About the song

This song was also played live by The Police in March 1977.

When Jools Holland visited The Police for the Police In Montserrat documentary, he recorded "Grand Hotel" there with Sting on bass and producing duties (Outlandos newsletter - March 1982).

It can be assumed that the two of them refined this song at RAK Recording Studios in March 1982 - with Adrian Boot taking photos.

The Outlandos newsletter from June 1982 confirmed that Sting produced this track and played bass on it - it was expected to be released as Jools Holland's next single on A&M Records soon.

When the song was finally released on Jools' LP/CD "World Of His Own" in 1990 it featured writing credits for both, so maybe Jools wrote some additional lyrics or music. Sting is only credited with backing vocals.

Personnel

The Jools Holland album credits mention:

  • Martin T. Deegan - drums
  • Mike Paice - saxophones
  • Kim Lesley, Maz Roberts, Sting, Pino Paladino - background vocals

They don't mention who sand, played piano or played bass - so one can assume that it's also:

Release History

Albums

"Grand Hotel" appears on the following album releases (please see links for further details on each title):

Cover art Album title Catalog no. Release country Format Release date
Stub.gif World Of His Own Catalog no. Release country CD 1990-MM-DD

Singles

CD Singles

Cover art Catalog no. Songs Release date Release country
Stub.gif Catalog no. "Song"(s) YYYY-MM-DD Country

7" Singles

Cover art Catalog no. A-side song/B-side song Release date Release country
Stub.gif Catalog no. "A-side song"/"B-side song" YYYY-MM-DD Country

12" Singles

Cover art Catalog no. A-side song(s)/B-side song(s) Release date Release country
Stub.gif Catalog no. "A-side song"/"B-side song" (add more songs as necessary) YYYY-MM-DD Country

Video

"SONG TITLE" appears on the following video and dvd releases:

Cover art Video title Release date Release country
Stub.gif Video or dvd title YYYY-MM-DD Country


Awards, nominations, and certifications

Awards

This section needs more information.

Year Winner Award Category
YYYY WINNER (album, song, producer, etc.) AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.) CATEGORY

Nominations

This section needs more information.

Year Nominee Award Category
YYYY NOMINEE (album, song, producer, etc.) AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.) CATEGORY

Certifications

This section needs more information.

Country Certifier Classification Certification
COUNTRY CERTIFIER (RIAA, IFPI...) CLASSIFICATION (Album, singles, foreign artist...) CERTIFICATION (Gold, Platinum, Diamond...)

Lyrics

Well the moon was full and the stars were bright
and I've driven so far from town 
that I needed a rest when over the hill
came the lights of a Grand Hotel

So I parked the car and took my bags
to the desk and rang the bell
and a voice said:
"so you've come to spend the night at the Grand Hotel"

If you ever spend a night in the Grand Hotel
you're better off spending a night in hell
it's a story you'll be lucky if you live to tell
the night you spend in a Grand Hotel

My room was damp and dark and cold 
and the air had a terrible smell
when the dinner gong rang in the lobby below
for the guests at the Grand Hotel

Well the guests all filed into that room
as if they were under a spell
the bread was stale, the soup was pale
and my pudding was cold as well

If you better spend a night in the Grand Hotel
you're better off spending a night in hell
it's a story you'll be lucky if you live to tell
the night you spend in a Grand Hotel

Back to my room in my bed in the gloom
fast asleep I fell
when a terrible scream tore through the night
and shook the Grand Hotel

Smoke came pouring through that door
with an awful burning smell 
in an empty room I fought the flames
alone in the Grand Hotel 

If you ever spend a night in the Grand Hotel
you're better off spending a night in hell
it's a story you'll be lucky if you live to tell
the night you spend in a Grand Hotel

oh oh oh oh

Well the guests had all just disappeared   
in a way I could not tell
I reached the door as fire tore
like a wind through the Grand Hotel

Well I must have ran a mile or more
to find someone to tell 
a cottage window spilled out light
and on its door I fell

If you ever spend a night in the Grand Hotel
you're better off spending a night in hell
it's a story you'll be lucky if you live to tell
the night you spend in a Grand Hotel

Old man came and let me in
my awful fears to quell
I told him of the night I spent
at the burning Grand Hotel 

His face went white, his hands went cold
"Nay nay, not the Grand Hotel
it burned down 20 years ago
it's just a ruined shell"

If you better spend a night in the Grand Hotel
you're better off spending a night in hell
it's a story you'll be lucky if you live to tell
the night you spend in a Grand Hotel

the night you spend in a Grand Hotel
the night you spend in a Grand Hotel
the night you spend in a Grand Hotel
etc..

Quotations and trivia

This section needs more information.

Alternative and cover versions

This section needs more information.

See also

This section needs more information.

External links

This section needs more information.

References

source: Last Exit studio recording, The Police live recording, Outlandos newsletter - March & June 1982, World Of His Own credits