Song · Portishead
“Wandering Star” by Portishead
From the album Dummy (1994)
“Wandering Star” by Portishead appears on 3 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 2019 and 2023. It was first released in 1994 on the album Dummy. Its best result is #338 on the KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,563 indie & aaa song of all time.
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Video from YouTube (PortisheadVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Wandering Star" sits on Dummy, the debut album Portishead released on Go! Beat on 22 August 1994, the record that won the 1995 Mercury Music Prize and did more than most to make trip hop a household term. Geoff Barrow and Beth Gibbons wrote it; the pair had met on an Enterprise Allowance course in 1991 and recorded the album at the Coach House Studios in Bristol.
Gibbons sings it, and around her the band keep the palette spare and smoky: Adrian Utley on guitar, Clive Deamer on drums and Gary Baldwin on Hammond organ. Portishead produced it with Utley as co-producer, and Dave McDonald engineered.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 338 | KEXP | KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time | 627 |
| 2022 | 749 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2023 | 419 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
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