Story of the song: Ray of Light by Madonna

From The Independent archive: Robert Webb on how folk-rock whimsy was turned into a global hit

The singer had a global hit with the William Orbit-produced track (Getty)

Madonna wanted a record that sounded both “old and new at the same time”. For the new she commissioned the producer William Orbit. The old was partly provided by “Sepheryn”, a piece of progressive folk-rock whimsy by Dave Curtiss and Clive Maldoon. This earnest strum, with cryptic lyrics about a “ray of light”, would have been less than a footnote in rock history, were it not for Maldoon’s niece, Christine Leach.

In 1996, Leach, the singer for Baby Fox, was recording with Orbit. They were listening to one of Orbit’s backing tracks. “[It] fitted so well with the lyric to ‘Sepheryn’ that I just started singing it,” said Leach. Keeping the first verse, she rewrote the chorus and firmed up the rather baggy melody. A few weeks later, the call from Madonna’s record label partner, Guy Oseary, came through, conveying Madge’s zeal for Orbit’s work. A tape, including the tracks recorded with Leach, was sent as the producer’s calling card.

Madonna loved “Sepheryn”, describing it as “a mystical look at the universe and how small we are”, and made modifications, retitling it “Ray of Light”. Recording got under way at Larrabee Studio, in LA, in 1997. It was a global hit in May 1998.