Katrina and the Waves · Walking on Sunshine, 1985
Walking on Sunshine
8 sourced items across 4 sectionsVerified1Reported6Inferred1
What the sources do and do not say
One Mix Classic Tracks article covers the original London sessions (Collier) and the Power Station re-record and remix (Litt). Vocal, guitar and original-console statements are album-level; Litt's drum miking is song-specific. The Linn Drum row is hedged and its model is spelled "Linn Drum 2" in the text.
Lead vocal
2 items
Katrina Leskanich
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann U 87
ReportedAlbum sessions
Microphone for Leskanich's overdubbed lead vocal on the original London album sessions.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.
Input chain
The real chain
dbx 160
ReportedAlbum sessions
Album sessions, not stated for this song: Compressor the lead vocal was run through while tracking on the original London sessions.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Universal Audio dbx 160 Compressor / Limiter
compressor
Made with dbx as a model of the original 160.
Also worth a look 1
- Waves dbx 160 Compressor / Limiter (Made with dbx as a model of the original 160)
Drums (re-recorded at Power Station)
4 items
Alex Cooper
Microphone
The real chain
Sennheiser MD 421
Reported
Microphones on the bass drum and tom toms for the replacement drum recording at Power Station.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model. The MD 421 is still made.
The real chain
Shure SM57
Verified
Microphones on the snare, one above and one below, with the lower one put out of phase with the upper.
- Position
- Snare top and bottom
- Settings
- Bottom snare mic out of phase with the top
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model. The SM57 is still made and inexpensive: the real thing is the practical route.
The real chain
Neumann KM 84
Reported
Litt thinks any room microphones would have been KM84s close to the kit, with the signal gated from the snare; he does not say for certain that room mics were used.
- Position
- Eight or 10 feet from the drums
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.
Mix effects
The real chain
Unidentified Tape delay (model not stated)
Reported
Litt believes a tape delay produced the slapback on the drums.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Covers this kind of unit
Soundtoys EchoBoy
delay
Includes tape-echo and studio tape-machine delay styles, the same method as the delay on the record. The machine is not identified, so it is not a model of the unit used.
Organ part
1 item
Nick Glennie-Smith
Instrument
The real chain
E-mu Emulator I
Reported
Collier thinks the organ-like part, played by Glennie-Smith, was a sampling keyboard, probably an Emulator, rather than a real Hammond.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Close match
Arturia Emulator II V
instrument
Models the Emulator II, the successor to the sampler used here.
Drum machine (original version)
1 item
Instrument
The real chain
Linn Linn Drum 2
InferredUsual practice
Usual practice, not stated for this record: Collier says he routinely triggered kick and snare sounds from a Linn Drum to reinforce real drums, and may have printed only those sounds on the earlier recording.
A suggestion, not a documented fact: Pat Collier describes this as usual practice; it is not stated for this record.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Aly James Lab VProm
drum instrument
An emulation of Linn's LM-1 and LinnDrum, built around their sound chips.
Sources
- Classic Tracks: Katrina & The Waves, "Walking On Sunshine", Mix, 2017-10-18. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
What the ratings mean
Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.
Stated by a reputable secondary source.
An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.
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