The song was re–released as a remixed version in 1996 alongside the release of the bands compilation album, The Best of Runrig – Long Distance (1996).

[3] Runrig performed "The Greatest Flame" on the BBC programme Top of the Pops on 20 May 1993.

[5] In their native Scotland, it debuted at number five on the Scottish Singles Charts, before falling to eighteen in its second week.

[8] The original 1993 release was credited in Musicweek as seeing the band "continue to pursue a more mainstream audience", claiming that "The Greatest Flame" is a song which "is a power ballad that sweeps along majestically in a polished and highly commercial manner".

Musicweek predicted that the song would become their first Top 40 success in the United Kingdom, resulting in "casual buyers then warming to its considerable charms".