One Night in Bangkok

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"One Night in Bangkok"
Single by Murray Head
from the album Chess OST
B-side	"Merano"
Released	1984
Format	7", 12"
Recorded	1984
Genre	Pop, dance
Length	3:51
Label	RCA
Writer(s)	Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson (composers) Tim Rice (lyricist)
Murray Head singles chronology
"Maman" (1982) "One Night in Bangkok" (1984) "When You're in Love" (1984)
Audio sample
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"One Night in Bangkok" is a song by singer Murray Head. The original version was one of the main tracks in the 1984 concept album for the musical Chess, and its music was composed by former ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, with lyrics written by Tim Rice. The song was released by Byte Records.

The release topped the charts in many countries, including West Germany, Switzerland and Australia. It peaked at #3 in the United States, and at #12 in the UK.

Contents 1 Lyrics and music 2 Track listings 3 Credits 4 Certifications 5 Charts 6 Cover versions 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Lyrics and music

The song is mainly a pop song, though at the time it could also have been classed as belonging to the dance music genre. The choruses (variations on the phrase "One night in Bangkok...") were sung by Swedish artist Anders Glenmark. The verses could be described as a spoken rap by Head, a sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek denunciation of the city's moral corruption and comparative glorification of the intellectual purity of chess; e.g., Head remarks, "the queens we use would not excite you."

The song's lyrics contain a number of Bangkok-related references, among them the "muddy old river" (the Chao Phraya River), the "reclining Buddha" (the Wat Pho statue) and Yul Brynner (famously remembered for playing the King of Siam in The King and I).

[edit] Track listings

7" single

1. "One Night in Bangkok" — 3:54
2. "Merano" by The London Symphony Orchestra & The Ambrosian Singers — 7:08

12" maxi

1. "One Night in Bangkok" — 5:38
2. "Merano" by The London Symphony Orchestra & The Ambrosian Singers — 7:08

[edit] Credits

• Arranged by Anders Eljas and Benny Andersson
• Conductor : Anders Eljas
• Engineer : Michael B. Tretow
• Choruses sung by Anders Glenmark
• Producer : Benny Andersson , Björn Ulvaeus , Tim Rice

[edit] Certifications

Country	Certification	Date	Sales certified	Physical sales
Canada[1]	Platinum	May 1, 1985	100,000
France[2]	Silver	1985	200,000	413,000
Germany[3]	Gold	1985	150,000

[edit] Charts

Chart (1984-1985) Peak position Australian ARIA Singles Chart[4] 1 Austrian Singles Chart[4] 2 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1 French SNEP Singles Chart[4] 2 German Singles Chart[5] 1 Irish Singles Chart[6] 7 Norwegian Singles Chart[4] 3 Swedish Singles Chart[4] 3 Swiss Singles Chart[4] 1 UK Singles Chart[7] 12 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[8] 3 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[8] 5 U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[8] 89

End of year chart (1985) Position Austrian Singles Chart[9] 13 Swiss Singles Chart[10] 8

Preceded by "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid	German number one single January 18, 1985 - January 25, 1985 (2 weeks)	Succeeded by "Shout" by Tears for Fears
Preceded by "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid	Swiss number-one single January 20, 1985 - February 17, 1985 (5 weeks)	Succeeded by "Shout" by Tears for Fears
Preceded by "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid	Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single February 9, 1985 - March 2, 1985 (4 weeks)	Succeeded by "Shout" by Tears for Fears
Preceded by "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner	Australian ARIA number-one single March 18, 1985 (1 week)	Succeeded by "Shout" by Tears for Fears

[edit] Cover versions

• A dance version of the song was recorded by Robey in 1984, which peaked at #5 on the US Billboard Dance Chart, before the success of the original version.
• Steve Vai incorporated part of the song in his 1996 Fire Garden Suite.
• Norwegian singer Jan Werner Danielsen covered the song on his 1998 album Music Of The Night.
• Swedish pop group A*Teens recorded a cover of the song for their 2003 album New Arrival.
• Danish boy band C21 released a cover of the song as a single in September 2003.
• In 2005, the track gained new popularity in Europe, thanks to a remix by the dance act Vinylshakerz. The producers sampled the chorus of the song and turned it into a modern dance track. The remix became a success in several European countries, and found its way into clubs throughout the spring of 2005.
• DJ Antoine, a swiss DJ, covered the song for his album Live in Bangkok in 2008.
• An a capella version of the song was recorded by the Austrian a capella group Safer Six.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• All-Music Guide: Chess at AMG