One Night in Bangkok

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For other uses, see One Night in Bangkok (disambiguation).
"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
file info · help

"One Night in Bangkok" is a song originally sung by Murray Head on the 1984 concept album for the musical Chess. Its music was composed by former ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, with lyrics written by Tim Rice.

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

Contents

[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., "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 (who played 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
Canadian Singles Chart[5] 3
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1
French SNEP Singles Chart[4] 2
German Singles Chart[6] 1
Irish Singles Chart[7] 7
Norwegian Singles Chart[4] 3
Swedish Singles Chart[4] 3
Swiss Singles Chart[4] 1
UK Singles Chart[8] 12
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[9] 3
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[9] 5
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[9] 89
End of year chart (1985) Position
Austrian Singles Chart[10] 13
Swiss Singles Chart[11] 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

  1. ^ Canada certifications cria.ca (Retrieved September 4, 2008)
  2. ^ French certifications See: "Les Ventes" => "Toutes les certifications depuis 1973" => "HEAD Murray" Infodisc.fr (Retrieved September 4, 2008)
  3. ^ German certifications musikindustrie.de (Retrieved September 4, 2008)
  4. ^ a b c d e f "One Night in Bangkok", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
  5. ^ RPM Top 100 (April 20, 1985) [1]
  6. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
  7. ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
  8. ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
  9. ^ a b c Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved September 4, 2008)
  10. ^ 1985 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved September 4, 2008)
  11. ^ 1985 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved September 4, 2008)

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Night_in_Bangkok"
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