Wonderful Life (Black song)
| "Wonderful Life" | ||||||||
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| Single by Black | ||||||||
| from the album Wonderful Life | ||||||||
| B-side | "Life Calls" | |||||||
| Released | 1986 (1st release) 1987 (2nd release) |
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| Format | 7" single, 12" single, cassette single | |||||||
| Recorded | Powerplant Studios, London 1985 | |||||||
| Genre | Pop, Synthpop, New Wave | |||||||
| Length | 4:49 | |||||||
| Label | A&M | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Colin Vearncombe | |||||||
| Producer | Dave Dix | |||||||
| Certification | Gold (SNEP) | |||||||
| Black singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Wonderful Life" is a song by British singer Black from his 1987 album of the same name. Written by Black himself, Colin Vearncombe, the song was released twice as a single and was successful the second time, becoming a top ten hit in Switzerland, Germany, UK, France, Austria and Italy.
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[edit] Single release
First released in 1986 by Ugly Man Records, it initially peaked at #72 on the UK Singles Chart.[1] The band then decided to re-release the song with a new record company, A&M Records after the success of "Sweetest Smile". The single then reached a higher peak of #8 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1987.[2]
[edit] Music video
The music video was shot in black and white around the English seaside resort of New Brighton, near Black's hometown Liverpool, and features New Brighton Lighthouse and Promenade. It was directed by Gerard De Thame, husband of Rachel De Thame, and won an award at the NY Film Festival in 1988.[3]
[edit] Use in the media
In 1990, the song featured in a UK television advertisement for Cadbury's Strollers.
In 1994, it was the soundtrack to a British television advertisement for Standard Life insurance, which rekindled interest in the song. The decision to re-release the track to take advantage of the renewed interest was rather delayed, and this time the song did not appear in the Top 40.
In 2008, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime developed a Public Service Announcement which features the song in order to raise awareness of human trafficking among those who are vulnerable to trafficking, and those who are empowered to act against it.
In 2009 it was used by Emirates Airlines to promote air travel to Dubai.
The song featured in the soundtrack of Gurinder Chadha's 2010 film It's a Wonderful Afterlife.
In season 4, episode 14 of the U.S. series Queer as Folk (2004), the song eerily accompanies the main character's struggle to finish a 500-mile bicycle tour in spite of a broken collarbone.
The song was also used in a French TV advertisement for the Fleury Michon ham, but not sung by Black.
It is also used by Romanian music radio station Romantic FM in certain bumpers.
The music and lyrics of the song was used in 2010 in a TV commercial by ZAIN telecommunication company. It was used to promote donation for Palestinian refugees with a slogan: "They live for the hope.. You build."
[edit] Formats and track listings
- 12" maxi single
- "Wonderful Life" – 4:49
- "Life Calls" – 3:51
- "Had Enough" – 4:58
- "All We Need Is the Money" – 4:23
- 7" single
- "Wonderful Life" – 4:49
- "Life Calls" – 3:51
[edit] Charts and sales
[edit] Peak positions
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[edit] End of year charts
[edit] Certifications
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[edit] Chart successions
| Preceded by "Küss' die Hand, schöne Frau" by Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung |
Austrian number-one single 1 February 1988 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Pop Goes the World" by Men Without Hats |
[edit] Cover versions
[edit] Tina Cousins version
| "Wonderful Life" | ||||
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| Single by Tina Cousins | ||||
| from the album Mastermind | ||||
| Released | 26 July 2005 | |||
| Format | CD single, digital download | |||
| Recorded | 2005 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Label | Big | |||
| Producer | Louie Nicastro | |||
| Tina Cousins singles chronology | ||||
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British singer Tina Cousins recorded a cover version of the song for her second studio album Mastermind. This version had moderate success, peaking at #17 on the Australian Singles Chart and at #58 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2005, a dance and a ballad of this cover version were used in the Australian miniseries "The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant" on Channel 10. Since 2007, both the dance and ballad versions of Tina Cousins' cover of the song have been used at the Hoyts cinemas in Australia directly prior to the start of a movie. Now only the ballad version is used.[17] In 2008, this song featured in an UN TV spot ad raising awareness of Human Trafficking.
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 17 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 9 |
| UK Singles Chart | 58 |
[edit] Other cover versions
Dutch singer Mathilde Santing recorded her own cover version of "Wonderful Life" on her 1999 album To Others to One. It was released as a CD maxi single and was used in a television advertisement for Interpolis, a Dutch insurance company.[18] Macedonian alternative rock band Arhangel recorded an alternative rock version of the song for their 1993 album Arhangel 2. Former German rock band Hyperchild covered the song for their album "Easily" and released it as a single in 2000. Serbian punk rock band KBO! recorded a version of the song on their 2001 cover album (Ne) Menjajte Stanicu ((Do Not) Change the Station). French Neofolk band Oraison released a cover on their demo tape. Spanish singer Rosa Lopez recorded a Spanish cover of the song entitled "Bella Vida" on her 2008 album Promesas. It was also released as the second single from the album. In 2009, German techno group Scooter sampled the song on their single "The Sound Above My Hair".In 2011 Kim Wilde covered the song in the album Snapshots (Kim Wilde album). In 2011, the song featured on the Christmas album Funny Looking Angels by Smith & Burrows, a collaboration between Tom Smith (Editors) and Andy Burrows (We Are Scientists and ex-Razorlight).[19] Slow Moving Millie covered the song on her album Renditions.
Various other cover versions have been produced, by artists including TJ Davis, Giuliano Palma & the Bluebeaters, Ace of Base, Lara Fabian, Myslovitz, Carrion, Adelmo "Zucchero" Fornaciari, Csézy and Seeed.
[edit] References
- ^ "Wonderful Life", UK Singles Chart (1986) Chartstats.de (Retrieved 17 April 2008)
- ^ EveryHit.com - search for artist name "Black" and song name "Wonderful Life"
- ^ http://www.gdtfilms.co.uk/
- ^ "Wonderful Life", Australian Singles Chart Australian-charts.com (Retrieved 3 December 2010)
- ^ "Wonderful Life", Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved 9 December 2007)
- ^ "Wonderful Life", Dutch Singles Chart Dutchcharts.nl (Retrieved 3 December 2010)
- ^ "Wonderful Life", French Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved 9 December 2007)
- ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved 17 April 2007)
- ^ a b Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 17 April 2007)
- ^ "Wonderful Life", Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved 9 December 2007)
- ^ "Wonderful Life", UK Singles Chart (1987) Chartstats.de (Retrieved 17 April 2008)
- ^ "Wonderful Life", UK Singles Chart (1994) Chartstats.de (Retrieved 17 April 2008)
- ^ "Single top 100 over 1987" (in Dutch) (pdf). Top40. http://www.top40.nl/pdf/Top%20100/top%20100%20-%201987.pdf. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ 1988 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved 7 August 2008)
- ^ "Les certifications depuis 1973, database" (in French). Infodisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Single_Certif.php. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Black; 'Wonderful+Life')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Wonderful%2BLife&strInterpret=Black&strTtArt=single&strAwards=checked. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
- ^ YouTube - Hoyts Ad - Wonderful Life
- ^ http://www.mathildesanting.info/ (Retrieved 7 October 2008
- ^ http://smithandburrows.co.uk/ (Retrieved 30 November 2011
