Pop Goes the World (song)

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"Pop Goes the World"
Song
B-side"The End (Of the World)"

"Pop Goes the World" is a song recorded by Canadian group Men Without Hats. It was released in October 1986[citation needed] as the lead single from the album of the same name. The song reached number-one in Austria, and number 2 in Canada and Sweden.

Content

The song very generally tells a story of "Johnny" and "Jenny," the two members of a fluid musical group (both the members' instruments of choice and the band name appears to change throughout the song, though Johnny is primarily a guitarist and Jenny is a bassist) on their quest for fame in the industry, though at one point the lyrics note that they come to the realization that they could make "more money on a movie screen."

At the "Sound of Music" festival in Burlington, Ivan referred to the song as being "about crystal meth".

Music video

The music video for the song features lead singer Ivan Doroschuk who tells the story of "Johnny and Jenny" played by guitarist Stefan Doroschuk (impersonating Elvis Presley) and an unknown actress (playing a Höfner 500/1 bass) dancing around a bubble-filled stage along with numerous other characters including a keyboard-playing baby and Bonhomme Carnaval (the mascot of Quebec City's annual Winter Carnival). The word "Pop!", in writing reminiscent of a comic book appears periodically on screen, often timed with the popping noises that punctuate the song. The video was released on a CD Video in 1988.

Charts

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[1] 1
Canada (RPM) 2
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[2] 15
South Africa [3] 3
Spain (AFYVE)[4] 11
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[5] 2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 20
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 27
Preceded by Austrian Singles Chart number one single[6]
February 15, 1988 (4 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"My Love Is a Tango" by Guillermo Marchena

In popular culture

The song was featured in the 1987 film Date with an Angel, which starred Phoebe Cates, Emmanuelle Béart and Michael E. Knight. The song was also featured very briefly in the 1991 film Scanners II: The New Order.

The main tune of the song has caught up among sports fans cheering for their teams in several countries across the world. In Argentina, for instance, it is arguably the most popular tune sung by football (soccer) fans, no matter what team or division they belong to. If it is River Plate, they would sing "Oooh, vamos, River Plate! River Plate, River Plate, vamos, River Plate!". It is also used by football fans in Japan (national team, Yokohama F. Marinos and other teams) and by fans of Sport Club Internacional football team in Brazil.[7][8] In Hungary, fans of Diósgyőr, use the song with the neyt lyrics: "Amíg élek én, nem érdekel más, csak a Diósgyőr, csak a Diósgyőr, csak a Diósgyőr!".

Cover versions

  • In 1997, Canadian band The Nils covered the song on their album Green Fields In Daylight.
  • In 1999, punk rock band Apocalypse Hoboken covered the song on their album Inverse, Reverse, Perverse.
  • In 1999, Barcelona covered the song and it appeared as the fifth track on the single for the song "Robot Trouble."
  • In 2004, DJ Ötzi performed "You Never Walk Alone" which uses the chorus melody of "Pop Goes The World"
  • In 2004, LMP covered the song in their box-set A Century of Song.
  • In 2007, the song was covered by Canal Pop on the compilation Southern Waves: Argentinian Tribute To Classic Electropop.
  • In 2012, Savoir Adore covered the song. The cover was subsequently featured in commercials for Tide Pods.

References

  1. ^ "Men Without Hats – Pop Goes the World" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  2. ^ "Men Without Hats – Pop Goes the World". Top 40 Singles.
  3. ^ http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(M).html
  4. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  5. ^ "Men Without Hats – Pop Goes the World". Singles Top 100.
  6. ^ Austriancharts.at
  7. ^ "Yokohama F. Marinos saposon" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 7, 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ ja:ウルトラス・ニッポン
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