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Voulez-Vous (song)

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"Voulez-Vous"
Song

"Voulez-Vous" (pronounced [vule vu]; French for "Do you want?") is a disco track by Swedish group ABBA, written and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (under the working title "Amerika"). Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad shared the lead vocals.

The song is the second track on the group's 1979 album of the same name. In the UK and Ireland, "Voulez-Vous" was released as a double A-side with "Angeleyes" ("Angeleyes" was the dominant A-side); nearly everywhere else, "Voulez-Vous" was a single A-side. The song also features on the Gold: Greatest Hits album, first as a 4:21 edited version when the compilation was first released in 1992 and then in its full 5:09 version from 1999 onwards. "Angeleyes" is featured on the More Gold: More Hits compilation. "Voulez-Vous" was re-released as a single in 1992 to promote Gold: Greatest Hits.

"Voulez-Vous" is also the only ABBA song to have been officially released as an extended dance remix — albeit only as a promo. The 6:07 version of the track, released as a double A-side 12" single by Atlantic Records in the United States in 1979, was included as a bonus track on the 2001 compilation The Definitive Collection.

A songwriting trip to the Bahamas saw the birth of this melody, and the proximity to Miami made it convenient to recording the backing track at Criteria Studios with members of the disco group Foxy. Criteria Studios is where The Bee Gees made their disco-era records. "Voulez-Vous" is the only ABBA song other than live recordings to be recorded outside of Sweden.

Reception

Compared to ABBA's hits both before and after, "Voulez-Vous" was not a major hit for the group. It did top the charts in Belgium, while reaching the Top 5 in Great Britain, Ireland, France and The Netherlands. It also peaked at No. 9 in Spain and Switzerland, but failed to make the Top 10 anywhere else.

Track listings

7" vinyl[5]

12" vinyl[5]

1992 CD re-issue[5]

  1. "Voulez Vous"
  2. "Summer Night City"

Chart performance

Preceded by Belgian Ultratop 50 Flanders number-one single
25 August 1979 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Belgian VRT Top 30 Flanders number-one single
11 August 1979 – 25 August 1979 (3 weeks)

Cover versions

  • "Voulez-Vous"[23] was released by the British (London based) electronic duo Big Bang in 1989 on Swanyard Records (SYRTR 1)[24] B-side Cold Nights In Cairo.[25] It was produced by Big Bang and Steev Toth. Both 7" and 12" (extended) versions were released. Their version of Voulez-Vous incorporates Arabic elements.[26] This recording is probably the first and only time to date any recording artist has added additional music to an original ABBA song. (In 2005 Madonna used only an ABBA riff sample in her song "Hung Up".) Vocals are shared by Jasmine Ventura and Teresa Revill, while Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor plays guitar on the track. The record became a dance chart hit and peaked at No. 9 in the 1989 year-end UK club dance chart.
  • "Voulez-Vous" topped the British charts again in 1992, when it was one of four ABBA songs covered on Erasure's EP Abba-esque.
  • Swedish pop group A-Teens recorded a version on their debut album The ABBA Generation.
  • Various Eurodance/Hi-NRG cover remixes by Abbacadabra were released in the late 1990s through British label Almighty Records. One of Abbacadabra versions was later included on the 1997 Dancemania compilation Covers and some of them were most recently included on the 2008 compilation We Love ABBA: The Mamma Mia Dance Collection.
  • The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus recorded a cover of the song for their 1997 album ExtrABBAganza!.
  • The British 1999 ABBAmania album includes a cover by Culture Club. The subsequent ABBAMania 2 album features a rendition sung by British actress Julie Forsyth. Ska band Madness also covered the song on the programme of the same name.
  • A cover by Swedish thrash metal band Morgana Lefay was featured on the tribute album ABBAMetal (also released as A Tribute to ABBA).
  • Another metal version by Swedish band Time Requiem was a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their album The Inner Circle Of Reality.
  • Vietnamese-American singer Dạ Nhật Yến recorded a version with rap by Chosen One.
  • On the 2004 tribute album Abbalicious performed by various American drag queens, the song was covered by Sade Pendarvis.[27]
  • Swedish musician Nils Landgren includes a cover of the song on his 2004 tribute album Funky Abba.
  • A cover of the song by Blue System is on the 2006 chill-out compilation ABBA Chill Out.
  • A cover of the song by Finnish a cappella choral ensemble Rajaton is on their 2006 ABBA tribute album Rajaton Sings ABBA With Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
  • Icelandic cult rock band HAM released a metal cover version which has become one of their landmark concert songs.
  • The Latin boy band Menudo (from Puerto Rico) did a Spanish cover of this song for their own Chiquitita album. They also re-recorded it with their 1981 line up for the album Xanadu.

Live performances and appearances in other media

  • "Voulez-Vous" is one of the numbers performed in the Mamma Mia! musical.

References

  1. ^ Mason, Stewart. "Voulez-Vous – Song Review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  2. ^ Tobler, John (2011). Abba – Uncensored on the Record. Coda Books Ltd. p. 112.
  3. ^ "Euro-Pop songs". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Oldham, Andrew Loog; Calder, Tony; Irwin, Colin (1995). ABBA: The Name of the Game. Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 224.
  6. ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  7. ^ "ABBA – Voulez-vous" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  8. ^ "Radio 2 Top 30 : 25 augustus 1979" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4725b." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  10. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  11. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "ABBA" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  12. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Voulez Vous". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  13. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – ABBA - Voulez-vous" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  14. ^ "ABBA – Voulez-vous" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  15. ^ "ABBA – Voulez-vous". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  16. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  17. ^ "ABBA – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  18. ^ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending SEPTEMBER 8, 1979 at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 February 2011). Cash Box magazine.
  19. ^ 100a at the Wayback Machine (archived 20 August 2009). Record World. Geocities.com.
  20. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1979" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  21. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1979" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  22. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1979" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  23. ^ "Voulez Vous - Big Bang". SoundCloud. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  24. ^ "Big Bang – Voulez Vous? (The Imagine Mix) [Swanyard Records Ltd SYRTR 1]". Wax.fm. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  25. ^ "Big Bang". iTunes. Apple Inc. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  26. ^ Williams, Iain (August 2014). "Big Bang and the recording of Voulez Vous". Big Bang. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  27. ^ Abbalicious – About The CD at the Wayback Machine (archived 9 August 2009). Figjament.com.
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