Everybody Have Fun Tonight

Last updated

"Everybody Have Fun Tonight"
Everybody Have Fun Tonight.jpg
Single by Wang Chung
from the album Mosaic
B-side "Fun Tonight: The Early Years"
ReleasedSeptember 1986
Recorded1986
Genre
Length4:47 (album version)
4:15 (7"/video version)
Label Geffen
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Peter Wolf
Wang Chung singles chronology
"Wake Up, Stop Dreaming"
(1985)		"Everybody Have Fun Tonight"
(1986)		"Let's Go!"
(1987)
Music video
"Everybody Have Fun Tonight" on YouTube

"Everybody Have Fun Tonight" is a song by the English new wave band Wang Chung, released as a single from their fourth studio album Mosaic in 1986. Collaboratively written by Jack Hues, Nick Feldman, and Peter Wolf, it reached no. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart during the 1986 Christmas season. It also hit No. 1 on the Canada RPM Top 100 Singles chart the week of 17 January 1987. With some different lyrics, the original ballad version of the song was placed on the B-side.

Contents

In 2005, Wang Chung performed the song on the American television show Hit Me, Baby, One More Time alongside a cover of Nelly's "Hot in Herre". [3] The song was later featured in the second trailer for the upcoming 2026 video game, Grand Theft Auto VI . [4]

Critical reception

Billboard called it a "self-celebrating dance rocker" that "[coins] a new verb." [1]

Track listing

7-inch Geffen / 7-28562 (USA)

  1. "Everybody Have Fun Tonight (edit)"
  2. "Fun Tonight: The Early Years"

7-inch Geffen / GEF 13F (UK)

  1. "Everybody Have Fun Tonight (edit)"
  2. "Fun Tonight: The Early Years"
  1. "Dance Hall Days"
  2. "Don't Let Go"

7-inch Geffen / P-2193 (JPN)

  1. "Everybody Have Fun Tonight (edit)"
  2. "Fun Tonight: The Early Years"

12-inch Geffen / 0-20551 (USA) and TA 2589 (UK)

  1. "Everybody Have Fun Tonight (12 Inches of Fun)" – 6:45
  2. "Everybody Have Fun Tonight (edit)" – 3:59*
  1. "Everybody Dub Tonight" – 6:02*
  2. "Fun Tonight: The Early Years" – 4:12

*times as indicated on the record label (not actual)

12-inch (Promo) Geffen / PRO-A-2581 (USA)

  1. "Everybody Have Fun Tonight (Edit)" – 3:59
  1. "Everybody Have Fun Tonight (LP Version)" – 4:47

Music video

The music video, directed by Godley & Creme, features scenes of the band playing in a wood-lined room with very rapid editing between different takes of the same performance. The band, additional musicians, and dancers are seen in several formations throughout the video. They are shown in close portrait and seated along a row of chairs; the seating arrangement changes with each take. Each shot flips through up to four takes of the same shot, with some shots approaching up to 1/25th of a second between edits. The video was later banned from airing after its premiere when a medical expert retained by the BBC's screening committee stated it could trigger "epileptic fits". [5]

Other versions

In 2020, Wang Chung released a rewritten version of the song known as "Everybody Stay Safe Tonight" featuring the American pop and jazz singer Valerie Day. [6] The rewritten lyrics reflected the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. [7] It was released on 8 June 2020. [8]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1986–1987)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [9] 8
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [10] 19
Canada (The Record) [11] 1
Canada Top Singles ( RPM )1
Italy Airplay ( Music & Media ) [12] 10
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [13] 28
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [14] 23
UK Singles (OCC) [15] 76
US Billboard Hot 100 [16] 2
US Radio & Records CHR/Pop Airplay Chart [17] 1
US Dance Club Songs ( Billboard ) [18] 4
US Album Rock Tracks (Billboard)25

Year-end charts

Chart (1987)Position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [19] 57
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard) [20] 12

References

  1. 1 2 "Reviews" (PDF). Billboard . 4 October 1986. p. 79. Retrieved 6 May 2025– via World Radio History.
  2. ↑ Everybody Have Fun Tonight at AllMusic
  3. ↑ Writer, Staff (19 July 2013). "1980s duo Wang Chung betting on a comeback". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  4. ↑ Shutler, Ali (6 May 2025). "'Grand Theft Auto 6's new trailer is here". NME. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  5. ↑ "Banned video of the month: Wang Chung's..." Los Angeles Times . 11 January 1987.
  6. ↑ Friedlander, Matt (10 June 2020). "Wang Chung releases COVID-themed "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" remake featuring Nu Shooz singer". ABC News Radio . Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  7. ↑ Meredith, Kyle (14 July 2020). "Wang Chung on Rewriting Old Hits for New Times". Consequence . Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "Wang Chung have fun with "Everybody" by encouraging people to stay safe tonight". Wang Chung. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  9. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. p. 332. ISBN   0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988.
  10. ↑ "Wang Chung – Everybody Have Fun Tonight" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  11. ↑ Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Mississauga, Ontario: Music Data Canada. ISBN   1-896-594-13-1.
  12. ↑ "European Playlist Reports: RAI - Italy" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 4, no. 3. 24 January 1987. p. 16.
  13. ↑ "Wang Chung – Everybody Have Fun Tonight" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  14. ↑ "Wang Chung – Everybody Have Fun Tonight". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "Wang Chung: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  16. ↑ "Wang Chung Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  17. ↑ "Wang Chung". Wweb.uta.edu.
  18. ↑ "Wang Chung Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  19. ↑ "Australian Music Report No 701 – 28 December 1987 > National Top 100 Singles for 1987". Australian Music Report, via Imgur.com. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  20. ↑ "1987 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 52. 26 December 1987.
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