| "Hello Mr. Monkey" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Arabesque | ||||
| from the album Friday Night | ||||
| B-side | "Buggy Boy" | |||
| Released | 25 October 1977 | |||
| Genre | Pop, Europop, disco [1] | |||
| Length | 3:27 | |||
| Label | EMI (Germany) Victor (Japan) Papillon Records (Netherlands) [2] | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ben Juris Benny Lux | |||
| Producer(s) | Wolfgang Mewes | |||
| Arabesque singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Hello Mr. Monkey" is the debut single by German all-girl trio, Arabesque. Initially released only in Germany in 1977, it was released worldwide the following year in 1978.
Written in 1977 shortly before the Arabesque lineup was finalized, "Hello Mr. Monkey" was the debut single of the West German group. The song is about a performer "Mr. Monkey" who was once famous, but has now lost his fame and "should've been a clown". [4] [5] It features Mary Ann Nagel on lead vocals, with Karen Ann Tepperis and Michaela Rose as backup singers. [6] The song was a huge hit in Asia, particularly Japan and South Korea, spending weeks at number one. [7] [8] However, it failed to chart in Germany and other European countries. [9] Arabesque gave their first ever public appearance on October 16, 1977, performing the song on the German Pop '77 program on ARD. [10]
Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in The Hague in 1967. They were part of the Nederbeat movement in the Netherlands. The band had a string of hit songs during the counterculture movement of the 1960s and early 1970s, including "Send Me a Postcard" and "Venus", which became their biggest hit and reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and many other countries during 1969 and 1970. The band sold 13.5 million records by 1973 but disbanded in 1974. Together with Golden Earring they are considered the most successful Nederbeat-band, if the criterion is scoring hits abroad and especially in the United States.
Sandra Ann Lauer, later Sandra Cretu, commonly known mononymously as Sandra, is a German pop singer who enjoyed mainstream popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s with a string of European hit singles, produced by her then-husband and musical partner, Michael Cretu, most notably "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena" (1985), "In the Heat of the Night" (1985), "Everlasting Love" (1987), "Secret Land" (1988), "Hiroshima" (1990), and "Don't Be Aggressive" (1992). Her albums Into a Secret Land (1988) and Close to Seven (1992) have won Sandra high critical acclaim.
Arabesque was an all-girl trio formed at the height of the European disco era in 1977 in Frankfurt, West Germany. The group's changing lineup worked with the German composer Jean Frankfurter and became especially popular in Japan.
Pink Lady are a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mie and Keiko Masuda. In Japan, they are remembered for a run of pop-chart hits from roughly 1976 to 1979, but in the United States, they are best known for their short-lived 1980 NBC TV variety show Pink Lady, later released on DVD under the title Pink Lady and Jeff.
"I Want You to Want Me" is a song by the American rock band Cheap Trick. It is originally from their second album In Color, released in September 1977. It was the first single released from that album, but it did not chart in the United States in its original studio version, which was influenced by music hall styles.
The Alessi Brothers, also known as Alessi, are an American pop rock singer-songwriter duo who first came to international prominence with their 1977 hit single "Oh Lori". The duo are identical twin brothers, Billy and Bobby Alessi.
"Pepper Keibu" is the debut single by the Japanese hit duo Pink Lady. The single was released on August 25, 1976, under the Victor label. "Pepper Keibu" reached a peak chart position of number four, with a total of 1,050,000 sales. The titular song won the duo the Newcomer Award at the 18th Japan Record Awards. It was also nominated for the Best New Artist Award, but lost to "Omoide Boro Boro" by Yasuko Naitō. The original recording did not have the signature "Pepper Keibu yo" at the end, as the live performances did. Subsequent recordings and covers do, however, include the line. A number of reissues have been made, including 8 cm and 12 cm CD versions.
"Wanted (Shimei Tehai)" (ウォンテッド (指名手配), Uonteddo (Shimei Tehai), lit. "Wanted (Fugitive Warrant)") is the fifth single released by Pink Lady on September 5, 1977. The single topped the Japan charts at number one, having sold 1,650,000 copies, and spent twelve weeks at the top.
Vangelis was a Greek musician, composer, and producer. He began his music career in the 1960s with the Greek progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child and in the 1970s began composing electronic music. He gained wide mainstream popularity after composing soundtracks to film Chariots of Fire (1981) and Blade Runner (1982). His solo career discography consists of 23 studio albums, 26 compilation albums, 12 soundtrack albums, and roughly 29 singles. The majority of his film, documentary, theatre, and ballet & dance scores weren't released or officially released. He also collaborated with Jon Anderson and as a duo Jon and Vangelis released 4 studio albums, 2 compilations, and 13 singles, and with Irene Papas released two studio albums.
"Queen of Chinatown" is a song by French singer Amanda Lear, released in 1977 by Ariola Records. It met with a big chart success and remains one of Lear's biggest hits to date. The song's lyrics were written by Lear herself and the music was composed by Anthony Monn, her musical partner at that time. It's an uptempo disco composition with characteristic oriental elements. The song was released in late 1977 as the sixth and final single from Lear's debut album, I Am a Photograph (1977), however, was included only on the album's re-issue, replacing "La Bagarre". The B-side of the single was "Alphabet", which had earlier received a separate A-side single release in the Netherlands. In Japan, "The Lady in Black" was released on the side B.
"Southpaw" is Pink Lady's seventh single release, released on March 25, 1978. This became their sixth number-one hit on the Oricon Chart in Japan. The single sold 1,800,000 copies, and spent nine weeks at number one on the chart.
"Monster" is Pink Lady's eighth single release, and their seventh number-one hit on the Oricon charts in Japan. The single sold 1,600,000 copies, and was number one for eight weeks. It also peaked at number-one on the Japanese Music Labo chart.
"Chameleon Army" is Pink Lady's tenth single release, and their ninth number 1 hit on the Oricon charts. The single sold approximately 1,250,000 copies, and spent six weeks at the top of the Oricon charts. This was their last consecutive number one hit.
"Pink Typhoon (In the Navy)" (ピンク・タイフーン (In the Navy), Pinku Taifūn (In za Nebī)) is Pink Lady's twelfth single, released in May 1979. It peaked at number six on the Oricon charts and number five on the Japanese Music Labo chart. It was the duo's first single to not be written by Shunichi Tokura and Yū Aku.
"Kiss in the Dark" is the 14th single released in Japan, and the first single released in the United States, by Japanese duo Pink Lady. The song was recorded for their debut American album Pink Lady. The duo debuted the song in May 1979 on a Leif Garrett TV special. The song's peak position in Japan on the Oricon chart was 19, and on the American Billboard charts was 37. This was the first release of the duo to fail to make the top 10 in Japan. In addition to the all-English version of the song which was a hit in the U.S., Pink Lady recorded a bilingual version for the album We Are Sexy, with the chorus in English and the verses in Japanese. The B-side of the single is a cover of The Left Banke's "Walk Away Renée".
"Shochū Omimai Mōshiagemasu" is the 15th single by Japanese music trio Candies. Written by Makoto Kitajō and Juichi Sase, the single was released on July 21, 1977. The song appeared on their 1977 album Candy Label.
"From Here to Eternity" is a song by Italian singer, songwriter, and producer Giorgio Moroder, released in 1977 as a single from an album of the same name.
"I Was Made for Dancin'" is a song written by Michael Lloyd and performed by Leif Garrett. It reached #4 on the UK Singles Chart, #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #38 on the US adult contemporary chart. It also reached #2 in Australia, #10 in Germany, and #12 in Japan. The song, produced by Lloyd and arranged by John D'Andrea, was featured on his 1978 album, Feel the Need.
Rita Nagel, known professionally as Mary Ann Nagel, is a German singer. Nagel is notable for being the founding member of the Arabesque girl group in 1977.
Michaela Rose is a German singer. She was an original member of the Arabesque disco group that started in 1977, and is the only original member still active in it. As of 2020, she continues to perform with the group, now known as "Arabesque featuring Michaela Rose".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)