Live Is Life

"Live Is Life"
Single by Opus
from the album Live Is Life/ Up and Down (U.S. version)
B-side	"Again and Again" "Up and Down"
Released	1985 2008
Format	7" single
Genre	Pop, rock
Length	4:15
Label	Polydor, OK
Writer(s)	Ewald Pfleger Kurt Rene Plisnier Gunter Grasmuck Niki Gruber Herwig Rüdisser
Opus singles chronology
"Flying High" (1982) "Live Is Life" (1985) "Flying High" (live) (1985)
"Gimme Love" (1992) "The Power Of Live Is Life" (1994) "Live Is Life 08" (2008) Alternative covers Austrian release 2008 release

"Live Is Life" is a popular song originally recorded in 1984 by Austrian pop-rock group Opus. It was successful and was covered by many artists throughout the years.

Contents 1 Background and writing 2 Track listings 2.1 1985 release 2.2 1994 release 2.3 2008 release 3 Charts and sales 3.1 Peak positions 3.2 Year-end charts 3.3 Certifications 4 Hermes House Band version 4.1 Track listings 4.2 Charts and sales 4.2.1 Peak positions 4.2.2 Year-end charts 4.2.3 Certifications 5 Other cover versions 6 References

Background and writing

"Live Is Life" is their second single, released in 1985, and achieved huge success, topping the charts of many countries, including Austria (eight weeks), Germany, France (seven weeks) and Sweden (four weeks). In France, the song is the 149th best-selling single of all time with about 857,000 units sold.^[1]

The song was created during a concert in Oberwart, on September 2, 1984, while the group celebrated its eleven years of existence. Recorded in a live version, the audience also sings the verses. In the lyrics, the song expresses "the enthusiastic attachment of the group to the stage".^[2]

Finnish Ice Hockey team Tappara have been using "Live Is Life" as their goal song since the mid-80s.

The New York Islanders adopted it as their official goal song for the 2010-2011 NHL season.^[3]

In 1994, Opus published another version of their hit "Live Is Life", which made it into the top-ten by Austria and to honor the 1994 FIFA World Cup has been released. Diego Maradona also did a warm up at FIFA while a cover version of the song played, with lyrics re-recorded by him.

The song was re-recorded by the group in 2008 in a solo version and featuring Jerry.

Track listings

1985 release

• 7" single (1984 release)

1. "Live Is Life" — 4:15
2. "Again and Again" — 3:51

• 7" single (1985 release)

1. "Live Is Life" — 4:15
2. "Up and Down" — 3:49

1994 release

• CD maxi

1. "The Power of Live Is Life" (Bingoboys radio mix) — 3:58
2. "Live Is Life" (original version) — 5:06
3. "The Power of Live Is Life" (Bingoboys club mix) — 6:33
4. "Live Is Life" (radio version) — 3:16

2008 release

• CD single

1. "Live Is Life 08" (reggae version) — 4:17
2. "Live Is Life 08" (rock version) — 3:38

• CD maxi

1. "Live Is Life 08" (reggae version) — 4:17
2. "Live Is Life 08" (rock version) — 3:38
3. "Live Is Life 08" (reggaeton version) — 3:56
4. "Touch the Sky" by Opus — 3:47

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (1985) Peak position Austrian Singles Chart[4] 1 Canadian Singles Chart[5] 1 Eurochart Hot 100 3 French SNEP Singles Chart[6] 1 German Singles Chart[7] 1 Irish Singles Chart[8] 4 Norwegian Singles Chart[9] 2 Swedish Singles Chart[10] 1 Swiss Singles Chart[11] 2 UK Singles Chart[12] 6 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[13] 32 Chart (1994) 1 Peak position Austrian Singles Chart[14] 3 Chart (2008) 2 Peak position Austrian Singles Chart[15] 16 Dutch Mega Top 100[16] 69 1 "The Power of Live Is Life" 2 "Live Is Life 08", featuring Jerry (in Austria)

Year-end charts Chart (1985) Position Austrian Singles Chart[17] 4 Dutch Top 40[18] 48 Swiss Singles Chart[19] 1 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Germany[20] Gold 1985 250,000 UK[21] Silver September 1, 1985 200,000

Preceded by "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid	Austrian number-one single February 1, 1985 – March 15, 1985	Succeeded by "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" by Modern Talking
Preceded by "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" by Modern Talking	German number-one single April 12, 1985 – May 24, 1985	Succeeded by "You Can Win If You Want" by Modern Talking
Preceded by "We Are the World" by USA for Africa	Swedish number-one single May 31, 1985 – June 14, 1985	Succeeded by "19" by Paul Hardcastle
Preceded by "Éthiopie" by Chanteurs Sans Frontières	French SNEP number-one single July 20, 1985 – August 31, 1985	Succeeded by "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora

Hermes House Band version

"Live Is Life (Here We Go)"
Single by Hermes House Band featuring DJ Ötzi
from the album Today Is the Day
B-side	Remix
Released	2002
Format	CD single, CD maxi
Genre	Electronic
Length	3:30
Label	Universal Records, Polydor
Writer(s)	Gunter Grasmuck, Peter Niklas Gruber, Ewald Pfleger, Kurt Rene Plisnier, Herwig Ruedisser
Producer	Klaus Biedermann, Jim Binapfl, Jake Buck, Mark Duran, John Lehmkuhl, Claus Marcus, Christian Seitz
Hermes House Band singles chronology
"Que sera sera" (2001) "Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (2002) "Those Were the Days" (2003)

DJ Ötzi, as a guest, released a version with the Hermes House Band in 2002 (worldwide) and 2003 (francophone countries). The single had his highest peak position in France where it reached number two for five weeks. The song was used as a soundtrack from Das Jahr der ersten Küsse.^[22] It is the 523rd best-selling single in France, with about 518,000 units sold.^[23]

Track listings

• CD single

1. "Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (Here We Go/video mix) — 3:30
2. "Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (jump mix) — 3:33

• CD maxi

1. "Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (Here We Go/video mix) — 3:30
2. "Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (jump mix) — 3:33
3. "Football's Coming Home" (three lions) (radio) by Hermes House Band — 3:48
4. "Everytime You Touch Me" (fireplace mix) by Hermes House Band — 3:21
5. "Hey Mama" by Hermes House Band — 3:10
6. Enhanced Multimediatrack : "Live Is Life" — 3:30

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Chart (2002)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[24]	28
Austrian Singles Chart[25]	16
Danish Singles Chart[26]	11
Dutch Mega Top 100[27]	61
German Singles Chart[28]	15
Irish Singles Chart[8]	30
Swedish Singles Chart[29]	46
UK Singles Chart[30]	50
Chart (2003)	Peak position
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[31]	30
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[32]	5
French SNEP Singles Chart[33]	2
Swiss Singles Chart[34]	26

Year-end charts

Chart (2003)	Position
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[35]	27
French Singles Chart[36]	7

Certifications

Country	Certification	Date	Sales certified
Belgium[37]	Gold	27 September 2003	20,000
France[38]	Platinum	24 September 2003	500,000

Other cover versions

The song was covered by many other artists, including Stargo (number ten in France in 1985),^[39] Starkoo, Hungarian band Tormentor, W&R (2002).

• Slovenian avant-garde music group Laibach covered the song in two languages on Opus Dei: as "Leben heißt Leben" (Life is life) in German and as "Opus Dei" in English. The first of these two interpretations was the opening song on the Laibach album Opus Dei (1987), and was sung in German. The second version, "Opus Dei", was promoted as a single, and its promotional video (which used the title "Life is Life") was played extensively on American cable channel MTV.^[40] "Opus Dei" retained some of the original song's English lyrics, but was delivered in a musical style that left the meaning of the lyrics open to further interpretation. Whereas the original is a feel-good pop anthem, Laibach's subversive interpretation twists the melody into a triumphant, rolling military march. With the exception of the promotional video, the refrain is at one instance translated into German, giving an example of the sensitivity of its lyrics to context.
• Estonian comedy pop band Kuldne Trio covered the song in Estonian with parodying lyrics as "Laip on laip" (Corpse is corpse).
• The Spanish band Los Manolos covered the song like a rumba.
• Tropikal Forever parody cover band modified the lyrics in Spanish and titles itself 666 ("meaning the six pack of beer").
• Portuguese-Danish singer Mikkel Solnado (son of famous actor and comedian Raul Solnado) covered it with the common misnaming "Life is Life".^[41] This version was used in a Super Bock commercial during the 2010 World Cup^[42]
• Brazilian band "Os Melhores" recorded a version called "Como é bom te amar" (How good is to love you), in which a submissive boy tells about his love for a girl who treats him with a sadistic demeanor.
• The Quebec singer René Simard covered the song in french, "La vie chante".

References