Saturday Night (Whigfield song)

"Saturday Night"
Single by Whigfield
from the album Whigfield
B-side Remix
Released January 24, 1994
Format CD single, CD maxi
Recorded 1992[1]
Genre Eurodance
Length 3:40
Label Systematic (UK)
Curb/Atlantic Records (U.S.)
Writer(s) Larry Pignagnoli
Davide Riva
Producer Larry Pignagnoli
Whigfield singles chronology
"Saturday Night"
(1994)		 "Another Day"
(1994)
Alternate cover
CD maxi

"Saturday Night" is the title of a song written by Larry Pignagnoli and Davide Riva, and recorded by Danish singer Whigfield. It was released in January 1994 as the lead single from the album, Whigfield and experienced worldwide success.

Contents

Background

Italian producer Larry Pignagnoli had already had success with Spagna in the late 1980s and early 1990s before he produced "Saturday Night" with Danish former model Sannie Carlson aka Whigfield. The track was first released in Italy 1992[1] and then became a huge hit with UK holidaymakers on the Continent over the summer of 1994, leading to a huge demand for the track back in the UK.

Dance moves

The song famously had its own dance routine:[2]

The end of the cycle is marked by a clap, and leaves the body facing 90 degrees from the beginning.

Often, the fourth step is missed out. This is because people realise that the song is in 4/4 time and therefore believe that the dance should only have four steps.

Chart performances

It was released in the UK on September 5, 1994 and the pent-up demand saw the track sail straight in at number one - dethroning Wet Wet Wet's 15 week chart-topper "Love Is All Around", despite that single increasing its sales from 65,000 the previous week to 104,000, when Saturday Night entered at number 1 with sales of 150,000. Whigfield was the first act to debut at number one in the UK charts with their debut single.[3]

It stayed at number one for a total of four weeks selling 680,000 in the process, sold a total of 1,092,250 copies and is currently the 65th best selling single in UK chart history.[4]

Controversy

Two claims of plagiarism were made. It was alleged that the track ripped off both "Rub A Dub Dub" by the Equals and "Fog on the Tyne" by Lindisfarne. Both claims were dismissed.[3]

Track listings

CD single - UK [SYSCD3]
  1. "Saturday Night" (radio mix)
  2. "Saturday Night" (extended nite mix)
  3. "Saturday Night" (nite mix)
  4. "Saturday Night" (beagle mix)
  5. "Saturday Night" (dida mix)
  6. "Saturday Night" (deep nite mix)
  7. "Saturday Night" (trance beat mix)
CD single - Australia (Released in 1997 in Australia)
  1. "Saturday Night" (radio mix)
  2. "Saturday Night" (euro beagle mix - radio edit)
  3. "Saturday Night" (euro beagle mix - extended)
  4. "Saturday Night" (classic vocal remix - U.S. remix)
  5. "Saturday Night" (nite mix)
  6. "Saturday Night" (radio edit)
  7. "Saturday Night" (beagle mix)
  8. "Saturday Night" (deep nite mix)
  9. "Saturday Night" (dida mix)
  10. "Saturday Night" (deep nite extra mix)
  11. "Saturday Night" (fishbone beat's trance beat mix)
  12. "Saturday Night" (fishbone beat's afternoon mix)
CD maxi - Remixes
  1. "Saturday Night" (trance beat remix) — 4:44
  2. "Saturday Night" (afternoon) — 4:40
  3. "Saturday Night" (deep night remix) — 5:45
  4. "Saturday Night" (extended nite remix) — 5:55
  5. "Saturday Night" (radio mix) — 4:07
CD US maxi-single
  1. "Saturday Night" (Remix) — 5:55
  2. "Saturday Night" (Deep Nite Mix) — 5:45
  3. "Saturday Night" (Beagle Mix) — 4:55
  4. "Saturday Night" (Classic Vocal Mix - remixed by Darrin Friedman & Hex Hector) — 9:15
  5. "Saturday Night" (Spike Vocal Mix - remixed by Darrin Friedman & Hex Hector) — 7:28
  6. "Saturday Night" (Dida Mix) — 4:36

Sampling in other songs

Black Duck samples this extensively for his December 1994 #33 hit "Whiggle in Line" to the point of which the only new elements were added vocals. Coincidentally, Black Duck and Whigfield both used the same producer.

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Austrian Singles Chart[5] 4
Canadian RPM Dance Chart[6] 1
Canadian RPM Top Singles[7] 31
Denmark (IFPI)[8] 2
Dutch Top 40[9] 7
Eurochart Hot 100 1
French SNEP Singles Chart[5] 2
German Singles Chart[10] 1
Irish Singles Chart[11] 1
Italian Singles Chart[12] 1
Norwegian Singles Chart[5] 2
Swedish Singles Chart[5] 9
Swiss Singles Chart[5] 1
UK Singles Chart[13] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[14] 19

End of year charts

End of year chart (1994) Position
Dutch Top 40[9] 37
UK Singles Chart[15] 2
French Singles Chart[16] 30
Swiss Singles Chart[17] 23
End of year chart (1995) Position
French Singles Chart[18] 52

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
France[19] Silver January 2, 1995 125,000
Germany[20] Platinum 1995 500,000
Norway[21] Gold 1994 5,000
UK[22] Platinum September 1, 1994 600,000

Chart successions

Preceded by
"Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet		 UK Singles Chart number-one single
September 17, 1994 - October 8, 1994 (4 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Sure" by Take That
Preceded by
"Guaglione" by Perez Prado		 Irish (IRMA) number-one single
September 23, 1994 - October 14, 1994 (4 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Love Me for a Reason" by Boyzone
Preceded by
"Eins, Zwei, Polizei" by Mo-Do		 German number-one single
October 21, 1994 - October 28, 1994 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Cotton-Eyed Joe" by Rednex
Preceded by
"Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet		 Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single
October 22, 1994 - October 29, 1994 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Always" by Bon Jovi
Preceded by
"Let the Dream Come True" by DJ Bobo		 Swiss number-one single
November 6, 1994 (1 week)		 Succeeded by
"Always" by Bon Jovi
Preceded by
"Sweet Dreams" by La Bouche		 Canadian RPM Dance/Urban number-one single
November 14, 1994 - November 21, 1994 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"18 Strings" by Tinman

References

  1. ^ a b [1]
  2. ^ Top of the Pops
  3. ^ a b 1000 UK Number One Singles by Jon Kutner & Spencer Leigh, page 400
  4. ^ NME Top 100 Singles by Martin Roach, page 204
  5. ^ a b c d e "Saturday Night", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  6. ^ Canada Dance peak position
  7. ^ Canada peak position
  8. ^ Billboard October 29, 1994. Billboard. http://books.google.com/books?id=YQgEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA59&dq=Billboard%20%22denmark%22%20%22ifpi%2Fnielsen%22%201994&hl=da&pg=PA59#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2010-12-01. 
  9. ^ a b "Single top 100 over 1994" (in Dutch) (pdf). Top40. http://www.top40.nl/pdf/Top%20100/top%20100%20-%201994.pdf. Retrieved 17 April 2010. 
  10. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  11. ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  12. ^ Italian Single Chart Hit parade Italia (Retrieved May 30, 2008)
  13. ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  14. ^ Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved September 10, 2008)
  15. ^ UK Top 40 Singles of 1994 Wikipedia.org (Retrieved July 12, 2010)
  16. ^ 1994 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved January 30, 2009)
  17. ^ 1994 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved September 10, 2008)
  18. ^ 1995 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved January 30, 2009)
  19. ^ French certifications Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved January 17, 2009)
  20. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Whigfield; 'Saturday+Night')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Saturday%2BNight&strInterpret=Whigfield&strTtArt=alle&strAwards=checked. Retrieved January 17, 2009. 
  21. ^ Norwegian certifications Ifpi.no (Retrieved January 17, 2009)
  22. ^ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved January 17, 2009)