Bongo Bong

"Bongo Bong"
Single by Manu Chao
from the album Clandestino
B-side "Je ne t'aime plus", "Mr. Bobby", "Bienvenido a Tijuana"
Released 13 March 2000
Format CD
Genre Reggae[1]
Length 2:38
Writer(s) Manu Chao
Producer(s) Manu Chao & Renaud Letang
Manu Chao singles chronology
"Bongo Bong"
(2000)
"Clandestino"
(2000)

"Bongo Bong" is the first solo single by Manu Chao from his first album, Clandestino. It is a remake of Mano Negra's song (Mano Negra was his own band), "King of Bongo" (1991), which has its roots in a 1939 recording of "King of the Bongo Bong" by the trumpeter Roy Eldridge. It also uses the background music from Black Uhuru's song "Bull ina di Pen" from their "'Anthem" album. It is part of a medley with "Je ne t'aime plus" on the album. The music has been reused for other songs such as "Mr. Bobby" which was first released on this single before being re-recorded for his second album and "Homens" from the same album.

In 2006, a cover version by Robbie Williams, combining "Bongo Bong" and "Je ne t'aime plus" in one track (much in the way the tracks are interwined on Clandestino), appeared on Williams' album Rudebox and was released as a single release of its own in 2007. The song has also been remixed by breakbeat artists Cut & Run, and by drum and bass duo Ed Solo and Deekline and drum and bass band Noisia.

Chart performance

Chart (1999–2000) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[2] 4
France (SNEP)[3] 40
Germany (Media Control Charts)[4] 7
Italy (Musica e Dischi)[5] 3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[6] 27
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] 42
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[8] 45
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[9] 15

Track listing

  1. "Bongo Bong"
  2. "Je ne t'aime plus"
  3. "Mr. Bobby"
  4. "Bienvenido a Tijuana"

Music video

A music video was produced for the song with "Je ne t'aime plus".

References

  1. Buckley, Peter (1999). The Rough Guide to Rock (2nd ed.). Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-8582-8457-6. Stand-out tracks on this constantly surprising album include "Bongo Bong", an English-language lightweight reggae, the title track itself and the unstoppably danceable "Luna Y Sol".
  2. "Austriancharts.at – Manu Chao avec Anouk – Bongo Bong - Je ne t'aime plus" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  3. "Lescharts.com – Manu Chao avec Anouk – Bongo Bong - Je ne t'aime plus" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  4. "Officialcharts.de – Manu Chao avec Anouk – Bongo Bong - Je ne t'aime plus". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  5. "Hits of the World". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 111 (48): 60. 27 November 1999. ISSN 0006-2510.
  6. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Manu Chao - Bongo Bong search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  7. "Dutchcharts.nl – Manu Chao avec Anouk – Bongo Bong - Je ne t'aime plus" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  8. "Swedishcharts.com – Manu Chao avec Anouk – Bongo Bong - Je ne t'aime plus". Singles Top 60. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  9. "Swisscharts.com – Manu Chao avec Anouk – Bongo Bong - Je ne t'aime plus". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 January 2014.

External links