John (Desireless song)

"John"
Single by Desireless
from the album François
B-side Remix
Released 1988
Format CD maxi, 7" single, 12" maxi
Recorded 1986
Genre Synthpop
Length 3:58
Label CBS Records
Writer(s) Jean-Michel Rivat
Producer(s) Jean-Michel Rivat
Desireless singles chronology
"Voyage Voyage"
(1987)		 "John"
(1988)		 "Qui sommes-nous ?"
(1989)

"John" is a synthpop song recorded by French singer Desireless. It was the second single from the album François on which it is the tenth track. Following the huge success of "Voyage Voyage", it was released in May 1988. Written and produced by Jean-Michel Rivat, the song was Desireless' last hit single in France.[1]

Lyrics and chart performances

The song deals with a man named John, apparently a soldier, who died during a mission. The lyrics mention several locations referring to conflicts in the 20th century : Hanoi and Haiphong (Vietnam War, 1945-54 / 1964-1975), Madrid (Spanish Civil War, 1936–39), Port Said (second Israeli-Arab war, 1956), Baghdad (Iran-Iraq, 1980–88), Berlin (Second World War, Cold War). Several Gods worshiped in various religions are also cited in the lyrics, such as God, Jehovah (Christianity, Judaism), Allah (Islam), Brahma and Vishnu (Hinduism).

The song was released in several European countries, notably in France, where it became a top five hit in July 1988 and remained for 18 on the chart (top 50), nine of them in the top ten.[2] It was released in UK in a remixed version produced by Les Adams, but was a relative failure (a sole week on the chart, at number 92),[3] while it failed the chart in the Netherlands. Yet, the song was a big hit - as its predecessor - in Spain, reaching n°8.

An acoustic version of the song was recorded by Desireless on her 2004 album Un brin de paille, on her 2007 double album More Love and Good Vibrations and on her 2003 best of Ses plus grands succès. The image on the single cover is a screenshot from the music video.

A new arrangement of the song was produced with Desireless' new musical partner, Antoine Aureche (AKA Operation of the Sun) for the 2013 album L'Oeuf de Dragon.

Track listings

  1. "John" – 3:58
  2. "John" (tempo 120) – 4:12
  1. "John" (remix) – 6:28
  2. "John" – 4:21
  1. "John" – 4:19
  2. "John" (remix) – 6:27
  3. "Voyage Voyage" (extended remix) – 6:45
  1. "John" (London remix) – 4:14
  2. "John" (London re-remix) – 4:14
  1. "John" (London remix) – 6:17
  2. "John" (London remix - single version) – 4:11
  3. "Voyage Voyage" (britmix) – 7:06

Credits

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified Physical sales
France[4] Silver 1988 250,000 313,000

Charts

Chart (1988) Peak
position
French SNEP Singles Chart[2] 5
Spain (AFYVE)[5] 8
UK Singles Chart[3] 92

References

  1. ↑ Habib, Elia (2002). Muz hit.tubes (in French). Alinéa Bis. p. 135. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 ""John", French Single Chart" (in French). Lescharts. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 ""Desireless", UK Singles Chart". Chartstats. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  4. ↑ "Les certifications depuis 1973" (in French). Infodisc. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  5. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.

External links