Voulez-Vous (song)

"Voulez-Vous"
Single by ABBA
from the album Voulez-Vous
Released 2 July 1979
Format Single
Recorded 1 February 1979 at Criteria Recording Studios, Miami, Florida, USA
Genre
Length 5:11 (Album version)
4:21 (Single version)
6:09 (Extended promo version)
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
  • Benny Andersson
  • Björn Ulvaeus
Certification Silver (UK)[3]
ABBA singles chronology
"Does Your Mother Know"
(1979)
"Voulez-Vous"
(1979)
"Angeleyes"
(1979)
Music video
"Voulez-Vous" on YouTube

"Voulez-Vous" ("do you want?" in French) is a disco track by Swedish pop group ABBA, written and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (under the working title "Amerika"). Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad shared the lead vocals.

The song is the second track on the group's 1979 album of the same name. In the UK and Ireland, "Voulez-Vous" was released as a double A-side with "Angeleyes" ("Angeleyes" was the dominant A-side); nearly everywhere else, "Voulez-Vous" was a single A-side. The song also features on the Gold: Greatest Hits album, first as a 4:21 edited version when the compilation was first released in 1992 and then in its full 5:09 version from 1999 onwards. "Angeleyes" is featured on the More Gold: More Hits compilation. "Voulez-Vous" was re-released as a single in 1992 to promote Gold: Greatest Hits.

"Voulez-Vous" is also the only ABBA song to have been officially released as an extended dance remix — albeit only as a promo. The 6:07 version of the track, released as a double A-side 12" single by Atlantic Records in the United States in 1979, was included as a bonus track on the 2001 compilation The Definitive Collection.

A songwriting trip to the Bahamas saw the birth of this melody, and the proximity to Miami made it convenient to recording the backing track at Criteria Studios with members of the disco group Foxy. Criteria Studios is where The Bee Gees made their disco-era records. "Voulez-Vous" is the only ABBA song to be recorded outside of Sweden, not including live recordings.

Reception

Compared to ABBA's hits both before and after, "Voulez-Vous" was not a major hit for the group. It did top the charts in Belgium, while reaching the Top 5 in Great Britain, Ireland, France and The Netherlands. It also peaked at No. 9 in Spain and Switzerland, but failed to make the Top 10 anywhere else.

Tracklistings[4]

12" Disco Single, 1979

7" Vinyl

12" Vinyl

1992 CD Re-Issue

  1. "Voulez Vous"
  2. "Summer Night City"

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 79
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 1
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[7] 1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[8] 87
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[9] 20
France (IFOP)[10] 5
Germany (Media Control Charts)[11] 14
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 3
Japan (Oricon) 18
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 3
Spain (AFYVE) 9
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 9
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 80
US Cash Box[18] 85
US Record World[19] 77

Year-end charts

Chart (1979) Position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[20] 15
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] 54
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] 83

Preceded by
"I Was Made for Lovin' You" by Kiss
Belgian Ultratop 50 Flanders number-one single
25 August 1979 (1 week)
Succeeded by
"Quiéreme Mucho" by Julio Iglesias
Preceded by
"Theme from The Deer Hunter" by The Shadows
Belgian VRT Top 30 Flanders number-one single
11 August 1979 – 25 August 1979 (3 weeks)

Cover versions

Live performances and appearances in other media

References

  1. "Euro-Pop songs". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  2. "Certified Awards". BPI. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  3. Oldham, Andrew Loog; Calder, Tony; Irwin, Colin (1995). ABBA: The Name of the Game. Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 224.
  4. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  5. "Ultratop.be – ABBA – Voulez-vous" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  6. "Voulez-Vous – ABBA" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved 18 July 2014. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 1
  7. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4725b." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  8. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  9. "InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "ABBA" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  10. "Officialcharts.de – ABBA – Voulez-vous". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  11. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  12. "Nederlandse Top 40 – ABBA - Voulez-vous search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  13. "Dutchcharts.nl – ABBA – Voulez-vous" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  14. "Swisscharts.com – ABBA – Voulez-vous". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  15. "Archive Chart: 1979-08-11" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  16. "ABBA – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  17. CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending SEPTEMBER 8, 1979 at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 February 2011). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  18. 100a at the Wayback Machine (archived 20 August 2009). Record World. Geocities.com. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  19. "Jaaroverzichten 1979" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  20. "Single Top 100 1979" (PDF) (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  21. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1979" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  22. "Voulez Vous - Big Bang". SoundCloud. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  23. "Big Bang – Voulez Vous? (The Imagine Mix) [Swanyard Records Ltd SYRTR 1]". Wax.fm. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  24. "Big Bang". iTunes. Apple Inc. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  25. Williams, Iain (August 2014). "Big Bang and the recording of Voulez Vous". Big Bang. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  26. "Reviews". Eurodancehits.com. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  27. Abbalicious – About The CD at the Wayback Machine (archived 9 August 2009). Figjament.com. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  28. Au. "Audioscam – Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's". Myspace. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  29. ABBATOIR at the Wayback Machine (archived 10 November 2011). Myspace. Retrieved 8 January 2012.

External links