Yé ké yé ké

"Yé ké yé ké"
Single by Mory Kanté
from the album Akwaba Beach
B-side "Akwaba Beach"
Released 1987
Format 7" single, 12" maxi, CD single
Genre World, pop
Length 3:58
Label Barclay,
London (UK)
Writer(s) Mory Kanté
Producer(s) Nick Patrick
Mory Kanté singles chronology
"Yé ké yé ké"
(1988)		 "Tama"
(1988)

"Yé ké yé ké" is a song by Guinean singer Mory Kanté. It was released in 1987 as a single from his third studio album Akwaba Beach. The song became an international hit, it was one of Africa's best-ever selling hits as well as being a European number one in 1988, making it the first ever African single to sell over one million copies. The song was a top five hit in France, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands where it topped the chart for two consecutive weeks. A remix named the "Afro Acid Mix" was especially made to the UK release where it reached No. 25. In 1994, German techno duo Hardfloor remixed the song and released this new version which went on to become one of the biggest dance tunes of all time. Due to the international popularity of the song, Cantopop singer Priscilla Chan made a cover version (地球大追蹤) which was part of her 1988 album "The Color of Autumn".

Track listings

7" single
  1. "Yé ké yé ké" – 3:58
  2. "Akwaba Beach" – 5:11
12" maxi
  1. "Yé ké yé ké" (remix) – 6:17
  2. "Akwaba Beach" – 5:11
  3. "Yé ké yé ké" – 3:58
12" maxi - US
  1. "Yé ké yé ké" (French Remix) - 6:17
  2. "Yé ké yé ké" (Afro Acid Mix) - 5:25
  3. "Yé ké yé ké" (Mory's House Version) - 5:25
  4. "Yé ké yé ké" (French Edit) - 3:38
  5. "Akwaba Beach" - 5:11
12" maxi - UK
  1. "Yé ké yé ké" (the Afro acid remix) (*engineered by Robin Guthrie)
  2. "Akwaba Beach"
  3. "Yé ké yé ké" (the French remix)
CD single
  1. "Yé ké yé ké" (remix) – 6:20
  2. "Akwaba Beach" – 5:14
  3. "Yé ké yé ké" (live) – 7:17

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (1988) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[1] 10
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[2] 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[3] 1
France (SNEP)[4] 5
Germany (Media Control Charts)[5] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[6] 10
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 1
Spain (AFYVE)[8] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 12
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 2
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[11] 29
US Billboard Dance/Electronic Singles Sales 19
Chart (1995) 1 Peak
position
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[12] 25
Ireland (IRMA)[6] 17
Chart (1996) 2 Peak
position
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[13] 28

1 1995 version
1 1996 remix

Year-end charts

Chart (1988) Position
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[14] 7
Dutch Top 40[15] 12
Swiss Singles Chart[16] 5

Chart successions

Preceded by
"Gimme Hope Jo'anna" by Eddy Grant		 Dutch Top 40 number-one single
14 May 1988 – 21 May 1988 		Succeeded by
"Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" by Glenn Medeiros
Preceded by
"Theme from S-Express" by S-Express		 Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single
18 June 1988 – 2 July 1988

References

  1. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Mory Kante – Ye ke ye ke" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  2. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Mory Kante – Yé Ké Yé Ké" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  3. ↑ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  4. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Mory Kante – Yé ké yé ké" (in French). Les classement single.
  5. ↑ "Chartverfulgong > Mory Kante > Yé ké yé ké – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 20 May 2009)
  7. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mory Kante search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  8. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  9. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Mory Kante – Yé ké yé ké". Singles Top 60.
  10. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Mory Kante – Yé ké yé ké". Swiss Singles Chart.
  11. ↑ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 20 May 2009)
  12. ↑ UK Singles Chart (1995 release) Chartstats.com (Retrieved 20 May 2009)
  13. ↑ UK Singles Chart (1996 release) Chartstats.com (Retrieved 20 May 2009)
  14. ↑ "1988 Belgian Flanders Singles Chart" (in Dutch). ultratop.be. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  15. ↑ "Single top 100 over 1988" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  16. ↑ 2008 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved 20 May 2009)