Live Is Life

"Live Is Life" is a song originally recorded in 1984 by Austrian group Opus. It was a European number-one hit in the summer of 1985; in the Americas, the single also reached the top position in Canada and was a top 40 hit in the US in 1986. It was covered by many artists throughout the years.

Background and chart performance

"Live Is Life" is their second single, released in 1985, and achieved huge success, topping the charts of many countries, including Austria (eight weeks), Germany, France (seven weeks) and Sweden (four weeks). In France, the song is the 149th best-selling single of all time with about 857,000 units sold.^[2]

The song was created during a concert in Oberwart, on 2 September 1984, while the group celebrated its eleventh anniversary. It is recorded in a live version with the audience singing along in the verses. In the lyrics, the song expresses "the enthusiastic attachment of the group to the stage".^[3] The song was performed during the 1985 charity campaign, "Austria für Afrika".

In 1994, on the occasion of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Opus released another version of "Live Is Life", which made it again into the top ten in Austria. The song was re-recorded once more by the group in 2008, both in a solo version and featuring Jerry.

Maradona's warming up

On 19 April 1989, during the warming up in Munich before the UEFA Cup semi-final return between FC Bayern Munich and S.S.C. Napoli, Diego Maradona did a keepie uppie exhibition while the song was heard on the stadium's loudspeakers. This has become a classic among football fans.

Some confusion persists by those who dispute that it took place in Munich. Among others, Jürgen Klinsmann claimed that it happened during the final in Stuttgart:

There were 70,000 people in the stadium and Maradona went on the field. We’re on the other side of the field, warming up like Germans: seriously, focused. There's music playing, the song "Live is Life", and to the rhythm of the song Maradona started juggling the ball. So we stopped our warm-up. What's this guy doing? He's juggling off his shoulders. And we couldn't warm up anymore because we had to watch this guy.^[4]

Belgian sports anchor Frank Raes, who edited the video and distributed it via YouTube, always asserted that this warm up took place just before the semifinal in Munich. According to Raes, this can easily be verified by visual cues in the clip, such as the advertisements around the pitch, for example the numerous Commodore boards which were one of Bayern's main sponsors at the time.

By 2013, Frank Raes' Maradona video clip had garnered almost two million views on YouTube.^[4] The 25th anniversary of Maradona's warming up was noted internationally, with newspapers commenting on his skills and on the transformative effect he had on Napoli and southern Italy.^[5]^[6]

Track listings

1985 release

7" single (1984 release)

"Live Is Life" – 4:15
"Again and Again" – 3:51

7" single (1985 release)

"Live Is Life" – 4:15
"Up and Down" – 3:49

1994 release

CD maxi

"The Power of Live Is Life" (Bingoboys radio mix) – 3:58
"Live Is Life" (original version) – 5:06
"The Power of Live Is Life" (Bingoboys club mix) – 6:33
"Live Is Life" (radio version) – 3:16

2008 release

CD single

"Live Is Life 08" (reggae version) – 4:17
"Live Is Life 08" (rock version) – 3:38

CD maxi

"Live Is Life 08" (reggae version) – 4:17
"Live Is Life 08" (rock version) – 3:38
"Live Is Life 08" (reggaeton version) – 3:56
"Touch the Sky" by Opus – 3:47

Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Chart (1985–1986)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[7]	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[8]	2
Canada (The Record)^[9]	1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[10]	7
France (SNEP)^[11]	1
Germany (Official German Charts)^[12]	1
Ireland (IRMA)^[13]	4
Italy (FIMI)^[14]	6
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[15]	3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[16]	3
Norway (VG-lista)^[17]	2
South Africa (Springbok Radio)^[18]	2
Spain (AFYVE)^[19]	1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[20]	1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[21]	2
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[22]	6
US Billboard Hot 100^[23]	32
US Cash Box^[24]	35

Chart (1994)¹	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[25]	3

Chart (2008)²	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[26]	16
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[27]	60

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)^[28]	89

¹ "The Power of Live Is Life"
² "Live Is Life 08", featuring Jerry (in Austria)

Year-end charts

Chart (1985)	Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[29]	4
Germany (Media Control Charts)^[30]	1
Canada (RPM Top 100 Singles)^[31]	82
Italy (FIMI)^[14]	38
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[32]	48
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[33]	47
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[34]	1

Chart (1986)	Position
Canada (RPM Top 100 Singles)^[35]	78

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[36]	2× Platinum	200,000^{^}
France		857,000^[2]
Germany (BVMI)^[37]	Gold	250,000^{^}
Spain (PROMUSICAE)^[38]	Gold	25,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[39]	Silver	250,000^{^}
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

Chart successions

Preceded by "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid	Austrian number-one single 1 February 1985 – 15 March 1985	Succeeded by "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" by Modern Talking
Preceded by "Alive and Kicking" by Simple Minds	Canada CHUM number-one single 14 December 1985 – 21 December 1985	Succeeded by "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie
Preceded by "SOS Éthiopie" by Chanteurs sans frontières	French number-one single 20 July 1985 – 31 August 1985	Succeeded by "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora
Preceded by "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" by Modern Talking	German number-one single 15 April 1985 – 27 May 1985	Succeeded by "You Can Win If You Want" by Modern Talking
Preceded by "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora	Spanish number-one single 5 August 1985 – 14 October 1985	Succeeded by "Part-Time Lover" by Stevie Wonder
Preceded by "We Are the World" by USA for Africa	Swedish number-one single 31 May 1985 – 14 June 1985	Succeeded by "19" by Paul Hardcastle
Preceded by Self Control by Laura Branigan 1984	German best-selling single of the year 1985	Succeeded by Jeanny by Falco 1986
Preceded by Self Control by Laura Branigan 1984	Swiss best-selling single of the year 1985	Succeeded by Adesso Tu by Eros Ramazzotti 1986

Laibach versions

"Life is life/Opus Dei"

Single by Laibach

from the album Opus Dei

A-side

"Opus Dei/Life is life"

B-side

"Germania"

Released

1987

Format

7" single

Length

4:30

Songwriter(s)

Ewald Pfleger
Kurt Rene Plisnier
Gunter Grasmuck
Niki Gruber
Herwig Rüdisser

Laibach singles chronology

"Die Liebe"
(1985)

"Life Is Life / Opus Dei"
(1987)

"Geburt einer Nation"
(1987)

Slovenian avant-garde band Laibach recorded two covers of the song on their 1987 album Opus Dei. The first version, "Leben Heißt Leben" was sung in German. The second version, "Opus Dei", was promoted as a single, and its promotional video (which used the title "Life is Life") was played extensively on American cable channel MTV.^[40] Opus Dei retained some of the original song's English lyrics, but was delivered in a musical style that left the meaning of the lyrics open to further interpretation. Laibach's subversive interpretation turned the feel-good anthem into a triumphant, rolling military march. With the exception of the promotional video, the refrain is at one instance translated into German, giving an example of the sensitivity of its lyrics to context.

Hermes House Band version

"Live Is Life (Here We Go)"

Single by Hermes House Band featuring DJ Ötzi

from the album Today Is the Day

B-side

"Remix"

Released

24 June 2002

Format

Length

3:30

Label

Songwriter(s)

Ewald Pfleger
Kurt Rene Plisnier
Gunter Grasmuck
Niki Gruber
Herwig Rüdisser

Producer(s)

Klaus Biedermann
Jim Binapfl
Jake Buck
Mark Duran
John Lehmkuhl
Claus Marcus
Christian Seitz

Hermes House Band singles chronology

"Que sera sera"
(2001)

"Live Is Life (Here We Go)"
(2002)

"Those Were the Days"
(2003)

The Hermes House Band and DJ Ötzi released a version of the song in 2002. The single had his highest peak position in France, where it reached number two for five weeks.^[41] The song was used as a soundtrack for the German youth film Das Jahr der ersten Küsse.^[42] As of August 2014, the song was the 23rd best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 537,000 units sold.^[43]

Track listings

CD single

"Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (Here We Go/video mix) – 3:30
"Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (jump mix) – 3:33

CD maxi

"Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (Here We Go/video mix) – 3:30
"Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (jump mix) – 3:33
"Football's Coming Home" (three lions) (radio) by Hermes House Band – 3:48
"Everytime You Touch Me" (fireplace mix) by Hermes House Band – 3:21
"Hey Mama" by Hermes House Band – 3:10
Enhanced Multimediatrack : "Live Is Life" – 3:30

Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Chart (2002–03)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[44]	28
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[45]	16
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[46]	30
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)^[47]	5
Denmark (Tracklisten)^[48]	11
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[49]	9
France (SNEP)^[41]	2
Germany (Media Control Charts)^[50]	15
Ireland (IRMA)^[13]	30
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[51]	61
Romania (Romanian Top 100)^[52]	55
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[53]	46
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[54]	26
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[55]	50

Year-end charts

Chart (2003)	Position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)^[56]	27
France (SNEP)^[57]	7

Sales and certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Belgium (BEA)^[58]	Gold	25,000^*
France (SNEP)^[59]	Platinum	518,000^[60]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

Other versions

The song was covered by many other artists, including Stargo (number 10 in France in 1985),^[61] Starkoo and Quebec singer René Simard covered the song in French, "La vie chante". A modified version with the chorus changed from "Life is life" to "Geiz ist geil" ("Miserliness is cool") is used in radio ads for the German electronics store chain Saturn.

Sofia Carson's "Love Is the Name" features an interpolation of "Live is Life".^[62]

References

↑ Leland, John (May 1986). "Singles > Sideswipes". Spin. 2 (2): 41. ISSN 0886-3032.
1 2 "Les Meilleures Ventes Tout Temps de 45 T. / Singles" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
↑ Habib, Elia (2002). Muz hit. tubes (in French). Alinéa Bis. p. 47. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X.
1 2 Woitalla, Mike (25 September 2013). "Klinsmann recalls Maradona's 'Live is Life' warm-up". Soccer America. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
↑ Luckhurst, Samuel (19 April 2014). "Diego Maradona's Live Is Life Warm-Up: 25 Years Ago Today". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
↑ "Video: Diego Maradona – even warming up he was a bit special". The Daily Telegraph. 15 December 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
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1 2 "I singoli più venduti del 1985" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
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↑ Monroe, Alexei (2005). Interrogation machine: Laibach and NSK. MIT Press. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-2626-3315-4.
1 2 "lescharts.com – Hermes House Band & DJ Ötzi – Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (in French). Lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
↑ "lescharts.com – Soundtrack – Das Jahr der ersten Küsse". Lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
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↑ (in Romanian) "Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 36, saptamina 10.09-16.09, 2002". Archived from the original on 27 December 2004. . Romanian Top 100.
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↑ Cantor, Brian (29 March 2016). "Sofia Carson's Debut Single "Love Is The Name" Makes Radio Premiere On 4/7". Headline Planet. Retrieved 12 April 2016.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

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