Venus (Shocking Blue song)

"Venus"
Cover art for one of the Dutch releases
Single by Shocking Blue
from the album At Home
B-side "Hot Sand"
Released 2 October 1969
Format 7" vinyl
Studio Soundpush Studio
Genre Folk rock, psychedelic rock
Length 3:06
Label Pink Elephant, Metronome, Colossus, Poplandia, Joker, Yugoton, Minos
Songwriter(s) Robbie van Leeuwen[1]
Producer(s) Robbie van Leeuwen, Jerry Ross
Shocking Blue singles chronology
"Lucy Brown Is Back in Town"
(1968)		 "Venus"
(1969)		 "Mighty Joe"
(1969)
Audio
"Venus" on YouTube

"Venus" is a 1969 song written by Dutch musician Robbie van Leeuwen. In 1970, the Dutch rock band Shocking Blue took the song to number one in nine countries. In 1981 it was sampled as part of the Stars on 45 medley. In 1986, the British female pop group Bananarama returned the song to number one in seven countries. The composition has been featured in numerous films, television shows and commercials, and covered dozens of times by artists around the world.

Shocking Blue version

Shocking Blue in 1970

Background

Released in late 1969 as a single from the group's third album Scorpio's Dance (later also on reissues of the second album At Home), Shocking Blue's single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 7 February 1970. RIAA certification came on 28 January 1970 for selling over one million copies in the US, garnering a gold record. Worldwide, the single sold over 7.5 million copies.[2]

The song's lead vocals are performed by Mariska Veres. The song's music and lyrics were written by Robbie van Leeuwen, the band's guitarist, sitarist and background vocalist, who also produced along with record producer Jerry Ross. Van Leeuwen originally miswrote the line "...the goddess on the mountain top..." as "...the godness on the mountain top...", so Veres sang it this way on the hit recording of the song. This was corrected in later versions. The Hohner electric piano on the single was played by Cees Schrama.

Van Leeuwen was inspired by "The Banjo Song", a composition by Tim Rose that set Stephen Foster's lyrics to "Oh! Susanna" to a completely new melody.

"Venus" was remixed and re-released by dance producers The BHF (Bisiach Hornbostel Ferrucci) Team in May 1990, scoring the group a Top 10 hit in the UK and Australia 21 years after the release of the original. The remix featured a hip house rhythm and samples. An instrumental version was also released independently under the producer's alias "Don Pablo's Animals". The instrumental version (credited only to Don Pablos Animals – without referencing Shocking Blue) became the highest charting version of the song.[3] The single began with a sample from James Brown's 1988 hit "The Payback Mix (Part One)". This release of "Venus" peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart[3] and number 8 in Australia in 1990.

Chart performance

Bananarama version

"Venus"
Single by Bananarama
from the album True Confessions
B-side "White Train"
Released 19 May 1986
Format
Recorded December 1985
Genre Dance-pop
Length 3:50
Label London
Songwriter(s) Robbie van Leeuwen
Producer(s) Stock Aitken Waterman
Bananarama singles chronology
"Do Not Disturb"
(1985)		 "Venus"
(1986)		 "More Than Physical"
(1986)
Music video
"Venus" on YouTube

Background

"Venus" had been a part of Bananarama's repertoire for several years before they actually recorded it. The group's three members, Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward, had the idea of turning the song into a dance music tune, but they were met with resistance from their producers at the time, Steve Jolley and Tony Swain. Bananarama brought the idea to the production trio of Stock Aitken Waterman, and it became Bananarama's first collaboration with them.

Dallin, Fahey, and Woodward had nearly completed recording their third album, titled True Confessions, with Jolley and Swain. Stock, Aitken and Waterman also resisted the idea because they believed that "Venus" would not make a good dance record. After persistence by the women, SAW relented. Bananarama's "Venus" went to number one in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Mexico, and South Africa. It hit number two in Germany and Hong Kong and was a top ten success in Italy, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and their native UK (number 8 on UK Singles Chart). It also went to number one for two weeks on the US Dance chart.[16]

The collaboration on "Venus" led Bananarama and SAW to work together on the group's follow-up album Wow! the following year.

A new mix of the track appeared as b-side to the 1989 limited release "Megarama '89" in Germany and France. Bananarama has since re-recorded the track for their 2001 album Exotica and it was later remixed by Marc Almond, with re-recorded vocals, and included on their 2005 album Drama.

Music video

The music video, directed by Peter Care, with choreography by Bruno Tonioli, received extensive play on MTV and video channels across the world, and presented Bananarama in various costumes, including a she-devil, a French temptress, a vampiress, and several Greek goddesses. In one sequence of the video, The Birth of Venus, the painting by Sandro Botticelli is adapted as a tableau vivant. The video marked a pivotal shift towards a more glamorous and sexual image for the girls that contrasted with the tomboyish style of their earlier work.

Track listings

U.K. / U.S. / Canada 7" vinyl single

U.K.: London Records NANA 10 / U.S.: London Records 886-056-7 / Canada: London Records LDS 227 / Australia: Liberation Records LS 1789

  1. "Venus" 3:30
  2. "White Train" 3:50
    S.Dallin/S. Fahey/K. Woodward/P. Bishop/P. Seymour

+ some copies released in picture disc format NANPD 10

U.K. / Australia 12" vinyl single

U.K.: London Records NANX 10 / Canada: Liberation Records LMD 474

  1. "Venus" (extended version) 7:23
  2. "Venus" (dub) 8:15
  3. "White Train" 3:50
2nd U.K. 12" vinyl single

London Records NANXR 10

  1. "Venus" (the Hellfire mix) 9:20 #:remixed by Ian Levine
  2. "Venus" (Hellfire dub) 6:55
  3. "White Train" 3:50
3rd U.K. 12" vinyl single

London Records NAXRR 10

  1. "Venus" (the Fire And Brimstone mix) 6:35 #:remixed by Stock, Aitken & Waterman
  2. "Venus" (Hellfire dub) 6:55
  3. "White Train" 3:50
U.S. 12" vinyl maxi-single

London Records 886 088-1

  1. "Venus" (the Hellfire mix) 9:20
  2. "Venus" (the Fire & Brimstone mix) 6:55
  3. "Venus" (extended version) 7:23
  4. "Venus" (dub) 8:25
CD video single
  1. "Venus" (extended version) 7:23
  2. "True Confessions" (edit) 4:09
  3. "A Trick of the Night" (edit) 4:07
  4. "More Than Physical" (U.K. single version) 3:40
Other versions
  1. "Venus" (the Greatest Remix edit) 3:40
    found on the 1989 U.K. CD single "Cruel Summer '89", remixed by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow
  2. "Venus" (the Greatest Remix) 7:43
    found on the 1989 German CD single "Megarama '89", remixed by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow
  3. "Venus" (2001 version)
    found on the album Exotica
  4. "Venus" (Marc Almond's Hi-NRG Showgirls mix) 6:02
    found on the 2005 album Drama, remixed by Marc Almond
  5. "Venus" (from the soundtrack Sugar & Spice: Stuck in the 80's)

Personnel

Additional personnel

  • Andrew Biscomb – Sleeve design
  • Peter Barrett – Sleeve design

Chart performance

References

  1. ↑ "VENUS". GEMA – Members — Online Database – Musical Works. GEMA. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  2. ↑ Billboard Vol. 84, No. 49. Nielsen Business Media. 1972-12-02. p. 40. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
  3. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 164. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). Sydney: Australian Chart Book. p. 273. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ↑ Flavour of New Zealand, 3 April 1970
  6. ↑ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 496. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  8. 1 2 Venus : The Shocking Blue U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  9. ↑ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 14, 1970
  10. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc)|format= requires |url= (help). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  12. ↑ https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&u=http://www.dutchcharts.nl/weekchart.asp%3Fcat%3Ds&prev=search
  13. ↑ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1970". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  14. ↑ Musicoutfitters.com
  15. ↑ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1970
  16. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 28.
  17. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). Sydney: Australian Chart Book. p. 25. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between 1983 and 26 June 1988.
  18. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 41. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  19. ↑ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 14, 1970
  20. ↑ Canada, Library and Archives (26 December 2017). "RPM Weekly - Top Singles of 1986". Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  21. ↑ "End of Year Charts 1986". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1986". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  23. ↑ Swiss Year-End Charts, 1986
  24. ↑ Musicoutfitters.com
  25. ↑ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 27, 1986
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