One Night in Bangkok

For other uses, see One Night in Bangkok (disambiguation).

"One Night in Bangkok"
Single by Murray Head
from the album Chess OST
B-side	"Merano"
Released	1984
Format	7", 12"
Recorded	1984
Genre	Pop, New Wave
Length	3:51 4:06 (US 7")
Label	RCA
Writer(s)	Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus (composers) Tim Rice & Björn Ulvaeus (lyricist)
Murray Head singles chronology
"Maman" (1982) "One Night in Bangkok" (1984) "When You're in Love" (1984)
Music sample "Murray Head - One Night In Bangkok"

"One Night in Bangkok" is a song originally sung by the British actor and Pop-dance singer Murray Head on the 1984 concept album for the musical Chess. Its music was composed by former ABBA members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with lyrics written by Tim Rice & Björn Ulvaeus.

The release topped the charts in many countries, including South Africa, West Germany, Switzerland and Australia. It peaked at #3 in both Canada and the United States in May, 1985,^[1] and at #12 in Head's native United Kingdom.

In 1985, Thailand's Mass Communications Organization banned One Night in Bangkok, saying its lyrics "cause misunderstanding about Thai society and show disrespect towards Buddhism."^[2]

Lyrics and music

The full version of the song begins with an orchestral intro, "Bangkok", which has oriental styling, but cannot be confused with Thai folk music. This serves as the introduction to Act 2 in the original musical album, and feeds into the first verse of "One Night in Bangkok" itself with an abrupt change in musical style.

The main song has a pop styling, whose lyrics sarcastically juxtapose the Thai capital city and its night life with the game of chess. In the original concept album for the musical, the choruses are sung by Swedish artist Anders Glenmark (and by a musical ensemble in the staged versions), while the verses are a rap originally performed by Murray Head as the American chess grandmaster (a character known as Frederick "Freddie" Trumper in the staged versions). Whereas the choruses extol Bangkok's reputation and exciting atmosphere, the American's verses denounce the city, including its red-light district, "muddy old river" and "reclining Buddha".

In the original London production of Chess, the setting for the song is an interview by Freddie, who is in Bangkok to serve as a TV analyst for a match involving his rival, world champion and Russian defector Anatoly Sergievsky. Freddie states a preference for what he sees as an intellectual purity in chess, in stark contrast to the seedier aspects of Bangkok's night life, e.g. "the queens we use would not excite you". His statements suggest a personal lack of interest for the exotic settings typically involved in international chess, preferring to focus on the game itself. In the original Broadway production of the musical, the song appears not at the start of Act 2 but in the middle of Act 1; in this version, the world championship of Freddie vs. Anatoly takes place in Bangkok.

The lyrics also mention actor Yul Brynner, who famously played the King of Siam in The King and I. The "Tyrolean spa" mentioned early in the song refers to Merano in Italy, the site of Act 1 of the musical.

Track listings

7" single

1. "One Night in Bangkok" — 3:54
2. "Merano" by The London Symphony Orchestra & The Ambrosian Singers — 7:08

12" maxi

1. "One Night in Bangkok" — 5:38
2. "Merano" by The London Symphony Orchestra & The Ambrosian Singers — 7:08

Personnel

• Keyboards & synthesizers: Benny Andersson
• Bass: Rutger Gunnarsson
• Lead guitar: Lasse Wellander
• Drums: Per Lindvall
• Backing vocals: Anders Glenmark and Karin Glenmark
• Arrangement: Benny Andersson and Anders Eljas
• Conductor: Anders Eljas
• Engineer: Michael B. Tretow
• Producer: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Tim Rice

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (1984/85) Peak position Australian ARIA Singles Chart[3] 1 Austrian Singles Chart[3] 2 Canadian Singles Chart[4] 3 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1 French SNEP Singles Chart[3] 2 German Singles Chart[5] 1 Irish Singles Chart[6] 7 New Zealand Singles Chart[3] 2 Norwegian Singles Chart[3] 3 Swedish Singles Chart[3] 3 Swiss Singles Chart[3] 1 UK Singles Chart[7] 12 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[8] 3 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[8] 5 U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[8] 89

End of year charts End of year chart (1985) Position Austrian Singles Chart[9] 13 Canadian Singles Chart[10] 17 Dutch Top 40[11] 33 Swiss Singles Chart[12] 8 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Physical sales Canada[13] Platinum 1 May 1985 100,000 France[14] Silver 1985 200,000 413,000 Germany[15] Gold 1985 250,000

Chart successions

Preceded by "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid	German number one single 18 January 1985 – 25 January 1985 (2 weeks)	Succeeded by "Shout" by Tears for Fears
Preceded by "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid	Swiss number-one single 20 January 1985 – 17 February 1985 (5 weeks)	Succeeded by "Shout" by Tears for Fears
Preceded by "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid	Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single 9 February 1985 – 2 March 1985 (4 weeks)	Succeeded by "Shout" by Tears for Fears
Preceded by "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner	Australian ARIA number-one single 18 March 1985 (1 week)	Succeeded by "Shout" by Tears for Fears

Cover versions

• A dance version of the song was recorded by Robey in 1984, which peaked at #5 on the US Billboard Dance Chart, before the success of the original version. On the Billboard Hot 100, Robey's version entered the chart at #80 on March 2, 1985, just one week after Murray Head's version debuted. Robey's version peaked at #77 and spent 3 weeks on the Hot 100.
• Steve Vai incorporated part of the song in his 1996 Fire Garden Suite.
• An instrumental version was recorded by Hank Marvin, as a medley with 'Variations', in 1997 on his album Hank Plays the Music of Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Webber.
• Norwegian singer Jan Werner Danielsen covered the song on his 1998 album Music Of The Night.
• Swedish pop group A*Teens recorded a cover of the song for their 2003 album New Arrival.
• Danish boy band C21 released a cover of the song as a single in September 2003.
• In 2005, the track gained new popularity in Europe, thanks to a remix by the dance act Vinylshakerz. The producers sampled the chorus of the song and turned it into a modern dance track. The remix became a success in several European countries, and found its way into clubs throughout the spring of 2005.
• DJ Antoine, a Swiss DJ, covered the song for his album Live in Bangkok in 2008.
• An a cappella version of the song was recorded by the Austrian a cappella group Safer Six.
• In 2010, the track was sampled by Mark Knight in his single, Devil Walking.
• Former pro boxer Mike Tyson sang a cover version of the song for the 2011 film The Hangover: Part II, in which he has a cameo.^[16]

Trivia

• The intro of the song of the 12" version was used as title song of the Dutch tv-show "Duel over de grens" (Duel across the border).

References

1. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/hot-100?chartDate=1985-05-18
2. ^ This week in religion history
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "One Night in Bangkok", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 7 April 2008)
4. ^ RPM Top 100 (20 April 1985)
5. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved 7 April 2008)
6. ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 7 April 2008)
7. ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 7 April 2008)
8. ^ ^{a b c} Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved 4 September 2008)
9. ^ 1985 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved 4 September 2008)
10. ^ 1985 Canadian Singles Chart
11. ^ "Single top 100 over 1985" (in Dutch) (pdf). Top40. http://www.top40.nl/pdf/Top%20100/top%20100%20-%201985.pdf. Retrieved 21 September 2010. 
12. ^ 1985 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved 4 September 2008)
13. ^ Canada certifications cria.ca (Retrieved 4 September 2008)
14. ^ "Les certifications depuis 1973, database" (in French). Infodisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Single_Certif.php. Retrieved 21 September 2010. 
15. ^ "German certifications – One+Night+in+Bangkok" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=One%2BNight%2Bin%2BBangkok&strInterpret=&strTtArt=alle&strAwards=checked. Retrieved 4 September 2008. 
16. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20110521/en_atlantic/miketysonhangoversequelslowestpaidstar38006

External links

• One Night In Bangkok - Lyrics
• All-Music Guide: Chess at AMG