"Captain Jack" is a song by the German

Eurodance Eurodance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of Hip-hop, rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use ...

group Captain Jack, consisting of producer and vocalist Franky Gee, actor Sharky Durban and singer Liza da Costa. It was released in July 1995 by CDL, as the lead single from their debut album, '' The Mission'' (1996). The song is based on an old army tune known as "Hey, Hey Captain Jack". It was a great success in many countries, particularly in the Netherlands and Hungary, where it topped the chart. It was certified platinum in Germany and gold in the Netherlands and Norway. The accompanying music video was directed by Mark Glaeser. "Captain Jack" was nominated to the 1997

Echo Awards Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, ) was an accolade by the , an association of recording companies of Germany to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The first ECHO Awards ceremony was held in 1992, and was set up to honor ...

for the most successful national dance single.

Critical reception

Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' wrote, " Captain Jack is a ludicrous creation, already fearsomely popular on the continent. The first Captain Jack single to escape into the UK is a self-titled effort combining a banging

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

backing track with some deep-throated singing/rapping. The good captain reels off dance instructions in a frenetic manner which recalls 'sounding off' in the style of the

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drill. A bit of a novelty, but one that shouldn't be underestimated."

Chart performance

"Captain Jack" peaked at number one in Hungary and the Netherlands. It entered the top 10 in Austria, Denmark,

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, Germany, Norway and Switzerland. Additionally, it was a top-20 hit in Ireland, as well as on the

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, where it peaked at number 14 in February 1996. In the UK, it reached number 104 on the UK Singles Chart. "Captain Jack" earned a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in the Netherlands and Norway, with a sale of 40,000 and 15,000 singles. In Germany, it was awarded with a platinum record, when 500,000 units were sold there.

Music video

The music video for "Captain Jack" was directed by Mark Glaeser and filmed in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and Turley Barracks in

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, Germany.

Track listings

European CD single *"Captain Jack" (short mix) – 4:06 *"Captain Jack" (Peacecamp mix) – 5:23 European CD maxi *"Captain Jack" (short mix) – 4:06 *"Captain Jack" (Peacecamp mix) – 5:23 *"Captain Jack" (House mix) – 5:04 *"Captain Jack" (club mix) – 5:19 *"Captain Jack" (Analog mix) – 3:15 European CD maxi (Remixes) *"Captain Jack" (Dancefloor Syndroma Success mix) – 6:05 *"Captain Jack" (Dancefloor Syndroma radio remix) – 3:29 *"Captain Jack" (Dancefloor Syndroma House mix) – 6:36 *"Captain Jack" (Captain Jack Is in da House mix) – 4:28

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1995 songs 1995 singles Captain Jack (band) songs Dutch Top 40 number-one singles EMI Records singles Music videos directed by Mark Glaeser Music videos shot in Germany Number-one singles in Hungary