"High Energy" is a song co-written and co-produced by

Ian Levine Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, DJ, and prominent Doctor Who fan. A populariser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of hi-NRG, he has co-written and co-produced records with sa ...

and

Fiachra Trench Fiachra Terence Wilbrah Trench (born 7 September 1941, in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician and composer from Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. Trench first studied Chemistry at Trinity College, Dublin, before moving on to the ...

, and performed by American

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

singer

Evelyn Thomas Ellen Lucille "Evelyn" Thomas (August 22, 1953 – July 21, 2024) was an American singer from Chicago, Illinois, best known for the hi-NRG dance hits " High Energy", "Masquerade", "Standing at the Crossroads", "Reflections", and "Weak Spot". ...

. The song was very popular in dance clubs around the world and topped the American dance chart in September 1984. It also spent four weeks atop the singles chart in West Germany and peaked at number 5 in the UK. It became one of the earliest successful songs within the genre of music that has come to be known as

hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by its fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-flo ...

. On the SoBe Music compilation album ''Gay Classics, Volume 1: Ridin' the Rainbow'', the liner notes describe the song as "...engagingly captur ngthe spirit of the genre through uplifting lyrics tightly fused with dazzling synth work".

Music video

There are two different videos versions of the song. The original featured Thomas standing on a platform performing the song while everyone around her is dancing. The second, which was done for the American syndicated series '' New York Hot Tracks'', featured Thomas with a different set of dancers that was filmed at a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

nightclub, with two dancers acting out the song’s lyrics.

Impact and legacy

To 2015, the song has been extensively reinterpreted through extended mixes and re-recordings. This includes the single "Lifting Me Higher", by duo Gems for Jem, which sampled "High Energy" and topped the

UK Dance Chart The Dance Singles Chart and the Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the electronic dance music, dance music genre (e.g. house music, house, trance music, trance, ...

in May 1995. In 2022, American magazine ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked "High Energy" number 177 in their list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".

Track listings

* 7" single # "High Energy" – 3:48 # "High Energy" (instrumental dub) – 3:30 * 12" maxi # "High Energy" (vocal) – 7:50 # "High Energy" (instrumental dub) – 7:28

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1984 songs 1984 singles Evelyn Thomas songs European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Spain Songs written by Ian Levine Songs written by Fiachra Trench Ariola Records singles Song recordings produced by Ian Levine