"Agadoo" is a
novelty song
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wi ...
recorded by the British band
Black Lace in 1984. "Agadoo" peaked at number two on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
,
[EveryHit.com](_blank)
- search for "Black Lace" as "Name of artist" and "Agadoo" as "Title of song" and spent 30 weeks in the top 75.
It went on to become the eighth best-selling single of 1984 in the UK, (and over one million copies worldwide) despite not being included on the playlist for
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
because it "was not credible".
In a survey for
dotmusic
''Dotmusic'' was a music webzine that existed as a standalone website from 1 June 1995 to December 2003. Initially intended as the web complement to the UK music industry trade magazine ''Music Week'', the site was relaunched in December 1998 as a ...
in 2000, respondents voted "Agadoo" as the fourth most annoying song of all time. In a poll for
''Q'' magazine in 2003, a panel of music writers voted "Agadoo" as the
worst song of all time, saying: "It sounded like the school
disco you were forced to attend, your middle-aged relatives forming a
conga
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...
at a wedding party, a travelling DJ act based in
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 United ...
, every party
cliche you ever heard."
The panel also described it as "magnificently dreadful".
Origins and recording
The song's origins date back to 1970, when Michel Delancray and Mya Symille recorded it as "Agadou" in French.
[
()] It had been written based on a tune that had apparently come from
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...
.
Club Med
Club Med SAS, commonly known as Club Med and previously known as Club Méditerranée SA, is a French travel and tourism operator headquartered in Paris, specializing in all-inclusive holidays. Founded in 1950, the company has been primarily ow ...
used it as their theme song from 1974.
It was covered by several artists and groups, including Patrick Zabé in 1975 and the (a German group) in 1981 (and a remix in 1986); their version was the first in English. Black Lace uses the lyrics first used in The Snowmen's 1981 cover of "Agadou", which was also the first cover to spell the song's title as "Agadoo". These lyrics are based on the lyrics of the Saragossa Band version but with minor tweaks.
The
Black Lace group was made up during its heyday by the duo of performers
Colin Gibb and
Alan Barton
Alan Leslie Barton (16 September 1953 – 23 March 1995) was a British singer and member of the hit-making duo Black Lace. Their hits included "Agadoo", "Superman" and their United Kingdom Eurovision Song Contest 1979 seventh-place finisher " Ma ...
.
[ One of the early versions of the song, likely the cover by The Snowmen, became popular in a ]Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
called ''Gossips'', with the bar staff making a novelty dance; when Black Lace performed at the club in 1981, they learned the dance and recorded their own version, which was mistakenly reported as being the first version in English by BBC Radio Derby
BBC Radio Derby is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Derbyshire.
It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on St Helens Street in Derby.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audienc ...
in 2006.
Black Lace's version of the song was produced by Neil Ferguson and Black Lace at Woodlands studio under the direction of John Wagstaff and arranged by Barry Whitfield
Barry Whitfield (born 10 April 1954) is an English pianist, organist, jazz musician, musical director and teacher.
Early life
Barry Whitfield was born in the town of Grimsby and brought up in Cleethorpes in North East Lincolnshire. He was the only ...
and Black Lace. Whitfield also played keyboards on the track.
Formats and track listings
UK 1984 7" single
# "Agadoo" – 3:07
# "Fiddling" – 2:14
UK 1984 12" single
# "Agadoo" (Extended Version) – 4:49
# " Superman" (X Rated Version) – 3:44
# "Fiddling" – 2:14
UK 2007 CD single
# "Agadoo 206 Mix"
Charts
Chart performance
Despite not being played on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
because it "was not credible", the track proved to be a commercial hit.[ On the ]UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, "Agadoo" debuted at number 86 on 20 May 1984.[ The song did not enter the top 40 until the end of July, then peaking at number 38. In its fourth week in the top 40, "Agadoo" reached number 2, with ]George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV Generation, MTV generation and is one of the List ...
's "Careless Whisper
"Careless Whisper" is a song written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. Released on the 1984 Wham! album ''Make It Big'', the single release was credited either to ''Wham! featuring George Michael'' (in North America and several other count ...
" holding it off the top spot. By early November, the song was still in the top 40, but it fell out after the first week in that month.[ By 13 January 1985, its last appearance in the chart, "Agadoo" had spent 35 weeks in the top 100.][ It was revealed to be the eighth best-selling single of 1984 around that time. Fourteen years after its original release, the song was re-recorded and re-released. It re-entered the top 100 at number 64 on 16 August 1998 but only stayed in the chart for two weeks.][
The song found success in other countries as well, such as Ireland, New Zealand, and France. On the ]Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are b ...
, the song peaked at number 5, but only spent 5 weeks on the chart overall.[ "Agadoo" spent a longer 11 weeks on the ]New Zealand Singles Chart
The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Mus ...
, debuting at number 37 on 21 October 1984 and hitting a peak of number 9 in its sixth week.[ The song fell out of the chart quite abruptly, falling 25 places to number 44 in its final appearance in the chart before falling out completely.][ On the ]French Singles Chart
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
, the song peaked at number 48 in its first and only week on 17 November 1984.[
]
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Covers
The song has been frequently covered in its original French, as well as in English and many other languages. A cover by the German pop band, Saragossa Band was released in 1981. This was the first cover of the song to be recorded in English. The single also appeared in their debut album ''Za Za Zabadak''. It reached number 14 on the German Singles Chart and number 5 on the Austrian Singles Chart.
A version in Spanish titled "Agadu" was recorded by Georgie Dann sometime during the 1970s. It most recently appeared on Dann's 2016 album "Casatschok".
In 1981, the song was covered in Finnish by singer, Armi; it received another Finnish cover by Helena Rossi that same year.
The group, Koukeri covered the song in their native Bulgarian in 1982.
Dutch carnival
Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival ...
singer, Arie Ribbens recorded a version in his native language in 1983, called "Akketdoe". The song was rerecorded in Dutch, specifically the Flemish dialect, with different lyrics in 2014 by Salim Seghers, as "Agadou dou dou". Also in 1983, František Ringo Čech
František Ringo Čech (born 9 July 1943) is a Czech musician, songwriter, painter, actor, comedian, publicist, politician, dramatist, screenwriter, and author.
Life and career Early musical career: 1959–1965
František Čech was born in Prag ...
covered the song in Czech as "Ja uz jdu".
Curt Haagers
Curt Haagers was a Swedish dansband
(; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish term for a band that plays ("dance band music"). ' is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this categ ...
covered the song in their native Swedish in 1984, using lyrics from a 1982 cover by Trivs mé Brogens.
In 1984, Brazilian TV show host, Gugu Liberato recorded a version called "Bugalu". The lyrics were changed to reference the eponymous character, Bugalu, a mascot from ''Viva a Noite'', his Saturday night show.
Brazilian group, Musical Columbia covered the song in Portuguese in 1985; the band Sétimo Sentido covered the song again in 2012 with the same lyrics.
In 1998, Icelandic singer, Sigga recorded the song in Icelandic under the title "Agadú" for her album "Flikk-flakk." A second cover, using the same lyrics as Sigga's, by Icelandic artist Laddi was recorded in 2010, using an instrumental directly based on Black Lace's.
In 2000, Estonian singer, Üllar Jörberg
Üllar "Jörpa" Jörberg (; 9 June 1941 – 26 December 2018) was an Estonian singer.
Biography
In school, he sang in a choir as well as an all-male vocal quartet. He graduated from Viljandi Secondary School No. 2 in 1961. Prior to serving i ...
covered the song in Estonian under the title “Mereranna tuul.” Kroonika
''Kroonika'' (meaning ''The Chronicle'' in English) is a popular Estonian magazine which is typically popular with young Estonian persons aged between 13 and 30 years of age.
History and profile
''Kroonika'' was established in 1996. Its previo ...
listed it as one of his most popular songs.
Thai pop duo, Mr. Sister recorded a Thai version under the title "Amadoo" (อาม่าดุ) in 2002.
Zouzounia, a kids' entertainment brand, recorded a version in Greek sung by children in 2013.
Parodies and derivative versions
Black Lace themselves recorded an X-rated
An X rating is a rating used in various countries to classify films that have content deemed suitable only for adults. It is used when the violent or sexual content of a film is considered to be potentially disturbing to general audiences.
Aust ...
version of the song entitled "Have a Screw", which was written by Black Lace members Alan Barton
Alan Leslie Barton (16 September 1953 – 23 March 1995) was a British singer and member of the hit-making duo Black Lace. Their hits included "Agadoo", "Superman" and their United Kingdom Eurovision Song Contest 1979 seventh-place finisher " Ma ...
and Colin Gibb and released on the B-side of the 12-inch vinyl "Gang Bang". The track was re-recorded some years later by Colin Gibb and Dean Michael, which was featured on the ''Blue Album
The Australian satirical TV series ''CNNNN
''CNNNN'' (''Chaser NoN-stop News Network'') is a Logie Award winning Australian television program, satirising American news channels CNN and Fox News. It was produced and hosted by comedy team The Chaser.
''CNNNNs slogan was "We Report, Y ...
'' ran a fake cross-promotion Cross-promotion is a form of marketing promotion where customers of one product or service are targeted with promotion of a related product. A typical example is cross-media marketing of a brand; for example, Oprah Winfrey's promotion on her tele ...
for ''Agadoo: The Musical''.
The British TV series ''Auf Wiedersehen Pet
''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in ...
'' features the Black Lace version when the character Oz uses a jukebox
A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...
and selects a random track; appalled at the song once it plays, he kicks the machine to make it stop and derisively comments "Aga-bloody-doo!?"
In 1986, the song was parodied in "The Chicken Song
"The Chicken Song" is a novelty song by the British satirical comedy television programme '' Spitting Image'' (series 3, episode 6). The nonsensical lyrics were written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor; the music was written by Philip Pope, who al ...
" by the satirical television programme ''Spitting Image
''Spitting Image'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British satire, satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productio ...
''. The track's composer Philip Pope
Philip R. J. Pope is a British composer and actor. He is best known for role as Tony Angelino in Only Fools And Horses. He was educated at Downside School and New College, Oxford.
Performer
Pope appeared in the Oxford Revue in Edinburgh Festiv ...
had previously parodied the song as "Shagadoo" in '' Radio Active''.
In 1994, the song was featured on the Chilean game show '' Cachureos'' with new lyrics in Spanish as "Haga Pipi," which describe remembering to go to the bathroom before going to bed to avoid bed-wetting accidents.
The song was also used as the basis of a chant by fans of Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
for defender Daniel Agger
Daniel Munthe Agger (; born 12 December 1984) is a Danish professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Danish 1st Division club HB Køge. As an active player, he played as a central defender for Brøndby and Liverpool a ...
. It is similarly used by fans of Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
for midfielder Christian Eriksen
Christian Dannemann Eriksen (born 14 February 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Denmark national team. He is renowned for his vision, technique, passing, and fr ...
.
The band Chumbawamba
Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single " Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", " En ...
recorded a version of "Agadoo" for the Peel Sessions
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
. The producer of the Black Lace version, Neil Ferguson, was also Chumbawamba's regular producer at the time and later a full member of the band. The band was asked by their record company to add Agadoo on a single, the actual track used, was performed by Black Lace.
German group Die Lollipops recorded a version called "So Wie Du" with unrelated lyrics on their 2005 album ''Wir Wolln Spass.''
It was parodied in a Vanilla Mini Wheats commercial in 2006 and by The Maynards in 2013, who recorded a bluegrass version of the song.
In August 2007, the "Agadoo 206 Mix" was released as the song was used in a TV ad to promote Peugeot's new 206 car. The song hit the UK charts. Black Lace members Colin Gibb and Rob Hopcraft then used the song for a special charity 'Agadoo Day'.
In November 2009, Black Lace recorded a version called "Agadir" to promote a new air service by easyJet
EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...
from Gatwick airport
Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...
to Agadir
Agadir ( ar, أݣادير, ʾagādīr; shi, ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ) is a major city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Souss River flows into the ocean, and south ...
.
On 20 March 2009, it was announced that the song was being released in a new version by Dene Michael, who joined the band in 1987 along with Ian Robinson. A video for the release, titled "Agadoo" (Mambo 2009 remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
), was directed by Bruce Jones Bruce Jones may refer to:
* Bruce Jones (actor) (born 1953), British actor
*Bruce Jones (American football) (1904–1974), American football player
*Bruce Jones (comics) (born 1944), American comic book writer
*Bruce Jones (surfboards) (?–2014), ...
, who played Les Battersby
Leslie Nelson "Les" Battersby (formerly Battersby-Brown) is a fictional character of the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', who appeared from 1997 to 2007, played by Bruce Jones. The character is best known for his outspoken opinions ...
in television soap opera ''Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based ...
''. He also appears in the video, along with Kevin Kennedy, who played Curly Watts
Norman Arthur "Curly" Watts is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', from 1983 to 2003, and in a few spin-off DVDs in 2010. He was portrayed throughout by Kevin Kennedy.
Most of Curly's storylines dealt wi ...
in the same programme.
A cover of "Agadoo" with lyrics about the New Year was featured on the December 31, 2016, special of the Russian adaptation of ''The Voice Kids
''The Voice Kids'' is a version of '' The Voice'' TV series franchise in which children participate.
Versions
The first such variation was '' The Voice Kids'' from the Netherlands, which was followed by other international variants:
: Franchise w ...
.''
Ulrika Jonsson
Eva Ulrika Jonsson (born 16 August 1967) is a Swedish-British television presenter and model. She became known as a TV-am weather presenter, moved on to present the ITV show '' Gladiators'', and as a team captain of the BBC Two show '' Shootin ...
was introduced in the comedy panel show, '' Shooting Stars'' in a parody version of the song.
See also
*List of music considered the worst
This list consists of albums or songs that have been considered the worst music ever made by various combinations of music critics, television broadcasters (such as MTV and VH1), radio stations, composers and public polls.
Albums
1960s–1 ...
References
{{authority control
1971 songs
1984 singles
2009 singles
Black Lace (band) songs
Novelty songs
UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles