"Follow Me" is a song by French singer

Amanda Lear Amanda Lear (; born 18 June or 18 November 1939 or 1941 or 1946 or 1950) is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress and former model. She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s and went on ...

released in 1978 by

Ariola Records Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola Express, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international ...

as the lead single from her second album, '' Sweet Revenge''. The song went on to become a multi-million-selling chart success in

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

and remains one of her trademark hits.

Song information

The lyrics of the song were written by Lear herself, who contributed words to every track on ''Sweet Revenge'', and the music was composed by Anthony Monn, her long-time producer and collaborator. Musically, "Follow Me" showcased a mainstream

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

sound, which in the second half of the 1970s was at the peak of its popularity, however, with

symphonic A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning ...

elements, and inspired by the innovatory work of German band

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

. Lyrically, the song tells about

seduction In sexuality, seduction means enticing someone else into sexual intercourse or Human sexual activity, other sexual activity. Strategies of seduction include conversation and Sexual script theory, sexual scripts, paralanguage, paralingual featur ...

as the first track in conceptual suite on side A, which tells a story about a girl tempted by the Devil. The suite is concluded with an alternative version of the song, billed as "Follow Me (Reprise)", which contains different lyrics and sees the girl reject the Devil's offers. The 10-minute Wally MacDonald

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, 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, poem, or photograph ca ...

of the song was released in Canada, which in fact was a medley of the original version and the

reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

. "Follow Me" was released as the first single from Amanda's second album, ''Sweet Revenge'', in the spring of 1978. In most countries, the B-side of the single was "Mother, Look What They've Done to Me". The only exception to this in Europe was Spain, with " Run Baby Run" on side B, although the song would also be released as a separate A-side in selected territories. In Canada, the B-side was "

Enigma (Give a Bit of Mmh to Me) "Enigma (Give a Bit of Mmh to Me)" is a song by French singer Amanda Lear from her second album '' Sweet Revenge'', released as a single in 1978. It was a chart success upon its original release and enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in 2004 afte ...

", later released as a single in its own right in Europe. The song was a major commercial success, reaching the top 10 in no less than six European countries. In Germany, it was the sixth biggest-selling single of 1978, and in Belgium – the second, only behind

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...

and

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

's "

You're the One That I Want "You're the One That I Want" is a song performed by American actor and singer John Travolta and Anglo-Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John for the 1978 film version of the musical '' Grease''. It was written and produced by John ...

". It remains Amanda's

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

and arguably her biggest hit to date, having sold several million copies worldwide. The singer performed the track in numerous television shows across Europe as well as in the erotic Italian documentary film '' Follie di notte'' (1978) in which she appeared as the hostess. The song was also featured in the film ''

Dallas Buyers Club ''Dallas Buyers Club'' is a 2013 American biographical drama film written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack, and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. The film tells the story of Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), a cowboy diagnosed with AIDS in ...

'' (2013). A new version of the song was released as the single in 1987,

ed by Christian De Walden who produced Lear's most recent album at the time, '' Secret Passion''. In 1989, DJ

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 ...

produced

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 ...

remixes of "

Gold 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 ...

" and "Follow Me", which were released as a commercial double A-side single on both vinyl and CD. Lear re-recorded the song with slightly changed lyrics in 1992 and the new version appeared on her 1993 album '' Cadavrexquis'' as well as side B of the single "Fantasy". It was performed at concerts and on television. Another re-recording appeared on the 1998 album '' Back in Your Arms'' and later released in Italy as the double A-side 12" vinyl single with " Tomorrow". This version would subsequently end up on numerous budget compilations released in Europe up until the early 2010s. In 2000, a new version of the song was included on a various artists compilation released to celebrate Paris Pride. Also in 2000, the 1978 version was released as the CD single in Belgium as part of the "45 Hit Collection" series, back with the original version of "

The Sphinx The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. Facing east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The original shap ...

". The song was also included on the soundtrack of the 2014 French film '' The New Girlfriend''. Most recently, "Follow Me" was re-recorded again on Lear's 2016 album '' Let Me Entertain You''. In 2023, the original 1978 song was used in a

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

worldwide advertisement campaign for the fragrance Coco Mademoiselle, in a one-minute film directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Whitney Peak. The song gained a new following and was searched one million times on the global Shazam charts in June 2023. For the occasion, the 2016 mix of the song was released as a digital single in June 2023, and subsequently gained one million stream on Spotify in one month, boosted by the streams of the 1978 version.

Music videos

In 1978, Amanda Lear filmed the "Follow Me"

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

as part of her

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...

for German TV show ''

Musikladen ''Der Musikladen'' () was a West German music television programme that ran from 13 December 1972 to 29 November 1984. The show continued the 1960s ''Beat-Club'' under a new name, and in turn was replaced by ''Extratour''. History Around 90 ep ...

''. Based on the bluescreen technique, it pictures her performing the song against a starry night sky and images of her from the ''Sweet Revenge'' album cover. She is clad in a bright pink catsuit, which she initially hides underneath a long black cape. It was directed by Michael Leckebusch. In 2012, the video was released on a 3-DVD box set ''Das beste aus dem Musikladen Vol. 1'', together with other videos Lear had made for ''Musikladen''. Also in 1978, another video for the song was filmed, this time as part of Italian TV show ''

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''. Amanda again wore the black cape, but with a different outfit underneath it. The video was directed by Enzo Trapani. Lear filmed another bluescreen "Follow Me" video for her Italian TV show '' Premiatissima'' which was later used in her

''Ma chi è Amanda?'' (1983). Another music video was produced for the 1992 re-recording, with Amanda Lear performing the song against a green background.

Track listing

*7" Single (1978) :A. "Follow Me" – 3:52 :B. "Mother, Look What They've Done to Me" – 4:25 *Spanish 7" Single (1978) :A. "Follow Me (Sigueme)" – 3:55 :B. " Run Baby Run" – 4:25 *Canadian 12" Single (1978) :A. "Follow Me" – 10:48 :B. "

" – 5:08 *Czechoslovakian 7" Single (1982) :A. "Follow Me" – 3:55 :B. "Hollywood Is Just a Dream When You're Seventeen" – 4:51 *7" Single (1987) :A. "Follow Me" (New Mix) – 3:49 :B. "I'm a Mistery" – 4:35 *12" Single (1987) :A. "Follow Me" (The Special 1987 Mix) – 7:18 :B1. "Follow Me" (Radio Mix) – 3:49 :B2. "I'm a Mistery" (Remix) – 5:18 *12" Single (1998) :A. "Follow Me" – 3:59 :B. " Tomorrow" – 3:42 *CD Single (2000) # "Follow Me" – 3:50 # "

" – 4:20

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1978 singles 1978 songs Amanda Lear songs Ariola Records singles Songs written by Amanda Lear Songs written by Anthony Monn