"Goosebumps" is a pop song written by

Terry Britten Terence Ernest Britten (born 17 July 1947) is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, who has written songs for Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Status Quo (band), Status Quo and Michael Jackson amongst many ot ...

and

BA Robertson Brian Alexander Robertson (born 14 June 1949) is a Scottish musician, composer and songwriter. He had a string of hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s characterised by catchy pop tunes and jaunty humorous lyrics, including "Kool in the Kafta ...

and originally released by Robertson in January 1979 as the first single from his debut album '' Initial Success''. The single flopped, but later that year, Australian pop singer

Christie Allen Christie Allen (born June Dorothy Allen; 24 July 195412 August 2008) was an English-born Australian pop singer who had a successful career in Australia. Her top four hits on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart were "Goosebumps" ...

covered the song, which peaked at number 3 on

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...

in Australia and sold over 60,000 copies The song was his first release on

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...

after they signed him due to the strength of this song on a

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

he sent to their parent company

Warner Communications Warner Media, LLC (doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warner ...

Christie Allen version

Allen released her cover in August 1979 as the third single from her debut studio album, ''

Magic Rhythm ''Magic Rhythm'' is the debut studio album by Australian pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK p ...

''. The song was released as "Goose Bumps" on both the single and the album. It released in the US via

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

and in Europe via

WEA The Wea were a Miami–Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as being either closely related to the Miami tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of th ...

. At the 1979 Countdown awards, the song was nominated for Most Popular Single, won by "

Computer Games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

" by

Mi-Sex Mi-Sex (also styled as MiSex) is a New Zealand new wave band originally active from 1978 to 1986, and led for much of its existence by Steve Gilpin as vocalist, Kevin Stanton as guitarist and songwriter, Murray Burns as keyboardist and songw ...

. "Goose Bumps" became the first ever single by

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival ...

to be certified gold in Australia.

Reception

Cash Box magazine ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said "Bouncy bass and synthesiser set the tick-tock danceable pace for Christie Allen's crystal voice."

Track listing

7" (K 7608) *Side A – "Goosebumps" - 2:50 *Side B – "Ships That Pass Through the Night" - 3:20 7" (International) *Side A – "Goosebumps" - 2:50 *Side B - "Count Me Out"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 1979 songs 1979 singles BA Robertson songs Christie Allen songs Songs written by BA Robertson Songs written by Terry Britten Asylum Records singles Mushroom Records singles