"He's Gonna Step on You Again" (also known as "Step On") is a song originally performed by

John Kongos John Theodore Kongos (born 6 August 1945) is a South African singer and songwriter of Greek ancestry, best known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single " He's Gonna Step on You Again", on which Happy Mondays based their hit " Step On". His other big hit ...

, co-written by Kongos and Christos Demetriou, and first released in 1971 by Fly Records. It entered the UK Singles Chart on 22 May 1971 and spent 14 weeks there, peaking at No. 4. Covers of the song have been chart successes several times, including for

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up consisted of brothers Shaun Ryder (vocals) and Paul Ryder (bass), Gaz Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry la ...

in 1990. It was cited in the ''

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' as being the first song to have used a sample - utilising a tape loop of African drumming.

Chart performance

Cover versions

1987 Australian versions

In 1987 three Australian bands ( the Party Boys,

Chantoozies The Chantoozies are an Australian pop group, formed in 1986. The group featured four female vocalists: Eve von Bibra, Angie La Bozzetta, Ally Fowler and Tottie Goldsmith, and four male musicians: Brett Goldsmith (bass guitars, keyboards, progr ...

and Exploding White Mice) each released their own cover version of "He's Gonna Step on You Again". The Party Boys' single was issued in May, and peaked at No. 1, for two weeks, in late July on the Australian Music Report chart while the Chantoozies version reached No. 36.

The Party Boys

The Party Boys released a cover version in 1987 that reached No. 1 on the Australian Music Report, No. 92 in the United Kingdom and No. 10 on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), 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 M ...

. The band also recorded a 12-inch single, "He's Gonna Step on You Again" (Stomp mix) with Nick Mainsbridge remixing, which was backed by "She's a Mystery".

Chantoozies

The

released a version in 1987 as the second single from their debut studio album ''

''. The song peaked at number 36 on the Australian

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 ...

=Track listings

= 7-inch single (K301) *Side A "He's Gonna Step on You Again" *Side B "Twenty Six 02" 12-inch single (X 14504) *Side A "He's Gonna Step on You Again" *Side B1 "He's Gonna Step on You Again" *Side B2 "Twenty Six 02"

=Charts

Happy Mondays version

British band

covered the song in 1990, retitling it "Step On", with two different music videos. It was originally intended as a contribution to the '' Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary'' compilation for their US label Elektra, but they decided to keep it to release as a single, and instead covered Kongos's "

Tokoloshe Man "Tokoloshe Man" was a 1971 UK hit single by John Kongos, released on Fly Records. It stayed in the UK Singles Chart top 10 for five weeks, peaking at number 4. Kongos' previous single release was "He's Gonna Step on You Again", another number 4 U ...

" for the compilation. The Happy Mondays version incorporates a short sample of three guitar notes from the original. "Step On" became Happy Mondays' biggest-selling single, peaking at No. 5 in the UK and No. 57 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The lyric "you're twisting my melon, man" was used for singer

Shaun Ryder Shaun William George Ryder (born 23 August 1962) is an English singer, songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Bl ...

's autobiography '' Twisting My Melon''.

Charts

Weekly charts Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1971 songs 1971 debut singles 1987 singles 1990 singles Ariola Records singles CBS Records singles Mushroom Records singles Chantoozies songs Factory Records singles Fly Records singles Happy Mondays songs John Kongos songs Number-one singles in Australia Song recordings produced by Gus Dudgeon Songs written by John Kongos UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles