"Voodoo Child" is a song written by

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

James Ash James Ash (born Jamie Graham Appleby; 10 June 1973), is an English-born Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and keyboardist of Australian electro-rock group Rogue Traders, where he plays the keyboard and g ...

, and Steve Davis and produced by Ash for Australian

electronic rock Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...

band

Rogue Traders Rogue Traders is an Australian electronic rock band formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 2002 by mainstay James Ash on keyboards. In 1989, Ash met fellow original member Steve Davis in London while both were working as DJs. Before forming Rogue ...

' second album, '' Here Come the Drums'' (2005). It was the first single for the new member

Natalie Bassingthwaighte Natalie Bassingthwaighte (; born 1 September 1975) is an Australian singer, actress and television personality. Born and raised in Wollongong, New South Wales, she began her career in musical theatre. She later pursued an acting career in 1998 ...

. It was released as a

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

in Australia on 30 May 2005 as the first song released from the album. In 2006, it was released in the United Kingdom as a digital download and CD single. The song samples the riff from Costello's " Pump It Up", and he receives credit in some printings of the album's liner notes. The song marks a move for Rogue Traders away from standard dance music and towards a more electro-punk sound. Upon its release, the song became a top-10 hit in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The music video, directed by Sam Bennetts and Mad Angel, was nominated for Best Video at the

ARIA Music Awards of 2005 In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompaniment, normally part of a larger ...

Promotion and chart performance

In Australia, the song was released without the promotion of the new band member Natalie Bassingthwaighte because the band wanted to release it knowing that people were buying it because they liked the song, instead of buying it for "celebrity value" (Bassingthwaighte was starring in ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' at the time of the single's release). "Voodoo Child" debuted at number 20 on the Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and by its third week had ascended into the top 10, peaking at number nine. In its eighth week, it ascended to its peak position at number four and was certified Platinum by

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

. The song spent an overall 21 weeks on the chart, and is to date the group's most successful single. In New Zealand, "Voodoo Child" also debuted at number 20, becoming the group's first entry and so far only on the chart. It peaked at number seven for two consecutive weeks there, becoming the group's first top-10 hit there, and spent a total of 16 weeks on the chart. It was later released in the UK in July 2006, and debuted at number 18 based on download sales one week prior to its physical release. "Voodoo Child" ascended and peaked at number three the following week, to become the group's first and so far only top-three hit. The song has also peaked at number 15 in Ireland, becoming the group's first top-20 hit there.

Track listings

Australian CD single # "Voodoo Child" – 3:57 # "Voodoo Child" (James Ash Lektric remix) – 5:38 # "Voodoo Child" (12-inch mix) – 6:58 # "Voodoo Child" (Fuzzy Hair remix) – 6:09 # "Voodoo Child" (Fuzzy Hair instrumental) – 6:23 UK CD1 # "Voodoo Child" (radio edit) # "Voodoo Child" (Fuzzy Hair remix) UK CD2 # "Voodoo Child" (radio edit) # "Voodoo Child" (Tom Neville Vox mix) # "Voodoo Child" (12-inch mix) # "Voodoo Child" (CD-Rom video) German maxi-CD single # "Voodoo Child" (radio edit) # "Voodoo Child" (James Ash Lektric remix) # "Voodoo Child" (12-inch mix simple track) # "Voodoo Child" (Tom Neville Vox remix) # "Voodoo Child" (Fuzzy Hair remix)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voodoo Child (Rogue Traders Song) 2005 singles 2005 songs Animated music videos Ariola Records singles Columbia Records singles Rogue Traders songs Songs written by Elvis Costello Songs written by James Ash Sony BMG singles