"Hello Mr. Monkey" is the debut single by German all-girl trio, Arabesque. Initially released only in Germany in 1977, it was released worldwide the following year in 1978.

"Hello Mr. Monkey"
Single by Arabesque
from the album Friday Night
B-side"Buggy Boy"
Released25 October 1977
GenrePop, Europop, disco[1]
Length3:27
LabelEMI (Germany)
Victor (Japan)
Papillon Records (Netherlands) [2]
Songwriter(s)Ben Juris
Benny Lux
Producer(s)Wolfgang Mewes
Arabesque singles chronology
"Hello Mr. Monkey"
(1977)
"Friday Night"
(1978)

Track listing

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  1. A. "Hello Mr. Monkey" - 3:27
  2. B. "Buggy Boy" - 2:55 [3]

Background

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Written in 1977 shortly before the Arabesque lineup was finalized, "Hello Mr. Monkey" was the debut single of the West German group. The song is about a performer "Mr. Monkey" who was once famous, but has now lost his fame and "should've been a clown".[4][5] It features Mary Ann Nagel on lead vocals, with Karen Ann Tepperis and Michaela Rose as backup singers.[6] The song was a huge hit in Asia, particularly Japan and South Korea, spending weeks at number one.[7][8] However, it failed to chart in Germany and other European countries.[9] Arabesque gave their first ever public appearance on October 16, 1977, performing the song on the German Pop '77 program on ARD.[10]

Samples and covers

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References

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  1. ^ "Arabesque - Hello Mr. Monkey (Vinyl)". Discogs.com. 1977. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  2. ^ "Arabesque - Hello Mr. Monkey". Discogs.com. 1977. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  3. ^ "Arabesque - Hello Mr. Monkey / Buggy Boy - Victor - Japan - VIP-2601". 45cat.com. 2016-11-05. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  4. ^ "Arabesque - Hello Mr. Monkey Lyrics". Songlyrics.com. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  5. ^ "Arabesque - Don Ignacio's Music Reviews". Donignacio.com. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  6. ^ "Arabesque - Le monde de Stef". Mondedestef.over-blog.com. 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  7. ^ Billboard. 1979-05-26. p. 59. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  8. ^ Billboard. 1979-01-20. p. 54. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  9. ^ "Arabesque - Hello Mr. Monkey". Weheartmusic.typepad.com. 2007-05-26. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  10. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-05-22. Retrieved 2020-05-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)