Venus (Shocking Blue Song) - Other Cover Versions

Other Cover Versions

• In 1969, Bulgarian singer Lili Ivanova recorded her version of the song, called "Venera" (Bulgarian: "Венера").
• In 1970, Greek band Olympians recorded the song "To koritsi tou Mai" (Greek: "Το κορίτσι του Μάη", meaning "Girl of May") with the melody of "Venus" and lyrics written by Sevi Tiliakou.
• In late 1976 the Stockley Sisters, a South African duo, took their recording of the song to number 5 on the South African singles chart.
• In 1980, Nervus Rex, a largely forgotten power pop band of the CBGBs/Max’s era downtown NYC scene, recorded their own cover version.
• On July 18, 1981, Dutch act Stars on 45 reached #1 in the U.S. with a medley including the guitar riff from "Venus". With the original Shocking Blue and the later Bananarama cover both going to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, this arguably made it the only song in that chart's history to hit #1 by three different artists, though the Stars on 45 medley only included a portion.
• The Dutch rock and roll band Claw Boys Claw included a cover on their first album, Shocking Shades Of Claw Boys Claw in 1984.
• A cover was released by then J-pop idol singer Yoko Nagayama in 1986, which became her first big hit.
• In 1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic included the Bananarama version in his polka medley "Polka Party!" from the album of the same name.
• The song was covered by Italian singer Mina in her 1986's album Si, buana.
• A version of the song by The Chipettes, done in their signature style, was included on the album Born to Rock in 1988. They would also cover the Bananarama version for the 1998 album The A-Files: Alien Songs.
• The Italo House act Don Pablo's Animals released a mainly instrumental cover version in 1990.
• The Czech band Dunaj recorded a cover version in 1994
• When auditioning for the Spice Girls in the early '90s, Victoria Beckham recorded a version of the song for a demo tape, never intending for it to be released, though it has since leaked onto the Internet.
• Stefanie Sun (Simplified Chinese: 孙燕姿; Traditional Chinese: 孫燕姿), a Singaporean singer-songwriter, covered the song on her 2002 album (Start自選集) as well as covers of "Hey Jude" and "Silent All These Years".
• Various hi-NRG/eurodance cover remixes by Obsession was released through Almighty Records in 2003. Audio samples can be heard on the official Almighty Records website.
• The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, Ruslana, has recorded this song.
• Norwegian act Erlend Øye recorded part of the song in a medley on his album that was part of the DJ-Kicks series.
• No Angels, first season winners of German Idol series Popstars, cover it for their 2003 album Pure. This version was used in TV spots for ladies' razor Gillette Venus
• Belgian girl group Seduced recorded a cover which peaked at #25 on the Belgian Singles Top 50 in 2004.
• The Russian children's band Street Magic (Volshebniki Dvora) (Волшебники Двора) cover the song on their 2005 album Hit Parade (Хит-парад), featuring lead vocals by band member Denis Uzkov (Денис Усков).
• Japanese singer Hitomi featured a cover as the B-side to her "Japanese Girl" single in 2005. This version was the theme to commercials for the Gillette Venus razor in 2006 featuring Hitomi on a rock of a lagoon in Hawaii.
• Kumi Koda recorded the song for Japanese Gillette commercials in 2007, releasing a full cover on her 2009 studio album Trick.
• Girlband (The X Factor UK 2008 finalist) covered the song in the first live show. 2010 Finalists Belle Amie also covered the song in the fourth live show which had a Halloween theme.
• Tom Jones covered the song on album "Classic Tom Jones", released in 1998
• Polish singer Doda covered the song on New Year's Eve 2009/2010 in Łódź (TVP2).
• Lussi Lebrun covered the song during season 8 of Nouvelle Star.
• Finnish new wave band Belaboris covered the song, with Finnish lyrics, on their "...Olpa Kerran" 12"
• The song is featured in the stage musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert – the Musical
• Jennifer Lopez, spokesperson for Venus razors, recorded her own version of the song for "The Venus Goddess Fund for Education".
• The Mexican singer Niñel Conde recorded a Spanish version of the song, on her new album "Ayer y Hoy", with the same name, Venus.
• Cambodian singer Ros Sereysothea covered the song.