Voulez-Vous (song) - Cover Versions

Cover Versions

• ‘Voulez Vous’ was released by the British (London based) electronic duo Big Bang in 1989 on Swanyard Records (SYRTR 1). B-side ‘Cold Nights In Cairo’. It was produced by Big Bang and Steev Toth. Both 7” and 12” (extended) versions were released. Big Bang consisted of Laurence Malice (Trade nightclub founder) and Iain Williams (writer). The band used session vocalists on all their recordings. What is interesting about this version of 'Voulez Vous' is that the duo incorporated Arabic inspired music (written by Williams) within the song. This recording is probably the first and only time to date any recording artist has added additional music to an original Abba song. (In 2005 Madonna used only an Abba riff sample in her song 'Hung Up'.) Big Bang spearheaded a new musical term, Big Beat, a phrase coined by Iain Williams who explained the idea behind the concept in Metropolitan magazine (June 1989) in an interview with the French journalist Alex Gerry. Big Bang's musical style consisted of heavy hard rock drum beats and synthesizer-generated loops. The concept of the Big Beat sound was later picked up on and adapted by many club Dj's and went on to become widely used by many successful musicians throughout the 1990s such as Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers & The Prodigy. Vocals on 'Voulez Vous' are shared by Jasmine Ventura and Teresa Revill. Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor plays guitar on the track. The record became a dance chart hit and charted at No. 9 in the 1989 year-end UK club dance chart. In 1990 Big Bang represented the United Kingdom in the 13th International Song Festival held in Ireland with their self-penned song ‘Give Me One More Chance’ which came second.
• "Voulez-Vous" topped the British charts again in 1992, when it was one of four ABBA songs covered on Erasure's EP Abba-esque.
• Swedish pop group A*Teens recorded a version on their debut album The ABBA Generation.
• Various eurodance/hi-NRG cover remixes by Abbacadabra were released in the late 1990s through British label Almighty Records. One of Abbacadabra versions was later included on the 1997 Dancemania compilation Covers, and some of them were most recently included on the 2008 compilation We Love ABBA: The Mamma Mia Dance Collection.
• Dance versions of the song have been recorded by various artists including: Audio Science on the Lay All Your Love on ABBA tribute album; Euphorica (on the 2003 album ABBA Dance); and DJ Ensamble on the 2006 album Trancing Queen.
• The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus recorded a cover of the song for their 1997 album ExtrABBAganza!.
• The British 1999 Abbamania album includes a cover by Culture Club. The subsequent ABBAMania 2 album features a rendition sung by British actress Julie Forsyth. Ska Band Madness also covered the song on the programme of the same name.
• The German ABBA Mania compilation includes a cover of the song by Barbara Schöneberger.
• A cover by Swedish thrash metal band Morgana Lefay was featured on the tribute album ABBAMetal (also released as A Tribute to ABBA).
• Another metal version by Swedish band Time Requiem was a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their album The Inner Circle Of Reality.
• Vietnamese-American singer Da Nhat Yen recorded a version with rap by Chosen One.
• On the 2004 tribute album Abbalicious performed by various American drag queens, the song was covered by Sade Pendarvis.
• An electronica cover of the song by Transient can be found on the album The Electronic Tribute To ABBA.
• Swedish musician Nils Landgren includes a cover of the song on his 2004 tribute album Funky Abba.
• A cover of the song by Blue System can be found on the 2006 chill out music compilation ABBA Chill Out.
• A cover of the song by Finnish a cappella choral ensemble Rajaton can be found on their 2006 ABBA tribute album Rajaton Sings ABBA With Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
• Australian rock band Audioscam covered the song on their 2008 album Abbattack. Samples from the album can be heard on their official MySpace page.
• Icelandic cult rock band HAM released a metal cover version which has become one of their landmark concert songs.
• British ABBA heavy metal tribute group Abbatoir recorded a cover of the song. An audio sample can be found on their official MySpace page.
• The Latin group Menudo (from Puerto Rico) did a Spanish cover of this song.