"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" | |||
| Released | 25 October 1977 | |||
| Genre | Pop, Europop, disco[1] | |||
| Length | 3:27 | |||
| Label | EMI (Germany) Victor (Japan) Papillon Records (Netherlands) [2] | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ben Juris Benny Lux | |||
| Producer(s) | Wolfgang Mewes | |||
| Arabesque singles chronology | ||||
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Track listing
- A. "Hello Mr. Monkey" - 3:27
- B. "Buggy Boy" - 2:55 [3]
Background
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
- Pink Lady performed the song for their 1978 live album '78 Jumping Summer Carnival. It was released as the B-side of their 1979 single "Pink Typhoon (In the Navy)".
- Denki Groove sampled the song for "Hello! Mr. Monkey Magic Orchestra", the final track from the 2000 album Voxxx.