Wonderful Life (Black song)

"Wonderful Life" is a song by the English singer Black

2. Life Calls 3:51
from his 1986 album of the same name. Written by
3. Had Enough 4:58
Black, the song was released twice as a single and was successful the second time, becoming a top ten hit in Switzer4. All We Need Is the Money 4:23
land, Germany, the UK, France, Austria, the Netherlands
and Italy. The song has been described as a seductive, bittersweet ballad.[1] The Daily Telegraph said, Its
oddly uplifting lyrics ... combined with Blacks melan- 4 Charts and certications
choly croon created, as one critic observed, 'luxuriantly
melodic pop that sounds something like a male version 4.1 Chart successions
of Sade'.[2]

5 Mathilde Santing version

1

Single release

Dutch singer Mathilde Santing recorded her own cover

version of Wonderful Life on her 1999 album To Others
to One. It was released as a maxi single and was used in a
television advertisement for Interpolis, a Dutch insurance
company.[28] In addition to the album To Others to One,
it is also on the albums 20 jaar hits 19812001 (Muziek
20 Daagse 2001) and 100 Love Songs [2008].

First released in 1986 by Ugly Man Records, it initially

peaked at no. 72 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] The band
then decided to re-release the song with a new record
company, A&M Records after the success of Sweetest
Smile. The single then reached a higher peak of no. 8
on the UK Singles Chart in August 1987.[4]

5.1 Chart performance

Music video

6 Tina Cousins version

The music video was shot in black and white around

the English seaside resort of Southport, Merseyside, as
well as Wallasey near Blacks hometown of Liverpool,
and features New Brighton Lighthouse and promenade.
The video includes the Looping Star rollercoaster, a
ride at Pleasureland at the time, as well as The Galleon
fairground ride, the shrimping boat, local shops and
residents.[5] It was directed by Gerard De Thame, husband of television presenter Rachel De Thame, and won
an award at the New York Film Festival in 1988.[6]

British singer Tina Cousins recorded a cover version of

the song for her second studio album Mastermind. This
version had moderate success, peaking at number 17 on
the Australian Singles Chart and at number 58 on the UK
Singles Chart. In 2005, a dance and a ballad of this cover
version were used in the Australian miniseries "The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant" on Channel 10. Since
2007, both the dance and ballad versions of Tina Cousins
cover of the song have been used at the Hoyts cinemas in
Australia directly prior to the start of a movie. Now only
the ballad version is used. In 2008, this song featured in
an UN TV spot ad raising awareness of Human Tracking.

Formats and track listings

7 single
1. Wonderful Life 4:49

6.1 Chart performance

2. Life Calls 3:51

7 Other cover versions

12 maxi single

Macedonian alternative rock band Arhangel recorded a

version of the song for their 1993 album Arhangel 2. Serbian punk rock band KBO! recorded a version of the

1. Wonderful Life 4:49

1

song on their 2001 cover album (Ne) Menjajte Stanicu

((Do Not) Change the Station). Spanish singer Rosa Lpez
recorded a Spanish cover of the song entitled Bella Vida
on her 2008 album Promesas. It was also released as
the second single from the album. In 2009, German
techno group Scooter sampled the song on their single
"The Sound Above My Hair". In 2011, Kim Wilde covered the song in the album Snapshots. The same year,
the song featured on the Christmas album Funny Looking Angels by Smith & Burrows, a collaboration between
Tom Smith (Editors) and Andy Burrows (We Are Scientists and ex-Razorlight).[34] Slow Moving Millie covered
the song on her album Renditions.
Various other cover versions have been produced, by
artists including Seeed, TJ Davis, Tony Hadley, Giuliano
Palma & the Bluebeaters, Ace of Base, Lara Fabian
(2004 A Wonderful Life album), Myslovitz, Zucchero,
Cszy, The Hoosiers, Julio Iglesias, Jr., Perturbazione,
Rob de Nijs, Kirka, Saule, Perry Rose and Kate Ryan.
A version by Katie Melua was originally included on
the BBC Radio 2's Sounds of the 80s compilation album, and was subsequently released as a single in aid of
Great Ormond Street Hospital and The Childrens Hospital Charity.[35]

Use in the media

In 1991(?) it was used as the soundtrack to a British
television advertisement for Cadbury's Strollers.
In 1994, it was the soundtrack to a British television
advertisement for Standard Life insurance, which
rekindled interest in the song. The decision to rerelease the track to take advantage of the renewed
interest was rather delayed, and this time the song
did not appear in the Top 40.

REFERENCES

In 2015, a version by Katie Melua was used in a

commercial for Premier Inn featuring Lenny Henry.

9 References
[1] Ankeny, Jason. Black Artist Biography. AllMusic.
All Media Network. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
[2] Colin Vearncombe, singer-songwriter obituary. The
Daily Telegraph. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 5 March
2016.
[3] "Black: Artist Chart History Ocial Charts Company.
Retrieved 24 June 2013.
[4] "Archive Chart: 1987-09-05 UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
[5] Brown, Andrew (10 July 2015). How many Southport
landmarks can you see in 1987 hit Wonderful Life by
Black?". Southport Visiter. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
[6] Gerard de Thame Films. Gerarddethame.com. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[7] Top 50 Australian Singles Chart Week ending 5th June,
1988. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
[8] "Austriancharts.at Black Wonderful Life (in German). 3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[9] "Ultratop.be Black Wonderful Life (in Dutch).
Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[10] Radio 2 Top 30 : 21 november 1988 (in Dutch). Top
30. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[11] "Lescharts.com Black Wonderful Life (in French).
Les classement single. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[12] "Oziellecharts.de Black Wonderful Life. GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

The song was also used in TV advertisements for

Fleury Michon meat products in France in the
[13] "The Irish Charts Search Results Wonderful Life.
2000s,[36] but was not sung by Black.
Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 June 2014.

In season 4, episode 14 of the US series Queer as [14] I singoli pi venduti del 1988 (in Italian). Hit Parade
Folk (2004), the song eerily accompanies the main
Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
characters struggle to nish a 500-mile bicycle tour
[15] "Nederlandse Top 40 Black - Wonderful Life search rein spite of a broken collarbone.
In 2008, the United Nations Oce on Drugs and
Crime developed a public service announcement
which features the song to raise awareness of human
tracking among those who are vulnerable to trafcking, and those who are empowered to act against
it.

sults (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

[16] "Dutchcharts.nl Black Wonderful Life (in Dutch).
Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[17] WONDERFUL LIFE Black (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

In 2009 it was used by Emirates Airlines to promote

air travel to Dubai.[37]

[18] Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Slo xitos: ao a

ao, 19592002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundacin
Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.

The song featured in the soundtrack of Gurinder

Chadha's 2010 lm Its a Wonderful Afterlife.

[19] "Swisscharts.com Black Wonderful Life. Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

[20] Jaaroverzichten 1987 (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[21] Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1987 (in Dutch). Dutch Top
40. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[22] Jaaroverzichten Single 1987 (in Dutch). Single Top
100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[23] Jahreshitparade 1988 (in German). Austriancharts.at.
Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[24] TOP 1988 (in French). Top-france.fr. Retrieved 6
June 2014.
[25] French single certications Black Wonderful Life (in
French). InfoDisc. Select BLACK and click OK
[26] Les Singles en Or (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 6
June 2014.
[27] Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Black; 'Wonderful Life')" (in
German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
[28] Mathilde Santing Ocile Gambling. Mathildesanting.info. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
[29] "Nederlandse Top 40 Matilde Santing And The Oversoul 13 - Wonderful Life search results (in Dutch) Dutch
Top 40. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[30] "Dutchcharts.nl Matilde Santing & The Oversoul 13
Wonderful Life (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6
June 2014.
[31] "Australian-charts.com Tina Cousins Wonderful
Life. ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[32] "Tina Cousins:
Wonderful Life (in Finnish).
Musiikkituottajat IFPI Finland. Retrieved 6 June
2014.
[33] "Tina Cousins: Artist Chart History Ocial Charts
Company. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[34] Smith & Burrows at the Wayback Machine (archived 3
December 2011). Smithandburrows.co.uk. Retrieved 30
November 2011.
[35] nero (3 September 2015). Katie Melua Wonderful Life
Single. Colinvearncombe.com. Retrieved 30 January
2016.
[36] Fleury Michon + Black (in French). Musiquedepub.tv.
Retrieved 6 June 2014.
[37] Emirates Wonderful Life Dubai on YouTube

10

External links

Wonderful Life lyrics

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
Wonderful Life page, with video, at wonderfullife.info

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