"Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)" is a 1990

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

recorded by the French TV presenter and humorist

Lagaf' Vincent Rouil (; born 30 October 1959 in Mont-Saint-Aignan), better known as Vincent Lagaf' (), is a French humorist, TV presenter, singer and actor. Biography In 1987, Vincent Lagaf', who had just arrived in Paris, came to national attention as ...

. It was his debut single and achieved success in France.

Background and writing

In one of his sketches, French humorist

Vincent Lagaf' Vincent Rouil (; born 30 October 1959 in Mont-Saint-Aignan), better known as Vincent Lagaf' (), is a French humorist, TV presenter, singer and actor. Biography In 1987, Vincent Lagaf', who had just arrived in Paris, came to national attention as ...

(Vincent Rouil), who featured on several TV programs in the 1980s and 1990s, commented on how easy it was to produce a hit single during the

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

period, as the repetitive music distracts the audience from the words, reduced to a bare and trivial content. As the sketch had a great success, he decided to released it as an unpretentious but ironic single, built with deliberately very poor lyrics: in the song, Lagaf' explains that, to produce a hit every year, it is enough to barely change the words: the first year, he can sing "il est beau le lavabo" ("the

sink A sink is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture for washing hands, dishwashing, and other purposes. Sinks have a tap (faucet) that supply hot and cold water and may include a spray feature to be used for faster rinsing. They also include a drain to ...

is beautiful"), the second year, "il est laid le bidet" ("the

bidet A bidet ( or ) is a bowl or receptacle designed to be sat on in order to wash one's genitalia, perineum, inner buttocks, and anus. The modern variety has a plumbed-in water supply and a drainage opening, and is thus a plumbing fixture subjec ...

is ugly"), and the third year, he mixes both versions. The music uses a sample recorded by

Lil Louis Marvin Burns (born May 13, 1962), known by his stage name Li'l Louis (sometimes expanded to Li'l Louis & the World and Li'l Louis & the Party), is a Chicago-born house-music producer and DJ .Larkin, Colin (1999) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Da ...

from his song "

French Kiss A French kiss, also known as cataglottism or a tongue kiss, is an amorous kiss in which the participants' tongues extend to touch each other's lips or tongue. A kiss with the tongue stimulates the partner's lips, tongue and mouth, which are sens ...

", which was released in 1989. After this unexpected success, Lagaf' released a new single the following year, "

La Zoubida "La Zoubida" () is a 1991 novelty song recorded by the French TV presenter and humorist Vincent Lagaf'. In May 1991, it was the second single from his album ''Le Lavabo''. It became the summer hit of 1991, staying at the top of the French Singles ...

", which was even more successful than "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)", as it was number one for 11 weeks."La Zoubida," French Singles Chart
Lescharts.com
(Retrieved December 26, 2007)

Chart performances

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)" debuted at number 40 of the chart edition of 24 March 1990, then climbed regularly on the chart and eventually reached number one in its 13th week, dislodging

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

's hit "

Sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...

", but was replaced the next week at this position by

Zouk Machine Zouk Machine is an all-female zouk group from Guadeloupe which had several hits, particularly in France, such as the summer number-one single on French SNEP Singles Chart "Maldòn (la musique dans la peau)", in 1990 that sold over 1 million copi ...

's summer hit " Maldòn' (la musique dans la peau)". It cumulated 18 weeks in the top ten and fell off the top 50 after 28 weeks. The single was certified

Gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique The National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing (french: Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique; SNEP) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym ...

, the French certificator, for 400,000 units.. ''Select "Lagaf'" from the drop-down menu and click "OK"''. On the

European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and '' Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)" charted for 24 weeks, nine of them in the top 20. It debuted at number 81 on 28 April 1990 and reached number seven in its tenth week of presence.

Formats and track listings

* CD single, CD single France (Lagaf' – "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)") (accessdate : 2 September 2021). # "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)" — 3:50 # "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)" (bonus) — 1:00 # "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)" (forbidden version) — 5:00 * 7" single, 7" single France (Lagaf' – "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)") (accessdate : 2 September 2021). # "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)" — 3:50 # "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)" (forbidden version) — 5:00 * 12" maxi, 12" maxi France (Lagaf' – "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)") (accessdate : 2 September 2021). # "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)" — 3:50 # "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)" (bonus) — 1:00 # "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)" (forbidden version) — 5:00

Charts

Peak positions

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bo Le Lavabo Novelty songs 1990 debut singles Lagaf' songs SNEP Top Singles number-one singles 1990 songs