"Happiness" is a song by the English duo

Goldfrapp Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo from London, formed in 1999. The duo consists of Alison Goldfrapp (vocals, synthesiser) and Will Gregory (synthesiser). Despite favourable reviews and a short-listing for the Mercury Prize, their ...

from their fourth studio album, ''

Seventh Tree ''Seventh Tree'' is the fourth studio album by English electronic music duo Goldfrapp, released on 22 February 2008 by Mute Records. It was named after a dream Alison Goldfrapp had about a "very large tree". Taking inspiration from paganism and ...

'' (2008). Written and produced by Alison Goldfrapp and

Will Gregory William Owen Gregory (born 17 September 1959) is an English musician and record producer. He is best known as the lead keyboardist, producer, and composer of the electronic music duo Goldfrapp. Early life Gregory was born in Bristol, the son ...

, the song was released as the album's second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on 14 April 2008. It was featured in advertisements for the newly rebranded SyFy network. It reached number 25 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and remains their last top 40 hit. In Scotland, the single peaked at number 6.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Happiness" was directed by

Dougal Wilson Dougal Stewart Wilson (born August 1971) is an English director of commercials and music videos. His work includes directing several John Lewis Christmas adverts and the Grammy-nominated music video for "Life in Technicolor II" (2009) by Coldpla ...

.Knight, David
"Goldfrapp's Happiness by Dougal Wilson"
Promo News. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2008. The video features a young man (George Foster) dressed in a white suit, jumping joyfully around

Addington Square Addington Square is a Georgian and Regency garden square in Camberwell in the London Borough of Southwark which is named after the early 19th century prime minister Henry Addington. History Addington Square is an unusually well-preserved c ...

in Camberwell, South London. The video, a homage to the "Street Dance" sequence from the 1953 American musical film '' Small Town Girl'', begins with Alison Goldfrapp sitting on the front steps of a house when suddenly the young man appears jumping up a set of steps next to her. Goldfrapp makes additional

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

s in the video as a black-haired bus traveller, a policewoman, a topiarist, and a braided flower stand keeper. Will Gregory makes similar appearances as, among others, a street sweeper and a postman. The video concludes with the cast of background characters coming together along with the young man, who then jumps in a circle with young children and a dancing dog. In the final scene, two elderly people—Goldfrapp and Gregory—arrive to join the revelry.

Track listings

*CD single 1 (UK) #"Happiness" (Single Version) – 3:38 #"Road to Somewhere" (Acoustic Version) – 3:48 *CD single 2 (UK) #"Happiness" (

Beyond the Wizards Sleeve Erol Alkan (born 30 May 1974) is an English DJ and producer of Turkish Cypriot descent. He grew up in Archway in North London. Career DJ and club promoter In 1993, Erol Alkan started DJing in various indie nightclubs in London. His fir ...

Re-Animation) – 7:49 #"Monster Love" (Goldfrapp vs.

Spiritualized Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centered on Pi ...

) – 5:36 #"Eat Yourself" (

Yeasayer Yeasayer () was an American experimental rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2006. The band consisted of Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder. They announced their split on December 19, 2019. History Formation The band's thr ...

Remix) – 2:25 *7-inch limited picture disc (UK) #"Happiness" (Single Version) – 3:38 #"Happiness" (

Metronomy Metronomy are an English electronic music group formed in 1999. As of 2021, the band consists of Joseph Mount (vocals, keyboards and guitar), Oscar Cash (keyboards, backing vocals, guitar and saxophone), Anna Prior (drums and vocals), Olugbeng ...

Remix feat.

The Teenagers The Teenagers are an American music group, most noted for being one of rock music's earliest successes, presented to international audiences by DJ Alan Freed. The group, which made its most popular recordings with young Frankie Lymon as lead s ...

) – 4:10 *Digital single #"Happiness" (Single Version) – 3:37 #"Happiness" (Metronomy Remix feat. The Teenagers) – 4:10 #"Road to Somewhere" (Acoustic Version) – 3:50 #"Happiness" (Beyond the Wizards Sleeve Re-Animation) – 7:48 #"Monster Love" (Goldfrapp vs. Spiritualized) – 5:37 #"Eat Yourself" (Yeasayer Remix) – 2:26 #"Happiness" (Live at the Union Chapel) – 4:42

Personnel

The following people contributed to "Happiness":''Seventh Tree'' (CD liner notes). Mute Records. February 2008.

Musicians

* Alison Goldfrapp –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Charlie Jones Charles, Charlie, Charley or Chuck Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Chuck Jones (1912–2002), American animator, director, and producer * Charles Jones (c. 1889–1942), American actor better known as Buck Jones * Charles Jones (pho ...

– bass *

Metro Voices Metro Voices is a choir group based in London, England, that specialises in performing for the motion pictures. They work closely with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and with acclaimed British composer Craig Armstrong. They are known from the ...

–

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

*Jenny O'Grady – choir master *

Damon Reece Damon Reece (born 16 February 1967) is an English drummer, who has been a member of Spiritualized, Echo & the Bunnymen and Lupine Howl. Career Growing up in Croydon and drumming in the indie band Abdul & the Casbah Cruisers, Reece moved to Li ...

– drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

Production

*Alison Goldfrapp – producer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

, art direction *

– producer, engineer *Cathy Edwards – art direction *Flood – co-producer *

Tony Hoffer Tony Hoffer is an American record producer, songwriter, and music mixer. Career Hoffer is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air. His records have bee ...

– mixing *Serge Leblon –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

*Mat Maitland – art direction,

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

*Stephen Marcussen – mastering *Bill Mims – assistant mixing *Tim Oliver –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

Charts

References

{{authority control 2008 singles 2008 songs Goldfrapp songs Mute Records singles Song recordings produced by Flood (producer) Songs written by Alison Goldfrapp Songs written by Will Gregory