"Hello Mr. Monkey" is the debut single by German all-girl trio,

Arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

. Initially released only in Germany in 1977, it was released worldwide the following year in 1978.

Track listing

# A. "Hello Mr. Monkey" - 3:27 # B. "Buggy Boy" - 2:55

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". It features

Mary Ann Nagel Rita Nagel, known professionally as Mary Ann Nagel, is a German people, German singer. Nagel is notable for being the founding member of the Arabesque (group), Arabesque girl group in 1977. Life and career Mary Ann Nagel was born as Rita Nagel in ...

on lead vocals, with Karen Ann Tepperis and

Michaela Rose Michaela Rose is a German singer. She was an original member of the Arabesque disco group that started in 1977, and is the only original member still active in it. As of 2020, she continues to perform with the group, now known as "Arabesque featu ...

as backup singers. The song was a huge hit in Asia, particularly Japan and South Korea, spending weeks at number one. However, it failed to chart in Germany and other European countries. Arabesque gave their first ever public appearance on October 16, 1977, performing the song on the German Pop '77 program on ARD.

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 is a Japanese music group founded in 1989. It consists of Takkyu Ishino and Pierre Taki. History Denki Groove was founded in 1989 by Takkyu Ishino and Pierre Taki, both of whom are natives of Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. The group's major-lab ...

sampled the song for "Hello! Mr. Monkey Magic Orchestra", the final track from the 2000 album ''Voxxx''.

References

{{authority control 1977 songs 1977 debut singles Arabesque (group) songs Number-one singles in Japan Victor Records singles