"Standing in the Rain" is a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

song recorded by Australian pop singer

John Paul Young John Inglis Young, OAM (born 21 June 1950), known professionally as John Paul Young, is a Scottish-born Australian pop singer who had his 1978 worldwide hit with " Love Is in the Air". His career was boosted by regular appearances as a perfor ...

. It was released in Europe in February 1977 and in Australia in December 1977 as the third and final single from Young's third studio album, '' J.P.Y.'' (1976). The song was written by George Young and

Harry Vanda Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg (born 22 March 1946), better known as his stage name Harry Vanda, is a Dutch Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as lead guitarist of the 1960s Australian rock band the Easy ...

. The song peaked at number 12 on the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

in Australia, remaining on the chart for 27 weeks. In Europe it reached No. 2 in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, No. 3 in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, No. 4 in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and No. 11 in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Background

"Keep on Smilin'" was sent to Europe in 1977 to be released as the second single by John Paul Young from the '' J.P.Y.'' album as it was in Australia. German disc jockeys preferred the B-side, "Standing in the Rain", and flipped the single. The result was a charting success across Europe: the song reached No. 2 in

, No. 3 in

, No. 4 in

and No. 11 in

. "Standing in the Rain" was released as the A-side in Australia in December 1977. It peaked at number 12 on the

Singles Chart. In an interview with Drum Media in 2009, Young explains “We'd sent over a song called " Keep On Smilin'" and "Standing in the Rain" was on the B-side. There was a guy working for ecord labelAriola, who didn't like "Keep On Smilin'" at all and turned it over and thought this might have something. He decided to sidestep the radio stations and went straight to a DJ friend in a club and it got played and it just bled from there into the charts and stayed in the charts for forty-something weeks.” In 1987, Young issued ''The Golden Dance-Floor Hits Vol. 10'', a three-track extended play on German label

ZYX Records ZYX Music GmbH & Co. KG is a German record label that was founded in 1971 by Bernhard Mikulski. It is one of the most successful German record labels of the 1980s and 1990s. Until 1992, the label's name was Pop-Import Bernhard Mikulski. The labe ...

. The album is a part of ''The Golden Dance-Floor Hits'' series. It provided two extended remix versions of "Standing in the Rain".

Track listing

; European 7" (Ariola 911 130) * Side A: "Standing in the Rain" - 4:21 * Side B: " Keep On Smilin'" - 3:02 ; Australian 7" vinyl (AP- 11618) * Side A: "Standing in the Rain" - 4:21 * Side B: "Same Old Thing" - 3:02 ;''The Golden Dance-Floor Hits Vol. 10'' (1987) ZYX Records (ZYX 8-5630) # "Standing in the Rain" (Extended Mix) (

, George Young) – 8:05 # " Love Is in the Air" (

, George Young) – 3:31 # "Standing in the Rain" (Extended Mix Backing Track) (

, George Young) – 8:00

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

1992 The Bogo Pogo Mix

"Standing in the Rain (The Bogo Pogo mix)" was released in November 1992 as the second single from the ''

Strictly Ballroom ''Strictly Ballroom'' is a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann in his feature directorial debut. The film is the first in his "Red Curtain Trilogy" of theatre-motif-related films; it was followed by 1996 ...

'' soundtrack (1992).

Track listing

; Australian/ New Zealand CD single (659545 2) # "Standing in the Rain" (The Bogo Pogo Mix) - 3:02 # "

Yesterday's Hero ''Yesterday's Hero'' is a 1979 British drama film directed by Neil Leifer and starring Ian McShane, Suzanne Somers, Adam Faith, Paul Nicholas and Cary Elwes (in his film debut). It also features Glynis Barber and Emma Samms in their early ...

" (Ignatius Jones cover) - 3:23 # "Yesterday's Hero" (original Version) - 3:43

References

{{John Paul Young 1976 songs 1977 singles 1992 singles Songs written by Harry Vanda Songs written by George Young (rock musician) Song recordings produced by Harry Vanda Song recordings produced by George Young (rock musician) John Paul Young songs Albert Productions singles Ariola Records singles