"Tragedy" is a song released by the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

, written by

Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

, included on their 1979 album ''

Spirits Having Flown ''Spirits Having Flown'' is the fifteenth album released by the Bee Gees. It was the group's first album after their collaboration on the '' Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack. The album's first three tracks were released as singles and all reac ...

''. The single reached number one in the UK in February 1979 and repeated the feat the following month on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 1998, it was successfully covered by British pop group Steps, whose version also reached number one in the UK.

Origin

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

and

Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician. He achieved fame as a member of the pop group Bee Gees. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main le ...

wrote this song and "

Too Much Heaven "Too Much Heaven" is a song by the Bee Gees, which was the band's contribution to the "Music for UNICEF" fund. They performed it at the Music for UNICEF Concert on 9 January 1979. The song later found its way to the group's thirteenth original ...

" in an afternoon off from making the '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' movie, in which they were starring. In the same evening, they wrote " Shadow Dancing", which was performed by

Andy Gibb Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He was the younger brother of Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Maurice, who went on to form the Bee Gees. Gibb came to pr ...

(and reached number one in the US). Though not originally in ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American dance drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian-American man from the Brooklyn borough of New York. Manero spends his ...

'', it has subsequently been added to the musical score of the West End version of the movie-

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

. The song knocked "

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 as the second single from her sixth album, '' Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. A top-selling song, it is a popular di ...

" by

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor ( née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" ( ...

off the top spot in the US for two weeks before that song again returned to number one for an additional week. "Tragedy" was the second single out of the three released from the album to interrupt a song's stay at #1. In the US, it would become the fifth of six consecutive number-ones, tying the record with

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, and

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

for most consecutive number-ones in the US--a record later broken by Whitney Houston, who had seven.

Reception

American magazine ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' felt that the song had similar intensity to "

Stayin' Alive "Stayin' Alive" is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees from the ''Saturday Night Fever'' motion picture soundtrack. The song was released in 1977 as the second single from the ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack. The band co-produced ...

" and that it had multiple vocal and instrumental

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

s and "graceful" harmonies. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said it has "vibrant

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

of synthesizer, guitars, horns, solid beat and dramatic vocals." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' called it "sizzling" and "up-tempo" and "with some classic progressions, high harmonies and an undercurrent of synthesizers."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

Steps version

"Tragedy" is a song by British pop group Steps. Issued as a double A-side with "

Heartbeat A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart. Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to: Computing *Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system *Heartbeat, clus ...

", it was released on 9 November 1998. Initially not included on any album, the song was later included on their second album, ''

Steptacular ''Steptacular'' is the second studio album by British pop group Steps, released in the United Kingdom on 25 October 1999, through Jive Records. The album was accompanied by five singles; "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart", "After the Love Has Gon ...

'' (1999). "Heartbeat" / "Tragedy" reached number one in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. In the former country, it spent 30 weeks 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 sold more copies than all three previous Steps singles combined, with 1.21 million copies sold in the UK. The video for "Tragedy", originally a hit written and performed by the

, contained the dance step of putting both hands parallel to the sides of the head in time with the word "tragedy", which became a trademark of the group.

Critical reception

Scottish newspaper ''

Aberdeen Evening Express The ''Evening Express'' is a daily local newspaper serving the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. History It was first published in November 1879. It was a tabloid during the 1930s to the 1950s until it resumed as a broadsheet in November 1958, six da ...

'' stated that Steps "did such a sparkling remake" of the song, noting that it "gets [''

''] off to a discotastic start". AllMusic editor Jon O'Brien described it as a "triumphant cover". Lucas Villa from AXS (company), AXS wrote that Claire Richards, Claire, Faye Tozer, Faye and

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

's "powerful performances (coupled with that iconic hands dance step) made "Tragedy" an undeniable dance floor anthem." A reviewer from '' Daily Record'' commented, "Once again, Steps have come up with a catchy tune and the reworking of Tragedy has clubbers mimicking the band's dance techniques."

Music video

The accompanying

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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Tragedy" was directed by David Amphlett. It starts with a

Doraemon ''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with List of Doraemon chapters, its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ' ...

-shaped alarm clock ringing and sees Faye, Claire, and Lisa getting married. The lads, Lee and H, sabotage all three weddings before they all go to a disco. The church and disco scenes were filmed in All Saints' Church,

Harrow Weald Harrow Weald is a suburban district in Greater London, England. Located about north of Harrow, Harrow Weald is formed from a leafy 1930s suburban development along with ancient woodland of Harrow Weald Common. It forms part of the London Boro ...

, London and the adjoining

Blackwell Hall Blackwell Hall in the City of London (also known as Bakewell Hall) was the centre for the wool and cloth trade in England from mediaeval times until the 19th century. Cloth manufacturers and clothiers from provincial England brought their material ...

, respectively. The external location shots of the boys leaving their house and driving were filmed in

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

, South London. The group's actual families all took part in the video, with the girls' fathers walking them down the aisle, and record producer

Pete Waterman Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterm ...

appears as the wedding DJ.

Track listings

* UK and Australian CD single # "

" – 4:24 # "Tragedy" – 4:31 # "Heartbeat" (instrumental) – 4:24 * UK cassette single and European CD single # "Heartbeat" – 4:24 # "Tragedy" – 4:31 * US CD and cassette single # "Tragedy" (LP version) – 4:30 # "Stay with Me" – 4:04

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''Steptacular''. Recording * Recorded at PWL Studios, Manchester in 1998 * Mixed at PWL Studios, Manchester * Mastered at Transfermation Studios, London Vocals * Lead vocals – Claire Richards, Faye Tozer * Background vocals – Lisa Scott-Lee, Lee Latchford-Evans, Ian "H" Watkins Personnel * Songwriting – Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb * Production – Mark Topham, Karl Twigg, Pete Waterman * Mixing – Dan Frampton, Pete Waterman * Engineer – Chris McDonnell * Drums – Chris McDonnell * Keyboards – Karl Twigg * Guitars – Mark Topham

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Foo Fighters version

In 2021, American rock band

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

, under their alter ego, the 'Dee Gees', covered the song for their album '' Hail Satin''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tragedy (Song) 1979 songs 1979 singles 1998 singles Bee Gees songs British disco songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles RSO Records singles Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb Song recordings produced by Barry Gibb Song recordings produced by Robin Gibb Song recordings produced by Maurice Gibb Steps (group) songs Foo Fighters songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand

Origin

Reception

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

Steps version

Critical reception

Music video

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Foo Fighters version

See also

References