"Wonderful Life" is a song by the English singer

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

from his 1987 album ''Wonderful Life''. The song was released twice as a single and was successful the second time, becoming a top ten hit in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK. Black, who wrote the song while broke, commented: "I was really being ironic... Most people took it at face value."

Single release

First released in 1986 by

Ugly Man Records Ugly Man Records is a British independent record label based in Rhos on Sea, Wales, originally in Manchester. It released debut singles for many Manchester bands, including Elbow, the Man From Delmonte and I Am Kloot. It was set up in Bootle, ...

, it initially peaked at no. 72 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 ...

. The label and Vearncombe then decided to re-release the song with a new record company,

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

after the success of " Sweetest Smile" and the single reached a higher peak of no. 8 on the chart in August 1987.

Reception

In a contemporary review in '' Smash Hits'', Vici McDonald called it a "wonderful record sentimental without being slushy". She went on: "It's heartening to see someone who a) isn't particularly handsome, b) has a spook-name (i.e. Colin Vearncombe), c) has no discernible 'image' and d) writes slightly odd lyrics, get into the charts purely on the strength of their music, which in this case is very strong indeed." The song was described by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

as a "seductive, bittersweet ballad". ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' said: "Its oddly uplifting lyrics... combined with Black's melancholy croon created, as one critic observed, 'luxuriantly melodic pop that sounds something like a male version of Sade'."

Music video

The music video, shot in black and white, was filmed around the English seaside resort of

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...

, as well as Wallasey near Black's hometown of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, and features New Brighton Lighthouse and promenade. The video includes the Looping Star rollercoaster, a ride at Pleasureland at the time, as well as The Galleon fairground ride, the shrimping boat, local shops and residents. It was directed by Gerard de Thame, husband of television presenter Rachel de Thame, and won an award at the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, i ...

in 1988.

Personnel

Musicians

Colin Vearncombe Colin Vearncombe (26 May 1962 – 26 January 2016), known by his stage name Black, was an English singer-songwriter. He emerged from the punk rock music scene and achieved mainstream pop success in the late 1980s, most notably with the 1986 sin ...

–

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 ...

*Roy Corkill –

fretless bass A fretless bass is a bass guitar whose neck does not have any frets. While the instrument is played in all styles of music, it is most common in pop, rock, and jazz. It first saw widespread use during the 1970s, although some players used them befo ...

*Jimmy Hughes – drums *Martin Green –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

*Dave "Dix" Dickie – keyboards, programming *The Creamy Whirls (Tina Labrinski, Sara Lamarra), Doreen Edwards –

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

*Jimmy Sangster – fretted bass *The Sidwell Brothers –

brass section The brass section of the orchestra, concert band, and jazz ensemble consist of brass instruments, and is one of the main sections in all three ensembles. The British-style brass band contains only brass and percussion instruments. They contain ...

Production

*Recorded at Powerplant Studios (

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

), Square One Studio ( Bury) and Pink Studio (

Formats and track listings

;7" single #"Wonderful Life" – 4:49 #"Life Calls" – 3:51 ;12" maxi single #"Wonderful Life" – 4:49 #"Life Calls" – 3:51 #"Had Enough" – 4:58 #"All We Need Is the Money" – 4:23

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Mathilde Santing version

Dutch singer Mathilde Santing recorded her own cover version of "Wonderful Life" on her 1999 album ''To Others to One''. It was released as a

maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, " In the Summertime" was t ...

and was used in a television advertisement for Interpolis, a Dutch insurance company, in 2005. In addition to the album ''To Others to One'', it is also on the albums ''20 jaar hits 1981–2001 (Muziek 20 Daagse 2001)'' and ''100 Love Songs 008'.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Tina Cousins version

British singer

Tina Cousins Tina Patricia Cousins (born 20 April 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and former model. She has had five singles in the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with others, including " Mysterious Times" w ...

covered "Wonderful" for her second studio album, ''

Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of th ...

'' (2005). She recorded it at Charlton Farm Studios in Bath, England. This version, produced by Louie Nicastro and Tom Maddicott, was released in Australia on 30 May 2005 and reached number 17 on the country's ARIA Singles Chart the following month. In the United Kingdom, following a digital release in late November 2005, the cover debuted and peaked at number 58 on the

on 4 December 2005. The song also charted in Finland, reaching number 17 on the

Finnish Singles Chart The Official Finnish Charts ( fi, Suomen virallinen lista; sv, Finlands officiella lista) are national record charts in Finland compiled and published by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The name ''Suomen virallinen lista/Finlands officiell ...

Track listings

UK CD single #"Wonderful Life" (dance radio edit) #"Wonderful Life" (ballad version) #"Wonderful Life" (extended mix) #"Wonderful Life" (Kenny Hayes Sunshine Funk remix) #"Wonderful Life" (Lee S remix) #"Wonderful Life" (Low Frequency Occupation club mix) UK digital download #"Wonderful Life" (dance radio edit) – 3:53 #"Wonderful Life" (extended mix) – 8:18 #"Wonderful Life" (Kenny Hayes Sunshine Funk remix) – 6:25 #"Wonderful Life" (Lee S remix) – 6:20 #"Wonderful Life" (ballad version) – 3:20 #"Wonderful Life" (Low Frequency Occupation club mix) – 7:18 Australian and New Zealand maxi-CD single #"Wonderful Life" (dance version) – 3:53 #"Wonderful Life" (ballad version) – 3:20 #"Wonderful Life" (Low Frequency Occupation radio edit) – 3:50 #"Wonderful Life" (Low Frequency Occupation club mix) – 7:18 #"Wonderful Life" (Methods of Flow club mix) – 6:12 #"Wonderful Life" (Low Frequency Occupation Dubful Life) – 6:36

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the UK CD single liner notes. Studio *Recorded at Charlton Farm Studios ( Bath,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England) Personnel *Colin Vearncombe – writing *Louie Nicastro, Tom Maddicott – production *Sil Wilcox – worldwide representation *PixelFrame.com.au – cover design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Other cover versions

In 2011, the song featured on the Christmas album '' Funny Looking Angels'' by Smith & Burrows, a collaboration between Tom Smith (

Editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

) and

Andy Burrows Andrew William Burrows (born 30 June 1979) is an English songwriter and musician. He's best known as the drummer for Razorlight from 2004 until 2009 before rejoining in 2021. He's also served as the drummer for We Are Scientists from 2009 to ...

(

We Are Scientists We Are Scientists is a New York City-based rock band that formed in Berkeley, California, in 1999. It consists primarily of guitarist and vocalist Keith Murray and bass guitarist Chris Cain, with drummer Keith Carne joining the band in the studi ...

and ex-

Razorlight Razorlight are an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in London by lead singer and guitarist Johnny Borrell. Along with Borrell, the current line-up of the band is composed of founding members Björn Ågren on guitar and bassist Carl Delemo ...

). A version by

Katie Melua Ketevan Katie Melua (; ka, ქეთევან "ქეთი" მელუა, ; born 16 September 1984) is a Georgian and British singer and songwriter. She was born in Kutaisi and raised in Belfast and London. Under the management of com ...

was originally included on the BBC Radio 2's ''Sounds of the 80s'' compilation album, and was subsequently released as a single in aid of

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospit ...

and The Children's Hospital Charity.

Use in the media

*The song was used in TV advertisements for Fleury Michon meat products in France in the 2000s, but was not sung by Black. *In 2008/2009 it was used by

Emirates Airlines Emirates ( ar, طَيَران الإمارات DMG: ''Ṭayarān Al-Imārāt'') is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Etihad). Based in Garhoud, Dubai, the airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, whic ...

to promote air travel to

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

. *In 2015 it was covered by

for

Premier Inn Premier Inn is a British limited service hotel chain and the UK's largest hotel brand, with more than 72,000 rooms and 800 hotels. It operates hotels in a variety of locations including city centres, suburbs and airports competing with the like ...

's £25 million TV advertising campaign.

References

External links

"Wonderful Life"
– lyrics
"Wonderful Life"
page, with video, at wonderfullife.info {{Authority control 1986 songs 1986 singles 1987 singles 1994 singles 1999 singles 2001 singles 2005 singles A&M Records singles Black (singer) songs Black-and-white music videos Kate Ryan songs Katie Melua songs Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Poland Pop ballads Songs about loneliness Tina Cousins songs Zucchero Fornaciari songs 1980s ballads