"Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" is a 1979 single by German Euro disco band
Boney M. as an adaptation of the song, "
Polly Wolly Doodle". Despite breaking their row of 7 consecutive German #1 singles, peaking at #4, the single was a big hit all over Europe, peaking at #3 in the UK. The song and its
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
, "Ribbons of Blue", were taken from the movie ''Disco Fever''. "Ribbons of Blue" has a strong country feel with the addition of a pedal steel guitar. Even though the single cover announced the arrival of the next Boney M. album, ''
Oceans of Fantasy
''Oceans of Fantasy'' is the fourth studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M. Released in September 1979, ''Oceans of Fantasy'' became the second Boney M. album to top the UK charts and features the hits " El Lute / Gotta Go Home" and " I'm B ...
'', it would still be another six months before the album was released, and of the two songs, only "Ribbons of Blue" (penned by the group's drummer,
Keith Forsey) was included and just in a one- or two-minute edit, depending on the pressing.
Single
Unlike other Boney M. singles, there appears to be no different mixes. In Germany, this was the first single to picture a specially designed label with a star-spangled Boney M. logo on a blue background. In the UK, the single was released in a picture sleeve – it was also pressed on a
picture disc
Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...
and a 12" clear yellow vinyl with card picture cover insert.
Reception
''
Smash Hits
''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...
'' said, "If a knees-up in a holiday camp is your idea of a good time, then you might possibly - just possibly - enjoy this excruciatingly dreadful singalongaboney. But make no mistake, whether you love it or hate it, you will hear it.
Chart positions
Releases
7" singles
* "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" (3:56) / "Ribbons of Blue" (4:02) – (Hansa Int. 100 444–100, Germany)
* "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" (3:56) / "Ribbons of Blue" (4:02) – (Atlantic K 11279 / Picture disc K 11279P, UK)
12" single
* "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" (3:56) / "Ribbons of Blue" (4:02) – (Atlantic K 11279T, UK)
"Hooray! Hooray! (Caribbean Night Fever)"
"Hooray! Hooray! (Caribbean Night Fever)" is a
Double A-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
Boney M. single from 1999 with a new remix of their 1979 hit "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" and a
Megamix of their hits "
Brown Girl in the Ring", "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" and "
No Woman No Cry", all taken from their remix album ''
20th Century Hits'', released at the same time. The single fared poorly, peaking at just #79 in the German charts and #80 in the Swiss charts. After producer Frank Farian had dropped the idea of launching an all-new Boney M. line-up with young people, he announced that original lead singer
Liz Mitchell and her Boney M. line-up would promote the album before dropping this idea again. Consequently, the accompanying video featured a cartoon movie of the original group. The 12" single featured "Tropical" and "Carnival" mixes, both unavailable on CD.
Releases
CD
* Boney M. 2000: "Hooray! Hooray! (Caribbean Night Fever)" (BMG 74321 71064 2, 1999)
# "Caribbean Night Fever – Megamix" (Radio Edit) – 3:55
# "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" (Radio Edit) – 3:30
# "Caribbean Night Fever" (Extended Version) – 5:28
# "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" (Extended Version) – 4:26
# "Brown Girl in the Ring" (Remix) – 4:01
12" single
* Boney M. 2000: "Hooray! Hooray! (Caribbean Night Fever)" (BMG 74321 71114 1, 1999)
"Caribbean Night Fever – Megamix" (Extended Version) – 5:26 / "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" (Extended Version) – 4:26 / "Caribbean Tropical Mix" – 6:02 / "Caribbean Carnival Mix" – 6:02
Chart positions
Certifications
Cover versions
*The Spanish group
Parchís covered the song on their first LP under the same title, but sung completely in Spanish by the two female vocalists in the group: Gemma and Yolanda.
*Hong Kong singer
Susanna Kwan covered the song in Cantonese in 1979 as "Summer Delight" (夏日多歡享 ha yat dor foon heung) on her album ''Wing han dik foo pak'' (永恒的琥珀).
*Danish singer
Birthe Kjær covered the song in Danish in 1980 as "Hurra! Hurra! Sikken dejlig dag".
*
Ricky Martin
Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography incorporati ...
covered the song in Spanish in 1993 on his album ''
Me Amarás''.
*
The Cheeky Girls did a cover of this song, "(Hooray Hooray) It's a Cheeky Holiday", as a follow-up to their successful debut single, "
Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)". Their version gave them their third top-five hit in the UK, peaking at number three.
See also
*
List of music released by Romanian artists that has charted in major music markets
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooray! Hooray! It's A Holi-Holiday
1979 singles
1999 singles
2003 singles
Boney M. songs
European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Hansa Records singles
Multiply Records singles
Song recordings produced by Frank Farian
Songs written by Frank Farian