Wonderful Life (Black song)


"Wonderful Life" is a song by the English singer Black from his 1986 album of the same name. It 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, it initially peaked at no. 72 on the UK Singles Chart. The label and Vearncombe then decided to re-release the song with a new record company, A&M Records after the success of "Sweetest Smile" and the single reached a higher peak of no. 8 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1987.

Reception

The song was described by AllMusic as a "seductive, bittersweet ballad". The Daily Telegraph 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 was shot in black and white around the English seaside resort of Southport, Merseyside, as well as Wallasey near Black's hometown of Liverpool, 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 in 1988.

Formats and track listings

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

    Charts

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position
Australia 7

Chart Peak
position

Chart Peak
position
Slovenia 26

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Austria 8
Europe 30
France 11
Italy 23

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 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 and 100 Love Songs .

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Tina Cousins version

British singer Tina Cousins recorded a cover version of the song for her second studio album Mastermind. This version had moderate success, peaking at number 17 on the Australian and Finnish Singles Charts and at number 58 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2005, a dance and a ballad of this cover version were used in the Australian miniseries "The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant" on Channel 10. Since 2007, both the dance and ballad versions of Cousins' cover of the song have been used at the Hoyts cinemas in Australia directly prior to the start of a movie. Now only the ballad version is used. In 2008 the song was featured in a United Nations television advert raising awareness of human trafficking.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other cover versions

Macedonian alternative rock band Arhangel recorded a version of the song for their 1993 album Arhangel 2. Serbian punk rock band KBO! recorded a version of the song on their 2001 cover album Menjajte Stanicu. Spanish singer Rosa López recorded a Spanish cover of the song entitled "Bella Vida" on her 2008 album Promesas. It was also released as the second single from the album. In 2009, German techno group Scooter sampled the song on their single "The Sound Above My Hair". In 2011, Kim Wilde covered the song in the album Snapshots. The same year, the song featured on the Christmas album Funny Looking Angels by Smith & Burrows, a collaboration between Tom Smith and Andy Burrows. Slow Moving Millie covered the song on her album Renditions.
Various other cover versions have been produced, by artists including Seeed, TJ Davis, Tony Hadley, Giuliano Palma & the Bluebeaters, Ace of Base, Lara Fabian, Myslovitz, Zucchero, Csézy, The Hoosiers, Julio Iglesias Jr., Perturbazione, Rob de Nijs, Kirka, Saule, Perry Rose, Kate Ryan, and Stefan Gruenwald, Lokee & Pearl Andersson in 2016, after Colin's death.
A version by Katie Melua 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 and The Children's Hospital Charity.

Use in the media