🤣🤣🤣🤣

😂😂😂

As a lover of overly narrow superlatives, I believe this is the best comment ever made by a guy names Rudy on a video sharing platform about a video from a musical about Chess.

Ah but what about..... No you're right!

:)

It's written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus from ABBA. With that in mind you can hear some similarities to the late ABBA's Disco Sound. But I agree with you in that point that scandinavians often come up with catchy but in a special way "strange" music, starting with Griegs "Mornining Mood" or "In The Hall of the Mountain King" up to Europe and a-ha. You'll always ask yourself "Why did no one come up with that idea earlier? Now that I hear it it's so simple ..."

Are you familiar with this song's source? This is from Chess, a musical that was successful on both the West End and Broadway, as well as world tours. The musical is about the cold war between the USA and the USSR through the lens of chess, and is very heavy handed in using chess and chess tournaments as an analogy for how both superpowers pulled global politics into their games. Murray Head played Trumper, who was loosely based on American chess legend Bobby Fischer. His Russian opponent was loosely based (extremely loosely) on Anatoly Karpov, one of the greatest chessmasters in all of human history. Many of Trumper's songs have a flippant American rock star vibe while most of Anatoly's songs are dramatic with classical sophistication. So "One Night in Bangkok" stands out in the musical, as well as on the radio. By the way, Murray Head is in character in this music video. Trumper honestly believes he is intellectually superior to everyone and can't be bothered with banal pursuits such as tourism or sex, hence his dry, sardonic, and condescending tone. He stood out in the chess world because his second was a woman. When asked about it in press conferences, he clearly couldn't be bothered with something as trivial (to him) as gender, when it is the mind that matters. Too bad such a sentiment came from a character who is absolutely insufferable in almost every way. I think the woman featured so prominently in this video represents his second. In the musical, she is Hungarian, but Thai matches the tone of the song for the music video.

@@f.herumusu8341 Excellent points! I don't know why I didn't notice that before.

Robbie Williams adpoted a similar style to this with his song 'Rock DJ'

@@1974cfjl :D

Yes

I'm listening in 2091

Yes! It’s a weird song and video, but that’s probably just the style of the time. I like it though.

U betcha

Me

The line "I get my kicks above the waistline" and then he throws in that "sunshine", hurts my feelings.

"... I would invite you... But the queens we use would not excite you!"

excuse me my untoward comment but... his voice is really hot and the delivery makes it even better

I love playing music in context!

Why weren't you carrying a boombox?

@@donavonzerbest9530 next time for sure

​@@donavonzerbest9530because it's not 1991?

@@SchwarzeWitwe2 it's still the 80s in my head!

Really? In the video they show they don't have any chess skills. And this Is cool?

@@adleraufhohenflug3032 a song about chess is still just a song. just go play chess, no need to point out that a song about chess isn't actually displaying.. chess skills..

Yes we are.

ty. me and my buddy jammed to this song while flashing motorists,we were 13 at the time

My late brother got me hooked on this song ❤

me

Yes

Yes yes

Hell yeah!

Me.

You're the only thing that's useless

@@sallyjoanWhat do you mean!?

yes. it's a wonderful memory of the good old days. (daze)

now if they could provide a **proper forum** like arstechnica , it would a lot easier to find where you had posted stuff!

Your words hit me. Born in 1978, I am glad to live through the magical and fun 80s and the laid back and cool 90s.

I was in kindergarten for the second time!😅😅

A crazy painful time machine!

I agree.

Oh, thank you, that's such a comfort?

Yes! This song is great. Been coming back to it a lot lately

Wth does that even mean?

@@trillmexicanz He enjoys mental rather than sexual pleasure

@@trillmexicanz tell me when they answer

@@trillmexicanz basically he's more of a boobs and face kind of guy instead of an ass and legs guy

It stills slaps. I love that song

@@fredjutras5510 Most definitely Sir !

"Time flies, doesn't seem a minute since the Tirolean spa had the chess boys in it."

Hope you're having a great time! I was just thinking about this song at work the other day... :)

​@@Boxermom0317yes,I had a very good time in Bangkok. Tbh the Reclining Buddha grips me much more than a chess board....

@@fritzh.8553 To each their own... :)

HAHA WAY COOL THANKYOU HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS 😃😃😃😃😃👈👈👈👈👈👈👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

ma soeur qui est a bangkok m'a envoyé une vidéo d'une rue animée en pleine nuit et j'ai pensé direct a cette chanson que j'écoutais dans les années 80.j'avais 15 ans.

DaksLife 1 One night down under in Africa

Why are you forgetting Big in Japan? :D

What about nederwiet?

I know you guys aren't rating the Vegemite sandwich *I'm* contemplating

Ironically those songs came out in the 1980s

And now you can be a king...in bangkok...for one night

Woops..are you a chick? Sorry

@@paulflaubert7355, yes you silly big boy! Come on over in your PJ's for some pillow fun!! LOL, and stay well, safe and never lose your sense of humor! Pax

I’m 21 only reason I know this song is cuz of my grandparents and I couldn’t be more grateful. I love this song lol

@@michaelwertzy9808 bro what the heck are talking about

I was in Bangcock once, and I listened to this while I got my cockbanged.

Did you get your kicks above the waistline, sunshine.

@@spankynater4242 mostly! The rest is NSFW.

Doing the same thing right now in 2024. Sitting on top of Mahanakhon Tower, waiting for sunset and listening..

Could not agree more! Vibe is the word. Enchanting big city magic vibes.

@@hanspersson2015 yes, indeed. I fell absolutely in love with Bangkok.

Dankeschön an die Jungs von ABBA.....SWEDEN..MUSIK.......Genies🙂😇😊😊😊

@RECITE-GOD-HEAL-ME-EACH-SECOND ROFLMAO

Yes very

Yeah I only just heard it (over 40 here) and I love it!

Truly unique , I couldn't see and hear something like this in my history science and my whole life.

It still playes on the radio, because is so good

This statement will live on till 2030.. to be revisited, I'll set a timer for 6.5 years.

Amen. Turn it up

All that you listed my favorites too 😉 54 in Virginia 🇺🇲 ... Miss the 80's

Putin on the ritz by taco is next on the playlist

I was trying to remember the song that mentions Gary Cooper and that's it thanks

Same thing here I haven’t heard this since I was a kid. My mother had their album lol

This is what happens when the 20th centuries greatest song writing duo... get sick of writing pop music, and realize they have more money then they will ever need. Benny and Bjorn as appreciated as they are, its not enough.

i knew it sounded familiar, but i wasn't sure why

Ooohhh! I always thought this sound was reminiscent of gimmee! gimmee! gimmee!

One of my main influences as a bassist, he had a way of bouncing around a song while still making sure to underline the harmony. Knowing Me Knowing You is a fine example of how he wanders out a bit, but not too far that you never lose the bottom end. A fabulous player.

@@MrTuneslol SAME. I almost wanna try making a mashup of the two

@@reinegade I think it would turn out great! I'd love to hear it

Hypnotic

Anders Glenmark, part of the group Gemini with his sister

Considering this song refrences Thai lady boys im wondering if this wasn’t intentional

@@williamkarbala5718 You bet. Many people, unfortunately, immediately think of this when they hear Bangkok mentioned.

@@williamkarbala5718 At the time this was written, that particular part of Thai culture wasn't very well known - the sex industry was, but not the "lady boy" thing. Fairly sure it wasn't intentional, but knowing the writers they'd probably be fairly progressive about it.

​@JustinMaki-lu8ir Listening In 2027!

​@@jamiecardinal7211 😂 2069 here, we now have flying cars in the shape of Golden oysters

🎉🎉

2026

​@@genkidesu4325that year is nice

I'd argue it's literally one of the best lines ever written in music history! :D

Best line in the song .. I think lol

Me too

Same

And yet, it's not true for anybody lol

Yep I was saying I was a freshman in HS in 1980. It was fantastic time 80’s. Omg the fun we had. I wish my son could have experienced it. We were social, met friends, went out. Clubs later on in the city.

Wirbel Probleme irgendeiner Art?

Sin dudad los 80 s

Saludos cordiales desde Ecuador

@@dobber213 I remember being a kid in the 80s and my parents saying that same thing about the 60s..."you poor kids will never know how cool it really was". I guess whatever decade you grew up in will be that way. But I absolutely agree ...the 80s were totally awesome.

there’s no comparison.evertbody knows.

@@johndean4727 exactly

1984

I wanna get into more music like this! have any recommendations?

@@Squeakwee e=mc2 by Big audio dynamite. Great southern land by Icehouse. Amadeus by Falco

Get a shave and you won't look so freakin old :)

What a decade!

57, I hear you, brother.

Im getting old. I too get memories of some stuff, already a few decades ago before you know it. Damn

Heard this today on a radio station in NW Montana. Characteristic sound, not a song I ever paid much attention to before. Today, I dug into the internet, find out about it.

This shit still slaps

@@fredjutras5510🔥🔥 Fr on gd

RArw

This song is 40 years old. The crap of 2024 probably won't be playing in 2064.

the 2080s!

@@germanher7528 I’ll still not have enough money for the 80s

Never .. glad that I was there for it

Obviously, sure never

What do you mean ? See One Stinking Town ! I love this guy ! 🤣🤣🤣

Mr. Fluffycuddles! Tear Down this Wall!

42 kg Mazey Rottweiler defeated by 3kg cat - with one look :D

"Wouldn't you prefer a nice game of fetch?" "No. Let's play Global Thermonuclear War."

God I love this comment

You give your pets way too much money .

Really? Wow, did not know that.

@@CrustyLutheran yes,from The Musical Chess

Guess you haven't been to Bangkok

@@elisem1912 checkmate

So, you’re saying that no masterpiece has been written that encompassed any of those things you listed?

I must have fallen into the trap. Either big sarcasm or total idiocy. Tough to tell with text.

​@@elisem1912I've never seen those things in Bangkok because I'm not a degenerate

Not really! Was back in the day!

Exactamundo, so true.

@@killmore75 lemme guess…you are so brilliant and a true academic?

@@___LC___ Yessss!

@@killmore75 ah, you belong on r/iamverysmart

*SO TRUE I LOVE IT*

It is a song from a musical.

@@WingStorm Same here. It still sounds as fresh just as it did 36 years ago

back this anyday

Thank God

HOW GOOD WAS IT, I HAVENT SEEN IT.

This music video is epic.

I live for that flute solo in the middle.

I always thought he said "the queen's wheels would not excite you" I was always like "huh?"

Same

GO BACK TO YOUR BARS, TEMPLES, MESSAGE PARLORS.... 😂😂😂😂😂😅😅😅😅😅😆😆😆😆😆😏😏😏😏😏😩😩😩😩😩🤦🤦🤦🤦🤦🙁🙁🙁🙁🙁

As a child, I didn’t know of the “girly men” and it took until university to get what queens do excite people in Bangkok.

Cats man. Cat men. My God was not a she either !!!!

A smart and sexy song,yes quirky indeed 😉😊

Actually I can't think to a more 80ish musical videoclip than this, from its iconic and typical synth-built wall of sound to the hairstyle and fashion dress of the dancers and their choreography.

Yeah pure 80’s

Omg yes!! I lived on the roller rink in the 80's.

"Brass in Pocket" does that for me.

한국에서도 80년에 롤러장이 유행이었는데 어느나라에 사셨나요??

Yes!

I'm Listening too ❤❤❤

Nostalgic

a god in every golden oyster....?

It's about the cold war, how the hell does it transcend the decade? It's quintessentially about the 80s. For pity's sake.

I had the very same reaction in the 80s. 😎🎶

I had forgotten about this song. Been playing a lot since I've rediscovered 🎉🕺🏽

exactly....I think that is why it's timeless

​@@Projacked1learn to spell.

@@sallyjoancorrected...thanks

Jeffrey Riley.....You are absolutely right!.....And, of course.....it was!!!

I agree everything in life as a kid is full of Glory

Facts

@@midnightsopflame7292 it IS!

mankind, Shiva, Kahn + chess, but if animal version with fur or air breathiing fish vesrion, nobody yet knows...

Loved the groove and probably the older versions of 'spoken word' ...so cool

who is this thai girl?

"If you're lucky, the God's a SHE". Yeah way ahead of its time.

Точно!!! Поздрав од Македонија!!! ♥️🇲🇰♥️

The 60s and 70s were both better decades of music imho. :D

WHAT IS BANGKOK LIKE????

Like #MrRoboto!!! They could try, but you CAN'T make a song like this ANYMORE. It would NEVER be the same. I made my mom sit outside our apartment bldg parking lot, in the car, w volume up as HIGH as she would let it put at ... JUST so I could listen to the whole song!! Had not heard for such a long time! The 80s rocked and this song was one of the BEST!! This and #OneNightInBangkok , #PuttinOnTheRitz

It’s definitely held up. So funny! So 80s!

The music has held up, but the color gamut for video has improved drastically. It looks like an 'eighties episode of Dr. Who... or a soap opera.

this is coming from a 15 year old, this is much better than shit today

I was in I think jr high when this came out . Loved if then n now 😊

I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine. Burn.

I heard this tune in July 1985 in Tallinn, Estonia. And these sounds also spin in my head often.)))

Interesting. That just happened to me

I'm here for the same reason lol think l need to go visit lve always wondered will l crumble since the 80s

I know why it came to my head today though. I read Daily Mail today, 09.02.20 - the case in Thailand..

That is rocking

Laurin Standfield i love it too x x

Laurin Standfield - I heard it on the radio not long ago... How quaint of me.

😆👍🏼

Same

What type of music is this?

The Cars "Hallo!", try it too))

Love them❤

I'd put Joe Jackson's Steppin' Out in there

Definitely there were more, but of different styles. "Under Pressure" and "Vacanze Romane" cannot be mixed with anything else 🙂

friends of mr cairo

Kind of like "19" by Paul Hardcastle

This song was written by the guys from ABBA, yes exactly the same guys who wrote Dancing Queen, The Winner Takes It All, Mamma Mia and all their other hits

The lyrics are by Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Lion King)...he is one of the most clever lyricists ever. Brilliant really.

@@JF-sh2sm I know! ABBA guys are great!😊

It's also from a musical. It did decently well on the West End, but the original Broadway production in 1988 flopped pretty hard despite the cast being fabulous. It's still a cult favorite among musical fans.

Totally agree...the key changes are crazy

Benny & Bjorn from ABBA-dude. This was their vision. This was after ABBA split.

@@jeremevr6 Its such a unique track, even just on the Chess album. Iv spun the vinyl a few times. Nothing like it on the rest of the album. It got a spooky vibe to me because i personally know (knew) people who have gone missing in this city.

@@MyCatInABox I agree, it almost starts to not make sense if you replay it in your head too many times.🤦‍♂️ Can be a wicked little ear worm if your brain forgets the sudden key changes!

@@jeremevr6 I love ABBA. Even at 63 years old. I don't know about you, but I would love to hear this song with Agnetta and Frida singing.

Mine too...😆🤣😂

Explicitly for that which get their kicks under the waistline 😂

I believe he's referring to the Muay Thai boxers.

@Nicole PBJ It was some dark things in the lyrics that was kept away from the ordinary turists there, but if you dealt into that things a new world opened. But as he said, be careful. It was a really shithole back then.

I got my kicks below the waist line sunshine moi Thai 1985 bar maid Pattaya

I don't know, dude...the romantic period was pretty ground breaking

Move it back between 6-15 years and you'll see when music was at some of its most inventive, listen to almost everything up to the 60's it's all very similar with a few notable masterpieces that stand out, and then the 60's happens and you see an explosion of arts, a new psychedelic renaissance that created the sounds that shifted into the techno themed 80's definitely a unique decade but when it comes to sheer originality just listen thru the beatles discography in order so see the shift in musical style and willingness to break the norm, the 80's seems like the start of a shift back into more organized music again, 90's were a product, musicians famous for being famous, and musicians who broke through the scene bc they saw it was bullshit, enter punk, essentially just mad artists that wanted to express themselves without the limitation that society fell back into post psychedelic renaissance, and then we turned into the last 20 years of overproduced poppy easy to consume fake music, and now you can see almost a second renaissance, not entirely fueled by psychedelia, although pretty greatly influenced, but also fueled by the fact that people want real music again, the years to come are going to be amazing musically, when my generation is old I feel we're going to look back musically at out generation like the people of the 60's and 70's did, with nothing but nostalgia and love because it's genuine, maybe I'm wrong but people seem to get more and more tired of the radio, and record label releases and more into real music that draws real emotions and it's cool to be living through this shift in periods musically

Ever heard John Cage's music?

The dude that played nothing on a piano for like 5 mins right?

@@fartjoker He also wrote a piece called "Water Walk". It's bizarre...I thought I was watching a monty python skit for a second, but no. the dude took himself absolutely seriously.

It will be alive in 7089

Did you see any tough guys tumble or hard men humbled?

I was coming home after a trip to Los Angeles and still had 100 miles to go and decided to stop in San Francisco in 1987 and walk around the little shops and then I forgot which street I parked my car. Then it got dark and scary. I finally found my car.

You've only been to Bangkok when you got lost. I was a bit late lost in 2013, but still no smartphone or modern technology with me

Oh the times you guys must’ve had. Can i buy some dope?

Did you eat marshmallows

@@citruss5737 literally just watched the movie lol

Florian Laur "and if you're lucky.. then the gods a she"

"The ultimate test of cerebral fitness"

I get my sunshine above the kicks, waistline...

Nailed it 😂

The guys from Abba wrote this song my friend

Not sure if it is still the case now, but at that time, neither Benny nor Bjorn knew how to read music. When they were performing as Abba, Agnetha was the only one who could read music. With all the music they created, that's next level genius.

Dont sleep on Tim Rice

I'm sure he gets a kick around the waist line in Bangkok but nonetheless he says he don't

I like this song as a kid in the 80s, although understood less than 50% of the lyrics. For example, had no idea it was about chess until today 😮I do like/remember the duality/contradictions like "devil walking next to me" / "angel sliding next to me" , and "a little fresh, a little history" etc.

Especially the lyric "And if you're lucky if the God's a She"

@@H2Obsession "Some are set up in the Somerset Maugham suite". And by the way its "a little flesh, a little history". It was years after I first heard the song that I knew about Thailand's reputation for the sex trade, and knew more about what the lyrics meant.

I understood the song was about chess as a kid. Then about 5 years ago I heard it again and was like…. Yeah not so much. lol Love the song though.

Same hear man..I,m 50 and just now understanding the meaning of it but always liked it!

Yes, weird that you know that.

Yes! I haven’t heard this in I don’t now how long! This morning I woke up hearing “can’t be too careful with your company, I can feel the devil walking next to me” I felt it was a sign from God maybe. He speaks to me in lyrics at times.

@@larrydotson2625 know what?

For it is usually Turning Japanese for some reason

Only when I listen to Rush Limbaugh

That’s awesome

I played 80's music for all my kids growing up, they still love the songs when they hear them

Thank you!! I thought I was the only one. We are awesome parents!

You must have a WONDERFUL SON if he loves this song at his age!!!!

This made me smile.

yeah it is very old but it is still catchy. I think if it were produced recently it would still be a hit.

Now wait for that one guy that wants to tell you this is supposedly not rap because he talks and doesn't rap even though that is the exact definition of rapping...

Punk? I'm not hearin' it. Maybe you have a different idea of punk than I do...

@Piper Black he he he

@@wingmanmedia6536 it would probably be banned again if it came in this modern time

2024!

I’m a time traveler from the 3032 and this is the new national anthem in Bangkok

2024, I'm beyond legendary!

I’ll be 72 in 2 months I’m happy I lived through the Eighties. Good times 😊

what about in 1990?

the kommode was given back to Russia end of the ninties?

love the Schach or chess stuff in the video, my grandpa played chess, if deep blue the computer ever existed, + Bodyworlds sometimes does chess or Schach, too

Also has a rap aspect

Its like the song e=mc2 in the way that its unique, also an 80s great

All the choruses on the song were sung by Anders Glenmark, a Swedish popstar and musical theatre performance. Murray Head only ‘spoke’ the verses..

so many things i didnt know when i bought the 45 single in 1985

"some are set up in the Somerset Maugham Suite." - could you explain this one as well? Don't get this at all.

​@@MrAliquam Dear MrAliquam, yes, I would be happy to. Somerset Maugham was an English writer whose brilliant novels and short stories are set mostly in Asian countries. Maugham lived, I think (although I don't know the exact dates of his birth and death, but if you google him you can find out, but I will get back to you about this) during the late 19th to the mid 20th centuries and he travelled widely throughout Asia, staying in some well-known hotels, such as Raffles Hotel in Singapore, which must was a great favourite of his, and they have a Somerset Maugham Suite! (I visit Raffles Hotel every time I go to Singapore, not to stay in as it's so expensive, but to go to the Raffles bar, have a Singapore Sling (the yummiest cocktail ever invented!) and soak up the atmosphere of such a historic hotel. Raffles was occupied by the Japanese Army during WWII and, of course, our man S. Maugham loved it!He also stayed in Siam - the old name of Thailand and there would be a hotel there with a Somerset Maugham Suite! There would be a few I imagine scattered throughout Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore. Both Maugham and his writing came to embody the whole idea of the "exotic and erotic east!" So the line in the song: "Some are set up in the Somerset Maugham Suite" is both a play on words, and a reference to the world of top chess players who are given the Somerset Maugham Suite to stay in, at very posh hotels.

@@amandajones6481 Your response is the kind of thing I look for in the comments. Very interesting.

​@@AJAXKID123 Thank you for your kind reply to my comment.

Fergie did it too 😂

Same guy once rhymed "fire" with "messiah" - you need the lyricist's specific British accent to pull that one off...

Rootz manuva witness the fitness bruh

I loved that "when you" rhymed with menu and venue.

Extra points for rhyming 'warm sweet' with (Somerset) 'Maugham Suite'. All-time champ, though, gotta be Cameo's Candy: "You're givin' me a heart attack, it's the kind I lahk!" Cracks me up every time I hear it.

We all have the memory of the one we let get away

same here but im 14

Wowwwww so quirky! You’re not special, you just like old music, most teens like some sort of old music. I’m also 15 and like this, you ain’t the only one.

@@LilChoppa64U need to chill lmfao

I’m 16, but I have so far grown up on old music rather than new. I don’t regret it.

Head has to hold back a little here because he's saving it up for "Pity the Child".

I love the voice of chorus singer Anders Glenmark ❤

Indeed it was in 1985. They don't like bad publicity.

Oh jeah ❤️

The 80's were great when it comes to music, the 90's were the worst.

Sometimes I try to decide if this song, or Rock Me Amadeus is Even More 80's than the other. Still a toss up to me.

@@matthewteague623 Rock me Amadeus is awesome. :)

TOTALMENTE!!!!! (completely agree!)

Song written by the men from ABBA !!!!👌👌👌🤫🤫

Yeah, same here. And I can't stand Abba!

One reason the song is so elusive is because the album is so elusive. It was recorded by the original cast, but the production company threw a fit saying it was 'unauthorized to be sold', as I recall, but only after a bunch of the tapes had already been put on the market. I'm glad it's available now. Somewhere.

Yeah I’ve noticed that the videos for many 80’s one hit wonders usually have the highest view counts on KZfaq. Probably because the masses didn’t buy the albums and only listened to the hits on the radio.

In Germany Radio Thuringen plays it every fkn day. Overplayed here.