"Wonderful Life" is a song by English singer Black from his 1987 debut album, Wonderful Life. The song was released twice as a single and was successful the second time, becoming a top-10 hit in Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Black, who wrote the song while broke, commented: "I was really being ironic... Most people took it at face value."[1]
Single release
First released in 1986 by Ugly Man Records, it initially peaked at number 72 on the UK Singles Chart.[2] 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 number eight on the chart in August 1987.[3]
Critical 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."[4] The song was described by AllMusic as a "seductive, bittersweet ballad".[5]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'."[6] Lesley O'Toole of Record Mirror praised the song, describing it "a beeeautiful [sic] balmy antidote to today's 99 per cent inconsequential output. A smooth coating of non-drip vocal gloss glides over a melody which seduces you with its eyes shut... Simplicity and perfection itself".[7]
Music video
The music video, shot in black and white, was filmed 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.[8] 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.[9]
Credits and personnel
Credits are lifted from the single's liner notes and AllMusic.[10][11]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
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.[39] 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 [2008].
Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for Mathilde Santing's cover
British singer Tina Cousins covered "Wonderful" for her second studio album, Mastermind (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 UK Singles Chart on 4 December 2005. The song also charted in Finland, reaching number 17 on the Finnish Singles Chart.
^Wonderful Life (Australian & New Zealand maxi-CD single liner notes). Tina Cousins. Big Records. 2005. BIGS012.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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