Moskau (song)

"Moskau" (German for Moscow) is a German-language single by the German pop act Dschinghis Khan (known as Genghis Khan in Australia and other countries)[1][2][3][4] released in 1979.

This article is about the song by Dschinghis Khan. For the song by Rammstein, see Reise, Reise.

"Moskau"
Single by Dschinghis Khan
from the album Dschinghis Khan
LanguageGerman
English title"Moscow"
B-side"Rocking Son of Dschinghis Khan"
Released1979 (1979)
GenreDisco
Length
  • 4:27
  • 5:58 (album)
LabelBMG
Songwriter(s)Ralph Siegel
Producer(s)Bernd Meinunger
Dschinghis Khan singles chronology
"Dschinghis Khan"
(1979)		 "Moskau"
(1979)		 "Wir sitzen alle im selben Boot"
(1980)
"Moscow"
Single by Genghis Khan
B-side"Moscow (German Version)"
Released3 September 1980
GenreDisco
Length4:30
Label7 Records / Image Records
Songwriter(s)Ralph Siegel
Producer(s)Norbert Daum

The band also recorded an English version, which they released in 1980 as "Moscow".

Versions

Moskau – the German-language version

"Moskau", the German-language version of the song, appears on their 1979 self-titled album Dschinghis Khan and their 1980 album Rom. The album version is six minutes long, while the single version is four and a half minutes long.[5]

Moscow – the English-language version

The band, under their English-language band name Genghis Khan, released a version of the song with English lyrics entitled "Moscow" in Australia in 1980, the year of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.[1] Australia's Channel 7 used the song as the theme to their television coverage of the Moscow Olympics, and the single was issued locally in a die-cut Channel 7 paper sleeve.[6] The song became a massive hit in Australia, staying at #1 for six weeks.[7]

Weekly charts
Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) 1

Year-end charts
Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 16

History

The song also achieved enormous popularity in the Soviet Union. A 15-second clip of the song's performance was shown as a part of the New Year holiday lineup on the state-run TV, leading to the immediate dismissal of the network's director.[9]

In 2006, the song made its video game debut as a playable song in Taiko no Tatsujin Portable 2. It is also a featured track in Just Dance 2014.

It was also played at the opening at Eurovision 2009 in Moscow, Russia for Semi-Final 2.

On September 15, 2006, the song was uploaded to YouTube,[10] and it quickly became an internet meme related to Slavs.

Covers
  • The song has been covered by a German rock band named Attila der Partykönig.
  • The song has been covered by the German ska-punk band "Wisecräcker".
  • The song has also been covered by German black metal band Black Messiah.[11]
  • In Finland "Moskau" was covered by Juhamatti with the title "Volga" in 1980. "Volga" has since been performed by artists such as Kari Tapio and Frederik.
  • Also in 1980, Cassiano Costa made the Brazilian Portuguese version, named "Moscou".
  • An Estonian band Meie Mees covered the song as "Moskva" in 2006.
  • This song was also covered by Hong Kong pop singer George Lam as "Olympics in Moscow" (Chinese: 世運在莫斯科).
  • In China, a version with altered lyrics called "Fen Dou"[12] (奋斗) was made by Da Zhangwei (大张伟).
  • Georgie Dann made a Spanish version in 1980, with more success in Spanish-speaking countries than the original version.[13]
  • Dark Ducks covered the song in Japanese.
  • South Korean group, Koyote, played a portion in their single, "Aza! Aza!" (아자! 아자!).
  • In live performances of their song "Sacrament of Wilderness", the symphonic metal band Nightwish plays a riff from "Moskau" at about the three-minute mark of the song.[14]
  • In the Czech Republic, the parody band Los Rotopedos produced a cover of the song in 2012. Los Rotopedos subsequently qualified to the top ten in the Český slavík song competition.[15]
  • Swedish group Vikingarna recorded a cover in Swedish, "Moskva", in 1980.[16]
  • Since 2008 or earlier, Russian Armed Forces military bands have occasionally played the song at public events in Russia.[17] Channel One Russia's New Years 2013 program included a version of the song sung in both German and Russian by the Alexandrov Ensemble.[18]
  • In 2013 song was covered by a French band Dancing Bros. and used in the video game Just Dance 2014.
  • American power metal band Last Alliance covered "Moskau" in 2011. The song was made available as a free download in 2018 to celebrate the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosted in Russia.
  • A version sung by the cast of the 2010 Musical Film Morozko (Морозко), aired on Russia 1 on December 31, 2010. Nikolai Baskov stars in this one.
  • In early 2020, Dutch DJ & Producer Thommy van Straalen started rising to fame after releasing a Big Room House Festival Mix as a collab with his neighbor Likkerstan 'LSTN' Ten Nogmeer. It was deleted midway through May after a copyright problem with Dschinghis Khan.

References
  1. "Country=Australia, Genghis Khan* - Moscow (Vinyl)". Discogs website. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  2. "Country=France, Genghis Khan* - Moscow (Vinyl)". Discogs website. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  3. "Country=Colombia, Genghis Khan* - Moscu (Vinyl)". Discogs website. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  4. "Country=Japan, Genghis Khan* - Moskau / Rocking Son Of Dschinghis Khan (Vinyl)". Discogs website. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  5. "Start - STEPPENWIND - Offizielle Dschinghis Khan Fanseite". Steppenwind.com. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  6. "??". Corporate.olympics.com.au. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 122. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 432. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. "Chin. Chin. Chinigs Khan". Zhurnal.ru. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQAKRw6mToA
  11. SirG (19 November 2006). "Black Messiah - Of Myths And Legends Review". Metal.de. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  12. "大张伟 - 奋斗—在线播放—优酷网，视频高清在线观看". V.youku.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  13. "Georgie Dann - Moscú". 8 September 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2016 – via YouTube.
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. "Los Rotopedos - Moscau". YouTube. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  16. "Kramgoa låtar ( 8) | Svensk mediedatabas". SMDB.kb.se. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  17. "Music Russian Military Band One". YouTube. 14 December 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  18. "Dschinghis Khan - Moskau - New year 2013". YouTube. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
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