You Win Again (Bee Gees song)

"You Win Again" is a 1987 song written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb and performed by the Bee Gees. Released as a single in late 1987, it marked the start of the group's comeback, becoming a No. 1 hit in many European countries, including topping the UK Singles Chart — their first to do so in over eight years — and making them the first group to score a UK No. 1 hit in each of three decades: the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.[2]

"You Win Again"
UK 12" vinyl
Single by the Bee Gees
from the album E.S.P.
B-side"Backtafunk"
Released7 September 1987[1]
Length
  • 4:01 (album version)
  • 3:54 (7" fade)
LabelWarner Bros. Records, Warner Music
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
The Bee Gees singles chronology
"Someone Belonging to Someone"
(1983)		 "You Win Again"
(1987)		 "E.S.P."
(1987)
Alternative cover
Japanese 7" artwork
Music video
"You Win Again" on YouTube

As songwriters, the Gibb brothers received the 1987 British Academy's Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.[3] In 1988, the band received a Brit Award nomination for Best British Group.[4] In a UK television special on ITV in December 2011, it was voted second (behind "How Deep Is Your Love") in "The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song".[5]

Recording

Barry Gibb wrote the melody while brother Maurice conceived the drum sounds (in his garage[6]) that open the track. On "1000 UK #1 Hits" by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, Robin Gibb said "We absolutely thought that 'You Win Again' was going to be a big hit. It took us a month to cut it and get the right mix."[2]

Maurice Gibb explained "You Win Again" in a May 2001 interview with Mojo:

"When we get together and write, it's not like three individuals ― it's like one person in the room. Usually, we have a book of titles and we just pick one. I loved 'You Win Again' as a title, but we had no idea how it might turn out as a song. It ended up as a big demo in my garage, and I recorded stomps and things. There was just one drum on there. The rest was just sounds. Then, everybody tried to talk us out of the stomps at the start. They didn't want it. 'Take it off. Too loud! Can we have them not on the intro, just when the music starts?' All this stuff, but as soon as you hear that 'jabba-doomba, jabba-doomba' on the radio, you know it's us. It's a signal. So, that's one little secret ― give people an automatic identification of who it is."[2]

Chart performance

"You Win Again" was a number one single in Britain, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Denmark and Norway, and reached the Top Ten in Italy, the Netherlands, Australia and Sweden. It also topped the Eurochart for four weeks.

"You Win Again" entered the UK singles chart at no. 87 in the chart week dated 19 September. It took just four weeks to reach number one, where it remained for four weeks, thus preventing George Michael's single "Faith" from reaching the top spot.[7][8] When the single reached number one in the UK in mid-October 1987, it marked the Bee Gees as the first group to score a UK number one hit in each of three decades: the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.[2] It ranked four in the UK's year-end singles sales chart.

However, the single was far less successful in the US, peaking at no. 75 on Billboard's Hot 100, perhaps down to a lingering association between the Bee Gees and the disco backlash that emerged in 1979, when the group (disco icons at the time) were at the height of their fame. Their next charting single, the 1989 hit "One", did return them to the US Top Ten.[9]

Formats

"You Win Again" was released commercially on vinyl and cassette. The CD single was not common in the late 1980s, though a 1-track CD single was produced as a promotional-only copy given to radio stations and reviewers in the United States and a 2-track mini CD single was commercially released in Japan. The song also appeared as a bonus track on the American version of One, replacing the song "Wing and a Prayer".

Releases and track listing
7" vinyl single
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You Win Again"Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb3:54
2."Backtafunk"Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb4:22
12" vinyl single
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You Win Again" (remix)Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb5:14
2."You Win Again" (fade)Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb3:54
3."Backtafunk" (LP version)Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb4:22
Promo-only CD single – US
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You Win Again" (7" fade version)Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb3:59
CD single – Japan
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You Win Again" (7" fade version)Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb3:59
2."E.S.P."Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb4:22

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album E.S.P.[10]

Charts

See also

References
  1. "British single certifications – Bee Gees – You Win Again". British Phonographic Industry.
  2. "You Win Again by Bee Gees". Songfacts. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  3. Lister, David (28 May 1994). "Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion: David Lister charts a sea change away from rap towards memorable melodies". The Independent. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  4. "1988 Brit Awards". Awards & Winners. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  5. "The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song". ITV. 9 December 2011.
  6. "Maurice Gibb: down-to-earth talent behind Bee Gees' hits". Music Week. 27 January 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  7. "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 13 September 1987 – 19 September 1987". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  8. "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 01 November 1987 – 07 November 1987". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  9. Brennan, Joseph. "Gibb Songs : 1987". Columbia University. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  10. E.S.P. (liner notes). Bee Gees. Warner Bros. 1987. Retrieved 11 July 2017.CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  12. "Austriancharts.at – Bee Gees – You Win Again" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  13. "Ultratop.be – Bee Gees – You Win Again" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  14. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8480." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  15. "MusicSeek.info – UK, Eurochart, Billboard & Cashbox No.1 Hits". Archived from the original on 14 June 2006.. MusicSeek.info.
  16. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
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  18. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – You Win Again". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  19. "I singoli più venduti del 1987" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  20. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 44, 1987" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bee Gees – You Win Again" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
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  29. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending OCTOBER 10, 1987". Archived from the original on 6 October 2012.. Cash Box magazine.
  30. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bee Gees – You Win Again". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  31. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  32. "Jahreshitparade 1987" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
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  34. "Jahrescharts – 1987". Offiziellecharts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015.
  35. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1987" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  36. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1987" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  37. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1987" (in German). Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  38. "Chart Archive – 1980s Singles". everyHit.com. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  39. "Jahrescharts – 1988". Offiziellecharts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015.
  40. "French single certifications – Bee Gess – You Win Again" (in French). InfoDisc. Select BEE GESS and click OK. 
  41. "Les Singles en Argent" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  42. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Bee Gess; 'You Win Again')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
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