"Self Control" by Laura Branigan

Whats the story with the two versions coming out practically at the same time?

The Raf one was released in 1984 and was only an underground hit. Then Laura Branigan came along and recorded an inferior cover version. Which became a worldwide hit because she was American and not Italian.

i'd forgotten just how freaky the video for this song was -- mid 80s AIDS paranoia in full bloom?!?

Then Laura Branigan came along and recorded an inferior cover version...

Look, I'm as big a champion of Italo Disco as anyone, but sometimes the more popular version of a song is the better one.

The Raf one was released in 1984 and was only an underground hit.

Hardly "underground", Geir: the Raf version entered the German singles charts at the same time as the Laura Branigan version, and sat at #2 while Laura was at #1. ("Self Control" was the biggest selling single in Germany that year, incidentally.) The Raf version did well in Italy, as well.

Whereas the Branigan version ("Good single that" - D Winton) was all we got.

Although Jonathan King had a UK hit with "Gloria" three years before LB.

Look, I'm as big a champion of Italo Disco as anyone, but sometimes the more popular version of a song is the better one.

In 99 out of 100 cases, the original is always better than any cover version.
Braningan's version sounded less European, more American, and it would have been better if the world hit was the Raf version instead.

Hardly "underground", Geir: the Raf version entered the German singles charts at the same time as the Laura Branigan version, and sat at #2 while Laura was at #1. ("Self Control" was the biggest selling single in Germany that year, incidentally.) The Raf version did well in Italy, as well.

Italo Disco was quite huge in those two markets, but struggled to crack the UK and US market in particular.

"I!"

I loved this song as a kid but since this thread earlier this year, I started Djing this song in Portland constantly and it always gets a great reaction. There are some pretty young metal kids here in town that now have this as their profile song on Myspace. Branigan lives!

GOOD GOD, this song is immortal. It has taken up residence in my skull permanently, it would seem.

Love this song.

rules

Classic

yes.

"Gloria" also rules btw.

Love both versions, but the Branigan wins for her better vocals and the 808/synth swell intro — and having the "ohohoh"s enter in the middle of the song makes it seem more epic

in the day
nothing matters
it's the night... time that matters

Inspired by this thread, I wanted to hear this song, so I went to Youtube and watched the video, which I'd never seen, and damn it's as unclassifiably eerie and sexy as the song.

Yeah-- impossible not to play Townshend-windmill-air-guitar when the WHOA OH OH (BWANNNGGGG) WHOA OH OH (BWANNNGGGG) part comes in.

Song never fails to make me feel completely insane in a good way.

I like the line that goes "I!"

I am going to have this song in my head all gd day now.

AHHHHHHHHHH.

I like the line that goes "I!"

yes!

"I!"

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, November 8, 2008 7:13 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark

Quite so.

ha

There is an episode of Miami Vice (1st season?) where a band at a party does a cover of this (along with "some guys have all the luck")

I love this song. I'm quite gratified to see that I'm not on my own.

"I!"

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, November 8, 2008 7:13 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark

― leave me alone, i was only zinging (rip van wanko), Tuesday, August 9, 2011 2:59 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^^

Killing me.

Assholes otm btw - this video is kinda wild.

Oh damn I think I just got to the part where they introduce the creatures of the night! O_O

ok I must hear this:

The song has become one of the defining pop songs of the 1980s, with a number of remakes recorded each year. Notable covers include Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin in 1993,

Huh, I can actually see that working out ok.

Some bright horn blasts wouldn't hurt

Well, that's what Ricky Martin finally realized last year.

you're making me forget to play my role

I think about that line
all the time

like, it's sexy...BUT SHOULD IT BE???

I HAVEN'T GOT THE WILL TO STAND AND

fight

I want to do this at karaoke but I know it would be a DISASTER

I want to do a karaoke reenactment of the video

suggested Italian orgy karaoke night

This is one of these songs that I heard maybe once or twice as a little kid and then walked around with it stuck in my head for years after. I only learnt who it was by a couple of years ago, but what a cracker!

just listened to the raf version... wtf there's some eurobros rappin' on this thing!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9cYcRotufU

go to :30

Clipse reinterpreted the song in their 'Counseling':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfo-nz05dM4

Wow, that hockey thing!

SC rules as I see I stated during the last revive.

What was it with LB covering Ialian pop songs? A couple weeks ago I couldn't stop listening to the original Gloria:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szWSLwkYa6k&feature=fvsr

Wow his performance posture is really something! It's like ectomorphic joe cocker or something!

I can't even tell you how much I love everything about that dude. His spiffy little outfit, the jewlery, his moves - perfect.

What was it with LB covering Ialian pop songs? A couple weeks ago I couldn't stop listening to the original Gloria:

IIRC the same guy who wrote Gloria also wrote Self Control, which would explain why Branigan recorded it, as she'd already had one hit with the guy's song.