Back in 1995, the Outhere Brothers took a track called ‘Boom Boom Boom’ to number one. Surely, we thought, that was the limit for chart-topping songs featuring ‘Boom’ in the title? How wrong we were… Four years on, the Vengaboys did what nobody imagined possible: they added the fourth ‘Boom’…
Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!, by Vengaboys (their 1st of two #1s)
1 week, from 20th – 27th June 1999
If you thought our previous number one, ‘Bring It All Again’ by S Club 7, was cheap and cheesy then you might as well stop reading now. Everything here, from the title, to the lyrics, to the mid-tempo beat, is banal. There are no hidden layers, no sense of irony, no subtlety. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
And yet here I am. Enjoying it. How depressingly predictable. One of history’s most moronic number one singles, and I’m having a good time. What a sad excuse for a music blogger. I will not attempt to justify it. I will not use nostalgia as an excuse. I am ashamed.
Actually no, wait. I will make a couple of attempts at justification. I’ve just discovered the first verse of ‘Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!’ interpolates ABBA’s seminal late-disco classic, ‘Lay All Your Love on Me’ (strain your ears and you can just about hear it). ABBA! That certainly clears off a layer of muck. Plus, it could be argued that this is actually a gritty, confrontational number one single, written from the point of view of a sex worker – If you’re alone, And you need a friend… I’ll be your lover tonight… – about which social studies theses could be written. (And if you’re not convinced with this hooker theory, just watch the video…)
Like all Eurotrash acts, Vengaboys simply had to be from either Germany or the Netherlands. Place your bets… Yes, they were Dutch. Still are, I should say, as they are going strong on the nostalgia circuit. Like most of these acts, the sexy young stars on the CD sleeves and in the videos were not the brains behind the songs, Vengaboys having been put together by two of the most Dutch sounding men in existence: Wessel van Diepen and Dennis van den Driesschen.
Before I finish, let me indulge in a spot of reminiscing. ‘Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!’ is forever imprinted on my conscience thanks to a school friend. (We’ll call him Richard, because that was his name.) He claimed that he had lost his virginity to a girl who had seduced him by singing a version of this song with his name in the chorus. It happened, he promised, at a summer camp for arthritic teenagers. The girl’s surname was, he swore blind, Paradise. There are very few occasions in my life in which I have laughed more than the day he tried to sell us this story.
The UK Number Ones Blog 
They played Cardiff Pride this summer. Whether it was the same four ‘singers’ I don’t know, the stage was the other side of the field and I’d had a few drinks! They haven’t improved in the interim 25 years
From what Wikipedia tells me, it sounds like only one member has changed since their heyday. Can you imagine, spending a quarter of a century touring the world as a Vengaboy…?
YOH, this is that song? Oh my God, if you’re over the age of 20 and not an American, you definitely know this song. I was a little kid during the 2000s and I remember this song still getting a lot of play in Australia. Yeah, this is type of Eurotrash that I like.
I don’t know why, but it makes sense for Australia to have quite a high tolerance for cheesy trash like this…
Our pop charts are even weirder than the UK charts. But in the 90s especially, I’ll always maintain we had the best singles charts of the major countries. Our pops charts are basically a strong mix of the US/UK with our own Aussie acts thrown in there now and then due to radio local content rules.
Yeah, I guess it’s one for those of a certain age. 🙂 I do enjoy a bit of cheesey eurodance but I was about 31 years too old to appreciate this one at the time. Not one I would choose to play again (I’m playing it now) but it’s jolly enough for kiddies at parties….
When I glanced at the title I was temporarily excited….a song by Imelda May came to mind….but this was way too early for her. I was quickly brought down to earth.