"Vous êtes fous" | ||||
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Single by Benny B | ||||
from the album L'Album | ||||
B-side | Remix | |||
Released | May 1990 | |||
Format | 7" single, 12" maxi, CD maxi | |||
Recorded | Belgium | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 3:12 | |||
Label | Vie Privée, On the Beach | |||
Writer(s) | Vito Lucente, Alain Deproost, Abdel Hamid Gharbaoui, R. Quyssens |
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Benny B singles chronology | ||||
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"Vous êtes fous!" is a 1990 song recorded by the Belgian hip-hop act Benny B. The song also credited DJ Daddy K as featuring on the single's cover. Released in May 1990, this song was the debut single from Benny B's first album, L'Album. It achieved a success in France, reaching number three on the chart.
No producer thought that Benny B could released a hit, except Olivier Verhaeghe, the director of the studio Vie Privée, which had "the audacity to believe in Benny B...". He convinced them to change their "too aggressive rhythm, "hip hop" as we call in the United States" for a techno sound easier to be aired on radio and in discothèques. At the time, they believed that they would not be able to sell more than 5 or 6,000 discs.
The song was written and the music composed by Vito Lucente, Alain Deproost, Amid Gharbaoui and R. Quyssens.
Several words ('Et qui l'accompagne ?', 'Mais vous êtes fous!', 'Oh oui!') are sampled from an episode of Captain Future, "The Adventures of Captain Future", released as a single in 1981. The introduction uses a guitar riff from the 1972 song, "Son of Shaft", recorded by The Bar-Kays.
"Vous êtes fous!" was the first hip-hop hit in France, succeeded by the following singles of Benny B and those of MC Solaar, from 1991. It was also recorded in Spanish-language, under the title "Estáis locos!". This version features as tenth track on L'Album. Several remixes, produced by R. Cue, Vito Lucente and DJ Daddy K, were available on the various formats.
There were also a cover version by Suzy D (Suzy Naguy), a female alter ego of Benny B. This version was released under the title "Mais vous êtes sottes! (zot)" with New Belgian Sound label and has different lyrics ; however, it remains much more confidential than Benny B's version.
In France, the song debuted at the bottom of the chart (number 42) on 26 May 1990. However, it gained a few positions every week and reached the top ten in the sixth week on the chart. Although the song failed to reach number one (the two summer hits, "Maldòn (la musique dans la peau) by Zouk Machine and "Soca Dance" by Charles D. Lewis topped the chart then) and peaked only at number three, it remained for 18 consecutive weeks in the top ten and dropped very slowly, totaling 29 weeks on the chart (top 50).