Английская Википедия:Axel F

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"Axel F" is an electronic instrumental by German musician Harold Faltermeyer. It served as the theme for the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop, starring Eddie Murphy, and became an international number one hit in 1985. The track reached number one in Ireland as well as on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Additionally, it was a number-two hit in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, and West Germany.

Faltermeyer recorded the tune using five instruments: a Roland Jupiter-8 provided the distinctive "supersaw" lead, a Moog modular synthesizer 15 provided the bass, a Roland JX-3P provided chord stab brasses, a Yamaha DX7 was used for the marimba sound, and a LinnDrum was used for drum programming.

According to Faltermeyer, the initial reaction to his premier presentation of the cues to the film's producers and director did not result in an immediate approval; it was not until director Martin Brest voiced his approval that the producers showed enthusiasm.

In addition to the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, the song also appears on Faltermeyer's 1988 album Harold F. as a bonus track. Faltermeyer was reportedly against including it, but MCA insisted as it was his most recognizable track.Шаблон:Citation needed

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Faltermeyer. Faltermeyer is featured dressing in an overcoat, hat, and sunglasses, sneaking into a computer room at night and watching as he plays the synthesizer while playing some scenes from the film.

Track listings

• 7-inch single

1. "Axel F" – 3:00
2. "Shoot Out" – 2:44

• 12-inch maxi

1. "Axel F" (M & M mix) – 7:00
2. "Axel F" (extended version) – 7:09
3. "Shoot Out" – 2:44

• 12-inch maxi

1. "Axel F" (extended version) – 7:09
2. "Shoot Out" – 2:44

Personnel

• Harold Faltermeyer – synthesizers, drum programming

Charts

This version of the song reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart and number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. It also spent two weeks atop the American adult contemporary chart. Шаблон:Col-begin Шаблон:Col-2

Weekly charts

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Chart (1985)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)	6
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)	2
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	2
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)	1
Denmark (Hitlisten)	9
Ireland (IRMA)	1
US Billboard Hot 100	3
US Hot Adult Contemporary (Billboard)	1
US Hot Dance Club Play (Billboard)	1
US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)	1
US Hot Black Singles (Billboard)	13

Year-end charts

Chart (1985)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)	53
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	22
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	30
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	15
Netherlands (Single Top 100)	13
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	15
US Billboard Hot 100	61
West Germany (Official German Charts)	13

Techno Cop version

In 1992, German techno group Techno Cop covered the instrumental, who achieved modest success with a top 30 ranking on the German singles chart. Compared to the original, this version contains rap passages.

Track listings

• 12-inch maxi

1. "Axel F" (Outlaw mix) – 5:50
2. "Axel F" (Megaphone mix) – 5:20
3. "Cops in Trance" – 4:15

• CD maxi

1. "Axel F" (U-Boot mix) – 6:00
2. "Axel F" (radio edit) – 3:49
3. "Axel F" (Minimalistixtendid) – 4:41
4. "Beverly Kills" – 2:58

Charts

Chart (1992)	Peak position
Germany (Official German Charts)	30

Clock version

British pop/dance act Clock released a successful dance cover of "Axel F" in 1995. Produced by Richard Pritchard and Stu Allan, it was featured on their debut album, It's Time... (1995), and peaked at number five in Scotland, number seven in the UK, number eight in Ireland and number 37 in Sweden. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the single reached number 20 in March 1995, while in Australia, it peaked at number 42.

Critical reception

James Masterton wrote in his weekly UK chart commentary in 1995, "There is no denying the brilliance of this record, making the Harold Faltermeyer classic more of a dance hit than he could ever have dreamed as the song makes the Top 10 close on ten years since the original did the same." Alan Jones from Music Week's RM Dance Update described the song as "another energetic remake". Another editor, James Hamilton, declared it as an "ultra excitingly galloping 135bpm Hi-NRG" track.

Track listings

• UK CD maxi

1. "Axel F" (Radio Short Stab) – 3:22
2. "Axel F" (Primax mix) – 4:47
3. "Keep Pushin'" (Clock N-R-G mix) – 6:27
4. "Keep Pushin'" (PTP 'London' mix) – 7:46

• Sweden CD maxi

1. "Axel F" (radio edit) – 3:38
2. "Axel F" (Primax mix) – 4:44
3. "Axel F" (Ten to Two mix) – 5:40
4. "Keep Pushin'" (PTP London edit) – 4:40
5. "Clock Megamix" - 15:40

Charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	42
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)	20
Ireland (IRMA)	8
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)	5
scope="row"Шаблон:Singlechart
Scotland (OCC)	5
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	37
UK Singles (OCC)	7
UK Club Chart (Music Week)	28
UK on a Pop Tip Club Chart (Music Week)	3

Psy version

In 2002, South Korean singer Psy released a title track "Champion" as part of his album 3 Mai with its "crowd-pumping vibe", during Seoul's enthusiasm over the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The title song "Champion" was also inspired by Korean street cheering during the 2002 World Cup.

Paul Lester of The Guardian called "Champion" a "thrashy disco" which heavily samples Axel F by Harold Faltermeyer". Jeff Benjamin of Billboard said, "'Champion' is a funky dance track that uses video game-like synthesizers years before the EDM explosion. With self-empowering lyrics and the repeated title word in the chorus, the song doubled as an anthem for South Korea when they hosted the World Cup in Seoul that year."

Murphy Brown vs Captain Hollywood version

In 2003, Murphy Brown and Captain Hollywood released their eurodance version of "Axel F", titled "Axel F 2003", produced by Matthias Wagner and Andreas Dohmeyer of the Off-cast Project, and Bass Bumpers. It reached No. 18 on the official German Singles Chart. This version would later be reworked two years later into the highly successful version by Crazy Frog, also produced by the same producers.

Crazy Frog version

In 2005, Crazy Frog recorded the song, releasing it as "Axel F", and it became a summer hit that year. The song is Crazy Frog's most successful single.Шаблон:Cn It was produced by Matthias Wagner and Andreas Dohmeyer, the two members of Off-cast Project, and Henning Reith and Reinhard "DJ Voodoo" Raith, two members of the German dance production team Bass Bumpers. Wolfgang Boss and Jamster! arranged the remix.

The song consists of vocals taken from the Crazy Frog recording by Daniel Malmedahl in 1997. It uses mainly the same part of the two-minute original that was used in Jamster's release. The song also uses the Max Headroom vocal sample "What's going on?" as well as the instruments from "Axel F 2003" by Murphy Brown and Captain Hollywood (also produced by Off-cast Project and Bass Bumpers).

There were three edits to the song. The original version of the song can be found on most P2P networks.Шаблон:Cn

Chart performances

Released across Europe in May 2005, "Axel F" topped the charts in the United Kingdom, with some of the best weekly sales of the year (out-selling rivals such as Coldplay by four copies to one), and remained at the top of the UK Singles Chart for four weeks and becoming Britain's third best-selling single of 2005, outselling and outperforming the original version. In other European countries, the popularity has differed, with the song failing to make the top 20 in Switzerland at first, before gradually climbing to number 1, whilst only making number 18 in Russia. It also reached number 1 in the overall European chart, after initially being number 2 to Akon's "Lonely" for several weeks, and stayed there until September. It also reached number 1 in Australia, Republic of Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Norway, Ukraine, Spain, and Sweden.

In France, the song made a jump, entering the French Singles Chart at number seventy seven on 11 June 2005, and moving all the way to number two the next week. There it stayed for two weeks before climbing to the summit, where it remained for thirteen weeks. It fell off the first position being dethroned by its 2nd single, "Popcorn" (it was only the second time that an artist dethroned themselves in that country). The song remained in the top 10 for 21 weeks, 30 weeks in the top 50 and 36 weeks in the chart. Its best weekly sales were 103,564 on its 6th week. On 1 December 2005, it was certified diamond, 7 months after its release by SNEP, the French certifier. The song is the third best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 1,270,000 units sold. (1,265,579 sales, according to another source).

Despite Crazy Frog not being as well known in Japan, the single release also charted there, peaking at number 46. It peaked at number 50 in the US. Although "Axel F" managed to find more success in mainstream markets, it proved to be a moderate success on the US Rhythmic Top 40 where it peaked at number 28. It also peaked at number 3 on the US Digital Sales chart, beating the likes of Lindsay Lohan and the Black Eyed Peas. Its highest U.S. success was number 2 on the US Adult Contemporary Top 20. The song later became an Internet meme.Шаблон:Cn

The song was the 65th best-selling single of the 2000s in the UK.

Music video

The Ministry of Sound hired Kaktus Film and Erik Wernquist of TurboForce3D, the original creator of the 3D Crazy Frog, to produce a full-length animated music video to accompany the release of the song. An overview of the city is shown. Then someone in a van with attached satellite dishes and high-tech instruments on the interior sees a message on one of the monitor, which reads "Wanted: The most annoying thing in the world", referring to Crazy Frog, with a bounty of $50000 specified for the catcher.

In 2011, the video was listed in NME's "50 Worst Music Videos", ranking at 47. As of October 2023, it has been viewed more than 4 billion times on YouTube.

Track listing

• Australia

1. "Axel F" (Radio Edit) – 2:54
2. "Axel F" (Club Mix) – 6:23
3. "Axel F" (Club Mix Instrumental) – 6:23
4. "In the 80's" – 3:29

• UK

1. "Axel F" (Radio Edit)
2. "Axel F" (Bounce Mix)
3. "Axel F" (Bounce Mix Instrumental)
4. "Axel F" (Reservoir Frog Remix)
5. "Axel F" (Original Version)
6. "Axel F" (Video)

Charts and sales

Weekly charts

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Chart (2005–2006)	Peak position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)	1
French Digital Songs (SNEP)	1
Ireland (IRMA)	1
US Billboard Hot 100	50
US Pop 100 (Billboard)	34
US Top 40 Mainstream (Billboard)	40

Year-end charts

Chart (2005)	Position
Australia (ARIA)	4
Australia Dance (ARIA)	1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	17
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)	1
CIS (Tophit)	45
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)	1
France (SNEP)	2
France Club Chart	23
France Digital Chart	7
Germany (Official German Charts)	28
Ireland (IRMA)	4
Italy (FIMI)	18
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	33
Netherlands (Single Top 100)	42
New Zealand (RIANZ)	1
Spain (PROMUSICAE)	2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	2
UK Singles (OCC)	3

Decade-end charts

Chart (2000–2009)	Position
Australia (ARIA)	52

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Шаблон:Abbr
Germany	Шаблон:Start date	CD	Mach1
Australia	Шаблон:Start date		Шаблон:Hlist

See also

• Axel Foley
• Beverly Hills Cop (franchise)
• List of Hot Adult Contemporary number ones of 1985

External links

• The 8bitpeoples "Axel F" A freely downloadable compilation of various artists' interpretations of "Axel F" Released under Creative Commons license.
• Press release, including sound clips