From ABBA to Westlife – I Have a Dream Continues Its Success

Originally released in December 1979, ‘I Have a Dream’ became a worldwide hit at the end of that decade for ABBA. 20 years later, Westlife repeated worldwide success with a new version produced by Pete Waterman and Dan Frampton*.

Written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, the single was the fourth and final single off Voulez-Vous, ABBA’s sixth studio album. The b-side was a live version of ’Take a Chance on Me’ recorded at Wembley.

ABBA – I Have a Dream (Live Version Wembley Arena 1979)

Peak positions for ‘I Have a Dream’ (ABBA):

  • Australia: 64
  • Austria: 1
  • Canada: 1
  • The Netherlands: 1
  • Ireland: 2
  • Switzerland: 1
  • UK: 2

Westlife – I Have a Dream

In December 1999, the track returned in a new version by Westlife. The new version was produced by Pete Waterman – one third of the hugely successful production team Stock, Aitken & Waterman – together with David Foster. The latter has produced artists such as Will Young, Rick Astley and Five.

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Read everything about Westlife

Westlife’s version reached No.1, becoming the boy band’s fourth chart-topper in the UK. It was a double A-side single, also including a cover of Jacques Brel’s 1961 hit ‘Seasons in the Sun’ which was made famous by Terry Jacks in 1973.

The 1999 version was the UK Christmas No.1, continuing its chart-run into 2000 – a new millennium. In total, it spent 17 weeks on the chart becoming the 26th biggest selling single of 1999. The hit was succeeded by Bob the Builder’s novelty hit ‘Can We Fix It?’

Peak positions for ‘I Have a Dream’ (Westlife):

  • Denmark: 11
  • Europe: 7
  • Finland: 10
  • Germany: 24
  • Ireland: 1
  • New Zealand: 10
  • Norway: 10
  • Scotland: 1
  • Sweden: 15
  • Switzerland: 18
  • UK: 1

*CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this blog post, David Foster was pointed out as the producer of the Westlife track. Apologies for that.

Glee Powers The Wanted’s Glad You Came into the Billboard Top 5

Glad You Came gets the help of Glee.
The Wanted vaults 23-5 with Glad You Came

The Wanted’s ‘Glad You Came’ takes a giant leap from 23 to 5 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100, the highest peak ever for a UK boy band thanks to Glee performing it on their show. I first wrote about The Wanted in the blog post Boy Bands Return with a Vengeance as the UK Welcomes The Wanted in August 2010. Back then, I was convinced that master producer Steve Mac would succeed in putting yet another boy band on the map. I also wrote about ‘Glad You Came’ upon its release last July.

Fate never wanted Westlife and Boyzone to get US success

On the back of the likes of Westlife’s and Boyzone’s enormous success, fate never wanted them to become a Stateside story. Marrying The Wanted with Glee’s highly effective chart machine, ‘Glad You Came’ was featured in last week’s mid-season finale, headlined by the show’s Grant Gustin (as part of the show’s choir troupe the Warblers).

The Wanted sold 188,000 downloads according to Nielsen SoundScan, enough for the track to climb to No.3 on the Digital Songs chart. Glee’s cover also debuts on the chart, albeit lower (No.90 with 37,000 downloads sold).

The Wanted – Glad You Came

‘Glad You Came’ gets a 11% increase in radio listeners

In terms of airplay, ‘Glad You Came’ reached 45 million listeners (up 11%), reaching No.22 on the Radio Songs chart. It also broke into the top ten of the Pop Songs airplay chart, the mainstream top 40 being its base.

Written by Steve Mac, Wayne Hector and Ed Drewett, ‘Glad You Came’ succeeded ‘Gold Forever,’ becoming the group’s second No.1 hit in the UK and first chart-topper in native Ireland. It will be included on the US edition of the group’s eponymous debut. In Europe, it is included on the sophomore album “Battleground.”

‘Warzone’ latest UK single hit

The Wanted’s last single to chart in the UK was ‘Warzone,’ which peaked just outside the top twenty in the UK (No.21). The group is reported to have recorded the duet ‘Jealousy’ with Rihanna, yet it was scrapped and will not be released. Rumors say that it will be re-recorded with another vocalist.

Back to the Billboard Hot 100, ‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)’ returned to the top spot, trailed by Adele’s ‘Set Fire to the Rain’ and fun.’s ‘We Are Young.’ Last week’s chart-topper ‘Part of Me’ (by Katy Perry) falls to No.4.

Take That’s Gary Barlow Helps Westlife with Lighthouse

Westlife splits after 14 years
Lighthouse will be the first new track off Westlife's hit collection

CHART SPOTLIGHT. As previously reported, Westlife will split up. Headlining Westlife’s ‘Greatest Hits’ album in November as one of the new tracks, ‘Lighthouse’ is written by Gary Barlow and John Shanks. The track will become the group’s final single before disbanding.  Barlow/Shanks also wrote Take That’s hit ‘Patience’ and it’s described as a typical Westlife ballad.

It has already been sent to radio for airplay, and #westlifelighthouse became a trending topic on Twitter after it was played on LincsFM with Eddie Shaw. John Shanks has produced all new tracks on the ‘Greatest Hits’ album.

Further reading via WelcheMusic:

  • Westlife Splits After 14 Years
  • Westlife’s Biggest Hit Is Swedish

Listen to Westlife via Spotify:

 

Westlife’s Biggest Hit Is Swedish

Westlife's My Love is a Swedish composition
Westlife to split after 14 years

CHART REWIND. On the back of the farewell tour, WelcheMusic reviews Westlife’s career. The group has only managed to place one track atop of the Swedish singles tally. Released in October back in 2000, ‘My Love’ was written by the Swedes Jörgen Elofsson, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger and Pelle Nylén. Lifted off the second album Coast to Coast, ‘My Love’ became Westlife’s seventh UK No.1.  Coincidentally, it succeeded another boy band on the top of the charts – Backstreet Boys’s ‘Shape of My Heart.’ That track was also written by Swedes – Max Martin, Rami Yacoub and Lisa Miskovsky.

 

Both tracks were recorded at the Cheiron studios in Stockholm.

Further reading via WelcheMusic:

Listen to Westlife via Spotify:

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