Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Aug 11, 2026

Hello Mr. Monkey

"Hello Mr. Monkey" is the debut single by German all-girl trio, Arabesque. Initially released only in Germany in 1977, it was released worldwide the following year in 1978.

Last revised
Aug 11, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
347 w
Citations
10
Source
"Hello Mr. Monkey"
Single by Arabesque
from the album Friday Night
B-side"Buggy Boy"
Released25 October 1977
GenrePop, Europop, disco1
Length3:27
LabelEMI (Germany)
Victor (Japan)
Papillon Records (Netherlands) 2
SongwritersBen Juris
Benny Lux
ProducerWolfgang Mewes
Arabesque singles chronology
"Hello Mr. Monkey"
(1977)
"Friday Night"
(1978)

"Hello Mr. Monkey" is the debut single by German all-girl trio, Arabesque. Initially released only in Germany in 1977, it was released worldwide the following year in 1978.

Track listing

  1. A. "Hello Mr. Monkey" - 3:27
  2. B. "Buggy Boy" - 2:55 3

Background

Written in 1977 shortly before the Arabesque lineup was finalized, "Hello Mr. Monkey" was the debut single of the West German group. The song is about a performer "Mr. Monkey" who was once famous, but has now lost his fame and "should've been a clown".45 It features Mary Ann Nagel on lead vocals, with Karen Ann Tepperis and Michaela Rose as backup singers.6 The song was a huge hit in Asia, particularly Japan and South Korea, spending weeks at number one.78 However, it failed to chart in Germany and other European countries.9 Arabesque gave their first ever public appearance on October 16, 1977, performing the song on the German Pop '77 program on ARD.10

Samples and covers

References

References

  1. "Arabesque - Hello Mr. Monkey (Vinyl)". Discogs.com. 1977. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  2. "Arabesque - Hello Mr. Monkey". Discogs.com. 1977. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  3. "Arabesque - Hello Mr. Monkey / Buggy Boy - Victor - Japan - VIP-2601". 45cat.com. 2016-11-05. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  4. "Arabesque - Hello Mr. Monkey Lyrics". Songlyrics.com. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  5. "Arabesque - Don Ignacio's Music Reviews". Donignacio.com. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  6. "Arabesque - Le monde de Stef". Mondedestef.over-blog.com. 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  7. Billboard. 1979-05-26. p. 59. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  8. Billboard. 1979-01-20. p. 54. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  9. "Arabesque - Hello Mr. Monkey". Weheartmusic.typepad.com. 2007-05-26. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  10. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-05-22. Retrieved 2020-05-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)