| Murrey Head – “One Night in Bangkok“, 1980 | |
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“One Night in Bangkok” is a song from the concept album and subsequent musical Chess by Tim Rice, Benny Andersson, and Björn Ulvaeus. English actor and singer Murray Head raps the verses, while the chorus is sung by Anders Glenmark, a Swedish singer, songwriter, and producer. The release topped the charts in many countries, including South Africa, The Netherlands, West Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Australia. It peaked at No. 3 in both Canada and the United States in May 1985 and at No. 12 in the United Kingdom.
The main song has a pop styling, whose lyrics describe the Thai capital city and its nightlife in the context of a chess match. In the original concept album for the musical, Swedish artist Anders Glenmark sang in the chorus, whereas the verses are a rap originally performed by Murray Head as the American chess grandmaster, a character known as Frederick “Freddie” Trumper in the staged versions. In the staged versions, a musical ensemble performs the choruses. Whereas the choruses extol Bangkok’s reputation and exciting atmosphere, the American’s verses ridicule the city, describing its attractions – the red-light district (Soi Cowboy), Chao Phraya River (“muddy old river”), Wat Pho (“reclining Buddha”) – as less interesting to him than a game of chess. These sarcastic denunciations led to Thailand’s Mass Communications Organisation issuing a ban on the song in 1985, stating its lyrics “cause misunderstanding about Thai society and show disrespect towards Buddhism”. The lyrics mention actor Yul Brynner, about six months before his death, who had played the King of Siam in the Broadway musical and the 1956 film The King and I (also banned in Thailand). Other Thai-related references in the lyrics include ones to Thailand’s former name (“Siam”), kathoeys (“You’ll find a god in every golden cloister – And if you’re lucky then the god’s a she”), and the Oriental Hotel (girls “are set up in the Somerset Maugham suite”, to which Head rebuts with: “you’re talking to a tourist whose every move’s among the purest. I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine”. The “Tyrolean spa” mentioned early in the song refers to Meran in the South Tyrol region of Italy, the site of Act 1 of the musical and location of the World Chess Championship in 1981. It also mentions three places where chess tournaments were previously held: Iceland (1972); the Philippines (1975 and 1978); and Hastings, United Kingdom (Hastings International Chess Congress). |
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