Murray Head — One Night In Bangkok
Album: ChessAvg rating:
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Total ratings: 1433
Length: 3:13
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Bangkok, Oriental Setting
But the city don't know what the city is getting
The crème de la crème of the chess world
In a show with everything but Yul Brynner
Time flies – doesn't seem a minute
Since the Tyrolean spa had the chess boards in it
All changed, don't you know that when you
Play at this level there's no ordinary venue
It's Iceland, or the Philippines, or Hastings
Or
Or this place!
One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster
The bars are temples but their pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
And if you're lucky, then the god's a she
I can feel an angel slidin' up to me
One town's very like another
When your head's down over your pieces, brother
It's a drag, it's a bore, it's really such a pity
To be looking at the board not looking at the city
Whattaya mean?!
You've seen one crowded, polluted, stinking town
T-girls1, warm and sweet (sweet)
Some are set up
In the Somerset Maugham suite
Get Thai'd, you're talking to a tourist
Whose every move's among the purest:
"I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine"
One night in Bangkok makes the hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me
Siam's gonna be the witness
To the ultimate test of cerebral fitness
This grips me more than would a muddy old river
Or reclining Buddha
But thank God I'm only watching the game
Controlling it
I don't see you guys rating
The kind of mate I'm contemplating
I'd let you watch, I would invite you
But the queens we use would not excite you
So, you better go back to your bars
Your temples, your massage parlors
One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster
The bars are temples but their pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
A little flesh, a little history
I can feel an angel slidin' up to me
One night in Bangkok makes the hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me
But the city don't know what the city is getting
The crème de la crème of the chess world
In a show with everything but Yul Brynner
Time flies – doesn't seem a minute
Since the Tyrolean spa had the chess boards in it
All changed, don't you know that when you
Play at this level there's no ordinary venue
It's Iceland, or the Philippines, or Hastings
Or
Or this place!
One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster
The bars are temples but their pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
And if you're lucky, then the god's a she
I can feel an angel slidin' up to me
One town's very like another
When your head's down over your pieces, brother
It's a drag, it's a bore, it's really such a pity
To be looking at the board not looking at the city
Whattaya mean?!
You've seen one crowded, polluted, stinking town
T-girls1, warm and sweet (sweet)
Some are set up
In the Somerset Maugham suite
Get Thai'd, you're talking to a tourist
Whose every move's among the purest:
"I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine"
One night in Bangkok makes the hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me
Siam's gonna be the witness
To the ultimate test of cerebral fitness
This grips me more than would a muddy old river
Or reclining Buddha
But thank God I'm only watching the game
Controlling it
I don't see you guys rating
The kind of mate I'm contemplating
I'd let you watch, I would invite you
But the queens we use would not excite you
So, you better go back to your bars
Your temples, your massage parlors
One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster
The bars are temples but their pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
A little flesh, a little history
I can feel an angel slidin' up to me
One night in Bangkok makes the hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me
Comments (123)add comment
xray38 wrote:
Were you referring to the Bancroft Library on the UC Berkeley campus? If so, Go Bears! If not... uh... Go bears anyway?
We'd sing "One night in Bancroft". Local joke. Very local.
Were you referring to the Bancroft Library on the UC Berkeley campus? If so, Go Bears! If not... uh... Go bears anyway?
Jeez! I love this song!!
I wish I knew what the hell it meant.
I wish I knew what the hell it meant.
I like that song, but why do you play a version w/o the most import part, the great intro?
This is fun. How many songs have been about chess, I wonder? Single figures I guess. I wonder if Magnus Carlssen would bop to this? 7 from th Nottingham jury.
Liked it as a kid, and still like it now, maybe more so now that I've gotten into the rest of the musical.
Proclivities wrote:
I was just thinking the same thing...
Check (haha!) the album title
I was just thinking the same thing...
Check (haha!) the album title
Decades-lasting enjoyment that doesn't fade! Cerebrally-fit. 8 for me
Some songs make my teeth hurt and this is one 
There are a few songs that I am eternally grateful PSD is now available in the Sonos app.
Beanie wrote:
I was just thinking the same thing...
...with almost otherworldly intonation, this song takes the listener on a primitive, ethereal journey; expansive in its mythopoetic beauty and injected with pathos, it portrays an American struggling with the effects of manifest destiny on our cultural and individual consciousness...
I was just thinking the same thing...
sadly the hilarious intro was missing in the set just played...
otherwise always have to listen to that song with the volume cranked up🤩
otherwise always have to listen to that song with the volume cranked up🤩
WonderLizard wrote:
Two-hit wonder
One of the great one hit wonders from the post-disco decade. Didn't know it was on RP. Awesome.
Two-hit wonder
"The queens we use would not excite you.."
Not ashamed to admit how much I love this song.
Not ashamed to admit how much I love this song.
WHO KNEW this game was about chess?!? Clearly, not I!
Beanie wrote:
...with almost otherworldly intonation, this song takes the listener on a primitive, ethereal journey; expansive in its mythopoetic beauty and injected with pathos, it portrays an American struggling with the effects of manifest destiny on our cultural and individual consciousness...
Anders Glenmark doing as much vocal on this, or even more, than Murray Head...
check out the updated YouTube video: One Night In Bangkok - FULL HD - REMIX DJ R&B
Beanie wrote:
same, sister had this on some tape and I loved it when I was 10ish... still do!
Super-cheesy guilty pleasure.
same, sister had this on some tape and I loved it when I was 10ish... still do!
was a dance club dj when this came out.
played it one night and receive some really dirty looks from old people as they left the bar. worth it to get rid of boring conventional people
played it one night and receive some really dirty looks from old people as they left the bar. worth it to get rid of boring conventional people
Grammarcop wrote:
I don't think I would have had dinner at Cabbages and Condoms. No thank you please.
Got a little taste of this on my trip to Bangkok in the 1990s. Hotel was right around the corner from Soi Cowboy. What a sad, awful place.
I also had dinner at a restaurant called Cabbages and Condoms. It was the fundraising arm of a family planning clinic that performed scalpel-free vasectomies. Food was good, but I didn't enjoy my meal all that much. Kept a nervous eye out the entire time...
I also had dinner at a restaurant called Cabbages and Condoms. It was the fundraising arm of a family planning clinic that performed scalpel-free vasectomies. Food was good, but I didn't enjoy my meal all that much. Kept a nervous eye out the entire time...
I don't think I would have had dinner at Cabbages and Condoms. No thank you please.
This was the first song I downloaded on Napster back in 1999. I chose this song because I wanted to test the idea that you could find "any song ever made". I figured if I could find this, I could find anything and, sure enough, I still have that mp3.
Just went down the wikipedia rabbit hole and learned this was written by Benny and Bjorn from Abba. Okay then.
We'd sing "One night in Bancroft". Local joke. Very local.
There was a whole musical ?!?!
Song makes a lot more sense now. He wrote for 'Jesus Christ Superstar' too? Not too shabby.
c.
Song makes a lot more sense now. He wrote for 'Jesus Christ Superstar' too? Not too shabby.
c.
I liked it and the video in 1984....still do...
right up there with Yoko.....
intolerable
intolerable
Big sentiment wave... I newer knew name of the song or artist. RP, Thanks! :-)
Didn't like it in 1984, still don't like it..
Murray is a talented vocalist, but uses none of his chops here...
Murray is a talented vocalist, but uses none of his chops here...
...with almost otherworldly intonation, this song takes the listener on a primitive, ethereal journey; expansive in its mythopoetic beauty and injected with pathos, it portrays an American struggling with the effects of manifest destiny on our cultural and individual consciousness...
I'd much rather listen to (and spend) 'One night in Paris (is like a year in any other place)' - 10cc
Super-cheesy guilty pleasure. 
1984. Columbus, Ohio. Dormitory parties in college. Cheap beer, French conjugations, vector analysis, Cap'n Crunch.
1984. Columbus, Ohio. Dormitory parties in college. Cheap beer, French conjugations, vector analysis, Cap'n Crunch.
hayduke2 wrote:
That made me chuckle as it's happened to me before too. Usually, its more like, "wow what a great station, thanks!" But yes, not all sets golden here.
And, while the song is just okay, I had 5 nights in Bangkok a couple of years ago and I highly recommend the city and country.
this is the boner set you play when I recommend RP to someone and they're like "Ummm, yeah, ha ha, cool..." then never hear from them again
Artie Shaw — Nightmare
Eurythmics — Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Murray Head — One Night In Bangkok
Eurythmics — Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Murray Head — One Night In Bangkok
That made me chuckle as it's happened to me before too. Usually, its more like, "wow what a great station, thanks!" But yes, not all sets golden here.
And, while the song is just okay, I had 5 nights in Bangkok a couple of years ago and I highly recommend the city and country.
Best goddamn song ever made.......
One of my favorites of all time!
Ah, song of my youth.
Chess ... Been MANY years since that one came across any of my sources. Cool pick bro.
Like the Abba connection here....
Like the Abba connection here....
Murray Head did a great song called 'Say it AInt So, Jo' one of my early favourites and worth a place on the RP playlist methinks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW9tq9ImRTg
more here:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Say_It_Ain't_So,_Joe_(song)
more here:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Say_It_Ain't_So,_Joe_(song)
A timeless classic that needs to be played....but it is a bad song. I still gave it a 6 because it reminds of fun times, but it is still a bad song. :)
Fun tune, reminds me of my fave time in college c. 1984 Lots of one hit wonders back then. Frankie Goes to Hollywood was also in the rotation at the time. Blast from the past..... :-)
I wind up lip syncing to this track -every- -time- it comes up. Love this track, and love this station. Thanks, Bill!
Never heard this before and although the experience is not memorable, never hearing it again would be fine by me. Another time and place that I missed, it would appear
..not want to hear this Crap on RP!
1/10
1/10
Oh, the irony. A dude with the last name of Head talking about Bangkok.
High art...No, fun tune....Yes!
Yes!
So awful... 1.
this is the boner set you play when I recommend RP to someone and they're like "Ummm, yeah, ha ha, cool..." then never hear from them again
Artie Shaw — Nightmare
Eurythmics — Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Murray Head — One Night In Bangkok
Eurythmics — Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Murray Head — One Night In Bangkok
STOP! Bill, please.
Forgot all about this one... funny little ditty
I remember this! Wonderful twist to my mornin coffee!
Thx Bill
Thx Bill
rgabriel wrote:
works for me.
Excellent! Definitely one of the best 80's songs.
works for me.
"I get my kicks above the waistline sunshine"
januismer wrote:
Confucius say: "Man who walks through airport door sideways is going to..."
Excellent! Definitely one of the best 80's songs.
Confucius say: "Man who walks through airport door sideways is going to..."
"i lost my heart to a starship trooper"
Just saying . . .
Just saying . . .
For the first time in two decades and few minutes ago,
I was talking to a friend over the phone about something took place in BKK.
Time flies – doesn't seem a minute.
I was talking to a friend over the phone about something took place in BKK.
Time flies – doesn't seem a minute.
Bangkok gay pride marching music
This song is so awful that I love it. High school memories and all that, but even then it sounded like my dentist trying to rap. "Your barsss, your templesss, massawjjj pahrlorssss"
You are listening to WWTF 95.5 FM, on this beautiful Thursday afternoon almost ending 1984. What a year it has been folks! 
BLUEMONKKK wrote:
Summer of 1984- 16 years old on a High School summer session in Spain- this was a big hit at a disco popular with the kids in Madrid... if only we could go back with our current knowledge...
wow, this is a blast from my teenage years!
Summer of 1984- 16 years old on a High School summer session in Spain- this was a big hit at a disco popular with the kids in Madrid... if only we could go back with our current knowledge...
...wow, 80's fever? Bill are you ok?! 
Had five nights in Bangkok a couple of years ago... highly recommend it. This song... not as much, though it is amusing in a nostalgic way I guess.
don't eat the street food!
BLUEMONKKK wrote:
Blast from my dance club dj years....
wow, this is a blast from my teenage years!
Blast from my dance club dj years....
scrubbrush wrote:
I'm curious: What made you decide to download this song first? I mean, it's sort of a funny tune in a morbid kind of way, but still.
This is the first song i downloaded via Napster.... waaaaay before Napster was even a blip on the pop culture radar... someone i worked with had heard about it and we tried it at work (working for huge telecom company)... it took a few minutes to understand that we had actually pulled an mp3 througfh the internet off someone else's computer and now had that mp3 on out local machine... minds were blown. Pandora's box was opened.
I'm curious: What made you decide to download this song first? I mean, it's sort of a funny tune in a morbid kind of way, but still.
Is that Bosley narrating?
I had one night in Bangkok,,,,once
BARF scrubbrush wrote:
Lars Ulrich would STILL like a word with you!
This is the first song i downloaded via Napster.... .
Lars Ulrich would STILL like a word with you!
Another 10 — Godlike. But the gods ain't free in these here parts, Amen to that.
wow, this is a blast from my teenage years!
Anyone hear the car talking?
Always thought this one had clever lyrics.
Grammarcop wrote:
Haven't been to that one, but went to the one near the border with Laos, it is interesting to note that Mr Mechai, the owner, was appointed Minister for tourism, information and AIDS at one point.
Got a little taste of this on my trip to Bangkok in the 1990s. Hotel was right around the corner from Soi Cowboy. What a sad, awful place.
I also had dinner at a restaurant called Cabbages and Condoms. It was the fundraising arm of a family planning clinic that performed scalpel-free vasectomies. Food was good, but I didn't enjoy my meal all that much. Kept a nervous eye out the entire time...
I also had dinner at a restaurant called Cabbages and Condoms. It was the fundraising arm of a family planning clinic that performed scalpel-free vasectomies. Food was good, but I didn't enjoy my meal all that much. Kept a nervous eye out the entire time...
Haven't been to that one, but went to the one near the border with Laos, it is interesting to note that Mr Mechai, the owner, was appointed Minister for tourism, information and AIDS at one point.
Please no more!
Jörg_Asmussen wrote:
One hit wonder ... well it isn't really Murray Head. It's the first post ABBA production of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. As ABBA, they sold an estimated 100-200 million records.
Well, yes, "Chess," the musical was the BB's creation, but that is Murray Head on the vocal. But I get your point.
One hit wonder ... well it isn't really Murray Head. It's the first post ABBA production of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. As ABBA, they sold an estimated 100-200 million records.
Well, yes, "Chess," the musical was the BB's creation, but that is Murray Head on the vocal. But I get your point.
WonderLizard wrote:
One hit wonder ... well it isn't really Murray Head. It's the first post ABBA production of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. As ABBA, they sold an estimated 100-200 million records.
One of the great one hit wonders from the post-disco decade. Didn't know it was on RP. Awesome.
One hit wonder ... well it isn't really Murray Head. It's the first post ABBA production of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. As ABBA, they sold an estimated 100-200 million records.
Nice trip of pseudo-exotica from the Baltics to the Black Sea to Bangkok...
Supergrass/"St. Petersburg"
Apocalypta/"Ruska"
TMBG/"Istanbul not Constantinople"
Murray Head/"One Night in Bangkok"
This tune is a trifle, but I haven't heard it in many years--it's a groovy trifle, quite likable mainly for its nostalgia value. Judging from the comments it's been getting a few spins here on RP lately... after a nine year hiatus.
The segue to "Summer" from The Four Seasons I don't get though...
Supergrass/"St. Petersburg"
Apocalypta/"Ruska"
TMBG/"Istanbul not Constantinople"
Murray Head/"One Night in Bangkok"
This tune is a trifle, but I haven't heard it in many years--it's a groovy trifle, quite likable mainly for its nostalgia value. Judging from the comments it's been getting a few spins here on RP lately... after a nine year hiatus.
The segue to "Summer" from The Four Seasons I don't get though...
YES!!!
One of the great one hit wonders from the post-disco decade. Didn't know it was on RP. Awesome.
SpaceCowboy wrote:
It's from a musical about the game of chess, written by the guys from ABBA. It turned out way better than anyone could have imagined.
Luckily white man has come a long way since Murray Head tried this pathetic excuse for a disco-rap song... At least we have Eminem now... And The Beastie Boys.
It's from a musical about the game of chess, written by the guys from ABBA. It turned out way better than anyone could have imagined.
Got a little taste of this on my trip to Bangkok in the 1990s. Hotel was right around the corner from Soi Cowboy. What a sad, awful place.
I also had dinner at a restaurant called Cabbages and Condoms. It was the fundraising arm of a family planning clinic that performed scalpel-free vasectomies. Food was good, but I didn't enjoy my meal all that much. Kept a nervous eye out the entire time...
I also had dinner at a restaurant called Cabbages and Condoms. It was the fundraising arm of a family planning clinic that performed scalpel-free vasectomies. Food was good, but I didn't enjoy my meal all that much. Kept a nervous eye out the entire time...
9 years later... Some of us sure didn't pull any punches back then... same as now.
This is the first song i downloaded via Napster.... waaaaay before Napster was even a blip on the pop culture radar... someone i worked with had heard about it and we tried it at work (working for huge telecom company)... it took a few minutes to understand that we had actually pulled an mp3 througfh the internet off someone else's computer and now had that mp3 on out local machine... minds were blown. Pandora's box was opened.
As usual, RP's taste is broader than that of its general audience.....which is why I subscribe.....nice selection from an underrated musical album, imo
Be there in january 2014
he said kok
It isn't fun either, before someone gets smart.
this isn't funny.
I've been listening for only three days, but I've only heard two songs I loathed. I can't remember what the first one was. This is the other.
:roll: I'm with the crowd who think this is a fun piece ... perhaps a little moralistic and supercilious "The Queens we use would not excite you" ... but FUN! :nodhead:
... but FUN! :nodhead: marycrichards wrote:
LOVE ITTTT!!!!!! What a fun song!
i agree. wasn't meant to be taken all that seriously.
I must confess, I have always liked this song... The lyrics always make me laugh.
Then again, I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine!
busch wrote:
Oh... please don't play this on Radio Paradise. This station is great because it does not play songs like this one.
Yeah, this one reminds me of bad top 40 stations in the 80's.
marginal as in margarine
In the context of the soundtrack for the show, it works all the better. Always thought it was catchy. Funny how this was a hit in the 80s....
Eul0gy wrote:
Humanity will spend the rest of it's exsistance paying for the 80s...
I think Bill put this one in just for laughs.
Luckily white man has come a long way since Murray Head tried this pathetic excuse for a disco-rap song... At least we have Eminem now... And The Beastie Boys.
edisoncarter wrote:
Funny, I say that about the 70s.
Funny, I say that about the 90s.
Eul0gy wrote:
Humanity will spend the rest of it's exsistance paying for the 80s...
Funny, I say that about the 70s.
bigpomp wrote:
Bloob. Murray Head played Christ in the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar. Bloop, Bloob.
No, he sang the role on the original album.
LOVE ITTTT!!!!!! What a fun song!
Oh... please don't play this on Radio Paradise. This station is great because it does not play songs like this one.
Damn, haven't heard this in a while. I saw Head do this in London back in '85 in the musical Chess. Be nice to hear Say It Ain't So.....another of his I haven't heard in a bit.
Humanity will spend the rest of it's exsistance paying for the 80s...
bigpomp wrote:
Bloob. Murray Head played Christ in the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar. Bloop, Bloob.
That's incorrect, it was Ted Neeley
This does not appeal to me in the least.
Bloob. Murray Head played Christ in the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar. Bloop, Bloob.
the 80's weren't all this bad... 
This sucks like the 80s.
Always loved this song... it's one of those that just sticks around in your head, but not in a bad way.
I wouldn't buy this in a million years, but I love to hear it on the radio.
1984. Columbus, Ohio. Dormitory parties in college. Cheap beer, French conjugations, vector analysis, Cap'n Crunch.
Agreed.
1984. NPTU, Idaho. Last day of swings beer parties in the desert hills. Sam's runs. Cave runs. Reactor drills. Qual signatures. Spicy chorizo sausages.