"Tragedy" is a song released by the
Bee Gees, written by
Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb, included on their 1979 album Spirits Having Flown. The single reached number one in the
UK in February 1979 and repeated the feat the following month on the US
Billboard Hot 100. In 1998, it was covered by British pop group
Steps, whose version also reached number one in the UK.
The explosion sound effect at the song’s climax has been the subject of much interest, and footage filmed at Criteria Studios that aired in a Bee Gees special on NBC later in 1979 documented a recording session with Barry Gibb in front of a studio microphone blowing through his cupped hands to try to achieve it.
Co-producer Karl Richardson told writer Grant Walters of Albumism how they processed that raw sound to give it more authenticity. “It was a thing called a product generator. It was a new toy that someone...you know, we were in tune with all the [Audio Engineering Society] shows—you know, ‘what’s the new stuff coming out?’ And I guess we just got a sample of it. It was a box and you put two inputs in it, and it generates all these harmonics and products.
So, the two things that went into it were Albhy [Galuten], or maybe [keyboardist] Blue [Weaver], holding the notes on the bottom end of a piano across multiple keys—maybe as many keys as you could mash down on a grand piano—and then Barry’s voice going ‘pbbhhhh!’ into a dynamic microphone, blowing air through the diaphragm to distort it. And then you mix these two signals through the generator, and whatever came out sounded like dynamite [laughs]. It was very technological—nobody had that sound, I know that for a fact.”[3]
Though not originally in Saturday Night Fever, “Tragedy” has subsequently been added to the musical score of the
West End version of the movie-
musical. The song knocked "
I Will Survive" by
Gloria Gaynor off the top spot in the US for two weeks before that song again returned to number one for an additional week. "Tragedy" was the second single out of the three released from the album to interrupt a song's stay at #1.
In the US, it would become the fifth of six consecutive number-ones, tying the record with
Bing Crosby,
Elvis Presley, and
the Beatles for most consecutive number-ones in the US--a record later broken by Whitney Houston, who had seven.[citation needed]
Reception
American magazine Billboard felt that the song had similar intensity to "
Stayin' Alive" and that it had multiple vocal and instrumental
hooks and "graceful" harmonies.[4]Cash Box said it has "vibrant
arrangement of synthesizer, guitars, horns, solid beat and dramatic vocals."[5]Record World called it "sizzling" and "up-tempo" and "with some classic progressions, high harmonies and an undercurrent of synthesizers."[6]
"Tragedy" was covered by British pop group
Steps. Issued as a double A-side with "
Heartbeat", it was released on 9 November 1998. The song was recorded for the Bee Gees Tribute Album: Gotta Get a Message to You and was later included on the group's second album, Steptacular (1999). "Heartbeat" / "Tragedy" reached number one in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. In the former country, it spent 30 weeks on the
UK Singles Chart and sold more copies than all three previous Steps singles combined, with 1.21 million copies sold in the UK.[47] The video for "Tragedy" contained the dance step of putting both hands parallel to the sides of the head in time with the word "tragedy", which became a trademark of the group.
Critical reception
Scottish newspaper Aberdeen Evening Express stated that Steps "did such a sparkling remake" of the song, noting that it "gets [Steptacular] off to a
discotastic start".[48]AllMusic editor Jon O'Brien described it as a "triumphant cover".[49] Lucas Villa from
AXS wrote that
Claire,
Faye and
Lisa's "powerful performances (coupled with that iconic hands dance step) made "Tragedy" an undeniable dance floor anthem."[50] A reviewer from Daily Record commented, "Once again, Steps have come up with a catchy tune and the reworking of Tragedy has clubbers mimicking the band's dance techniques."[51]
Music video
The accompanying
music video for "Tragedy" was directed by David Amphlett. It starts with a
Doraemon-shaped alarm clock ringing and sees Faye, Claire, and Lisa getting married. The lads, Lee and H, sabotage all three weddings before they all go to a disco. The church and disco scenes were filmed in All Saints' Church,
Harrow Weald, London and the adjoining
Blackwell Hall, respectively. The external location shots of the boys leaving their house and driving were filmed in
Blackheath, South London. The group's actual families all took part in the video, with the girls' real-life fathers walking them down the aisle, and record producer
Pete Waterman appears as the wedding DJ.
^Heartbeat / Tragedy (Australian CD single liner notes). Steps.
Mushroom Records, Jive Records. 1998. MUSH01842.2.{{
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^Heartbeat / Tragedy (UK cassette single sleeve). Steps. Jive Records, Ebul Records. 1998. 0519144.{{
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^Heartbeat / Tragedy (European CD single liner notes). Steps. Jive Records, Ebul Records. 1998. 0580062.{{
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^Tragedy (US CD single liner notes). Steps. Jive Records, Ebul Records. 2000. 01241-42652-2.{{
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^Tragedy (US cassette single sleeve). Steps. Jive Records, Ebul Records. 2000. 01241-42652-4.{{
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^Steptacular (European CD album liner notes). Steps. Jive Records, Ebul Records. 1999. 0519442.{{
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link)