Kung Fu Fighting
Encyclopedia
"Kung Fu Fighting" is a disco
song written by Jim Brusatto and Vivian Hawke performed by Carl Douglas
, and composed and produced by Biddu
. It was released as a single
in 1974
, at the cusp of a chopsocky
film
craze
, and eventually rose to the top of the British
and American
charts, in addition to reaching number one on the Soul Singles chart. It received a Gold certification
from the RIAA
in 1974, won the 1974 Grammy Award
for Best Selling Single, and popularized disco music. It eventually went on to sell eleven million records worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. The song uses the quintessential Oriental riff, a short musical phrase that is used to signify Chinese culture.
Kung Fu Fighting was rated number 100 in VH1
's 100 Greatest one-hit wonders, and number 1 in the UK Channel 4
's Top 10 One Hit Wonders list in 2000
, the same channel's 50 Greatest One Hit Wonders poll in 2006
and Bring Back ... the one-hit Wonders, for which Carl Douglas performed the song in a live concert.
to "I Want to Give You My Everything" (written by Brooklyn
songwriter
Larry Weiss, and sung by Carl Douglas). The producer Biddu originally hired Douglas to sing "I Want to Give You My Everything" but needed something to record for the B-side, and asked Douglas if he had any lyrics they could use. Douglas showed several, out of which Biddu chose the one that would later be called "Kung Fu Fighting" and worked out a melody for it without taking it seriously.
After having spent over two hours recording the A-side and then taking a break, "Kung Fu Fighting" was recorded quickly in the last ten minutes of studio
time, in only two takes, due to a three-hour time constraint for the entire session. According to Biddu, "Kung Fu Fighting was the B-side so I went over the top on the 'huhs' and the 'hahs' and the chopping sounds. It was a B-side: who was going to listen?" After hearing both songs, Robin Blanchflower of Pye Records
insisted that "Kung Fu Fighting" should be the A-side instead.
Following its release, the song didn't receive any radio airplay for the first five weeks and it initially sold poorly, but the song began gaining popularity in dance clubs, eventually entering the UK Singles Chart
at #42 on 17 August 1974 and reaching the top on 21 September, after which it would remain at the top for three weeks. It was then released in the United States, where it was equally successful, topping the Billboard Hot 100
chart. The single would eventually go on to sell eleven million records worldwide.
covered the song as a bonus track
available only on the CD version of her 1990 album SLA Radical Dance Disco Club.
Robyn Hitchcock
also covered the song for the anti-poll tax
album Alvin Lives (in Leeds) in 1990
.
Merrill Nisker (now known by her stage name "Peaches
") covered the song on her 1995 album Fancypants Hoodlum
.
Patti Rothberg
covered the song for the Beverly Hills Ninja
soundtrack in 1997.
The song was very popular in Jamaica
, and there were several cover version
s by reggae artists including Lloyd Parks
, The Maroons, The Cimarons
, and Pluto Shervington
.
There's also a Finnish version of this song, sung by Frederik
. The song's translated name is "Kung-Fu Taistelee".
The German Band Mardi Gras.bb covered the song in their 2002 album Zen Rodeo.
A cover version of the song was performed by Cee-Lo Green and Jack Black
for the 2008 animated movie Kung Fu Panda
. For the Russian edition of the movie, Mumiy Troll
performed the song.
In 2004, the German record label Echo Beach released an album entitled Kung Fu Fighting Remixes (Dub Drenched Soundscapes) that featured remixes of the track by 16 different artists including Adrian Sherwood
, Dreadzone
and Pole
.
British dance act Bus Stop
reached #8 on the U.K. charts with their 1998 remix
single of "Kung Fu Fighting", which sampled the original vocals by Carl Douglas and added rap verses.
.
It has been used in several movies and television shows since 1990 where there is a light-hearted spirit to the martial arts, including:
It also has been used in trailers for the films Kung Fu Panda
, Disney's Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior
, & Kung Fu Hustle
, and a cover by Cee-Lo Green and Jack Black
is used over the end credits of Kung Fu Panda. This version has partially rewritten lyrics more in keeping with the film's themes.
A version was recorded by Tom Jones
featuring Ruby
for the 1996 movie Supercop (North American re-release of 1992 Hong Kong film Police Story 3: Supercop) starring Jackie Chan
. The lyrics were slightly changed to reference the film.
It is used as the theme song for the Xbox
game Kung Fu Chaos
. It is also one of the downloadable duet songs in the game Just Dance 2
for the Wii
.
It has appeared in tv show One Tree Hill
.
A re-recorded version of the song by Douglas is featured in Lego Rock Band
& Band Hero
.
The Bus Stop version has appeared in the video game Dance Dance Revolution
, and the original version appeared in Dancing Stage MAX
.
Iron Fist mentions the first line of the song in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2.
Planet Mu
artist and owner of Deathchant records, Hellfish, sampled sections of the record in his track, Iron Hand (Steelfinger remix), from the One Man Sonic Attack Force album. The style of music is hard to define and takes influence from UK breakbeat
hardcore
, gabber
, techno
, hip hop
and jungle
.
It was used as the song for the climatic battle vs the Ninjis in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
episode titled Karate Koopa, but edited out in syndicated versions and in the DVD version.
In 2011, a British man was arrested on the Isle of Wight
for singing the song in the presence of a Chinese person.
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
song written by Jim Brusatto and Vivian Hawke performed by Carl Douglas
Carl Douglas
Carl Douglas is a former Jamaican-born, UK-based, singer, best known for his song "Kung Fu Fighting", which hit number one in both the UK Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. The R.I.A.A. awarded gold disc status on 27 November, and it won a Grammy Award for Best Selling Single...
, and composed and produced by Biddu
Biddu
Biddu or Biddu Appaiah is an Indian-British music producer, composer, song-writer and singer who produced and composed many hit records worldwide during a career spanning five decades...
. It was released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 1974
1974 in music
-January–April:*January 3 – Bob Dylan and The Band kick off their 40-date concert tour at Chicago Stadium. It's Dylan's first time on the road since 1966.*January 17...
, at the cusp of a chopsocky
Chopsocky
Chopsocky is a colloquial term applied to a diffuse group of martial arts movies made primarily in Hong Kong and Taiwan during the 1960s and 1970s. The term was coined by the American motion picture trade magazine Variety...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
craze
Bandwagon effect
The bandwagon effect is a well documented form of groupthink in behavioral science and has many applications. The general rule is that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as fads and trends clearly do, with "the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion who have...
, and eventually rose to the top of the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
charts, in addition to reaching number one on the Soul Singles chart. It received a Gold certification
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
from the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
in 1974, won the 1974 Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Selling Single, and popularized disco music. It eventually went on to sell eleven million records worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. The song uses the quintessential Oriental riff, a short musical phrase that is used to signify Chinese culture.
Kung Fu Fighting was rated number 100 in VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's 100 Greatest one-hit wonders, and number 1 in the UK Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's Top 10 One Hit Wonders list in 2000
2000 in television
The year 2000 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2000.For the American TV schedule, see: 2000-01 United States network television schedule.-Event:-Debuts:-1940s:...
, the same channel's 50 Greatest One Hit Wonders poll in 2006
2006 in television
2006 in television may refer to:*2006 in American television*2006 in Australian television*2006 in British television*2006 in Canadian television*2006 in Japanese television...
and Bring Back ... the one-hit Wonders, for which Carl Douglas performed the song in a live concert.
Production and release
The song was originally meant to be a B-sideA-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
to "I Want to Give You My Everything" (written by Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
Larry Weiss, and sung by Carl Douglas). The producer Biddu originally hired Douglas to sing "I Want to Give You My Everything" but needed something to record for the B-side, and asked Douglas if he had any lyrics they could use. Douglas showed several, out of which Biddu chose the one that would later be called "Kung Fu Fighting" and worked out a melody for it without taking it seriously.
After having spent over two hours recording the A-side and then taking a break, "Kung Fu Fighting" was recorded quickly in the last ten minutes of studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
time, in only two takes, due to a three-hour time constraint for the entire session. According to Biddu, "Kung Fu Fighting was the B-side so I went over the top on the 'huhs' and the 'hahs' and the chopping sounds. It was a B-side: who was going to listen?" After hearing both songs, Robin Blanchflower of Pye Records
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
insisted that "Kung Fu Fighting" should be the A-side instead.
Following its release, the song didn't receive any radio airplay for the first five weeks and it initially sold poorly, but the song began gaining popularity in dance clubs, eventually entering the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at #42 on 17 August 1974 and reaching the top on 21 September, after which it would remain at the top for three weeks. It was then released in the United States, where it was equally successful, topping the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. The single would eventually go on to sell eleven million records worldwide.
Cover versions
The Brazilian singer Fernanda AbreuFernanda Abreu
-Biography:Fernanda was born and raised in a middle-class family of the South Zone, a neighborhood of Rio. Her first notable public appearance was the backing vocal of the band Blitz until 1986...
covered the song as a bonus track
Bonus track
In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...
available only on the CD version of her 1990 album SLA Radical Dance Disco Club.
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
also covered the song for the anti-poll tax
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
album Alvin Lives (in Leeds) in 1990
1990 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze...
.
Merrill Nisker (now known by her stage name "Peaches
Peaches (musician)
Merrill Beth Nisker , better known by her stage name Peaches, is a Canadian electronic musician and performance artist who lives in Berlin, Germany. Her songs are noted for disregarding traditional gender norms and their use of sexually explicit lyrics...
") covered the song on her 1995 album Fancypants Hoodlum
Fancypants Hoodlum
Fancypants Hoodlum is the debut album by Merrill Nisker, a Canadian musician who subsequently gained fame under the stage name Peaches.-Track listing:#"Tic Toc" – 1:54#"Flexy Boy" – 3:40#"Throw My Name" – 4:23#"Skybag" – 4:37#"Radio" – 3:47...
.
Patti Rothberg
Patti Rothberg
Patti Rothberg is a New York-based singer, songwriter, recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, and painter/artist.Born in New York City Rothberg grew up in Scarsdale, NY, playing piano from the age of 3 and writing songs by the age of 15, joining a high school Rod Stewart cover band.Rothberg...
covered the song for the Beverly Hills Ninja
Beverly Hills Ninja
Beverly Hills Ninja is a 1997 action comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Mark Feldberg and Mitch Klebanoff, and starring Chris Farley. The main plot revolves around Haru , who was found by a clan of ninjas as an infant in an abandoned treasure chest and was raised by them...
soundtrack in 1997.
The song was very popular in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, and there were several cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s by reggae artists including Lloyd Parks
Lloyd Parks
Lloyd Parks is a reggae vocalist and bass player.-Biography:Parks' interest in music was fuelled by his uncle Dourie Bryan, who played in a calypso band, and Parks became the band's singer...
, The Maroons, The Cimarons
The Cimarons
The Cimarons were a UK reggae band formed in 1967. They were the UK's first self-contained indigenous reggae band.-History:Jamaican natives, the Cimarons migrated to Britain in 1967 with a lineup consisting of Franklyn Dunn , Carl Levy , Locksley Gichie , and Maurice Ellis ; vocalist, Winston Reid...
, and Pluto Shervington
Pluto Shervington
Pluto Shervington, also known as Pluto , is a reggae musician, singer, engineer and producer.-Career:...
.
There's also a Finnish version of this song, sung by Frederik
Frederik
Frederik is a Finnish singer. He is known by his nickname Reetu. During his lengthy career, he has been awarded five gold and three diamond records...
. The song's translated name is "Kung-Fu Taistelee".
The German Band Mardi Gras.bb covered the song in their 2002 album Zen Rodeo.
A cover version of the song was performed by Cee-Lo Green and Jack Black
Jack Black
Jack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...
for the 2008 animated movie Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda is a 2008 American computer-animated action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures...
. For the Russian edition of the movie, Mumiy Troll
Mumiy Troll
Mumiy Troll is a Russian rock group, founded in 1983 in Vladivostok by vocalist and songwriter Ilya Lagutenko . The literal name of the band, 'The mummies' troll', is a pun on Moomin Troll, the series of Finnish children's books by Tove Jansson.Mumiy Troll broke up when Lagutenko, who graduated in...
performed the song.
In 2004, the German record label Echo Beach released an album entitled Kung Fu Fighting Remixes (Dub Drenched Soundscapes) that featured remixes of the track by 16 different artists including Adrian Sherwood
Adrian Sherwood
Adrian Sherwood is an English record producer best known for his work with dub music as well as for remixing a number of popular acts such as Coldcut, Depeche Mode, The Woodentops, Primal Scream, Pop Will Eat Itself, Sinéad O'Connor, and Skinny Puppy...
, Dreadzone
Dreadzone
Dreadzone are a British band whose music is an eclectic fusion of dub, reggae, techno, folk and rock. They have so far produced six studio albums and two live albums.-Career:...
and Pole
Pole (musician)
Pole is the artistic name of Stefan Betke, a German electronic music artist commonly associated with the glitch genre as well as dubtronica.-History:Pole took his name from a Waldorf 4-Pole filter which he accidentally dropped and broke in 1996...
.
British dance act Bus Stop
Bus Stop (band)
Bus Stop were a British dance act best known for their single "Kung Fu Fighting", which reached #8 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1998. The song sampled the original vocals by Carl Douglas, the original being a UK #1 hit in 1974, with added rap verses. The group then released three further...
reached #8 on the U.K. charts with their 1998 remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
single of "Kung Fu Fighting", which sampled the original vocals by Carl Douglas and added rap verses.
Use in popular culture
The song was used as the title song in the German version of the TV series Kung FuKung Fu (TV series)
Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...
.
It has been used in several movies and television shows since 1990 where there is a light-hearted spirit to the martial arts, including:
- The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
- The Spirit of '76
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The MovieMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The MovieMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie is a 1995 American superhero action fantasy based on the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on Fox Kids. It featured the characters and actors from the series itself, and used the zords from Ninja Sentai Kakuranger...
- Shaolin SoccerShaolin SoccerShaolin Soccer is a 2001 Hong Kong comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Stephen Chow. A former Shaolin monk reunites his five brothers, years after their master's death, to apply their superhuman martial arts skills to play soccer and bring Shaolin kung fu to the masses.In 2008 a...
- Little ManhattanLittle ManhattanLittle Manhattan is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed and written by husband and wife Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett. Though Levin is credited as the director and Flackett as the writer, in the film's DVD commentary the two reveal that they collaborated on both tasks.Little Manhattan depicts...
- Perritas exitadas
- Epic MovieEpic MovieEpic Movie is a 2007 American parody film directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and produced by Paul Schiff. It was made in a similar style to Date Movie, Friedberg and Seltzer's previous film. The film mostly references The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the...
- City of God
- Daddy Day CareDaddy Day CareDaddy Day Care is a 2003 American comedy film, starring Eddie Murphy. It was written by Geoff Rodkey and was directed by Steve Carr. It was released in theaters on May 9, 2003. It was produced by Revolution Studios and released by Columbia Pictures...
- Beverly Hills NinjaBeverly Hills NinjaBeverly Hills Ninja is a 1997 action comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Mark Feldberg and Mitch Klebanoff, and starring Chris Farley. The main plot revolves around Haru , who was found by a clan of ninjas as an infant in an abandoned treasure chest and was raised by them...
- Sin noticias de DiosBendito infiernoDon't Tempt Me is a 2001 Mexican and Spanish co-production comedy film. The screenplay for the film was written especially for Penélope Cruz and Victoria Abril by the award-winning Spanish writer and director Agustín Díaz Yanes of Nadie hablará de nosotras cuando hayamos muerto.-Awards:This film...
- ScrubsScrubs (TV series)Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
- BowfingerBowfingerBowfinger is a 1999 comedy cult film directed by Frank Oz. It depicts a down-and-out filmmaker in Hollywood attempting to make a film on a small budget with a star who does not know that he is in the film...
- Kung Fu PandaKung Fu PandaKung Fu Panda is a 2008 American computer-animated action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures...
- Rush Hour 3Rush Hour 3Rush Hour 3 is a 2007 martial arts/action-comedy film, and the third installment in the Rush Hour film series, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, that began with the 1998 film Rush Hour and continued with the first sequel Rush Hour 2 in 2001. The film was officially announced on May 7, 2006,...
- The MiddleThe Middle (TV series)The Middle is an American situation comedy television series that premiered on ABC on September 30, 2009. The show features Frances "Frankie" Heck , a working-class, Midwestern woman married to Mike Heck who resides in the small fictional town of Orson, Indiana. They are the parents of three...
- Kung Fu Panda 2
- Father TedFather TedFather Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May...
It also has been used in trailers for the films Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda is a 2008 American computer-animated action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures...
, Disney's Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior
Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior
Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior is a 2006 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Brenda Song and Shin Koyamada. Koyamada plays a Chinese monk who visits the title character, an American teenager played by Song, claiming Wu is the reincarnation of a powerful female warrior and the only person who can...
, & Kung Fu Hustle
Kung Fu Hustle
Kung Fu Hustle is a 2004 action comedy film directed and produced by, and starring Stephen Chow. The other film producers were Chui Po-chu and Jeffrey Lau, while the screenplay was written by Huo Xin, Chan Man-keung, and Tsang Kan-cheung...
, and a cover by Cee-Lo Green and Jack Black
Jack Black
Jack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...
is used over the end credits of Kung Fu Panda. This version has partially rewritten lyrics more in keeping with the film's themes.
A version was recorded by Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
featuring Ruby
Ruby
A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...
for the 1996 movie Supercop (North American re-release of 1992 Hong Kong film Police Story 3: Supercop) starring Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
. The lyrics were slightly changed to reference the film.
It is used as the theme song for the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
game Kung Fu Chaos
Kung Fu Chaos
Kung Fu Chaos is a 3D third-person platform game developed by Just Add Monsters and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released for the Xbox on February 25, 2003 in the U.S.A.- Plot :...
. It is also one of the downloadable duet songs in the game Just Dance 2
Just Dance 2 (video game)
Just Dance 2 is a music game developed and published by Ubisoft Paris for the Wii. It is a sequel to Just Dance. It was released in North America on October 12, 2010 & in Europe on October 14. The Best Buy Edition was released in North America on November 21, 2010. There are 44 new tracks and new...
for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
.
It has appeared in tv show One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
.
A re-recorded version of the song by Douglas is featured in Lego Rock Band
Lego Rock Band
Lego Rock Band is a music video game and part of the Rock Band series developed by Harmonix Music Systems, but also incorporates elements from other Lego video games as developed by Traveller's Tales. The game is published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and MTV Games...
& Band Hero
Band Hero
Band Hero is a spinoff video game as part of the Guitar Hero series of music video games, released by Activision on November 3, 2009, for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS consoles...
.
The Bus Stop version has appeared in the video game Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution, abbreviated DDR, and previously known as Dancing Stage in Europe and Australasia, is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, Dance Dance Revolution is the...
, and the original version appeared in Dancing Stage MAX
Dancing Stage Max
Dancing Stage Max, or Max, was released on November 25, 2005 by Konami to the Europeean PlayStation 2 gaming audience. Dancing Stage Max was modeled after Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 in America and Dance Dance Revolution Strike in Japan, containing the new Dance Master Mode and improved EyeToy...
.
Iron Fist mentions the first line of the song in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2.
Planet Mu
Planet Mu
Planet Mu is an electronic music record label run by Mike Paradinas . It was based in Worcester until March 2007, then moved to London and has recently relocated to Broadstairs, Kent...
artist and owner of Deathchant records, Hellfish, sampled sections of the record in his track, Iron Hand (Steelfinger remix), from the One Man Sonic Attack Force album. The style of music is hard to define and takes influence from UK breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
hardcore
Hardcore techno
Hardcore techno is a type of electronic music typified by the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples...
, gabber
Gabber
Gabber , is a style of electronic music and a subgenre of hardcore techno. "Gabber" is a slang word of Yiddish origin that means "mate", "buddy" or "friend"....
, techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
and jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
.
It was used as the song for the climatic battle vs the Ninjis in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! is an American television series based upon Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2 video games. It was originally broadcast via first-run syndication to mostly independent or Fox television stations from September 4, 1989, to December 1, 1989, with...
episode titled Karate Koopa, but edited out in syndicated versions and in the DVD version.
In 2011, a British man was arrested on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
for singing the song in the presence of a Chinese person.