E.S.P. (song)

This article is about the Bee Gees song. For other uses, see ESP (disambiguation) § Music.
"E.S.P."
Single by the Bee Gees
from the album E.S.P.
B-side "Overnight"
Released October 1987 (US)
November 1987 (UK)
Format Single
Recorded January — March 1987
Middle Ear, and Criteria Studios, Miami
Length 5:38
4:52 (stereo)
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(s) Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Producer(s) Arif Mardin, Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Brian Tench
the Bee Gees singles chronology
"You Win Again"
(1987)		 "E.S.P."
(1987)		 "Ordinary Lives"
(1989)

"E.S.P." was a single by the Bee Gees. Released in 1987, it was the follow-up to their successful single "You Win Again". The a cappella intro found on the album version was edited out for radio airplay.

Origin and recording

The original title of the song is "XTC" or "Ecstasy" before the Gibbs realized that it sounded like a drug reference so they changed it to "E.S.P." Barry handles most lead vocal duties for this song while Robin sing a few lines and edges into falsetto for the choruses.[1]

The demo of "E.S.P." was released in 1990 on the box set Tales from the Brothers Gibb, Like "You Win Again" it has the same drum program as the demo, and the same main vocal tracks, and it was speeded up by the same amount (103.25%), raising it a little more than a quarter tone, The finished version has a new a cappella opening and reaches the start of the demo at 0:33, There are seven edits, Both times through, four beats are dropped before the second verse ("There's danger"), The last two edits are additions going into the end, around 3:20, Not long after that the finished version has different ad lib vocals into the fade, Rhett Lawrence and Robbie Kondor are again the main musicians on the track.[1]

Single release

The second single did much less well than "You Win Again" reaching only number 13 in Germany and outside top forty elsewhere, Warner Bros. pushed "E.S.P." even more heavily with many alternate mixes on 12-inch singles and promo disks. The reprise, a piece of the a cappella opening, was used as the closing number of the album.

The B-side "Overnight" featuring lead vocals by Maurice Gibb.[2][3]

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1987/88) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 89
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 21
Belgium (Ultratop 50)[6] 12
Denmark[5] 32
Germany (Media Control Charts)[7] 13
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] 26
Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade)[9] 9
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[10] 51

Year-end charts

Chart (1987/88) Position
Belgium (Ultratop 50)[6] 24
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] 87
Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade)[9] 30

References

  1. 1 2 "Gibb Songs : 1987". Columbia.edu. 1986-09-06. Retrieved 2014-04-07.
  2. ↑ "45cat - Bee Gees - E.S.P. (US)". 45cat. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "45cat - The Bee Gees - E.S.P.". 45cat. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. 1 2 "Songs Written by the Gibb Family on the International Charts - Part 5" (PDF). brothersgibb.org. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Bee Gees - E.S.P.". ultratop.be. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Bee Gees - E.S.P.". officialcharts.de. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Bee Gees - E.S.P.". dutchcharts.com. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Bee Gees - E.S.P.". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "UK Charts". The Official Charts Company UK. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
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