Axel F

"Axel F"
Single by Harold Faltermeyer
from the album Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack
B-side	"Discovery", "Shoot Out"
Released	January 21, 1985
Format	7", 12"
Recorded	1984
Genre	Electronic, electro
Length	3:01
Label	MCA Records MCA 949
Writer(s)	Harold Faltermeyer
Producer	Harold Faltermeyer
Harold Faltermeyer singles chronology
"Axel F" (1985) "The Race Is On" / "Starlight Express" (1987)
Audio sample file info · help

"Axel F" is the electronic instrumental theme from the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop performed by Harold Faltermeyer. The title comes from the main character's name, Axel Foley (played by Eddie Murphy), in the film. It topped musical charts in 1985 and remains a popular remix track. Mixes of "Axel F" topped European pop charts in 2003, and again in 2005 as the Crazy Frog song. In addition to the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, the song also appears on Faltermeyer's 1988 album Harold F. as a bonus track. Reportedly, Faltermeyer was against including it, but MCA insisted as it was his most recognizable track.

Faltermeyer recorded the song using five instruments: a Roland Jupiter-8 provided the distinctive "supersaw" lead sound, a Moog modular synthesizer 15 provided the bass, a Roland JX-3P provided chord stabs, a Yamaha DX7 was used for bell and marimba sounds and a LinnDrum was used for drum programming. This version of the song reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. It also spent two weeks atop the American adult contemporary chart.

Track listings

12" maxi

1. "Axel F (M & M Mix) — 7:00
2. "Axel F (Extended Version) — 7:09
3. "Shoot Out" — 2:44

12" maxi

1. "Axel F (Extended Version) — 7:09
2. "Shoot Out" — 2:44

7" single

1. "Axel F" — 3:00
2. "Shoot Out" — 2:44

Charts

Peak positions Chart (1985) Peak position Austrian Singles Chart[1] 4 Dutch Singles Chart[2] 1 German Singles Chart[1] 2 Irish Singles Chart[3] 1 New Zealand Singles Chart 1 Swedish Singles Chart[1] 18 Swiss Singles Chart[1] 2 UK Singles Chart[4] 2 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5] 3 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Chart[5] 1 U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks[5] 13

End of year charts End of year chart (1985) Position Dutch Top 40[6] 15 Swiss Singles Chart[7] 15

Chart successions

Order of precedence
Preceded by "This is My Night" by Chaka Khan	Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single March 9, 1985 - March 16, 1985 With: "New Attitude" by Patti LaBelle	Succeeded by "Bad Habits" by Jenny Burton
Preceded by "Suddenly" by Billy Ocean	Billboard Adult Contemporary (chart) number-one single June 8, 1985 (2 weeks)	Succeeded by "The Search Is Over" by Survivor
Preceded by "Frankie" by Sister Sledge	Irish IRMA number-one single July 27, 1985	Succeeded by "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" by Eurythmics
Preceded by "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco	Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single August 10, 1985	Succeeded by "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora
Preceded by "I'm on Fire" by Bruce Springsteen	Dutch Top 40 number-one single August 10, 1985 - August 17, 1985	Succeeded by "Waarom fluister ik je naam nog" by Benny Neyman

Cover versions

Crazy Frog version

"Axel F"
Single by Crazy Frog
from the album Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits
Released	May 17, 2005
Format	CD single CD maxi Digital download
Recorded	1997 (vocals), 2004 (song)
Genre	Dance-pop, happy hardcore, trance
Length	2:54 (radio edit)
Label	Ministry of Sound
Writer(s)	Harold Faltermeyer
Producer	Bass Bumpers
Certification	Diamond France, 2005 Double Platinium Belgium, 2005 Gold (BPI)
Crazy Frog singles chronology
- "Axel F" (2005) "Popcorn" (2005)

In 2005, Crazy Frog remixed the song, also releasing it under name "Axel F," but also known as the "Crazy Frog song." The novelty song is Crazy Frog's first and most internationally successful single. It is a remix of Harold Faltermeyer's 1984 composition "Axel F", produced by Henning Reith and Reinhard "DJ Voodoo" Raith, two members of the German dance production team Bass Bumpers. Jamster! arranged the remix, and later marketed it as a ringtone.

The remix consists of vocals taken from the Crazy Frog recording by Daniel Malmedahl in 1997. It uses mainly the same part of the two-minute original that was used in Jamster's ringtone release. The song also uses the "What's going on ?" vocal shotguns from another 2003 remix of Axel F, by Murphy Brown and Captain Hollywood (dubbed "Axel F 2003" and sometimes "Axel F 2004").

The Ministry of Sound hired Kaktus Film and Erik Wernquist of TurboForce3D, the original creator of the 3D Crazy Frog, to produce a full-length animated music video to accompany the release of the song. The video, featuring the Crazy Frog character, is set in the future, and centres on his pursuit by a bounty hunter. The bounty hunter receives notification of a $50,000 reward for capturing the frog.

Chart performances

Released across Europe in May 2005, "Axel F" went straight to number one in the United Kingdom, with some of the best weekly sales of the year so far (out-selling rivals such as Coldplay by four copies to one), and remained on top of the UK charts for four weeks. In other European countries the popularity has differed, with the remix failing to make the top twenty in Switzerland at first, before gradually climbing to #1, whilst only making #18 in Russia. It also reached #1 in the overall European chart, after initially being number two to Akon's "Lonely" for several weeks, and stayed there until September. It also reached #1 in Australia, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Norway, Ukraine, Spain, and Sweden.

In France, the song made an amazing jump, entering the French singles chart at number 77 on June 11, 2005, and moving all the way to number 2 in the next week. There it stayed for two weeks, and then topped the chart for 13 weeks. It fell off the first position being dethroned by its second single, "Popcorn" (it was only the second time that an artist dethrone himself in that country). The song remained in the top ten for 21 weeks, 30 weeks in the top 50 and 36 weeks in the chart. Its best weekly sales were 103,564 on its sixth week, which is huge in France^[8]. On December 1, 2005, it was certified Diamond disc seven months after its release by SNEP, the French certificator. According to the Infodisc Website, it is the 34th best selling single of all time in France, with 1,236,100 sales^[9] (1,265,579 sales, according to another source^[10]).

Despite the Crazy Frog not being hugely well-known in Japan, the single release also charted there, peaking at #46. It has apparently failed to catch on in the U.S., peaking at #50. Although "Axel F" managed to find more success in Mainstream Markets, it proved to be a moderate success on U.S Rhythmic Top 40 where it peaked at #28 just scraping the top 30. It also peaked at #3 on the U.S Digital Sales beating the likes of Lindsay Lohan and the Black Eyed Peas. Its highest U.S. success was just missing the top spot at #2 on the U.S Adult Contemporary Top 20. Most recently, in 2010, the Crazy Frog version was ranked at #29 on the list of AOL Radio's list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, with Matthew Wilkening exclaiming that the version is, "[w]ithout a doubt, the best remake of the 'Beverly Hills Cop' theme song by an animated frog, ever."^[11]

The song was the 65th best-selling single of the 2000 decade in UK.^[12]

Music video

The bounty hunter activates a killbot mounted on armoured hover cycle in the video, then it proceeds to track the Crazy Frog as he commutes around the City on his imaginary motorcycle. As the bounty hunter closes in on his prey, the Crazy Frog becomes aware of his pursuer and an unlikely chase begins over skyscrapers and through the city's sewer system, before the killbot launches a guided missile at the Frog.

However, the Crazy Frog is able to mount the missile as it approaches him, evidently confusing its guidance system, as it then begins to loop and glide uncontrollably. The missile eventually locks onto the bounty hunter's van, destroying it and creating a large mushroom cloud. The Crazy Frog manages to escape the blast, covered in dust from the debris and appearing to deliver the closing 'lyrics'.

Single track listing

Australia

1. "Axel F" (Radio Edit) — 2:54
2. "Axel F" (Club Mix) — 6:23
3. "Axel F" (Club Mix Instrumental) — 6:23
4. "In the 80's" — 3:29

UK

1. "Axel F" (Radio Edit)
2. "Axel F" (Bounce Mix)
3. "Axel F" (Bounce Mix Instrumental)
4. "Axel F" (Reservoir Frog Remix)
5. "Axel F" (Video)

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (2005) Peak position Australian ARIA Singles Chart[13] 1 Austrian Singles Chart[13] 2 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[13] 1 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[13] 1 Danish Singles Chart[13] 1 Dutch Singles Chart[14] 7 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1 Finnish Singles Chart[13] 2 French SNEP Singles & Digital Charts[13][15] 1 German Singles Chart[14] 3 Irish IRMA Singles Chart[14] 1 Italian FIMI Singles Chart[13] 4 Japanese Singles Chart 46 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[13] 1 Norwegian Singles Chart[13] 1 Spanish Singles Chart[13] 1 Swedish Singles Chart[13] 1 Swiss Singles Chart[13] 1 UK Singles Chart[16] 1 U.S Billboard Hot 100[17] 50 U.S Billboard Hot Dance Club/Play[17] 7 U.S Billboard Latin Tropical Airplay[17] 37 U.S Billboard Pop 100[17] 34 U.S Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 28 U.S Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[17] 40

End of year charts End of year chart (2005) Position Australian Singles Chart[18] 4 Australian Dance Singles Chart[19] 1 Austrian Singles Chart[20] 17 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[21] 2 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[22] 1 Dutch Top 40[23] 33 French Singles Chart[24] 2 French Digital Chart[25] 7 French Club 50 Chart[26] 23 Irish Singles Chart[27] 4 New Zealand Singles Chart[28] 1 Swiss Singles Chart[29] 2 UK Singles Chart[30] 3

Certifications and sales

Country	Certification	Date	Sales certified	Physical sales	Digital downloads
Belgium[31]	2 x Platinum	September 10, 2005	100,000
Denmark[32]	Gold	November 22, 2005	4,000
France[33]	Diamond	December 1, 2005	750,000	1,265,579+[10]	28,800+[25]
Swiss[34]	Platinum	2005	40,000
U.S.[35]	Gold	December 12, 2005	500,000

Chart successions

Order of precedence
Preceded by "Lyla" by Oasis	UK Singles Chart number-one single May 29, 2005 - June 19, 2005 (4 weeks)	Succeeded by "Ghetto Gospel" by 2Pac featuring Elton John
Preceded by "Lonely" by Akon	Irish (IRMA) number-one single June 2, 2005 - June 23, 2005 (4 weeks)	Succeeded by "Ghetto Gospel" by 2Pac featuring Elton John
Preceded by "Fame" by Star Academy	Belgium (Flanders) number-one single June 4, 2005 - August 20, 2005 (12 weeks)	Succeeded by "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt
Preceded by "Lonely" by Akon	Danish number-one single July 1, 2005 (1 week)	Succeeded by "Fuck Dig" by Ana David
	Swiss number one single July 3, 2005 - September 11, 2005 (11 weeks)	Succeeded by "La camisa negra" by Juanes
Preceded by "This Is The Night" by Jorun Stiansen	Norwegian VG-lista number-one single (first run) July 6, 2005 - July 13, 2005 (2 weeks)	Succeeded by "Tsjeriåu" by Ravi & DJ Løv med The Monroes
Preceded by "Himno oficial del centenario" by El Aberrato	Spanish number-one single July 10, 2005 - July 31, 2005 (4 weeks)	Succeeded by "Himno oficial del centenario" by El Aberrato
Preceded by "Un Monde parfait" by Ilona	Belgian (Wallonia) number-one single July 16, 2005 - October 8, 2005 (13 weeks)	Succeeded by "Je ne suis pas un héros" by Star Academy 5
Preceded by "Lonely" by Akon	New Zealand (RIANZ) number-one single (first run) July 18, 2005 – August 15, 2005 (5 weeks)	Succeeded by "Don't Cha" by Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes
Preceded by "Short Liv" by Lars Winnerbäck and Hovet	Swedish number one single July 21, 2005 - September 1, 2005 (7 weeks)	Succeeded by "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt
Preceded by "Un Monde parfait" by Ilona	French (SNEP) number one single July 21, 2005 - September 17, 2005 (13 weeks)	Succeeded by "Popcorn" by Crazy Frog
Preceded by "Tsjeriåu" by Ravi & DJ Løv med The Monroes	Norwegian VG-lista number-one single (second run) July 27, 2005 - August 10, 2005 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "Tsjeriåu" by Ravi & DJ Løv med The Monroes
Preceded by "Lonely" by Akon	Australia (ARIA) number-one single July 31, 2005 – August 14, 2005 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "Lonely" by Akon
Preceded by "Tsjeriåu" by Ravi & DJ Løv med The Monroes	Norwegian VG-lista number-one single (third run) August 24, 2005 (1 week)	Succeeded by "What's In It For Me" by Amy Diamond
Preceded by "Don't Cha" by Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes	New Zealand (RIANZ) number-one single (second run) August 29, 2005 – October 3, 2005 (6 weeks)	Succeeded by "Pon De Replay" by Rihanna
Preceded by "Dragostea din tei" by O-Zone	Belgium Singles Chart single of the year 2005	Succeeded by "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean

Other covers

• 1991 "Axel F" by Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra for the Telarc release Bond and Beyond
• 1995 "Axel F"/"Keep Pushin'" (by Clock), a UK #7 hit in 1995.
• 1998 "Axel F" (by Planet Bass)
• 1998 "Axel F" (by Trance Atlantic Air Waves)
• 1999 "Axel F" (by Cobat)
• 2001 "Axel F" (by Spacecorn) #74 UK
• 2003 "Axel F 2003"/"Axel F 2004" (by Murphy Brown & Captain Hollywood)
• 2005 "Italian Fireflies vs Axel Foley Theme" (Author Unknown, sampled from Black Strobe and Harold Faltermeyer)
• 2006 "Axel F" (by Ismail Miraux).
• 2007 "Original Techno remix by #1 80's Club Hits Remixed on their album Best of 80's Dance
• 2009 "Axel F" (by Ron Rockwell).
• 2011 "Axel F" (by Raney Shockne) Scream IV soundtrack.

See also

• Axel Foley
• Beverly Hills Cop (film series)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Axel F", by Harold Faltermeyer, in various singles charts Austriancharts.at (Retrieved July 27, 2008)
2. ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 32, 1985". http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=5906. Retrieved 2008-03-01. 
3. ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved July 27, 2008)
4. ^ "Axel F", UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved July 27, 2008)
5. ^ ^{a b c} Billboard allmusic.com (Retrieved July 27, 2008)
6. ^ "Single top 100 over 1985" (in Dutch) (pdf). Top40. http://www.top40.nl/pdf/Top%20100/top%20100%20-%201985.pdf. Retrieved 5 May 2010. 
7. ^ "1985 Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Swisscharts. http://www.swisscharts.com/year.asp?key=1985. Retrieved 5 May 2010. 
8. ^ Weekly sales in France Chartsinfrance.net (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
9. ^ Best-selling singles of all time in France Infodisc.fr (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
10. ^ ^{a b} 2005 French Singles Chart Fanofmusic.free.fr (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
11. ^ Wilkening, Matthew (September 11, 2010). "100 Worst Songs Ever -- Part Four of Five". AOL Radio. http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/09/11/100-worst-songs-ever-part-four-of-five/. Retrieved December 24, 2010. 
12. ^ Radio 1 Official Chart of the Decade, as broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on Tuesday 29th December 2009, presented by Nihal
13. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} "Axel F", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
14. ^ ^{a b c} "Axel F", in various singles charts Acharts.us (Retrieved June 30, 2009)
15. ^ French digital download Ifop.com (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
16. ^ "Axel F", UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved July 27, 2008)
17. ^ ^{a b c d e} Billboard allmusic.com (Retrieved July 27, 2008)
18. ^ ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2005 Aria.com.au (Retrieved February 13, 2008)
19. ^ ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Dance Singles 2005 Aria.com.au (Retrieved February 13, 2008)
20. ^ 2005 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved May 15, 2008)
21. ^ 2005 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved February 13, 2008)
22. ^ 2005 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved February 13, 2008)
23. ^ "Single top 100 over 2005" (in Dutch) (pdf). Top40. http://www.top40.nl/pdf/Top%20100/top%20100%20-%202005.pdf. Retrieved 5 May 2010. 
24. ^ 2005 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
25. ^ ^{a b} 2005 French Digital Chart Fanofmusic.free.fr (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
26. ^ 2005 French Airplay, TV and Club Charts Yacast.fr (Retrieved January 19, 2007)
27. ^ 2005 Irish Singles Chart Irma.ie (Retrieved December 11, 2008)
28. ^ 2005 New Zealand Singles Charts Rianz.org.nz (Retrieved February 13, 2008)
29. ^ 2005 Swiss Singles Charts Hitparade.ch (Retrieved February 13, 2008)
30. ^ 2005 UK Singles Charts Ukchartsplus.co.uk (Retrieved July 27, 2010)
31. ^ Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
32. ^ Danish certifications ifpi.dk (Retrieved September 20, 2008)
33. ^ 2005 certifications Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
34. ^ Swiss certifications Swisscharts.com (Retrieved May 10, 2008)
35. ^ RIAA Riaa.com (Retrieved March 1, 2008)

External links

• The 8bitpeoples "Axel F" A freely downloadable compilation of various artists' interpretations of "Axel F." Released under Creative Commons license.
• The official Crazy Frog Axel F website
• Press release, including sound clips