Live Is Life

"Live Is Life" is a 1984 song by Austrian pop rock band Opus. It was released as the first single from their first live album, Live Is Life (1984), and was also included on the US version of their fourth studio album, Up and Down (1984). The song was a European number-one hit in the summer of 1985, and also reached number one in Canada and the top 40 in the US in 1986. It has been covered by many artists.

This article is about the Opus song. For the Noah and the Whale song, see Life Is Life (song). For the 2021 film, see Live Is Life (film).

"Live Is Life"
Single by Opus
from the album Live Is Life/
Up and Down (U.S. version)
B-side
  • "Again and Again"
  • "Up and Down"
Released1984[1]
GenreReggae[2]
Length4:14
Label
  • Polydor
  • OK
Songwriter(s)
  • Ewald Pfleger
  • Kurt Rene Plisnier
  • Gunter Grasmuck
  • Niki Gruber
  • Herwig Rüdisser
Producer(s)Peter Müller
Opus singles chronology
"Flying High"
(1982)		 "Live Is Life"
(1984)		 "Flyin' High (Live Version)"
(1985)
Gimme Love
(1992)
The Power of Live Is Life
(1994)
Live Is Life 08
(2008)
Alternative covers
Austrian release

Background and chart performance

After having released several singles, "Live Is Life" achieved huge success in 1985, topping the charts of many countries, including Austria (eight weeks), West Germany, France (seven weeks) and Sweden (four weeks).

The song was created during a concert in Oberwart, on 2 September 1984, while the group celebrated its eleventh anniversary. It was recorded in a live version with the audience singing along in the verses. In the lyrics, the song expresses "the enthusiastic attachment of the group to the stage".[3] The song was performed during the 1985 charity campaign, "Austria für Afrika".

In 1994, on the occasion of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Opus released another version of "Live Is Life", which made it again into the top ten in Austria. The song was re-recorded once more by the group in 2008, both in a solo version and featuring Jerry.

Maradona's warm up

On 19 April 1989, during the warming up in Munich before the UEFA Cup semi-final return between FC Bayern Munich and S.S.C. Napoli, Diego Maradona performed an impromptu keepie uppie exhibition synchronized to the rhythm of "Live Is Life", as the song happened to be playing over the stadium's loudspeakers during warm-ups.

Some confusion persists by those who dispute that it took place in Munich. Among others, Jürgen Klinsmann claimed that it happened during the final in Stuttgart:

There were 70,000 people in the stadium and Maradona went on the field. We’re on the other side of the field, warming up like Germans: seriously, focused. There's music playing, the song "Live is Life", and to the rhythm of the song Maradona started juggling the ball. So we stopped our warm-up. What's this guy doing? He's juggling off his shoulders. And we couldn't warm up anymore because we had to watch this guy.[4]

Belgian sports anchor Frank Raes, who edited the video and distributed it via YouTube, has asserted that this warm up took place just before the semifinal in Munich. By 2013, Raes' video clip had garnered almost two million views on YouTube.[4] The 25th anniversary of Maradona's warming up was noted internationally, with newspapers commenting on his skills and on the transformative effect he had on Napoli and southern Italy.[5][6]

Personnel
  • Herwig Rüdisser – lead vocals
  • Ewald Pfleger – guitar, vocals
  • Niki Gruber – bass, vocals
  • Kurt-René Plisnier – keyboard, vocals
  • Günter Grasmuck – drums
  • Günter Timischl – percussion, vocals

Track listings

Charts and sales

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[35] 2× Platinum 200,000^
France (SNEP)[36] Gold 500,000*
Germany (BVMI)[37] Gold 500,000^
Italy (FIMI)[38] Gold 35,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[39] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Silver 250,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Hermes House Band version
"Live Is Life (Here We Go)"
Single by Hermes House Band featuring DJ Ötzi
from the album Today Is the Day
B-side"Remix"
Released2002
Length3:30
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Ewald Pfleger
  • Kurt Rene Plisnier
  • Gunter Grasmuck
  • Niki Gruber
  • Herwig Rüdisser
Producer(s)
  • Klaus Biedermann
  • Jim Binapfl
  • Jake Buck
  • Mark Duran
  • John Lehmkuhl
  • Claus Marcus
  • Christian Seitz
Hermes House Band singles chronology
"Que sera sera"
(2001)		 "Live Is Life (Here We Go)"
(2002)		 "Those Were the Days"
(2003)

The Hermes House Band and DJ Ötzi released a version of the song in 2002. The single had its highest peak position in France, where it reached number two for five weeks.[41] The song was used as a soundtrack for the German youth film Das Jahr der ersten Küsse.[42] As of August 2014, the song was the 23rd best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 537,000 units sold.[43]

Track listings
  • CD single
  1. "Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (Here We Go/video mix) – 3:30
  2. "Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (jump mix) – 3:33
  • CD maxi
  1. "Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (Here We Go/video mix) – 3:30
  2. "Live Is Life (Here We Go)" (jump mix) – 3:33
  3. "Football's Coming Home" (three lions) (radio) by Hermes House Band – 3:48
  4. "Everytime You Touch Me" (fireplace mix) by Hermes House Band – 3:21
  5. "Hey Mama" by Hermes House Band – 3:10
  6. Enhanced Multimediatrack : "Live Is Life" – 3:30

Charts and sales

Other cover versions

A well known version of the song was done by the Slovenian art collective Laibach, titled "Opus Dei," in a distinctly darker and militaristic style. It is one of Laibach's most well-known songs.

The song was covered by Stargo, whose version reached number 10 in France in 1985.[60] Sofia Carson's "Love Is the Name" features an interpolation of "Live Is Life".[61]

See also

References
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  2. Leland, John (May 1986). "Singles > Sideswipes". Spin. Vol. 2, no. 2. p. 41. ISSN 0886-3032.
  3. Habib, Elia (2002). Muz hit. tubes (in French). Alinéa Bis. p. 47. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X.
  4. Woitalla, Mike (25 September 2013). "Klinsmann recalls Maradona's 'Live is Life' warm-up". Soccer America. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  5. Luckhurst, Samuel (19 April 2014). "Diego Maradona's Live Is Life Warm-Up: 25 Years Ago Today". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  6. "Video: Diego Maradona – even warming up he was a bit special". The Daily Telegraph. 15 December 2010. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
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  8. Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Mississauga, Ont.: Music Data Canada.
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  10. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Opus". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 190. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
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  17. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
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