You Win Again (Bee Gees song)
"You Win Again" is a 1987 song written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb and performed by the Bee Gees. Released as a single in late 1987, it marked the start of the group's comeback, becoming a No. 1 hit in many European countries, including topping the UK Singles Chart—their first to do so in over eight years—and making them the first group to score a UK No. 1 hit in each of three decades: the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. As songwriters, the Gibb brothers received the 1987 British Academy's  Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. In 1988, the band received a Brit Award nomination for Best British Group. In a UK television special on ITV in December 2011, it was voted second (behind "How Deep Is Your Love") on "The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song". Recording. Barry Gibb wrote the melody while brother Maurice conceived the drum sounds (in his garage) that open the track. On "1000 UK #1 Hits" by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, Robin Gibb said "We absolutely thought that 'You Win Again' was going to be a big hit. It took  us a month to cut it and get the right mix." Maurice Gibb explained "You Win Again" in a May 2001 interview with "Mojo": "When we get together and write, it's not like three individuals ― it's like one person in the room. Usually, we have a book of titles and we just pick one. I loved 'You Win Again' as a title, but we had no idea how it might turn out as a song. It ended up as a big demo in my garage, and I recorded stomps and things. There was just one drum on there . The rest was just sounds. Then, everybody tried to talk us out of the stomps at the start. They didn't want it. 'Take it off. Too loud! Can we have them not on the intro, just when the music starts?' All this stuff, but as soon as you hear that 'jabba-doomba, jabba-doomba' on the radio, you know it's us. It's a signal. So, that's one little secret ― give people an automatic identification of who it is." Chart performance. "You Win Again" was a number one single in the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Denmark  and Norway, and reached the top ten in Italy, the Netherlands, Australia and Sweden. It also topped the Eurochart for four weeks. "You Win Again" entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 87 in the chart week dated 19 September. It took just four weeks to reach number one, where it remained for four weeks, thus preventing George Michael's single "Faith" from reaching the top spot. When the single reached number one in the UK in mid-October 1987, it marked the Bee Gees as the first group to score a UK number one hit in each of three  decades: the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It ranked four in the UK's year-end singles sales chart. However, the single was far less successful in the US, peaking at No. 75 on "Billboard"'s Hot 100, perhaps down to a lingering association between the Bee Gees and the disco backlash that emerged in 1979, when the group (disco icons at the time) were at the height of their fame. Their next charting single, the 1989 hit "One", did return them to the US top ten. Formats. "You Win Again" was released commercially on vinyl and cassette. The CD single  was not common in the late 1980s, though a 1-track CD single was produced as a promotional-only copy given to radio stations and reviewers in the United States and a 2-track mini CD single was commercially released in Japan. The song also appeared as a bonus track on the American version of "One", replacing the song "Wing and a Prayer". Personnel. Credits adapted from the album "E.S.P."