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How Much Is the Fish?

"How Much Is the Fish?" is a hardcore/Euro-dance song by a German group Scooter. It was released in June 1998 as the lead single from their fifth studio album No Time to Chill.[1] It is the first song to feature Axel Coon. It was made for the France '98 FIFA World Cup.

Background

In May 2016, in response to increased popularity from a mention on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, H.P Baxxter answered the question about "How much is the fish?" on the Scooter Facebook page, revealing that "the fish" was actually the one they bought for their studio aquarium, and it cost 3.80 DM (1.94 €).[2]

Samples

"How Much Is the Fish?" interpolates the song "Zeven Dagen Lang" (Seven days long) by the Dutch band Bots. The melody originates from the traditional Breton song Son ar Chistr played on Alan Stivell's 1970 album Reflets. The title is derived from lyrics in the song "Buffalo" by Anglo-Irish indie group Stump, taken from the 1986 mini-album Quirk Out. The background music sample comes from the album version of the song "Paradoxx" from the German band 666.

Track listing

CD single[3]

  1. "How Much Is the Fish?" – 3:45
  2. "How Much Is the Fish?" (Extendedfish) – 5:23
  3. "How Much Is the Fish?" (Clubfish) – 6:11
  4. "Sputnik" – 3:06

12-inch single[1]

  1. "How Much Is the Fish?" (Clubfish) – 6:11
  2. "How Much Is the Fish?" (Extendedfish) – 5:23

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "How Much Is the Fish?"
Chart (1998) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4] 9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 1
Denmark (Tracklisten)[6] 12
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 21
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] 21
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[9] 2
Germany (GfK)[10] 3
Norway (VG-lista)[11] 19
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 23
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 13

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "How Much Is the Fish?"
Chart (1998) Position
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 11
Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 22

Certifications

Certifications for "How Much Is the Fish?"
Country Certification Date
Germany[16] Gold 1999

Covers

  • In collaboration with Scooter, the german German hip-hop band K.I.Z wrote a song in German language called Was kostet der Fisch?. While the title is a direct translation, the songtext is a reinterpretation and should not be considered a cover of the original song. It was released on the album Jumping All Over the World[17] in 2008.
  • Lento violento artist DJ Maxwell covered the song, in 2015 for their 3rd album Trust No One Part III.[18]
  • Russian pianist Olga Scheps released 2017 an Single adaption, a classic version of the song and for the 2019 album 100% Scooter - piano only.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b How Much Is The Fish Amazon.de
  2. ^ Scooters answer to Jimmy Fallon Facebook
  3. ^ How Much Is The Fish: Scooter Amazon.de
  4. ^ "Scooter – How Much Is the Fish?" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Scooter – How Much Is the Fish?" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  6. ^ "Scooter – How Much Is the Fish?". Tracklisten. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  7. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Scooter" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  8. ^ "Scooter – How Much Is the Fish?" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  9. ^ "Scooter: How Much Is the Fish?" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  10. ^ "Scooter – How Much Is the Fish?" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Scooter – How Much Is the Fish?". VG-lista. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  12. ^ "Scooter – How Much Is the Fish?". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  13. ^ "Scooter – How Much Is the Fish?". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  14. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1998". Ultratop. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  15. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  16. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('How Much Is the Fish')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  17. ^ discogs: K.I.Z.– Was Kostet Der Fisch?
  18. ^ DJ Maxwell - Trust No One part III
  19. ^ Stuttgarter Zeitung: „How much is the Fish“ auf dem Klavier from 21. February 2019