Born to Be Alive is a 1979 album by Belgian singer Patrick Hernandez

Patrick Hernandez

Patrick Hernandez is a French singer who had a worldwide hit with "Born to Be Alive" in 1979.-Biography:...

 and also a song on this album.

The album's title track, written by Hernandez, was a significant worldwide pop hit and also hit number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play

Hot Dance Club Play

The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...

 chart. Written first as a hard-rock song, "Born to Be Alive" was also covered

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 by pop-punk group Los Nikis

Los Nikis

Los Nikis were a Spanish pop-punk group of the 1980s that were associated with la Movida. They were nicknamed "The Ramones from Algete" with songs that feature very simple music and humorous lyrics and subject matter...

, with lyrics consisting just of repetitions of Me voy a Benidorm

Benidorm

Benidorm is a coastal town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Valencian community, Spain, by the Western Mediterranean....

. This song was also covered by Nekromantix

Nekromantix

The Nekromantix are a Danish-American psychobilly band formed in 1989 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their music is generally structured around monster and horror themes. A central icon of the band's image is founder and frontman Kim Nekroman's "coffinbass", a custom-built double bass with a body in the...

 and Roberto Blanco

Roberto Blanco

Roberto Blanco , was born 7 June 1937 in Tunis, Tunisia. Of Afro-Cuban origin, Blanco is a German-speaking Schlager singer and actor.-Early life:...

.

Initially, no producer wanted to release the song, but after prospecting all the major names, Hernandez, who recorded the song in Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, found a little-known producer in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

"Born to Be Alive" first became a hit in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and has become one of the biggest singles in that country. The song also gained gold status in the USA. After that single hit record, he dropped out of the music businesss, making do with an occasional TV appearance.

"Born to Be Alive" was also covered in the Pump It Up

Pump It Up

Pump It Up, commonly abbreviated as PIU or shortened to just Pump, is a music video game series currently developed by Nexcade and published by Andamiro, a Korean arcade game producer. The game is typically played on a dance pad with five arrow panels: up-left, up-right, bottom-left, bottom-right,...

series of rhythm dance video games. The song was also featured in the 1997 film Vegas Vacation

Vegas Vacation

Vegas Vacation is a 1997 comedy film. It is the fourth film in the original Vacation film series centering around the fictitious Griswold family, following Vacation, European Vacation, and Christmas Vacation. Chevy Chase reprises his starring role as Clark W. Griswold, the patriarch of the family...

, starring Chevy Chase

Chevy Chase

Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...

 and Randy Quaid

Randy Quaid

Randall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...

. A cover of the song also featured on a 2011 advert for Diesel's "Fuel for Life" perfume range.

Track listing

1. "Born to Be Alive"
2. "You Turn Me On"
3. "It Comes So Easy"
4. "Disco Queen"
5. "Show Me the Way You Kiss"
6. "I Give You Rendezvous"