Voyage, voyage


"Voyage, voyage" is a song by French singer Desireless, released as the first single from her debut studio album, François. It was written by Jean-Michel Rivat and Dominique Dubois, and produced by the former. Despite being sung entirely in French, the song circumvented the language barrier on the music charts and became a huge international success between 1986 and 1988, reaching the top position in more than 10 countries across Europe.

Commercial performance

Since "Voyage, voyage" is sung exclusively in French, its chart success came as a surprise as it managed the rare feat of becoming a success in several nations usually closed to Francophone songs and artists, such as the United Kingdom and Ireland. In West Germany, the song topped the chart, and has the longest chart trajectory of 1987 in the top 20. It also reached number one in Austria, Norway and Spain. The song missed the top spot in France, peaking at number two for four weeks, behind Elsa Lunghini's "T'en va pas".
The song initially reached number 53 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1987. After being remixed by Pete Hammond and Pete Waterman of PWL, the song was re-released in the United Kingdom in the spring of 1988, and climbed to number five in June of that year. The song's success continued in Ireland, where it reached number four twice, the original version in November 1987 followed by the PWL remix in June 1988.

Music video

The music video for "Voyage, voyage" was directed by Bettina Rheims, and premiered in France in December 1986.

Track listings

  1. "Voyage voyage" – 7:06
  2. "Voyage voyage" – 6:12
  3. "Destin fragile" – 3:31

    Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the 7-inch single of "Voyage, voyage".

Recording

Weekly charts

Chart 1Peak
position
Europe 17

1 Remix

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Austria 7
Europe 6
Netherlands 85
Switzerland 1
West Germany 1

Certifications

Kate Ryan version

Belgian singer Kate Ryan covered the song for her fourth studio album, Free. Slightly retitled "Voyage Voyage", her version as the album's lead single in July 2007, featuring "We All Belong" on its B-side, which is the anthem of the event EuroGames 2007 that took place in Antwerp, Belgium, in 2007.
It was Ryan's first single released under ARS Entertainment, following her departure from EMI Belgium. Commercially, "Voyage Voyage" reached number two in Belgium, as well as the top 10 in Finland, the Netherlands and Spain.

Track listing

  1. "Voyage Voyage"
  2. "Voyage Voyage"
  3. "We All Belong"
  4. "We All Belong"

    Charts

Year-end charts

Other covers

"Voyage, voyage" was also covered by the Mexican band Magneto in 1991, with a version in Spanish titled "Vuela Vuela". Mikel Herzog was credited with the translation. This version peaked at number three on Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart.