ForeignCoverVersions

Top Tips for searching through the Foreign Covers archive! Searching by language: from:@foreigncovers.bsky.social chinese Searching by artist: from:@foreigncovers.bsky.social chumbawamba Searching by song: from:@foreigncovers.bsky.social tubthumping

Unsure if this French-sung iteration of "The Windmills of Your Mind" really counts as a foreign cover if it's being sung buy the guy who co-wrote it, who also coincidentally happens to be the father of the singer in Beach House. But whatever.

Here is a tremendous Czech cover of The Mixtures' 1970 hit "The Pushbike Song", complete with accompanying video!

Despite much of their rich oeuvre not being covered in other languages, this Czech cover of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" was recorded in 2009.

This is what a possibly not totally serious German language cover of The Rolling Stones' "Angie" sounds like.

The translated-back title of this frankly bizarre 90s Hungarian-sung cover of Dead Or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" is "I Can Already See You On Me".

An Arabic version of Sylvia Vrethammar's 1974 UK top five hit "Y Viva España" (itself a cover of a Flemish original) exists and this is it.

This rather peculiar, almost acapella take on Sade's "Smooth Operator" (but with vague free jazz noises in the background) is sung in Swedish.

And how about a cover of Duran Duran's "Ordinary World" sung acapella by an all-female quintet in Norwegian?

Now here's a curious version of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf" in Argentine Spanish.

Itself a cover version of a forgotten Bucks Fizz track, Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It" gets a rework in Croatian.

And sticking with the ultra-camp Army of Lovers, here is a Flemish cover of their arguably most notorious song "Crucified", re-christened LUCIFER by a distinctly un-camp middle-aged Belgian lady.

Are you ready for a Russian cover of Army of Lovers' "Sexual Revolution", complete with saucy promo video?

Get your motor running for this cover of Steppenwolf's Easy Rider-soundtracking "Born To Be Wild", sung entirely in Burmese.

Talking of Slow Hand, here is the first of three totally different Czech translations of Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven".

If you ever wondered what a Korean-language version of The Pointer Sisters' "Slow Hand" sounded like, wonder no more.

This Dutch-sung cover of Elvis Costello's "I Want You" slows the thing down even more than the original.

One for the ABBA fans now, a French-language cover of the aforementioned combo's "Arrival", performed as a duet with yr actual Frida!

Don't let the opening words in English confuse you, this is a Japanese language version of The Bangles' "Eternal Flame" as sung by the legendary Seiko Matsuda. https://youtu.be/OLlHScsYniU?si=ebfmZtTolnNBzCAn

"Didn't We Almost Have It All?" asked Whitney Houston in 1987, unaware that this Greek version of that very song would emerge from the ether the very next year.

A low-rent Chinese version of Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" exists.

Hard as it may be to believe, but Kiss's anthemic "I Was Made For Loving You" only scraped the number 50 position on the UK hit parade before turning round again in 1979. In Finland however, the song merited a cover version in the local lingo.

There are several distinct Dutch-language versions of REM's "Losing My Religion" out there. This is but one.

Why not start your day with this Burmese cover of "The Power of Love"? But it's the Huey Lewis and the News one, not the Frankie Goes To Hollywood one or the Jennifer Rush one.

Here's an Indonesian-sung cover of "How Deep Is Your Love". Not the Calvin Harris one, the Bee Gees one.

Here's an interesting Korean-language rework of Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder's "Ebony and Ivory", ostensibly performed by one solo singer. Unsure whether the anti-racist message of the original remains intact in translation.

Here is a Finnish gentleman singing Raffaella Carrà's greatest international hit in his own language.

Keeping it on a boogie tip, here's a Brazilian Portuguese take on Earth, Wind and Fire's "Boogie Wonderland".

It transpires that Italian legend Rita Pavone once recorded a cover of Heatwave's "Boogie Nights" in her mother tongue.

I do believe this is a Catalan-language cover of M.I.A's "Paper Planes", repurposed as a squatter's anthem.

A Dutch version of Madonna's "Like A Prayer"? One does exist.

Belgium's original pop punk Plastic Bertrand - famous for "Ça Plane Pour Moi" - once recorded a cover of Peter Schilling's Bowie-inspired international originally German language but subsequently translated one hit wonder "Major Tom (Coming Home)" in French. Who knew etc etc...

Who's up for an Argentine Spanish take on David Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes"?

This Danish language cover of Clive Dunn's chart-topping 70s hit "Grandad" is specifically dedicated to the grandfather on the singer's mother's side.

Who remembers ABC's 1987 number 31 hit "The Night You Murdered Love"? Well, this Hong Kong singer did and recorded his own version of it in Cantonese.

Here is a rather unconventional francophone cover of The Smiths' "Bigmouth Strikes Again"...

There are more than a few Nordic translations of the Tom Robinson Band's drivers' anthem "2-4-6-8 Motorway". There are FIVE different Swedish "translations", and in this one I'm presuming the E4 and E6 are also important highways in those parts.

Well here is a French-Canadian rework of The Beach Boys "Help Me Rhonda", performed by a Quebecois quintet in shocking pink lamé suits.

This Chinese version of Musical Youth's 1982 chart-topper was apparently re-written to be about traditional Buddhist principles. Or something.

There is no reason for a Serbian language cover version of 5ive's "Slam Dunk The Funk" to exist. And yet, dear followers, it does. https://youtu.be/79bpkmJwXRg

Here's a Czech cover of Cream's 1969 swansong single "Badge".

Did you know that a Catalan version of The Cramps' "Human Fly" exists? This is it:

Michael Jackson 'Beat It' Mandarin cover 张帝《现场回答观众问题》19?? https://redd.it/y6i0eo https://youtu.be/8Ef8kouqsMc

This is what Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" sounds like in Hindi. No, it isn't her doing the singing.

Can you imagine someone singing Men At Work's uber-Australian 1983 hit "Down Under" in Spanish? These Peruvians can!

This Norwegian-language cover of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman" comes from AN ENTIRE ALBUM of Norwegian-language Bob Dylan covers All sung by the same bloke.

Far less remembered than "Loser", Beck's Japan-only single "Nobody's Fault But My Own" also has its own foreign cover version. But not in Japanese this time, in Finnish:

I first heard Beck's "Loser" in Japan, so it's only fitting that someone else recorded a Japanese language cover thereof.

"Communication", the opening track from The Cardigans criminally underappreciated fifth proper album Long Gone Before Daylight, never got a proper international single release. It did, however, get a Chinese cover version.