Axel F

"Axel F" is an electronic instrumental track by German musician Harold Faltermeyer. It served as the theme song for the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop, its eponymous character (as portrayed by Eddie Murphy) and the film franchise it is based from, which became an international number-one hit in 1985. The track reached number one in Ireland as well as on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Additionally, it was a number two hit in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, and West Germany.

In addition to the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, the song appears on Faltermeyer's 1988 album Harold F. as a bonus track.

Production
Faltermeyer recorded the tune using five instruments: a Roland Jupiter-8 provided the distinctive saw lead, a Moog modular synthesizer 15 provided the bass, a Roland JX-3P provided chord stab brasses, a Yamaha DX7 was used for the marimba sound, and a LinnDrum was used for drum programming. All instruments were played by Faltermeyer.

According to Faltermeyer, the initial reaction to his first presentation of the track to the film's producers and director did not result in an immediate approval; it was not until director Martin Brest voiced his approval that the producers showed enthusiasm.

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Faltermeyer. Faltermeyer is featured wearing an overcoat, hat, and sunglasses; he sneaks into a computer lab at night and uses one of the machines to watch scenes from Beverly Hills Cop with himself edited in, interspersed with footage of a pole dancer, a female dancer, and of himself playing the synthesizer.

Track listings

 * 7-inch single
 * 1) "Axel F" – 3:00
 * 2) "Shoot Out" – 2:44


 * 12-inch maxi
 * 1) "Axel F" (M & M mix) – 7:00
 * 2) "Axel F" (extended version) – 7:09
 * 3) "Shoot Out" – 2:44


 * 12-inch maxi
 * 1) "Axel F" (extended version) – 7:09
 * 2) "Shoot Out" – 2:44

Charts
Faltermeyer's version of the instrumental reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart and number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. It also spent two weeks atop the American adult contemporary chart.

Techno Cop version
In 1992, German techno group Techno Cop covered the instrumental, and achieved modest success with a top 30 ranking on the German singles chart. Unlike the original, this version contains rap passages.

Track listings

 * 12-inch maxi
 * 1) "Axel F" (Outlaw mix) – 5:50
 * 2) "Axel F" (Megaphone mix) – 5:20
 * 3) "Cops in Trance" – 4:15


 * CD maxi
 * 1) "Axel F" (U-Boot mix) – 6:00
 * 2) "Axel F" (radio edit) – 3:49
 * 3) "Axel F" (Minimalistixtendid) – 4:41
 * 4) "Beverly Kills" – 2:58

Clock version
British pop/dance act Clock released a successful dance cover of "Axel F" in 1995. Produced by Richard Pritchard and Stu Allan, it was featured on their debut album, It's Time... (1995), and peaked at number five in Scotland, number seven in the UK overall, number eight in Ireland and number 37 in Sweden. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the single reached number 20 in March 1995, while in Australia, it peaked at number 42.

Critical reception
When the cover was released in 1995, James Masterton wrote in his weekly UK chart, "There is no denying the brilliance of this record, making the Harold Faltermeyer classic more of a dance hit than he could ever have dreamed as the song makes the Top 10 close on ten years since the original did the same." Alan Jones from Music Week's RM Dance Update described the song as "another energetic remake". Another editor, James Hamilton, declared it as an "ultra excitingly galloping 135bpm Hi-NRG" track.

Track listings

 * UK CD maxi
 * 1) "Axel F" (Radio Short Stab) – 3:22
 * 2) "Axel F" (Primax mix) – 4:47
 * 3) "Keep Pushin'" (Clock N-R-G mix) – 6:27
 * 4) "Keep Pushin'" (PTP 'London' mix) – 7:46


 * Sweden CD maxi
 * 1) "Axel F" (radio edit) – 3:38
 * 2) "Axel F" (Primax mix) – 4:44
 * 3) "Axel F" (Ten to Two mix) – 5:40
 * 4) "Keep Pushin'" (PTP London edit) – 4:40
 * 5) "Clock Megamix" - 15:40

Psy version
In 2002, South Korean singer Psy released a track titled "Champion" as part of his album 3 Mai, tapping into Seoul's enthusiasm over the 2002 FIFA World Cup. "Champion" was partially inspired by Korean street cheering during the 2002 World Cup. Paul Lester of The Guardian called "Champion" a "thrashy disco" which heavily samples Axel F by Harold Faltermeyer".

Murphy Brown vs Captain Hollywood version
In 2003, Murphy Brown and Captain Hollywood released their eurodance version of "Axel F", titled "Axel F 2003". This version was produced by Matthias Wagner and Andreas Dohmeyer of the Off-cast Project, and Bass Bumpers. It contains a vocal sample from Max Headroom ("What's going on?"), heard at the beginning of the song. It reached number 18 on the official German Singles Chart. This version was reworked two years later into the highly successful version by Crazy Frog, which was also completed by the same team of producers.

Crazy Frog version
In 2005, a reworking of "Axel F 2003" by Murphy Brown and Captain Hollywood was released by Crazy Frog, titled "Axel F". This version became a summer hit that year. The song is Crazy Frog's most successful single. Like "Axel F 2003", Crazy Frog's version was also produced by the Off-cast Project, and Henning Reith and Reinhard "DJ Voodoo" Raith, two members of the German dance production team Bass Bumpers. Wolfgang Boss and Jamster! arranged the remix.

The song consists of additional vocals taken from the 1997 recording "2TAKTARE.mp3" by Daniel Malmedahl. It uses mainly the same part of the two-minute original that was used in Jamster's release.

There were three edits to the song. The original version of the song can be found on most P2P networks.

Chart performances
Released across Europe in May 2005, "Axel F" topped the charts in the United Kingdom, with some of the best weekly sales of the year (out-selling rivals such as Coldplay by four copies to one), and remained at the top of the UK Singles Chart for four weeks to become Britain's third-best-selling single of 2005, outselling and outperforming the original version. In other European countries, the popularity has differed, with the song failing to make the top 20 in Switzerland at first, before gradually climbing to number 1, whilst only making number 18 in Russia. It also reached number 1 on the overall European chart, after initially being number 2 to Akon's "Lonely" for several weeks; it stayed at number 1 until September. It also reached number 1 in Australia, the Republic of Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Norway, Ukraine, Spain, and Sweden.

In France, the song entered the French Singles Chart at number seventy seven on 11 June 2005, and moved all the way to number two the next week. There it stayed for two weeks before climbing to the summit, where it remained for thirteen weeks. It fell off the first position being dethroned by Crazy Frog's 2nd single, "Popcorn". This was only the second time that an artist had ever dethroned themself in that country. The song remained in the top 10 for 21 weeks, 30 weeks in the top 50 and 36 weeks in the chart. Its best weekly sales were 103,564 on its 6th week. On 1 December 2005, it was certified diamond, 7 months after its release by the French certifierSNEP. The song is the third best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 1,270,000 units sold. (1,265,579 sales, according to another source).

Despite Crazy Frog not being as well known in Japan, the single release also charted there, peaking at number 46. It peaked at number 50 in the US. Although "Axel F" managed to find more success in mainstream markets, it proved to be a moderate success on the US Rhythmic Top 40 where it peaked at number 28. It also peaked at number 3 on the US Digital Sales chart, beating the likes of Lindsay Lohan and the Black Eyed Peas. Its highest U.S. success was number 2 on the US Adult Contemporary Top 20. The song later became an Internet meme.

The song was the 65th best-selling single of the 2000s in the UK.

Music video
The Ministry of Sound hired Kaktus Film and Erik Wernquist of TurboForce3D, the original creator of the 3D Crazy Frog, to produce a full-length animated music video to accompany the release of the song. An overview of the city is shown. Then someone in a van with attached satellite dishes and high-tech instruments on the interior sees a message on one of the monitor, which reads "Wanted: The most annoying thing in the world", referring to Crazy Frog, with a bounty of $50,000 specified for the catcher.

In 2011, the video was listed in NME's "50 Worst Music Videos", ranking at 47. As of October 2023, it has been viewed more than 4 billion times on YouTube.

In 2024, as part of a tribute to celebrate the release of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, the Crazy Frog YouTube Channel made a special crossover music video with Netflix, featuring scenes from the movie, but re-edited to feature Crazy Frog in them, being chased by the Beverly Hills Police and Axel Foley. It's the first time that Crazy Frog has ever interacted with the original franchise.

Track listing

 * Australia
 * 1) "Axel F" (Radio Edit) – 2:54
 * 2) "Axel F" (Club Mix) – 6:23
 * 3) "Axel F" (Club Mix Instrumental) – 6:23
 * 4) "In the 80's" – 3:29


 * UK
 * 1) "Axel F" (Radio Edit)
 * 2) "Axel F" (Bounce Mix)
 * 3) "Axel F" (Bounce Mix Instrumental)
 * 4) "Axel F" (Reservoir Frog Remix)
 * 5) "Axel F" (Video)