"Tragedy" is a song recorded by the Bee Gees, included on
their 1979 album
Spirits Having Flown. The single reached number one in
the UK in February 1979 and repeated the feat the following
month on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Though not originally in
Saturday Night Fever, it has subsequently been added to
the musical score of the West End version of the
movie-musical.
The song knocked "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor off the
top spot in the U.S. for two weeks before that song again
returned to number one for an additional week.
In 1979, NBC aired
The Bee Gees Specialwhich showed how the sound effect
for the explosion was created. Barry cupped his hands over a
microphone and made an exploding sound. Several of these sounds
were then mixed together creating one large boom heard on the
record.
In 1998, Steps covered "Tragedy", releasing it as a double
A-side with "Heartbeat". It debuted at number two on the UK
Singles Chart before climbing to the top spot, achieving
platinum status. A dance step of putting both hands parallel to
the sides of the head became the trademark move of the British
group. "Tragedy" has sold more copies than all three previous
Steps singles combined. It spent eighteen weeks in the Top 20
and thirty weeks on the chart in total.