Oh O O O Oh Ooh — D-Me
A Belgian dance project turned the riff of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” into a chant over a club beat: the story of D-Me’s “Oh O O O Oh Ooh”.
- A Eurodance version of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army”, also titled “a.k.a. 7 Nation Army”.
- Credited to D-Me, one of the projects of Belgian producer Serge Ramaekers.
- Released in 2004; included on Belgian Dance Classix 1 (1 November 2004).
“Oh O O O Oh Ooh” is what happened when a rock riff became a terrace chant and then a dance record. D-Me, a Belgian project, turned the melody of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” into a wordless club chant in 2004.
From a rock single to a football chant
The White Stripes released “Seven Nation Army” on 17 February 2003 as the lead single of their album Elephant. It reached No. 7 in the UK and topped Billboard’s Modern Rock chart.
Its second life started in Italy. On 22 October 2003, Club Brugge fans in Milan for a Champions League game against AC Milan sang the riff in a bar and kept singing it on the way to the stadium. Brugge won. The fans brought the chant home, and the song was played over the stadium speakers whenever Club Brugge scored. Crowds sing each note on an “oh” sound, the same sound that gives the D-Me record its title.
The D-Me version
D-Me’s take is a Eurodance record: the riff carried by voices over a thumping bass line. One retrospective on covers of the song compared the effect to Kernkraft 400’s “Zombie Nation”. Streaming services list it as “Oh o o o Oh Ooh (a.k.a. 7 Nation Army)”, running 3:46 on the compilation Belgian Dance Classix 1, dated 1 November 2004. A later “7 Nation Army (Extended)” also circulates under the D-Me name.
Serge Ramaekers
The writing credit on the track goes to Serge Ramaekers, a Belgian DJ, writer and producer. He co-created Confetti’s, the new beat act formed in Brasschaat in 1988 and best known for “The Sound of C”, launched the project T-Spoon in 1993 and lists D-Me among his projects, alongside Cartouche and the singer Hadise. He also remixed Freddie Mercury’s “Living On My Own”.
A riff that keeps coming back
The chant kept travelling after 2004. AS Roma fans picked it up in 2006 after a match against Club Brugge in Belgium, and Italy supporters adopted it before the 2006 World Cup. For more Belgian dance from the same years, read about “Put Your Hands Up in the Air!” by Danzel, or go back a decade with “Night in Motion” by U96.
FAQ
Who made Oh O O O Oh Ooh?
D-Me, a Belgian dance project. The writing credit goes to the Belgian producer Serge Ramaekers, who lists D-Me among his projects.
Is Oh O O O Oh Ooh based on Seven Nation Army?
Yes. It is a Eurodance version of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army”, also listed as “Oh O O O Oh Ooh (a.k.a. 7 Nation Army)”.
When was Oh O O O Oh Ooh released?
In 2004. It appears on the compilation Belgian Dance Classix 1, dated 1 November 2004.
