Self Control (Raf song)

"Self Control" is a song by Italian singer Raf, released in 1984. It was written by Giancarlo Bigazzi, Steve Piccolo and Raf, and arranged by Celso Valli. The track topped the charts in Italy and Switzerland, and started the explosion and dominance of Italo disco-style recordings in continental European charts during the 1980s.

That same year, "Self Control" was covered by American singer Laura Branigan, whose version reached No. 1 in countries such as Austria, Canada, Germany and Switzerland, as well as No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Both versions of the song were commercially successful across Europe during much of the summer of 1984 (at one point even swapping with one another at #1 in the Swiss charts), with Branigan's rendition becoming the most successful single of the year in Germany and Switzerland.

"Self Control" has become one of the defining songs of the 1980s, with a number of remakes recorded each year. Notable covers include Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin in 1993, a dance remake by Branigan in 2004, Royal Gigolos in 2005, Danish dance group Infernal in 2006, and German duo Fast Boy in 2024.

Raf (born Raffaele Riefoli) co-wrote the song "Self Control" with Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo. His version of "Self Control" reached No. 1 in Italy for seven non-consecutive weeks. It also reached No. 1 in Switzerland, between runs at the top spot by Branigan's version of "Self Control", and peaked at No. 2 in Germany, No. 7 in Austria and No. 40 in France. Raf released an extended dance mix of the song, like Branigan, but Raf's version featured a rap (performed by two other rap vocalists), relatively rare for a white artist at the time.

He would release several more tracks in English and re-release his 1984 self-titled debut album in 1987 under the title Self Control, featuring two of these tracks. Although his English-language album and especially the singles proved to be successful in Italy and elsewhere, he began releasing his later albums in his native language, almost all of which were received better in Italy than the English-language albums; many of them charted within the top 10 in Italy.

American singer Laura Branigan covered "Self Control" in 1984. It was released as the lead single from her third same-titled studio album Self Control, released the same year.

Branigan's first major hit had also been co-written by Bigazzi: "Gloria" (1982) was an English-language cover of the 1979 original Italian song recorded by Umberto Tozzi. The following year, Branigan recorded another English song written over a Tozzi and Bigazzi song, "Mama", which was included on her 1983 album Branigan 2. Branigan chose two more Italian songs for her third album: the first one, "Ti Amo" with lyrics by Diane Warren once again based on the original by Tozzi and Bigazzi that had been a 1977 single for Tozzi. The second one, "Self Control", became the title track to the album and her most successful single internationally. "Self Control" was the only one of the four Italian songs recorded by Branigan that was originally composed in English, and Branigan chose to record the song as written. Also, unlike the other songs, Branigan's version was contemporaneous with that of its co-writer.

Branigan's recording was arranged by Giorgio Moroder's protégé Harold Faltermeyer with Robbie Buchanan and produced by Buchanan with Jack White in West Germany and Los Angeles. A keyboard hook in Raf's version was changed to a guitar riff for Branigan's version and a vocal break was paired with a sharper and repeated percussive element.