in the uk "the birds and the bees" afforded akens a more moderate hit, reaching #29, with akens besting a cover version by johnny kidd & the pirates that failed to chart. alma cogan is often credited with a uk cover of "the birds and the bees"; in fact her uk single of that name - #25 in 1956 - was a recording of "(the same thing happens with) the birds and the bees". however, cogan did cover akens's hit for release in scandinavia and was afforded a #1 hit in sweden for three weeks in the summer of 1965, and also a top ten hit in both denmark and norway, with respective peaks of #8 and #4 (cogan's version of "the birds and the bees" matching the norwegian chart peak of akens' original).