Living Doll (song)

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"Living Doll"
Single by Cliff Richard and the Drifters
B-side "Apron Strings"
(Weiss/Schroeder)
Released July 1959
Format 7" single, 78 rpm disc
Recorded April 28, 1959
Abbey Road, London
Genre Pop
Length 2:35
Label Columbia DB4306
Writer(s) Lionel Bart
Producer Norrie Paramor
Cliff Richard and the Drifters singles chronology
"Mean Streak"
(1959)		 "Living Doll"
(1959)		 "Travellin' Light"
(1959)
"Living Doll"
Single by Cliff Richard and The Young Ones feat Hank Marvin
B-side "(All the Little Flowers are) Happy"
Released 8 March 1986
Format 7" single, 12" vinyl
Recorded 29 January 1986
Master Rock Studios
Genre Pop / Novelty song
Length 4:18
Label WEA YZ 67
Cliff Richard singles chronology
"It's in Every One of Us"
(1985)		 "Living Doll"
(1986)		 "Born to Rock and Roll"
(1986)

"Living Doll" is a song written by Lionel Bart made popular by Cliff Richard and the Shadows (then still The Drifters) in 1959. It has topped the UK charts twice; in its original version and a new version recorded in 1986 in aid of Comic Relief.

  • 1959 Worldwide Sales: 2,000,000
  • 1986 Worldwide Sales: 1,600,000

Contents

[edit] Composition

Living Doll was originally written for the film Serious Charge which featured Cliff Richard. The idea came from a newspaper advert for a child's doll. It was released as a B-side called Living Loving Doll.[1]. The original version of the song was a rock song (rather than a ballad) and was meant for the singer Duffy Power[2].

[edit] 1959 version

The song was originally recorded in 1959 by Cliff Richard and the Drifters and produced by Norrie Paramor. It peaked at #1 on the UK singles chart for six weeks from July 1959, selling over a million copies in the process. The song won Bart an Ivor Novello Award for best song. It was Richard's first US hit single reaching #30 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song is performed by Cliff Richard (vocals), Hank Marvin (guitar), Bruce Welch (guitar), Jet Harris (bass) and Tony Meehan (drums).

[edit] 1986 version

In 1986, 27 years after the first release, alternative comedy group The Young Ones approached Richard to record a comic version of "Living Doll" for the Comic Relief charity. Despite the apparent contrast between the anarchic comedians and the clean cut Richard, he agreed and their version again topped the UK singles chart, for three weeks from March 1986. Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin was reunited with Richard on this recording for the first time since 1975. The pairing was not entirely surprising as one of The Young Ones characters - Rick - is a devoted Cliff Richard fan - which led to many jokes about Richard being made during the show's run, and both the name of the show and the opening theme were based on another of Richard's many hit singles.

[edit] Chart performance

Country Peak
position
1959 version		 Peak
position
1986 version
Australia 1
Netherlands 1[3]
United Kingdom 1 1
United States 30

[edit] References

  1. ^ International Songwriters Association. "International Songwriters Association (ISA) Songs And Songwriting • Lionel Bart". Songwriter.co.uk. http://www.songwriter.co.uk/page62.html. Retrieved 2012-01-19. 
  2. ^ "Living Doll by Cliff Richard Songfacts". Songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=5892. Retrieved 2012-01-19. 
  3. ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 16, 1986". http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=5898. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
Preceded by
"Dream Lover" by Bobby Darin		 UK number one single
(Cliff Richard and the Drifters version)
July 31, 1959 (for 6 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Only Sixteen" by Craig Douglas
Preceded by
"Chain Reaction" by Diana Ross		 UK number one single
(Cliff Richard and the Young Ones version)
March 23, 1986 (for 3 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"A Different Corner" by George Michael
Cliff Richard
Albums (UK)
1950s:
Cliff (1959) · Cliff Sings (1959)
1960s:
Me and My Shadows (1960) · Listen to Cliff! (1961) · 21 Today (1961) · The Young Ones (1961, soundtrack) · 32 Minutes and 17 Seconds (1962) · Summer Holiday (1963, soundtrack) · When in Spain (1963) · Wonderful Life (1964, soundtrack) · Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp (1964, stage show album) · Cliff Richard (1965) · Love Is Forever (1965) · When in Rome (1965) · Kinda Latin · Finders Keepers (1966, soundtrack) · Cinderella (1967, soundtrack) · Don't Stop Me Now (1967) · Good News (1967, gospel) · Cliff in Japan (1968, live) · Two a Penny (1968, soundtrack) · Established 1958 (1968) · Sincerely Cliff (1969)
1970s:
Tracks and Grooves (1970) · All My Love (1970) · About the Man (1970, gospel) · His Land (1970, gospel) · Cliff: Live at the Talk of the Town (1970, live) · The 31st February Street (1974) · Take Me High (1974, soundtrack) · Help It Along (1974, gospel) · I'm Nearly Famous (1976) · Every Face Tells a Story (1977) · Green Light (1978) · Small Corners (1978, gospel) · Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile (1979) · Thank You Very Much (1979, live)
1980s:
I'm No Hero (1980) · Wired for Sound (1980) · Now You See Me... Now You Don't (1982, gospel) · Silver (1983) · Dressed for the Occasion (1983, live) · The Rock Collection (1984)  · Always Guaranteed (1987) · Stronger (1989)
1990s:
From a Distance: The Event (1990, live) · Together with Cliff Richard (1991) · The Album (1993) · Songs from Heathcliff (1995, stage show album) · Heathcliff Live (1996, stage show album, live) · Real as I Wanna Be (1998)
2000s:
Wanted (2001) · Live at the ABC Kingston, 1962 (2002, live) · Cliff at Christmas (2003) · Something's Goin' On (2004) · Cliff Richard - The World Tour (2004, live) · Two's Company The Duets (2006) · Love... The Album (2007, Part new songs, part compilation) · Reunited – Cliff Richard and The Shadows (2009)
2010s:
Bold as Brass (2010) · Soulicious (2011)
EPs (UK)
Serious Charge  · Expresso Bongo
Compilations (UK)
Cliff's Hit Album (1963) · More Hits by Cliff (1965) · The Best of Cliff (1969) · The Best of Cliff, Vol. 2 (1972) · 40 Golden Greats (1977) · Love Songs (1981) · Walking in the Light (1984) · Private Collection: 1979-1988 (1988) · My Kinda Life (1992) · The Hit List (1994) · At the Movies 1959-1974 (1996) · Yesterday, Today, Forever (1997, gospel) · The Whole Story: His Greatest Hits (2000) · Miss You Nights: The Ballads Collection (2004) · The Platinum Collection (2005) · And They Said It Wouldn't Last (My 50 Years in Music) (2008) · The 50th Anniversary Album (2008) ·
Filmography
Related articles
Cliff Richard singles discography
1950s
"Move It" (1958)
1960s
"Please Don't Tease" (1960) · "I Love You"(1960) · "A Girl Like You" (1961) · "When the Girl in Your Arms is the Girl in Your Heart" (1961) · "The Young Ones" (1962) · "The Next Time" / "Bachelor Boy" (1962) · "Summer Holiday" (1963) · "Lucky Lips" (1963) · "It's All in the Game" (1963) · "The Twelfth of Never" (1964) · "The Minute You're Gone" (1965) · "Blue Turns to Grey" (1966) · "All My Love" (1967) · "Congratulations" (1968) · "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" (1968) · "Marianne" (1968)
1970s
"Power to All Our Friends" (1973) · "Miss You Nights" (1976) · "Devil Woman" (1976) · "We Don't Talk Anymore" (1979)
1980s
"Suddenly" (1980) · "True Love Ways" (1983) · "Donna" (1984) · "Two to the Power of Love" (1984) · "All I Ask of You" (1986) · "Mistletoe and Wine" (1988) · "I Just Don't Have the Heart" (1989) · "Whenever God Shines His Light" (1989)
1990s
"Stronger Than That" (1990) · "From a Distance" (1990) · "Saviour's Day" (1990) · "We Should Be Together" (1991) · "All I Have to Do Is Dream" (live) (1994) · "The Millennium Prayer" (1999)
2000s

1952: "Here in My Heart" - Al Martino · 1953: "I Believe" - Frankie Laine · 1954: "Secret Love" - Doris Day · 1955: "Rose Marie" - Slim Whitman · 1956: "I'll Be Home" - Pat Boone · 1957: "Diana" - Paul Anka · 1958: "Jailhouse Rock" - Elvis Presley · 1959: "Living Doll" - Cliff Richard · 1960: "It's Now or Never" - Elvis Presley · 1961: "Are You Lonesome Tonight" - Elvis Presley · 1962: "I Remember You" - Frank Ifield · 1963: "She Loves You" - The Beatles · 1964: "Can't Buy Me Love" - The Beatles · 1965: "Tears" - Ken Dodd · 1966: "Green, Green Grass of Home" - Tom Jones · 1967: "Release Me" - Engelbert Humperdinck · 1968: "Hey Jude" - The Beatles · 1969: "Sugar, Sugar" - The Archies
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