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Living Doll (song)

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"Living Doll"
Song
B-side"Apron Strings"
(Weiss/Schroeder)

"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 in 1959 (their first number 1 single) and a new version recorded in 1986 in aid of Comic Relief.

Worldwide sales

  • 1959 version: 1.86 million[1]
  • 1986 version: 1.50 million[1]

Background and composition

"Living Doll" was written for the film Serious Charge. Lionel Bart had been approached by film producer Mickey Delamar to write songs for the film. The idea for the song came on a Sunday morning in October 1958 while reading a newspaper and seeing an advert for a child's doll. The doll was said to "kneel, walk, sit and sing". Bart recounted, "I was looking at the back pages and there was a small advert for a doll which could apparently do everything. I wrote the song in ten minutes." The song was written as an up-tempo light rock and roll song (rather than a ballad), and this is how Cliff Richard performs the song in the film.[2][3]

Unbeknown to Richard, his contract to appear in the film required that there would be a single of one of the film's songs released. Richard recounts, "I remember passionately refusing to record 'Living Doll'. There was a day of telephone calls from Norrie Paramor, with me saying I hated the song and that it wasn't right for us." Richard did not like what he called its "pseudo-rock" beat. "It did not sound like real American rock 'n' roll to us" said Richard. Paramor told Richard "Change it. Do it any way you like, but do it". While sitting around one afternoon before a show, thinking about what they could do with the song, Bruce Welch, while strumming a guitar, suggested they do it like a country song. Richard and his band agreed and duly rerecorded the song with the slower tempo.[2][4][5]

1959 version

The song was recorded in April 1959 by Cliff Richard and the Drifters and produced by Norrie Paramor. It was first released in the UK in May 1959 on the Serious Charge (EP) soundtrack before being released as a single in July 1959. It was number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for six weeks from July, selling over a million copies in the process and earning the record company's internally awarded Gold disc for the achievement.[1][6][7] It also became the top selling single of 1959 in the UK. In the US, it was Richard's first hit single, reaching number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was a number 1 hit in several European countries including Ireland, Norway and Sweden. The song won Bart an Ivor Novello Award for best song. The single featured Apron Strings on the b-side. The song is performed by Cliff Richard (vocals), Hank Marvin (lead guitar), Bruce Welch (rhythm guitar), Jet Harris (bass) and Tony Meehan (drums). It was their first number 1 in the UK Singles Chart. Their debut single "Move It", released the previous year, is often cited as their first number 1, but in fact it peaked at number 2.

1986 version

"Living Doll"
Song
B-side"(All the Little Flowers Are) Happy"

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.[8][9] The single was certified gold in the UK by the BPI in April 1986.[10] Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin was reunited with Richard on this recording for the first time since 1975.

When the song was performed in the 1986 TV broadcast for Comic Relief, The Young Ones announced to the audience that Richard couldn't make the show and that BBC presenter John Craven would be taking his place. They then introduce Craven, and Richard appears.

There are many references to Cliff Richard in The Young Ones, preluding their collaboration, including:

  • Rick - is a devoted Cliff Richard fan.
  • Rick's fanaticism led to many jokes about Richard being made during the show's run
  • The name of the show and the opening theme are taken from the Richard song "The Young Ones".
  • In the final episode, the cast of the show are on a coach when one yells "look out, Cliff!". They crash through a big billboard of Cliff Richard.

Personnel

Performers:

Musicians:

Chart performance

Country Peak
position
1959 version 		Peak
position
1986 version
United Kingdom (OCC)[8] 1 1
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11][12] 9 1
Belgium (Flanders) (Ultratop)[13] 16 1
Germany (Media Control)[14] 19 24
Ireland (IRMA)[15] 1 1
Italy (FIMI)[16] 38 -
Finland (IFPI Finland)[17] 11 -
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18][19] 2[A] 1
New Zealand (RIANZ)[20] - 1
Norway (VG-lista)[21] 1 9
Spain (Promusicae)[22] 10 -
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 1 8
United States (Billboard Hot 100) 30 -

Notes:

  • A ^ Before the Netherlands official charts began in 1965, there were numerous independent charts. In 1959, when "Living Doll" was charting, there were four singles charts. "Living Doll" hit number one in the Songwereld monthly top ten chart for October, number 2 on the Muziek Express and Elsevier charts, and number 3 on the Muziek Parade chart.[24]

Other versions

References

  1. ^ a b c Lewry, Peter; Goodall, Nigel (1996). The Ultimate Cliff (1996 Updated ed.). Simon and Schuster Ltd, London. pp. 206, 379. ISBN 0-684-81696-2. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |format= requires |url= (help)
  2. ^ a b Turner, Steve (1993). The Biography Cliff Richard (First ed.). Lion Publishing plc, Oxford, England. pp. 136–139. ISBN 0-7459-2249-X. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |format= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ Thompson, Dave. Living Doll at AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-22.
  4. ^ St John, Kevin (1991). Cliff Richard In His Own Words (First ed.). Omnibus Press, London. p. 23. ISBN 0-7119-2824-X. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |format= requires |url= (help)
  5. ^ Richard, Cliff (26 December 1998). "Musikbutikken (Denmark) - Interview with Cliff Richard". 1998. Season 1. Episode 13. Retrieved 22 June 2014. Yes, well [the producers of Serious Charge] were doing a movie and they wanted somebody who was a new pop singer. And I guess they wanted a new pop singer because then they would be very cheap. And I was! I was really cheap. I mean, I was so happy to be asked to be in the movie, I would have done it for nothing. and that's what they paid me. [...] We didn't really like [Living Doll] very much. It's just a song. But we recorded it the way Lionel Bart had written it, which was... [Imitates original beat] And it was a sort of psuedo-rock. It didn't sound like real, American rock 'n' roll to us. And we didn't realize that in the contract, there was some small writing and it said there must be a single. And we said, 'Look, we can't release this record like this.' And one day, while we were on tour, Bruce Welch... Well, look, he was sitting by these two big, stone lions in a place called the Sheffield City Hall. And he was just going... [strums acoustic guitar] And he said, 'Why don't we do it like a country and western song?' And yeah, so we just went... [sings song]. {{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |began=, |transcripturl=, |ended=, |seriesno=, and |episodelink= (help); Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Smith, Alan. "UK First Charts & Silver Discs". Dave McAleer's website. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  7. ^ British News notes: Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (25 July 1960). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 8. ISSN 0006-2510. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ a b "Cliff Richard UK Singles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  9. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 460. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  10. ^ Listed as "Livin' Doll" - Cliff Richard & Young Ones. To search for, use keywords: Cliff Richard, Artist, Gold, Singles. "UK certification Database". BPI. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  11. ^ Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-44439-5. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  12. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  13. ^ "Belgium singles chart". ULTRATOP & Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  14. ^ "Germany singles chart at charts.de". Media Control. Charts.de. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  15. ^ The Official Charts in Ireland began on 4 October 1962. Chart positions before that are taken from the Evening Herald Chart which was a Top Ten single chart published by the Irish daily newspaper Evening Herald between February 1959 and December 1962. "Ireland singles charts". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  16. ^ "Italy singles chart positions". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  17. ^ Lassila, Juha (1990). Mitä Suomi soittaa?: Hittilistat 1954-87 (in Finnish). Jyväskylän yliopisto. ISBN 95-168-0321-0.
  18. ^ (nl) van Slooten, Johan (2005). Top 40 Hitdossier 1965-2005 (inclusief alle 'prehistorische' hits van 1956 to 1965) (in Dutch) (9th ed.). Haarlem: J.H. Gottmer / H.J.W. Becht BV. ISBN 90-230-1144-9.
  19. ^ "Cliff Richard's Netherlands' single-positions (web)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  20. ^ "New Zealand singles chart positions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  21. ^ "Cliff Richard's Norway's single-positions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  22. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 1979). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  23. ^ Johansson, Carl-Owe (1980). Rock Around the Clock - Saturday Night Fever 1955-1978. Vara, Sweden: Dominique muzic-club. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  24. ^ "Dutch Chart positions at hitsallertijden.nl". hitsallertijden.nl. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  25. ^ Hot 100 adds eleven: "92. Living Doll - David Hill, Kapp" Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (19 October 1959). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 7. ISSN 0006-2510. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  26. ^ "Col Joye And The Joy Boys - Oh Yeah Uh Huh / Living Doll - Festival - Australia - FK-3087". 45cat.com. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  27. ^ "Living Doll - COL JOYE & THE JOY BOYS (1959) - Pop Archives - Sources of Australian Pop Records from the 50s, 60s and 70s". Pop Archives. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  28. ^ "Discography for W&G Records - OZ - 000 series". Globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  29. ^ "Roger Ruskin Spear - Electric Shocks". Discogs.com. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  30. ^ "Roger Ruskin Spear - Living doll". YouTube. 26 February 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
Preceded by UK number one single
(Cliff Richard and the Drifters version)
31 July 1959 (for 6 weeks) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UK number one single
(Cliff Richard and the Young Ones version)
23 March 1986 (for 3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by RIANZ Number-one single
2 May 1986 – 6 June 1986 (6 weeks) 		Succeeded by
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