Kinky Boots (song)

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"Kinky Boots"
Kinky Boots - Avengers.jpg
Cover of the CD reissue (1990)
Single by Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman
ReleasedFebruary 1964
Genre Beat
Length1:37
Label Decca Records
Songwriter(s)

"Kinky Boots" is a song written by Herbert Kretzmer and David Lee for an episode of the television programme That Was The Week That Was in 1963, and subsequently recorded in 1964 by Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman, stars of another television series, The Avengers .

Contents

Background

The song was commissioned by Ned Sherrin for the satirical television series That Was the Week That Was and used in a sequence featuring the titular footwear, which were then fashionable, and performed by Millicent Martin on the show's November 2 1963 episode.[ citation needed ]

In February 1964, Decca released "Kinky Boots" as a single, performed by Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman, with "Let's Keep It Friendly" on the B-side. Neither Macnee nor Blackman were able to sing, but the record was conceived as a piece of novelty merchandise to promote The Avengers television series, referring to the boots worn by Blackman's character in the series, Cathy Gale. [1] [2]

The song was not initially a hit, but it was re-released in 1990 amid a Swinging Sixties retro revival craze. [1] "Kinky Boots" reached the top ten of the British Singles Chart in December of that year, after the song was promoted by BBC Radio One DJ Simon Mayo. [3]

The single peaked at No.5 (on Deram records label KINKY 1) and remained on the chart for seven weeks. [4] Prior to this, in 1977, it was placed at No.22 in the "Bottom 30" of Kenny Everett's World's Worst Wireless Show. [5] The song is quite short: just one minute and thirty seven seconds long.

Critical reception

Upon the 1990 re-release, Jon Wilde from Melody Maker magazine considered it to be a "magnificent high camp curiosity", remarking on Patrick Macnee's delivery of lines such as "frumpy little beat girls" and "Leather is so kinky"." [6]

Music writer George Gimarc found the song to be repetitive and annoying, and remarked on Macnee's "disturbing enthusiasm" in referring to "sexy little schoolgirls". [7] Fashion writer Caroline Cox placed the song in the context of 1960s fetish fashion and sexual liberation, but cautiously noted that at the time, the term "kinky" meant "'not straight' or slightly naughty, rather than a full-on sexual perversion". [8]

Track listing

CD Single Reissue (1990) [9]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Kinky Boots" (Patrick Macnee & Honor Blackman)Lee/Kretzmer1:40
2."Let's Keep It Friendly" (Patrick Macnee & Honor Blackman)Lee/Kretzmer2:23
3."I Wish I Never Loved You" (Honor Blackman)Raymonde/Hawker3:03
4."Men Will Deceive You" (Honor Blackman)Stellman/Gainsbourg 2:28

Charts

Chart (1990)Peak
position
Luxembourg (Radio Luxembourg) [10] 2
UK Singles (OCC)5
UK Airplay ( Music Week ) [11] 40

References

  1. 1 2 Lisanti, Tom; Paul, Louis (10 April 2002). Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962-1973. McFarland. p. 71. ISBN   978-0-7864-1194-8 . Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  2. ↑ Rogers, Dave (1989). The complete Avengers : everything you ever wanted to know about The Avengers and The New avengers. New York : St. Martin's Press. p. 275. ISBN   978-0-312-03187-9 . Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  3. ↑ Chapman, James (2002). Saints and Avengers: British Adventure Series of the 1960s. I.B.Tauris. p. 253. ISBN   9781860647543 . Retrieved 23 November 2010.
  4. ↑ Official Charts Company - "Kinky Boots" UK Chart details
  5. ↑ "Kenny Everett's World's Worst Wireless Show :: Show #4". Feb 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  6. ↑ Wilde, Jon (24 November 1990). "Singles". Melody Maker . Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  7. ↑ Gimarc, George; Reeder, Pat (1996). Hollywood hi-fi : over 100 of the most outrageous celebrity recordings ever!. New York : St. Martin's Griffin. p. 123. ISBN   978-0-312-14356-5 . Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  8. ↑ Cox, Caroline (2012). Shoes: a Visual Celebration of Sixty Iconic Styles. London : Apple. ISBN   978-1-84543-454-0 . Retrieved 15 May 2025.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  9. ↑ Kinky Boots (sleeve notes). Patrick Macnee & Honor Blackman. Deram. 1990. KINCD1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ↑ Radio Luxembourg Singles. 9 December 1990.
  11. ↑ "Playlist Chart" (PDF). Music Week . 22 December 1990. p. iii. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
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