"Mouldy Old Dough" | ||||
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Single by Lieutenant Pigeon | ||||
from the album Mouldy Old Music | ||||
B-side | "The Villain" | |||
Released | February 1972 | |||
Recorded | Winter 1971 [1] | |||
Genre | Pub rock [2] | |||
Length | 2:45 | |||
Label | Decca | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Stavely Makepeace | |||
Lieutenant Pigeon singles chronology | ||||
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"Mouldy Old Dough" is a primarily instrumental song by Lieutenant Pigeon. It reached the number one spot in 1972 on charts in Belgium, the UK, Ireland and New Zealand.
Written by Nigel Fletcher and Rob Woodward and first produced by them under the name of their other band, Stavely Makepeace, [3] it was recorded in the front room of Woodward's semi-detached house in Coventry, and featured his mother Hilda Woodward on piano, [4] in a boogie-woogie, honky-tonk, ragtime style. The only lyrics, 'sung' by Fletcher, are the growled title "Mouldy Old Dough" and "Dirty Old Man". When asked by Fletcher what those words meant, their author, Woodward, said he had no idea. [5]
It is the only British number one single to feature a mother and son. [4]
Originally released in early 1972, it flopped initially. But picked up in Belgium and used on a current affairs programme, it became a hit there, reaching number one in the Belgian singles chart. Decca Records, encouraged by this success, re-released it in the UK, and with the backing of then BBC Radio 1 DJ Noel Edmonds, it became a hit there, and spent four weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in October 1972, [6] selling 790,000 copies. In New Zealand, the song was number one for five weeks. [7] The song also reached number one in Ireland and reached the Top 10 in Canada and Australia, but did not chart in the United States.
"Mouldy Old Dough" (the title being an adaptation of the 1920s jazz phrase, "vo-de-o-do") [3] became the second biggest selling UK single of the year, behind The Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards' bagpipe version of "Amazing Grace".
As of April 2019, Hilda Woodward's piano is an exhibit at Coventry Music Museum, [8] where other artefacts belonging to the band are also on display.
Weekly charts
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It was one of the choices of Jarvis Cocker when he appeared on the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme, Desert Island Discs .
In a 1990 interview, (later known as Fatboy Slim) revealed it was the first record he ever bought. [24]
Since 1972, the track has played over the PA system at the beginning of Oldham Athletic A.F.C. home games, which coincided with the club rising from the fourth Division to the second Division.
The song was covered by British group Shades of Green, and featured on their first album Rockin' Poppin' Ravin', released in 1973 by Windmill Records, London (WMD 164 stereo).
The song is widely regarded as the 'theme song' for the sport of Banger racing, where it is played at the start of races during the 'rolling lap'. [25] [26]
It also became popular in New Zealand in the early 1990s, due to its use in a television advertisement for Instant Kiwi scratchcards.
"Delta Dawn" is a song written by musician Larry Collins and country songwriter Alex Harvey. The first notable recording of the song was in 1971 by American singer and actress Bette Midler for her debut album "The Divine Miss M". However it is best known as a 1972 top ten country hit for Tanya Tucker and a 1973 US number one hit for Helen Reddy.
"One Day in Your Life" is a song recorded by American singer Michael Jackson for his 1975 album, Forever, Michael. Music written by Sam Brown III and lyrics by Renée Armand, it was later released on March 20, 1981 as a single from the compilation album One Day in Your Life due to the commercial interest that generated from the sales of Jackson's hit 1979 album Off the Wall, despite the fact that Jackson had released that album on Epic Records instead of Motown.
"December, 1963 " is a song originally performed by the Four Seasons, written by original Four Seasons keyboard player Bob Gaudio and his future wife Judy Parker, produced by Gaudio, and included on the group's album Who Loves You (1975).
"Brandy", later called "Mandy", is a song written by Scott English and Richard Kerr. It was originally recorded by English in 1971 and reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart.
Lieutenant Pigeon were an English novelty musical group popular in the early 1970s, originating in Coventry.
McGuinness Flint was a rock band formed in 1970 by Tom McGuinness, a bassist and guitarist with Manfred Mann, and Hughie Flint, former drummer with John Mayall; plus vocalist and keyboard player Dennis Coulson, and multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle.
"Evergreen" is the theme song from the 1976 film A Star Is Born. It was composed and performed by American singer, songwriter, actress and director Barbra Streisand with lyrics by Paul Williams, and arranged by Ian Freebairn-Smith. The song was released on the soundtrack album to A Star Is Born.
"School's Out" is a song first recorded as the title track of Alice Cooper's fifth album. It was released as the album's only single on April 26, 1972. "School's Out" was Alice Cooper's biggest international hit and it has been regarded as their signature song and reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, number three in the Canadian RPM 100 Singles chart, number two on the Irish Singles Chart and number one on the UK Singles Chart.
"Only in My Dreams" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter and actress Debbie Gibson, who was 16 years old at the time of its release. The song was officially released by Atlantic Records on December 16, 1986. It was later remixed and re-released in February 1987. The song showcased Gibson's songwriting skills as she solely wrote it, with Fred Zarr producing it.
"Being with You" is a 1981 song recorded by American singer Smokey Robinson. The song spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart from March to early May 1981 and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, behind "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes, his highest charting solo hit on the Billboard pop charts. It also reached number one in the UK Singles Chart.
"Oh Girl" is a song written by Eugene Record and recorded by American soul vocal group the Chi-Lites, with Record on vocals and also producing. It was released as a single on Brunswick Records in 1972. Included on the group's 1972 album A Lonely Man, "Oh Girl" centers on a relationship on the verge of break-up.
"Rich Girl" is a song by Daryl Hall & John Oates. It debuted on the Billboard Top 40 on February 5, 1977, at number 38 and on March 26, 1977, it became their first of six number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. The single originally appeared on the 1976 album Bigger Than Both of Us. At the end of 1977, Billboard ranked it as the 23rd biggest hit of the year.
"Alone Again (Naturally)" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. Recorded in 1971, it became a worldwide hit. The song did not originally appear on his 1972 studio album Back to Front, but has been included in reissues (often replacing "Clair").
"Get Down" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan, from his 1973 album I'm a Writer, Not a Fighter. Released as a single, it spent two weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in April 1973, was also a number-one hit in Ireland for three weeks and was a top-ten hit in the United States and Canada. The song was originally used by O'Sullivan as a piano warm-up tune, but was eventually extended into a full song and released as a single; O'Sullivan recorded and released the song as a change from his more melancholy pieces.
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" is a pop ballad written by Paul Anka and recorded by Buddy Holly in 1958. The song was issued in January 1959, less than a month before Holly's death. "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" reached number 13 as a posthumous hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1959, shortly after Holly was killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. The single was a two-sided hit, backed with "Raining in My Heart". "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" was Holly's last US Top 20 hit and featured the orchestral backing of Dick Jacobs. It was also successful in the United Kingdom, where it became the country's first posthumous number 1 hit.
"Me and You and a Dog Named Boo" is the 1971 debut single by Lobo. Written by Lobo under his real name Kent LaVoie, it appears on the Introducing Lobo album.
"Daddy's Home" is a famous song by American doo-wop group Shep and the Limelites. The song was written by the three members of the band, James "Shep" Sheppard (1935–1970), Clarence Bassett (1936–2005) and Charles Baskerville. The group recorded the original version of "Daddy's Home" on February 1, 1961, and it was released on Hull Records in March 1961 with the B-side being "This I Know".
"Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" is a song written and originally recorded in 1957 by Huey 'Piano' Smith, who scored a minor Billboard hit with it, peaking at No. 52 on the Top 100 chart, and a more successful No. 5 on the Most Played R&B by Jockeys chart.
The Scrap Iron Rhythm Revue is a compilation album and the first album overall by English avant-pop band Stavely Makepeace, released in May 2004 by reissue label RPM Records. Compiled by journalist Bob Stanley, it contains a string of singles recorded between 1969 and 1984 that the band recorded in their home studio and released on various record labels. The band, primarily consisting of Rob Woodward and Nigel Fletcher, were influenced by Joe Meek, and started the band in order to explore experimental and disparate ideas within pop music, describing their musical style as the "scrap iron sound" in reference to their incorporation of unusual instruments. Their singles were commercially unsuccessful, though the band would find major success with "Mouldy Old Dough" (1972) under the extended line-up of Lieutenant Pigeon.