Puppet on a String (Sandie Shaw song)

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"Puppet on a String"
Puppet On A String.jpg
Single by Sandie Shaw
B-side "Tell The Boys"
Released7 March 1967
Recorded1967
Genre Europop [1]
Length2:21
Label Pye [2]
Songwriter(s) Bill Martin and Phil Coulter [3]
Producer(s) Ken Woodman [3]
Sandie Shaw singles chronology
"I Don't Need Anything"
(1967)		"Puppet on a String"
(1967)		"Tonight in Tokyo"
(1967)
Eurovision Song Contest 1967 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Language
English
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Conductor
Finals performance
Final result
1st
Final points
47
Entry chronology
◄ "A Man Without Love" (1966)
"Congratulations" (1968) ►

"Puppet on a String" is a song recorded by British singer Sandie Shaw. The song, written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, was selected to be the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1967, held in Vienna. Shaw won the contest, the first of the United Kingdom's five Eurovision winners. [4] [5] As her thirteenth UK single release, "Puppet on a String" became a UK Singles Chart number one hit on 27 April 1967, staying at the top for a total of three weeks. [6] In the United States, a 1967 version by Al Hirt went to number 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 129 on the Billboard Hot 100. [7]

Contents

Eurovision Song Contest

Sandie Shaw had originally performed the song as one of five prospective numbers to represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1967 on The Rolf Harris Show. She had never been taken with the idea of taking part in the contest but her discoverer, Adam Faith, had talked her into it, saying it would keep her manager Eve Taylor happy. Taylor wanted to give Shaw a more cabaret appeal and felt that this was the right move – and also felt that it would get Shaw back in the public's good books as she had recently been involved in a divorce scandal. [8]

Of the five songs performed, "Puppet on a String" was Shaw's least favourite. In her own words, "I hated it from the very first 'oompah' to the final 'bang' on the big bass drum. I was instinctively repelled by its sexist drivel and cuckoo-clock tune." [9] She was disappointed when it was selected as the song she would use to represent the country,[ citation needed ] but it won the contest comfortably.

As a result of it winning the Eurovision Song Contest, "Puppet on a String" became her third number one hit in the UK (a record for a woman at the time) and was a big worldwide smash. Globally, the single achieved sales in excess of 4 million, making it the biggest-selling winning Eurovision track to date. [10] Some estimates suggest this makes the track the biggest selling single by a British female artist of all time. [11] Shaw also recorded "Puppet on a String" in French ("Un tout petit pantin"), Italian ("La danza delle note"), Spanish ("Marionetas en la cuerda"), and German ("Wiedehopf im Mai"). [12]

Other covers

The song was covered in over 200 versions in over 30 languages. [13] [ better source needed ]

Covers include:

The song was featured in The 1975 Bulgarian Cartoon Buffo-Synchronists by Proiko Proikov and the soundtrack of the 2021 film Last Night in Soho . [18]

Charts

Chart (1967) [5] [19] Peak
position
Argentina (ACPVP) [20] 1
Australia (Australian Singles Chart)2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)1
Belgium (Ultratop)1
Canada (Canadian Singles Chart)13
Denmark (Danish Singles Chart) [21] 2
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [22] 5
France (French Singles Chart) [23] 2
Ireland (IRMA) [24] 1
Italy (Italian Singles Chart) [25] 8
Malaysia (Radio Malaysia) [26] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Singles Chart) [24] 1
New Zealand (New Zealand Singles Chart) [27] 2
Norway (VG-lista)1
Singapore (Radio Singapore) [26] 3
South Africa (Entertainment Monitoring Africa) [28] 3
Spain (Spanish Singles Chart)6
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [26] 1
UK Singles (OCC) [3] 1
Venezuela [29] 6
West Germany (Schallplatte) [30] 1

Sales

Sales for Puppet on a String
RegionSales
Belgium45,000 [31]
Germany750,000 [32]
Worldwide4,000,000 [33]

Related Research Articles

The United Kingdom held a national pre-selection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1967. It was held on 25 February 1967 and presented by Rolf Harris. Harris's weekly show had been the showcase for the five songs in the competition, which had been performed in successive weeks prior to the final. Harris himself would be the BBC's commentator for the final in Vienna.

Philip Coulter is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in October 2009.

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"All Kinds of Everything" is a song written by Derry Lindsay and Jackie Smith; as performed by Dana, it won the Eurovision Song Contest 1970 representing Ireland. "All Kinds of Everything" marked a return to the ballad form from the more energetic performances which had dominated Eurovision the previous years. Dana sings about all the things which remind her of her sweetheart with the admission at the end of every verse that "all kinds of everything remind me of you". The recording by Dana became an international hit.

William Wylie MacPherson, known professionally as Bill Martin, was a Scottish songwriter, music publisher and impresario. His most successful songs, all written with Phil Coulter, included "Puppet on a String", "Congratulations", "Back Home", and "Saturday Night". He was presented with three Ivor Novello Awards, including one as Songwriter of the Year.

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<i>Puppet on a String</i> (album) 1967 compilation album by Sandie Shaw

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References

  1. ↑ Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "See That Girl: Abba". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 386. ISBN   978-0-571-28198-5.
  2. ↑ "Sandie Shaw". 45-rpm.org.uk. 26 February 1947. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 109. ISBN   0-85112-250-7.
  4. ↑ "Eurovision 1967: United Kingdom Sandie Shaw - Puppet on a string". Eurovision-contest.com. 21 May 2006. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  5. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 495. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  6. ↑ "Puppet on a String full official chart history". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "Puppet on a String (song by Al Hirt) • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "Sandie Shaw's Love scandal that almost cost Britain its first Eurovision victory" . Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  9. ↑ Shaw, Sandie: The World at my Feet. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; 1991. ISBN   978-0002159210
  10. ↑ O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official Celebration. Carlton Books Ltd, 2015. ISBN   978-1780976389
  11. ↑ Kelly, Mike. Wot Pop: 50 Years of Hits 1952-2002 - A-Z of Hitmakers Plus the UK's Top 5000 Singles. Southgate Publishers, 30 September 2002. ISBN   978-1857411409
  12. ↑ "Sandie Shaw, official site, discography". Sandieshaw.com. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  13. ↑ "Eurocovers: VII - The Year of the Puppet". Eurocovers.blogspot.com. 9 January 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  14. ↑ "Discography of Emil Gorovets" (in Russian). Popsa.info. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  15. ↑ Janjatović, Petar (2007). EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960-2006. Belgrade: self-released. p. 203.
  16. ↑ "Singles of Tatjana Hubinská". Tatianahubinska.estranky.cz. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  17. ↑ "Svensk mediedatabas" . Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  18. ↑ Sanchez, Gabrielle (21 October 2021). "Anya Taylor-Joy sings a chilling, downtempo cover of "Downtown" for Last Night In Soho soundtrack". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  19. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Chart Performance @". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  20. ↑ "Billboard Magazine, August 1967". Billboard. 12 August 1967.
  21. ↑ "Billboard Magazine, June 17, 1967". Billboard. 17 June 1967.
  22. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Sandie Shaw". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 232. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  23. ↑ "Hits of the World". Billboard . 3 June 1967. p. 66. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  24. 1 2 "Billboard Magazine, May 27, 1967". Billboard. 27 May 1967.
  25. ↑ "Hits of the World". Billboard . 17 June 1967. p. 49. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  26. 1 2 3 "Billboard Magazine, July 1, 1967". Billboard. July 1967.
  27. ↑ "Hits of the World". Billboard . 12 August 1967. p. 62. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  28. ↑ "Billboard Magazine, June 3 1967". Billboard. 24 June 1967.
  29. ↑ "Billboard Magazine, August 1967". Billboard. 12 August 1967.
  30. ↑ "Billboard Magazine, June 1967". Billboard. 8 July 1967.
  31. ↑ "Cash Box - Belgium" (PDF). Cash Box . 29 April 1967. p. 70. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  32. ↑ "Cash Box - Germany" (PDF). Cash Box . 25 November 1967. p. 68. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  33. ↑ "Pye Records" (PDF). Cash Box . 6 July 1968. p. 236. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
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