| "Thank U Very Much" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the single released in Denmark | ||||
| Single by the Scaffold | ||||
| B-side | "Ide B the First" | |||
| Released | 3 November 1967 | |||
| Recorded | 1967 | |||
| Studio | EMI Studios | |||
| Genre | Novelty [1] | |||
| Length | 2:27 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Mike McGear | |||
| Producer(s) | Tony Palmer | |||
| The Scaffold singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Thank U Very Much" is a song by Liverpudlian comedy trio the Scaffold, released as a single in November 1967. It became their first hit, entering the top ten in the UK. [2]
"Thank U Very Much" was a last attempt by the Scaffold to achieve a hit record. Written by Mike McGear, it was inspired by a telephone call he had with his brother Paul McCartney. McCartney had given McGear a Nikon camera for his birthday and when McGear called to thank him, he decided to sing 'Thank you very much for my Nikon camera. Thank you very much'. After the phone call, the tune stuck in his head and he recorded it on a Grundig tape recorder. [3] [4] The song notably starts with the line 'Thank you very much for the Aintree Iron', which has caused much speculation over the meaning of Aintree Iron, with McGear having repeatedly refused to divulge its meaning. [5] [6] The "Aintree Iron" was revealed by John Gorman on BBC Radio Merseyside in 2022 to be one of the first motorised taxi cabs in England.[ citation needed ]
During the recording of the song at EMI Studios, McCartney visited, and though he liked the song, he told McGear to change the title as it was "too oblique". McGear objected saying that the whole song was oblique. [3] In an interview upon the single's release, McGear said "we recorded it because we wanted to bring a spark of happiness into this hard, dull world of ours. Look at the records around you and there's no happy, bouncy get-it-down you ones. 'Thank U Very Much' is about drugs, women, sex and depravity". [7]
Released at the beginning of November 1967, "Thank U Very Much" didn't reach its peak on the UK charts until two months later at the beginning of January 1968. It performed best on the Record Retailer , peaking at number 4. [2] Released in the US in January 1968, the song peaked at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100, though performed better on the Record World chart, achieving a peak at number 43. [8] Elsewhere, "Thank U Very Much" performed best in New Zealand where it was top the Listener chart. [9] The song was notably a favourite of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and of the then-Prime Minister Harold Wilson. [10]
Reviewing for Disc and Music Echo , Penny Valentine described "Thank U Very Much" as "a very well-recorded little send-up record about life today. It has a jolly metronome beat and, if anything they do is aimed at a commercial market, this is the nearest they've got yet". [11] Peter Jones for Record Mirror described it as "a great old send-up of those ever-so-grateful-for-things songs – and it's pushed along at such a rare old pace that it's very catchy indeed. Maybe it's too much of a novelty but given the dee-jay support it must do well". [12]
A 1968 broadcast of the radio series Round the Horne (Series 4, Episode 6) featured a version of the song with the words changed to those of movie stars. It includes references to John Wayne in "Tobruk" although he never appeared in the film.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Scaffold reworked "Thank U Very Much" using the original backing track and released it as a single in aid of the frontline healthcare workers, with the money raised going to the NHS Charities Together. [13] [14]
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) [15] | 56 |
| Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [16] | 12 |
| Denmark (Danmarks Radio) [17] | 8 |
| Ireland (IRMA) [18] | 18 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [19] | 15 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) [20] | 13 |
| New Zealand ( Listener ) [9] | 1 |
| Rhodesia (Lyons Maid) [21] | 2 |
| Sweden (Kvällstoppen) [22] | 11 |
| Sweden ( Tio i Topp ) | 6 |
| UK Melody Maker Top 30 [23] | 5 |
| UK New Musical Express Top 30 [24] | 7 |
| UK Record Retailer Top 50 [2] | 4 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 [25] | 69 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 [26] | 65 |
| US Record World 100 Top Pops [8] | 43 |
"Penny Lane" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "Strawberry Fields Forever" in February 1967. It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. The lyrics refer to Penny Lane, a street in Liverpool, and make mention of the sights and characters that McCartney recalled from his upbringing in the city.
"With a Little Help from My Friends" is a song recorded by English rock band the Beatles for their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written primarily by Paul McCartney with contributions from John Lennon, and is sung by drummer Ringo Starr, his lead vocal for the album. As the second track on the album, it segues from the applause on the title track.
Priscilla Maria Veronica White, better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer and television presenter.
Paul McCartney and Wings, often billed simply as Wings, were an English-American rock band formed in 1971 in London by former Beatles songwriter, bassist, guitarist; and singer Paul McCartney; his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards; session drummer Denny Seiwell; and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. They were noted for their commercial successes, musical eclecticism, and frequent personnel changes. They went through three lead guitarists and four drummers. The core trio of the McCartneys and Laine, however, remained intact throughout the group's existence.
The Scaffold are a comedy, poetry and music trio from Liverpool, England, consisting of musical performer Mike McGear, poet Roger McGough and comic entertainer John Gorman. They are perhaps most notable for their successful singles "Thank U Very Much" (1967) and the UK number 1 "Lily the Pink" (1968). Since initially disbanding in 1977, the group have occasionally re-formed for performances and projects.
Peter Michael McCartney, also known by the stage name Mike McGear, is an English performing artist and photographer who was a member of the groups the Scaffold and Grimms. He is the younger brother of former Beatle Paul McCartney.
Roger Joseph McGough is an English poet, performance poet, broadcaster, children's author and playwright. He presents the BBC Radio 4 programme Poetry Please, as well as performing his own poetry. McGough was one of the leading members of the Liverpool poets, a group of young poets influenced by Beat poetry and the popular music and culture of 1960s Liverpool. He is an honorary fellow of Liverpool John Moores University, a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and President of the Poetry Society.
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the male lead, stabs himself with a knife whilst trying to run away after attempting a robbery with his mate Jigger and dies in her arms. The song is reprised in the final scene to encourage a graduation class of which Louise is a member. The now invisible Billy, who has been granted the chance to return to Earth for one day in order to redeem himself, watches the ceremony and is able to silently motivate Louise and Julie to join in with the song.
John Gorman is an English comedian, vocalist and comedy musician.
The Liverpool poets are a number of influential 1960s poets from Liverpool, England, influenced by 1950s Beat poetry.
"Hello, Goodbye" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Backed by John Lennon's "I Am the Walrus", it was issued as a non-album single in November 1967, the group's first release since the death of their manager, Brian Epstein. The single was commercially successful around the world, topping charts in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, West Germany, Canada, Australia and several other countries.
"Lady Madonna" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. In March 1968 it was released as a mono non-album single, backed with "The Inner Light". The song was recorded on 3 and 6 February 1968, before the Beatles left for India, and its boogie-woogie style signalled a more conventional approach to writing and recording for the group following the psychedelic experimentation of the previous two years.
"Mull of Kintyre" is a song by the British-American rock band Wings. It was written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine in tribute to the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute in the south-west of Scotland and its headland, the Mull of Kintyre, where McCartney has owned High Park Farm since 1966.
Liverpool has a lengthy tradition of music both classical and pop. It is well known for the Beatles. Its pop and rock music scene has also been important in the development of a number of other bands and artists since the 1950s.
"Lily the Pink" is a 1968 song released by the UK comedy group The Scaffold, which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. It is a modernisation of an older folk song titled "The Ballad of Lydia Pinkham". The lyrics celebrate the "medicinal compound" invented by Lily the Pink, and humorously chronicle the "efficacious" cures it has brought about, such as inducing morbid obesity to cure a weak appetite, or bringing about a sex change as a remedy for freckles.
"Hope of Deliverance" is a song by English singer-songwriter Paul McCartney, released in December 1992 by Parlophone as the lead single from his ninth solo studio album, Off the Ground (1993). The rock and Latin song was written by McCartney and produced by him with Julian Mendelsohn. It reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-five hit in Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland. The accompanying music video was directed by Andy Morahan. The song was recorded during sessions for Off the Ground, which took place on 17 July 1992. The overdub session is described in detail by Italian percussionist Maurizio Ravalico in the book Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969–2013).
Sir James Paul McCartney is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One of the most successful composers and performers of all time, McCartney is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, versatile and wide tenor vocal range, and musical eclecticism, exploring genres ranging from pre–rock and roll pop to classical, ballads, and electronica. His songwriting partnership with Lennon is the most successful in modern music history.
The relationships of the English musician Paul McCartney include engagements to Dot Rhone and actress Jane Asher, and marriages to Linda Eastman, Heather Mills, and Nancy Shevell.
