"The Combine Harvester" | |
---|---|
Single by Brendan Grace | |
Released | 1975 |
Genre | |
Composer(s) | Melanie Safka |
Lyricist(s) | Brendan O'Shaughnessy (new lyrics) |
"The Combine Harvester" | |
---|---|
Single by The Wurzels | |
B-side | "The Blackbird" |
Released | May 1976 [1] |
Genre | |
Length | 3:03 |
Label | Solo, EMI [1] |
Producer(s) | Tommy Ellis, Bob Barratt [1] |
Official Audio | |
"The Combine Harvester (Brand New Key)" on YouTube |
"The Combine Harvester" is a novelty song which was a number one hit for Brendan Grace in Ireland in 1975 and then also for The Wurzels in the UK in 1976. Written by Brendan O'Shaughnessy, the song is a parody of Melanie Safka's 1971 hit, "Brand New Key", with rustic lyrics replacing the original theme of roller-skating. [2]
In the UK the song was released by The Wurzels, a band from Somerset with a rustic West Country style which they called "Scrumpy and Western". It reached number one on 12 June 1976 and stayed there for two weeks. [1]
Chart (1975) | Peak position |
---|---|
Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
Chart (1976) | Peak position |
UK Singles Chart | 1 |
Chart (1976) | Peak position |
Australia (Kent Music Report) [3] | 97 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [4] | Silver | 250,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
The Wurzels are an English Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England, best known for their number one hit "The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976.
Brendan Grace was an Irish comedian and singer. He was best known for his comedy schoolboy character 'Bottler', the 1995 film Moondance, and his 1996 appearance in the Irish TV sitcom Father Ted as Father Fintan Stack. His 1975 song "The Combine Harvester" was a number one hit in Ireland, and his 1982 release of "The Dutchman" is considered to be one of the most enduring versions of the song.
"Dancing Queen" is a Europop and disco song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Arrival (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus also produced the song. "Dancing Queen" was released as a single in Sweden on 16 August 1976, followed by a UK release and the rest of Europe a few days later. It was a worldwide hit. It became ABBA's only number one hit in the United States, and topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, West Germany and the Soviet Union. "Dancing Queen" also reached the top five in many other countries.
Scrumpy and Western refers humorously to music from England's West Country that fuses comical folk-style songs, often full of double entendre, with affectionate parodies of more mainstream musical genres, all delivered in the local accent/dialect. The name, taken from the title of the 1967 Scrumpy & Western EP by Adge Cutler and the Wurzels, refers to scrumpy, strongly alcoholic cider produced in the West Country; it is a play on the American genre of country and western music.
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"Brand New Key" is a pop song written and sung by American folk music singer Melanie. Initially a track of Melanie's album Gather Me, produced by Melanie's husband Peter Schekeryk, it was known also as "The Rollerskate Song" due to its chorus. It was her greatest success, scoring No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart during December 1971 and January 1972. Billboard ranked it as the No. 9 song of 1972. It also scored No. 1 in Canada and Australia and No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart.
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