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Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep

{{short description|1970 single by Lally Stott}}

{{More citations needed|date=January 2012}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}

{{Use British English|date=July 2012}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Chirpy Chirpy, Cheep Cheep

| cover = Lally Stott single cover Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Lally Stott

| album = Chirpy Chirpy, Cheep Cheep

| B-side = Henry James

| released = September 1970

| recorded = 1970

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Bubblegum music

| length = 2:53

| label = Philips

| writer =

  • Giuseppe Cassia
  • Harold Scott{{cite web |title=Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep |url=https://repertoire.bmi.com/Search/Search?Main_Search_Text=Chirpy%20Chirpy%2C%20Cheep%20Cheep&Main_Search=Title&Search_Type=all&View_Count=50&Page_Number=0 |website=repertoire.bmi.com |publisher=Broadcast Music, Inc. |access-date=24 May 2024}}

| producer = Lally Stott

| prev_title = Signora Jones

| prev_year = 1969

| next_title = Jakaranda

| next_year = 1971

}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep

| cover =

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Middle of the Road

| album = Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep

| B-side = Rainin' 'n Painin'

| released = October 1970

| recorded = 1970

| studio = RCA Studios, Rome

| venue =

| genre = Pop{{cite book|title= Electric Shock: From the Gramophone to the iPhone - 125 Years of Pop Music|first=Peter|last=Doggett|date= 1 January 2015|chapter= The Devil's Interval|page= 428|publisher=The Bodley Head|location= London|isbn=978-1-847-92218-2

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=guSsCAAAQBAJ|access-date= 22 February 2025}}

| length = 2:56

| label = RCA Victor

| writer = Lally Stott

| producer =

  • Giacomo Tosti
  • Italo Greco

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title = Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum

| next_year = 1971

}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Chirpy Chirpy, Cheep Cheep

| cover =

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Mac and Katie Kissoon

| album = The Beginning

| B-side = Walking Around

| released = 28 May 1971

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre =

  • Bubblegum pop{{cite book|last= Unterberger|first= Richie|chapter= Various Artists – Bubblegum Classics Vol. 3|editor-last1= Bogdanov|editor-first1=Vladimir|editor-last2= Erlewine |editor-first2= Michael |editor-last3= Erlewine |editor-first3= Stephen Thomas |editor-last4= Unterberger |editor-first4= Richie |editor-last5= Woodstra |editor-first5= Chris|date= January 1, 1997|title= AllMusic Guide to Rock|publisher= Miller Freeman, Inc.|location= San Francisco|page= 1064}}
  • soul{{cite book|first= James|last= Porter|editor1-first= Kim |editor1-last= Cooper|editor2-first= David|editor2-last= Smay|year= 2001|title= Bubblegum Music Is the Naked Truth|chapter= Bell Records|publisher= Feral House|location= Los Angeles|pages= 228–231}}

| length = 2:50

| label =

  • Young Blood
  • ABC

| writer = Lally Stott

| producer = Miki Dallon

| prev_title = Acts of Violence

| prev_year = 1970

| next_title = Pigeon

| next_year = 1971

}}

"Chirpy Chirpy, Cheep Cheep" is a song recorded in 1970 by its composer Lally Stott,{{cite web|url=http://www.last.fm/music/Lally+Stott |title=Lally Stott – Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and photos at |website=Last.fm |accessdate=2016-10-03}} and made popular in 1971 by Scottish band Middle of the Road, for whom it was a UK #1 chart hit.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp2/artists/m/middle_of_the_road/located/page1.shtml |title=Top of the Pops 2 - Where Are They Now? |publisher=BBC |accessdate=2016-10-03}} That version is one of fewer than fifty singles to have sold more than ten million physical copies worldwide.{{cite book|title=The Arts in the 1970s: Cultural Closure|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7eWo7eGPx8AC&q=%22list+of+1970s+best-sellers%22|last=Moore-Gilbert|first=Bart|publisher= Routledge|date=11 March 2002|isbn = 9780415099066}}

History

The original recording of the song by Lally Stott was first released in September 1970 in Italy, where he had been living for several years. It was a hit, entering the Top 20 at the beginning of October. The record company, Philips, was reluctant to release it overseas, and offered it to two other groups: Scottish folk-pop group Middle of the Road, who were working in Italy at the time, and the Trinidadian brother-and-sister duo Mac and Katie Kissoon. Philips eventually released Stott's version elsewhere and it topped the charts in Australia and Rhodesia, as well as hitting the Top Ten in South Africa. It was not a hit in the US, though it peaked at number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100, something that Middle of the Road never achieved.

Middle of the Road released their version in October 1970 in Italy, though it failed to chart there.{{Citation|title=Middle Of The Road – Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep / Rainin' 'N Painin (1970, Vinyl)|date=October 1970 |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/5879231-Middle-Of-The-Road-Chirpy-Chirpy-Cheep-Cheep-Rainin-N-Painin|language=en|access-date=2021-11-17}} It was released in the UK on 15 January 1971 and initially became a hit in continental Europe only, before later growing in popularity in the UK. It entered the UK Singles Chart in the final week of May and reportedly got a boost from DJ Tony Blackburn, who favoured this version over the one by Mac and Katie Kissoon (which had recently been released), and topped the charts three weeks later for five weeks. Mac and Katie Kissoon's version, released in May 1971, had the most success in North America, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on the Canadian RPM chart.

At the time, the song was dismissed by critics{{who|date=December 2014}} as bubblegum, a view initially held by band leader Ken Andrew: "We were as disgusted with the thought of recording it as most people were at the thought of buying it. But at the end of the day, we liked it."{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}

In 2006 "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" topped a list of unintentionally creepy songs in The Observer.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/oct/15/6|title = This is hardcore|website = TheGuardian.com|date = 15 October 2006}} Despite its popular appeal and popular chorus, the song has a theme of child abandonment.

Appearances

The song was featured on the Top of the Pops, Volume 18 album.

In popular culture

The song was sampled in the Denim song "Middle of the Road" on their 1992 album, Back in Denim.

In a sketch in Victoria Wood As Seen on TV, a character telling her Forbes that her husband has been having an affair says that it must have been going on for a long time as ‘their tune was Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep’.

The song's title has sometimes been parodied:

Included on the soundtrack in The Guard (2011) performed by Middle of the Road.

The character Frank Gallagher references the Middle of the Road version in an episode of the UK TV series, Shameless

Included on the soundtrack of the Shudder exclusive film, "The Power" (2021), which takes place in 1974 London.

Included in the "party scene" of the 1971 Israeli comedy film "Katz and Carrasso" directed by Menahem Golan{{Citation |last=Golan |first=Menahem |title=Katz V'Carasso |type=Comedy, Drama |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142428/ |access-date=2024-11-03 |others=Yehuda Barkan, Gadi Yagil, Shmuel Rodensky |publisher=Israel Motion Picture Studios, Noah Films}}

Charts

=Lally Stott version=

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

Weekly charts

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
Chart (1970–71)

!Peak
position

scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=296}}

|1

scope="row"|Italy (Discografia Internazionale){{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1970/Billboard%201970-10-17.pdf|title=Hits of the World|magazine=Billboard|page=66|date=17 October 1970|access-date=16 November 2021}}

|11

scope="row"|Italy (Musica e dischi){{Cite web |title=M&D: Classifiche |url=https://musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=musicaedischi.it}}

|11

{{single chart|Dutch40|8|artist=Lally Stott|song=Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheep, Cheep|rowheader=true}}
{{single chart|Dutch100|15|artist=Lally Stott|song=Chirpy Chirpy, Cheep Cheep|rowheader=true}}
scope="row"|Rhodesia (Lyons Maid)Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: Singles Chart Book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000

|1

scope="row"|South Africa (Springbok){{cite web|title=SA Charts 1965–March 1989|url=http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(S).html|website=Rock.co.za|date=2 April 1971|access-date=13 September 2020}}

|9

scope="row"|US (Billboard Hot 100){{Cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1993|publisher=Record Research|year=1994|isbn=9780898201048|pages=577}}

|92

{{col-2}}

Year-end charts

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
Chart (1970)

!Position

scope="row"|Italy{{Cite web|title=I singoli più venduti del 1970|url=https://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yends/hpe1970.htm|access-date=2021-11-16|website=hitparadeitalia.it}}

|58

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
Chart (1971)

!Position

scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report){{Cite web|title=AMR Top Singles of 1971|url=https://www.top100singles.net/2011/08/amr-top-singles-of-1971.html#show|access-date=2021-11-16|website=Top100singles.net}}

|21

scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40){{cite web|url=https://www.top40.nl/bijzondere-lijsten/top-100-jaaroverzichten/1971|title=Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1971|publisher=Dutch Top 40|access-date=16 November 2021}}

|83

{{col-end}}

=Middle of the Road version=

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

Weekly charts

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
Chart (1971)

!Peak
position

scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-SQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT83|date=15 June 1985|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=83}}

|2

{{single chart|Austria|2|artist=Middle of the Road|song=Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep|rowheader=true}}
{{single chart|Flanders|1|artist=Middle of the Road|song=Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep|rowheader=true}}
{{single chart|Wallonia|1|artist=Middle of the Road|song=Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep|rowheader=true}}
scope="row"|Denmark (IFPI){{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1971/BB-1971-05-22.pdf|title=Hits of the World|magazine=Billboard|page=52|date=22 May 1971|access-date=16 November 2021}}

|1

scope="row"|Finland (Suomen virallinen lista){{Cite web|last=Timo|date=13 August 2015|title=Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit MEN - MIK|url=http://suomenlistalevyt.blogspot.com/2015/08/men-mik.html|access-date=2021-11-16|website=Sisältää hitin}}

|3

{{single chart|Ireland2|1|song=Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep|rowheader=true}}
scope="row"|Israel (Galei Tzahal)

|1

{{single chart|Dutch40|2|artist=Middle of the Road|song=Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep|rowheader=true}}
{{single chart|Dutch100|2|artist=Middle of the Road|song=Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep|rowheader=true}}
scope="row"|Malaysia (Rediffusion){{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1971/Billboard%201971-11-06.pdf|title=Hits of the World|magazine=Billboard|page=61|date=6 November 1971|access-date=16 November 2021}}

|2

scope="row"|Mexico (Radio Mil){{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1971/Billboard%201971-06-12.pdf|title=Hits of the World|magazine=Billboard|page=49|date=12 June 1971|access-date=16 November 2021}}

|3

scope="row"|New Zealand (Listener){{Cite web|title=flavour of new zealand - search listener|url=http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=1263#n_view_location|access-date=2021-11-16|website=Flavourofnz.co.nz|archive-date=4 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204143157/http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=1263#n_view_location|url-status=dead}}

|8

{{single chart|Norway|1|artist=Middle of the Road|song=Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep|rowheader=true}}
scope="row"|Singapore (Rediffusion){{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1971/Billboard%201971-09-18.pdf|title=Hits of the World|magazine=Billboard|page=59|date=18 September 1971|access-date=16 November 2021}}

|2

scope="row"|Spain (Promusicae){{cite book|title=Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002|last=Salaverri|first=Fernando|date=September 1971|publisher=Fundación Autor-SGAE|isbn=84-8048-639-2|edition=1st|location=Spain}}

|1

scope="row"|Sweden (Kvällstoppen){{Cite web|url=https://www.nostalgilistan.se/kvallstoppen/19710504|title=Låtarna från Kvällstoppen 4 maj 1971|website=NostalgiListan.se|access-date=28 May 2022}}

||1

{{single chart|Switzerland|1|artist=Middle of the Road|song=Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep|rowheader=true}}
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|1|artist=Middle of the Road|artistid=14329|rowheader=true|refname=ukmotr}}
{{single chart|West Germany|2|artist=Middle of the Road|song=Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep|songid=192|year=1971|rowheader=true}}

{{col-2}}

Year-end charts

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
Chart (1971)

!Position

scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report)

|28

scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop Flanders){{cite web|url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1971|title=Jaaroverzichten 1971|publisher=Ultratop|access-date=16 November 2021}}

|9

scope="row"|Denmark (IFPI){{Cite web|date=2016-04-13|title=danskehitlister.dk|url=http://danskehitlister.dk/?hitlist_id=10&y=1971&hitlist_item_id=910|access-date=2021-11-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413132847/http://danskehitlister.dk/?hitlist_id=10&y=1971&hitlist_item_id=910|archive-date=13 April 2016}}

|1

scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)

|29

scope="row"|Netherlands (Single Top 100){{cite web|url= https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1971&cat=s|title=Jaaroverzichten - Single 1971|website=Dutchcharts.nl|access-date=16 November 2021}}

|30

scope="row"|Spain (Promusicae)

|5

scope="row"|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade){{cite web|title=Swiss Year-End Charts 1971|website=Swisscharts.com|url=http://swisscharts.com/charts/jahreshitparade/1971|access-date=16 November 2021}}

|1

scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)

|3

scope="row"|West Germany (Official German Charts){{cite web |url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/single-jahr/for-date-1971|title=Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts|language=de |work=GfK Entertainment |publisher=offiziellecharts.de |access-date=16 November 2021}}

|2

=Sales=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|+ Sales for Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep

scope="col"| Region

! scope="col"| Sales

scope="row"| Belgium

| 178,000{{cite web |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1974/Music-Week-1974-09-14.pdf|publisher=Music Week|title=Belgium Backs Bubble Gum Music|page=36|date=14 September 1974|accessdate=2 January 2024}}

scope="row"| Germany

| 1,000,000{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2igEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA19|magazine=Billboard|title=From The Music Capitals of The World - Hamburg|page=56|date=18 September 1971|accessdate=2 January 2024}}

scope="row"| United Kingdom

| 500,000{{cite book|title=Million selling records from the 1900s to the 1980s : an illustrated directory|url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL120558W/Million_selling_records_from_the_1900s_to_the_1980s|first=Joseph|last=Murrells|year=1985 |publisher=Arco Pub.|quote=In Britain it was a slow starter, but by June began to swiftly rise on the charts. By mid-August British sales were over 500,000, German over a million, Belgian 175,000 and other European sales made a total of over four million. The song became a hit in no fewer than 20 countries, the final tally being an estimated 10 million sales.|isbn=0668064595|page=330}}

scope="row"| Europe

| 4,000,000

scope="row"| Worldwide

| 10,000,000

{{col-end}}

=Mac and Katie Kissoon version=

Weekly charts

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
Chart (1971)

!Peak
position

{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|10|chartid=7585|rowheader=true}}
{{single chart|Canadaadultcontemporary|11|chartid=7531|rowheader=true}}
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|41|artist=Mac & Katie Kissoon|artistid=14338|rowheader=true|refname=ukmkk}}
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|20|artist=Mac and Katie Kissoon|rowheader=true}}
{{single chart|Billboardadultcontemporary|10|artist=Mac and Katie Kissoon|rowheader=true}}
scope="row"|US Cash Box Top 100{{Cite web|url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/19711019.html|title=Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 19, 1971|website=Cashboxmagazine.com|access-date=28 May 2022}}{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

|18

References

{{Reflist}}

{{authority control}}

Category:1970 singles

Category:1971 singles

Category:UK singles chart number-one singles

Category:Number-one singles in Australia

Category:Number-one singles in Norway

Category:Number-one singles in Spain

Category:Number-one singles in Switzerland

Category:Number-one singles in Zimbabwe

Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles

Category:Middle of the Road (band)

Category:Schlager songs

Category:1970 songs

Category:RCA Victor singles

Category:Songs written by Lally Stott