Living Doll (song)#1986 version

• 1959 version: 1.86 million{{cite book|title=The Ultimate Cliff|edition=1996 Updated|last1=Lewry|first1=Peter|last2=Goodall|first2=Nigel|publisher=Simon and Schuster Ltd, London|year=1996|isbn=0-684-81696-2|pages=206, 379}}
• 1986 version: 1.50 million

"Living Doll" was written for the film Serious Charge. Lionel Bart had been approached by film producer Mickey Delamar to write songs for the film. The idea for the song came on a Sunday morning in October 1958 while reading a newspaper and seeing an advert for a child's doll. The doll was said to "kneel, walk, sit and sing". Bart recounted, "I was looking at the back pages and there was a small advert for a doll which could apparently do everything. I wrote the song in ten minutes." The song was written as an up-tempo light rock and roll song (rather than a ballad), and this is how Cliff Richard performs the song in the film.{{cite book|title=The Biography Cliff Richard|edition=First|last=Turner|first=Steve|publisher=Lion Publishing plc, Oxford, England|year=1993|isbn=0-7459-2249-X|pages=136–139}}{{AllMusic|class=song|id=mt0031590783|tab=overview|first=Dave|last=Thompson|access-date=2014-06-22}}

Unbeknown to Richard, his contract to appear in the film required that there would be a single of one of the film's songs released. Richard recounts, "I remember passionately refusing to record 'Living Doll'. There was a day of telephone calls from Norrie Paramor, with me saying I hated the song and that it wasn't right for us." Richard did not like what he called its "pseudo-rock" beat. "It did not sound like real American rock 'n' roll to us" said Richard. Paramor told Richard "Change it. Do it any way you like, but do it". While sitting around one afternoon before a show, thinking about what they could do with the song, Bruce Welch (rhythm guitarist for Richard’s backing band, then known as The Drifters before renaming themselves The Shadows), while strumming a guitar, suggested they do it like a country song. Richard and the other band members agreed and duly rerecorded the song with the slower tempo.{{cite book|title=Cliff Richard in His Own Words|edition=First|last=St John|first=Kevin|publisher=Omnibus Press, London|year=1991|isbn=0-7119-2824-X|page=23}}{{cite episode |title=Musikbutikken (Denmark) - Interview with Cliff Richard|url=http://player.mashpedia.com/player.php?q=ZDKgD4DclTg&lang= |access-date=2014-06-22 |series=1998 |first=Cliff |last=Richard |location=Copenhagen |date=1998-12-26 |season=1 |number=13 |quote=Yes, well [the producers of Serious Charge] were doing a movie and they wanted somebody who was a new pop singer. And I guess they wanted a new pop singer because then they would be very cheap. And I was! I was really cheap. I mean, I was so happy to be asked to be in the movie, I would have done it for nothing. and that's what they paid me. [...] We didn't really like [Living Doll] very much. It's just a song. But we recorded it the way Lionel Bart had written it, which was... [Imitates original beat] And it was a sort of pseudo-rock. It didn't sound like real, American rock 'n' roll to us. And we didn't realize that in the contract, there was some small writing and it said there must be a single. And we said, 'Look, we can't release this record like this.' And one day, while we were on tour, Bruce Welch... Well, look, he was sitting by these two big, stone lions in a place called the Sheffield City Hall. And he was just going... [strums acoustic guitar] And he said, 'Why don't we do it like a country and western song?' And yeah, so we just went... [sings song]. |language=en}}

The song was recorded in April 1959 by Cliff Richard and the Drifters and produced by Norrie Paramor. It was first released in the UK in May 1959 on the Serious Charge (EP) soundtrack before being released as a single in July 1959. It was number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for six weeks from July, becoming the biggest selling single of 1959 in the UK with sales of 770,000.{{cite web |last1=Maconie |first1=Stuart |title=The golden age of pop (headline) / The UK's bestselling singles by decade (subheading) |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3166548.ece |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110726140807/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3166548.ece |archive-date=26 July 2011 |url-status=dead |work=The Times / Official Charts Company (UK) |access-date=8 December 2018 }} Richard was awarded a Silver Disc on 1 November 1959, on the television show Sunday Night at the Palladium.{{cite book |last1=Read |first1=Mike |author-link1=Mike Read |last2=Lewry |first2=Peter |last3=Goodall |first3=Nigel |title=Cliff Richard - The Complete Chronicle |url=http://nigelgoodall.co.uk/books/cliff-richard-the-complete-chronicle/ |access-date=1 July 2013 |year=1993 |publisher=Hamlyn |location=London |isbn=0600578976 |pages=24, 28}}

It was a number 1 hit in several European countries, including Ireland, Norway and Sweden and top ten hit in numerous countries. In the US, it was Richard's first hit single, reaching number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. It went on to sell over a million copies worldwide and earned the record company's internally awarded Gold Disc for the achievement.{{cite book|author1=Omnibus Press|author2=Official Charts Company|title=The Million Sellers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0zQDAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT25|date=4 November 2012|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-0-85712-882-9|pages=25}}{{cite web|last=Smith |first=Alan |url=http://www.davemcaleer.com/page21.htm |title=UK First Charts & Silver Discs |work=Dave McAleer's website |access-date=2012-02-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510032556/http://www.davemcaleer.com/page21.htm |archive-date=10 May 2011 }}{{cite magazine|first=Don|last=Wedge|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|title=British Newsnotes|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yR8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8|date=25 July 1960|page=8|issn=0006-2510}} The Gold Disc was awarded to Richard on 17 January 1960, on the Sunday Night at the Palladium again, the night the show achieved its biggest audience and broke previous UK viewing records.1960, 17 January: Nearly 20 million people watch Cliff Richard and The Shadows perform on Sunday Night at the London Palladium, where the singer is presented a Gold record for his hit, "Living Doll". {{cite web |title=Rock 'n' Roll History for 17 January |url=http://www.classicbands.com/day/january%2017.html |website=classicbands.com |access-date=8 December 2018}}

It was the first number 1 in the UK Singles Chart for Cliff Richard and the Drifters; although their debut single "Move It", released the previous year, is often cited as their first number 1, in fact that peaked at number 2.

The song also won writer Lionel Bart an Ivor Novello Award for best song.{{cite book|author1=Stafford Hildred|author2=Tim Ewbank|title=Cliff: An Intimate Portrait of a Living Legend|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QQaEe66cmHYC&pg=PA148|date=13 April 2010|publisher=Ebury Publishing|isbn=978-0-7535-3610-0|pages=148}}

Paul McCartney found this song inspirational and referenced it in connection with his song, "Michelle." He wrote, "We'd just put out 'Michelle' and I remember one night at the Ad Lib club David Bailey hearing it and saying 'You've go to be joking - it is tongue in cheek, isn't it?' My reaction was: 'Piss off! That's a real tune,'....It came a bit out of left field, but those are often my favorites. I mean, one of Cliff Richard's best ones was 'Living Doll.' When he came out with that it was quite a shock, with its acoustics; but it was a well formed little song."

• Cliff Richard – vocals
• Hank Marvin – lead guitar
• Bruce Welch – rhythm guitar
• Jet Harris – bass guitar
• Tony Meehan – drums

{{Infobox song

| name = Living Doll

| cover = Livin Doll.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Cliff Richard and The Young Ones featuring Hank Marvin

| album =

| B-side = (All the Little Flowers Are) Happy

| released = 8 March 1986

| recorded = 29 January 1986 at Master Rock Studios, London

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Pop/Novelty song

| length = 4:18

| label = WEA YZ 67

| writer = Lionel Bart

| producer = Stuart Colman

| chronology = Cliff Richard

| prev_title = It's in Every One of Us

| prev_year = 1985

| next_title = Born to Rock 'n' Roll

| next_year = 1986

}}

In 1986, 27 years after the first release, alternative comedy group The Young Ones approached Richard to record a comic version of "Living Doll" for the Comic Relief charity. Despite the apparent contrast between the anarchic comedians and the clean cut Richard, he agreed and their version again topped the UK Singles Chart, for three weeks from March 1986.{{cite book

| first= David

| last= Roberts

| year= 2006

| title= British Hit Singles & Albums

| edition= 19th

| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited

| location= London

| isbn= 1-904994-10-5

| page= 460| title-link= British Hit Singles & Albums

}} The single was certified gold in the UK by the BPI in April 1986.Listed as "Livin' Doll" - Cliff Richard & Young Ones. To search for, use keywords: Cliff Richard, Artist, Gold, Singles. {{cite web |url=http://www.bpi.co.uk/certified-awards/search.aspx|title=UK certification Database|publisher=BPI|access-date=2014-06-21}} Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin was reunited with Richard on this recording for the first time since 1975.

When the song was performed in the 1986 television broadcast for Comic Relief, The Young Ones announced to the audience that Richard could not make the show and that well-known BBC presenter John Craven would be taking his place. They then introduced Craven, but it was Richard who appeared.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Performers:

• Cliff Richard
• Christopher Ryan
• Nigel Planer
• Rik Mayall
• Adrian Edmondson

Musicians:

• Tim Renwick
• Howard Tibble
• Pete Wingfield
• Bobby Valentino
• Hank Marvin
• Additional material on "Living Doll" and the B-side: Ben Elton, Lise Mayer and The Young Ones.

Weekly charts

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Weekly charts

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Year-end charts

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Notes:

• A {{Note|singles_1950s_note_a1}} Before the Netherlands official charts began in 1965, there were numerous independent charts. In 1959, when "Living Doll" was charting, there were four singles charts. "Living Doll" hit number one in the Songwereld monthly top ten chart for October, number 2 on the Muziek Express and Elsevier charts, and number 3 on the Muziek Parade chart.{{cite web |url=http://www.hitsallertijden.nl|title=Dutch Chart positions at hitsallertijden.nl|publisher=hitsallertijden.nl|access-date=2013-05-04}}

}}

{{certification Table Top}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=single|region=New Zealand|artist=Cliff Richards|title=Living Doll|award=Gold|id=1986-05-23|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|relyear=1985}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United Kingdom|artist=Cliff Richards & Young Ones|title=Livin' Doll|award=Gold|id=3935-1259-1|relyear=1985|salesamount=709,000|salesref={{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/official-top-40-best-selling-songs-of-1986__32911/|publisher=Official Charts|title=Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1986|author=Rob Copsey|date=16 April 2021|access-date=11 July 2021}}}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true}}

• 1959: David Hill (stage name for David Hess) released it as a single on Kapp Records, achieving a minor chart position on the Billboard Hot 100 (US).Hot 100 adds eleven: "92. Living Doll - David Hill, Kapp" {{cite book|author=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|title=Billboard|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_KCAEAAAAMBAJ|date=19 October 1959|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_KCAEAAAAMBAJ/page/n6 7]|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|issn=0006-2510}}
• 1959: Col Joye and the Joy Boys released it as the B-side of their single "Oh Yeah Uh Huh" a single in Australia on Festival Records.{{cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/fk3087 |title=Col Joye and the Joy Boys - Oh Yeah Uh Huh / Living Doll - Festival - Australia - FK-3087 |website=45cat.com |access-date=2016-02-22}}{{cite web|url=http://www.poparchives.com.au/781/col-joye-the-joy-boys/living-doll |title=Living Doll - COL JOYE & THE JOY BOYS (1959) - Pop Archives - Sources of Australian Pop Records from the 50s, 60s and 70s |publisher=Pop Archives |access-date=2016-02-22}}
• 1959: Frankie Davidson with Bruce Clarke and the Rockers released an uptempo version as the B-side of their single "You Are My Sunshine" in Australia on W&G Records.{{cite web|url=http://www.globaldogproductions.info/w/w-and-g-0000-oz.html |title=Discography for W&G Records - OZ - 000 series |website=Globaldogproductions.info |access-date=2016-02-22}}
• 1959: Johnny Worth recorded "LIVING DOLL" (Bart) on Embassy Records WB 347. 78rpm. "Lonely Boy" (Anka) recorded on other side. Accompaniment directed by BARRY KING. (X 9221/ X 9220).
• 1972: Roger Ruskin Spear did a parody version on his album Electric Shocks.{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Roger-Ruskin-Spear-Electric-Shocks/master/241181 |title=Roger Ruskin Spear - Electric Shocks |publisher=Discogs|access-date=2016-02-22}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkN9jQvtkgs |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/gkN9jQvtkgs |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|title=Roger Ruskin Spear - Living doll |publisher=YouTube |date=2011-02-26 |access-date=2016-02-22}}{{cbignore}}
• 1975: Mud, English Glam rock band, covered it on their 1975 album Mud Rock Volume 2.

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Cliff Richard}}

{{Cliff Richard singles}}

{{UK best-selling singles (by year) 1952–1969}}

{{The Young Ones}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Living Doll (Song)}}

Category:1959 songs

Category:1959 singles

Category:1986 singles

Category:Cliff Richard songs

Category:Hank Marvin songs

Category:Songs written by Lionel Bart

Category:Songs written for films

Category:Number-one singles in Australia

Category:Dutch Top 40 number-one singles

Category:Number-one singles in Norway

Category:Number-one singles in Sweden

Category:UK singles chart number-one singles

Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand

Category:Comic Relief singles

Category:Columbia Graphophone Company singles

Category:Warner Music Group singles

Category:Song recordings produced by Norrie Paramor