Ying Tong Song
"Ying Tong Song" | |
---|---|
the Goons with Maurice Ponke and His Orchestre Fromage | |
A-side | "Bloodnok's Rock 'n' Roll Call" |
Released | 20 September 1956 |
Genre | |
Length | 3:29 |
Label | Decca |
Songwriter(s) | Spike Milligan |
Producer(s) | Marcel Stellman |
The "Ying Tong Song" (also known by its refrain, which is variously either "Ying tong diddle I po" or "Ying tong yiddle I po" rather than the oft-quoted but apparently absent "Ying tong iddle I po") is a
The Goons
Secombe usually spoke the lead vocals, accompanied by
Milligan claimed that he wrote this song as a bet, with his brother, that he could not get a song into the hit parade that had only two chords (in this case G and D7).[3]
It was a hit in the UK on two occasions: its highest position was No. 3 in the
It was used as the title of the Roy Smiles play about Spike Milligan and The Goon Show: Ying Tong - A Walk With The Goons which was staged in the West End in 2005 and a radio play on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.
In the fourth volume of his war memoirs (Mussolini, His Part In My Downfall), Milligan mentions that his friend and fellow soldier Edgington was often referred to as Edge-Ying-Tong.
Later versions
In the satirical TV sketch show
The song was the first track of a 1979 comedy album, Primeval Slime by actor Ying Tong John.[7]
The song gave its name to the 2008 stage show Ying Tong: A Walk With the Goons.[8]
The Muppets also did a version of the "Ying Tong Song" in season 5, episode 20 of The Muppet Show.
Jon Anderson, former lead singer for the progressive rock group Yes, recorded a short version, released in 2005 on his State of Independence EP.
In the Funny Woman television series, whenever the title character, Barbara/Sophie, and her father part or end a phone call they say "ying tong iddle i po." Spike Milligan is a character in season 1 episode 5.
Charts
Chart (1956) | Peak position |
---|---|
3 |
References
- ^ "Obituary of Harry Edgington". The Evening Post. Wellington, New Zealand: Independent Newspapers. 2 December 1993.
- ^ Harry Secombe speaking at the GSPS convention in Brighton in October 1997
- ^ Spike Milligan speaking at the GSPS convention in Brighton in October 1997
- ^ a b c "The Goons: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
- ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Ying Tong John – Primeval Slime". discogs.com. 1979.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 22 August 2016.