The Novelty Is Wearing Off, The 1940s Edition: A Collection Of The Oddest Songs In UK Chart History

We’ve made it to the end.

Or rather the beginning.

The pre-chart era is outside my area of expertise. But some of these have remained in the public consciousness – up to and over a century on: 

Contrary to the belief that sex was invented in the 1960s with the emergence of The Beatles, there’s this. In which George reveals that his job as window cleaner is a pervert’s paradise. 

The things he’s seen. It’d make a nun blush. Being the 1930s the sex is strictly moderated, George is no one’s idea of a sex symbol and his cheeky chappy persona keeps it just the right side of lewd. That didn’t stop the head of the BBC, a sober Calvinist Scotsman named John Reith banning it from radio, declaring:

George’s ukulele-centred act saw him rise to being one of the most popular entertainer in Britain through the 30s and 40s. 

According to someone more attuned to these things, the first few seconds of When I’m Cleaning Windows are the ukelele chords from Free As A Bird – played half a step down.

While John Lennon’s voice played backwards, recites a Formby catchphrase:

Here’s an edited version with George entertaining the troops in France.

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Going even further back. And it’s not difficult to imagine what the little of what you fancy is. The innuendo may be more restrained again compared to George. But for the time, it was considered risque.

That was just a reflection of Marie Lloyd in general. 

Marie popularised this song, first performing it in 1915. She was well used to creating a furore with suggestive lyrics and performances. This one pointed to a personal reflection of her as a middle aged woman who sees no shame in following her desires. 

Offstage there was more drama than comedy.

She died of heart and kidney failure at 52, any fortune she might have made from her fame long gone. 

Here’s a performance from 1943 by her daughter Marie Lloyd Jr who followed in her footsteps on stage. 

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Harry: Whose image shouts out:

Like Marie Lloyd, he was born in 1870, and although he took longer to get going: by 1911 he was reportedly the highest paid entertainer in the world, touring the world and earning $1,000 a night. He also wrote his own material, including this one. 

His life was a lot more settled than Lloyd’s: no impropriety.

For those in need of an interpreter, “roamin’ in the gloamin'” refers to walking with his beau in the twilight.

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I’ve cheated. I thought this was pre-1950 but turns out it dates from 1957.

Given that it feels earlier and they had first performed together while at school in the ’30s I’m leaving it in. Plus I’d already started writing when I realised my mistake. 

They had a propensity for animal themed songs. This was their first with gnu, warthog, elephant, rhino, sloth and many more to follow. The Hippopotamus remains the best known. 

Two of their concert revue performances were recorded for album release in the 1950s by…. no great surprise:

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Implausibly, this charted at #43 in December 1988. A mere 51 years after release. 

Information on George is limited. There’s a wiki page for George Van Dusen, but that’s a 19th century grain dealer from New York. His profile doesn’t sound like the guy singing this who went by the sobriquet of The Great Dutch Yodeler. 

Despite the name, George wasn’t Dutch. He wasn’t even George. His real name from what I can find is Thomas Harrington.

The verses are sober enough. But George lets loose on the chorus, living up to his nickname: the yodeling bit. 

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Described as a nonsense song. Which is an insult to bees.

Delivered in the manner of man who has had too much sugar and caffeine, Arthur really goes for it, especially on the chorus. 

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‘Our Gracie,’ as she was known, hails from the same neck of the woods as George Formby, a few years behind him.

In her case it helped her profile rather than hindered. So much so that by 1937, she had eclipsed George as the biggest film star in Britain and signed a deal with 20th Century Fox that supposedly gave her “the highest salary ever paid to a human being.”

The Biggest Aspidistra was co-written by Tommie Conner. Who we met in the 50s as writer of Never Do A Tango With An Eskimo. 

Here’s a live performance from 1977 when Gracie age gave quite a different tone to her voice.

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I know this one reached America:

You can even bottle feed the kids. As in, the baby goats. Not your actual human kids.

Anyway, before I distracted myself:

The opening line sets it out as a response to a recent song called Misery Farm. It sounds like the animals are having a whale of a time. Just no one mention the words pork chops. Or beef ribs. The cats and dogs should be OK though. 

Jollity Farm is just the tip of the iceberg, Leslie is also responsible for;

• I Caught Two Cods Cuddling 
• The Sizzle of the Sausage 
• Ain’t It Grand to be Blooming Well Dead 
• Umpa Umpa Stick it up Your Jumper
• There’s a Song They Sing at a Sing-Song in Sing-Sing 

My personal favourite is:

Monty Python fans may have seen him without realising. He’s in the Crimson Permanent Assurance short that acts as a prelude to The Meaning Of Life. 

Series alumni Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band had a go at it. Here’s their typically restrained effort.

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Onto the war section. Given the times, it was fertile ground for songs mocking the enemy or to forget the fear and hardships. This doesn’t immediately sound like a commentary on the times, especially as its performed by Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allan.

On the other hand, it’s certainly no Jollity Farm for the rabbits. The song debuted just a month after WW2 started and would quickly be adapted with the lyrics referring to Hitler and the Germans being the ones on the run. 

It would take a while and some help from across the waters, but eventually it came true. 

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I’ll take a guess that if any of these performers names are familiar, it’s Noel.

He was a man of many parts; actor and playwright, singer and songwriter. Appearing as the height of sophistication with a line in charming repartee and quick wit.

Composed by Coward in 1943, it’s a satirical take that presents itself as the face of forgiveness – but winds itself into indignation at the thought of absolution. 

In his own words, it is:

The complaints of the many members of the public made it clear that they didn’t get the joke. The angry reaction of listeners thinking it really was advocating being nice to Germans led to it being banned by the BBC. Winston Churchill got it, though.

The song also reportedly holds the distinction of the first use of the word ‘bloody’ on the BBC. It appears people were to busy being annoyed at the thought of not being beastly to Germans to notice. Or maybe the more pressing matter of the blitz meant they were prepared to overlook such language. 

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Any Old Iron was a traditional shout of rag and bone men who would trawl the streets looking for unwanted scrap that they could sell on. The shout alerting householders to their presence.

The original version was released in 1911 with later recordings adapting the lyrics including a WW2 version, with a new final verse expressing patriotism and encouraging donation of any old iron to the war effort. 

A whole 55 years before Herman’s Hermits would top the Billboard charts with it.

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I’ll leave you with the mother of all party anthems. A ‘knees up’ is a party, rather than an exhortation for Mother Brown to run faster, harder, stronger. 

This one goes way back, so much so that it’s not clear when it originated or who from, but by the 1800s it was a popular song in pubs across the East End of London. 

The identity of Mother Brown may possibly be Queen Victoria. Who, after the death of Albert was in need of a good knees up. In more ways than one.

One reading is that she just needed a party to cheer her up. Another is that getting her knees up referred to sex. With her servant John Brown being the man to do his patriotic duty. Hence Mrs. Brown:

It took until 1938 for it to finally be published. And in 1940 a version by sisters Elsie And Doris popularised it for posterity. Being from the East End themselves they were the ideal match for the song. 

And on that note:

The novelty has finally worn off.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey back through time. 

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