The greatest television comedies come from the UK (i.e. The Office, The IT Crowd, Fawlty Towers), but some of the strangest shit I've ever seen also comes from there (i.e. Little Britain, Peep Show, The Mighty Boosh); not that it's bad - perhaps just too farcical for me to fathom.
Anyway, I say all this to introduce you to another example of a UK comedic oddity, namely Peter Sellers' spoken word renditions of Beatles songs. I'd brush it off as a lapse in judgement, but the album was fairly well received in England... and actually re-entered the UK charts in the early nineties! Apparently, Sellers reciting "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help" like Sir Lawrence Olivier reciting Richard III keeps the Brits in stitches.
Oh, well. Keeping in mind the fact that the U.S. produced both Gallagher and Carrot Top, we Americans should be the last to point fingers. So, on with the tracks - make your own judgement.
"A Hard Day's Night"
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"Help!"
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He did several other Beatles covers, also, all of which can be found as extras on the Sellers box set that came out in the early nineties. I find Sellers much funnier and more fascinating than his material in some cases but I love these Beatles riffs!
ReplyDeleteU.S. comedian and talk show host Steve Allen did the read-pop-music-lyrics-as-if-it-was-poetry gag in the 1950s. I saw him do it in my youth in the early 1980s, on Carson, and for some reason it stuck with me, and I often find myself doing it in my head after I hear a new pop song.
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ReplyDeleteI remember hearing his version of She Loves You, done in a German accent as if at the Nuremburg Rally.
ReplyDeleteShe loves you!
JA! JA! JA!
Bizarre...
Very appropriate because the Beatles (especially John) were big fans of "The Goon Show" which starred Sellers and Dudley Moore in the early 60s. Seems like Sellers returned the favor...
ReplyDeleteIn his defense, Gallagher could actually be pretty funny back in his very early days, before the watermelon smashing ate the routine...
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm just sophisticated and stuffy like a British person, but I thought these were pretty hilarious.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm just sophisticated and stuffy like a British person, but I thought these were pretty hilarious.
ReplyDeleteAll for Beatles covers, Sean Connery's reading of In My Life is worth checking. By complete contrast Lemmy's re-jig of USSR adds some extra Helter Skelter ampage
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this musical oddity. Reminds me a little of William Shatner reciting Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds...but with a pompous british accent, brilliant!
ReplyDeleteGreat thank you...and listen to this "Sellers meets the Beatles" really a best seller ;-)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dj6iUhP9wY
CREAMY. Hero of mine. WHY did you pass so early???
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