"Ebeneezer Goode" is a song by Scottish electronic music group the Shamen which, heavily remixed by the Beatmasters, became their biggest hit when released as a single on 24 August 1992 by One Little Indian. The group's original version featured on the vinyl edition of their fifth album, Boss Drum (1992).
"Ebeneezer Goode" was one of the most controversial UK number-one hits of the 1990s due to its perceived oblique endorsement of recreational drug use, and it was initially banned by the BBC. It has been claimed the single was eventually withdrawn after the band were hounded by the British tabloid press,[3] though, according to The Shamen themselves, it was deleted while at number one due to its long chart run "messing up our release schedule".[4] Its music video was directed by Richard Heslop.[5]
The song is best known for its chorus, "'Eezer Goode, 'Eezer Goode / He's Ebeneezer Goode", the first part of which is phonetically identical to "Es are good" – 'E' being common slang for the drug ecstasy.[3] However, 'E' is also sung many other times during the song, ostensibly as 'e (i.e. he), such as in "E's sublime, E makes you feel fine".[4] The lyric alludes to the advantages of the drug, though with an admonition against excessive use:
A gentleman of leisure, he's there for your pleasure But go easy on old 'Eezer, he's a love you could lose Extraordinary fella, like Mister Punchinella He's the kind of geezer who must never be abused.
The song also contains references to the use of cannabis with ecstasy, referencing the rolling of a cannabis joint with the lines "Has anybody got any Veras?" ("Vera Lynns" being rhyming slang for "skins" or rolling papers) and "Got any salmon?" ("salmon and trout" being rhyming slang for "snout" or tobacco).
The "A great philosopher once wrote..." sample at the start of the song is Malcolm McDowell from Lindsay Anderson's 1973 film O Lucky Man!
Critical receptionedit
Pan-European magazine Music & Media said the song "is a thinly disguised tribute to the drug XTC, although some might think it's about nice chocolates". They added, "Whatever the moralists may say – 'naughty, naughty' like the lyrics [sic] in the intro – it's a brilliantly constructed pop song with both radio and club appeal as proved before by other Euro-crossover hits such as 'Move Any Mountain' and 'Love Sex Intelligence'."[6] Andy Beevers from Music Week commented, "Bringing together very authentic old-fashioned acid house sounds and a cheeky rap, this has instant appeal and is going to be a huge hit. A word of warning, however: it will make 'absolutely outrageous, mate' this summer's most irritating catchphrase."[7]James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update described it as "pure corny pop with a laddishly spoken and chanted very silly vocal about a geezer what's called Ebeneezer, punctuated by "wicked mate" comments and Sid James-like guffaws" and a "twittery bleeping jaunty bounder".[8]
Chart performanceedit
The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number six in September 1992, climbing to number one two weeks later (ironically during the BBC's drug awareness week) and staying there for four weeks.[9] It was the UK's 13th-biggest-selling single of 1992.[10]
Music videoedit
The music video for the song consisted of club scenes intermixed with a caped man (ostensibly Ebeneezer Goode himself, played by Jerry Sadowitz) running around parts of a city. It was directed by British director of music videos and films Richard Heslop.[5] Due to the use of flashing images in the video, some TV music channels make epilepsy warnings. Some channels, including VH1, edit the video to reduce the frame rate of these scenes, which deletes each bright frame.
The video was played in episode 5 and 6, season 3 of Beavis and Butt-Head, "Kidnapped".
Performance on Top of the Popsedit
When the Shamen appeared on BBC1's Top of the Pops, Mr C was expected to tone down the song due to its being broadcast. The group replaced the final lyric "Got any salmon?" with "Has anyone got any underlay?" When later asked about this in a radio interview, he replied it referenced rugs, not drugs.[4][11]
^"The Shamen Deceive The Censors" (PDF). Music & Media. 31 October 1992. p. 15. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
^Beevers, Andy (15 August 1992). "Dance: Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 10. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^Hamilton, James (29 August 1992). "DJ Directory: Out On Monday" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 5. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^"Shamen – Ebeneezer Goode" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
^"Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 48. 28 November 1992. p. 24. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
^"Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 41. 10 October 1992. p. 39. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
^"European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 42. 17 October 1992. p. 32. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
ebeneezer, goode, song, scottish, electronic, music, group, shamen, which, heavily, remixed, beatmasters, became, their, biggest, when, released, single, august, 1992, little, indian, group, original, version, featured, vinyl, edition, their, fifth, album, bos. Ebeneezer Goode is a song by Scottish electronic music group the Shamen which heavily remixed by the Beatmasters became their biggest hit when released as a single on 24 August 1992 by One Little Indian The group s original version featured on the vinyl edition of their fifth album Boss Drum 1992 Ebeneezer Goode Single by the Shamenfrom the album Boss DrumReleased24 August 1992 1992 08 24 1 GenreRave 2 Length3 53LabelOne Little IndianSongwriter s Colin AngusRichard WestThe Shamen singles chronology LSI Love Sex Intelligence 1992 Ebeneezer Goode 1992 Phorever People 1992 Music video Ebeneezer Goode on YouTube Ebeneezer Goode was one of the most controversial UK number one hits of the 1990s due to its perceived oblique endorsement of recreational drug use and it was initially banned by the BBC It has been claimed the single was eventually withdrawn after the band were hounded by the British tabloid press 3 though according to The Shamen themselves it was deleted while at number one due to its long chart run messing up our release schedule 4 Its music video was directed by Richard Heslop 5 Contents 1 Lyric 2 Critical reception 3 Chart performance 4 Music video 5 Performance on Top of the Pops 6 Charts 6 1 Weekly charts 6 2 Year end charts 7 Certifications and sales 8 ReferencesLyric editThe song is best known for its chorus Eezer Goode Eezer Goode He s Ebeneezer Goode the first part of which is phonetically identical to Es are good E being common slang for the drug ecstasy 3 However E is also sung many other times during the song ostensibly as e i e he such as in E s sublime E makes you feel fine 4 The lyric alludes to the advantages of the drug though with an admonition against excessive use A gentleman of leisure he s there for your pleasure But go easy on old Eezer he s a love you could lose Extraordinary fella like Mister Punchinella He s the kind of geezer who must never be abused The song also contains references to the use of cannabis with ecstasy referencing the rolling of a cannabis joint with the lines Has anybody got any Veras Vera Lynns being rhyming slang for skins or rolling papers and Got any salmon salmon and trout being rhyming slang for snout or tobacco The A great philosopher once wrote sample at the start of the song is Malcolm McDowell from Lindsay Anderson s 1973 film O Lucky Man Critical reception editPan European magazine Music amp Media said the song is a thinly disguised tribute to the drug XTC although some might think it s about nice chocolates They added Whatever the moralists may say naughty naughty like the lyrics sic in the intro it s a brilliantly constructed pop song with both radio and club appeal as proved before by other Euro crossover hits such as Move Any Mountain and Love Sex Intelligence 6 Andy Beevers from Music Week commented Bringing together very authentic old fashioned acid house sounds and a cheeky rap this has instant appeal and is going to be a huge hit A word of warning however it will make absolutely outrageous mate this summer s most irritating catchphrase 7 James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update described it as pure corny pop with a laddishly spoken and chanted very silly vocal about a geezer what s called Ebeneezer punctuated by wicked mate comments and Sid James like guffaws and a twittery bleeping jaunty bounder 8 Chart performance editThe song entered the UK Singles Chart at number six in September 1992 climbing to number one two weeks later ironically during the BBC s drug awareness week and staying there for four weeks 9 It was the UK s 13th biggest selling single of 1992 10 Music video editThe music video for the song consisted of club scenes intermixed with a caped man ostensibly Ebeneezer Goode himself played by Jerry Sadowitz running around parts of a city It was directed by British director of music videos and films Richard Heslop 5 Due to the use of flashing images in the video some TV music channels make epilepsy warnings Some channels including VH1 edit the video to reduce the frame rate of these scenes which deletes each bright frame The video was played in episode 5 and 6 season 3 of Beavis and Butt Head Kidnapped Performance on Top of the Pops editWhen the Shamen appeared on BBC1 s Top of the Pops Mr C was expected to tone down the song due to its being broadcast The group replaced the final lyric Got any salmon with Has anyone got any underlay When later asked about this in a radio interview he replied it referenced rugs not drugs 4 11 Charts editWeekly charts edit Chart 1992 1993 Peakposition Australia ARIA 12 14 Austria O3 Austria Top 40 13 11 Belgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 14 23 Denmark IFPI 15 9 Europe Eurochart Hot 100 16 7 Europe European Dance Radio 17 4 Finland Suomen virallinen lista 18 8 France SNEP 19 43 Germany Official German Charts 20 23 Ireland IRMA 21 1 Israel IBA 22 1 Netherlands Dutch Top 40 23 19 Netherlands Single Top 100 24 26 New Zealand Recorded Music NZ 25 23 Norway VG lista 26 2 Sweden Sverigetopplistan 27 11 Switzerland Schweizer Hitparade 28 17 UK Singles OCC 9 1 UK Dance Music Week 29 1 Year end charts edit Chart 1992 Position Europe Eurochart Hot 100 30 49 Europe European Dance Radio 31 11 UK Singles OCC 10 13Certifications and sales editRegion Certification Certified units sales Australia ARIA 32 Gold 35 000 United Kingdom BPI 1 Silver 200 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone References edit a b British single certifications Shamen Ebeneezer Goode British Phonographic Industry Retrieved 12 February 2021 Best of Rave Westwood Various Artists Songs Reviews Credits AllMusic AllMusic Retrieved 26 August 2017 a b Top of the Pops 2 Top 5 Drug Songs BBC Retrieved 30 March 2014 a b c Interviews by Dave Simpson 5 March 2012 How we made Ebeneezer Goode by the Shamen The Guardian Retrieved 30 March 2014 a b The Shamen Ebeneezer Goode 1992 IMVDb IMVDb Retrieved 25 February 2024 The Shamen Deceive The Censors PDF Music amp Media 31 October 1992 p 15 Retrieved 22 October 2020 Beevers Andy 15 August 1992 Dance Pick of the Week PDF Music Week p 10 Retrieved 2 October 2020 Hamilton James 29 August 1992 DJ Directory Out On Monday PDF Music Week in Record Mirror Dance Update Supplemental Insert p 5 Retrieved 2 October 2020 a b Official Singles Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 13 November 2019 a b Year End Charts Top Singles Music Week 16 January 1993 p 8 Bussmann Jane Once In A Lifetime The Crazy Days of Acid House ISBN 0 7535 0260 7 Shamen Ebeneezer Goode ARIA Top 50 Singles Shamen Ebeneezer Goode in German O3 Austria Top 40 Shamen Ebeneezer Goode in Dutch Ultratop 50 Top 10 Sales in Europe PDF Music amp Media Vol 9 no 48 28 November 1992 p 24 Retrieved 21 March 2018 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles PDF Music amp Media Vol 9 no 41 10 October 1992 p 39 Retrieved 31 January 2020 European Dance Radio PDF Music amp Media Vol 9 no 42 17 October 1992 p 32 Retrieved 24 October 2021 Pennanen Timo 2006 Sisaltaa hitin levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 in Finnish 1st ed Helsinki Tammi ISBN 978 951 1 21053 5 Shamen Ebeneezer Goode in French Les classement single Shamen Ebeneezer Goode in German GfK Entertainment charts Retrieved 22 May 2019 The Irish Charts Search Results Ebeneezer Goode Irish Singles Chart Retrieved 13 November 2019 5 October 1992 Nederlandse Top 40 Shamen in Dutch Dutch Top 40 Shamen Ebeneezer Goode in Dutch Single Top 100 Retrieved 13 November 2019 Shamen Ebeneezer Goode Top 40 Singles Shamen Ebeneezer Goode VG lista Shamen Ebeneezer Goode Singles Top 100 Shamen Ebeneezer Goode Swiss Singles Chart Top 60 Dance Singles PDF Music Week 5 September 1992 p 22 Retrieved 29 September 2020 1992 Year End Sales Charts PDF Music amp Media Vol 9 no 51 52 19 December 1992 p 17 Retrieved 31 January 2020 1992 Year End Airplay Charts European Dance Radio PDF Music amp Media Vol 9 no 51 52 19 December 1992 p 20 Retrieved 25 February 2024 Ryan Gavin 2011 Australia s Music Charts 1988 2010 Mt Martha VIC Australia Moonlight Publishing Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ebeneezer Goode amp oldid 1210227814, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
