Puppet on a String (Sandie Shaw song)
"Puppet on a String" is a song recorded by British singer Sandie Shaw. The song, written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, was selected to be the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1967, held in Vienna. Shaw won the contest, the first of the United Kingdom's five Eurovision winners.[4][5] As her thirteenth UK single release, "Puppet on a String" became a UK Singles Chart number one hit on 27 April 1967, staying at the top for a total of three weeks.[6] In the United States, a 1967 version by Al Hirt went to number 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 129 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7]
| "Puppet on a String" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Sandie Shaw | ||||
| B-side | "Tell The Boys" | |||
| Released | 7 March 1967 | |||
| Recorded | 1967 | |||
| Genre | Europop[1] | |||
| Length | 2:21 | |||
| Label | Pye[2] | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bill Martin and Phil Coulter[3] | |||
| Producer(s) | Ken Woodman[3] | |||
| Sandie Shaw singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 1967 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist(s) | ||||
| Language | English | |||
| Composer(s) | ||||
| Lyricist(s) | ||||
| Conductor | ||||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 1st | |||
| Final points | 47 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "A Man Without Love" (1966) | ||||
| "Congratulations" (1968) ► | ||||
Eurovision Song Contest Edit
Sandie Shaw had originally performed the song as one of five prospective numbers to represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1967 on The Rolf Harris Show. She had never been taken with the idea of taking part in the contest but her discoverer, Adam Faith, had talked her into it, saying it would keep her manager Eve Taylor happy. Taylor wanted to give Shaw a more cabaret appeal and felt that this was the right move – and also felt that it would get Shaw back in the public's good books as she had recently been involved in a divorce scandal.[8]
Of the five songs performed, "Puppet on a String" was Shaw's least favourite. In her own words, "I hated it from the very first 'oompah' to the final 'bang' on the big bass drum. I was instinctively repelled by its sexist drivel and cuckoo-clock tune."[9] She was disappointed when it was selected as the song she would use to represent the country, but it won the contest hands down, though it has always been felt that this was partly due to her existing popularity on the continent (she had recorded most of her hit singles in French, Italian, German and Spanish).
To that Phil Coulter responds, "Sandie Shaw's job was to sing songs, and I wouldn't take her analysis or criticism of the song really seriously. She is very dismissive of a song that, by any standard, she should feel a debt to. She owes something to that song because it brought her to a much wider audience than she had beforehand, sold her a lot of records, and I dare say gained her a lot of royalties. She has consistently bad-mouthed "Puppet on a String". Maybe she thinks she's a more credible artist than one who would sing a cute Eurovision-winning song, conveniently forgetting that it was her biggest hit and the one that broke her throughout Europe. We didn't have any choice but to give the song to Sandie - she was the nominated singer [for Eurovision 1967] by the BBC. And for all her bad-mouthing of "Puppet", she did a bloody good job of singing it. I prefer to think of the positives of "Puppet on a String". As a songwriter, just because you give an artist a big hit, you don't expect loyalty. They say in the music business: 'If you're expecting loyalty, buy yourself a dog!"
As a result of it winning the Eurovison Song Contest, "Puppet on a String" became her third number one hit in the UK (a record for a woman at the time) and was a big worldwide smash. Globally, the single achieved sales in excess of 4 million, making it the biggest-selling winning Eurovision track to date.[10] Some estimates suggest this makes the track the biggest selling single by a British female artist of all time.[11] Shaw also recorded "Puppet on a String" in French ("Un tout petit pantin"), Italian ("La danza delle note"), Spanish ("Marionetas en la cuerda"), and German ("Wiedehopf im Mai").[12]
Re-recording Edit
Shaw re-recorded "Puppet on a String" in early 2007 to mark her 60th birthday. The recording took place after Shaw had visited her friend, the musician Howard Jones, and found him playing some chords on his keyboard and humming a melody. He encouraged her to continue the melody and before long she realised that it was in fact "Puppet on a String". They recorded a new, slow-tempo electronic version of the song and sent it to producer/mixer Andy Gray who put the final touches on the song. Shaw stated that she loved the new version (having spent a great deal of her life hating the original) and released it exclusively for free download from her official website, and Jones's, on 26 February (Shaw's birthday).[citation needed] It was available for free download for 60 days. As a result of its popularity, Shaw continued to put out new songs on her website for download for the remaining months of her 61st year.[citation needed]
Other covers Edit
The song was covered in over 200 versions in over 30 languages.[13]
- Bulgarian: "Kukla na kontsi" (Кукла на конци), by Margarita Radinska
- Chinese:
- Betty Chung[14]
- Singaporean singer Lara Tan[15]
- Malaysian singer Sakura Teng
- Dutch: "Speelbal in de wind" ("Beachball in the wind") by Reggy van der Burgt, later by Anneke Grönloh
- Estonian: "Hüpiknukk", by Heli Lääts (1967), transl. by Heldur Karmo
- Finnish: "Sätkynukke", by Maarja-Leena Hentunen (single, Philips PF 340 791)
- Hungarian: "Paprikajancsi" (1967), by Zsuzsa Koncz
- Lithuanian: "Lele", by Violeta Riaubiskyte
- Norwegian: "Sprellemann" (1967), by Bente Aaseth with lyrics by Juul Hansen, under His Master's Voice
- Polish: "Ale Marionetka" ("What a puppet"), by Halina Kunicka
- Portuguese: "Marionette" (1967), by Simone de Oliveira; "Feira Popular" (1990), by Ana Faria and children/teenpop group Onda Choc, on their eighth album with the same title[16]
- Russian: "Ya ne kukla" (Я не кукла, "I am Not a Puppet"; 1968), by Emil Gorovets[17]
- Serbian: "Marioneta" ("Marionette", 1967), by Sanjalice[18]
- Slovak: "Ako malý psík" ("Like a puppy", 1967), by Tatjana Hubinská (0130166 Supraphon, mono); released on the day after the Eurovision Song Contest[19] Ako malý psík was also covered by Jana Procházková[20]
- Spanish: "Marionetas en la cuerda" (1967), by Lea Zafrani with the same lyrics as Shaw's, witten by Manuel Clavero
- Swedish: "Sprattelgumma" (1967), by Siw Malmkvist[21]
- Tamil: by Nantha Balan Selvanayagam (1969).
Covers not translated into another language include:
- Mantovani's instrumental version, included in the 1968 release The Mantovani Touch
- the rocksteady version by Ken Boothe under the Studio One label
- Lady Marmalade's version entitled "Puppet on a String (Blueboy Remix)"
- Dutch group Mrs. Einstein's English-language version, released just after appearing in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997.
In popular culture Edit
The song was featured in The 1975 Bulgarian Cartoon Buffo-Synchronists by Proiko Proikov and the soundtrack of the 2021 film Last Night in Soho.[22]
Charts Edit
| Chart (1967)[5][23] | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Argentina (ACPVP)[24] | 1 |
| Australia (Australian Singles Chart) | 2 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) | 1 |
| Belgium (Ultratop) | 1 |
| Canada (Canadian Singles Chart) | 13 |
| Denmark (Danish Singles Chart)[25] | 2 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[26] | 5 |
| France (French Singles Chart)[27] | 2 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[28] | 1 |
| Italy (Italian Singles Chart)[29] | 8 |
| Malaysia (Radio Malaysia)[30] | 2 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Singles Chart)[28] | 1 |
| New Zealand (New Zealand Singles Chart)[31] | 2 |
| Norway (VG-lista) | 1 |
| Singapore (Radio Singapore)[30] | 3 |
| South Africa (Entertainment Monitoring Africa)[32] | 3 |
| Spain (Spanish Singles Chart) | 6 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] | 1 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[3] | 1 |
| Venezuela[33] | 6 |
| West Germany (Schallplatte)[34] | 1 |
Sales Edit
References Edit
- ^ Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "See That Girl: Abba". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 386. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
- ^ "Sandie Shaw". 45-rpm.org.uk. 26 February 1947. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ^ a b c Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 109. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
- ^ . Eurovision-contest.com. 21 May 2006. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 495. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Puppet on a String full official chart history". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ^ "Puppet on a String (song by Al Hirt) • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ^ "Sandie Shaw's Love scandal that almost cost Britain its first Eurovision victory". Retrieved 11 May 2014.
- ^ Shaw, Sandie: The World at my Feet. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; 1991. ISBN 978-0002159210
- ^ O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official Celebration. Carlton Books Ltd, 2015. ISBN 978-1780976389
- ^ Kelly, Mike. Wot Pop: 50 Years of Hits 1952-2002 - A-Z of Hitmakers Plus the UK's Top 5000 Singles. Southgate Publishers, 30 September 2002. ISBN 978-1857411409
- ^ "Sandie Shaw, official site, discography". Sandieshaw.com. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ^ "Eurocovers: VII - The Year of the Puppet". Eurocovers.blogspot.com. 9 January 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ^ "Eurocovers: VII: Year of the Puppet - Is that a big string in your hand or". Eurocovers.blogspot.com. 6 April 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ^ "Eurocovers: VII: Year of the Puppet - Lara's emotional man - Singapore". Eurocovers.blogspot.com. 5 February 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ^ "Information on Feira Popular album by Onda Choc". Discogs. 1990. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
- ^ "Discography of Emil Gorovets" (in Russian). Popsa.info. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ^ Janjatović, Petar (2007). EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960-2006. Belgrade: self-released. p. 203.
- ^ "Singles of Tatjana Hubinská". Tatianahubinska.estranky.cz. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ^ "Eurocovers: April 2007". Eurocovers.blogspot.com. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ^ "Svensk mediedatabas". Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ Sanchez, Gabrielle (21 October 2021). "Anya Taylor-Joy sings a chilling, downtempo cover of "Downtown" for Last Night In Soho soundtrack". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Chart Performance @". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ^ "Billboard Magazine, August 1967". Billboard. 12 August 1967.
- ^ "Billboard Magazine, June 17, 1967". Billboard. 17 June 1967.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Sandie Shaw". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 232. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
- ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard. 3 June 1967. p. 66. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Billboard Magazine, May 27, 1967". Billboard. 27 May 1967.
- ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard. 17 June 1967. p. 49. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ a b c "Billboard Magazine, July 1, 1967". Billboard. July 1967.
- ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard. 12 August 1967. p. 62. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ "Billboard Magazine, June 3 1967". Billboard. 24 June 1967.
- ^ "Billboard Magazine, August 1967". Billboard. 12 August 1967.
- ^ "Billboard Magazine, June 1967". Billboard. 8 July 1967.
- ^ "Cash Box - Belgium" (PDF). Cash Box. 29 April 1967. p. 70. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ "Cash Box - Germany" (PDF). Cash Box. 25 November 1967. p. 68. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ "Pye Records" (PDF). Cash Box. 6 July 1968. p. 236. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
External links Edit
- Sandie Shaw personal website