Mouldy Old Dough

"Mouldy Old Dough" is an instrumental single, which was a hit for Lieutenant Pigeon.

"Mouldy Old Dough"
Single by Lieutenant Pigeon
from the album Mouldy Old Music
B-side	"The Villain"
Released	February 1972
Recorded	Winter 1971[1]
Length	2:45
Label	Decca
Songwriter(s)	Nigel Fletcher Robert Woodward
Producer(s)	Stavely Makepeace
Lieutenant Pigeon singles chronology
"Mouldy Old Dough" (1972) "Desperate Dan" (1972)

It was written by Nigel Fletcher and Rob Woodward and first produced by them under the name of their other band, Stavely Makepeace.[2]

Recorded in the front room of Woodward's Coventry semi-detached house, it featured his mother Hilda Woodward on piano,[3] in a boogie-woogie, honky-tonk, ragtime style. The only lyrics are the growled title "Mouldy Old Dough" and "Dirty Old Man" by Fletcher. When Fletcher asked what they meant, their author, Rob Woodward, said he had no idea.[4]

Despite initial disapproval from their long-term manager and friend, David Whitehouse, they went ahead with its release. It is the only British number one single to feature a mother and son.[3]

Originally released in early 1972, it flopped on its first release. It was picked up in Belgium and used on a current affairs programme, and became a hit there, reaching number one in the Belgian singles chart. Decca, encouraged by this success, re-released it and with the backing of then BBC Radio 1 DJ Noel Edmonds, it finally became a hit in the UK, spending four weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in October 1972.[5] It sold 790,000 copies. In New Zealand, the song was number one for five weeks.[6] The song also reached number one in Ireland and reached the Top 10 in Canada and Australia, but did not chart in the United States.

"Mouldy Old Dough" (the title being an adaptation of the 1920s jazz phrase, "vo-de-o-do")[2] became the second biggest selling UK single of the year, behind The Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards' bagpipe version of "Amazing Grace".

It is strikingly similar to the Bill Black's Combo instrumental White Silver Sands from the early 1960s.

The tune was also used by LOTO New Zealand as a successful advertising routine.

As of April 2019, Hilda Woodward's piano is an Exhibit at Coventry Music Museum,[7] where other artefacts belonging to the band are also on display.

Chart history

Weekly charts Chart (1972–73) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 5 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[10] 3 Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[11] 11 Canada RPM Top Singles[12] 8 Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 9 Ireland (IRMA)[14] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 4 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 4 New Zealand (Listener)[6] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[17] 9 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[18] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 2 UK Singles (OCC)[20] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1972) Rank South Africa [21] 15 UK [22] 2 Chart (1973) Rank Australia (KMR)[8] 33

Popular culture

• It was one of the choices of Jarvis Cocker when he appeared on the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme, Desert Island Discs.
• In a 1990 interview, Norman Cook revealed it was the first record he ever bought.[23]
• Since 1972, the track has played over the PA system at the beginning of Oldham Athletic A.F.C. home games which coincided with the club rising from the fourth Division to the second Division.
• The song has been covered by British group Shades of Green and features in their first album Rockin' Poppin' Ravin', released in 1973 by Windmill Records, London (WMD 164 stereo).
• The song is widely regarded as the 'theme song' for the sport of Banger racing, where it is played at the start of races during the 'rolling lap'.
• It also became popular in New Zealand in the early 1990s due to its use in a television advertisement for Instant Kiwi scratchcards.

See also

• Winifred Atwell — had repeated number one hits with a similar boogie-woogie style of piano-playing.
• Russ Conway

References

1. "Mouldy Old Dough (Lieutenant Pigeon)". Jon Kutner. 16 August 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
2. Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 147. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
3. Roberts, David (2001). British Hit Singles (14th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 43. ISBN 0-85156-156-X.
4. Ian Gittins (2007), Top of the Pops: Mishaps, Miming, and Music, p. 78, ISBN 978-1-84607-327-4
5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 321. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
6. Flavour of New Zealand, 5 February 1973
7. exhibit in Coventry Music Museum
8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc) |format= requires |url= (help). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
9. "Ultratop.be – Lieutenant Pigeon – Mouldy Old Dough" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
10. "Ultratop.be – Lieutenant Pigeon – Mouldy Old Dough" (in French). Ultratop 50.
11. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 3 February 1973. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
12. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 27 January 1973. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Lieutenant Pigeon – Mouldy Old Dough". GfK Entertainment Charts.
14. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Mouldy Old Dough". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
15. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Lieutenant Pigeon" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Lieutenant Pigeon – Mouldy Old Dough" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
17. "Norwegiancharts.com – Lieutenant Pigeon – Mouldy Old Dough". VG-lista.
18. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 1 September 2018.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Lieutenant Pigeon – Mouldy Old Dough". Swiss Singles Chart.
20. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
21. South Africa's Top 20 Hit Singles of 1972
22. 1972 in British music#Best-selling singles
23. McCready, John. "Beats International are a Pop Group of Their Time (interview in The Face, November 1990)". Rock's Back Pages. Retrieved 9 January 2019.