W.O.C.K On Vinyl - Cliff Richard And The Young Ones: Living Doll (1986)

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Before things get too serious at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song at the end of each month, that could be considered to be either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.
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.Firstly, let me state for the record that I was a big fan of The Young Ones during the 80's - perhaps it was their sick sense of humour and complete disregard for social conventions and celebrities that appealed to me (and of course Rick's fascination with Cliff Richard).
The other thing I really enjoyed about 'The Young Ones' series were the bands that made cameo appearances (musical interludes) on their shows. Some bands that immediately come to mind were Motorhead, Elvis Costello and Madness.
The series was based on four mismatched university students who shared a house in North London: Neil, the hippie; Mike, the cool womanizer; Rick, a would-be anarchist studying sociology; and Vyvyan (pronounced Vivian), the punk medical student who was prone to extreme violence. Together with their bastard Russian landlord, the world of these "bachelor boys" was surreal and violent, but ultimately hilarious. Ben Elton was responsible for making this show work and along with Blackadder, The Young Ones was Ben Elton's greatest sitcom work.
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"Living Doll" is a song written by Lionel Bart made popular by Cliff Richard and the Shadows (then still The Drifters) in 1959. It has topped the UK charts twice; in its original version and a new version recorded in 1986 in aid of Comic Relief.
In 1986, 27 years after its first release, The Young Ones approached Richard to record a comic version of "Living Doll" for the Comic Relief charity. Despite the apparent contrast between the anarchic comedians and the clean cut Richard, he agreed and their version again topped the UK singles chart, for three weeks from March 1986. Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin was reunited with Richard on this recording for the first time since 1975.
This No.1 hit single was recorded in support of 'Save The Children Fund' and Oxfam with 80% of funds from the sale of this record going to the Sudan and Ethiopia and 20% to British charities via Charity Projects.
There are many references to Cliff Richard in The Young Ones, precluding their collaboration, including:
- Rick is the devoted Cliff Richard fan who recites poetry centered on his idol
- Rick's fanaticism leads to many jokes about Richard being made during the series
- The name of the show and the opening theme are taken from the Richard song 'The Young Ones'.
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So, this month's WOCK on Vinyl is yet another Crazy, Comical track by who can only be described as the Craziest (Young Ones) and most Charismatic (Cliff) partnership in show business!
Post is a vinyl rip in MP3 format (320kps) with full artwork and label scans.
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Tracks
01 - Cliff Richard And The Young Ones: Living Doll
02 - The Young Ones: All The Little Flowers Are Happy

RIP Rik Mayall  (12/06/2014)
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Young Ones Link (14Mb) New Link 11/01/2023