Mr Blobby (song)

"Mr Blobby"
Single by Mr Blobby
from the album Mr Blobby: The Album
Released 22 November 1993 (1993-11-22)
Recorded 1993
Genre Pop, novelty
Length 3:34
Label Destiny Music Ltd/BMG
Writer(s) Phillip Raxster
Producer(s) Paul Shaw, David Rogers
Mr Blobby singles chronology
"Mr Blobby"
(1993)
"Christmas in Blobbyland"
(1995)

"Mr Blobby" is a novelty song performed by character Mr Blobby, famous for appearing in the TV programme Noel's House Party. The song originally peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart on 11 December 1993 for one week but reclaimed the top spot to become the Christmas number one single, and spent a total of three weeks at No. 1.[1]

It was written by Philip Raxster, produced by Paul Shaw and David Rogers and was released on 22 November 1993.

It has been named as one of the worst songs ever recorded.

Chart performance

The single reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart on 11 December 1993, replacing Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)", which had been in the No. 1 spot for seven weeks. A week later, "Babe" by Take That demoted Mr Blobby from the top spot for one week. Mr Blobby made a surprise return to the No. 1 spot on Christmas Day, and repeated that position the following week.[1][2]

Legacy

An MTV critic said that Blobby "tried to kill music... with what might be the worst song of all time";[3] the track is often named as such.[4][5] Rupert Hawksley of The Telegraph ranked it as the worst Christmas number one in history, arguing that Blobby "set the bar so low with this bizarre single, it's hard to imagine that it could ever be usurped".[6] Daily Record writer Euan McColm named it the third-worst Top 10 single of all time,[7] while Gemma Wheatley of the Daily Star called it the third most-annoying track ever written.[8] It placed first in an HMV public poll of the worst-ever festive songs,[9] and second in a VH1 viewer survey of the worst number one singles of all time.[10] The track also came sixth in a Channel 4 poll of the 100 worst pop songs in history.[11]

Music video

A music video was created for the single and was filmed in the Kew Bridge Steam Museum. It spoofed several music videos such as "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer, "Stay" by Shakespears Sister, Snap!'s "Rhythm Is a Dancer", and ZZ Top's 3-man arm swing-and-point, featured in many of their videos.

The video featured Noel Edmonds, Carol Vorderman, Garth Crooks and Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear as Mr Blobby's limo driver.[12]

Track listing

  1. "Mr Blobby"
  2. "Mr Blobby's Theme"
  3. "Mr Blobby" (Instrumental Mix)
  4. "Mr Blobby "Blobby, Blobby, Blobby""

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 8
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company)[14] 1
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[15] 169

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[16] Platinum 600,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 560–1. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. "Number 1 Singles of the 1990s". everyHit.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  3. "10 Songs We Wish Were Jokes". MTV. Viacom International Media Networks Europe. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  4. "7 songs you can't believe made Christmas number one". Metro. 20 December 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  5. Butler, Ben (13 May 2016). "Azealia Banks' music has had less success in the UK than Mr Blobby's". Gigwise. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  6. Hawksley, Rupert (7 December 2013). "Worst Christmas number ones of all time". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  7. McColm, Euan (30 March 1999). "Worst Top 10 records in the world". TheFreeLibrary. Daily Record. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  8. Wheatley, Gemma (23 March 2009). "Agadoo: Worst single ever set for comeback". Daily Star. Northern & Shell. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  9. "Blobby voted worst Christmas hit". BBC News. 3 December 2002. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  10. Oliver, Mark (13 August 2004). "Cliff hit voted worst ever number one". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  11. "The One Hundred... Worst Pop Records". Channel 4. 2004.
  12. "Mr. Blobby Music Video". YouTube. 2006-04-21. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  13. "The Irish Charts – All there is to Know" (enter search parameter Mr Blobby into Search by Artist box, then select Go). Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  14. "Official Charts > Mr Blobby". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  15. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 14 July 2015". Imgur. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  16. "British single certifications – Mr Blobby – Mr Blobby". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 30, 2012. Enter Mr Blobby in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
Preceded by
"I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf
UK Singles Chart Number 1 single (first run)
11 December 1993 for 1 week
Succeeded by
"Babe" by Take That
Preceded by
"Babe" by Take That
UK Singles Chart Number 1 single (second run)
25 December 1993 for 2 weeks
Succeeded by
"Twist and Shout" by Chaka Demus & Pliers
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.