Arthur Mullard. Everyone’s Making It Big but Me.
- Artist: Arthur Mullard and Chas & Dave.
- Year: 1975.
- Place: De Lane Lea, Wembley.
- Song: I Only Have Eyes for You.
- Song: Everyone’s Making It Big but Me.
Firstly UK Only
I would like to point out that the following story relating to Arthur Mullard and Chas & Dave may only hold interest to my UK friends as far as I know they never gained any major international notoriety. But then again a good story is a good story.
Arthur Mullard
Born in 1910, Arthur Mullard was an English comedic actor who became well-known for his distinct Cockney accent and bulldog-like appearance. After serving in World War 2 he started his entertainment career as a stuntman at both Ealing and Pinewood film studios, before transitioning into small roles in some of the major British films of the era.
His unique look and distinctive voice often led to typecasting, but these traits also made him a familiar and much loved face on British television. He gained popularity in shows like Romany Jones and its sequel Yus, My Dear, and worked alongside famous comedians like Tony Hancock, Benny Hill, and Frankie Howerd. Despite his fame, he remained living in his council maisonette in Islington until his death on December 11, 1995, at the ripe old age of 85.
I Only Have Eyes for You
After watching the 1934 movie Dames, I fell in love with the song “I Only Have Eyes for You.” The following day at the studio, I had a conversation with Louis Elman about the song. For reasons I can’t explain, we decided to create a comedic version for the new production company Delben.
Several names were tossed around for a while, but eventually we landed on Arthur Mullard. Though we knew Arthur had no real talent for singing, we thought it would be hilarious if he simply spoke these beautiful lyrics in his broad Cockney accent.
First Meeting With Arthur
Louis made contact with Arthur’s agent and, a week later, Arthur came to the studio to discuss the idea. He quickly admitted he wasn’t a singer, a fact we were very well aware of.
The plan was for him to “talk” through the song with his characteristic enthusiasm.
At the time, Telly Savalas had a spoken-word number one hit with “If,” and when we mentioned this, Arthur quipped in his thick Cockney accent, “Yus, an’ that Terly Servarlis can’t even talk probarr’.”
Enter Chas & Dave
Chas & Dave were an English pop and rock duo from London, consisting of Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock. They were best known for pioneering a musical style called “rockney,” a blend of pub singalong, music hall humour and boogie-woogie piano all sung with a real Cockney accent.
The duo achieved eight Top 40 hit singles, with their greatest success coming in the early 1980s, including popular tracks like “Rabbit” and “Ain’t No Pleasing You.” They also released nine charting albums.
Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock were often at the studio since they were managed by Derek Lawrence, whose office was in the same building. When we approached them, they loved the idea of working with Arthur.
The concept for the record was simple: Chas & Dave would produce a demo for Arthur to learn the song then arrange and play the backing track and provide backing vocals, to sweeten the deal we agreed we would also record one of Chas & Dave’s songs, “One Fing ‘n’ Anuvver,” for the B-side.
They had the brilliant idea of copying the intro from Ray Stevens’ hit “Misty,” making the contrast with Arthur’s spoken-word delivery after this wonderful intro even more shocking and amusing.
Enter Art Garfunkel
Arthur was immediately signed to Delben Productions and the recording turned out just as comical as we’d imagined. Ben Nesbit secured a deal with RCA for its release, but unfortunately, it came out at the same time as Art Garfunkel’s version of “I Only Have Eyes for You,” which shot to No. 1 in the UK charts.
Arthur’s version sadly disappeared faster than Adolf Eichmann fleeing to South America.
A Lucky Break
When the single was released, I noticed that only Louis Elman was credited as the producer, I was informed my name had been left off due to a clerical error. In hindsight, this was truely a blessing, especially when I later moved on to produce acts such as Gary Numan’s Tubeway Army.
Behind Every Cloud
Despite the failure of the first single, RCA still had a contractual obligation for a second release. We recorded a version of Dr. Hook’s “Everyone’s Making It Big but Me,” but RCA, still smarting from the first flop, wasn’t eager to release it. Instead, we recorded the theme from Arthur’s TV show Yus, My Dear, which wasn’t expected to sell much—and it certainly lived up to those expectations.
Where There’s a Hit, There’s a Writ
Oddly enough, we still believed Arthur had potential to have a one off hit. Shortly after, to our surprise while still under contract with Delben, Arthur recorded a duet with Hylda Baker – “You’re the One That I Want,” which was released on Pye Records and reached No. 22 on the UK charts. This success led to an out-of-court settlement between Pye and Delben, proving once again that “where there’s a hit, there’s a writ.”
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