"5-4-3-2-1" is a 1964 song by British band

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English rock band, formed in London and active between 1962 and 1969. The group were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The band had two differen ...

. It was written by Mann,

Mike Hugg Michael John Hugg (born 11 August 1940) is a British musician who achieved fame as a founding member of the 1960s group Manfred Mann. Biography Hugg was born in Gosport, Hampshire in 1940. His parents condoned his jazz drumming as long as he ...

and Paul Jones, and peaked at #5 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

thanks to weekly television exposure from being the

theme tune Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

pop music television programme ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light enter ...

''. This would be the last single released before bass player

Dave Richmond David Henry Richmond (born 1940 in Brighton, Sussex) is a professional bass player, best known as a founder member of the 1960s pop group Manfred Mann, playing with the band in 1963.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Rock Discography'', Canong ...

left the band.Jazz4now – The Dave Richmond Home Page
"Please note that "5-4-3-2-1" was recorded before I left the band, in fact I still receive PPL payments every time it is broadcast" – Dave Richmond In an interview with ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'', keyboardist

said that he regarded ''Ready Steady Go'' as being like a rocket, and wrote the song as a countdown to launch it. The song contains the self-referential lyric "Uh-huh, it was the Mannnn-freds!". Upon the success of the single, the group authored the follow-up single "Hubble Bubble (Toil and Trouble)", which peaked at #11 in the UK. Due to this they resorted to recording a cover song as their next release. This release was "

Do Wah Diddy Diddy "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and originally recorded in 1963, as "Do-Wah-Diddy", by the American vocal group the Exciters. ''Cash Box'' described the Exciters' version as "a sparkling rocker that bubble ...

" which became a trans-Atlantic #1 hit. In 1997 the

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' jingle used to introduce Channel 5 was loosely based on 5-4-3-2-1. British

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

chain

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

used the song in adverts for £5 off a £40 spend in 2012.

Personnel

* Paul Jones – lead vocals, harmonica *

– keyboards, backing vocals *

Mike Vickers Michael Graham Vickers (born 18 April 1940) is an English musician who came to prominence as the guitarist, flautist, and saxophonist with the 1960s band Manfred Mann. He was born in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey. At the age of seven, his famil ...

– guitar *

– bass guitar, backing vocals *

– drums

References

{{authority control 1964 singles 1964 songs Manfred Mann songs Song recordings produced by John Burgess