"Ballerina (Prima Donna)" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter
Steve Harley, released by Stiletto Records as a non-album single in 1983. The song, written and produced by
Mike Batt
Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry.
Having achieved substantia ...
, reached number 51 in 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 ...
.
Background
In 1983, Batt approached Harley with the newly-written "Ballerina (Prima Donna)" and offered him the opportunity to record it. Batt played the song on the piano to Harley and the singer agreed to record it after taking a liking to the song. Harley recorded "Ballerina (Prima Donna)" in the spring of 1983 at
Lansdowne Studios
Lansdowne Studios was a music recording studio in Holland Park, London, England, which operated between 1958 and 2006.
Background
The studio was located at Lansdowne Road, Holland Park, within Lansdowne House, a Grade II listed eight-storey bu ...
and
Abbey Road Studios, London, with Batt as the producer.
The song was released as a single in June 1983 by Stiletto Records and gave Harley his first UK chart action in four years, peaking at number 51 in 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 ...
and remaining in the top 100 for six weeks.
In an interview on ''
Scotland Today
''Scotland Today'' is a Scottish regional news programme covering Central Scotland, produced by STV Central (formerly Scottish Television). Despite its name suggesting a national remit, the programme was actually limited to stories around STV's C ...
'', Harley said about recording the song, "I still write nearly everything I record, but Mike wrote this song, came to me and my record company and said 'I've got this for Steve'. I've known him a few years, never working with him though. And when he sang it to me on the piano, he sang it like me, and I fell for it, I couldn't help it, and so we recorded it."
In 1985, Harley was more dismissive of the song, calling it "crap" and "not really me", and adding, "I needed a hit and I thought
attmight be able to supply me with one."
Later in 2013, Harley described the song as "a bit cheesy" but added, "It has a bitter, accusing air, written by my good mate Mike Batt at a time of low self-esteem (wouldn't have lasted long!)"
Release
"Ballerina (Prima Donna)" was released by Stiletto Records on 7-inch and 12-inch single in the UK and Germany. RCA handled the single's marketing and distribution.
The single's sleeve credited the song solely to Steve Harley, whereas the vinyl credited it to
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel are a British glam rock band from the early 1970s from London. Their music covers a range of styles from pop to progressive rock. Over the years they have had five albums in the UK Albums Chart and twelve singles in ...
.
The B-side, "Face to Face", written and produced by Harley, is exclusive to the single. The song was written and recorded in the studio as a 16-track demo. Harley recalled in 1985, "That was a demo. We never actually re-recorded it. It
aswritten and recorded in about three hours. I wrote it in the studio, and recorded it there and then."
The 12-inch releases of the single included a new version of "
Sebastian", which was originally recorded by Cockney Rebel in 1973 for the album ''
The Human Menagerie
''The Human Menagerie'' is the debut studio album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Cockney Rebel, which was released by EMI Records, EMI in 1973. It was produced by Neil Harrison.
Background
After training as a journalist for three years, Steve ...
''. The 1983 version was recorded at the suggestion of Batt, who also produced the track.
Harley recalled in 1985, "I didn't mind it at all. Mike wanted to do it, and I just said OK. All it strictly is is Mike's interpretation of my song."
Music video
The song's music video was filmed at the
Prince Edward Theatre
The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London.
History
The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Marc ...
,
Old Compton Street
Old Compton Street is a road that runs east–west through Soho in the West End of London.
History
The street was named after Henry Compton who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686. Th ...
, London.
It depicts the story of a ballerina performing at a theatre, where her boyfriend (Harley), who was in the audience watching her performance, then catches her with another man backstage afterwards, causing him to confront her in the dressing room. Harley leaves and in distress the ballerina hands back the bouquet of flowers given to her by her secret lover, and tearfully watches Harley's shadow disappear as he leaves down the stairs. Harley leaves the theatre and calls a taxi, while the ballerina sits on an empty stage in sadness. Other segments in the video feature the ballerina performing on stage and close-up shots of Harley singing the song's first two chorus sections. The video was created in similar style to a film and featured opening and ending credits.
Harley said of the video in 1985, "We
ida really good video which you wouldn't have seen. There's no where you can play a video until
he single
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
s in the top 50. It's a very good video, real clever, I liked it a lot. Had it been a hit record, and the video shown often on ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...
'' and that, I think it would have been an award-winning video."
In 1986, Harley would return to the Prince Edward Theatre, where he auditioned on stage for the role of the phantom in the upcoming
Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''
The Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...
''.
Although Harley was given the starring role, he was later replaced close to rehearsals by
Michael Crawford
Michael Patrick Smith, (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English tenor, actor and comedian.
Crawford is best known for playing both the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' a ...
.
Promotion
Harley appeared on the South West TV show ''Freeze Frame'', where he performed the song. He was accompanied on stage by the 16 year old ballerina Maria Roselli, who made her television debut on the show, performing ballet in the background during the song's performance. Roselli told the ''Aldershot News & Mail'' in 1983, "I'm a fan
f Steve Harley I didn't really know of him until I heard him, but I thought the song was very nice." During Harley's appearance on ''Scotland Today'', a clip from an alternative music video was shown.
"Ballerina (Prima Donna)" was performed live by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel on two occasions around the time of its release. The band performed it at their London concert in June 1983 and at the Reading Festival in August 1983. In February 2013, the song received its first live performance in 30 years during the band's concert at Buxton, and the song was also included on select dates during the band's November 2013 tour.
Critical reception
On its release, Simon Mares of the ''
Reading Evening Post
The ''Reading Post'' (until 2009, the ''Reading Evening Post'') was an English local newspaper covering Reading, Berkshire and surrounding areas. The title page of the paper featured the Maiwand Lion, a famous local landmark at Forbury Gardens. T ...
'' wrote, "This song is written, arranged and produced by Mike Batt and I have to say you can just about make out Steve's talent as a singer struggling through - but it's a difficult job and I'd rather hear his self-penned songs." Simon Tebbutt of ''
Record Mirror
''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the '' NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in '' ...
'' commented, "The last living survivor of the Titanic disaster with a melodramatic bargain basement
Eagles
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...
-meets-
Metal Mickey
Metal Mickey is a fictional five-foot-tall robot, as well as the name of a spin-off television show starring the same character. The robot character was created, controlled and voiced by Johnny Edward.
The character of Metal Mickey first appe ...
type song. Bound to be
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 week ...
's record of the week."
Charles Shaar Murray
Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''New Musical Express'' and many other magazines and newspapers, and has been interviewed for a number of ...
of ''
New Musical Express'' wrote, "Harley never quite captured
Dylan's winge and whimsy as well as
Ian Hunter, but his music is now so appallingly dreary that it's quite possible that he could do exceptionally well in the States at last."
Track listing
7-inch single
#"Ballerina" – 4:11
#"Face to Face" – 3:29
12-inch single
#"Ballerina" – 4:57
#"Sebastian" – 4:06
Personnel
Production
*
Mike Batt
Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry.
Having achieved substantia ...
– producer and arranger on "Ballerina" and "Sebastian"
*
Steve Harley – producer of "Face to Face"
Other
* BBB Design – 7-inch picture sleeve artwork
* Terry Walker – 7-inch picture sleeve photography
* Amanda Lord at Freddie's – 7-inch picture sleeve model
Charts
References
{{authority control
1983 songs
1983 singles
Steve Harley songs
RCA Records singles
Songs written by Mike Batt
Song recordings produced by Mike Batt