"Bachelor Boy" is a song by

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

and

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

, written by Richard and Bruce Welch (from the Shadows). It became a hit when it was released as the B-side of Richard's single " The Next Time". Both sides of the single were regarded as having chart potential so both sides were promoted and in many markets "Bachelor Boy" became the bigger hit. The single spent three weeks at No. 1 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 ...

in January 1963 and was a major hit internationally, although it only reached No. 99 in the US. Both sides of the single were included on the accompanying soundtrack album '' Summer Holiday''. On the soundtrack album the Michael Sammes Singers were credited as backing singers, although they were not credited on the single. In the UK, the single was the first of three number 1 hit singles from Richard's

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

, '' Summer Holiday'', the other two being " Summer Holiday" and "

Foot Tapper "Foot Tapper" is an instrumental by British guitar group the Shadows, released as a single in February 1963. It went to number one in the UK Singles Chart, and was the Shadows' last UK number-one hit (not including those where they performed as ...

". The film was the most successful box-office attraction of the year. The single was followed at number one by the Shadows' own single "

Dance On! "Dance On!" is an instrumental by British group the Shadows, released as a single in December 1962. It went to number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart. A vocal version, with lyrics by Marcel Stellman, was recorded by Britis ...

" The song is about some advice a father passes to his son, to "remain a bachelor boy until (his) dying day". Richard later commented when he wrote this song he "never expected it to be prophetic". While Richard has himself never married, the song itself does not rule out marriage, with the final verse stating "I'll get married, have a wife and a child... but until then I'll be a bachelor boy...".

Chart performance

The below table only includes countries where "Bachelor Boy" was listed separately on the chart, or where it was listed first when both were listed together on the chart. For a more complete list of countries where the single made the singles chart, refer to the article for " The Next Time". Notes: * In Canada, the week "Bachelor Boy" peaked at number 2, Richard's " Summer Holiday" was at number 1. * In the UK, although the single peaked at number 1 in the ''

Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The title ...

'' singles chart that was later accepted as the retrospective official chart for the period, the competing ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' singles chart listed the two tracks separately with "The Next Time" peaking at number 1 and "Bachelor Boy" peaking at number 3.

References

External links

In-depth Song Analysis
at the Cliff Richard Song Database (cliffrichardsongs.com) 1962 singles Cliff Richard songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Songs from musicals Songs written by Bruce Welch 1962 songs Song recordings produced by Norrie Paramor {{1960s-single-stub