"Eloise" is a song first released in 1968 on the

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

label. It was sung by Barry Ryan, and written by his

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brother

Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member o ...

. Running for over five minutes, it features strong

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

tion, melodramatic

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, and a brief slow

interlude Interlude may refer to: *a short play or, in general, any representation between parts of a larger stage production *''Entr'acte'', a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production *a section in a movement of a musical piece, se ...

. It sold three million copies worldwide, and reached No. 2 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 ...

as published by ''

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'', but hit No. 1 in the ''

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'' and ''

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charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...

. It topped the chart in 17 countries, including Italy, the Netherlands and Australia. The single was released as "Barry Ryan with the Majority". The Majority were a pop band, who for a period, were the backing band for Ryan and who, after renaming to Majority One, had some success in Europe. Ryan also released an Italian-language version of the song, "Eloise (Versione Italiana)", in 1968.

Background and recording

After not being able to cope with the success of some of his hits as a duo with Barry, Paul decided to take a step away from the limelight and to concentrate on songwriting. "Eloise" was the second song he wrote and was influenced by Richard Harris' arrangement of "

MacArthur Park MacArthur Park (originally Westlake Park) is a park dating back to the late 19th century in the Westlake, Los Angeles, Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and later designated ...

" after listening to a rough mix of it at a party at Harris' house. After listening to it, Paul locked himself away and wrote "Eloise" in three days. The song was then recorded at

IBC Studios The IBC Recording Studios were independent recording studios located at 35 Portland Place in London, England. In the 1960s and 1970s, the studios become internationally famous after being used by recording artists like the Kinks, the Who, Bee Gee ...

at the end of a recording session with their mother

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and they had only two takes to do it due to the length of the song. The session musicians included

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

and

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

, both of whom went on to form

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

, and

Glenn Ross Campbell Glenn Ross Campbell (born April 28, 1946) is a steel guitarist, most noted for being lead guitarist of cult band The Misunderstood. The Misunderstood The Misunderstood were a psychedelic rock band that originated in Riverside, California, in the ...

. Everyone then wanted to go to the mixing desk to listen to the result because it was so unusual and they said it was going to be a big hit. According to Barry Ryan, the record influenced

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

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. He said in a 2017 interview: "I remember reading Freddie’s memoirs. He was influenced by it. He really, really liked it and also he used it as an argument to release '

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack ...

' because his record company didn’t want to release it but he said “That Barry Ryan had a big five and half minute hit. Why can’t we do it too?”"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

The Damned version

On the back of the commercial success of the 1985 ''

Phantasmagoria Phantasmagoria (, also fantasmagorie, fantasmagoria) was a form of horror theatre that (among other techniques) used one or more magic lanterns to project frightening images, such as skeletons, demons, and ghosts, onto walls, smoke, or semi- ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, the Damned released their

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of the track as a single in 1986. It reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart.

Background and release

Dave Vanian David Vanian (born David Lett, 12 October 1956) is an English rock musician, and lead singer of the punk rock band the Damned. Formed in 1976 in London, the Damned were the first British punk band to release a single, release an album, have a ...

had been thinking about doing a cover of the song from at least 1980 and in 1985 wanted to do a non-album single.

Rat Scabies Christopher John Millar (born 30 July 1955), known by his stage name Rat Scabies, is a musician best known as the drummer for English punk rock band the Damned. Career Millar was born in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. He played drums with Tor ...

did not want a third single released from ''Phantasmagoria'', which

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

wanted to do. It was decided that "Eloise" could be recorded as long as " Is It a Dream?" was released as the third single. The single was released in the UK with two different 12" mixes. The first was nine and a half minutes long and is known as the 'Extravagant Mix'. The second was shorter, lasting less than seven minutes and was released with the parenthesised 'No Sleep Until Wednesday Mix'. It was also a limited release of 2,000 copies. "Eloise" was not included on any

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

albums, but has since been issued on several Damned compilations, and it appeared as a bonus track on the 1986 reissued LP versions of ''

'' in Australia, Germany and Italy. MCA also issued the single in

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and

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. At the same time, a version of "Eloise" by

Far Corporation Far Corporation were a multi-national band created by German record producer Frank Farian, who created the bands Boney M. and Milli Vanilli. The name was shortened from "Frank Farian Corporation", which was originally put together to record a cov ...

singer

Robin McAuley Robin McAuley (born 20 January 1953) is an Irish singer. He is best known as the vocalist for the rock band McAuley Schenker Group from 1986 to 1993, which saw the band release three studio albums: '' Perfect Timing'', '' Save Yourself'', '' M.S ...

was released. McAuley said that the Damned's version had "got absolutely no chance of making it in the charts". Of the two competing versions at the time, Barry Ryan said that "I like the Damned's version best, it's even better than mine".

Recording

The backing track was recorded at Music Works Studios in London on 14 and 15 October 1985. There were due to be a further two days of recording at the studios, but they were cancelled due to a death in one of the band's family. The band were very committed to touring, so were unable to continue recording for a while. Recording finally continued on 23 November at

Eel Pie Studios Eel Pie Recording Studios, formerly Oceanic, was a recording studio located in The Boathouse, Twickenham on the banks of the River Thames in Ranelagh Drive, by Twickenham Bridge, West London, and also simultaneously at No. 45 Broadwick Street, ...

, and was finished by the next day. It was then mixed at Swanyard Studios with the help of Stuart Bruce. Steve Kutner, who signed the Damned to MCA, has said that "it was a nightmare track to record", being "originally twice as long as what came out". Scabies was not convinced by the song and has said that "it never sounded finished to me" and

Roman Jugg Roman Jugg (born 25 July 1957 in Caerphilly, South Wales) is a keyboard player and guitarist. He began his career in the Welsh punk band Victimize in the late 1970s. An acquaintance of Paul Gray, Jugg was originally hired in late 1981, recor ...

has said that Vanian had ended up calling MCA to ask them not to release it.

Track listing

7": MCA / GRIM 4 (UK) # "Eloise" ( Ryan) – 5:10 # "Temptation" ( Jugg,

Scabies Scabies (; also sometimes known as the seven-year itch) is a contagious skin infestation by the mite ''Sarcoptes scabiei''. The most common symptoms are severe itchiness and a pimple-like rash. Occasionally, tiny burrows may appear on the skin ...

, Vanian, Merrick) – 4:05 12": MCA / GRIMT 4 (UK) # "Eloise" – 9:31 # "Beat Girl" (

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

) – 2:21 # "Temptation" – 4:12 12": MCA / GRIMX 4 (UK) # "Eloise" (No Sleep Until Wednesday Mix) – 6:50 # "Beat Girl" – 2:21 # "Temptation" – 4:12 12": MCA / MCA-23625 (US & Canada) # "Eloise" – 5:10 # "Beat Girl" – 2:16 # "Temptation" – 4:05 A shorter extended version of the song has also since been released, with a duration of 7:46.

Production credits

Musicians *

− vocals *

− drums *

− guitar, keyboards *

Bryn Merrick Bryn Merrick (12 October 1958 – 12 September 2015) was a bassist who was a member of Cardiff-based punk band Victimize. He later joined the Damned between 1983 and 1989, replacing Paul Gray, who had left for UFO. Merrick's first release wit ...

− bass Technical *Jon Kelly – producer ("Eloise" only) *The Damned – producer ("Temptation" and "Beat Girl") *Martin Jackson – design, illustration *The Leisure Process – design, illustration

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Tino Casal version

Spanish musician Tino Casal recorded a

techno-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

version in 1987 for his album ''Lágrimas de Cocodrilo'' and it was released as the first single from the album in 1988. "Eloise" was one of his biggest hits, managing to be number one for several weeks in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and reaching number one on

Los 40 Principales Los 40 (The 40, stylized as LOS40 and formerly ''Los 40 Principales'', es, Los Cuarenta) is a Top 40 music radio network and radio station brand in many Spanish-speaking countries from PRISA Radio. The station has its origins as a music show ...

in June 1988 . After a long convalescence after having suffered

necrosis Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, or trauma which result in the unregulated dige ...

in both legs due to a badly treated

sprain A sprain, also known as a torn ligament, is an acute soft tissue injury of the ligaments within a joint, often caused by a sudden movement abruptly forcing the joint to exceed its functional range of motion. Ligaments are tough, inelastic fibers ...

resorting to

self-medication Self-medication is a human behavior in which an individual uses a substance or any exogenous influence to self-administer treatment for physical or psychological conditions: for example headaches or fatigue. The substances most widely used in se ...

, Casal's friend, the announcer and producer Julián Ruiz, suggested that he record "Eloise" to return to the stage. Over time this song has become a classic of Spanish pop and one of Casal's most remembered songs. The vocals for this song took a week to record in Studio 1 of

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the last album the group started recording, although ''Let It Be'' was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly re ...

with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

, conducted by

Andrew Powell Andrew Powell (born 18 April 1949) is an English musical composer, arranger and performer, born of Welsh parents. He himself moved to Wales in 2003. Early life Powell was born Surrey, England. He began piano lessons at the age of four and late ...

. The budget for the recordings was approximately €12,000. The lyrics were adapted by Casal, as well as the costumes for the recording of the videoclip, an aquamarine blue sequin suit. After the success of the song, Tino Casal recorded an extended version of the song at the Eurosonic Studio. A remix by Pumpin' Dolls was released as a promo single in 2000 by Chrysalis Records to promote the compilation album ''Casal Vive''.

Track listings

7": EMI / 006 12 2255 7 # "Eloise" – 5:28 # "Angel Exterminador" – 4:45 12": EMI / 052 12 2274 6 # "Eloise" (Version Maxi) – 5:42 # "Eloise" – 6:08 # "Angel Exterminador" – 4:45 Promo CD: Chrysalis / PE00061 (2000) # "Eloise" (Pumpin' Dolls Radio Edit) – 4:25 # "Eloise" (Pumpin' Dolls Hyperdrama Club Mix) – 9:08 # "Eloise" – 5:23

Charts

Other versions

* In 1968, French pop star

Claude François Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of "Comme d'habitude" (c ...

released a French-language version, which was a top 10 hit in France and Belgium, and charted at the same time as Ryan's version. This version was then covered the following year by

Donald Lautrec Donald Lautrec (born Donald Bourgeois, July 13, 1940 in Jonquière, Quebec) is a Canadian (Quebec) singer and actor. Career With a friend in 1957, Lautrec created the acrobatic duo, ''Don and Lee'', which performed on trampolines throughout Cana ...

and released in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, where it was a number one hit. * Also in 1968, Argentine band Los Náufragos released a Spanish-language version as a non-album single. * In 1969,

Tapani Kansa Aarne Tapani Kansa (born 9 March 1949 in Hamina, Finland) is a Finnish singer. Career Tapani Kansa made his first record deal in 1967 and had a breakthrough the next year, with his version of the hit song ''Delilah'', translated into Finnish. ...

released a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

-language version on his eponymous debut album, which went to number 3 in the Finnish charts. * Johnny Dynamo and Los Leos recorded a Spanish version for Discos Orfeón in 1969 that was very successful in the Mexican market. * In 1970,

Karel Gott ) Sinatra of the East( cs, Sinatra Východu, link=no)Divine Charlie Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

-language version as a single from his 1969 album ''Poslouchejte! Karel Gott zpívá Lásku bláznivou a další hity''. * In 1981, German band, the Teens covered the song as a non-album single, which reached number 55 in the

German charts The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

. * In 2006,

the Turtles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

lead singer

Howard Kaylan Howard Kaylan (born Howard Lawrence Kaplan, June 22, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with bandmate and friend Mark Volman, a member of th ...

covered the song for his 2006 solo album ''Dust Bunnies''. * In 2016, a previously unreleased cover of the song was included on the Associates' album ''The Very Best Of'', and is a punky version from an early

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

of their debut album ''

The Affectionate Punch ''The Affectionate Punch'' is the debut studio album by Scottish post-punk and new wave band The Associates. It was released on 1 August 1980 on the Fiction label. The song title "Even Dogs in the Wild" became the title of a novel by Scottish ...

''.

References

{{authority control 1968 songs 1968 singles 1986 singles The Damned (band) songs Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Switzerland Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Zimbabwe MGM Records singles Songs written by Paul Ryan (singer)