"Long Haired Lover from Liverpool" is a pop song best known as a hit for
Little Jimmy Osmond. Written by Christopher Kingsley (somehow credited as Christopher Dowden on the UK release) and produced by
Mike Curb and
Perry Botkin Jr
Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made ...
, "Long Haired Lover from
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
" was a
UK number one single for Jimmy Osmond.
Riding high on the popularity of
the Osmonds
The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group ...
, Jimmy (the youngest sibling) had a massive hit with the song, in the process becoming the youngest person to ever reach number one 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 ...
aged 9 years 8 months.
A UK number one for five weeks in December 1972,
it was the Christmas number one that year, and has since sold over a million copies in the UK.
It also reached number two on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) and number 38 on the US, Billboard Hot 100.
The song was first recorded by the writer and released in 1969. Kingsley's recording was an unsuccessful single although it was played by a popular MOR station, KMPC, in Los Angeles.
However, Kingsley's record was distributed by MGM, the record label the Osmonds recorded for, and that was how Jimmy's mother first heard "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool". She thought it would be a great song for the youngest member of the Osmond family. Mike Curb, president of MGM and producer of the Osmonds agreed and recorded Jimmy. The timing could not have been better, as Osmond-mania was sweeping the UK and the Osmond family was embarking on a major UK-European promotional tour. Politics at the UK record company almost stopped the record from being released as a single, but through the efforts of Virgin Ear Music (a Richard Kaye Publishing Company - worldwide copyright owner of "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool") and his UK sub-publishers the Little Jimmy Osmond record was released.
Charts
References
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
1972 singles
Pinky and Perky songs
Songs about Liverpool
MGM Records singles
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