"Storm in a Teacup" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul (who is credited as Lynsey Rubin) and

Ron Roker Ronald Ernest Alfred Roker (born 23 January 1941) is an English songwriter, singer and record producer Roker has written UK chart hits for Jackie Lee, The Fortunes, Barry Blue, Tina Charles, Polly Brown, The Pearls, The Real Thing and Swee ...

, that was recorded by the British group

The Fortunes The Fortunes are an English harmony beat group. Formed in Birmingham, the Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim in 1965, when "You've Got Your Troubles" broke into the US, Canadian, and UK Top 10s. Afterwards, they had ...

. The recording was arranged by Lew Warburton and produced by Roger Cook and

Roger Greenaway Roger John Reginald Greenaway, (born 23 August 1938) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook. His compositions have included "You've Got Your Troubles" and the transatlantic mill ...

. Rod Allen (The Fortunes bassist and vocalist) later spoke about De Paul and recalled "She was great. She kept popping into Cook's and Greenaway's office loaded with songs. One day she walked in with 'Storm' and Roger was knocked out." Indeed, Roger Cook was so knocked out that he recommended that The Fortunes record the song and, upon release, it reached No. 7 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 ...

, No. 9 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

(IRMA), No.15 on the New Zealand singles chart and No. 65 on the Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

in 1972. It also spent two weeks in the Dutch Tipparade. De Paul revealed to '' OK!'' magazine in a 1996 interview that it sold three million copies. The song peaked at No. 11 on the Adelaide, Australia 5AD Official Top 40 on 12 May 1972. It was the 84th best selling single in the UK in 1972. The song is often played on BBC Radio, most recently on the programme ''The Great British Songbook''. In his autobiography,

John Lydon John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and aga ...

stated that he loves "Storm in a Teacup" by The Fortunes, actor and singer

Bradley Walsh Bradley John Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English actor, comedian, singer, television presenter, and former professional footballer. Walsh is known for his roles as Danny Baldwin in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2004–2006), as ...

told ''

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 ...

'' it was the first song he remembers hearing and buying, and actor

John Challis John Spurley Challis (16 August 1942 – 19 September 2021) was an English actor. He had an extensive theatre and television career but is best known for portraying Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in the long-running BBC Television sitcom ''Onl ...

stated that it was one of his favourite songs. Scottish journalist Alastair McKay describes the song as "an extraordinary thing, a swirl of pop soul". ''Storm in a Teacup'' was the name of The Fortunes album, also released in 1972 on the Capitol record label.

Chart performance

Other versions

De Paul recorded her own version of the song as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to her first single "

Sugar Me "Sugar Me" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Green. The first version of this song to be released was recorded by de Paul as her first single on MAM Records in 1972. It was produced by Gordon Mills and the B-side was de Paul's versio ...

" on the MAM record label a few months later. The single was a hit in the UK, Spain, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Australia. This version has been included on a number of her compilation albums, starting with ''The World of Lynsey de Paul'' and most recently on the CD ''Sugar and Beyond''. De Paul's version was also featured on the soundtrack of an episode of the German TV series ''Der Kommissar'', entitled "Ein Mädchen nachts auf der Straße". De Paul also performed a live version of the song on the prime time BBC TV show "

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, seria ...

". "Storm in a Teacup" has been covered by other artists, notably Springfield Revival on their 1973 album, ''Highlights'', the

Tremeloes The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with "Do You Love Me". After Poole's depart ...

Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mus ...

and His Orchestra,

Alan Caddy The Tornados (The Tornadoes in North America) were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits ...

Orchestra And Singers, Steven Smith and Father, Bob Rowe, The Mike Morton Congregation, Orchester Konrad Grewe, Cliff Carpenter, folk group Just Us on their self-titled album, and also

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

in 1972, Brazilian groups "The Futures" and "Spirit Of Freedom", Danish singer Vojo on his 1976 Polydor album "What a Difference a Day Makes" and as the B-side to his single "Dear Son! Come Home For Christmas" as well as on the album ''Glory! Glory! Man. United''. Engelbert Humperdinck, de Paul's erstwhile label mate, performed his version of "Storm in a Teacup" on his show ''Engelbert with The Young Generation'' in 1972. It was also performed 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 ...

on episode 13 of his "It's Cliff Richard" BBC TV show. A French language version of the song, entitled "Dans La Vie, Tout S'Arrange", was recorded by

Ginette Reno Ginette Reno (born Ginette Raynault; 28 April 1946) is a Canadian author, composer, singer, and actress. She has received nominations for the Genie and Gemini Awards and is a multi-recipient of the Juno Award. She is a gold and platinum selli ...

and released as a single in Canada in 1972, where it peaked at #2 on the French-Canadian Top Ten, and has been included on a number of Reno compilation albums. More recently, a version of "Dans La Vie, Tout S'Arrange" by Vanessa Duchel/Maxime L was featured on the album ''Star Académie 2009'', from the Canadian reality TV series '' Star Académie''. The album reached No.1 on the Billboard Canadian albums chart in April 2009. On 18 April 2022, Roaddust records announced the world-wide release of "Storm In a Teacup" by Thomas Engström as a single and also that this version would appear on his upcoming album, ''Pure Pop''.

Re-recorded versions

In 1979,

released the EP single "Movin' Out" written by

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

, which featured a new version of "Storm in a Teacup" as the second track on the B-side. This was followed by the release in 1982,

of a new an updated version of "Storm in a Teacup", taken from their album ''Their Golden Hits'', as a single on the Philips record label. De Paul also recorded an alternate and updated version of "Storm in a Teacup" as a track on her 1994 album, '' Just a Little Time''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1972 songs 1972 singles Capitol Records singles The Fortunes songs Songs written by Lynsey de Paul Songs written by Ron Roker