"The Chicken Song" is a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

by the British

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

comedy television programme ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ov ...

'' (series 3, episode 6). The nonsensical lyrics were written by

Rob Grant Robert Grant is an English comedy writer, television producer and co-creator of ''Red Dwarf''. Since ''Red Dwarf'', Grant has written two television series, ''The Strangerers'' and '' Dark Ages'', and four solo novels, his most recent being '' F ...

and

Doug Naylor Douglas Rodger Naylor (born 31 December 1955) is an English comedy writer, science fiction writer, director and television producer. Life and career Naylor was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, and studied at Chetham's School of Music ...

; the music was written by

Philip Pope Philip R. J. Pope is a British composer and actor. He is best known for role as Tony Angelino in Only Fools And Horses. He was educated at Downside School and New College, Oxford. Performer Pope appeared in the Oxford Revue in Edinburgh Festi ...

, who also produced the song, with

Michael Fenton Stevens Michael Fenton Stevens (born 12 February 1958) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for being a founder member of The Hee Bee Gee Bees and the voice behind the ''Spitting Image'' 1986 number 1 hit "The Chicken Song". He also starred ...

as vocalist. The song was a parody of summer holiday disco songs such as "

Agadoo "Agadoo" is a novelty song recorded by the British band Black Lace in 1984. "Agadoo" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart,E ...

" and "Do the Conga", which were in vogue during the mid-1980s. The song made specific reference to the group

Black Lace Black Lace are a British pop band, best known for novelty party records, including their biggest hit, " Agadoo". The band first came to the public eye after being selected to represent the UK in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, in which they ...

, who performed those songs ("those two wet gits, with their girly curly hair"). The song featured heavily during the 1986 series of ''Spitting Image'', playing recurrently in the background, and being hummed by characters; at one stage, the puppet of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

played it on a

banjolele The banjo ukulele, also known as the banjolele or banjo uke, is a four-stringed musical instrument with a small banjo-type body and a fretted ukulele neck. The earliest known banjoleles were built by John A. Bolander and by Alvin D. Keech, both ...

. A subsequent release as a single reached number one in the official UK Singles Chart for three weeks in 1986.

Song versions

On the ''Spit in Your Ear'' album, the "Celebrity Mega Mix" version of "The Chicken Song" was included, which features vocal impressions of celebrities such as

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

and

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

singing the lyrics. The 12" single of "The Chicken Song" featured the extended "12 hour version", which contains numerous random repetitions of the verses and chorus at times when the song appears to be over. When the track is actually finished and the stylus reaches the end of the run-out groove, the first bar of the song is constantly repeated in the final

locked groove The overwhelming majority of records manufactured have been of certain sizes (7, 10, or 12 inches), playback speeds (33, 45, or 78 RPM), and appearance (round black discs). However, since the commercial adoption of the gramophone record (ca ...

B-sides

On the second

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 ...

(the single was released as a "double B-side") of the 7" and 12" singles was another popular song from ''Spitting Image'', "

I've Never Met a Nice South African "I've Never Met a Nice South African" is a satirical song originating in a sketch on the British television series ''Spitting Image'' (series 2, episode 5). It was written by John Lloyd and Peter Brewis and was sung by Andy Roberts. In 1986 i ...

", which mocked the apartheid-era nation's

white people White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

. The 12" single also contained "Hello, You Must Be Going", a parody of

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

who seems as much concerned about his receding hairline as his failed relationship, and "We're Scared of Bob", a parody of the Band Aid /

USA for Africa United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa) was the name under which 47 predominantly U.S. artists, led by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single "We Are the World" in 1985. The song was a U.S. and UK number one for ...

charity records with the various artists suggesting they were only making the record because they were too afraid to say no when

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...

asked them.

Track listings

7" vinyl

12" vinyl

Chart performance

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicken Song, The Spitting Image songs 1986 singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Comedy songs Novelty songs Songs about birds Songs about pop music Musical parodies Music videos featuring puppetry Virgin Records singles