"The Pushbike Song" is a song originally recorded by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n band The Mixtures and released in 1970. The single was a chart success, reaching numbers one and two in the Australian and UK charts respectively. It has subsequently been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by various artists.

History and chart success

Written by brothers Idris and Evan Jones, "The Pushbike Song" was released in 1970 and reached the top-spot for two weeks in the Australian charts in March 1971. It also proved popular in the UK, reaching the number two spot on 31 January (beaten by

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

's "My Sweet Lord"), and number 31 in Canada.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Covers

* Toomapojad "Jalgrattal sõidan" (1970, Estonia) * Faraon "Šlapací kolo" (1971, Czechoslovakia)

Vinyl and CD releases

* Mungo Jerry (1990, UK) * The Beggars (70s, Germany) * The Great American Disaster (70s, USA) *

Anita Harris Anita Madeleine Harris (born 3 June 1942) is an English actress, singer and entertainer. Harris sang with the Cliff Adams Singers for three years from 1961 and had a number of chart hits during the 1960s. She appeared in the ''Carry On'' film ...

(2008, UK) * Pinky and Perky (1971, UK) *

The Wurzels The Wurzels are an English Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England, best known for their number one hit " The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976. They are known for using British West Country phrases ...

(1978, UK) - parody of the original song; appears on ''The Best of Adge Cutler and the Wurzels'' * Leon Henry/Carlin (1971, UK) - appears on ''Top of the Tots Pop Party Vol. 3'' ( Pickwick Records) * The New Seekers/Mick Flinn (2006) - appears on ''The New Seekers Live'' * The Clowns (1972, Brazil) - appears on the album ''A Patota'' * Olivia Newton-John (2011, Australia) - appears on the soundtrack to the film '' A Few Best Men'' * The Henry Rudolph Singers (1972, New Zealand) - from the album of the same name.

Television / other

A music video was created for the song in 1970, which depicted the band and friends riding bicycles through the streets of Melbourne. Filmed in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

, it was notable for scenes involving a procession of bicycles (including a

penny farthing The penny-farthing, also known as a high wheel, high wheeler or ordinary, is an early type of bicycle. It was popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with its large front wheel providing high speeds (owing to its travelling a large distance for every r ...

) and rollerskaters on a busy six-lane Melbourne arterial road, and a scene of four members of the band 'riding' a tandem bicycle atop a car transporter travelling at speed across the

King Street Bridge (Melbourne) The King Street Bridge carries King Street, Melbourne, King Street over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia. The bridge continues south as an elevated viaduct, with the Crown Melbourne, Crown Casino built around it in later years. As origina ...

. The song was used in a sketch by Paul Hogan on ''

The Paul Hogan Show ''The Paul Hogan Show'' was a popular Australian comedy show which aired on Australian television from 1973 until 1984 for a total of 12 seasons and 60 episodes. It made a star of Paul Hogan, who later appeared in ''Crocodile Dundee.'' Hogan' ...

'', which parodied the promotional film, and featured cast member and 1976 Miss World pageant runner up

Karen Pini Karen Jo Pini (born 30 July 1957) is an Australian actress, model, TV personality and former beauty queen. She represented her country at the 1976 Miss World pageant held in London, United Kingdom and finished first runner up. She was also the ...

Australia's '' Young Talent Time'' also performed the song in a 1986 episode. Australian children's show ''

Play School Play School or Playschool may refer to: Television * ''Play School'' (British TV series), a BBC production aimed at preschool children * ''Play School'' (Australian TV series), an Australian Broadcasting Corporation production based on the Briti ...

'' recorded a cover for the album ''

There's a Bear in There ''Play School'' is an Australian educational television show for children produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It is the longest-running children's show in Australia and the second-longest-running children's show worldwide ...

'', sung by Philip Quast. Australian singer-songwriter Olivia Newton-John recorded a cover for the soundtrack of the 2011 comedy film '' A Few Best Men''. In 2012, "The Pushbike Song" was used on an advertising campaign for Tooheys 5 Seeds Cloudy Cider. The vocals on that version are purportedly a performance by "gypsy banjo player, Benny 'The Giant' Gogasa" recorded via Skype. This is probably a spoof on the part of the advertising agency, for what appears to be a local studio recording, with no independent evidence that Benny 'The Giant' Gogasa and "his band of orphans, misfits and mildly deformed gypsy musicians" actually exists. It was also heard in the '' Hotch Potch House'' episode "Round and Round" during a film about a girl getting a new bike.

References

External links

Poparchives.com.au
s entry on The Pushbike Song
Young Talent Time
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pushbike Song, The 1971 singles Pinky and Perky songs Number-one singles in Australia Songs about bicycles 1970 songs Polydor Records singles