"Bend It!" is a song by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

band

Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich were an English rock band active during the 1960s. Formed in Salisbury in 1964, the band consisted of David John Harman (Dave Dee), Trevor Leonard Ward-Davies (Dozy), John Dymond (Beaky), Michael Wilson (Mick) ...

, released as a single by

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy * Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone * Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone *Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino * Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindis ...

on 9 September 1966. Written by the band's management team

Ken Howard Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in '' 1776'' and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show '' The Whi ...

and

Alan Blaikley Alan Tudor Blaikley (23 March 1940 – 4 July 2022) was an English songwriter and composer, best known for writing a series of international hits in the 1960s and 1970s in collaboration with Ken Howard, including the UK number ones " Have I th ...

, the song's

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

flavour and tempo changes garnered comparisons to

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films '' Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' ...

's composition "

Zorba's Dance "Zorba's Dance" ( el, Ο Χορός Του Ζορμπά) is an instrumental by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis. The song featured for the dance, which has become known as sirtaki, in the 1964 film ''Zorba the Greek'', for which Theodorakis wrote t ...

". Though considered a departure from the "big-beat" style of the band's previous hits, "Bend It!" was a major chart success. It peaked at number 2 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 ...

and had combined sales of over a million in the UK and Europe.

Composition

The song is notable for its Greek style, inspired by "

" from the 1964 film ''Zorba the Greek'', which includes a

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

that quickens in tempo. For "Bend It!", an

electric mandolin The electric mandolin is an instrument tuned and played as the mandolin and amplified in similar fashion to an electric guitar. As with electric guitars, electric mandolins take many forms. Most common is a carved-top eight-string instrument fit ...

was used, with the result coming from experimenting during rehearsals. It represented a departure in sound for the band;

Dave Dee David John Harman, known professionally as Dave Dee (17 December 1941 – 9 January 2009), was an English singer-songwriter, musician, A&R manager, fundraiser and businessman. He was the frontman for the 1960s pop band Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, ...

told ''Record Mirror'' the band couldn't have recorded "another thump-thump thing", adding "we won't be angry if this isn't a hit because at least we'll have tried something new".

Release

"Bend It!" was released with the B-side "She's So Good", written by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich. However, in Germany it was released by

Star-Club Records The Star-Club was a music club in Hamburg, Germany, that opened on Friday 13 April 1962, and was initially operated by Manfred Weissleder and Horst Fascher. In the 1960s, many of the giants of rock music played at the club. The club closed on 3 ...

with the B-side " You Make It Move", which had been released the previous year as the band's third single. The song peaked at number 2 on the

for two weeks, ultimately spending twelve weeks on the chart. It reached number 1 in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

. The song's salacious lyrics caused controversy and upon its release in America in October, numerous radio stations banned the song. This led the band to re-record "Bend It!" with altered lyrics. This version was then rush-released at the end of October and the original version was withdrawn. The new release came with an

open letter An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an individ ...

of apology stating that "As a pop group we have no right or wish to set ourselves up as arbiters of public taste or morals. But neither would we want to be viewed in any way as corrupters of these standards. Our two countries are so close in most things that it is always surprising to find the exceptional cases where meaning and innuendo differ between us". The song was promoted with a "Bend It!" dance. The dance, created by ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Associated-Rediffusion, Rediffusion TV. Al ...

'' dancer and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

Patrick Kerr Patrick Kerr (born January 23, 1956) is an American film and television actor, known for his recurring role as Noel Shempsky on ''Frasier''. Career He has appeared on ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' as a blind pianist and acquaintance of Larry, on ...

, was promoted in music magazines and an instruction guide inlay was included with the song's

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, A ...

Reception

Reviewed in ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the '' NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in '' ...

'', "Bend It!" was described as "in many ways the best the boys have yet done. It's unusual, with a speeding-up tempo and a fine set of lyrics". In the US, reviewing the original release, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' wrote that "this left-field rhythm novelty with fascinating arrangement should meet with equal success in the U.S." and '' Cash Box'' wrote that it "features a tricky, chugging, locomotive rhythm and an excellent sound" and that it also "stands an excellent chance to smash through Stateside".

Track listing

7": Fontana / TF 746 # "Bend It!" – 2:29 # "She's So Good" – 2:21 7": Star-Club / 148 568 STF (Germany) # "Bend It!" – 2:30 # " You Make It Move" – 2:40

Charts

References

{{authority control 1966 singles 1966 songs Fontana Records singles Songs written by Alan Blaikley Songs written by Ken Howard (composer) Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Zimbabwe Song recordings produced by Steve Rowland