"Little Suzi's on the Up" is a song by British new wave group Ph.D. It was released as the band's first single, appearing on their self-titled debut album. The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song was notable for being the fifth music video shown during

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's launch on 1 August 1981. It is sometimes misspelled by music video stations as Susie or Suzy. Suzi is the correct spelling.

Music video

The music video for the song is comical and features

fast motion Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and th ...

at times. It begins with keyboardist Tony Hymas arriving and taking out a "roll out" keyboard from his case and applying it onto the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

to play. It then moves on to lead singer Jim Diamond, who is a

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

, chopping meat and dancing with a pig that has a number on it, as he would be with "Suzi" when they go

ballroom dancing Ballroom dance is a set of European partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and te ...

which then features a

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

who appears constantly with two scorecards. It moves on to Suzi who is at a

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

getting her hair done and decides to dance with a

hairdryer A hair dryer (the handheld type also referred to as a blow dryer) is an electromechanical device that blows ambient air in hot or warm settings for styling or drying hair. Hair dryers enable better control over the shape and style of hair, by a ...

surprising the salonist. It then shows Diamond with his

tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal ...

on, ironing his trousers with steam arising. When he looks into the mirror, a picture of

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

appears; this is also the same with Suzi (except she sees herself as

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

, the picture shows her dancing with Astaire nonetheless). It then features the stylist (who is presumably Ruby in the song) eating a

pickled egg Pickled eggs are typically hard-boiled eggs that are cured in vinegar or brine. As with many foods, this was originally a way to preserve the food so that it could be eaten months later. Pickled eggs have since become a favorite among man ...

with a cold cuts fork (the eggs are used as a

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

throughout the video). Suzi then picks up her dress from drummer Mark Craney in the closet, with the judge appearing from the

hamper A hamper refers to one of several related basket-like items. In primarily British usage, it refers to a wicker basket, usually large, that is used for the transport of items, often food. In North America, the term generally refers to a household ...

. Diamond arrives to pick up Suzi who comes running to his motorcycle with the trailer somehow gotten unhitched. Suzi then is seen riding behind Diamond on the motorcycle as they arrive at

Hammersmith Palais The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply named Hammersmith Palais, was a dance hall and entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London, England that operated from 1919 until 2007. It was the first ''palais de danse'' to be built ...

featuring other ballroom dancers. Ruby, who is the

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

, quickly arrives at the hall trying to blow into the sax which is clogged by a pickled egg which amuses her and she eats it and continues her solo. The reoccurring judge gives them a 10, and they have won. As Suzi approaches the stage in a dignified manner, the prize is a jar of pickled eggs with the other dancers leaving in dismay. The video ends with Hymas rolling up his keyboard from the piano back into his case and leaving the stage.

Track listing

Tesla version

Rock band Tesla covered the song in 1986 under the name "Little Suzi". Tesla released the cover as the second single from their debut album, ''

Mechanical Resonance Mechanical resonance is the tendency of a mechanical system to respond at greater amplitude when the frequency of its oscillations matches the system's natural frequency of vibration (its '' resonance frequency'' or ''resonant frequency'') clos ...

''. The single broke Tesla into the mainstream and was the most successful single from their debut, reaching #91 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Music video

The video for Tesla's version simply shows the band performing the song on a stage.

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

* Jeff Keith – vocals * Frank Hannon – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin * Tommy Skeoch – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar * Brian Wheat – bass guitar * Troy Luccketta – drums

References

{{authority control 1981 songs 1981 debut singles 1987 singles Ph.D. (band) songs Tesla (band) songs Songs written by Jim Diamond (singer) Atlantic Records singles Geffen Records singles