LONNIE DONEGAN - “My Old Man’s A Dustman”
This reputedly shifted a million copies, not an easy thing to do even when the singles market in Britain is booming. If you do manage it it’s down to one of two things - either you’ve united the British pop-buying market in approval, or you’ve managed to break out of it and get people who don’t generally buy singles (or even records!) to pick up your disc.
Clearly “Dustman” achieved the latter - reaching out to a broad audience of music-hall nostalgics and variety-show fans. The music-hall was dying if not dead by 1960, having hit a steep decline with the rise of the cinema. Shorn of the audience’s boozing and flirting, the ribald style of music hall was kept alive by light entertainment - the winking not-quite-naughtiness you hear on this record was still a going concern when I was a child, showing up every time some interminable, deferential Royal Variety Performance reached a musical number. When I first heard “Dustman”, that was the context I immediately fitted it to - its roaring audience for me will perpetually include a gin-pickled Queen Mum.
In 1960 it would hopefully have seemed fresher - surely the million owners of the record will have given the thing more plays than I can stand to (An unbridgeable cultural gap is summoned up in the delighted squeal from one audience member when Donegan says “flippin’” at 0′31″). Unlike, say, George Formby’s big hits, “Dustman” in 2004 is a remorselessly unfunny record. Donegan was a natural showman but his sledgehammer timing here is pretty excruciating - the pause before every punchline which is further telegraphed by i) being sung in a ‘dirty’ voice that sounds a bit like Roland Rat, ii) gouts of audience hysterics. Formby, to continue the slightly unfair comparison, delivers his punchlines straight, moves smoothly into the next verse and leaves the audience a split-second to work out by themselves just how filthy he’s being.
Donegan can fairly be accused of making an awful record - the sniffy charge of ’selling out’ that hangs around “Dustman” is easier to counter. Donegan’s affinity with music hall was always apparent - the ‘two old ladies’ bit of “Cumberland Gap”; the whole of “Putting On The Style”. It was hardly surprising that he’d try his hand at more straightforward comedy numbers: the only shame is that “Dustman” is more awkward and has less wit than any of his skiffle hits. 1
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intothefireuk on October 16th, 2006
Poor old Lonnie - credited with introducing (or more acurately popularising) skiffle in the UK his only number one would be a so so comedy cockney knees-up. This record came towards the end of the skiffle boom when he was looking for a new direction. I don’t think the phase lasted long and he moved on fairly swiftly to country. This record though, due to its huge sales, left a fairly long-lasting impression on the public consciousness and even now on occasions you can hear its title recited (well, okay only if you are discussing bin men with an older person). It was no doubt hilarious at the time and exactly like most comedy records it loses appeal rapidly. I’ve never thought comedy records should be included in the main singles chart as they seemingly have very little musical worth - that would have meant that we would have had Cliff’s ‘Fall in love with you’ to deal with instead - which, strangely isn’t a comedy record.
Tom on October 16th, 2006
This was his third number one! Both the others are in the related articles sidebar :)
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on October 16th, 2006
i first heard this song in the playground of oxon infants! we discussed what “gorblimey trousis” might be and decided they had a flap at the back like romper suits for babies
(at the weekend i met my best and most-feared primary school teacher, mrs w, who is now 93 — and UNCHANGED SINCE 1965)
FT's Alan on October 16th, 2006
Seeing a clip of Joni Mitchell doing “My Old Man” on the telly last night, we fondly imagined her changing the lyrics to this.
FT's Pete Baran on October 16th, 2006
And then it being covered by Nazareth…
intothefireuk on October 16th, 2006
Whoops - slight oversight there on my part - I should have said the one that sold the most.
wichita lineman on May 14th, 2008
In spite of the hysterical crowd (the applause at the end is comparable to Ravi Shankar at Monterrey), one of the gags gets tumbleweed - check the “Oi! Where’s me tiger’s head?” verse.
Dunno about anyone else, but this put my off Music Hall almost forever. American friends told me to get the Round The Town box on Bear Family, London’s version of the blues they reckoned. And they were right. Now such greats as Sam Mayo’s Things Are Worse In Russia are part of my daily life.
Lonnie is a long, long way from Max Miller. It’s a bit like dismissing Reggae because you’ve heard Typically Tropical.