32 Songs - Track 20

Living Doll - CLiff Richard and The Young Ones

Got a rovin eye and that is why she satisifies my soul
Got the one and only walkin talkin livin doll

Since we are on the topic of defining moments I guess The Young Ones would have to crop up at some point. In 1985 Dave, Nathan and I used to charge around to Nathan’s house after school to view the latest episode of The Young Ones. Nathan’s older brother would record them and we would sit there in raptures for 30 minutes as the world was exploded in front of our eyes.

Foul language, puppets, random violence and off-the-wall situations (I’m not a vampire, I’m a driving instructor from Johannesburg), just what a ten-year-old boy needs in his life.

But what really turned my head was the music. All but one episode (and there were only 12) featured a band playing. Madness, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, The Police (minus Sting) and Motorhead were the notables but my god there was amazing stuff. As a result of the show I would go on to discover Sigue Sigue Sputnik, The Clash, The Jam and The Cure.

This collaboration between Sir Cliff and The Young Ones came about as a fund-raiser for the charity Comic Relief. It was released in 1986 as a 7 inch and 12 inch single in the UK and here in Australia. And this song makes the list because for nearly 20 years I’ve been trying to lay my hands on a copy of the single. I’ve got the song on a compilation tape but that’s it. It’s become an obsession. Every 2nd hand record store I go into this is the first thing I look for.

While researching for this project I’ve discovered, finally, the 12 inch version of the song as well as a live version performed at a Comic Relief performance. This has settled some of the raging fire within but I still dream of the day I hold the flat, black plastic in my hands.