Excerpt from A Teenage Opera
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| "Excerpt from 'A Teenage Opera'" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Keith West | ||||
| B-side | "Theme From 'A Teenage Opera'" (by The Mark Wirtz Orchestra) | |||
| Released | 28 July 1967 | |||
| Recorded | February – April 1967 | |||
| Studio | EMI, London | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic pop | |||
| Length | 4:25 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Mark Wirtz | |||
| Keith West singles chronology | ||||
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| Performance on Beat-Club | ||||
| "Excerpt from 'A Teenage Opera'" on YouTube | ||||
"Excerpt from 'A Teenage Opera'" (also known as "Grocer Jack") is a 1967 single by Keith West, produced by Mark Wirtz. It was a big hit in Europe, peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.[1] The single was part of a bigger A Teenage Opera project. The song was written by Wirtz and West, credited as "Philwit / Hopkins".
History
[edit | edit source]According to Mark Wirtz, the song comes from a dream he had about an ageing door-to-door grocer named Jack in a small, turn-of-the-20th-century village, who was mocked by the children as he was taken for granted by the town folk. When Jack unexpectedly died, the town folk reacted with anger about the inconvenience of now having to be self-reliant about their staple provisions, while the children were heartbroken, in truth having loved and appreciated Jack all the while.[2]
Working with EMI recording engineer Geoff Emerick at EMI Studios (later Abbey Road Studios) on a project called Mood Mosaic, Wirtz developed the idea which he called "Excerpt from 'A Teenage Opera'" because, he said: "That way, if the single is a hit, people will want an entire LP of the whole opera". The recording used the voices of children from the Corona Academy, with Keith West of the band Tomorrow, with whom Wirtz was also working, as lead vocalist, and his bandmate Steve Howe on guitar. Wirtz presented the song to Emerick in February 1967, and the pair worked on the track up until Wirtz presented it for EMI's chairmen in April 1967.[3] The single was recorded at EMI with Emerick, Peter Bown, Peter Vince, and Malcolm Addey all acting as engineers.[4]
Release and legacy
[edit | edit source]At first, EMI executives were critical of the use of children's voices on a supposedly "rock" record, but Wirtz played an acetate of the record to Radio London DJ John Peel, who loved it and played it on his show.[2] After its eventual release, it climbed the UK singles chart, reaching number 2 in September 1967 (behind "The Last Waltz" by Engelbert Humperdinck).[5] The single was a major hit in Europe, but in the US only reached number 109 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart in October 1967.[6]
According to Wirtz, EMI treated the single as a one-off novelty, and refused to give the go-ahead for a full album until there had been a second hit single. Wirtz turned down an offer from Robert Stigwood to help develop the project. He continued to work on the project, which he intended to be "a kaleidoscope of stories, a bouquet of allegorical, tragiccomic tales about a variety of characters and their fate, all related to each other by the common thread of living in the same imaginary turn-of the-century village. Each character distinguished him/herself by rebelliously pursuing a dream or lifestyle against all odds and in defiance of conformity, their ageless celebration of youth and individuality embodying the very spirit of Rock’n’Roll."[2] However, Wirtz became involved in a contractual dispute with EMI, and the ending of the offshore radio stations around the UK with the introduction of Radio 1 led to changes in the company's marketing approach. The second single from the proposed Teenage Opera, "Sam", was only a modest hit, and Wirtz and West lost interest in the project and ended their working partnership.[2]
In 2000, Wirtz wrote: "Quintessentially, what killed Teenage Opera was EMI’s blind and stubborn procrastination and political tomfoolery, which ultimately shot us all to shit. Nevertheless, even in its incomplete form and ultimate failure, Teenage Opera entered the history books as a bright torch and shining star, having set a precedent and broken down barriers to pave the way for others to succeed where I had failed."[2]
Personnel
[edit | edit source]- Keith West — vocals
- Corona Academy childrens choir — children vocals
- The Ivy League — backing vocals[7]
- The Ladybirds — backing vocals[7]
- Peter Lee Stirling — backing vocals[7]
- Steve Howe — guitar[7]
- Jim Sullivan — guitar[7]
- Vic Flick — guitar[7]
- Russ Stableford — bass[7]
- Clem Cattini — drums[8][7]
- Mark Wirtz Orchestra — orchestra
Cultural references
[edit | edit source]The song was namechecked on Half Man Half Biscuit's song 'Our Tune' from the album McIntyre, Treadmore and Davitt (1991), the last lines of which are "Grocer Jack! Grocer Jack! Get off your back! Go into town!" from the chorus, except bellowed rather than sung.[citation needed]
Chart performance
[edit | edit source]| Chart (1967–68) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] | 49 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] | 11 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] | 2 |
| Germany (GfK)[12] | 2 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[13] | 3 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] | 1 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] | 1 |
| New Zealand (Listener)[16] | 10 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[17] | 2 |
| US Bubbling Under the Hot 100 (Billboard)[6] | 109 |
References
[edit | edit source]Citations
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- ^ Official UK Singles Chart, 20-27 September 1967. Retrieved 9 August 2020
- ^ a b Whitburn 2005, p. 286.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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- ^ ""A+Teenage+Opera"&cat=s Keith West – Excerpt from "A Teenage Opera"" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ ""A+Teenage+Opera"&cat=s Keith West – Excerpt from "A Teenage Opera"" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Keith West – Excerpt from "A Teenage Opera"" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Excerpt from A Teenage Opera". Irish Singles Chart.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Keith West" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ^ ""A+Teenage+Opera"&cat=s Keith West – Excerpt from "A Teenage Opera"" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ "Keith West: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
Sources
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