Living Next Door to Alice

"Living Next Door to Alice"
Single by New World
B-side "Something to Say"
Released 1972
Format 7" vinyl
Recorded 1972
Genre Pop, folk
Label RAK
Writer(s) Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman
New World singles chronology
"Sister Jane"
(1972)		 "Living Next Door to Alice"
(1972)		 "Rooftop Singing"
(1973)
"Living Next Door to Alice"
Single by Smokie
from the album Midnight Café 2007 Remastered Edition (as bonus track)
B-side "Run to You"
Released 12 August 1976
Format 7" vinyl
Recorded 1976
Genre Pop rock
Label RAK
Writer(s) Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman
Producer(s) Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman
Smokie singles chronology
"I'll Meet You at Midnight"
(1976)		 "Living Next Door to Alice (has nothing to do with Kevin Bloody Wilson)"
(1976)		 "Lay Back in the Arms of Someone"
(1977)
"Living Next Door to Alice"
Single by Johnny Carver
from the album The Best of Johnny Carver
Released February 1977
Format 7" vinyl
Recorded 1976
Genre Country
Label ABC
Writer(s) Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman
Johnny Carver singles chronology
"Afternoon Delight"
(1976)		 "Living Next Door to Alice"
(1977)		 "Down at the Pool"
(1977)
"Alice, Who the X is Alice?"
Single by Gompie
from the album Who the X Is Gompie!
B-side various versions of "Alice, Who the X is Alice?"
"My Brother Is a Rocker"
"Slaves on the Run"
Released 1995
Format CD
Writer(s) Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman
Producer(s) Rob Peters, Ono Pelser, John van de Ven
"Living Next Door to Alice"
Single by Smokie featuring Roy 'Chubby' Brown
B-side "Living Next Door to Alice" (Unbleeped)
Released 1995
Genre Pop rock, parody
Writer(s) Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman

"Living Next Door to Alice" is a song co-written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Originally released by the Australian vocal harmony trio New World in 1972,[1] the song charted at No. 35 on the Australian chart. The song later became a worldwide hit for British band Smokie.

Plot

The song is about a young man's long-standing love, Alice, who's also the girl next door and his neighbour of 24 years, which is left unrequited after she moves away. The protagonist had seen a limousine parked at Alice's home and begins to reflect on childhood memories and his friendship with Alice, and becomes heartbroken as he sees Alice get inside the limousine.

As he watches the car drive out of sight, the protagonist feels regret about two things:

  1. Alice leaving without explanation;
  2. That, in 24 years, he never took the opportunity to express his feelings for her.

Another female character in the song is Sally, another long-time neighbour of the main protagonist who is introduced early in the song. In the song's first verse, she reminds the protagonist of Alice's impending departure. Sally, who later tells the man that he now must get over Alice, then states that she in turn has been waiting for him for 24 years. But the man fails to acknowledge her and reaffirms that he'll "never get used to not living next door to Alice."

Smokie versions

In November 1976, the British band Smokie released their version of "Living Next Door to Alice". The single peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart[2] and, in March 1977, reached 25 in the United States. It was a number one hit in Austria, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. Smokie collaborated on a parody version in 1995 with comedian Roy 'Chubby' Brown, which peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, selling almost half a million copies.[3]

Chart (1976/1977) Peak
position
Australia 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4] 1
Canada RPM Top Singles[5] 17
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[6] 1
Germany (Official German Charts)[7] 1
Ireland (IRMA)[8] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 7
Norway (VG-lista)[10] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[13] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 25
Chart (1995)
with Roy 'Chubby' Brown		 Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[15] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[8] 26
Germany (Official German Charts)[16] 18
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 22

Gompie version

It spawned a more risqué version in 1995 by the Dutch band Gompie, titled "Alice, Who the Fuck Is Alice?". Their version topped the charts in the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders), and reached the top 10 in Austria, Germany, Norway and Switzerland. In the UK, the song peaked at number 17, but its sales topped 150,000 despite its low peak.

Gompie is a project of Peter Koelewijn and Rob Peters. Peters, while visiting a bar called Gompie in Nijmegen, heard "Living Next Door to Alice" by Smokie. After the name Alice in the song, the disc jockey Onno Pelser turned down the volume and the crowd sang 'Alice, who the fuck is Alice?'. Peters realised it could become a hit record, contacted Koelewijn and a day later the song was recorded and released under the name Gompie.[17]

The success of this version resulted in various similar versions, including a new recording by Smokie with blue comedian Roy 'Chubby' Brown. A dance version of "Alice, Who the Fuck Is Alice?" was released by The Steppers, reaching No. 2 on the Australian charts in September 1995. [18] Actor Alan Fletcher, who plays doctor Karl Kennedy in the soap opera Neighbours, took up the song as "Who the Fuck Is Susan?" at fan events, in reference to his erstwhile fictional wife.

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[6] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[19] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[20] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[21] 36
Germany (Official German Charts)[22] 2
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[23] 29
Norway (VG-lista)[24] 4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 2
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[26] 17

Other cover versions

in 1981 South Korea ver band Oxen 80 titled ( In A Lonely Night ).

Concurrent with Smokie's American success with the song, country music singer Johnny Carver released his own version of "Living Next Door to Alice". Carver's version peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in April 1977.[27]

In 1996, Jimmy Sturr recorded the song under the title "Alice" on his album Polka! All Night Long.[28]

The 1996 album The Smurfs Go Pop! by The Smurfs included a song to the same tune, titled "Smurfland".[29]

The anti-Islamist street protest group the English Defence League sing "Allah, Allah, who the fuck is Allah?"[30]

The Danish singer Flemming "Bamse" Jørgensen covered the song as 'Alice' on his 1977 solo debut Din Sang.[31]

In 2016, to celebrate their team's success in qualifying for the finals of the 2016 European Championships in France, a group of London-based Northern Ireland football fans released their own cover version, as "Making Our Way To Paris" by The London Green And White Army, featuring Jinski..[32]


Translations

In Finnish, the song was recorded in 1977 by Kari Tapio, with the title "Viisitoista kesää" (Fifteen summers).[33] The arrangement is by Veikko Samuli and the Finnish lyrics by Juha Vainio.

In Norwegian, there is a translation, "I 24 år har jeg bodd i samme gård som Anne". There are also other songs to the same tune. "Storholt, Stensen, Stenshjemmet, Sjøbrend åsså'n Hjallis" deals about the famous Norwegian speed skating team known as The Four Aces. The single was released in 1977 by Stein Ingebrigtsen & Store Stå and peaked at No. 3 in the Norwegian VG-lista.[34]

A German version of the song, titled "Tür an Tür mit Alice", was a hit for Howard Carpendale in 1977. The single peaked at No. 8 in Germany[35] and Switzerland[36] and at No. 11 in Austria.[37]

In Czechoslovakia the song was released on 21 February 1973 under the title "Alenka v říši divů" (Alice in Wonderland), performed by Karel Zich. There has also been a parody under the name Denis in Czech Republic.

In former Yugoslavia, Toni Montano made a song based on original tune and named it '10 godina' ('10 years').

A Russian version of the song, titled "Элис" (Alice) was released by Конец фильма(Movie End) rock band in 2001 as the closing song of their studio album Soundtracks (Goodbye, innocence)[38]

References

  1. ↑ "Living Next Door To Alice – NEW WORLD (1972) – Pop Archives – Sources of Australian Pop Records from the 50s, 60s and 70s". Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  2. ↑ "Chart Stats – Smokie – Living Next Door To Alice". Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  3. ↑ "Chart Stats – Smokie Featuring Roy 'Chubby' Brown – Living Next Door to Alice (Who the Fuck is Alice)". Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  4. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Smokie – Living Next Door to Alice" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  5. ↑ "RPM Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 24, March 12, 1977". Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  6. 1 2 "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 6, 1977" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  7. ↑ "Musicline.de – Smokie Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  8. 1 2 "irishcharts.ie search results". Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  9. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Smokie – Living Next Door to Alice". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  10. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Smokie – Living Next Door to Alice". VG-lista. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  11. 1 2 "Swedishcharts.com – Smokie – Living Next Door to Alice". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  12. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Smokie – Living Next Door to Alice". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  13. ↑ "Smokie: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  14. ↑ "Smokie > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  15. ↑ "Smokie featuring Roy 'Chubby' Brown: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  16. ↑ "Musicline.de – Smokie featuring Roy 'Chubby' Brown Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 2015-01-31.
  17. ↑ "Muziekencyclopedie – Gompie (1995–2000)" (in Dutch). Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  18. ↑ "australian-charts.com – The Steppers – Who The F..k Is Alice?". Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  19. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Gompie – Alice, Who The X Is Alice?" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  20. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Gompie – Alice, Who the X is Alice?" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  21. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Gompie – Alice, Who the X is Alice?" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  22. ↑ "Musicline.de – Gompie Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  23. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Gompie – Alice, Who the X is Alice?". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  24. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Gompie – Alice, Who the X is Alice?". VG-lista. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  25. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Gompie – Alice, Who the X is Alice?". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  26. ↑ "Gompie: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  27. ↑ "Johnny Carver > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  28. ↑ Bob Tarte. "Polka! All Night Long - Jimmy Sturr | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  29. ↑ "Smurfland - The Smurfs | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  30. ↑ Toby Helm; Matthew Taylor; Rowenna Davis. "David Cameron sparks fury from critics who say attack on multiculturalism has boosted English Defence League | Politics". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
  31. ↑ "Bamses Venner". Bamsesvenner.dk. 1980-11-03. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
  32. ↑ "Making Our Way To Paris - The London Green And White Army featuring Jinski".
  33. ↑ "Hakutulos kappaleelle Viisitoista kesää" (in Finnish). Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  34. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com – Stein Ingebrigtsen & Store Stå – Storholt, Stensen, Stenshjemmet og Sjøbrend åsså'n Hjallis". Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  35. ↑ "Musicline.de – Chartverfolgung – CARPENDALE,HOWARD" (in German). Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  36. ↑ "Howard Carpendale – Tür an Tür mit Alice – hitparade.ch" (in German). Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  37. ↑ "Howard Carpendale – Tür an Tür mit Alice – austriancharts.at" (in German). Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  38. ↑ "САУНДТРЕКИ (До свидания, невинность!) | CD | Дискография | Конец Фильма | Официальный Сайт". Filma.net. Retrieved 2016-01-26.

Bibliography

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