The Young Ones (song)
| “The Young Ones” | ||||
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Cover of the German edition
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| Single by Cliff Richard and the Shadows | ||||
| from the album The Young Ones | ||||
| B-side | “We Say Yeah” (Gormley–Welch–Marvin) | |||
| Released | 11 January 1962 | |||
| Recorded | 11 August & 5 December 1961, EMI Studios, London | |||
| Length | 3:11 | |||
| Label | Columbia (EMI) DB 4761 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tepper/Bennett | |||
| Producer(s) | Norrie Paramor | |||
| Cliff Richard and the Shadows singles chronology | ||||
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“The Young Ones” is a single by Cliff Richard and the Shadows. The song, written by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett, is the title song to the 1961 film The Young Ones and its soundtrack album.
With advance orders of over 500,000, it was released in January 1962 on the Columbia (EMI) label and went straight to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. It was the first British single to do so since Elvis Presley’s “It’s Now or Never” in November 1960. It held that position for six weeks and spent 20 weeks in the chart. It has sold 1.06 million copies in the UK, and 2.6m worldwide.
“The Young Ones” was also included on Cliff Richard and the Shadows No. 1 EP Hits from the Young Ones.
Personnel
- Cliff Richard – lead vocals
- Hank Marvin – lead guitar
- Bruce Welch – rhythm guitar
- Jet Harris – bass guitar
- Tony Meehan – drums
Chart performance
| Chart (1962) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Music Maker, Sydney) | 1 |
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 6 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) | 4 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) | 10 |
| Canada (CHUM, Toronto) | 5 |
| Denmark (Quans Musikbureau) | 1 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) | 6 |
| Germany (Official German Charts) | 16 |
| Hong Kong | 3 |
| Ireland (Evening Herald) | 1 |
| Israel (Kol Israel) | 1 |
| Japan (Utamatic, Tokyo) | 6 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| Norway (VG-lista) | 2 |
| South Africa (Radio of South Africa) | 1 |
| Spain (Promusicae) | 1 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) | 4 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 1 |
In popular culture
In the 1980s, it became the theme song to the alternative comedy sitcom The Young Ones.
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| The Young Ones | |
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Original UK quad format poster
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| Directed by | Sidney J. Furie |
| Produced by | Kenneth Harper Andrew Mitchell |
| Written by | Peter Myers Ronald Cass |
| Starring | Cliff Richard Robert Morley Carole Gray The Shadows |
| Music by | Stanley Black Ronald Cass |
| Cinematography | Douglas Slocombe |
| Edited by | Jack Slade |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Warner-Pathé (UK) Paramount Pictures (US) |
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Release date
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13 Dec 1961 (World Premiere, London)
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Running time
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108 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £230,000 |
The Young Ones (US title: Wonderful to Be Young!) is a 1961 British film musical, directed by Sidney J. Furie and featuring Cliff Richard, Robert Morley as his character’s father, Carole Gray as his love interest, and The Shadows as his band. The screenplay was written by Peter Myers and Ronald Cass, who also wrote most of the songs. Herbert Ross choreographed the dance scenes.
The film was produced by the Associated British Picture Corporation and shot at their Elstree Studios. It had its World Premiere on December 13, 1961 at the Warner Theatre in London’s West End.
This was Cliff Richard’s third film, following Serious Charge and Expresso Bongo. Producer Kenneth Harper hired Sidney J. Furie as director and Ronald Cass and Peter Myers as writers, and during a meeting in Harper’s flat, the four agreed to borrow the storyline of the film musical Babes In Arms (1939), where youngsters Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland put on a show with their friends to raise money.
The film was originally intended to feature the Shadows in acting roles, but it was decided that more professional young actors needed to be cast instead, so the roles originally intended for Hank Marvin and Jet Harris were given to Richard O’Sullivan and Melvyn Hayes, while the Shadows themselves appear only as non-speaking band members.
A number of actresses were considered to be Cliff Richard’s co-star. An early suggestion from the film’s choreographer Herbert Ross was a New York performer named Barbra Streisand. Harper flew to New York and saw her in a show, but did not think that she was suitable. Another early consideration was the German actress Heidi Bruhl, while Richard himself in an interview expressed an interest in engaging the very young Helen Shapiro for the role. In May 1961 it was announced that a 21-year-old actress from London’s East End, Annette Robinson (aka Robertson), would be the female co-star, but within weeks the part was given to Carole Gray, a dancer from Bulawayo in Rhodesia (today’s Zimbabwe), while Robinson was given the smaller role of Barbara. When Carole Gray sings in the film, it is actually the voice of Grazina Frame, who also provided the singing voice for Lauri Peters in Cliff Richard’s next film Summer Holiday (1963).
The standing set constructed for this film remained in situ for well over a decade, featuring in many television productions filmed at Elstree throughout the 60s and early 70s including The Avengers, The Saint, The Baron, UFO and The Protectors.
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