Puppet on a String (album)
Encyclopedia
Puppet on a String is the name of Sandie Shaw
's third full-priced album, released on the Pye
label in May 1967 on the back of her Eurovision
success.
Though it was issued as a full-priced album, many consider it not an original album as at the time it only contained two brand-new tracks alongside previously released material. It was issued on CD
format for the first time in 2005 by EMI
and contained several bonus tracks (see below).
Side one of the Puppet on a String album begins with the title track, written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter
. They admitted to having written the song deliberately in the style of oompah band music in an attempt to curry favour in Continental Europe
; for some time thereafter, British Eurovision entries would seem to be written in the style of continental European MOR or Schlager
rather than other British MOR which was more similar to American
MOR.
Shaw
had originally performed the song as one of five prospective numbers to represent the United Kingdom
in the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest
on The Rolf Harris
Show. She had never been taken with the idea of taking part in the contest but her discoverer, Adam Faith
had talked her into it, saying it would keep her manager Eve Taylor
happy. Taylor
was wanting to give Shaw
a more cabaret
appeal and felt that this was the right move - and also felt that it would get Shaw
back in the public's good books as she had recently been involved in a divorce scandal.
Of the five songs performed, "Puppet on a String" was Shaw's
least favourite. In her own words "I hated it from the very first oompah to the final bang on the big bass drum. I was instinctively repelled by its sexist drivel and cuckoo-clock tune." She was disappointed when it was selected as the song she would use to represent the country. Shaw
won the contest hands down, though it has always been felt that this was partly down to her existing popularity on the continent (she had recorded most of her hit singles in French, Italian, German and Spanish). As a result "Puppet on a String" became her third Number One hit in the UK (a record for a female at the time) and was a big worldwide smash (the biggest selling single of the year in Germany).
An E.P.
was later released in the UK entitled "Tell The Boys" containing the other four prospective Eurovision
songs after fans expressed demands for them (though the title track had been used as the B-side to the "Puppet on a String" single).
The second song on the Puppet on a String album was the ballad "Think Sometimes About Me," written by Chris Andrews
who to date had written all of Shaw's
singles with the exceptions of "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me
," "I Don't Need Anything" and "Puppet on a String." "Think Sometimes About Me" had been released as a single in late 1966 but had only made Number 32 on the UK singles chart, her lowest position since her breakthrough. Song number three on side one was a new Andrews
composition entitled "I Don't Think You Want Me Anymore," and was followed by two more of his previously released numbers - "Keep In Touch" and "Stop Before You Start," which had been B-sides to the singles "I Don't Need Anything" and the Top 20 "Nothing Comes Easy" respectively. Side one finished with "Hide All Emotion" (originally the B-side to "Think Sometimes About Me"), written by popular star Marty Wilde
.
The opening song on side two is entitled "Tell The Boys" and was one of the five songs performed on The Rolf Harris
show as a prospective Eurovision Song Contest
representant. Shaw
has since confessed that this was the song she most wanted to win. Written by Peter Callander
and Mitch Murray
, it was also used as the B-side to the Number One smash single "Puppet on a String." The rest of the album consists of Andrews
-written songs, firstly "Don't You Count On It," the B-side to the 1965 Top 10 hit "Message Understood," and then a new song entitled "No Moon." Next comes "Long Walk Home" (previously used as the B-side to the 1966 single "Run"), and then a brand new recording of "I'd Be Far Better Off Without You," the original version of which had been an A-side for a short time in 1964 before being switched to B-side in favour of "Girl Don't Come." The Puppet on a String L.P. finishes with "Had A Dream Last Night," the only Chris Andrews
song performed on The Rolf Harris
show as a prospective Eurovision
number. Though she liked "Tell The Boys" best of the five, Shaw
felt that musically this was the best song.
The Hives
sing a different version on The Black and White Album
.
In 2006, "Puppet on a String" was used as a sample in the Lily Allen
song "Alfie
".
As previously mentioned the Puppet on a String album was re-issued in 2005 by EMI
after Shaw
licenced her recording catalogue to them. Several of her other original albums were also issued around this time and all contained bonus tracks, though in some cases this merely consisted of a couple of foreign-language versions of a couple of the songs. Puppet on a String however contained many original songs as bonus tracks, firstly "I Don't Need Anything," a 1967 single written by Paul Vance
and Lee Pockriss
(her first not to be written by Chris Andrews
since her breakthrough single "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" in 1964, and coincidentally her biggest flop since then (it only made Number 50 on the UK singles chart). Next on the re-issue comes "Don't You Know," a Chris Andrews
ballad, originally used back in 1964 as the B-side to the aforementioned breakthrough single. This is followed by the other two prospective Eurovision
songs not found on the "main" album - "I'll Cry Myself To Sleep" written by Roger Webb and "Ask Any Woman" by James Stewart
and Gerry Langley. The fifth bonus track is an Italian version of Chris Andrews
' "Don't Make Me Cry" (the B-side to the 1967 Top 20 single "You've Not Changed") entitled "Quel Po' Che Mi Da." Bonus track six is the hit single "Nothing Comes Easy," also written by Andrews
which made Number 14 in 1966, considered by many to be one of Shaw's
best songs. Penultimate track is "So This Is Love," another exclusive song by Chris Andrews
that was recorded in late 1967 but remained unreleased until the Nothing Comes Easy
box set was released in 2004. The new version of the album ends with another Andrews
song called "If Ever You Need Me," originally the B-side to "How Can You Tell" in 1965.
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
's third full-priced album, released on the Pye
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
label in May 1967 on the back of her Eurovision
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
success.
Though it was issued as a full-priced album, many consider it not an original album as at the time it only contained two brand-new tracks alongside previously released material. It was issued on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
format for the first time in 2005 by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
and contained several bonus tracks (see below).
Track listing and song information
- "Puppet on a StringPuppet on a String"Puppet on a String" is the name of the Eurovision Song Contest-winning song in 1967 by British singer Sandie Shaw. It was her thirteenth UK single release....
" - "Think Sometimes About Me"
- "I Don't Think You Want Me Anymore"
- "Keep In Touch"
- "Stop Before You Start"
- "Hide All Emotion"
- "Tell The Boys"
- "Don't You Count On It"
- "No Moon"
- "Long Walk Home"
- "I'd Be Far Better Off Without You"
- "Had a Dream Last Night"
Side one of the Puppet on a String album begins with the title track, written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter
Phil Coulter
Phil Coulter is an artist with an international reputation as a successful songwriter, pianist, music producer, arranger and director. His success has spanned four decades and he is one of the biggest record sellers in Ireland...
. They admitted to having written the song deliberately in the style of oompah band music in an attempt to curry favour in Continental Europe
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
; for some time thereafter, British Eurovision entries would seem to be written in the style of continental European MOR or Schlager
Schlager
Schlager music is a style of popular music prevalent in Central and Northern Europe and the Balkans and also in France and Poland. In Portugal, it was adapted and became pimba music...
rather than other British MOR which was more similar to American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
MOR.
Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
had originally performed the song as one of five prospective numbers to represent the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
on The Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
Show. She had never been taken with the idea of taking part in the contest but her discoverer, Adam Faith
Adam Faith
Terence "Terry" Nelhams-Wright, known as Adam Faith was a Teen idol English singer, actor and later financial journalist. He was one of the most charted acts of the 1960s. He became the first UK artist to lodge his initial seven hits in the Top 5...
had talked her into it, saying it would keep her manager Eve Taylor
Eve Taylor
Eve Taylor is notable as one of the early female music managers. She is particularly notable for her management of singers Sandi Shaw and Adam Faith, and of composer John Barry.-History:...
happy. Taylor
Eve Taylor
Eve Taylor is notable as one of the early female music managers. She is particularly notable for her management of singers Sandi Shaw and Adam Faith, and of composer John Barry.-History:...
was wanting to give Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
a more cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
appeal and felt that this was the right move - and also felt that it would get Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
back in the public's good books as she had recently been involved in a divorce scandal.
Of the five songs performed, "Puppet on a String" was Shaw's
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
least favourite. In her own words "I hated it from the very first oompah to the final bang on the big bass drum. I was instinctively repelled by its sexist drivel and cuckoo-clock tune." She was disappointed when it was selected as the song she would use to represent the country. Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
won the contest hands down, though it has always been felt that this was partly down to her existing popularity on the continent (she had recorded most of her hit singles in French, Italian, German and Spanish). As a result "Puppet on a String" became her third Number One hit in the UK (a record for a female at the time) and was a big worldwide smash (the biggest selling single of the year in Germany).
An E.P.
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
was later released in the UK entitled "Tell The Boys" containing the other four prospective Eurovision
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
songs after fans expressed demands for them (though the title track had been used as the B-side to the "Puppet on a String" single).
The second song on the Puppet on a String album was the ballad "Think Sometimes About Me," written by Chris Andrews
Chris Andrews (singer)
Chris Andrews is a singer and successful songwriter whose musical career started in the 1960s.-Career:...
who to date had written all of Shaw's
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
singles with the exceptions of "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me
(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me
" Always Something There to Remind Me" is a song written in the 1960s by songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Hal David.-First charting versions:...
," "I Don't Need Anything" and "Puppet on a String." "Think Sometimes About Me" had been released as a single in late 1966 but had only made Number 32 on the UK singles chart, her lowest position since her breakthrough. Song number three on side one was a new Andrews
Chris Andrews (singer)
Chris Andrews is a singer and successful songwriter whose musical career started in the 1960s.-Career:...
composition entitled "I Don't Think You Want Me Anymore," and was followed by two more of his previously released numbers - "Keep In Touch" and "Stop Before You Start," which had been B-sides to the singles "I Don't Need Anything" and the Top 20 "Nothing Comes Easy" respectively. Side one finished with "Hide All Emotion" (originally the B-side to "Think Sometimes About Me"), written by popular star Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
.
The opening song on side two is entitled "Tell The Boys" and was one of the five songs performed on The Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
show as a prospective Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
representant. Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
has since confessed that this was the song she most wanted to win. Written by Peter Callander
Peter Callander
Peter Callander is a British songwriter and record producer.-Career:Active from the 1960s to the present day, Callander has written or co-written songs that have been performed by recording artists such as Cilla Black, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, Shirley Bassey, and The Tremeloes, among many...
and Mitch Murray
Mitch Murray
Mitch Murray , is an English songwriter, record producer and author.-Musical career:...
, it was also used as the B-side to the Number One smash single "Puppet on a String." The rest of the album consists of Andrews
Chris Andrews (singer)
Chris Andrews is a singer and successful songwriter whose musical career started in the 1960s.-Career:...
-written songs, firstly "Don't You Count On It," the B-side to the 1965 Top 10 hit "Message Understood," and then a new song entitled "No Moon." Next comes "Long Walk Home" (previously used as the B-side to the 1966 single "Run"), and then a brand new recording of "I'd Be Far Better Off Without You," the original version of which had been an A-side for a short time in 1964 before being switched to B-side in favour of "Girl Don't Come." The Puppet on a String L.P. finishes with "Had A Dream Last Night," the only Chris Andrews
Chris Andrews (singer)
Chris Andrews is a singer and successful songwriter whose musical career started in the 1960s.-Career:...
song performed on The Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
show as a prospective Eurovision
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
number. Though she liked "Tell The Boys" best of the five, Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
felt that musically this was the best song.
The Hives
The Hives
The Hives are a Swedish garage rock band that first garnered attention in the early 2000s as a prominent group of the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the "greatest hits" album Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most well-known song "Hate to Say I Told...
sing a different version on The Black and White Album
The Black and White Album
The Black and White Album is the fourth full-length album by Swedish rock band The Hives. The album was released on 15 October 2007, in the United Kingdom through Polydor Records and November 13, 2007, in the United States via A&M/Octone Records, No Fun Records, Universal Music Operations and...
.
In 2006, "Puppet on a String" was used as a sample in the Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
song "Alfie
Alfie (Lily Allen song)
"Alfie" is a song by British recording artist Lily Allen from her debut studio album, Alright, Still. Written by Allen and Greg Kurstin, the song was released as the fourth and final single from the album, on 5 March 2007, by Regal Recordings. In the United Kingdom, it was marketed as a double...
".
2005 bonus tracks
- "I Don't Need Anything"
- "Don't You Know"
- "I'll Cry Myself to Sleep"
- "Ask Any Woman"
- "Quel Po' Che Mi Da"
- "Nothing Comes Easy"
- "So This is Love"
- "If Ever You Need Me"
As previously mentioned the Puppet on a String album was re-issued in 2005 by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
after Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
licenced her recording catalogue to them. Several of her other original albums were also issued around this time and all contained bonus tracks, though in some cases this merely consisted of a couple of foreign-language versions of a couple of the songs. Puppet on a String however contained many original songs as bonus tracks, firstly "I Don't Need Anything," a 1967 single written by Paul Vance
Paul Vance
Paul Vance is an American songwriter and record producer.With over 300 recorded songs, Vance co-wrote such hits as "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," recorded in 1960 by Brian Hyland, which rose to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and "Catch a Falling Star," recorded in 1957 by...
and Lee Pockriss
Lee Pockriss
Lee Julian Pockriss was an American songwriter who wrote many well-known popular songs and several scores for films and Broadway shows.-Early life and career:...
(her first not to be written by Chris Andrews
Chris Andrews (singer)
Chris Andrews is a singer and successful songwriter whose musical career started in the 1960s.-Career:...
since her breakthrough single "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" in 1964, and coincidentally her biggest flop since then (it only made Number 50 on the UK singles chart). Next on the re-issue comes "Don't You Know," a Chris Andrews
Chris Andrews (singer)
Chris Andrews is a singer and successful songwriter whose musical career started in the 1960s.-Career:...
ballad, originally used back in 1964 as the B-side to the aforementioned breakthrough single. This is followed by the other two prospective Eurovision
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
songs not found on the "main" album - "I'll Cry Myself To Sleep" written by Roger Webb and "Ask Any Woman" by James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
and Gerry Langley. The fifth bonus track is an Italian version of Chris Andrews
Chris Andrews (singer)
Chris Andrews is a singer and successful songwriter whose musical career started in the 1960s.-Career:...
' "Don't Make Me Cry" (the B-side to the 1967 Top 20 single "You've Not Changed") entitled "Quel Po' Che Mi Da." Bonus track six is the hit single "Nothing Comes Easy," also written by Andrews
Chris Andrews
Chris Andrews is the name of:* Chris Andrews , digital pioneer, restitution activist* Chris Andrews , Irish Fianna Fáil politician...
which made Number 14 in 1966, considered by many to be one of Shaw's
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
best songs. Penultimate track is "So This Is Love," another exclusive song by Chris Andrews
Chris Andrews (singer)
Chris Andrews is a singer and successful songwriter whose musical career started in the 1960s.-Career:...
that was recorded in late 1967 but remained unreleased until the Nothing Comes Easy
Nothing Comes Easy
Nothing Comes Easy is a boxed set of four CDs by 1960s British girl singer Sandie Shaw released in 2004. It contains digitally remastered versions of EVERY A and B-side to the singles she released in the UK from 1964 to 1988, plus several rare and unreleased recordings....
box set was released in 2004. The new version of the album ends with another Andrews
Chris Andrews (singer)
Chris Andrews is a singer and successful songwriter whose musical career started in the 1960s.-Career:...
song called "If Ever You Need Me," originally the B-side to "How Can You Tell" in 1965.