|
D.Bowie - Gospel 7" 1966 Decca Group Advance Test Recording
|
Here is a 7" 1966 Decca Group Advance Test Recording on a two-sided acetate. The artist is one David Bowie, and the handwritten titles are "Laughing Gnome (1st version)" and "Gospel," though the names under which the songs were actually released are "The Laughing Gnome" and "The Gospel According to Tony Day," respectively.
The main event here is the radically different rendering of "Laughing Gnome"; the flip side appears to be the same take and mix of "The Gospel According to Tony Day" as was released; both sides are mono.
This acetate version of "Laughing Gnome" runs a bit over twenty seconds longer than the released version. Here, there's not just one gnome but two (besides Fred, who has no speaking lines in either version), the second of whom is named Fyfe Robertsgnome and has a Scottish accent throughout. (Fyfe Robertsgnome is a pun on the name of Scottish broadcaster Fyfe Robertson, who worked on the BBC for many years.) Both gnomes are voiced by David; if you play the 45 rpm disc at 33, you can hear him at his normal pitch.
As is to be expected with a studio acetate, there's no catalog number shown; the two songs were coupled on Deram DM 123, released in the UK on April 14, 1967 (it bombed), and reissued there in 1973 (and in the US, on London 20079) to capitalize on Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" success. Much to the artist's embarrassment, it became a number six record on the second try (a copy of the US 45 version is also among the Bowie items we’re currently auctioning).
This is not merely an alternate take, but a substantially different performance, complete with significantly different lyrics. The 45-second excerpt offered HERE is representative of the extent of the dissimilarity between the two renditions; have a listen. It’s recorded straight from the disc and has not been cleaned up digitally; you can hear what fantastic shape it’s in. We’ll include a CD-R containing both sides of the acetate so that the winning bidder can enjoy owning it without ever having to actually play it.
Curious about the difference in the "Gnome" lyrics? Satisfy that curiosity right H E R E, where you can read some more information about the recording and see a comparison between the acetate's unusual lyrics and those of the commercially issued version.
I've had this disc for over thirty years and never shared it with anyone. A different acetate of the same songs, this one with "Gnome" labeled "version 3," sold on eBay in 2001, and apparently there are other "Laughing Gnome" acetates extant, each unique and ranging in time from 2:30-3:30. Collect ’em all! (Or at least bid on this one while you have a chance.) Good luck!
"THE LAUGHING GNOME:"
A Study In Contrast
Hello, and thank you for your interest in this unique treasure. In the transcription of the lyrics below, Gnome One's dialogue appears in single parentheses and Gnome Two's (Fyfe Robertsgnome’s) in double parentheses. For comparison's sake, the lyrics for the released version, at least as I understand them, appear after those of the acetate version. Note that it was originally "his tiny hands on his stomach" rather than " ... on his tummy" and that, in the third and final chorus, an extra "ha" and "hee" appear; David sings "Ha ha ha ha, hee hee hee hee" rather than simply "Ha ha ha, hee hee hee." The other differences are more glaring, so I won't itemize them.
Acetate version:
I was walking down The High Street when I heard footsteps behind me
(hiccup, hiccup, hic ... )
And there was a little old man ...
(Hello!)
...in scarlet and grey, chuckling away.
(Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...hoo hoo, Oh, cor! Oo yeah)
Well, he trotted back to my house and he sat beside the telly
(Cor!)
With his tiny hands on his stomach, smiling away, laughing all day.
(laughter)
I ought to report you to the gnome office!
(Oh, gnome! [laughter])
"Ha ha ha, hee hee hee, I'm a laughing gnome and you can't catch me.
"Ha ha ha, hee hee hee, I'm a laughing gnome and you can't catch me," said the laughing gnome.
('ere, you're standing on my foot! [laughter])
Well, I gave him roasted toadstools ...
(laughter)
... and a glass of dandelion wine.
(Blech, pardon?)
Then I put him on a train to Eastbourne ...
[gnome does train sound effects]
... and carried his bag and gave him a fag.
(Have you got a light, boy?)
Here, little laughing gnome, where do you come from?
(Gnome man's land! [laughter])
Oh, yeah!
([laughter] Oh, yes!)
Then this morning, when I woke up, he was sitting on the edge of my bed
(more laughter)
With his brother whose name was Fred -
He'd brought him along to sing me a song:
(La lee la lee la.)
All right, let's hear it.
(Okay.)
Here, what are you wearing that mask for?
(I'm a gnome in disguise!)
Ha ha ha, hee hee hee, I'm a laughing gnome and you can't catch me.
Ha ha ha, hee hee hee, I'm a laughing gnome and you can't catch me.
(Gnome it, I'm a gnome anyway.)
Here.
(What?)
Here!
(WHAT?)
Haven't you got a gnome to go to?
(No, we're gnomads. Ha ha!)
Didn't they teach you to get your hair cut at school? You look like a Rolling Gnome!
(Not at the London School of Ecognomics!)
Now they're settled up me chimney, and we're living on caviar and honey.
(Hooray!)
'Cause they're earning me lots of money writing comedy prose for radio shows.
It's the, uh ...
(Go on!)
... it's the gnome service, of course!
(laughter)
Ha ha ha ha, hee hee hee hee, I'm the laughing gnome and you can't catch me;
Ha ha ha, hee hee hee, I'm the laughing gnome and you can't catch me
(Look, here comes Fife Roberts Gnome! Whoopee!)
((Eh, good evening! There has been an outbreak of gnomin' in the gloamin' ... or has there?))
(Oy! Did you come here on the metrognome?)
((Oh, no, I came on a gnoming pigeon. Anyway, mind your own business!))
(Gnome milk today? [laughter])
((Here, here, that's cheating, you rotten little man, you!))
(Who's a rotten little man?)
((You are!))
(Anyway, I'm at least four inches high, and you're only three and a half.)
((So what? Stick that in your hat!))
(I haven't got a hat.)
((Nyaah!))
(Nyaah!)
((I don't care, mine's green, with a bell on top.))
(I've got two bells on mine ... ) [fade]
==============================================
Released version:
I was walking down The High Street when I heard footsteps behind me
And there was a little old man ...
(Hello!)
... in scarlet and grey, shuffling away.
(laughter)
Well, he trotted back to my house, and he sat beside the telly
(Cor!)
With his tiny hands on his tummy, chuckling away, laughing all day (more laughter).
I ought to report you to the gnome office.
(Gnome office ... ha ha ha ha ha ... )
"Ha ha ha, hee hee hee, I'm a laughing gnome and you can't catch me.
"Ha ha ha, hee hee hee, I'm a laughing gnome and you can't catch me," said the laughing gnome.
Well, I gave him roasted toadstools and a glass of dandelion wine
(Blech, pardon?)
Then I put him on a train to Eastbourne and carried his bag and gave him a fag.
(Have you got a light, boy?)
Here, where do you come from?
(Gnome man's land. [laughter])
Oh, really?
In the morning, when I woke up, he was sitting on the edge of my bed
(laughter)
With his brother whose name was Fred -
(more laughter)
He'd brought him along to sing me a song.
All right, let's hear it.
Here, what's that clicking noise?
(That's Fred; he's a metrognome - ha ha ha!)
Ha ha ha, hee hee hee, I'm a laughing gnome and you can't catch me.
Ha ha ha, hee hee hee, I'm a laughing gnome and you can't catch me.
(Gnome it, I'm a gnome anyway.)
Haven't you got a home to go to?
(No, we're gnomads.)
Didn't they teach you to get your hair cut at school? You look like a Rolling Gnome!
(Naah, not at the London School of Ecognomics!)
Now they're staying up me chimney, and we're living on caviar and honey.
(Hooray!)
'Cause they're earning me lots of money
Writing comedy prose for radio shows.
It's the, uh ... It's the gnome service, of course!
(more laughter)
Ha ha ha, hee hee hee, I'm the laughing gnome and you can't catch me ... [repeat several times and fade]
|
|
