Lieutenant Pigeon
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Lieutenant Pigeon was a British novelty popular music group, originating from Coventry.
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[edit] Career
Lieutenant Pigeon was a British musical group popular in the early 1970s. A spin-off from an experimental music band Stavely Makepeace [1], it was fronted by Rob Woodward. The group's sound was dominated by a heavy ragtime-style piano played by Woodward's mother, Hilda.
Lieutenant Pigeon achieved two UK hits: "Mouldy Old Dough", written by Rob Woodward with bandmate Nigel Fletcher, reached number one in 1972, followed by "Desperate Dan" (number 17 in 1973).[2] Both tracks were largely instrumental, with the titles providing virtually the only lyrics. "Mouldy Old Dough" (the title being an adaptation of the 1920s jazz phrase, "vo-de-o-do") became the second biggest selling UK single of the year, behind The Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards' bagpipe version of "Amazing Grace".
Lieutenant Pigeon scored a further hit, in the autumn of 1974, when it reached number 3 in the Australian charts with a cover version of "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen".
Subsequent UK releases, such as "Red River Rock", a version of the Johnny and the Hurricanes classic of 1959, fell on deaf ears.[1]
[edit] Members
- Robert Woodward - keyboards
- Hilda Woodward - piano
- Stephen Johnson - bass guitar
- Nigel Fletcher - drums
[edit] See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of artists under the Decca Records label
- List of British pop musicians of the 1970s
- Number 1 Singles in Ireland 1972
[edit] References
- ^ a b Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits, 1st, Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd, p. 147. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums, 19th, London: Guinness World Records Limited, p. 321. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
