The Laughing Policeman (song)

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For the novel (and film) of the same name, see The Laughing Policeman (novel)

The Laughing Policeman is a music hall song by Charles Jolly, the pseudonym of Charles Penrose. In 1922, Penrose made the first recording of this song, (Columbia Records FB 1184). The composition of the song is officially credited to his wife Mabel under the pseudonym "Billie Grey", however the music and melody are taken from The Laughing Song by George W. Johnson which was recorded in approximately 1901. The Penroses wrote numerous other laughing songs (The Laughing Major, Curate, Steeplechaser, Typist, Lover, etc), but only The Laughing Policeman is remembered today, having sold over a million records. Its popularity continued into the 1970s, as it was a frequently-requested song on the BBC Radio 1 show Junior Choice.

[edit] The Laughing Policeman Wireless Society

The song was the inspiration for a group of disenchanted radio amateurs in the English Midlands to form The Laughing Policeman Wireless Society in the late 1970s. Members of the LPWS would habitually play the song over the air, much to the annoyance of the local amateur radio community, attracting the scrutiny of the British Government, resulting in several members appearing in court charged with various offences under the antiquated Wireless Telegraphy Act 1948. In the early 1990s, members of the Laughing Policeman Wireless Society appeared on BBC Television’s Arena programme and in BBC Radio 4’s Fishing In The Ether, a part of which made it onto their Pick of the Week programme.

[edit] Novel

Main article: The Laughing Policeman (novel)

The song is referenced in the novel and film of the same name: Fictional Swedish detective Martin Beck gets it as a Christmas present from his daughter Ingrid, but doesn't think it is funny. Beck's first laugh after the murder comes when Stenström's death is fully vindicated.

[edit] Other Appearances

The chorus (of the singer laughing) has been used twice as a buzzer on the television panel game QI, and in 2007 for a Cuprinol television advertisement.

In one episode of One Foot in the Grave, the Meldrews are constantly kept awake by a late night party. The worst comes when the entire party starts laughing to the chorus of the song.

Throughout the advert for cuprinol sprayable.