Mr Blobby (song)

"Mr Blobby"
Single by Mr Blobby
from the album Mr Blobby: The Album
Released November 1993
Recorded 1993
Genre Pop
Length 3:34
Label Destiny Music Ltd/BMG
Writer(s) David Rogers
Producer(s) Paul Shaw, David Rogers
Mr Blobby singles chronology
- "Mr Blobby"
(1993)		 "Christmas in Blobbyland"
(1995)

"Mr Blobby" is a novelty song performed by character Mr Blobby, famous for appearing in the TV programme Noel's House Party. The song originally peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart on 11 December 1993 for one week. It spent a total of three weeks at No. 1, after getting back to No. 1 on Christmas Day 1993. The single was the UK Singles Chart Christmas number one single in 1993.[1]

It is regarded by some critics as one of the worst songs ever written.[2]

Song information

The Mr Blobby spoof theme song "Mr Blobby", written by Philip Raxster and produced by Paul Shaw and David Rogers, was released as a single and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart on December 11, 1993, replacing Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)", which had been in the No. 1 spot for seven weeks. A week later, "Babe" by Take That demoted Mr Blobby from the top spot for one week. Mr Blobby made a surprise return to the No. 1 spot on Christmas Day, and remained there for another two weeks.[1][3]

Legacy

An MTV critic said that Blobby "tried to kill music...with what might be the worst song of all time".[4] Rupert Hawksley of The Telegraph ranked the track as the worst Christmas number one in history, arguing that Blobby "set the bar so low with this bizarre single, it's hard to imagine that it could ever be usurped".[5] Daily Record writer Euan McColm named it the third-worst Top 10 single of all time,[6] while Gemma Wheatley of the Daily Star called it the third most-annoying track ever written.[7] It placed first in an HMV public poll of the worst-ever festive songs,[8] and second in a VH1 viewer survey of the worst number one singles of all time.[9] The track also came sixth in a Channel 4 poll of the 100 worst pop songs in history.[10]

Track listing

  1. "Mr Blobby"
  2. "Mr Blobby's Theme"
  3. "Mr Blobby" (Instrumental Mix)
  4. "Mr Blobby "Blobby, Blobby, Blobby""

Music video

A music video was created for the single and was filmed in the Kew Bridge Steam Museum. It spoofed several music videos such as "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer, "Stay" by Shakespears Sister, Snap!'s "Rhythm Is a Dancer", and ZZ Top's 3-man arm swing-and-point, featured in many of their videos.

The video featured Noel Edmonds, Carol Vorderman, Garth Crooks, and Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear as Mr Blobby's limo driver.[11]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 8
scope="row"UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[13] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Platinum 600,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 560–1. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ↑ See: Legacy.
  3. ↑ "Number 1 Singles of the 1990s". everyHit.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  4. ↑ "10 Songs We Wish Were Jokes". MTV. Viacom International Media Networks Europe. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  5. ↑ Hawksley, Rupert (7 December 2013). "Worst Christmas number ones of all time". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  6. ↑ McColm, Euan (30 March 1999). "Worst Top 10 records in the world". TheFreeLibrary. Daily Record. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Wheatley, Gemma (23 March 2009). "Agadoo: Worst single ever set for comeback". Daily Star. Northern & Shell. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "Blobby voted worst Christmas hit". BBC News. 3 December 2002. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  9. ↑ Oliver, Mark (13 August 2004). "Cliff hit voted worst ever number one". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "The One Hundred... Worst Pop Records". Channel 4. 2004.
  11. ↑ "Mr. Blobby Music Video". YouTube. 2006-04-21. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  12. ↑ "The Irish Charts – All there is to Know" (ENTER SEARCH PARAMETER MR BLOBBY INTO SEARCH BY ARTIST BOX, THEN SELECT GO). Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1993-12-11" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  14. ↑ "British single certifications – Mr Blobby – Mr Blobby". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 30, 2012. Enter Mr Blobby in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
Preceded by
"I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf		 UK Singles Chart Number 1 single (first run)
December 11, 1993 for 1 week 		Succeeded by
"Babe" by Take That
Preceded by
"Babe" by Take That		 UK Singles Chart Number 1 single (second run)
December 25, 1993 for 2 weeks 		Succeeded by
"Twist and Shout" by Chaka Demus & Pliers