1972 Lieutenant Pigeon: Mouldy Old Dough

Written by Nigel Fletcher and Rob Woodward then recorded in their front room with Ma Woodward on piano, 'Mouldy Old Dough' always reminds me of the after effects of a bunch of methed up tramps wandering into a studio where Mungo Jerry had left their instruments lying around and then having a quick bash while no-one was looking. It's ramshackle enough for that scenario anyway, almost to the point of amateur and the only lyric (a growled repeat of the title) sounds like it's coming from a mouth more used to begging for change in dark alleys.

'Mouldy Old Dough' moves at a deliberate and lurching pace with every note a singular event that gets a spotlight of it's own. Hilda Woodward (looking like Mrs Mills but with less attitude) hammers on her joanna like some old time ragtime performer with their fingers in splints while a tin whistle picks out a jig over the shuffling drumbeat. Odd? Yes it's odd, and it stands out from the rest of its contemporaries in the charts like blood on snow, yet there's a timeless jollity to the tune that's almost impossible to date. Which leads me to pet theory #1: is it just me or does 'Mouldy Old Dough' sound like the troika theme from Prokofiev's 'Lieutenant Kijé' suite as played on a piano with two keys out of every five missing? It would explain the name and sleeve picture anyway.

Not quite so hard to place though - there's a definite air of olde tyme music hall about 'Mouldy Old Dough', a comedic front and singalong spirit that sweeps you up and along in its wake, defying you not to join in. Which leads me to pet theory #2 regarding the popularity of something so off the wall (second highest selling single of the year after those bagpipes); to my ears, it would have recalled something of the blitz spirit, of a time of getting along when the rest of the country was busy striking or shutting off the power at a moment's notice (don't forget, this was a time when everybody bought singles and the charts didn't just cater for the young). It's a theory, though whether it's true I can't say. But what I can say is that 'Mouldy Old Dough' is a novelty record that works just as well if you take it dead seriously. And there's not many tunes you can say that about. Delightfully weird.