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Underneath the Arches (song)
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Wikipedia article
"'Underneath the Arches'" is a 1932 popular songRay Piper, 'Underneath the Arches', Publisher Lulu.com, 2005, , , 104 pages ([https://books.google.com/books?id=gK6OQZSNrDIC&lpg=PA6&dq=%22Underneath%20the%20Arches%22%20Flanagan&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q=%22Underneath%20the%20Arches%22%20Flanagan&f=false page 6]) with words and music by Bud Flanagan, and additional lyrics by Reg Connelly.'Catalog of copyright entries: Musical compositions, Part 3', Publ. Library of Congress. Copyright Office, 1932 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=-wxhAAAAIAAJ&dq=Underneath%20the%20Arches%20Connelly%20%20Flanagan&pg=PA727#v=onepage&q=%22Underneath%20the%20Arches%22%20Connelly%20%20Flanagan&f=false page 727]) It was one of the most famous songs of the duo Flanagan and Allen.
According to a television programme broadcast in 1957, Bud Flanagan said that he wrote the song in Derby in 1927, and first performed it a week later at the Pier Pavilion, Southport.'[https://web.archive.org/web/20120208151050/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/472914?view=synopsis Together Again]', TV Programme broadcast 19 April 1957 It refers to the arches of Derby's Friargate Railway Bridge and to the street homeless men who slept there during the Great Depression."[https://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/content/articles/2008/10/20/friargate_bridge_feature.shtml On Top of Friar Gate Bridge]", BBC website, Oct 2008, retrieved 26 Nov 2011
Singing Sculpture
The Flanagan and Allen recording was used as part of the performance art piece 'The Singing Sculpture', by artists Gilbert & George, premiered in 1969. The artists stood on a table, their hands and heads covered in multi-coloured metallic powder, and sang along with the recording while they moved. At times the performance would last for a day.Wroe, Nicholas (2 March 2012) [https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2012/mar/02/gilbert-george-london-pictures-interview "Gilbert & George: Lives in Art"]'The Guardian'
Covers
The song has also been covered by Connee Boswell, Primo Scala, the Andrews Sisters, and Andy Russell in the United States. A well-known version in the United Kingdom was made by Max Bygraves. A sequel to the song, 'Where the Arches Used To Be', was sung by Flanagan and Allen in the film 'A Fire Has Been Arranged' in which the arches are knocked down and flats built in their place.
The Primo Scala recording, with the Keynotes, was released by London Records as catalog number 238. The record first reached the 'Billboard' charts on August 6, 1948, and lasted 16 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 6.
The Andrews Sisters' recording was released by Decca Records as catalog number 24490 (the flip side of their recording of 'You Call Everybody Darlin'). The record first reached the 'Billboard ' charts on August 27, 1948, and lasted 10 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 10.
The Andy Russell recording was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 15183. The record first reached the 'Billboard' charts on October 1, 1948, and lasted 5 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 21.
In 1968 Australian pop singer, Johnny Farnham, covered the track, as his second single, which reached No. 6 on the 'Go-Set' National Top 40 Singles Chart. In 1970 the artist duo Gilbert & George performed the song in Nigel Greenwood Gallery, which launched their career as "singing and living sculptures".
The song is used in the television mini-series 'A Perfect Spy', based on the John le Carr novel, while father and son (the key figures) are running under arches near a British beach. It was also the signature tune for the Radio London 'Underneath the Arches' programme.
See also
*Pub song
*'Underneath the Arches', arranged by Robert McAnally (1959)
References
Category:1932 songs
Category:Great Depression songs
Category:Flanagan and Allen songs
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