Lieutenant Pigeon was a British novelty popular music group, originating from Coventry.
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Career
Lieutenant Pigeon were briefly popular in the early 1970s, and a spin-off from the experimental music band, Stavely Makepeace. Fronted by Rob Woodward, Lieutenant Pigeon's sound was dominated by the heavy ragtime-style piano played by his mother, Hilda Woodward. Lieutenant Pigeon achieved two UK hits: "Mouldy Old Dough", written by Rob Woodward and bandmate Nigel Fletcher, which reached number one in 1972, and "Desperate Dan" (number 17 in 1973). 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". Thus the two best-selling singles in the UK that year were both novelty instrumentals. In 1974 they had a further hit in Australia with a version of I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen. It reached #3 in the charts there in September that year.
Members
- Robert Woodward - keyboards
- Hilda Woodward - piano
- Stephen Johnson - bass guitar
- Nigel Fletcher - drums
Uses of "Mouldy Old Dough"
- it was one of the choices of Jarvis Cocker when he appeared on the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme, Desert Island Discs.
- it has since become almost a 'theme song' for the sport of British Banger racing, where it is played at the start of many races at tracks across Great Britain, as the racers begin their 'rolling lap'.
- it became popular in New Zealand in the 1990s after by its use in a television advertisement for Instant Kiwi scratchcards.
- it is played over the tannoy at the end of Oldham Athletic A.F.C. home games.
- it is the team song from the Jol Kermis in Lottum (Holland).
References
- The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits - ISBN 0-85112-250-7
- Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
