The Pipkins

Gimme Dat Ding – The Pipkins

June 1, 2010

in Daily Music Picks

The Pipkins were a short-lived British novelty duo known almost exclusively for the 1970 novelty smash “Gimme Dat Ding.”

The Pipkins were another in a long series of one-hit wonders to feature bubblegum pop king Tony Burrows. The British session singer dominated pop charts on both sides of the Atlantic throughout much of 1970, albeit anonymously — his lead vocals were also featured on Edison Lighthouse’s “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” and White Plains’ “My Baby Loves Lovin’,” and in February Burrows became the first and only performer ever to appear on the BBC’s Top of the Pops fronting three different acts in one episode.

The Pipkins paired Burrows with pop songwriter Roger Greenaway, whose extensive résumé included such blockbusters as Gene Pitney’s “Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart” and the Hollies’ “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress.” The nonsensical “Gimme Dat Ding,” with its tongue-in-cheek voices and rollicking, boogie-woogie piano, reached number six on the pop charts, and at mid-year EMI’s budget imprint Music for Pleasure issued the Pipkins’ sole LP, a split release with then-fledgling glam rock outfit the Sweet, also titled Gimme Dat Ding. Two subsequent Pipkins singles — a cover of the Coasters’ classic “Yakety Yak” and “Are You Cooking, Goose?” — both flopped and Burrows and Greenaway each moved on to their next studio sessions. “Gimme Dat Ding” nevertheless earned immortality as the theme for the British children’s television series Oliver in the Overworld, and was also a staple of the long-running sketch comedy series The Benny Hill Show.

Gimme Dat Ding

“Gimme Dat Ding” is a call-and-response duet between a deep, gravelly voice and a high tenor. (The voices are said to represent a piano and a metronome. The gravelly voice is also thought to be an imitation of a “dirty old man” character (who went by the descriptive name of “Tyrone F. Horneigh”) played on a recurring basis by comedian Arte Johnson on the old NBC-TV show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In) or talked like Popeye the Sailor Man or Wolfman Jack. “Gimme Dat Ding” was originally written for the musical “Oliver in the Overworld” by Hammond and Hazlewood. It became the title song for the English children’s television series Oliver in the Overworld, but would become most famous for its use (as an instrumental) in silent sketches on The Benny Hill Show throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The song was also used (as Gimme Dat Ring) by Coca Cola to advertise their new Ring Pull Cans in the early 1970s.

http://djallyn.org/media/gimmedatding.flv

That’s right, that’s right
I’m sad and blue
‘Cause I can’t do the Boogaloo
I’m lost, I’m lost
Can’t do my thing
That’s why I sing
Gimme, Gimme Dat Ding ah..

Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme Dat
Gimme Dat Ding, Gimme Dat
Gimme, Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat Ding
Gimme Dat, Gimme, Gimme Dat,
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Dat Ding
(Oh Sing it one more time Momma)

Oh, Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme Dat
Gimme Dat Ding, Gimme Dat
Gimme, Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat Ding
Gimme Dat, Gimme, Gimme Dat,
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Dat Ding
(Ah, you ain’t doin’ that late at night)

Ah, what good’s a metronome
Without a bell for ringing?
How fast can anybody ever tell he swings?
How can you tell the rhythm written on a bar?
How can you ever hope to know just where you are?
Gimme Dat, (Gimme Dat) Ah Gimme Dat (Gimme Dat)
Ah Gimme Dat, (Gimme Dat) Gimme Dat,
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme,
(Ah Gotcha!)

Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme Dat
Gimme Dat Ding, Gimme Dat
Gimme, Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat Ding
Gimme Dat, Gimme, Gimme Dat,
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Dat Ding

[Honky Tonk Piano Interlude]

Oh, Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme Dat
Gimme Dat Ding, Gimme Dat
Gimme, Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat Ding
Gimme Dat, Gimme, Gimme Dat,
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Dat Ding

Ah, what good’s a metronome
Without a bell for ringing?
How fast can anybody ever tell he swings?
How can you tell the rhythm written on the bar?
How can you ever hope to know just where you are?
Gimme Dat, Ah Gimme Dat
Ah Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat,
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme,

Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme Dat
Gimme Dat Ding, Gimme Dat
Gimme, Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat Ding
Gimme Dat, Gimme, Gimme Dat,
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Dat Ding

  • Audio from the 1969 single, Gimme Dat Ding found on the 70s Rockin’ Flashback Album:

Tagged as: The Pipkins

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