If you think that’s a peculiar title for my blog post today, well, it’s Chris’s fault… if there is any blame to be attached to the consequences of reading this particular entry. I will explain…
After my horrible breakfast of whole-grain porridge (back to the Dukan diet now that all our visitors have gone home), Chris and I were cycling along to Cockwood Harbour when my husband suddenly announced that he had a confession to make, and it was something rather embarrassing. I braced myself for the worst.
“I had a terrible night’s sleep last night,” he began.
“Not too shocking a confession so far”, I thought but didn’t actually say anything, especially as he wouldn’t have heard me because at that point a pedestrian came along the cycle- path and Chris had to drop back behind me. And he’s a tad deaf.
Once again two-abreast, Chris continued…
“You know that awful song, ‘Johnny Reggae Reggae’, from the seventies? I never even liked it then, or listened to it, except that I must have heard it being played by other people…”
“Oh, I vaguely remember. How does it go again?” I asked.
“You know, a girl with an Essex accent sings, ‘Reggae, Reggae, Reggae, Here comes Johnny Reggae, Reggae, Reggae, Reggae, Lay it on me'” Chris sang.
“Johnny Reggae Reggae,” I started singing along too, “How does it go? Johnny Reggae Reggae…?”
“Here comes Johnny Reggae, Reggae Reggae, Lay it on me. Yes, well, last night that awful song was an earworm in my head!”
“Poor you,” I commiserated, “How does it go again? Johnny Reggae… Reggae, Reggae, Lay it on me. Was that it?” I asked.
“That was just the chorus …. ‘Here comes Johnny Reggae….'”
And Chris and I sang “Johnny Reggae, Reggae, Reggae…” while we flew past a bus stop, and three old ladies and one man turned their heads and laughed as we passed by singing, “Lay it on me!” Maybe they remembered the terrible song – perhaps they had suffered similarly sleepless nights as a result of earworms as Chris had done.
At the next bus stop stood a person wearing smart dark green trousers with sharp creases, a crisp white shirt and a blazer. I stopped singing and said, “Good morning!” For a moment or two I wondered if the person remembered the day when we first met. I turned to Chris and we both smiled – he knew the story already….
A long time ago, perhaps as much as twenty years, when I was a young artist, I had called into Mr Johnson’s art supplies and framing shop up on the High Street here in Dawlish. Mr Johnson was busy making frames out in the back workroom when I had come in but I was happy looking at paints while I waited for him to finish what he was doing. After several minutes the shop door opened and a smart-looking older person with short grey hair slicked back with Brylcreem, and dressed in a green, three-piece tweed suit, complete with matching wool tie, entered the small premises. Mr Johnson appeared at his counter and wasn’t sure who had entered first.
“May I help?” he asked, looking from one to the other of us.
“That’s okay, you can serve this gentleman first,” I said, “I’m happy to wait because I have some work for you to frame.”
So the “gentleman” was served before me and when “he” had left the shop Mr Johnson burst out laughing. “How strange!” I thought, because Mr Johnson, a relative newcomer to the town from Birmingham (and not generally well-liked owing to his lack of a sense of humour) had hitherto been a rather dour and curt man.
“What on Earth is so funny?” I asked, still perplexed after several minutes of watching the shopkeeper nearly split his sides.
“You must… (howls), you must… (howls and takes off glasses in order to wipe the tears from his eyes), you must have really made HER day, Sally!” he answered at last and we both cracked up.
After that incident Mr Johnson became much more popular amongst the artistic community of Dawlish and I enjoyed many good deals on framing and art supplies.
Now I must set to work examining the proof of my book. Oh no, “Here comes Johnny Reggae, Johnny Reggae Reggae, Lay it on me….” What has Chris done!
For those of you who don’t know, or have forgotten, the lyrics of the great Johnny Reggae Reggae song, I have copied and pasted the lyrics and other snippets of information about the song for your interest.
Piglets Lyrics
Johnny Reggae Lyrics
What’s he like
Mavis ?
He’s a real
tasty geezer.
He’s grown his hair a bit
but it’s smooth not too long
an’ he wears a besball shirt
with a number seventeen on
he looks great in his big white
basketball boots.
He’s stupid over football
an’ he looks me in the eye
when he shoots.
Reggae
Reggae
Reggae
here comes Johnny Reggae
Johnny Reggae
Reggae
lay it on me.
Reggae
Reggae
Reggae…
always start a fight for me
he’s always on the phone
at the dance-hall in the evening
he’ll always take me home
in his fringe and buckle stompers
and his two-tone tomic strides
he’s a real tasty geezer
an’ I’m his – here – inside.
source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/
Johnny Reggae
| “Johnny Reggae” | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Piglets | ||||||||||
| Released | 1971 | |||||||||
| Format | 45 rpm | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||||||||
| Genre | Reggae | |||||||||
| Label | Bell Records | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Jonathan King | |||||||||
| Producer | Jonathan King | |||||||||
| The Piglets singles chronology | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
“Johnny Reggae” is a 1971 novelty song[1] produced by Jonathan King and credited to The Piglets. The single cover mentions “conceived, created, produced and directed by Jonathan King”.[2] It was released on Bell Records.
The credits for the main female vocals are unclear. They were attributed at various times to various artists, most frequently to the typecast-tart actressAdrienne Posta and at times to Wendy Richard and to Kay Barry,[1]; some claim that the vocalists were trained (anonymous) session singers coached to sound like teenage girls. King himself in his autobiography 65 My Life So Far says it was, indeed, session singers with the lead vocal performed by Barbara Kay, then in her 40s.
“Johnny Reggae” is one of the most famous King songs from the period in the mid-1960s to late-1970s when King had a string of hits in the UK Singles Chart under a variety of pseudonyms and under his own name. Five of those hits, including “Johnny Reggae” made it to the Top 10.[3] “Johnny Reggae” made it up to #3.[4]
What a beautifully written blog post. I too have had Johnny Reggae in my ear since we played it on my radio show last Tuesday and find myself half wanting to share this song with friends and half too embarrassed to admit that I kinda like it. Anyway, google brought me here so a good 2 years after it was written I get to leave a message. In fact I may just read on for my own amusement 🙂
Hi James. Would you believe that my Johnny Reggae blog post still get hits every day, even after all this time? It’s been my most popular post. It’s so nice to get feedback like yours – thank you for taking the trouble. What is your radio show called and on what station? Sorry for my ignorance if I should know already!
OK Sally – Jonathan King here and I really resent your negative views on my lovely song – no, only joking! Horses for courses; some loved it, some hated it; I personally thought it was rather fun and my bank manager loved it! Blog on, dear, blog on (and tell Chris I know what it’s like going deaf; I can only just hear The Piglets).
Thanks Jonathan! I must say that I never thought the writer of that WONDERFUL song, Johnny Reggae Reggae, would ever be reading my blog, otherwise I would have been much more flattering. Glad you took it in good spirit and thank you for taking the trouble to comment. That’s worthy of a mention in my blog… if you don’t mind. Take care.