Down the Dustpipe
Encyclopedia
"Down the Dustpipe" is a song written by Australia
n singer-songwriter Carl Groszman
. He was a client of Valley Music, who were affiliated to Status Quo’s management in their early days. The group recorded it, and in Francis Rossi
’s words, “it was the first record to feature our soon-to-be trademark boogie shuffle”. It became one of the most popular numbers in their live set. Released as a single in March 1970, it took the media by surprise as it was so different in sound from their previous work. Radio 1
presenter Tony Blackburn
dismissed it on air the first time he played it with the comment, "Down the dustbin for this one."
A demo version of the song was recorded by Welsh band Man, who were hired by Pye Records as a studio band. They taught their arrangement of the song to Status Quo, who adopted it without changing much. In the future, whenever the two bands met, Man found it entertaining to keep reminding Status Quo of who did the original arrangement for their hit single.
The harmonica was played by Bob Young
, a former member of pop group The Attack, best known for a cover version of "Hi Ho Silver Lining
" in 1967 which lost out to a more successful recording by Jeff Beck
. Young had recently joined Status Quo as their roadie, but became an unofficial member, playing harmonica on several subsequent recordings and co-writing many of their singles and album tracks.
Although it was initially ignored by Radio 1, it made the charts largely through the group’s increasing popularity as a live band, and reached number 12 in the UK charts in July. Its slow progress gave it a 17-week stay in the Top 50, something never achieved by any of their subsequent, more well-known singles.
It remained unavailable on Status Quo's LPs until the release of the compilation 'The Best of Status Quo' in 1973, and has appeared on several compilations since then. The band re-recorded it on their 2003 album 'Riffs', the new version being very similar to the original but about 20 seconds longer.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n singer-songwriter Carl Groszman
Carl Groszman
Carl Groszman is a musician. He signed to Ringo Starr's own record label Ring O' Records 1975. He is most notable for his song "A Dose of Rock and Roll" which was covered by Ringo Starr in 1976 for his album Ringo's Rotogravure Starr's cover of the song reached #26 on the U.S. singles chart and...
. He was a client of Valley Music, who were affiliated to Status Quo’s management in their early days. The group recorded it, and in Francis Rossi
Francis Rossi
Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, OBE is a British musician best known for being a co-founder of the English rock band Status Quo, in which he sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar.- Career :...
’s words, “it was the first record to feature our soon-to-be trademark boogie shuffle”. It became one of the most popular numbers in their live set. Released as a single in March 1970, it took the media by surprise as it was so different in sound from their previous work. Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
presenter Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn is an English disc jockey, who broadcast on the "pirate" stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s and was the first disc jockey to broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1967. In 2002 he was the winner of the ITV reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity.....
dismissed it on air the first time he played it with the comment, "Down the dustbin for this one."
A demo version of the song was recorded by Welsh band Man, who were hired by Pye Records as a studio band. They taught their arrangement of the song to Status Quo, who adopted it without changing much. In the future, whenever the two bands met, Man found it entertaining to keep reminding Status Quo of who did the original arrangement for their hit single.
The harmonica was played by Bob Young
Bob Young (artist)
Robert Keith Young is an English musician and author, who became famous for being the unofficial fifth member of the rock band Status Quo.- Collaborations with Status Quo :...
, a former member of pop group The Attack, best known for a cover version of "Hi Ho Silver Lining
Hi Ho Silver Lining
"Hi Ho Silver Lining" is a rock song, written by American songwriters Scott English and Larry Weiss and first released as a single in March 1967 by The Attack, followed a few days later by Jeff Beck. Because the Beck version charted first, the song is most often associated with him...
" in 1967 which lost out to a more successful recording by Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
. Young had recently joined Status Quo as their roadie, but became an unofficial member, playing harmonica on several subsequent recordings and co-writing many of their singles and album tracks.
Although it was initially ignored by Radio 1, it made the charts largely through the group’s increasing popularity as a live band, and reached number 12 in the UK charts in July. Its slow progress gave it a 17-week stay in the Top 50, something never achieved by any of their subsequent, more well-known singles.
It remained unavailable on Status Quo's LPs until the release of the compilation 'The Best of Status Quo' in 1973, and has appeared on several compilations since then. The band re-recorded it on their 2003 album 'Riffs', the new version being very similar to the original but about 20 seconds longer.