I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
Encyclopedia
Creation
The music was written by John Kellette. The lyrics are credited to "Jaan Kenbrovin", actually a collective pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
for the writers James Kendis, James Brockman
James Brockman
James Brockman was an American songwriter. Born in Russia, he emigrated to New York by himself at the age of 9 or 10...
and Nat Vincent. The number was debuted in the Broadway musical The Passing Show of 1918
The Passing Show of 1918
The Passing Show of 1918 is a Broadway musical revue featuring music of Sigmund Romberg and Jean Schwartz , with book and lyrics by Harold R. Atteridge. The show introduced the hit songs "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" and "Smiles"....
, and it was introduced by Helen Carrington.
The copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
to "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" was originally registered in 1919, and was owned by the Kendis-Brockman Music Co. Inc. This was transferred later that year to Jerome H. Remick
Jerome H. Remick
__notoc__Jerome Hosmer Remick , was a Detroit music publisher, philanthropist and businessman from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.-Life and career:...
& Co. of New York and Detroit. When the song was written, James Kendis, James Brockman, and Nat Vincent all had separate contracts with publishers, which led them to use the name Jaan Kenbrovin for credit on this song. James Kendis and James Brockman were partners in the Kendis-Brockman Music Company.
Becomes a hit
The waltzWaltz (music)
A waltz, or valse from the French term, is a piece of music in triple meter, most often written in time signature but sometimes in 3/8 or 3/2...
was a major Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
hit, and was performed and recorded by most major singers and bands of the late 1910s and early 1920s. The song was a hit for Ben Selvin
Ben Selvin
Benjamin B. Selvin , son of Russian-immigrant Jewish parents, was a musician, bandleader, record producer and innovator in recorded music. He was known as The Dean of Recorded Music....
's Novelty Orchestra in 1919. The Original Dixieland Jass Band
Original Dixieland Jass Band
The Original Dixieland Jass Band were a New Orleans, Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz single ever issued. The group composed and made the first recordings of many jazz standards, the most famous being Tiger Rag...
recording of the number is an unusual early example of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
in 3/4 time.
The writer Ring Lardner
Ring Lardner
Ringgold Wilmer Lardner was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical takes on the sports world, marriage, and the theatre.-Personal life:...
parodied the lyric during the Black Sox scandal of 1919, when he began to suspect that players on the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
team were deliberately losing the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
. His version began: "I'm forever blowing ballgames."
The song also became a hit with the public in British music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
s and theatres during the early 1920s. Dorothy Ward was especially renowned for making the song famous with her appearances at these venues. The song was also used by English comedian "Professor" Jimmy Edwards
Jimmy Edwards
Jimmy Edwards DFC was an English comedic script writer and comedy actor on both radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in Take It From Here and as the headmaster 'Professor' James Edwards in Whack-O!-Biography:...
as his signature tune - played on the trombone. Harpo Marx
Harpo Marx
Adolph "Harpo" Marx was an American comedian and film star. He was the second oldest of the Marx Brothers. His comic style was influenced by clown and pantomime traditions. He wore a curly reddish wig, and never spoke during performances...
would play the song on clarinet, which would then begin emitting bubbles. The melody is frequently quoted in animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
sound tracks when bubbles are visible. The title air, or first line of the chorus, is quoted in the 1920s song "Singing in the Bathtub", also a popular standard in cartoon sound tracks, including being repeatedly sung by Tweety Bird.
The song features extensively in the 1931 prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
gangster movie The Public Enemy
The Public Enemy
The Public Enemy is a 1931 American Pre-Code crime film starring James Cagney and directed by William A. Wellman. The film relates the story of a young man's rise in the criminal underworld in prohibition-era urban America...
starring James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
. It also was sung by a white bird in the Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
cartoon I Love to Singa
I Love to Singa
I Love to Singa is a Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Tex Avery, produced by Leon Schlesinger, and released to theatres on July 18, 1936 by Warner Bros. and Vitaphone. I Love to Singa depicts the story of a young owlet who wants to sing jazz, instead of the classical music that his...
. A parody of the song was written and performed as "I'm Forever Blowing Bubble-Gum" by Spike Jones
Spike Jones
Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and other Warner Brothers cartoon characters, performed a drunken, hiccuping verse for 1942's "Clink! Clink! Another Drink"...
and his City Slickers. In Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
's 1969 film Women in Love
Women in Love (film)
Women in Love is a 1969 British film directed by Ken Russell. It stars Alan Bates , Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson and Jennie Linden. The film was adapted by Larry Kramer from the novel of the same name by D. H. Lawrence....
the song is featured in an unusual scene where two sisters, played by Glenda Jackson
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
and Jennie Linden
Jennie Linden
Jennie Linden is an English film and television actress.Linden was born in Worthing to Marcus and Freida Fletcher, an architect and housewife. She attended the Central School of Speech and Drama at the age of 17 on a scholarship...
, wander away from a large picnic gathering and are confronted by a large herd of bullocks. In the early 1970s, The Bonzo Dog Band's stage show featured a robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
that sang the title air while blowing bubbles. A solo guitar rendition is periodically featured within the action of Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
's 1999 film Sweet And Lowdown
Sweet and Lowdown
Sweet and Lowdown is a 1999 American comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen which tells the story of a fictional arrogant, obnoxious, alcoholic jazz guitarist named Emmet Ray who regards himself as perhaps the best guitarist in the world, or second best, after his idol, Django Reinhardt...
. Director Brad Mays
Brad Mays
Brad Mays is an independent filmmaker and stage director, living and working in Los Angeles, California.-Background and education:...
paid homage to that scene in his 2008 film The Watermelon
The Watermelon
The Watermelon is an independent feature film penned by Michael Hemmingson and directed by Brad Mays. It is produced by Lorenda Starfelt at LightSong Films in North Hollywood.The Watermelon is Michael Hemmingson's first produced full-length screenplay, and director Brad Mays' fourth feature...
, in which actress Kiersten Morgan sings the song while dancing on a Malibu beach.
West Ham United connection
The song is now better known in the UK as the club anthem of West Ham UnitedWest Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
, a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based football club.
"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" was introduced to the club by former manager Charlie Paynter
Charlie Paynter
Charlie Paynter was the manager of West Ham United from 1932-1950.He moved to Plaistow with his family as a child. He played for the football team Victoria Swifts, but while still a teenager he also developed an interest in physiotherapy. Paynter first became involved with West Ham as unpaid help...
in the late twenties. A player, Billy J. "Bubbles" Murray who played for the local Park School had an almost uncanny resemblance to the boy in the famous "Bubbles
Bubbles (painting)
Bubbles, originally titled A Child's World, is a painting by Sir John Everett Millais that became famous when it was used over many generations in advertisements for Pears soap...
" painting by Millais used in a Pears soap commercial of the time. Headmaster Cornelius Beal began singing the tune "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" with amended lyrics when Park players played well.
Beal was a friend of Paynter, while Murray was a West Ham trialist and played football at schoolboy level with a number of West Ham players such as Jim Barrett
Jim Barrett, Sr.
James William Barrett was an English footballer who played for West Ham United.Born in Stratford, London, Barrett began playing football at the city's Park School, after moving from Abbey School because it lacked a team...
. Through this contrivance of association the club's fans took it upon themselves to begin singing the popular music hall tune before home games, sometimes reinforced by the presence of a house band requested to play the refrain by Charlie Paynter.
In 2002 there was speculation that "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" was sung at the Boleyn Ground by visiting Swansea City supporters during an FA Cup-tie in 1921-22. After a goalless draw away at Vetch Field
Vetch Field
The Vetch Field was a multi-purpose stadium in Swansea, Wales. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home ground of Swansea City until the Liberty Stadium opened in 2005. Opened in 1912, the ground held around 12,000 at the time of its closure, but upwards of 30,000 at its peak...
the two teams met at Upton Park only to share two goals in the replay which resulted in a further replay at Ashton Gate, Bristol, which the Welshmen won by a solitary goal. After such a marathon it is perhaps not surprising that a number of Hammers fans remembered the distinctive refrains and took the words as their own, if indeed the song had been sung by the opposing supporters.
To perhaps add some substance to that theory, David Farmer in his history of Swansea City FC does state, when recounting the period between 1920 to 1926, that in match reports "Bubbles" was sung at all home games. In one particular newspaper report of a match versus Bury on 8 January 1921 the comment is made : "At 2.20 pm came the ever popular singing of "Bubbles" from the main bank with one tremendous sway."
Some West Ham fans sing alternate lyrics. The second line's "nearly reach the sky" is changed to "they reach the sky", "Then like my dreams" is also changed to "And like my dreams". In addition the fans begin a chant of "United, United!" to cap it off. There is a tradition amongst West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
fans whereby they blow bubbles at matches to accompany the singing of the song.
These touchline songs were a form of predecessor to the terrace chants
Football chant
A football chant or terrace chant, is a song or chant sung at association football matches. They can be historic, dating back to the formation of the club, adaptations of popular songs, or spontaneous reactions to events on the pitch. They are one of the last remaining sources of an oral folk song...
that have since become a trademark of the game. It was adopted by West Ham's supporters in the late 1920s and is now one of the most recognisable club anthems in English football
Football in England
Association football is a national sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game...
along with "You'll Never Walk Alone
You'll Never Walk Alone (song)
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.In the musical, in the second act, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the female protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the...
".
As a tribute to West Ham, the punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band the Cockney Rejects
Cockney Rejects
Cockney Rejects are an English punk rock band that formed in the East End of London in 1978. Their 1980 song "Oi, Oi, Oi" was the inspiration for the name of the Oi! music genre...
covered the song in 1980. The song is also distinctly heard in the movie Green Street
Green Street
Green Street is a 2005 British/American independent drama film about football hooliganism in England. It was directed by Lexi Alexander and stars Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunnam. In the United States and Australia, the film is called Green Street Hooligans, while in the United Kingdom it has the...
, starring Elijah Wood
Elijah Wood
Elijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II , then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's...
, and at the end of episode 3.6 of Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
which took place in 1983 and featured the death of a West Ham supporter.
In 2006 at the final match at Arsenal F.C.'s Highbury stadium
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
, Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
supporters broke into song to celebrate West Ham's defeat of Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
which secured Arsenal's spot in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
on the last day. Similarly, Blackburn Rovers were heard singing 'Bubbles' in their dressing room after West Ham assisted them winning the Premiership in 1995 having held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw on the final day of the Premier League season, led by Tony Gale
Tony Gale
Anthony Peter "Tony" Gale is an English former footballer who is now a regular pundit on Soccer Saturday...
(an eleven-year West Ham veteran who had moved to Blackburn earlier in the season).
On May 16, 1999, prior to a home game against Middlesbrough, 23,680 fans in the Boleyn Ground
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...
blew bubbles for a minute, setting a new world record.
Ice hockey connection
In NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, the song is better known as the club anthem of Sparta Warriors
Sparta Warriors
The Sparta Warriors are an ice hockey team in Sarpsborg, Norway playing in the GET League. The official name of the club is Ishockeyklubben Sparta Sarpsborg. They play their home games in the Sparta Amfi arena...
, a Sarpsborg
Sarpsborg
is a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg.Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neighbouring Fredrikstad...
-based ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
club.
The Norwegian version, rewritten and performed by Kai Robert Johansen, is titled "Blå Bobler" (Blue Bubbles).
Verse 1
- I'm dreaming dreams,
- I'm scheming schemes,
- I'm building castles high.
- They're born anew,
- Their days are few,
- Just like a sweet butterfly.
- And as the daylight is dawning,
- They come again in the morning.
Chorus
- I'm forever blowing bubbles,
- Pretty bubbles in the air,
- They fly so high,
- Nearly reach the sky,
- Then like my dreams,
- They fade and die.
- Fortune's always hiding,
- I've looked everywhere,
- I'm forever blowing bubbles,
- Pretty bubbles in the air.
Verse 2
- When cattle creep,
- When I'm asleep,
- To lands of hope I stray.
- Then at daybreak,
- When I awake,
- My bluebird flutters away.
- Happiness new seemed so near me,
- Happiness come forth and heal me.
Chorus
- I'm forever blowing bubbles,
- Pretty bubbles in the air.
- They fly so high,
- Nearly reach the sky,
- Then like my dreams,
- They fade and die.
- Fortune's always hiding,
- I've looked everywhere,
- I'm forever blowing bubbles,
- Pretty bubbles in the air.
Notable recordings
Notable recordings of the song include:- Albert C. Campbell & Henry BurrHenry BurrHenry Burr was a Canadian singer of popular songs from the early 20th century, an early radio performer and producer...
- ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
A-2701 (matrix: 78263-1) - Recorded January 22, 1919
- Columbia
- Helen Clark & George Wilton Ballard
- EdisonEdison RecordsEdison Records was one of the earliest record labels which pioneered recorded sound and was an important player in the early recording industry.- Early phonographs before commercial mass produced records :...
Blue AmberolBlue Amberol RecordsBlue Amberol Records was the trademarked name for cylinder recordings manufactured by the Edison company in the U.S. from 1912 to 1929. They were issued as a replacement to the 4 minute black wax Amberol cylinder introduced in 1908 which in turn replaced the 2 minute wax cylinders that Edison had...
3798 - Released August 1919
- Edison
- Ben SelvinBen SelvinBenjamin B. Selvin , son of Russian-immigrant Jewish parents, was a musician, bandleader, record producer and innovator in recorded music. He was known as The Dean of Recorded Music....
& his Novelty Orchestra- Victor 18603 (matrix: 22966-6)
- Recorded July 31, 1919
- Peter Dawson (as Will Strong)
- HMV B 1092
- Recorded LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
February 17, 1920
- Vera LynnVera LynnDame Vera Lynn, DBE is an English singer-songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops...
- Recorded LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- Recorded London
- Doris DayDoris DayDoris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
& Jack Smith with the Norman Luboff Choir with orchestra directed by Paul WestonPaul WestonPaul Weston was an American pianist, arranger, composer and conductor. Weston was born Paul Wetstein in Springfield, Massachusetts...
- ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
39453 (matrix: RHCO 4481-1N) - Also released as a track of the 10" LP, On Moonlight BayOn Moonlight Bay (album)On Moonlight Bay is a Doris Day album featuring songs from the movie of the same name. It was issued by Columbia Records as a 10" LP album, catalog number CL-6186....
- Recorded Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
April 27, 1951
- Columbia
- Les BrownLes Brown (bandleader)Les Brown, Sr. and the Band of Renown are a big band that began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils that Brown led while a student at Duke University. He was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences...
and his Band of Renown- Vogue CoralVogue RecordsVogue Records was a short-lived United States based record label of the 1940s, noted for the artwork embedded in the records themselves. Founded in 1946 as part of Sav-Way Industries of Detroit, Michigan, the discs were initially a hit, because of the novelty of the colorful artwork, and the...
Q 72242 - Recorded April 1957
- Vogue Coral
- Kirby Stone FourKirby Stone FourThe Kirby Stone Four were an American vocal ensemble popular in the 1950s and early 1960s.Kirby Stone founded the group in the years after World War II and began playing clubs in the New York area. They won slots on local television, including The Ed Sullivan Show, and soon after signed to Columbia...
- PhilipsPhilips RecordsPhilips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
PB 938 - Recorded 1959
- Philips
- The Blue DiamondsBlue DiamondsThe Blue Diamonds were a Dutch 1960s doo-wop duo, best known for their million-selling chart-topping single, "Ramona". Indo brothers Ruud de Wolff and Riem de Wolff founded the group shortly after immigrating to the Netherlands in 1949...
- DeccaDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
F 21346 - Recorded 1961
- Decca
- The Kalin TwinsKalin TwinsThe Kalin Twins were a pop music recording duo, comprising twin brothers Hal and Herbie Kalin .-Career:...
- BrunswickBrunswick RecordsBrunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
05862 - Recorded 1961
- Brunswick
- Frank FontaineFrank FontaineFrank Fontaine was an American comedian and singer.Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he is best known for his appearances on television shows of the 1950s and 1960s, including The Jackie Gleason Show, The Jack Benny Show, and The Tonight Show.One of his earliest appearances was on the radio show,...
(as Crazy Guggenheim on The Jackie Gleason Show/CBS-TV;'Songs I Sing on the Jackie Gleason Show' - Track 2)- ABC Paramount Records 90212
- Recorded 1962
- Number One Album on Billboard in February 1963
- The Kaye SistersThe Kaye SistersThe Kaye Sisters were a trio of British pop singers, who scored several hits on the UK Singles Chart in the late 1950s and early 1960s.-Career:...
- PhilipsPhilips RecordsPhilips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
326569 BF - Recorded 1963
- Philips
- West Ham UnitedWest Ham United F.C.West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
Cup Squad- PyePye RecordsPye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
7N 45470 - Released May 1975
- Pye
- Cockney RejectsCockney RejectsCockney Rejects are an English punk rock band that formed in the East End of London in 1978. Their 1980 song "Oi, Oi, Oi" was the inspiration for the name of the Oi! music genre...
- ZonophoneZonophoneZonophone, early on also rendered as Zon-O-Phone was a record label founded in 1899 in Camden, New Jersey by Frank Seaman. The Zonophone name was not that of the company, but was applied to the records and machines sold by Seaman from 1899-1900 to 1903...
Z 4 - Released May 1980
- Zonophone
Singles Chart Success
Versions of the song have charted in the UK Singles ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
on two occasions, both coinciding with an FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...
appearance by West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
. On 10 May 1975 a version recorded by the West Ham 1975 FA Cup Final
1975 FA Cup Final
The 1975 FA Cup Final was contested by West Ham United and Fulham at Wembley. The Fulham team contained two former England captains in former West Ham captain Bobby Moore, making his last appearance at Wembley, and Alan Mullery. West Ham won 2–0, with the two goals scored by Alan Taylor...
squad entered the chart at number 31, only staying in the top 40 for one week. For the 1980 FA Cup Final
1980 FA Cup Final
The 1980 FA Cup Final was contested by West Ham United and Arsenal at Wembley. West Ham won by a single goal, scored by Trevor Brooking.To date, it is the last time a team from outside the top flight has won the FA Cup...
appearance the Cockney Rejects
Cockney Rejects
Cockney Rejects are an English punk rock band that formed in the East End of London in 1978. Their 1980 song "Oi, Oi, Oi" was the inspiration for the name of the Oi! music genre...
version of the song entered the charts at number 35 on 31 May 1980, again only staying in the top 40 for the one week.
External links
- I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles at Allmusic
- West Ham United club history at KUMB, contains full lyrics for the song
- The Story Of Bubbles by John Helliar, from the official West Ham United website
- I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles at 45cat
- I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles at bubbleblowers.com