Living Next Door to Alice
Encyclopedia
"Living Next Door to Alice" is a song co-written by Nicky Chinn
and Mike Chapman. Originally released by the Australia
n vocal harmony trio New World
in 1972, the song charted at # 35 on the Australian chart. The song later became a worldwide hit for the band Smokie
.
and neighbour of 24 years, which is left unrequited after she moves away. The protagonist had seen a limousine parked at Alice's home and begins to reflect on childhood memories and his friendship with Alice, and becomes heartbroken as he sees Alice get inside the limousine.
As he watches the car drive out of sight, the protagonist feels regret about two things: 1. Alice leaving without explanation; and 2. That, in 24 years, he never took the opportunity to express his feelings for her.
Another female character in the song is Sally, another longtime neighbour of the main protagonist who is introduced early in the song. In the song's first verse, she reminds the protagonist of Alice's impending departure. Sally, who later tells the man that he now must get over Alice, then states that she is available. But the man fails to acknowledge her and reaffirms that he'll "never get used to not living next door to Alice."
An figurative interpretation of the ending is that when Sally states that she is available, the reference to the 'Limousine disappeared' signifies a release from his preoccupation with Alice.
band Smokie released their version of "Living Next Door to Alice". The single peaked at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart
and, in March 1977, reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100
. It was a number one hit in Austria
, Germany
, Ireland
, The Netherlands, Norway
and Switzerland
. Smokie collaborated on a parody version in 1995 with comedian Roy 'Chubby' Brown
, reaching # 3 on the UK Singles Chart, selling almost half a million.
band Gompie
, titled "Alice, Who the Fuck is Alice?". Their version topped the charts in the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders), and reached the top 10 in Austria, Germany, Norway and Switzerland. In the UK the song peaked at number 17, despite its low peak its sales topped 150,000.
Gompie is a project of Peter Koelewijn
and Rob Peters. Peters, while visiting a bar
called Gompie in Nijmegen, heard "Living Next Door to Alice" by Smokie. After the name Alice in the song, the disc jockey
turned down the volume and the crowd sang 'Alice, who the fuck is Alice?'. Peters realised it could become a hit record, contacted Koelewijn and a day later the song was recorded and released under the name Gompie.
The success of this version resulted in various similar versions, including a new recording by Smokie with blue comedian Roy 'Chubby' Brown
. A dance
version of "Alice, Who the Fuck Is Alice?" was released by The Steppers, reaching No. 2 on the Australian
charts in September 1995.
released his own version of "Living Next Door to Alice". Carver's version peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles
chart in April 1977.
Kevin "Bloody" Wilson
recorded a parody for his album Kev's Back (The Return of the Yobbo)
(1985), titled "Living Next Door to Alan". It tells the story of a family of Aboriginal
s who obtained a house next door to Alan Bond
(a noted Perth
based entrepreneur) in a posh riverside suburb of Perth.
In 1996, eighteen time Grammy Award
winner Jimmy Sturr
recorded the song under the title "Alice" on his Grammy winning album Polka! All Night Long. The album included vocals by Willie Nelson
and contributions by Jo-El Sonnier
and the Jordanaires. Sturr has won the Grammy Award for Best Polka Album
in 18 of the 24 years it has been contested.
The 1996 album The Smurfs Go Pop!
by The Smurfs
included a cover version with altered lyrics titled "Smurfland".
, with the title "Viisitoista kesää" (Fifteen summers). The arrangement is by Veikko Samuli and the Finnish lyrics by Juha Vainio
.
In Norwegian, there is a faithful translation, "I 24 år har jeg bodd i samme gård som Anne". There are also other songs to the same tune. "Storholt, Stensen, Stenshjemmet, Sjøbrend åsså'n Hjallis" deals about the famous Norwegian speed skating team known as The Four Aces. The single was released in 1977 by Stein Ingebrigtsen
& Store Stå and peaked at #3 in the Norwegian VG-lista
. "Elvis" is another song with Norwegian lyrics.
A German version of the song, titled "Tür an Tür mit Alice", was a hit for Howard Carpendale in 1977. The single peaked at #8 in Germany and Switzerland and at #11 in Austria.
In Swedish, the song is a parody by the title "Blända Av Till Halvljus", as a darkly comic song pondering the perils of not dimming one's main beam when meeting another motorist.
In Czech the song was released in 21.2.1973 under the title "Alenka v říši divů" (Alice in Wonderland), performed by Karel Zich
.
In Russian the song is called "Кто такая Элис?"(Kto takaya Alice?) (Who is Alice?) and was translated/performed by Михаил Башаков (Mikhail Bashakov) and the band "Конец Фильма" ("Konets filma").
In 2011, Nicholis Louw and Heinz Winckler, from South Africa, released a duet cover version.
Nicky Chinn
Nicky Chinn born Nicholas Barry Chinn, 16 May 1945, London, UK) is a British songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the UK and US in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several number-one records...
and Mike Chapman. Originally released by the Australia
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 vocal harmony trio New World
New World (band)
New World was an Australian pop group that existed from the mid 1960s to the late 1970s. They are best known for their Top 10 hit single, "Tom-Tom Turnaround", which was released in 1971...
in 1972, the song charted at # 35 on the Australian chart. The song later became a worldwide hit for the band Smokie
Smokie (band)
Smokie is an English rock band from Bradford, Yorkshire who found success in Europe in the 1970s.-Early years:Originally called The Yen, then The Sphynx and later Essence, the band was formed in 1964 at St. Bede's Grammar School in Heaton, Bradford as The Yen. The Yen's first gig was at Birkenshaw...
.
Plot
The song is about a young man's long-standing crush on Alice, the girl next doorGirl next door
The cultural and sexual stereotype of the girl next door or the All-American girl is invoked in American contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming femininity, as opposed to the culture's other female stereotypes such as the tomboy, the valley girl, the femme fatale, girly girl, or the slut. The...
and neighbour of 24 years, which is left unrequited after she moves away. The protagonist had seen a limousine parked at Alice's home and begins to reflect on childhood memories and his friendship with Alice, and becomes heartbroken as he sees Alice get inside the limousine.
As he watches the car drive out of sight, the protagonist feels regret about two things: 1. Alice leaving without explanation; and 2. That, in 24 years, he never took the opportunity to express his feelings for her.
Another female character in the song is Sally, another longtime neighbour of the main protagonist who is introduced early in the song. In the song's first verse, she reminds the protagonist of Alice's impending departure. Sally, who later tells the man that he now must get over Alice, then states that she is available. But the man fails to acknowledge her and reaffirms that he'll "never get used to not living next door to Alice."
An figurative interpretation of the ending is that when Sally states that she is available, the reference to the 'Limousine disappeared' signifies a release from his preoccupation with Alice.
Smokie versions
In November 1976, the EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
band Smokie released their version of "Living Next Door to Alice". The single peaked at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart
UK 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 ...
and, in March 1977, reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. It was a number one hit in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, The Netherlands, Norway
Norway
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...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Smokie collaborated on a parody version in 1995 with comedian Roy 'Chubby' Brown
Roy 'Chubby' Brown
Roy "Chubby" Brown is an English stand-up comedian, notorious for his decidedly blue humour. The controversial nature of his act means that he rarely appears on major television channels, and Brown has attracted accusations that his comedy style is outdated whilst also being described as "The most...
, reaching # 3 on the UK Singles Chart, selling almost half a million.
| Chart (1976/1977) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Top Singles |
17 |
| Ireland (IRMA Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... ) |
1 |
| US Billboard Billboard charts The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine... Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
25 |
| Chart (1995) with Roy 'Chubby' Brown |
Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... ) |
26 |
Gompie version
It spawned a more risqué version in 1995 by the DutchNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
band Gompie
Gompie
Gompie is a Dutch band in Nijmegen, which in 1995 edited the Smokie hit "Living Next Door to Alice", adding the words "Alice, Who the fuck is Alice!?". The song reached number 17 in the UK and number 1 in the Netherlands...
, titled "Alice, Who the Fuck is Alice?". Their version topped the charts in the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders), and reached the top 10 in Austria, Germany, Norway and Switzerland. In the UK the song peaked at number 17, despite its low peak its sales topped 150,000.
Gompie is a project of Peter Koelewijn
Peter Koelewijn
Peter Koelewijn is a founding father of Dutch language rock and roll. Koelewijn is also a successful producer and songwriter for other Dutch artists. His most famous song is Kom van dat dak af .Peter Koelewijn was born on the 29 December, the son of a fishmonger in the southern Dutch city of...
and Rob Peters. Peters, while visiting a bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
called Gompie in Nijmegen, heard "Living Next Door to Alice" by Smokie. After the name Alice in the song, the disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
turned down the volume and the crowd sang 'Alice, who the fuck is Alice?'. Peters realised it could become a hit record, contacted Koelewijn and a day later the song was recorded and released under the name Gompie.
The success of this version resulted in various similar versions, including a new recording by Smokie with blue comedian Roy 'Chubby' Brown
Roy 'Chubby' Brown
Roy "Chubby" Brown is an English stand-up comedian, notorious for his decidedly blue humour. The controversial nature of his act means that he rarely appears on major television channels, and Brown has attracted accusations that his comedy style is outdated whilst also being described as "The most...
. A dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
version of "Alice, Who the Fuck Is Alice?" was released by The Steppers, reaching No. 2 on the Australian
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
charts in September 1995.
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|
Other cover versions
Concurrent with Smokie's American success with the song, country music singer Johnny CarverJohnny Carver
Johnny Carver is an American country music artist. Between 1968 and 1977, he charted fifteen Top 40 hits on the Billboard country charts. His highest-charting single was a cover of Tony Orlando's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", a cover that reached #1 for him in 1974...
released his own version of "Living Next Door to Alice". Carver's version peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart in April 1977.
Kevin "Bloody" Wilson
Kevin Bloody Wilson
Kevin Bloody Wilson is a comedy singer/songwriter who uses his heavy Australian accent/style with great success...
recorded a parody for his album Kev's Back (The Return of the Yobbo)
Kev's Back (The Return of the Yobbo)
Kev's Back is the second album by the rudeAustralian singer/comedian Kevin Bloody Wilson. The album won the 1987 ARIA Award for "Comedy Album of the Year"...
(1985), titled "Living Next Door to Alan". It tells the story of a family of Aboriginal
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
s who obtained a house next door to Alan Bond
Alan Bond (businessman)
Alan Bond is an Australian businessman noted for his criminal convictions and high-profile business dealings, including what was at the time the biggest corporate collapse in Australian history. Bond was born in the Hammersmith district of London, England, and emigrated to Australia with his...
(a noted Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
based entrepreneur) in a posh riverside suburb of Perth.
In 1996, eighteen time Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winner Jimmy Sturr
Jimmy Sturr
James W. "Jimmy" Sturr, Jr. is a polka musician, trumpeter/clarinetist/saxophonist and leader of Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra. His recordings have won 18 out of the 24 Grammy Awards given for Best Polka Album. Sturr's orchestra is on the Top Ten List of the All-Time Grammy Awards, and has acquired...
recorded the song under the title "Alice" on his Grammy winning album Polka! All Night Long. The album included vocals by Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
and contributions by Jo-El Sonnier
Jo-El Sonnier
Jo-El Sonnier is an American singer-songwriter and accordionist who performs country music and Cajun music. Originally signed to Mercury Nashville Records, Sonnier charted several minor singles on the Billboard country charts in the late 1970s...
and the Jordanaires. Sturr has won the Grammy Award for Best Polka Album
Grammy Award for Best Polka Album
The Grammy Award for Best Polka Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality polka albums...
in 18 of the 24 years it has been contested.
The 1996 album The Smurfs Go Pop!
The Smurfs Go Pop!
The Smurfs Go Pop! is an album of songs by The Smurfs, released in 1996. Most of the songs are cover versions of existing songs with altered lyrics....
by The Smurfs
The Smurfs
The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
included a cover version with altered lyrics titled "Smurfland".
Translations
In Finnish, the song was recorded in 1977 by Kari TapioKari Tapio
Kari Tapani Jalkanen , better known by his stage name Kari Tapio, was a Finnish schlager and country & western singer. He was one of the most popular singers in Finland for decades, selling over 826,000 certified records during his career and posthumously.Tapio was born in Suonenjoki, Finland...
, with the title "Viisitoista kesää" (Fifteen summers). The arrangement is by Veikko Samuli and the Finnish lyrics by Juha Vainio
Juha Vainio
Juha Harri "Junnu" Vainio, also known as Juha "Watt" Vainio was a Finnish lyricist, singer, composer and teacher. With the lyrics or music to over 2,400 songs to his name, Vainio is as one of Finland's most prolific lyricists along with Reino Helismaa and Vexi Salmi...
.
In Norwegian, there is a faithful translation, "I 24 år har jeg bodd i samme gård som Anne". There are also other songs to the same tune. "Storholt, Stensen, Stenshjemmet, Sjøbrend åsså'n Hjallis" deals about the famous Norwegian speed skating team known as The Four Aces. The single was released in 1977 by Stein Ingebrigtsen
Stein Ingebrigtsen
Stein Ingebrigtsen is a Norwegian singer. He was enormously popular in Norway in the 1970s, nicknamed "Mr. Norsktoppen" for his countless hits topping Norsktoppen, an official chart for music in Norwegian....
& Store Stå and peaked at #3 in the Norwegian VG-lista
VG-lista
VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...
. "Elvis" is another song with Norwegian lyrics.
A German version of the song, titled "Tür an Tür mit Alice", was a hit for Howard Carpendale in 1977. The single peaked at #8 in Germany and Switzerland and at #11 in Austria.
In Swedish, the song is a parody by the title "Blända Av Till Halvljus", as a darkly comic song pondering the perils of not dimming one's main beam when meeting another motorist.
In Czech the song was released in 21.2.1973 under the title "Alenka v říši divů" (Alice in Wonderland), performed by Karel Zich
Karel Zich
Karel Zich was a Czech singer, guitarist and composer.- Life :Karel Zich was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, into a musical family. His grandfather was Otakar Zich, composer and professor of music aesthetics, and his uncle was the composer Jaroslav Zich...
.
In Russian the song is called "Кто такая Элис?"(Kto takaya Alice?) (Who is Alice?) and was translated/performed by Михаил Башаков (Mikhail Bashakov) and the band "Конец Фильма" ("Konets filma").
In 2011, Nicholis Louw and Heinz Winckler, from South Africa, released a duet cover version.