"Mr Blobby" is a novelty song performed by character Mr Blobby, famous for appearing in the British Saturday night variety show Noel's House Party. It was written by Philip Raxster, produced by Paul Shaw and David Rogers, and was released on 22 November 1993. The song originally peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart on 11 December 1993 for one week but reclaimed the top spot to become the Christmas number one single, and spent a total of three weeks at No. 1.[1] Despite its chart success, it has been panned by critics, some of whom[who?] have called it one of the worst songs ever recorded.
| "Mr Blobby" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Mr Blobby | ||||
| from the album Mr Blobby: The Album | ||||
| Released | 22 November 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1993 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:34 | |||
| Label | Destiny Music Ltd/BMG | |||
| Songwriter(s) | David Rogers | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Mr Blobby singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Chart performance
editThe single reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart on 11 December 1993, replacing Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)", which had been in the No. 1 spot for seven weeks. A week later, "Babe" by Take That demoted Mr Blobby from the top spot for one week. Mr Blobby made a surprise return to the No. 1 spot on Christmas Day, and repeated that position the following week.[1][2]
Critical reception
editAn MTV critic said that Blobby "tried to kill music... with what might be the worst song of all time";[3] the track is often named as such.[4][5] Rupert Hawksley of The Telegraph ranked it as the worst Christmas number one in history, arguing that Blobby "set the bar so low with this bizarre single, it's hard to imagine that it could ever be usurped".[6] Daily Record writer Euan McColm named it the third-worst Top 10 single of all time.[7] It placed first in an HMV public poll of the worst-ever festive songs,[8] and second in a VH1 viewer survey of the worst number one singles of all time.[9] The track also came sixth in a Channel 4 poll of the 100 worst pop songs in history.[10]
Music video
editA music video was created for the single and was filmed in the Kew Bridge Steam Museum. It spoofed several music videos such as "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer, "Stay" by Shakespears Sister, Snap!'s "Rhythm Is a Dancer", and "I Can't Dance" by Genesis.[11]
The video featured Noel Edmonds, Carol Vorderman, Wayne Sleep, Garth Crooks and Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson as Mr Blobby's limo driver.[12]
It premiered on BBC1 during the episode of Noel’s House Party broadcast 2 days before the single's release.
Track listing
edit- "Mr Blobby"
- "Mr Blobby's Theme"
- "Mr Blobby" (Instrumental Mix)
- "Mr Blobby "Blobby, Blobby, Blobby""
Charts and certifications
edit
Weekly chartsedit
|
Certificationsedit
| |||||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 560–1. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Number 1 Singles of the 1990s". everyHit.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
- ^ "10 Songs We Wish Were Jokes". MTV. Viacom International Media Networks Europe. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ "7 songs you can't believe made Christmas number one". Metro. 20 December 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ Butler, Ben (13 May 2016). "Azealia Banks' music has had less success in the UK than Mr Blobby's". Gigwise. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^ Hawksley, Rupert (7 December 2013). "Worst Christmas number ones of all time". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ McColm, Euan (30 March 1999). "Worst Top 10 records in the world". TheFreeLibrary. Daily Record. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ "Blobby voted worst Christmas hit". BBC News. 3 December 2002. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ Oliver, Mark (13 August 2004). "Cliff hit voted worst ever number one". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ "The One Hundred... Worst Pop Records". Channel 4. 2004.
- ^ "Genesis – I Can't Dance (Official Music Video)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Mr. Blobby Music Video". YouTube. 2006-04-21. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
- ^ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received July 14, 2015". Imgur. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 3. January 15, 1994. p. 15. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – All there is to Know". Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original (enter search parameter Mr Blobby into Search by Artist box, then select Go) on July 21, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ "Official Charts > Mr Blobby". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ "British single certifications – Mr Blobby – Mr Blobby". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 30, 2012.