Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) – Benny Hill (1971)

Description

Additional information about this, Benny Hill vinyl art.

Benny Hill – The Artist/s

Alfred Hawthorne “Benny” Hill (1924 – 1992) was an English comedian, actor, singer and writer, best remembered for his television programme The Benny Hill Show, an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque, and double entendre in a format that included live comedy and filmed segments, with Hill at the focus of almost every segment. Hill was a prominent figure in British culture for nearly four decades. His show proved to be one of the great success stories of television comedy and was among the most-watched programmes in the UK with the audience peaking at more than 21 million in 1971. The Benny Hill Show was also exported to half the countries around the world.

Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) – The Song

‘Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)’ is an innuendo-laden comedy or novelty song, written and performed by the English comedian Benny Hill. The song was first performed on television in 1970, and released as a successful recording, topping the UK Singles Chart in 1971, reaching the Christmas number one spot. The lyric’s story line is inspired by Hill’s early experience as a milkman for Hann’s Dairies in Eastleigh, Hampshire. Market Street, mentioned in the lyrics, is a real-life street in Eastleigh. The song tells the fictional exploits of Ernie Price, a 52-year-old milkman who drives a horse–drawn milk cart. It relates his feud with the bread delivery man (“Two-Ton Ted” from Teddington) and their efforts to win the heart of Sue, a widow who lives alone at No. 22, Linley Lane. When Ted sees Ernie’s cart outside Sue’s house all afternoon, he becomes enraged and violently kicks Price’s horse, Trigger. The two men resort to a duel, using the wares they carry on their respective carts for weapons, and Ernie is killed by a rock cake underneath his heart, followed by a stale pork pie in his eye; in the original television version it was a fresh meat pie. Sue and Ted then marry, but Ernie’s ghost returns to haunt them on their wedding night.

The Milk Bottle   – The Shape

This record has been modelled into a vintage traditional glass milk bottle as used by milkmen. This particular style had a foil top coloured to denote the type of milk that the bottle contained. Fresh milk was delivered daily to the doorstep and old bottles collected at the same time for reuse.

Glass milk bottles are glass bottles used for milk and are generally reusable and returnable. Milk bottles are used mainly for doorstep delivery of fresh milk by milkmen: retail store sale is available in some regions (with bottle deposit). After customers have finished the milk they are expected to rinse the empty bottles and leave it on the doorstep for collection, or return it to the retail store. The standard size of a bottle varies with location, common sizes are pint, quart, Litre, etc.

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