Mouldy Old Dough – Lieutenant Pigeon (1972)

Description

Additional information about this, Lieutenant Pigeon vinyl art.

Lieutenant Pigeon – The Artist

Lieutenant Pigeon are an English novelty musical group popular in the early 1970s, originating from Coventry. A spin-off from an experimental music band Stavely Makepeace, the group was fronted by Rob Woodward and managed by him and drummer Nigel Fletcher. Other members included bassist Stephen Johnson. The group’s sound was dominated by a heavy honky-tonk-style piano played by Woodward’s mother, Hilda. Lieutenant Pigeon achieved two UK hits: “Mouldy Old Dough”, written by Woodward with bandmate Fletcher, followed by “Desperate Dan”. Both tracks were largely instrumental, with the titles providing virtually the only lyrics. “Mouldy Old Dough” (the title being an adaptation of the 1920s jazz phrase, “vo-de-o-do”) became the second biggest selling UK single of the year.

Mouldy Old Dough – The Song

“Mouldy Old Dough”  is an instrumental single, which was a hit for Lieutenant Pigeon. It was written by Nigel Fletcher and Rob Woodward and first produced by them under the name of their other band, Stavely Makepeace. Recorded in the front room of Woodward’s Coventry semi-detached house, it featured his mother Hilda Woodward on piano, in a boogie-woogie, honky-tonk, ragtime style. The only lyrics are the growled title “Mouldy Old Dough” and “Dirty Old Man” by Fletcher. When Fletcher asked what they meant, their author, Rob Woodward, said he had no idea. Despite initial disapproval from their long-term manager and friend, David Whitehouse, they went ahead with its release. It is the only British number one single to feature a mother and son. The song is widely regarded as the ‘theme song’ for the sport of Banger racing, where it is played at the start of races during the ‘rolling lap’.

The Banger Racing Car – The Shape

This record has been modelled into a silhouette of a battered banger racing car. Banger racing is a tarmac, dirt, shale and chalk track type of motorsport event popular in countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands. Old scrap vehicles are raced against one another, with the winner being the first to the checkered flag after a set number of laps. Contact to damage an opponent’s car is permitted and encouraged within the formula, with cars progressively becoming more damaged throughout an event. Races are held at an oval or tri-oval circuits that are up to 1⁄4 mile (440 yd; 400 m) long; however, on certain occasions, races are held in a figure of eight configurations. Banger racing is often confused with stock car racing, although there are differences between the two, despite often racing at the same tracks.

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