‘Ullo John! Gotta New Motor? – Alexei Sayle (1982)

Description

Additional information about this, Alexei Sayle vinyl art.

Alexei Sayle – The Artist

Alexei David Sayle (born 1952) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, author and former recording artist, and was a central figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic of all time on Channel 4’s 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007.[ Much of Sayle’s humour is in the tradition of Spike Milligan and Monty Python, with riffs based on often absurd and surreal premises. His act is noted for its cynicism and political awareness, as well as physical comedy.

‘Ullo John! Gotta New Motor? – The Song

‘Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?’ is a rap song written by the comedian Alexei Sayle, originally released as a single in the UK in 1982. The single eventually achieved UK Top Twenty success in 1984, following a reissue. The song and its title have subsequently been adapted and reused in a number of different cultural contexts. The song feature Cockney phrasing and slang, often heavily stylised for comic effect. Hence, in the song’s title, ‘ullo’ is ‘hullo’ with a dropped-H, ‘John’ is a colloquial placeholder name (comparable to ‘mate’), and ‘motor’ is shortened slang for ‘motor car’. Several London place names are mentioned in the song, including Peckham, Bermondsey and Stanmore. Originally released in 1982, the song references several then topical themes, such as the ongoing construction of the Thames Barrier. Recurrent among these themes is the Ford Motor Company’s announced decision to replace the long-running Ford Cortina brand with the new Ford Sierra by September 1982. The song asserts the “poetry” of the Cortina, and the superior sound of the name “Cortina” to “Sierra”.

The Ford Cortina 2000E Saloon – The Shape

This record has been cut into a silhouette of the Ford Cortina 2000E Saloon as featured on the records sleeve. The Ford Cortina is a car that was built by Ford of Britain in various guises from 1962 to 1983, and was the United Kingdom’s best-selling car of the 1970s. The name was inspired by the name of the Italian ski resort Cortina d’Ampezzo, site of the 1956 Winter Olympics.

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