"Summer Holiday"
Single by Cliff Richard, The Shadows and the Norrie Paramor Strings
from the album Summer Holiday
B-side"Dancing Shoes"
Released8 February 1963
Recorded9 May & 19 November 1962
StudioEMI Studios, London
GenrePop
Length2:03
LabelColumbia DB 4977[1]
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Norrie Paramor[1]
Cliff Richard, The Shadows and the Norrie Paramor Strings singles chronology
""The Next Time" / "Bachelor Boy""
(1962) 		"Summer Holiday"
(1963) 		"Lucky Lips"
(1963)
Audio sample

"Summer Holiday" is a song recorded by Cliff Richard and the Shadows, written by rhythm guitarist Bruce Welch and drummer Brian Bennett.[1] It is taken from the film of the same name,[1] and was released as the second single from the film in February 1963. It went to number one in the UK Singles Chart for a total of two weeks.[2] After that, the Shadows' instrumental "Foot Tapper"—also from the same film—took over the top spot for one week, before "Summer Holiday" returned to the top spot for one further week.[3] The track is one of Richard's best known titles and it remains a staple of his live shows. It was one of six hits Richard performed at his spontaneous gig at the 1996 Wimbledon Championships when rain stopped the tennis.

The melody of the song is used in the chorus of the 1986 rap tune "Holiday Rap", by the Dutch duo MC Miker G & DJ Sven.[4]

In 2019, the UK Government's Drinkaware campaign parodied Summer Holiday for a string of radio adverts and videos for the "No Alcoholiday" initiative to encourage people to have drink-free days.[5]

In 2023, this song is used for Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.

Chart performance

Summer Holiday

Chart (1963) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 3
Australia (Music Maker, Sydney)[7] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[9] 18
Canada (CHUM)[10] 1
Denmark (Quan Musikbureau)[11][12] 1
Finland (IFPI Finland)[13] 6
France (SNEP)[14] 46
Hong Kong[15][16] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 2
Israel (Kol)[7] 2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 2
New Zealand [15] 2[*]
Norway (VG-lista)[19] 1
Spain (Promusicae)[20] 1
South Africa (SARMDA)[7] 10
UK Singles (OCC)[21] 1

'Notes:

Dancing Shoes

The B-side "Dancing Shoes" also entered some charts, some of which are listed below.

Chart (1963) Peak
position
Hong Kong[11] 6
South Africa (SARMDA)[15] 4
UK (NME)[22] 25

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 70. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  2. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 147–8. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ^ "Number 1 Singles – 1960s". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  4. ^ "M.C.Miker"G" & Deejay Sven – Holiday Rap". discogs.com. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  5. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Enjoy more Drink Free Days each week with No Alcoholidays | Drinkaware". YouTube.
  6. ^ Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Turramurra, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book Pty. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
  7. ^ a b c Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Israel chart courtesy of Kol Israel Broadcasting, South Africa chart courtesy of Southern African Record Manufacturers and Distributors Association (25 May 1963). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 45. ISSN 0006-2510. ((cite book)): |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Cliff Richard & The Shadows – Summer Holiday" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  9. ^ "Cliff Richard & The Shadows – Summer Holiday" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  10. ^ "CHUM Chart".|
  11. ^ a b Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (4 May 1963). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 28. ISSN 0006-2510. ((cite book)): |author= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ "Denmark Singles Chart (Top 20/30) – Summer Holiday". danskehitlister.dk. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
  13. ^ Lassila, Juha (1990). Mitä Suomi soittaa?: Hittilistat 1954-87 (in Finnish). Jyväskylän yliopisto. ISBN 95-168-0321-0.
  14. ^ Select Cliff RICHARD from the drop-down selection box and click OK: "French Singles - Artists R". infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2020-10-18. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  15. ^ a b c Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (11 May 1963). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 36. ISSN 0006-2510. ((cite book)): |author= has generic name (help)
  16. ^ Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (18 May 1963). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 32–. ISSN 0006-2510. ((cite book)): |author= has generic name (help)
  17. ^ "Ireland singles charts". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  18. ^ "Cliff Richard – Summer Holiday" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  19. ^ "Cliff Richard – Summer Holiday". VG-lista.
  20. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 1979). Sólo éxitos: Año a año, 1959–2002. Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 978-84-8048-639-2.
  21. ^ "Cliff Richard: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  22. ^ Read, Mike; Lewry, Peter; Goodall, Nigel (1993). Cliff Richard - The Complete Chronicle. London: Hamlyn. p. 303. ISBN 0600578976. Retrieved 1 July 2013.

External links


Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard singles
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