"Duncan" is an Australian single recorded in 1980 by
Slim Dusty
Slim Dusty, AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon, referred to universally as Australia's Ki ...
which reached No. 1 on the
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...
charts for two weeks in early 1981. The song was Dusty's second-most successful single after "
A Pub with No Beer".
It is also known as "Beer with Duncan", "Have a Beer with Duncan" and "I Love to Have a Beer with Duncan". It was written by Pat Alexander.
Genesis

"Duncan"'s music and lyrics were written by Pat Alexander,
who started writing its main verse in 1976.
Alexander had been selling
life insurance
Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract
A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typical ...
and spent some time talking and drinking with a prospective customer, factory owner Duncan Urquhart, at the Town and Country Hotel in
St Peters, New South Wales
St Peters is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 7 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of Inner West Council, w ...
.
He failed to make the sale, but realised Urquhart merely enjoyed having a drink with him.
[ Note: The source has "I had written in the pits – in 1974" but also has "Five years earlier, the song had come straight out of an experience" implying that it was written in 1976.]
"Duncan" was Alexander's only commercially successful song.
[
]
Slim Dusty recording
In June 1980, Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...
was making his first bid to become Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...
. Alexander, who was working in the ABC TV mail room, recorded a novelty song
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...
, "The Bob Hawke Song", which was broadcast on ABC News. Alexander pressed two hundred 7" vinyl records of "The Bob Hawke Song", with "Duncan" on the B-side, and sent them out to radio stations and performers.
Dusty was recording ''The Slim Dusty Family'' in September 1980 and recalled his wife Joy McKean playing the demo 7" to him saying "This is a bit different, put it on and have a listen." McKean recalled telling Dusty "You could adapt it to suit all different names and it's really catchy!"
The song was recorded by Dusty in October 1980, with arrangement by Garry Marks. McKean recalled "we had the Saltbush bass player... and it is Paul Pyle's voice that calls out 'One more!' at the end." The score was published by Private Practise and became a "good seller". Dusty's version is scored for piano and guitar in the key of E♭ major, with a voice range of B♭3–B♭4.
The single was released on EMI's Columbia label in November 1980 and was played by John Laws
Richard John Sinclair Laws CBE (born 8 August 1935) is a retired Australian radio announcer who had a broadcasting career that spanned 71 years. His distinctive voice earned him the nickname ''Golden Tonsils''.
Career
Best known as a talkback ...
on radio station 2UE
2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales.
History 1920s 2EU
Electrical Utilities applied to the P ...
eleven times the first morning. In order to assist in promoting the song Dusty provided special recordings which included the radio announcers' names. The official video for the song was filmed at the Town and Country Hotel and starts with Duncan Urquhart sitting to Dusty's left and Pat Alexander to Dusty's right.
The song climbed the Australian charts, hitting No. 1 on the Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...
singles chart for 16 February 1981 and 23 February 1981. It charted for 23 weeks, and became the No. 16 biggest selling single in Australia in 1981 and was certified gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
. In New Zealand, it entered the RIANZ
Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...
chart at No. 7 on 5 April 1981, remaining in the top 50 for 10 weeks. It did not chart elsewhere, although it did receive considerable airplay on the BBC in the UK.
"Duncan" was first included on Dusty's 1981 album, ''No. 50: The Golden Anniversary Album'' and appeared on eight subsequent releases: ''Beer Drinking Songs of Australia'' (1986), ''91 Over 50'' (1996), ''The Very Best of Slim Dusty'' (1998), ''The Man Who Is Australia'' (2000), ''A Piece of Australia'' (2001), ''Slim Dusty Live'' (2006), ''Pubs, Trucks & Plains'' (2008) and ''The Very Best of Slim Dusty'' (2013).
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Later uses
When Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
politician Duncan Kerr was running for the Division of Denison
Division may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
* Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...
in Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
in 1987, his advertising campaign was based on the song "Duncan". Kerr won the seat and remained the local member until 2010.
Dusty re-recorded the song with Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably the didgeridoo and the Stylophone, and is credited with the inventi ...
in 1996. Dusty also recorded a version of the song in 2000, "I Love to Have a Dance with Dorothy", with The Wiggles
The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. As of 2022, the group members are Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce, Tsehay Hawkins, Evie Ferris, John Pearce (entertainer), John Pearce, Caterina Mete ...
, which appeared on the Wiggles' tenth album, '' It's a Wiggly Wiggly World''.
References
External links
* (official Slim Dusty channel)
{{authority control
Slim Dusty songs
Number-one singles in Australia
1980 songs
Columbia Graphophone Company singles
Songs about beer