"Right Said Fred" (also written "Right, Said Fred") is 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 ...

of 1962 written by Ted Dicks and Myles Rudge. It is about three moving men (Fred, Charlie, and the unnamed narrator) trying without success to move a large and unwieldy piece of furniture from an apartment. The item has feet, a seat, handles and candleholders and is never identified but is often interpreted as being a piano. In the animated film version (see below) it is depicted as such; however, in the 1970 television performance of the song on the sketch show ''Cribbins'' it is depicted as a kind of small

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

. The movers eventually give up after dismantling the piece of furniture and partially demolishing the building – including removing a door, a wall, and the ceiling – and taking numerous

tea break Tea culture refers to how tea is made and consumed, how people interact with tea, and the aesthetics surrounding tea drinking. Tea plays an important role in some countries. It is commonly consumed at social events, and many cultures have cre ...

s. The lyrics do not specify whether Fred recovers from "half a

ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

on the top of his dome" (slang for head) prior to the others having a final tea break and going home. Dicks said that he was inspired to write the song by events that transpired when he employed movers to move a

grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

he had bought. The band

Right Said Fred Right Said Fred are an English pop band formed by brothers Fred and Richard Fairbrass in 1989. They are best known for the hit 1991 song " I'm Too Sexy". History 1989–1991: Formation Prior to forming Right Said Fred, the Fairbra ...

is named after the song.

Recorded versions

"Right Said Fred" was recorded as a single by

Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over eight decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Ground" ...

and released by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

in 1962. It reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart. Cribbins recorded it at the

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

with musical accompaniment, directed by Johnnie Spence.

Sound effects A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In m ...

were added by the producer

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

, who would later become famous for his work with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. A short animated film based on the song was produced in the early 1960s. Made in black and white for television using

stop motion animation Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animation, animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appe ...

, it depicts the three workmen as puppets (modified from commercially available Bendy toys manufactured by Newfeld Ltd.), animated by

Bura and Hardwick Bura and Hardwick was the name credited to represent the duo of Bob Bura and John Hardwick, who worked variably as puppeteers and animators in the United Kingdom. From the mid-1950s to the 1980s they contributed to a number of children's telev ...

. The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

was the comedy love song "Quietly Bonkers", another Dicks-Rudge composition. The song was also recorded in 1966 by

Tommy Quickly Tommy Quickly (born Thomas Quigley, 7 July 1945) is an English rock and roll singer who recorded mostly in the early 1960s. He was a later signing of artist manager Brian Epstein, whose biggest act was the Beatles. He was born to Patrick Quigl ...

. That version was produced by

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein ( ; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was an English music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1961 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put hi ...

and backed by

Ian Whitcomb Ian Timothy Whitcomb (10 July 1941 – 19 April 2020) was an English entertainer, singer-songwriter, record producer, writer, broadcaster and actor. As part of the British Invasion, his hit song " You Turn Me On" reached number 8 on the ''B ...

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

, and the Blue Flames. ''

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by comed ...

'' actress

Judy Carne Joyce Audrey Botterill (27 April 1939 – 3 September 2015), known professionally as Judy Carne, was an English actress best remembered for the phrase "Sock it to me!" on ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''. Career Carne was born in Northampton, Eng ...

also recorded a version of the song as the B side of her 45 "Sock It To Me", which was released on

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...

in May 1969.

References

{{Authority control 1962 songs Songs written by Myles Rudge Songs written by Ted Dicks Novelty songs Bernard Cribbins songs Parlophone singles