"Shaddap You Face" 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 ...

written and performed by

Joe Dolce Joseph Dolce (, originally ; born October 13, 1947) is an American-Australian singer, songwriter, poet and essayist. Dolce achieved international recognition with his multi-million-selling novelty song, " Shaddap You Face", released worldwide un ...

(also released under the name Joe Dolce Music Theatre in certain countries) about a rebellious Italian boy. Released in late 1980, it set a number of sales and longevity records. It was released by Mike Brady's record label

Full Moon Records Full Moon Records was an American record label existing from 1974 to 1992. Prominent signed acts included Chicago, Joe Walsh, and Dan Fogelberg. Beginning in 1974 with Fogelberg, Full Moon Records was originally a subsidiary "spin-off" label ...

. By February 1981, the single had sold over 290,000 units in Australia, surpassing Brady's own "

Up There Cazaly "Up There Cazaly" is 1979 song by Mike Brady, written to promote Channel Seven's coverage of the Victorian Football League (VFL). It was first performed by the Two-Man Band, a duo of Brady and Peter Sullivan, and has since become an unofficial ...

" to become Australia's best-selling single ever.

Writing

Dolce, who is Italian-American, said he wrote "Shaddap You Face" based on memories of his childhood, when his family members would speak in

broken English Broken English is a term often used to describe non-standard, non-traditionally spoken or alternatively-written version of the English language. This term is often considered derogatory and has been used to invalidate non-standard or "low pre ...

Sales

"Shaddap You Face" went to number one for eight weeks on the Australia

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 ...

in 1980. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart on 21 February 1981 and stayed there for three weeks until 8 March 1981, keeping Ultravox's single "

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

" out of the top spot throughout. The song became the 15th biggest hit of 1981 in the UK. "Shaddap You Face" was also number one in 11 other countries. There have been over 50 different foreign language cover versions, and hundreds more published informally on YouTube with new versions of the song being recorded and uploaded every year. In the US, the song peaked at number 53 in 1981 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 43 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100, and number 24 on ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

''. However, it was regularly played on the

Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

show to the point of being number six on the year-end Funny 25 that year. In the Canadian province of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, "Shaddap You Face" reached number one for twelve weeks.

Other versions

Lou Monte released a cover of the song in 1981. Other notable cover versions have been done by

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...

(hip-hop), EMF (British),

Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Spanish waite ...

(

Manuel Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name), a given name and surname * Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel I of Portugal, king of Po ...

in the British television sitcom ''

Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional ...

''), Werner Böhm, alias: Gottlieb Wendehals (German, title: ), Sheila (French, titled: ), Dingetje (Dutch, titled: ), De Strangers (dialect from Antwerp, Belgium, titled: ), (German, titled: ),

Franco Franchi Francesco Benenato (18 September 1928 – 9 December 1992), known as Franco Franchi, was an Italian actor, comedian and singer. He was born in Palermo, Sicily and began his career in the 1950s, although his career only really took off in the ...

with the duo Franco e Ciccio (Italian, title: ), a

Yindjibarndi language Yinjibarndi is a Pama–Nyungan language spoken by the Yindjibarndi people of the Pilbara region in north-western Australia. Yinjibarndi is mutually intelligible with Kurrama, but the two are considered distinct languages by their speakers. ...

version by Gnarnyarrhe Waitairie, a Papua New Guinean version by the Breeze Band (title: –

Tok Pisin Tok Pisin ( ,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh ; ), often referred to by English speakers as New Guinea Pidgin or simply Pidgin, is an English-based creole languages, English creole language spoken throughou ...

version), and a spoken word interpretation by Samuel L. Jackson. A Czech interpretation written by Zdeněk Borovec, , performed by

Helena Vondráčková Helena Vondráčková (born 24 June 1947, in Prague) is a Czech people, Czech singer and actress whose prolific career as a performer has spanned more than six decades, earning her acclaim both domestically and internationally. Recognized for h ...

and

Jiří Korn Jiří Korn (born 17 May 1949) is a Czech singer-songwriter and actor from Prague who has been active since 1967. Internationally, his single ''Miss Moskva'' received radio play in most European countries, including France, Germany, Croatia, Hun ...

, was a hit in Czechoslovakia in 1981. The National Folk Festival in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

featured 'The Inspired Shaddap You Face Contest' in April 2006. Festival artists were invited to perform their interpretations of the classic song. The Cygnet Folk Festival in Tasmania featured the second 'Inspired Shaddap You Face Contest' in the following year. Joe Dolce was invited to be the MC at both events.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Parodies

"Bite Your Bum", a parody of "Shaddap You Face", was made in 1981 by Australian artists Peter Plus with Bazz and Pilko (

Barry Ion Barry Vincent Ion (born 9 October 1941) is a former Australian rules footballer and radio personality. He played with Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL), Yarraville in the Victorian Football Association (VFA), and Woodville in t ...

and Tony Pilkington). It reached No. 32 in New Zealand. Another parody was composed in 1991 for a McCain pizza slices television commercial in the United Kingdom, entitled "Fillap You Face" (fill up your face).

References

External links

Joe Dolce official websiteJoe Dolce official Facebook Page
{{Authority control 1980 songs 1980 singles 1981 singles Australian pop songs Novelty songs Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Belgium European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Germany Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Switzerland UK singles chart number-one singles Songs about fictional male characters Full Moon Records singles Epic Records singles MCA Records singles