"Tongue Tied" is a song by

Danny John-Jules Daniel John-Jules (born 16 September 1960) is a British actor, singer and dancer. He is best known for playing Cat (Red Dwarf), Cat in the sci-fi comedy series ''Red Dwarf'', Barrington in the comic children's series ''Maid Marian and Her Merry M ...

(credited as "

The Cat The Cat may refer to: Nickname * Mathilde Carré (1910-2007), French spy, double and possibly triple agent * Peter Bonetti (1941–2020), English footballer * Greg Cattrano (born 1975), American lacrosse player * Ernest Miller (born 1964), Amer ...

") featured in the 1988 ''

Red Dwarf A red dwarf is the smallest kind of star on the main sequence. Red dwarfs are by far the most common type of fusing star in the Milky Way, at least in the neighborhood of the Sun. However, due to their low luminosity, individual red dwarfs are ...

'' episode " Parallel Universe" and released as a single in 1993.

Original version (1983)

"Tongue Tied" had its origins in the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

comedy series '' Son of Cliché'' in 1983.

Rob Grant Robert Grant is an English comedy writer, television producer and co-creator of the ''Red Dwarf'' comedy franchise. Since ''Red Dwarf'', Grant has written two television series, ''The Strangerers'' and ''Dark Ages (TV series), Dark Ages'', and ...

and

Doug Naylor Douglas Rodger Naylor (born 31 December 1955) is an English comedy writer, science fiction writer, director and television producer. Life and career Naylor was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, and studied at Chetham's School of Music ...

wrote the lyrics for the comedic love song, in which the words of the chorus are delivered in an increasingly-unintelligible manner by the lovestruck singer. Peter Brewis composed the music for "Tongue Tied" and the song's vocals were provided by

Nick Wilton Nicholas Wilton is an English actor and scriptwriter. He has appeared as Mr Lister in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' as a recurring character; he has also appeared in '' Carrott's Lib'' and ''Jackanory''. Early life Wilton studied Englis ...

. The song was included in the first season of ''Son of Cliché'', featuring in an episode broadcast on 11 October 1983.

''Red Dwarf'' version (1988)

In 1988, "Tongue Tied" was retooled for use in Grant and Naylor's science fiction sitcom ''

''. Grant and Naylor extensively rewrote the lyrics and new music was provided by series composer

Howard Goodall Howard Lindsay Goodall (; born 26 May 1958) is an English composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. He also presents music-based programmes for television and radio, for which he has won many awards. In May 2008, he was name ...

. In the documentary feature ''Settling the Score'' included in the ''Red Dwarf VI'' DVD (2005), Goodall claimed the

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

song "

Chain Reaction A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events. Chain reactions are one way that sys ...

" was an influence on his music for "Tongue Tied." "Tongue Tied" was staged and filmed on 9 July 1988 as an upbeat-pop song-and-dance number for " Parallel Universe", broadcast on 11 October 1988 as the final episode of the second season of ''Red Dwarf''. The song was choreographed by

Charles Augins Charles Augins is an American actor, dancer and choreographer for stage and screen. A native of Virginia, in 1981 Augins choreographed Ray Davies' first musical '' Chorus Girls'', at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, London, as well as appear ...

(who had an onscreen role in the ''Red Dwarf'' episode "

Queeg ''The Caine Mutiny'' is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard two destroyer-minesweepers in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Among its themes, it deals with the mora ...

") and sung by

in character as

the Cat The Cat may refer to: Nickname * Mathilde Carré (1910-2007), French spy, double and possibly triple agent * Peter Bonetti (1941–2020), English footballer * Greg Cattrano (born 1975), American lacrosse player * Ernest Miller (born 1964), Amer ...

. "Parallel Universe" begins with the Cat using a dream recorder, attempting to find a specific dream. He views a dream in which he sings "Tongue Tied" with Lister (

Craig Charles Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2 ...

) and Rimmer (

Chris Barrie Chris Barrie (born Christopher Jonathan Brown; 28 March 1960) is a British actor and comedian. He worked as a vocal impressionist on the ITV sketch show '' Spitting Image'' (1984–1996) and as Lara Croft's butler Hillary in '' Lara Croft: ...

), with dancers in the background. The version of the song included in the episode is a trimmed-down edit of the entire performance. An instrumental version of "Tongue Tied" appears during the disco scene in the middle of the episode. Instrumental versions can also be heard elsewhere in the second season of ''Red Dwarf'' (in the Ganymede Holiday Inn in "

Stasis Leak "Stasis Leak" is the fourth episode of the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' series two and tenth in the series run. It premiered on the British television channel BBC2 on 27 September 1988. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed b ...

" and in the restaurant in "

Better Than Life ''Better Than Life'' is a science fiction comedy novel by Grant Naylor, the collective name for Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, co-creators and writers of the ''Red Dwarf'' television series, on which the novel is based. The main plotline was devel ...

").

Danny John-Jules version (1993)

Danny John-Jules later re-recorded an R&B version of "Tongue Tied" as a single release by "The Cat" in 1993. The song was recorded in

Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from South to North, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello ...

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...

and accompanied by a music video featuring John-Jules in character as the Cat and

Duane Dibbley This is a list of characters from the TV sitcom ''Red Dwarf''. Major characters Overview Details Alter egos Ace Rimmer Arnold "Ace" Rimmer is an alter-ego of Arnold Rimmer, also played by Chris Barrie. Ace first appears in the episod ...

, backed by fellow ''Red Dwarf'' cast members Chris Barrie, Craig Charles,

Robert Llewellyn Robert Llewellyn (born 10 March 1956) is a British actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He plays the Android (robot), mechanoid Kryten in the Science fiction, sci-fi television sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and formerly presented the engineering gam ...

Norman Lovett Norman Lovett (born 31 October 1946) is a British stand-up comedian and actor best known for his portrayal of Holly, the ship's computer in ''Red Dwarf''. Career Lovett became a stand-up comedian in his thirties, initially supporting punk b ...

, and

Hattie Hayridge Hattie Hayridge (born 17 December 1959) is a British comedian and actress, best known for the role of the female version of Holly (Red Dwarf), Holly in ''Red Dwarf'' during the third, fourth and fifth series. She was described as a "cult figure ...

, as well as Charles Augins and

Elvis impersonator An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and rock singer Elvis Presley. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the wor ...

Clayton Mark (who guest-starred in the 1991 ''Red Dwarf'' episode " Meltdown"). Vanessa Morris, a model and friend of John-Jules, appears in the video as "Kit," a female equivalent of the Cat and the object of the Cat's affections. (In "Parallel Universe," the song in which "Tongue Tied" had appeared before, the Cat bemoaned not having a "female opposite" as Rimmer and Lister have.) The "Tongue Tied" music video was directed by Danny John-Jules under the alias "A1 DJJ." The "Tongue Tied" single was released on 11 October 1993 (ten years to the day after the original version of the song premiered in ''Son of Cliché''), coinciding roughly with the launch of the sixth season of ''Red Dwarf'' on television. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 18 and peaked at number 17. John-Jules was unable to promote the song in ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' due to commitments in a London play. The VHS release ''Tongue Tied: The Video'' contained a 30-minute short film. The first 20 minutes comprises a longform version of the "Tongue Tied" music video, with a framing device starring Danny John-Jules as Leo Davis, a cleaner in a film studio. The video gives speaking roles to Vanessa Morris' Kit and Clayton Mark's Elvis, as well as walk-on appearances by the comic book character

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of the British weekly anthology Comic book, comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977). He is the magazi ...

and his namesake, English

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

musician

Judge Dread Alexander Minto Hughes (2 May 1945 – 13 March 1998), better known as Judge Dread, was an English reggae and ska musician. He was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica, and the BBC has banned more of his songs from ...

. John-Jules also plays a

ragga Raggamuffin music (or simply ragga) is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music with heavy use of sampling. Wayne Smith's " Under Mi Sleng Teng", produced by King Jammy in 1985 on a ...

singer, Tabby Ranks (a parody of

Shabba Ranks Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon OD (born 17 January 1966), better known by his stage name Shabba Ranks, is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throu ...

), who performs an alternate mix of "Tongue Tied." The final 10 minutes of the short film is a behind-the-scenes featurette which includes footage of the music video shoot and John-Jules being interviewed by author/journalist Jane Killick.

Home media

The full version of the 1988 ''Red Dwarf'' version of "Tongue Tied" is included as an extra feature in the ''Red Dwarf II'' DVD (2003). The original 1983 Peter Brewis version of "Tongue Tied" (with Nick Wilton's vocals) and the 1988 demo version (with music and vocals by Howard Goodall) are included as extra features in the DVD set ''Red Dwarf: The Bodysnatcher Collection'' (2007); clearance issues prevented the inclusion of Danny John-Jules' 1993 version of the song (which was not an official

Grant Naylor Grant Naylor was a writing partnership between Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and the name of the pair's company, Grant Naylor Productions. As a pseudonym, it was used for their collaborative work, including the novelisation of the television serie ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

-sanctioned release).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tongue Tied Songs written for television series British songs 1993 debut singles 1988 songs Songs written by Howard Goodall Red Dwarf