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Quite by accident, I got interested in a song by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO): Mr Blue Sky, which was 'performed' during a recent rally in Ireland---having to do with some funding for the Arts issue. ELO seem to have recorded this song before I got to be aware of them as the band that was featured in the eighties musical Xanadu, starring Olivia (what a babe) Newton-John (and, of course, Gene Kelly, of "Singing in the Rain" fame).
ELO originated in Birmingham, and perhaps it's this fact that causes their dialect to be so thick; even the Beatles at their worst would sing quite clearly. (In fact, when singing, the Beatles seemed to mimic American pronunciation.) From Gerry & the Pacemakers, Herman's Hermits and the Monkees, for instance, you got very thick dialect. (I realize these other bands were not from Birmingham!)The song, Mr Blue Sky has all the innocent delight of Here Comes the Sun. (Someone evidently loved the four opening chords of Paul McCartney's Yesterday, and used them to open Mr B.S. to good effect.)
On YouTube, there is a delightful cover of MrBS by the British artist Lily Allen, who has a very charming voice, remarkably suited to this particular song. But I wonder whether that pounding beat can't be replaced by something just as energetic, but perhaps a little more sophisticated? [On second thoughts, Ms Allen wreaks her own kind of havoc on the lyrics, with those glottal stop things they do over there. Perhaps there's something about the song that requires a sort of strong regional accent...]
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