The Frog Speaks

frogSo yesterday, I was discussing Chris Evans and showing some captures of the 1988 videos from the Chart Show, including “The King of Rock ‘N’ Roll”. And it occurred to me today that there was a little postscript linking those two themes.

Let’s start by pointing out that you never see the Frog Butler and a Teenage Ninja Turtle in the same room at the same time. Dark forces at play? Well maybe. Or perhaps we should skip past that thought, and imagine the label telexing around props agencies looking for a “fibreglass frogs head and three (3) danceable hot dog costumes”.

It’s this sort of slightly prosaic reality encroachment when you really think about it that I love about this video actually. Like the fact it’s filmed when the leaves are off the trees but they still make the pretty pool boy jump into the pool.

So what links this post and yesterday’s? Well Chris Evans played the song on his radio show, and various pieces of speculation followed, including about the song lyrics and so on. Evans is a bit of a fan, and apart from fairly regularly playing “Cars and Girls”, he gave a debut to “Let There Be Music” on his evening Radio 2 show in 2009. Transferred to the breakfast slot in 2012, his discussion of the lyrics caused the actor who had played the part of the frog in the video, Andrew Harris, to make himself known. Evans interviewed him on air the next morning. And fascinating detail ensues.

As an aside, the clip also demonstrates the confused state of the Great British Public as regards this song. Many hear “Hot Dog, Jumping Frog, Have a Cookie”. Others apparently think it’s “Jumping Fire”. Very few people get the Abba reference. And it does have one of the cleverest and most self deprecating opening lyrics of anything in Paddy’s oeuvre. It is a much better song than most people think.

Anyone wanting to can download the audio here.

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