Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da by Marmalade

Every New Zealand #1 single…

Marmalade

The Gaylords formed in Glasgow in 1961. Their name was inspired by the infamous post-war Chicago street gang. After they became one of Scotland’s most popular bands, they moved to London. The classic lineup of the band is notable for their harmony vocals and dual bass players – Graham Knight on four-string bass and Patrick Fairley with six strings. They sensibly rebranded, becoming Marmalade.

The inspiration behind the Marmalade name came when their manager was eating breakfast and across from him was a jar of marmalade featuring a Golliwog on the label, their manager said “it were staring me in the face as I were having my breakfast.”

Wikipedia

Marmlade supported Pink Floyd at the Marquee Club, then began their own residency. They enjoyed acclaim with ‘I See The Rain’, which Jimi Hendrix praised as the “best cut of 1967”.

CBS pressured them to record a hit record. They turned down ‘Everlasting Love’, which became a number-one hit for The Love Affair. Marmalade succumbed to pressure and recorded ‘Lovin’ Things’ – it’s a nice tune, but far less exciting than ‘I See The Rain’. They enjoyed their only UK number-one hit with a cover of The Beatles’ ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’. It also topped the charts in New Zealand.

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Paul McCartney demoed ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ in May 1968 after returning from Rishikesh. The group recorded it in July 1968, despite mixed feelings – Lennon referred to it as “more of Paul’s granny music s***”. Longtime recording engineer Geoff Emerick quit working with the band a day after McCartney and Martin clashed heads.

The song’s derived from reggae – the character Desmond is a tribute to reggae singer Desmond Dekker. McCartney accidentally messed up a line in the final verse. It ended up as “Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face”, but the other Beatles enjoyed the mistake and made McCartney keep it.

The tagline “Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah” was coined by Nigerian conga player Jimmy Scott-Emuakpor, an acquaintance of McCartney. According to Scott’s widow, as part of his stage act with his band Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, Scott would call out “Ob la di”, to which the audience would respond “Ob la da”, and he would then conclude: “Life goes on”

Wikipedia (edited for clarity)

The Beatles decided not to issue ‘Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da’ as a single, even though it’s one of the most immediate songs on The White Album. Marmalade took advantage of the gap in the market, releasing their own version.

My verdict

The Beatles’ version feels frenetic – Marmalade’s is more polished. The horn section adds to the song, while they drop the “bra” from the chorus.

Even though it’s one of The Beatles’ more irritating songs, it’s a competent cover, one that seems to be lost to history.

The Aftermath

Marmalade continued to enjoy hits through the early 1970s. They’re still active on the oldies circuit, although Graham Knight, the last original member, stopped playing in 2010.

• 1970s album reviews
• NZ #1 hits