22 November 2011
Newsdesk
Ireland’s very own superstars The Saw Doctors - whose “I Useta Lover” single is still the best-selling single of all time (spending nine weeks at No.1) in their native land - have teamed up with the iconic Petula Clark to record a version of that legendary chanteuse’s “Downtown”.
The song has been a live favourite in Saw Doctors’ shows for the past year and when the band asked Petula to re-record the vocal to her 1965 classic she was happy to comply. Petula also recently shot her parts for the song’s video in Paris. The single will be released on Shamtown Records via i-Tunes on 18th December 2011.
At the time of its release in 1965, ‘Downtown’ sold three million copies, hitting the No.1 slot in the US and becoming the first of fifteen consecutive Top 40 hits for Petula across the pond. Petula subsequently won a Grammy for "Best Rock & Roll Record" for Downtown and in 2003 her recording of Downtown was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame. She is still the best-selling female British solo artist of all time.
The Saw Doctors hit the headlines last week in UK newspapers and TV when it emerged that they had written a song about the new Irish president-elect Michael D. Higgins as long ago as 1994. The song entitled “Michael D. Rocking in the Dail” (Irish parliament) appeared on the b-side of their single “Small Bit Of Love” and heralded the appointment of the then newly elected Irish Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht.
In 2009 Universal released “To Win Just Once - The Best of The Saw Doctors” - ironically one of the band’s previous members had recently won the Irish Lotto! – the album reaching No. 3 in Ireland and achieving platinum status in the process. Last year The Saw Doctors released their seventh studio album “The Further Adventures of The Saw Doctors” and last Christmas the band reached No. 1 on i-Tunes with their accapella version of their 1991 song “Red Cortina”.
The Saw Doctors recently announced their 20th Anniversary UK Tour, details below:
The Saw Doctors- Nov/Dec 2011 Tour
Thur 24th Nov Stockton on Tees Arc
Fri 25th Nov Leeds O2 Academy
Sat 26th Nov Edinburgh Picture House
Sun 27th Nov Newcastle Tyne Theatre
Tue 29th Nov Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Thur 1st Dec Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Fri 2nd Dec London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
Sat 3rd Dec London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
Mon 5th Dec Bristol Colston Hall
Tue 6th Dec Exeter Lemon Grove
Wed 7th Dec Port Talbot Princess Royal
Fri 9th Dec Oxford O2 Academy
Sat 10th Dec Salisbury City Hall
Wed 11th Dec Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
Tue 13th Dec Leicester O2 Academy
Wed 14th Dec Sheffield Plug
Fri 16th Dec Glasgow Barrowland
Sat 17th Dec Manchester O2 Apollo
