Is This the Way to Amarillo?

Is This the Way to Amarillo? is a pop song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield and produced in 1971, which, in the version by Tony Christie, became a million-seller .

History of origin

Although the title was written by two Americans and is about an American city, it was only successful in Europe, whereas it remained almost unknown in the USA. Sedaka chose Amarillo as the location because he couldn't think of any other American city that rhymes with “willow” and “pillow”. The text is about a young man in love who goes to Amarillo , Texas to meet his partner.

Millionaire hit for Tony Christie

Tony Christie - (Is This the Way To) Amarillo

The original of the song comes from British pop tenor Tony Christie , who had the title produced by successful British authors Mitch Murray and Peter Callander . With their compositions, they were responsible for Tony Christie's entire career. The single was released on October 8, 1971 in Great Britain, where it only climbed to number 17 on the charts. In Germany , Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden and Spain, however, the single reached first place in the charts and was awarded a gold record in September 1972.

Cover versions and parodies

Composer Neil Sedaka released his own version in the USA in May 1977, but it only reached number 44 on the charts.

In the 70s there were several other cover versions of the song, some with German lyrics like the versions by Roberto Blanco ( I'm coming back to Amarillo ; December 1971) and Mike Fender ( Verliebt verlor'n in Amarillo ; 1973). A Czech version (Kvitek Mandragory) was written by Helena Vondráčková (1972) and Karel Gott .

In 2003 the album “Soul Temptation” by the German heavy metal band “Brainstorm” was released with a cover version of “Amarillo”.

The title was rediscovered for the hit parade after the turn of the millennium, when Tony Christie's version was used as playback by the English comedian Peter Kay in a sketch of his TV show Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights and in some live performances . The song became really popular in the UK, and Kay parodied it again in 2005 in a video clip for the Comic Relief charity , in which he appeared with numerous celebrities (including Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen , Shakin 'Stevens , the Happy Mondays and Tony Christie himself). The re-released single then hit the UK charts on March 14, 2005, jumped to number 1 on the UK singles chart on March 20, 2005 , where it stayed for seven weeks, and eventually became the best-selling single of 2005. (The single was released with the misleading artist statement Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay , in fact this is not a new recording, but the version from 1971, without any further action by Kay.)

Kay's parodic video has itself been the subject of numerous parodies. A video made by a unit of the Royal Dragoon Guards stationed in Iraq made headlines . Originally intended only for friends and relatives, the video was forwarded so often by email that it caused a server at the UK Ministry of Defense to come to a standstill. The video, titled Is This The Way To Armadillo? (an allusion to a NATO base in Afghanistan ) then appeared on YouTube and other platforms and was even praised by then Defense Minister John Reid . Similar parodies were then posted on the Internet by Dutch, German and Australian soldiers.

Due to the simple refrain, the song became popular with football fans across Europe as a stadium song, the English football club Bolton Wanderers even uses it as a club anthem, as does Tony Christie's favorite club, Doncaster Rovers . For Werder Bremen there is a German version by the Original Deutschmachern and the Ostkurven fans with the title Weserstadion .

A version recorded together with the Hermes House Band reached the charts in Germany and Austria after its release on July 29, 2005. A version of Santa peaked at number 30 in the UK as a Christmas version that same year, and Christie himself recorded a 2006 World Cup version called (Is This the Way to) The World Cup , which launched on May 29, 2006 came and came in at number 8 again in his home country.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Singles , 1985, p. 321
2. ↑ website Kvitek Mandragory on Helena Vondráčkovás
3. ↑ BBC News of May 17, 2005, Amarillo video crashes MoD PCs
4. ↑ BBC News of May 18, 2005, 'Amarillo' soldiers hail response
5. ^ Rochdale Observer, March 19, 2005, Fans Adopt Amarillo
6. ↑ Doncaster Rovers FC from January 23, 2009, Free Audio: Is This The Way To Hammer Villa  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ Fange chants, entry Weserstadion (Amarillo)