Last Night in Soho (song)
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| "Last Night in Soho" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the single released in Italy | ||||
| Single by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich | ||||
| B-side | "Mrs. Thursday" | |||
| Released | 28 June 1968 | |||
| Recorded | 31 May 1968[1] | |||
| Studio | Philips (London) | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic pop | |||
| Length | 3:17 | |||
| Label | Fontana | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Steve Rowland | |||
| Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Last Night in Soho" is a single by English pop band Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, released by Fontana on 28 June 1968. Written by the band's regular songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, it was the follow-up to the chart topper "The Legend of Xanadu" and gave the band their final top-ten placing on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 8.[2]
"Last Night in Soho" is described in Colin Larkin's Encyclopedia of Popular Music as "a leather-boy motorbike saga portraying lost innocence in London's most notorious square mile".[3] Songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley wrote the song with "a strong visual image" in mind, prompted by a comment made by Dave Dee.[4][5] The duo were keen to write a song about a British city to counter the many famous songs about cities like New York and Paris.[4] In contrast to the exotic themes of the band's previous singles "Zabadak!" and "The Legend of Xanadu", the song is set in Soho, an area in the West End of London renowned for much of the 20th century as a base for the city's sex industry and night life. It concerns an ex-convict who attempts to go straight for the sake of his lover, but succumbs to temptation after reuniting with his hoodlum friends.[6] The final verse finds him heading for a prison sentence and bidding a regretful farewell to his lover.[7][8] Writer Rob Chapman has described the song as "a psycho-drama set in Gangland" with "a middle eight straight out of Lionel Bart and Joan Littlewood".[8]
The song incorporates a dramatic orchestral arrangement by Reg Tilsley. A detuning hammond organ signifies the arrival of the police.[4] Frontman Dave Dee considered the song more serious than previous hits for his band, telling Disc and Music Echo "Nobody can say that we've made repetitive records in the past. They were gimmicky but always different from each other. But there comes a time when you must progress and try something a little straighter". The song was Dee's favourite of his band's hits.[9]
Release
"Last Night in Soho", backed with the band's own composition "Mrs. Thursday", was released by Fontana on 28 June 1968.[10] Dave Dee preferred "Last Night in Soho" to the band's previous hit, "The Legend of Xanadu".[11] The band were photographed with a motorcycle in front of a Soho strip bar in promotion of the single[9] and performed it on the 4 July edition of Top of the Pops.[12] Tich Amery reflected: "For that one we had the striped waist-coats and black leather – the big motorbike – it was that kind of photograph."[11] The song peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart, ultimately spending eleven weeks on the chart. It was Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich's final top ten single.[2][11]
