B-side "Something to Say" Format 7" vinyl | Released 1972 Recorded 1972 Label RAK | |
"Living Next Door to Alice" is a song co-written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Originally released by the Australian vocal harmony trio New World in 1972, the song charted at No. 35 on the Australian chart. The song later became a worldwide hit for British band Smokie.
Contents
Plot
The song is about a young man's long-standing love, Alice, who's also the girl next door and his neighbour of 24 years, which is left unrequited after she moves away. The protagonist had seen a limousine parked at Alice's home and begins to reflect on childhood memories and his friendship with Alice, and becomes heartbroken as he sees Alice get inside the limousine.
As he watches the car drive out of sight, the protagonist feels regret about two things:
- Alice leaving without explanation;
- That, in 24 years, he never took the opportunity to express his feelings for her.
Another female character in the song is Sally, another long-time neighbour of the main protagonist who is introduced early in the song. In the song's first verse, she reminds the protagonist of Alice's impending departure. Sally, who later tells the man that he now must get over Alice, then states that she in turn has been waiting for him for 24 years. But the man fails to acknowledge her and reaffirms that he'll "never get used to not living next door to Alice."
Smokie versions
In November 1976, the British band Smokie released their version of "Living Next Door to Alice". The single peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart and, in March 1977, reached 25 in the United States. It was a number one hit in Austria, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. Smokie collaborated on a parody version in 1995 with comedian Roy 'Chubby' Brown, which peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, selling almost half a million copies.
Gompie version
It spawned a more risqué version in 1995 by the Dutch novelty act Gompie, titled "Alice, Who the Fuck Is Alice?". Their version topped the charts in the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders), and reached the top 10 in Austria, Germany, Norway and Switzerland. In the UK, the song peaked at number 17, but its sales topped 150,000 despite its low peak.
Gompie is a project of Peter Koelewijn and Rob Peters. Peters, while visiting a bar called Gompie in Nijmegen, heard "Living Next Door to Alice" by Smokie. After the name Alice in the song, the disc jockey Onno Pelser turned down the volume and the crowd sang 'Alice, who the fuck is Alice?'. Peters realized it could become a hit record, contacted Koelewijn and a day later the song was recorded and released under the name Gompie.
The success of this version resulted in various similar versions, including a new recording by Smokie with blue comedian Roy 'Chubby' Brown. A dance version of "Alice, Who the Fuck Is Alice?" was released by The Steppers, reaching No. 2 on the Australian charts in September 1995. Actor Alan Fletcher, who plays doctor Karl Kennedy in the soap opera Neighbours, took up the song as "Who the Fuck Is Susan?" at fan events, in reference to his erstwhile fictional wife.
Other cover versions
in 1981 South Korea ver band Oxen 80 titled ( In A Lonely Night ).
Concurrent with Smokie's American success with the song, country music singer Johnny Carver released his own version of "Living Next Door to Alice". Carver's version peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in April 1977.
In 1996, Jimmy Sturr recorded the song under the title "Alice" on his album Polka! All Night Long.
The 1996 album The Smurfs Go Pop! by The Smurfs included a song to the same tune, titled "Smurfland".
The anti-Islamist street protest group the English Defence League sing "Allah, Allah, who the fuck is Allah?"
The Danish singer Flemming "Bamse" Jørgensen covered the song as 'Alice' on his 1977 solo debut Din Sang.
In 2016, to celebrate their team's success in qualifying for the finals of the 2016 European Championships in France, a group of London-based Northern Ireland football fans released their own cover version, as "Making Our Way To Paris" by The London Green And White Army, featuring Jinski.
Translations
In Finnish, the song was recorded in 1977 by Kari Tapio, with the title "Viisitoista kesää" (Fifteen summers). The arrangement is by Veikko Samuli and the Finnish lyrics by Juha Vainio.
In Norwegian, there is a translation, "I 24 år har jeg bodd i samme gård som Anne". There are also other songs to the same tune. "Storholt, Stensen, Stenshjemmet, Sjøbrend åsså'n Hjallis" deals about the famous Norwegian speed skating team known as The Four Aces. The single was released in 1977 by Stein Ingebrigtsen & Store Stå and peaked at No. 3 in the Norwegian VG-lista.
A German version of the song, titled "Tür an Tür mit Alice", was a hit for Howard Carpendale in 1977. The single peaked at No. 8 in Germany and Switzerland and at No. 11 in Austria.
In Czechoslovakia the song was released on 21 February 1973 under the title "Alenka v říši divů" (Alice in Wonderland), performed by Karel Zich. There has also been a parody under the name Denis in Czech Republic.
In former Yugoslavia, Toni Montano made a song based on original tune and named it '10 godina' ('10 years').
A Russian version of the song, titled "Элис" (Alice) was released by Конец фильма(Movie End) rock band in 2001 as the closing song of their studio album Soundtracks (Goodbye, innocence)