To Be Or Not To Be

Album: Initial Success (1980)
Charted: 9
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Released three years before the Mel Brooks song, this B.A. Robertson composition was produced by Terry Britten. There were no fewer than four releases on the Asylum label in 1980; the UK version was backed by "Language Of Love" and "Hot Shot"; the German version by "Language Of Love" alone.

    The censor also had a hand in it due to Robertson's speculation that William Shakespeare was "queer" - an absurd suggestion though far from an original one. It is also not true that the tragic Hamlet "made it" with his mother, a suggestion that would be better suited to a rap artist! At the beginning of the play, Prince Hamlet returns home to attend his father's funeral only to find his mother had already remarried - to his uncle. It is this Hamlet alludes to as incest. In 1560, the Church of England drew up a "forbidden marriage" list, and it was actually illegal for a woman to marry her husband's brother; this remained the case until the Twentieth Century. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."