Up Pompeii

Album: Up Pompeii (1971)
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Songfacts®:

  • Up Pompeii was a British TV series featuring the comedian Frankie Howerd (1917-92). Howerd, who was renowned for his deadpan humor, caustic wit and double entendres, played the narrator, a Roman slave named Lurcio (pronouced lurk-ee-o). Other characters in the series had names like Erotica, Ludicrus and Nausius.
  • The British Library holds the sheet music for the theme song from the 1971 film version of Up Pompeii, which was also used for the series. Words and Music were by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley; it was recorded by Howerd on Columbia and published by Coronado Music Ltd and KPM Music Group of London, retailing for 20p.

    The song could have been written by Howerd himself judging by the lyrics: "I nev-er seem to get it Oh Up Pom-peii." The B-side was "Salute," pronounced salut-ay, which was another of Lurcio's double entendres. The great irony is that although he was always making suggestive remarks and comments about nubile young women and telling borderline jokes, both as Lurcio and in his regular stand up comedy routines, Howerd was homosexual. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

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