Bowser & Blue - Polka Dot Undies

Issued in Canada June 1986 on Justin Time 4503.

George Bowser, from Sussex, England, and Ricky Blue, from Liverpool, began playing '60s folk-rock music together in Montreal in October 1978. Prior to emigrating to Canada in 1970, George Bowser had played in a pre-Supertramp group with Rick Davies. At one point, he was a member of Katrina & The Waves, and on the first B&B album, they received playing assistance from both Davies and from Kimberly Rew, Alex Cooper and Vince de la Cruz of the Waves. Ricky Blue had been playing in bands and has been involved in media and music in Montreal for decades. B&B opened for Katrina & The Waves on their 1986 tour of Canada.

Always inclined toward musical comedy, they gave up covers and pop music for "bedroom ballads and toilet humor." They worked up an act of their comedy, incisive parodies and novelty songs and took it on the road to colleges and universities in 1984. Their first album was released on June 1st, 1985. "Polka Dot Undies" was the B-side of their debut single. Q107 Toronto picked it up, and it later became a much-requested track on "The Dr. Demento Show." Neither the single nor the album charted in RPM, though.

Since 1986, they have recorded an impressive number of albums, staged over a dozen theatrical shows, and currently have two DVDs of their performances. The duo won a Special Merit Award from the du Maurier Council for the Performing Arts in 1979, and three best-of awards from the Canadian Organization of Campus Activities. Former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said Bowser & Blue were his favorite band.

I worked at the long-defunct A&A Records store on Yonge Street in Toronto when Bowser & Blue's first album was released (without promotion, I might add), and nobody knew where to put it. So based on the caricature on the front, some dim bulb decided it should go in the Country section - where it sold absolutely zero copies. They were all returned, unsold. I'm happy to say that you can purchase this LP on CD now, from the Justin Time website. If you like this song, I urge you to check them out further.

To hear this record in stereo, type the following code - &fmt=18 - on the end of the URL and hit Enter to reload the page.

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• Bowser
• Blue
• Polka
• Dot
• Undies
• Dylan
• parody
• 1986
• Canadian
• novelty

[xhellonhighheels69x]

what rhymes with parcel? asshole maybe?

[mojofilter02]

@xhellonhighheels69x

We covered this a year ago. Read the whole comments section.

[louswire]

I love this song... ain't heard it in years... thanks for throwing down the tube... You a Dr Demento fan by any chance?

[mojofilter02]

@louswire

You're welcome. I listened to the Doctor occasionally in the '70s and '80s, but I never heard this song on his show. I am a Bowser and Blue fan, though.

[HippieGuitarBoy]

This sounds like a spoof on Bob Dylan. If you search for Dylan chords, you might find one similar to this.

[mojofilter02]

Well, there are only three chords in the whole song. How hard could it be?

[lmaoLoganlol]

god this is hilarious

[SundownerDrifting]

Gawd, I haven't thought about this tune in years! I miss Dr. Demento, no station in my area carries his show anymore!

Bowser & Blue also did the stream-of-consciousness soundtrack to the short film "Scant Sanity", didn't they? I loved that!

[carsonky]

Takes me right back to me as a teen in the 80s listening to the great DD. Thanks for the upload.

[dale19532]

very clever, esp Dyklan spoof

[mojofilter02]

Probably nowhere. It's a giant stretch to imagine that the Bowser & Blue catalogue has been published in tablature.

[igotacupprod]

Where can i get the guitar tab for this song?