Who Do You Think You're Kidding, Mr. Hitler?

Album: Masters (1969)
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Songfacts®:

  • "Who Do You Think You're Kidding, Mr. Hitler?" was the signature tune of Dad's Army, a BBC TV comedy series based on the Home Guard, which had been lampooned during the Second World War by Noël Coward in "Could You Please Oblige Us With A Bren Gun?"
  • Dad's Army ran for eighty episodes between 1968 and 1977; there were also a number of radio episodes, a film, and various spin-offs, including the Dad's Army Appreciation Society.

    The theme song is so authentic that it has often been mistaken for a genuine World War II ditty, although it was actually co-written by Jimmy Perry and Derek Taverner. Perry, who provided the lyrics, also wrote the script, in collaboration with David Croft, and recruited World War II comic Bud Flanagan to sing the song; it was the former Crazy Gang member's last recording; he died later the same year.
  • "Who Do You Think You're Kidding, Mr Hitler?" was released on the Pye label in 1969, and re-released in 1975; the B Side was "It Ain't Gonna Rain On Me Mo!" by Bernard Bedford & Chorus. A different edit was used for the actual TV series. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 3

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