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The Laughing Gnome

"The Laughing Gnome"
Cover of the 1967 Belgian single
Single by David Bowie
B-side"The Gospel According to Tony Day"
Released14 April 1967 (1967-04-14)
Recorded26 January, 7 and 10 February, 8 March 1967
StudioDecca (London)
GenreNovelty[1][2]
Length3:03
LabelDeram
Songwriter(s)David Bowie
Producer(s)Mike Vernon
David Bowie singles chronology
"Rubber Band"
(1966)
"The Laughing Gnome"
(1967)
"Love You Till Tuesday"
(1967)

"The Laughing Gnome" is a song by the English singer David Bowie, released as a single on 14 April 1967. A pastiche of songs by one of Bowie's early influences, Anthony Newley, it was originally released as a novelty single on Deram Records in 1967. The track consists of Bowie meeting and conversing with a gnome, whose sped-up voice (created by Bowie and studio engineer Gus Dudgeon) delivers several puns on the word "gnome".[3] At the time, "The Laughing Gnome" failed to provide Bowie with a chart placing, but on its re-release in 1973 it reached number six on the British charts[4] and number three in New Zealand.[5]

  1. ^ "Option, Issues 66–71". Books.google.com. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  2. ^ Gallucci, Michael (17 July 2024). "Every David Bowie Single Ranked". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2 January 2025. The Laughing Gnome" is a throwaway novelty number that includes sped-up vocals...
  3. ^ Buckley (1999), pp. 35–36, 43–44
  4. ^ Pegg (2016), "The Laughing Gnome" in chapt. The Songs From A to Z
  5. ^ "1973 Charts". charts.nz. Retrieved 15 June 2018.

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