23 January 1982
Right after ‘One Of Us’, here’s another Eurovision winner with an unlikely reggae groove. Even more unlikely is the subsequent revelation by its writers that this song’s lyrics are actually a critique of Thatcherism. I say ‘revelation’ because I doubt anyone would have guessed it otherwise, unless there’s a Wolfe Tones cover version of it knocking about.
So, the “something nasty in your garden” is the Iron Lady and not the little girl whose spoken word contribution winds up this song on a cloying note. (The video below is of the Fizz’s Top of the Pops performance, which wisely fades down before the offending child labourer kicks off.) And that comes on top of a shrill key change I could have done without.
Thankfully these horrors come at the very end, because otherwise this is a really good single. The chorus is supremely catchy and enjoyable, as is the aforementioned reggae groove. The foursome’s modest vocal abilities also do the song a favour, by skimming over the essentially childish and whimsical lyrics, political sub-sub-subtext notwithstanding. Aux armes, citoyens !
