- The Diary of Horace Wimp
-
"The Diary of Horace Wimp" 
Single by Electric Light Orchestra from the album Discovery B-side "Down Home Town" Released August 1979 Format 7" vinyl Recorded 1979, Musicland Studios, Munich Genre Art rock, Pop rock Length 4:17 Label Jet Writer(s) Jeff Lynne Producer Jeff Lynne Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology "Shine a Little Love"
(1979)"The Diary of Horace Wimp"
(1979)"Don't Bring Me Down"
(1979)"The Diary of Horace Wimp" is the fourth track on the Electric Light Orchestra album Discovery, written by Jeff Lynne.
Released in 1979 as a single, the song is Beatlesque in nature and became a Top Ten hit in the UK and Ireland. The lyrics describe a week in the life of an oppressed man who nevertheless overcomes his shy nature with the help of "a voice from above." The day Saturday is omitted – this is because, as explained by Jeff Lynne: "'The football match is played on a Saturday".
“ A song about a lucky lad who somehow defies the odds and gets the girl. Really wild use of the vocoder. ” —Jeff Lynne[1]
Contents
B-side
Down Home Town
"Down Home Town" first appeared on the band's fifth album Face the Music. It also featured as the flip side to the US single "Last Train to London".
"Down Home Town" contains an intro with a backmasking message, the backing chorus of the previous track, "Waterfall": "Face the mighty waterfall, face the mighty waterfall." This song includes an orchestral intro (after the "Waterfall" refrain) and a similar ending.
"Another backward message was used in the beginning of "Down Home Town" by singing twice: 'There is the mighty waterfall.' Those reverse recorded words were only used because of the sound effect, but some fanatical christians [sic] in the USA were sure they heard, as several hysterics put it 'satanic messages' hidden on the record".[2]
Chart positions
Chart (1979) Peak
PositionAustralian ARIA Singles Chart 48 German Media Control Singles Chart 52 Irish Singles Chart[3] 10 UK Singles Chart[4] 8 References
- ^ Lynne, Jeff (2001). Album notes for Discovery by Electric Light Orchestra.
- ^ Guttenbacher, Patrik; Haines, Marc; von Petersdorff, Alexander (1996). Unexpected Messages.
- ^ "irishcharts.ie search results". http://www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Electric Light Orchestra". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=2340. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
1970s 1972: "10538 Overture" • "Mr. Radio" • 1973: "Roll Over Beethoven" • "Showdown" • 1974: "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle/Daybreaker" • "Can't Get It Out of My Head" • 1975: "Boy Blue" • "Evil Woman" • 1976: "Nightrider" • "Strange Magic" • "Livin' Thing" • 1977: "Rockaria!" • "Do Ya • "Telephone Line" • "Turn to Stone" • 1978: "Mr. Blue Sky" • "Wild West Hero • "Sweet Talkin' Woman" • "It's Over" • "The ELO EP" • 1979: "Shine a Little Love" • "The Diary of Horace Wimp" • "Don't Bring Me Down" • "Confusion"/"Last Train to London"1980s 1980: "I'm Alive" • "Xanadu" • "All Over the World" • "Don't Walk Away" • 1981: "Hold On Tight" • "Twilight" • 1982: "Here Is the News"/"Ticket to the Moon" • "Rain Is Falling" • "The Way Life's Meant to Be" • 1983: "Rock 'n' Roll Is King" • "Secret Messages" • "Four Little Diamonds" • "Stranger" • 1986: "Calling America" • "So Serious" • "Getting to the Point"1990s 1990: "Destination Unknown"2000s Categories:- 1979 singles
- Electric Light Orchestra songs
- Songs produced by Jeff Lynne
- Songs written by Jeff Lynne
- 1970s rock song stubs
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