WorldWideWas

Snips - Little Bits of Information on Was (Not Was)

The Death Of Mr Ping Pong - February 20th, 2005

David explains about this song:

“death of mr PP has a nice story attached. we are promo touring the UK and
had landed in birmingham for the night. get a call from phonogram in london:
‘we need a b-side for the next single, can you go in tonite and cut
something?’

bingaddabong i pick up the local tabloid and hunt for a premise. see a
headline: DEATH OF MR. TABLE TENNIS’, and the story on mr maurice goldsmith
(i recall), the local scion of the tabletennis scene.

i figgered ‘pingpong’ had a more comic ring to it, but wanted the song to
have a kind of flatliner, deadpan delivery, so i enlisted don to do his
first vocal.

the narrative, POINT A etc, was supposed to surgically dissect the rise and
fall of a legend……and i told don: NO EMOTION! read it like youre reading
a grocery list….he done it brilliantly i think — then he retired from
‘singing.'”

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