The Primitives, the UK indie-pop band behind the hit single “Crash”, have revealed that cover versions of the song often get a key lyric muddled up.
Formed in 1984, with current members including singer Tracy Tracy, drummer Tig Williams, bassist Paul Sampson and guitarist Paul Court, the band achieved international fame when “Crash” featured in the 1994 Peter Farrelly film Dumb and Dumber.
However, it was apparently remixed without the band’s say-so, with an added 40 seconds and new layers of ukulele, steel guitar, organ and percussion: “We couldn’t complain,” Court told The Guardian in a new interview. “It gave the song a second life and it became a worldwide hit.”
Court also shared how he’d heard a number of covers: “Belle and Sebastian’s is probably closest to how it sounded when I first wrote it – a gentler, almost Jonathan Richman-type thing.”
“People get the words wrong,” he continued. “These days it’s easy to check lyrics, but years ago someone misheard them on a fan site and wrote, ‘You should watch your stay’, instead of ‘You should watch your step/ if you don’t look out, gonna break your neck.’”
Court said that Busted co-founder, bassist and co-vocalist Matt Willis was among those to sing the wrong lyric, when he covered it as a solo artist for the film Mr Bean’s Holiday.
He sings: “You should watch, watch your stay here/ Don’t look out, you’re gonna break your neck.”
Willis released the track as a single in 2007 to coincide with the film’s release, with Rowan Atkinson appearing in character as Mr Bean in the accompanying music video.
According to Court, Belle and Sebastian’s version also uses the wrong line.
The Primitives released “Crash” as a single from their debut album, Lovely, in 1988 – the album reached number six on the UK album charts while “Crash” peaked at number 5.
