Today’s classic song of the day is a rather odd and somewhat obscure one. The song is “Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)” and it was written, recorded, and released by Peter Sarstedt in January of 1969. It only managed to climb to #70 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #61 on the Cash Box Top 100, but did quite a bit better elsewhere in the world, going all the way to #1 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK.
“Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)” sounds a little bit like a French chanson, thanks to its 3/4 waltz time, accordion accompaniment, and Sarstedt’s unique accent. In reality, Peter Sarstedt was a British singer, both in India. (Yeah, that’s right—an Indian-born British singer singing a French-like tune. I told you this one was rather odd.)
The song itself purports to tell the tale of a girl named Marie-Claire who grew up in poverty on the streets of Naples but clawed her way up to become a member of the European jet set. The song contained a bevy of then-contemporary references to famous real-world people such as German actress Marlene Dietrich, French ballerina Zizi Jearnmarie, French designer Pierre Balmain, British rock group the Rolling Stones, French singer Sacha Distel, Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, and Islamic religious leader, Olympic downhill skier, and race horse owner Prince Aga Kahn. The lyrics also mentioned several places popular with the rich and famous, including Boulevard Saint-Michel in Paris, the Sorbonne, the Juan-les-Pins beach resort on the French Riviera, and the Saint Moritz ski resort. Very trendy. all that.
Some say that “Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)” was inspired by the rags-to-riches story of Italian actress Sophia Loren. Sarstedt himself said, however, that the tune was written about his girlfriend at the time, a Danish dental student named Anita Atke:
“I wanted to write a long, extended piece because I was working in folk clubs and universities, and Al Stewart had something that was half an hour long and Bob Dylan’s ‘Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands’ took a whole side of an album. ‘Where Do You Go To My Lovely’ was my first attempt at writing something longer than my normal 3 minutes. It was amazingly easy to write, but I knew what I wanted to say. I wanted to say something about this particular person, although it wasn’t about anyone specific. Marie-Claire was meant to be a generic European girl, but if she was based on anybody, it was my then-girlfriend Anita Atke. I had been introduced by a fellow busker when Anita was studying in Paris in the summer of ’66 and it was love at first sight.”
Whatever or whomever the inspiration, the result is a very unique-sounding record, not at all like anything else on the radio at the time. (Or, perhaps, ever.) That it was more popular in Europe than in the U.S. was perhaps due to its European-centric references, many of which probably flew over the heads of American audiences.
So here’s your daily bonus video of the day, that “original talent” Peter Sarstedt, lip-synching “Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)” on the June 2, 1969, episode of the BBC’s Top of the Pops. This is an odd little song but I can’t help but like it.
