View source for Lally Stott

{{Short description|English singer-songwriter (1945–1977)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Needs more sources|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist|
| Image             =
| Image_caption     =
| image             = Lally Stott circa 1962.jpg
| caption           = Stott {{circa|1972}}
| birth_name        = Harold Stott Jr.
| alias             = Lally Stott
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|df=yes|1945|1|16}}
| birth_place       = [[Prescot, Lancashire]], [[England]], [[UK]]
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1977|6|6|1945|1|16}}
| occupation        = singer-songwriter
| instrument        = guitar, vocals
| years_active      = 1960s–1970s
}}
'''Harold "Lally" Stott Jr.''' (16 January 1945 – 6 June 1977<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1096785-i33973-k8747008-Lally_Stott_sites_in_Prescot-Prescot_Knowsley_Merseyside_England.html|title=Lally Stott sites in Prescot? - Prescot Forum - Tripadvisor|website=Tripadvisor.com|accessdate=13 July 2020}}</ref>) was an English singer-songwriter and musician who wrote the song "[[Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep]]" which became a UK number one hit for the [[Scotland|Scottish]] band [[Middle of the Road (band)|Middle of the Road]] in 1971,<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= [[British Hit Singles & Albums]]
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| page= 363}}</ref> and charting at number 20 in the U.S. and number 41 in the UK the same year for [[Mac and Katie Kissoon]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Mac & Katie Kissoon - Awards |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/mac-katie-kissoon-mn0000811578/awards |publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=22 October 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123160024/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/mac-katie-kissoon-mn0000811578/awards |archivedate=23 January 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Early life ==
Harold Stott Jr. was born in [[Prescot]], [[Lancashire]], in 1945. He was named after his father. His father was Harold Stott Sr., and his mother was Lily Stott. Harold died on 8 April 1996, aged 86. His mother died five months later, on 28 September 1996.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Dean |date=2015-03-12 |title=Lally Stott - Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep |url=https://www.deangoodman.com/lally-stott/ |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=Dean Goodman |language=en-US}}</ref> The name "Lally" was a [[nickname]] he was given as a child that stuck with him into adulthood.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lally Stott - Biography |url=http://lallystott.com/Biography.html |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=lallystott.com}}</ref>
==Career==
=== 1960s ===
He was a member of many [[Merseybeat]] groups during the early sixties including The Vaqueros, Denny Seyton & The Sabres and Four Just Men who released two singles for [[Parlophone]] during 1964-65. This band would evolve into [[Wimple Winch]], although Stott had quit the group by that time.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Gough |first=Peter |date=2013-05-24 |title=Bite It Deep: Lally Stott |url=https://biteitdeep.blogspot.com/2013/05/lally-stott.html |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=Bite It Deep}}</ref>
He spent several years in [[Italy]], as vocalist and front-man of the 1960s Liverpool [[beat music|beat]] band The Motowns (originally called Lally Scott & The Black Jacks).<ref name=":1" /> Stott and the Motowns members appeared in the 1967 Italian film "[[Soldati e capelloni]]".<ref name=":1" /> Stott left the Motowns in 1969.
=== 1970s ===
He wrote the song "[[Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep]]" and released his version in September 1970 on the [[Philips Records|Philips]] label. Scottish pop band [[Middle of the Road (band)|Middle of the Road]] later released their version which went on to top the [[UK Singles Chart]] in 1971 for five weeks, also reaching number one in the Netherlands. Stott's own version of the song was a hit in Italy, France and the Netherlands, went to number one in Australia for one week<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldcharts.co.uk/chartfeatures/aus/aus70.htm |title=Australian Number One Hits 1970s - World Charts |accessdate=2016-06-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424142031/http://www.worldcharts.co.uk/chartfeatures/aus/aus70.htm |archivedate=2014-04-24 }}</ref> and charted at number 92 on the U.S. [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].<ref>[http://www.billboard.com/charts/1971-04-17/hot-100 Billboard Hot 100]. [[Billboard magazine|Billboard.com]]. Accessed 6 April 2008.{{dead link|date=October 2012}}</ref> The song has been covered in many languages, including Vietnamese, Korean, Estonian, Swedish, French, Finnish, Spanish, Dutch and German.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}
Stott released other minor hits, "Jakaranda" and "Love Is Free, Love Is Blind, Love Is Good". He also wrote "My Summer Song" which was recorded by [[Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]], [[Jerry Reed]], and [[Jigsaw (British band)|Jigsaw]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} Stott co-wrote "[[Bottoms Up (Middle of the Road song)|Bottoms Up]]", "[[Samson and Delilah (Middle of the Road song)|Samson and Delilah]]", "[[Sacramento (A Wonderful Town)|Sacramento]]", "[[Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum (song)|Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum]]" and other songs for Middle of the Road, all reaching the top 10 in several European countries between 1971 and 1973.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}
Under his own name Stott released, with moderate success, "Good Wishes, Good Kisses" (the theme song of the Italian TV miniseries "Tenente Sheridan - La donna di picche") and "Sweet Meeny".{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}
== Death ==
Stott was killed aged 32 in a traffic accident on 3 June 1977 while riding a small commuter bike close to his hometown of Prescot. His motorbike had just been stolen, and Stott had retrieved the vehicle from the police just a few days before his death. On Lally's next bike trip after getting his stolen motorbike back, a car pulled out in front of him, and he hit a telegraph pole.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Facebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/100063975401570/posts/540973402623643/ |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=www.facebook.com}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> He suffered head and leg injuries and died three days later.<ref name=":0" /> He is buried in St. Ann's Churchyard, [[Rainhill]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.deangoodman.com/lally-stott/|title=Lally Stott - Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep |website=Deangoodman.com|date=12 March 2015 |accessdate=13 July 2020}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stott, Lally}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:1977 deaths]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in England]]
[[Category:English male singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Beat musicians]]
[[Category:People from Prescot]]
[[Category:20th-century English musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century English male singers]]