God Save the Dancing Queen*

(High taxation)

In what must be the funniest way out of a broadcasting cock-up ever**, BBC Radio 2 decided to play one of Abba’s evergreens to wrap up their coverage of the Last Night of the Proms. A moment earlier it had lost the connection with Hyde Park, some time after their coverage merged with that of BBC Radio 3 from Royal Albert Hall during the final minutes of the concert. There is nothing wrong with the Swedish group and their hits, except that the broadcast was interrupted right after Land of Hope and Glory and just before the national anthem. Thus Radio 3 went on to broadcasting God Save the Queen while, at the very same time, Radio 2 was playing… Dancing Queen.**

 

(Myself switching form one station to another and nearly drowning in the bath through laughter).

 P.S. I've done some thinking about it, as philosophers or sleuths do, and reached the conclusion that it was a practical joke. A head my roll, or a bonus be chopped.

 

*and the producer
**yes, I'd recovered (but haven't apologised to the Lord yet) and tuned in time to get to my feet and respectfully murmur Dancing Queen.

***Strangely enough followed by Elvis with … King Creole. (I can just imagine a senior producer delegating a task to a junior one ten years ago: “Listen, go and find some suitable fillers to be used if something ever goes wrong in the last minutes of the Last Night; not that anything ever will, but you know - we have to be covered. It would be great if it was something with a reference to the Queen, ... actually to the King as well, just in case.” The junior guy marches off and gets, as a joke, two pop tracks with proper references. He has a bit of laugh with other junior colleagues, puts the CDs on the shelf, probably even planning to replace them with something more suitable later, which he never gets around to doing. Fast forward ten years…)

 

 

You can dance, you can jive Having the time of your life See that girl, watch that scene Diggin' the dancing queen Friday night and the lights are low  Looking out for a place to go Where they play the right music Getting in the swing You come to look for a king Anybody could be that guy Night is young and the music's high With a bit of rock music Everything is fine You're in the mood for a dance And when you get the chance  You are the dancing queen Young and sweet, only seventeen Dancing queen Feel the beat from the tambourine You can dance

God save our gracious Queen, Live long our noble Queen, God save the Queen! Send her victorious, happy and glorious, Long to reign over us, God save the Queen.   Thy choicest gifts in store On her be pleased to pour, Long may she reign; May she defend our laws, And ever give us cause To sing with heart and voice, God save the Queen!   God bless our native land, May heaven's protective hand Still guard our shore;   May peace her power extend, Foe be transformed to friend, And Britain's power depend On war no more.