The Diary of Horace Wimp

"The Diary of Horace Wimp"
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album Discovery
B-side"Down Home Town"
Released13 July 1979 [1]
Recorded1979, Musicland Studios, Munich
Length4:17
LabelJet
Songwriter(s)Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"Shine a Little Love"
(1979) 		"The Diary of Horace Wimp"
(1979) 		"Don't Bring Me Down"
(1979)
Discovery track listing
9 tracks
Side one
  1. "Shine a Little Love"
  2. "Confusion"
  3. "Need Her Love"
  4. "The Diary of Horace Wimp"
Side two
  2. "Last Train to London"
  3. "Midnight Blue"
  4. "On the Run"
  5. "Wishing"
  6. "Don't Bring Me Down"

"The Diary of Horace Wimp" is the fourth track on the Electric Light Orchestra album Discovery, written by Jeff Lynne.

Released in 1979 as a single, the song is Beatlesque in nature and became a Top Ten hit in the UK and Ireland. The lyrics describe a week in the life of a repressed man named Horace who wants to express his affection towards a woman he meets, and overcomes his shy nature with the help of "a voice from above." The day Saturday is omitted – this is because, as explained by Jeff Lynne: "The football match is played on a Saturday".

The music video references Citizen Kane in its ending, showing a closeup of Jeff Lynne saying "Horace Wimp," echoing Orson Welles' character in the film saying "Rosebud" as he dies.[2][3]

A song about a lucky lad who somehow defies the odds and gets the girl. Really wild use of the vocoder.

— Jeff Lynne[4]

B-side

The B-side was "Down Home Town", which first appeared on the band's fifth album Face the Music. It also featured as the flip side to the US single "Last Train to London".

"Down Home Town" contains an intro with a backmasked message, the backing chorus of the previous track, "Waterfall": "Face the mighty waterfall, face the mighty waterfall." This song includes an orchestral intro (after the "Waterfall" refrain) and a similar ending. These reverse recorded words were only used because of the sound effect.[5]

Chart positions

Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 48
Ireland (IRMA)[7] 10
UK Singles (OCC)[8] 8
West Germany (GfK)[9] 52

References

  1. ^ "BPI certifications for ELO".
  2. ^ "ELO - The Diary of Horace Wimp". YouTube. 8 May 2006. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  3. ^ "CITIZEN KANE – Rosebud". YouTube. 6 September 2011. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  4. ^ Lynne, Jeff (2001). Discovery (Media notes). Electric Light Orchestra.
  5. ^ Guttenbacher, Patrik; Haines, Marc; von Petersdorff, Alexander (1996). Unexpected Messages.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Diary of Horace Whimp". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  8. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  9. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Electric Light Orchestra – The Diary Of Horace Wimp" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 18 February 2019.