"Summer Holiday" is a song recorded by Cliff Richard and the Shadows, written by rhythm guitarist Bruce Welch and drummer Brian Bennett. It is taken from the film of the same name, and was released as the second single from the film in February 1963. It went to number one in the UK Singles Chart for a total of two weeks. After that, the Shadows' instrumental "Foot Tapper"—also from the same film—took over the top spot for one week, before "Summer Holiday" returned to the top spot for one further week.
"Summer Holiday" is one of Richard's best known titles and it remains a staple of his live shows. It was one of six songs that Richard performed at his spontaneous gig at the 1996 Wimbledon Championships when rain stopped the tennis.
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Notable covers and parodies
Dutch rap duo MC Miker G & DJ Sven expanded on the song in 1986 with "Holiday Rap".
The song was first parodied in 2006 as "Cowboy Holiday" for the Bob the Builder movie, Built to be Wild.
In 2019, the UK Government's Drinkaware campaign parodied "Summer Holiday" for a string of radio adverts and videos for the "No Alcoholiday" initiative to encourage people to have drink-free days.
Chart performance
Summer Holiday
Notes:
* ^ Not all New Zealand chart weeks were published in Billboard. The record may have charted higher.
Dancing Shoes
The B-side "Dancing Shoes" also entered some charts, some of which are listed below.