The single was released as "Barry Ryan with the Majority".[10] The Majority were a pop band who, for a period, were the backing band for Ryan and who, after renaming to Majority One, had some success in Europe.[11] Ryan also released an Italian-language version of the song, "Eloise (Versione Italiana)", in 1968.[12]
After not being able to cope with the success of some of his hits as a duo with Barry, Paul decided to take a step away from the limelight and to concentrate on songwriting. "Eloise" was the second song he wrote and was influenced by Richard Harris's arrangement of "MacArthur Park" after listening to a rough mix of it at a party at Harris's house.[13][14] After listening to it, Paul locked himself away and wrote "Eloise" in three days. The song was then recorded at IBC Studios at the end of a recording session with their mother Marion and they had only two takes to do it due to the length of the song. The session musicians included Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, both of whom went on to form Led Zeppelin, and Glenn Ross Campbell. Everyone then wanted to go to the mixing desk to listen to the result because it was so unusual and they said it was going to be a big hit.[13]
According to Barry Ryan, the record influenced Freddie Mercury of Queen. He said in a 2017 interview: "I remember reading Freddie’s memoirs. He was influenced by it. He really, really liked it and also he used it as an argument to release 'Bohemian Rhapsody' because his record company didn’t want to release it but he said “That Barry Ryan had a big five and half minute hit. Why can’t we do it too?”"[15]
On the back of the commercial success of the 1985 Phantasmagoriaalbum, the Damned released their cover of the track as a single in 1986. It reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart.[51]
Dave Vanian had been thinking about doing a cover of the song from at least 1980 and in 1985 wanted to do a non-album single. Rat Scabies did not want a third single released from Phantasmagoria, which MCA Records wanted to do. It was decided that "Eloise" could be recorded as long as "Is It a Dream?" was released as the third single.[52]
The single was released in the UK with two different 12" mixes. The first was nine and a half minutes long and is known as the 'Extravagant Mix'. The second was shorter, lasting less than seven minutes and was released with the parenthesised 'No Sleep Until Wednesday Mix'. It was also a limited release of 2,000 copies.
At the same time, a version of "Eloise" by Far Corporation singer Robin McAuley was released. McAuley said that the Damned's version had "got absolutely no chance of making it in the charts". Of the two competing versions at the time, Barry Ryan said that "I like the Damned's version best, it's even better than mine".[52]
The backing track was recorded at Music Works Studios in London on 14 and 15 October 1985. There were due to be a further two days of recording at the studios, but they were cancelled due to a death in one of the band's family. The band were very committed to touring, so were unable to continue recording for a while. Recording finally continued on 23 November at Eel Pie Studios, and was finished by the next day. It was then mixed at Swanyard Studios with the help of Stuart Bruce.[50]
Steve Kutner, who signed the Damned to MCA, has said that "it was a nightmare track to record", being "originally twice as long as what came out". Scabies was not convinced by the song and has said that "it never sounded finished to me" and Roman Jugg has said that Vanian had ended up calling MCA to ask them not to release it.[52]
Spanish musician Tino Casal recorded a techno-pop[62] version in 1987 for his album Lágrimas de Cocodrilo and it was released as the first single from the album in 1988. "Eloise" was one of his biggest hits,[63] managing to be number one for several weeks in Spain and reaching number one on Los 40 Principales in June 1988 .[64][65] After a long convalescence after having suffered necrosis in both legs due to a badly treated sprain resorting to self-medication,[66] Casal's friend, the announcer and producer Julián Ruiz, suggested that he record "Eloise" to return to the stage.[67]
Over time this song has become a classic of Spanish pop and one of Casal's most remembered songs.[68][69][70] The vocals for this song took a week to record in Studio 1 of Abbey Road[71][72] with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,[73] conducted by Andrew Powell.[72] The budget for the recordings was approximately €12,000.[72] The lyrics were adapted by Casal,[74] as well as the costumes for the recording of the videoclip, an aquamarine blue sequin suit.[64][75][76] After the success of the song, Tino Casal recorded an extended version of the song at the Eurosonic Studio.[72]
A remix by Pumpin' Dolls was released as a promo single in 2000 by Chrysalis Records to promote the compilation album Casal Vive.[77]
In 1968, French pop star Claude François released a French-language version, which was a top 10 hit in France and Belgium, and charted at the same time as Ryan's version.[13][79] This version was then covered the following year by Donald Lautrec and released in Quebec, where it was a number one hit.[80]
Also in 1968, Argentine band Los Náufragos released a Spanish-language version as a non-album single.[81]
Johnny Dynamo and Los Leos recorded a Spanish version for Discos Orfeón in 1969 that was very successful in the Mexican market. [83]
In 1970, Karel Gott released a Czech-language version as a single from his 1969 album Poslouchejte! Karel Gott zpívá Lásku bláznivou a další hity.[84][85]
In 1981, German band, the Teens covered the song as a non-album single, which reached number 55 in the German charts.[86]
^H, Madrid Creada 18-09-2016 | 22:03 H/Última actualización 18-09-2016 | 22:03 (18 September 2016). "Tino Casal, un alienígena "glam"". La Razón (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
