Gerdundula

Pronounced inevitably GerDUNdula, this is not only the most offbeat song the Quo ever recorded, but is one of the most offbeat songs ever recorded by anyone. To begin with, although it has a Celtic feel to it, it has a German origin, and it is credited on the record sleeve to two people who do not exist! As Francis Rossi explained to a concert audience three decades and more later, this is "a strange little tune that has... no bass guitar, two lead guitars that are out of tune with each other, two rhythm guitars that are out of tune with each other. And um, a lyric that's got nothing to do with the song at all, and we named it after two people that we knew and that don't have anything to do with the song and are never mentioned [in it]." They were two German fans, Gerd and Ula who according to the Forgotten Songs blog in November 2011 "followed the band unabated during the early 1970s non-stop touring schedule." The same source says the writers - Rossi and Quo collaborator Bob Young - were credited as Manston/James for copyright reasons.

Released originally in October 1970 on the Pye label as the B-side of "In My Chair" - in England and Germany, and on the Stateside label in India - the song runs to around 3 minutes 16 seconds. "Gerdundula" was re-released in July 1973 when it failed to chart. It also appears on the 1971 Dog Of Two Head album wherein it runs to 3 minutes 49 seconds, but played live it can last for much longer.