ABSTRACT

Duck Rock entered the album charts on 4 June 1983, climbed to number 18, and included two Top 10 hit singles: 'Buffalo Gals' and 'Double Dutch'. It was both an innovative and controversial album, not least because it represented a considerable creative departure for the already notorious McLaren, who until this point had largely been concerned with pop music management. In the 1984 issue of his magazine Old Time Music, Tony Russell has an entertaining account of the making of Malcolm McLaren's hit version of 'Buffalo Gals'. The structure of 'Buffalo Gals', although based on clearly delineated sections, does not follow the verse/bridge/chorus form so typical of many pop songs. One could regard the structure of 'Buffalo Gals' as an elaborated ABA form, the A section being McLaren's 'calls' and the B the sung Soul part. The differing musical aspects of these two reinforce the contrast between black and white American popular music that permeates much of the album.