“A Little Bit Of Soap” showed Showaddywaddy at the height of their British rock ’n’ roll revival, turning a simple old song into another Top Five triumph
By the summer of 1978, Showaddywaddy were firmly established among Britain’s biggest singles acts, and “A Little Bit Of Soap” arrived at exactly the right moment. Released by Arista on 16 June 1978, the single entered the UK chart at No. 72 on June 24, then climbed rapidly through No. 25, No. 11 and No. 8 before reaching its peak of No. 5 on July 22. It remained in the UK chart for 12 weeks, giving the Leicester group yet another Top Five success during an extraordinary run of popularity. By then, Showaddywaddy had already enjoyed the No. 1 success of “Under the Moon of Love”, the No. 3 “When”, the No. 2 “You Got What It Takes”, the No. 4 “Dancin’ Party”, and the No. 2 “I Wonder Why.” “A Little Bit Of Soap” therefore was not an isolated hit. It was another piece of evidence that the group’s particular brand of polished 1950s-style rock ’n’ roll, doo-wop harmonies and flamboyant stage presentation had become one of the defining sounds of British pop in the second half of the 1970s.
The song itself was originally written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and had been recorded by The Jarmels, whose version became a US hit in 1961. Showaddywaddy took that older rhythm-and-blues number and gave it the kind of exuberant treatment that had become their trademark. The lyric is essentially a plea for reconciliation. The narrator admits that the relationship has become stained by arguments and hurt, but suggests that perhaps all it needs is “a little bit of soap” to wash the trouble away. It is a wonderfully uncomplicated metaphor, almost childlike in its imagery, yet perfectly suited to the group’s musical personality. Showaddywaddy were never trying to turn every song into a heavy emotional statement. Their great strength was taking melodies with strong hooks, dressing them in rich vocal harmonies and rhythmic energy, and making them feel immediately accessible. “A Little Bit Of Soap” has that irresistible quality: the song seems to bounce forward even while its narrator is trying to repair a damaged relationship.
And this was precisely the period when Showaddywaddy were at their commercial peak. Their success was remarkable because they were deliberately looking backward while much of popular music was rushing forward. Punk was exploding, disco was dominating dance floors, progressive rock still had its enormous audiences, yet Showaddywaddy were filling the charts with music rooted in the sounds of an earlier generation. They did not present that music as a museum piece. Their stage clothes, carefully styled hair, synchronized movements and energetic performances turned rock ’n’ roll nostalgia into something theatrical and contemporary for the 1970s. “A Little Bit Of Soap” became another vehicle for that identity. The single’s climb from No. 72 to No. 5 shows just how strongly audiences responded. On the Official Singles Chart dated July 16, 1978, the record was already sitting at No. 5, having climbed three places from the previous week. It held the position the following week as well before beginning its descent.
The song also became part of Showaddywaddy’s Top of the Pops story in 1978. Their first appearance with “A Little Bit Of Soap” came on June 22, when the song was still at No. 72, and they returned on July 6, by which point it had climbed to No. 11. On July 20, they appeared again while the single was at its No. 5 peak, with the performance recorded as an audience-dancing appearance in the surviving programme archive. There is something wonderfully revealing about those three appearances. The first catches the record just entering the public consciousness; the second finds the momentum building; and the third arrives when Showaddywaddy had another major Top Five hit on their hands. Their television performances were an important part of the group’s appeal because they were never simply four or five musicians standing still behind microphones. Showaddywaddy understood the visual language of television. The clothes, the choreography, the smiles and the sheer physical energy were all part of the performance.
By the time “A Little Bit Of Soap” reached No. 5, Showaddywaddy had become much more than a group having a lucky run of singles. They had created a world of their own, one where the spirit of early rock ’n’ roll could sit comfortably inside the brightly coloured world of late-1970s British television. The record did not need complicated production tricks or fashionable reinvention. Its charm came from melody, harmony, rhythm and personality. And perhaps that is why the song still feels so unmistakably Showaddywaddy. “A Little Bit Of Soap” was a small song about trying to clean up the mess left by love, but in the hands of a group operating at the height of its powers, it became another sparkling chapter in one of Britain’s great rock ’n’ roll revival stories. In the summer of 1978, Showaddywaddy were not merely remembering the past. They were making the past dance again, right in the middle of the singles chart.