I was already an avid follower of the Dutch Top 40 in 1981, and as such I was always impressed with the title of this single. The song itself, however, was a different matter. It took me two decades to start to like the track.The single reached nmber 14 in the UK singles chart and number 16 in the Dutch Top 40. In America, a version was released called 'There's a guy works down the truck stop swears he's Elvis', since a 'chip shop' is a very British thing - but this alteration didn't help it reach the chart across the big pond. The country version on the B-side is a great alternate version, by the way.
My collection: 7" single no. 4088
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received September 25, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'There's a guy works down the chip shop swears he's Elvis' / 'Hard to believe', 'There's a guy works down the chip shop swears he's Elvis (Country version)'
Actually, the "Truck Stop" version was never actually RELEASED in the U. S. Promo copies were pressed, and a VERY few actually distributed (I was working at the time as music director at a country station in one of the larger U. S. markets, and we never even received a copy), but the single was never issued for purchase.
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