In 1981, the duo «Bolland & Bolland» of Dutch brothers Robert and Ferdinand Bolland of South African origin released their fifth album, called «Domino Theory». All its 11 compositions were united by a single theme and told about an American infantryman who went to war in Southeast Asia to protect the world from the spread of the communist threat. The title song was «You’re in the Army Now» — with it, in fact, begins the path of the main character of the album.
Unfortunately, neither the album nor its most percussive song found much popularity — «You’re in the Army Now» was appreciated only in the homeland of the Bollands in South Africa, and among the Scandinavians in Norway, Finland and Sweden, it was at the top of the charts for some time in 1982. Most likely, now few people would remember the song, if not for the British from the «Status Quo», and more specifically — the leader of the group Francis Rossi. «Statuses» reproduced the song in fact from and to, adding only a little more dynamics and rigidity of sound. The success was phenomenal: in 1986-1987, the song did not leave the European charts.
And then it was the turn of the Soviet Union — here, at the turn of the 80s and 90s, the song became just wildly popular. In the minds of Soviet citizens, agitated by the Renovation period, the fall of the «Iron curtain» and the «Afghan» theme, which began to talk openly and a lot, the song had an explosive effect. Soon numerous pustules of «hot spots» were discovered on the outskirts of a large disintegrating country, the press wrote daily in detail about hazing and other delights of army service, and soon " You’re in the Army Now " was a discordant chorus of the entire USSR.
Traces of the song's former popularity are visible to the naked eye to this day. Those whose youth with «Kalashnikov» in their hands fell on the peak of the song's popularity have not yet retired and are still listening to «You Are in the Army Now» without knowing about its authors. It is probably not worth listing those who, in the Soviet and post-Soviet space (and throughout the world), sneered at the text and music – it is sufficient to say that there were many who wanted to. It is noteworthy that Francis Rossi comrades, who had been successfully performing an anti-war song about a one-way ticket and doubts about the correctness of their actions for a decade and a half, have thrown an interesting trick in their old age. In 2010, they turned the idea of the Bolland brothers upside down and sang a hurray-patriotic song with new lyrics in the style of «when Comrade Stalin sends us into battle." The proceeds from the single’s sale «Status Quo» decided to give to charities involved in the rehabilitation of the British military and helping the wounded.
Compare the fragments of the original lyrics of the Bolland brothers song and its «combed» version of 2010:
It was:
A vacation in a foreign land
Uncle Sam does the best he can.
Became:
You’re on your way to a foreign land
Now’s the time to do what you can.
It was:
You’ll be the hero of the neighbourhood
Nobody knows that you left for good.
Became:
You’ll be the hero of the neighbourhood
Counting the days till you’re back for good.
It was:
Smiling faces on the way to Nam
But once you get there no one gives a damn.
Became:
Smiling faces as you wait to land
Side by side every woman and man.
It was:
You’ve got your orders better shoot on sight
Your finger’s on the trigger
But it don’t seem right.
Became:
You’ve got your orders better shoot on sight
Now it’s time to fight.
In the same 2010, Francis Rossi and the guitarist of the group «Status Quo» Rick Parfitt became officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE — Officer of the Order of the British Empire). However, this could be due exclusively to the long-term creative activity of the group.
