Who the 'Ell Is Tauriel?
Who the 'ell is Tauriel? is a comedy/parody song and video written by British singer/ukulele player Christopher Winchester[1] and recorded by Winchester's band, The Esgaroth Three.[2]
| "Who the 'Ell Is Tauriel?" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Esgaroth Three | ||||
| Released | 13 December 2013 | |||
| Recorded | 2013 Pukerua Bay | |||
| Genre | Folk mock, comedy, novelty | |||
| Length | 4:00 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Christopher Winchester | |||
| Producer(s) | Christopher Winchester | |||
| The Esgaroth Three singles chronology | ||||
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The song parodies negative fan reaction to the introduction of the character Tauriel in Peter Jackson's Hobbit films, and to other changes made by Jackson in adapting J. R. R. Tolkien's book for the screen.[3]
Reception
Praise for the song and its video has come from international science fiction and fantasy reviewers, and mainstream press. The video has been described as "drolly trollish" on BBC America's Anglophenia website,[4] "brilliant" and "hilarious" by SciFiNow magazine,[3] and "delightfully nerdy" on TheOneRing.net.[2]
Music video
A video for the song was filmed in Pukerua Bay, New Zealand, Jackson's childhood home town, on the 50th Anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who.[5] The video was released to coincide with the release of Jackson's second Hobbit film installment, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.[6]
Live performance
The song was performed live at the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention, Loncon 3 at ExCeL London in August 2014.[7][8]
Personnel
- The Esgaroth Three
- Christopher Winchester – ukulele, vocals, clarinet, kazoo, percussion, drum and bass programming
- Carlton McRae – guitar, backing vocals
- Production
- Christopher Winchester – producer
- Video
- Christopher Winchester – director
- Nikky Winchester – producer
- Tim Simpson – 1st assistant director
- Tim Hill – director of photography
- Christopher Winchester – editor
- Other personnel
- Christopher Winchester – cover design
References
- Scott, Charlie (14 January 2014). "VIDEO: Cambridge University graduate takes on Middle Earth – comedy music video aimed at Hobbit fans' Desolation of Smaug complaints goes viral". Cambridge News
- "Video asks ‘Who the ‘ell is Tauriel?’. TheOneRing.net. 26 December 2013.
- Glick, Martin (2 January 2014). "The Hobbit – hilarious new song mocks Tolkien fan outrage". SciFiNow.
- McAlpine, Fraser (2 January 2014). "A Must-Watch For ‘Hobbit’ Fans: ‘Who The ‘Ell Is Tauriel?’". BBC America
- Milos, Lily (12 January 2014). "An Eagle's view of Middle-earth". Middle-earth News.
- Lawson, Ruth (12 January 2014). "North East family star in viral Hobbit spoof video". Sunday Sun.
- Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (15 August 2014). "World Science Fiction Convention 2014 beams into London" The Guardian.
- Dee, Boya (15 August 2014). Video report, "Watch out London: the geeks are coming" Channel 4 News.
External links
- Who the 'ell is Tauriel?. (The Esgaroth Three. Video, YouTube. December 2013)
- Who the 'Ell Is Tauriel? at IMDb