Hole in My Shoe

"Hole in My Shoe" is a song by English rock band Traffic, released as a single in 1967, which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart,^[4] number 22 in the German charts,^[5] and number 4 in Canada.^[6] Composed by guitarist Dave Mason, it was disliked by the other three members of the group who felt that it did not represent the band's musical or lyrical style.^[7]

"Hole in My Shoe"
Single by Traffic
B-side	"Smiling Phases" (Capaldi, Winwood, Wood)
Released	August 1967
Genre	Psychedelic pop[1][2] psychedelic rock[3]
Length	2:52
Label	Island WIP 6017 United Artists UA 50218
Songwriter(s)	Dave Mason
Producer(s)	Jimmy Miller
Traffic singles chronology
"Paper Sun" (1967) "Hole in My Shoe" (1967) "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" (1967)
Official audio
"Hole in My Shoe" on YouTube

The sing features a spoken-word midsection by Chris Blackwell's stepdaughter, Francine Heimann, in which she tells a little story about a giant albatross.^{[citation needed]}

Personnel

Musicians

• Jim Capaldi – drums, backing vocals
• Dave Mason – lead vocals, guitar, Mellotron, sitar
• Steve Winwood – Hammond organ, bass guitar, piano, backing vocals
• Chris Wood – flute, backing vocals
• Francine Heimann – spoken word (uncredited)

Technical

• Eddie Kramer – engineer
• Jimmy Miller – producer

Cover version

In July 1984, Nigel Planer, who played Neil in the BBC sitcom The Young Ones , recorded a cover version of the song, which reached the same number 2 peak as the original.^[8] It also peaked at number 29 in Australia.^[9] His version featured Barbara Gaskin on backing vocals and was produced by Dave Stewart.^[10]