Bugsy Malone – So You Wanna Be A Boxer

This Alan Parker musical masterpiece was released in 1976. It featured the likes of Scott Baio, Bonny Langford and Jodie Foster and the cast was made up entirely of children in the guise of adults. The story was set in the era of US prohibition and dealt with the rivalry between Fat Sam and Dandy Dan, two mobsters. The gangsters used guns that fired cream pies instead of bullets and the cars were pedal-powered, kinda like the Flintstones but with more panache. Rebel Voice holds a special place for Bugsy Malone and the pie-throwing especially. Said pies were not easy to find in Occupied Ireland of the seventies and eighties, and grenades would have been easier to come by.

The music was composed by Paul Williams and featured a number of tracks that went on to become industry standards. The songs were sung by adults and Parker was unhappy with this, but had no time to redo the tracks prior to release. Williams too was not entirely satisfied with his choice of singers. The movie won an Oscar for Best Original Song Score. Here is one of the more memorable tracks from Bugsy Malone. 

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