B.A.F.F.A

The British Association of Fans of Fascinating Aïda was founded in 1985 by their long-term fan, Nicholas Battle, who has been with the group almost as long as Adele, if you can imagine such a thing! If only he sang and looked good in a frock, we have cried on many an occasion. Actually, he really should be an honorary member of the group because he has made a few unsheduled appearances on stage with us... most memorably at the Reading Hexagon back in the mists of time, when he appeared from the wings dressed as a Little Chef man... very funny. He was voted Life President of B.A.F.F.A some years ago, and there has been no reason for him to leave his post since that day.

Should you wish to send any mail to the trio, you can send it through Nicholas who keeps tabs on the groups movements at all times. If you would like to order any of their fabulous merchandise, you can do so via the MERCHANDISE Section of this website, or write to Nick direct, enclosing cheques, as follows:

Nicholas Battle,
Life President of B.A.F.F.A,
3 Catherine Road
Newbury
Berkshire
RG14 7NA
UK

MAIL ORDER MERCHANDISE

ORDERING INFORMATION & PRICE SCHEDULE

Payment

You can order on line by going to the merchandise section of the site. Payment can be with credit card or through Pay Pal. Alternatively, you can send a cheque, payable to BAFFA to 3 Catherine Road, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 7NA. If you want to phone with your credit card details the number is 01635 43816 and ask for Mrs Coxall. Our email is battle@tinyworld.co.uk

Postage and Handling

This is £2.00 per item in UK and £3.50 per item to all other countries. It applies to the video as well as to the CDs and all other items except the Online Song Book.

Merchandise Available - January 2009

ONLINE SONG BOOK

See also the Merchandise Section of the website.

Here is a small selection of the songs of Fascinating Aida which we are making available in a new and revolutionary on-line form. More songs will be added over the coming months.

If you wish to purchase the music of any of the songs displayed here, please contact BAFFA, the songs can either be sent to you in electronic format or in hard copy.

If you wish to sing the song in a professional venue, you must fill in the appropriate PRS form (Performing Rights Society) which you will receive from the theatre manager. All the songs are published by Sweet 'n' Sour Songs, and the appropriate writing credits are printed on each individual song. When you are given the PRS form to fill in, you must enter the name of the composer and the name of the publisher, as well as the correct name of the song.

(***WARNING! PLEASE NOTE THAT NOT ALL THE SONGS ARE CALLED BY THE NAMES YOU MAY ASSUME! FOR INSTANCE, THE CORRECT TITLE OF THE SONG PEOPLE USUALLY CALL 'THE GERMAN SONG' is actually 'LIEDER'.)

If you wish to record any of the songs, you will be sent the appropriate forms by the MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) and you can proceed from there. All the information you will need is on the first page of the songs.

Happy singing!

Cheers

Dillie

Charges

Professional chart music - tune, harmonies (where appropriate) & chords £6 per song
Songs with full piano, main tune, harmonies (where appropriate) & chords £12 per song
Post & Packing (where appropriate) £2.50

Technical Information

All the song samples made available on this website were created with Finale Allegro software. If you do not own a copy of this software then you can download either "Finale Viewer" or "Finale NotePad" software. Both packages are free and are available for Windows and Macintosh computers. Click on the link on the right to go to the Finale website.
Please ensure that you have installed one of the above programs before you attempt to download and open the music sample files below.

Finale Music

Please note only the song samples are available on this website. To purchase the full versions of the songs click the contact page to email Nicholas Battle at BAFFA.

BAFFA can either e-mail the appropriate files to you or print your choice of music onto good quality paper and post it to you. A flat post\handling charge of £2.50 applies to all songs.

If you opt for the e-mail option you must have installed one of the Finale music packages before you will be able to open the files.

From my own experience with the Finale packages listed above, I would recommend the "NotePad" software over the "Viewer" software as it allows the user to compose their own music.

To download the songs, right click (or option click if you are a Mac user) on the Click here to listen to sample and "Save As". Do not just click on the file or you might end up with a screen full of gibberish.

The Songs

Songs in this section do NOT have the piano part written out in full, only the chord symbols are given. These are the only versions of the songs that are available for sale.

Shattered Illusions £6
An old favourite. Full 3 part harmony version, through composed, as sung by Fascinating Aida themselves. Full chord symbols given throughout.
Click here to listen to sample

You keep Me Awake At Night £6
One of the most frequently requested songs from ONE LAST FLUTTER. Full professional chart, chord symbols and tune, no repeats - through written for extra clarity.
Click here to listen to sample

Semel Insanivimus Omnes £6
Brand new song commissioned by Sandi Toksvig as the new anthem for her LBC lunchtime show. Sing along with Sandi. Full professional chart, chord symbols and tune. A must for lovers of short daft anthems.
Click here to listen to sample

Getting It £6
Frequently requested by members of the public who tend to ask for 'the Viagra song'! Full chart, trio arrangement with chords, as sung by the group.
Click here to listen to sample

The Herpes Tango - Chart Version £6
No piano music, but full chart version, plus parts separated on different staves with chords. Suit professional pianist, or can be used to work in tandem with the piano version.
Click here to listen to sample

Radiating Love £6
A tuneful and unpleasant little song about love and the after effects of the Bomb, through written with full words, top line with chords. No harmonies given in this version. If there's a loud clamouring for the harmonies, I'll supply them, but the song doesn't need them. Piano intro written out in full for guide only.
Click here to listen to sample

Saturday Night £6
Apparently an all time favourite with FA audiences - song about how lonely it is to be stuck in by yourself on a Saturday night. Written out in key of C, rather than Ab as it is on the ccd SWEET FA. (Ab is likely to be far too low for most singers). Full piano intro given, top line and chord symbols plus harmonies in chorus, written through with no repeats.
Click here to listen to sample

Colleagues From Hell £6
This music for this song is so frequently requested that I can't help wondering if half the world ends up working with people they can't stand... This song was inspired by my good friend, actor and director Gerard Murphy. I was bitching away to him one night, telling him that I couldn't write another show, I had no inspiration, I didn't want to do it anyhow, and generally letting off steam about how unenthusiastic about the prospect of yet another FA tour... Well, everyone has their blue periods, don't they? Anyhow, he said "Why don't you write about that then?"
"What?" I said, starting to laugh. "An 'I hate my colleagues' sort of a song?"

"Exactly," he said. So I did. Here it is.
Click here to listen to sample

Stick Your Head Between Your Legs £6
Adèle and I were writing 'Suddenly New Zealand' which is a what-to-do-before-armageddon-strikes sort of song. I wondered if there was room for another armageddon song, because it seemed to me that we in the west were hopelessly unprepared for the kind of 9/11 style of attack, and yet it seems infinitely possible that it might happen any time. However, the song was impossible to pin down for quite a while, because it's not easy to be funny about death and destruction on a grand scale.
While we were discussing the subject, we thought we would look up the old civil defence advice that was so beautifully lampooned in Raymond Briggs' book, 'When the Wind Blows'. Adèle mentioned that there was a phrase "Stick your head between your legs and kiss your arse goodbye" that was occasionally quoted during the cold war in the 60's. I didn't know it, but I thought it summed up the futility of trying to prepare for an attack. We had a lot of fun writing it.
Click here to listen to sample

Painting on the Glitz £6
Three part harmony, as sung by Fascinating Aïda, with a solo verse each. In the show, BAREFACED CHIC, the group slightly fore-shortened the ending to the song, and then sang a reprise of the proper final chorus at the end of Act 1. This is available to hear on the album, BAREFACED CHIC. However, the version provided here is the original song in its entirety which should prove more useful. Chord symbols throughout.
Click here to listen to sample

Much More Married £6
Solo song. 27 bar intro to be sung colla voce, chord symbols have been given for this. Piano music, slightly simplified from Dillie's original, provided for the first chorus as a guideline. Next three choruses and coda provided as if through-composed to accommodate slight differences in meter etc. This song was originally sung in the Key of F by Dillie, which is very low. It has therefore been transposed up to Bb, the total range being from G below middle C up to Bb. Since it's a song that really needs to be sung in chest voice, this seems to be the most suitable key. Please contact if you want a different key.
Click here to listen to sample

Another Man £6
Classic love song with a twist. Much requested by professionals, and much loved by audiences. Marilyn Cutts in particular made it her own. Through-composed, no repeats. Top line and chords.
Click here to listen to sample

Hot In Here £6
The classic song for womens' singing groups of un certain âge...
Click here to listen to sample

Songs in this section (below) do include the piano part written out in full.

The Herpes Tango - Full Version £12
One of the earliest and most enduring Fascinating Aida songs. Full version with piano accompaniment plus trio parts. Trio parts written on one stave to minimise pages.
Click here to listen to sample