This is one of those mindblowing tracks that occasionally turns up when you least expect it. I bought a generic looking 'Top TV Themes' EP on the Pye Golden Guinea label, mainly because it had a version of the 'Out of this World' theme, which I've recommended elsewhere on this site. But I was disappointed - it turned out that this 'Out of this World' was exactly the same Tony Hatch version that I already had (the EP does not list any track credits).

I listened on, not expecting much, particularly from 'Maigret', a nice enough theme by Ron Grainer, but one that is a kind of accordian waltz!

Imagine my surprise when this turned out to be some kind of trashy, twangy, swampy surf pop masterpiece! It sounds like one of the very best Joe Meek produced instrumentals from the early 60s.

I'm inferring that this is Tony Hatch, since he did the 'Out of this World' and was a staff arranger at Pye in the early 60s. But if anyone else can shed a different light on this recording, I'd be pleased to hear about it!

This film was made before he did any of the spaghetti westerns, "La Voglia Matta" and it sure does hold up.

This track has got such a weird message, and though it's not in the track, the lyrics at the end of the song really pull the song around. This is copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_Hit_Me_(And_It_Felt_Like_a_Kiss)

Goffin and King wrote the song after discovering that singer Little Eva was being regularly beaten by her boyfriend. When they inquired why she tolerated such treatment, Eva replied with complete sincerity that her boyfriend's actions were motivated by his love for her.

The song was written and intended as a sort of protest song from the point of view of an abused woman. Phil Spector's arrangement was ominous and ambiguous. Dave Thompson writes, "It was a brutal song, as any attempt to justify such violence must be, and Spector �s arrangement only amplified its savagery, framing Barbara Alston�s lone vocal amid a sea of caustic strings and funereal drums, while the backing vocals almost trilled their own belief that the boy had done nothing wrong. In more ironic hands (and a more understanding age), 'He Hit Me' might have passed at least as satire. But Spector showed no sign of appreciating that, nor did he feel any need to. No less than the song�s writers, he was not preaching, he was merely documenting." [1]

Upon its initial release, "He Hit Me" received some airplay, but then there was a widespread protest of the song, with many concluding that the song was an endorsement of spousal abuse. The song soon became played only rarely on the radio, as now.