Paper Lace was a Nottingham, England based pop group, formed in
1969. The core of the band originally formed in 1967 as Music Box,
but changed their name to Paper Lace when Phil Wright joined as
drummer and lead singer. The band took their name from lace
products created from a special grade of high quality paper
manufactured in Nottingham. They were the most successful band
Nottingham ever produced.
Songwriters/producers, Mitch Murray and Peter Callender signed
them. The smash hit "Billy Don't Be a Hero" spent three weeks at
Number one on the UK Singles Chart in March 1974. Bo Donaldson and
the Heywoods were the first to release "Billy" in the United
States, and Paper Lace had to be content with a #96 placing.
However "The Night Chicago Died was released shortly thereafter and
was a One Hit Wonder that reached the number one spot for one week
in the US in 1974.
The song's matter is a fictional gang shootout in Chicago between
gangsters tied to Al Capone and the Chicago Police. The narrator
retells his mother's anguish in awaiting news of the fate of her
husband, a Chicago policeman,
Although it references the notorious Chicago mobster Al Capone and
his gang by name, no such massive police shootout took place during
Capone's reign as the head of the city's organized crime syndicate.
In fact, Capone's criminal career ended quietly in 1931 when he was
convicted of income-tax evasion and weapons possession.
The song's events supposedly take place "on the East Side of
Chicago." This is problematic, as native Chicagoans would never
refer to "the East Side of Chicago." To most Chicagoans, this would
refer to Lake Michigan. Unlike the North, West, and South Sides,
which divide the city into three general and commonly-referred
regions, East Side is, in reality, a small local neighborhood
several miles south of downtown Chicago, ironically, not far where
Al Capone lived (his address was 7244 South Prairie Avenue).
Many of the inaccuracies can be attributed to the fact that the
songwriters are not from Chicago, but from England. They admitted
in interviews that they had never been to the city itself, and that
their sole knowledge of the city and that period of its history had
been based on gangster films.
At many sporting events, the song is commonly played over the
public address system to add humor and slight humiliation to
visiting Chicago sports teams.
Acknowledging lace clipart from < http://autumnweb.com/Roxys/
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