Elected (song)

"(I Want To Be) Elected"
"(I Want To Be) Elected"
Single by Mr. Bean and Smear Campaign ft. Bruce Dickinson
B-side	"(I Want To Be) Elected"
Released	April 1992
Recorded	1992
Genre	Hard rock; comedy rock;
Length	4:28
Label	London Records (for Comic Relief)
Songwriter(s)	A. Cooper, D. Dunaway, G. Buxton, M. Bruce, N. Smith
Producer(s)	Chris Tsangarides

"Elected"
"Elected"
	Single cover
Single by Alice Cooper
from the album Billion Dollar Babies
B-side	"Luney Tune"
Released	September 6, 1972
Recorded	August 1972
Genre	Hard rock
Length	4:05 (album version); 3:40 (single version);
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Alice Cooper; Glen Buxton; Michael Bruce; Dennis Dunaway; Neal Smith;
Producer(s)	Bob Ezrin
Alice Cooper singles chronology
Official video
	"Elected" on YouTube

"Elected" is a song by American rock band Alice Cooper, released in 1972 as the first single off their sixth album Billion Dollar Babies. It reached number 26 during election week on charts in the United States, number 4 in the United Kingdom and number 3 in Austria. The promotional music video was directed by Hart Perry.^[2]

Composition

"Elected" is a hard rock song^[3] with glam rock influences.^[4] Its political theme was inspired by the 1972 United States presidential election. Cooper called the song “total political satire," and added “we hated politics, but the idea of Alice, the scourge of the entire world, being president was just too good.”^[5]

Both the riff and part of the melody were recycled from "Reflected" which appeared on their 1969 album Pretties for You.^[6]

Legacy

Joey Ramone acknowledged the similarity between "Elected" and his band's song "I Wanna Be Sedated" according to Alice Cooper.^[7]

The song was a favorite of John Lennon, who called it "a great record" but added Paul McCartney would've done it better, which Cooper agreed with.^[8]

Charts

Chart (1972)	Peak position
United States	26^[9]
United Kingdom	4^[10]
Austria	3^[11]
Netherlands	5^[12]
Ireland	8^[13]
Germany	3^[14]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Elected"	3:40
2.	"Luney Tune"	3:36

Album appearances

Billion Dollar Babies - 1973
Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits - 1974
The Beast of Alice Cooper - 1989
The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper - 1999
Mascara and Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper - 2001
The Definitive Alice Cooper - 2001
The Essentials: Alice Cooper - 2002
School's Out and Other Hits - 2004

Personnel

Alice Cooper – vocals
Glen Buxton – lead guitar
Michael Bruce – rhythm guitar
Dennis Dunaway – bass
Neal Smith – drums

Covers

In 1992, a cover version titled "(I Want To Be) Elected" by Rowan Atkinson (as Mr. Bean) and Smear Campaign was released in support of the British charity Comic Relief and featured a performance by Bruce Dickinson and members of the hard rock band Taste (later known as Skin). The record was released in the run up to the United Kingdom General Election of 1992 and reached No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart.^[15] The music video, in which Mr. Bean's doorstep canvassing and electoral stunts are intercut with the live video of Dickinson and the band, was directed by Paul Weiland.^[16]
British hard rock band Def Leppard recorded a live version in 1987, which was used as a B-side for their songs "Heaven Is" and "Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)" from their 1992 album Adrenalize.
Following the death of Paddy Ashdown on December 22, 2018, the music video was broadcast by ITV on December 24, 2018, and featured a title card paying tribute to Ashdown.

References

^ Hung, Steffen. "Alice Cooper - Elected!". hitparade.ch.
^ "Perry Films: Hart Perry". www.perryfilms.com.
^ Talevski, Nick (2010). Rock Obituaries: Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 64. ISBN 9780857121172.
^ Donald A. Guarisco. "Elected Review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
^ "Alice Cooper – 'Elected'". Alpha Media. October 24, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
^ "Alice Cooper". Music Might. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
^ Marc Maron (August 24, 2017). "Episode 840 - Alice Cooper". WTF with Marc Maron (Podcast). Event occurs at 52:15. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
^ Tupica, Rich (September 29, 2021). "A look back: When Alice Cooper wanted to be 'Elected'". City Pulse. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
^ "Alice Cooper - Charts & Awards - Billboard Singles" Allmusic. Retrieved on August 10, 2009."
^ Rice, Jo; Tim Rice; Paul Gambaccini; Mike Read (1979). The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles (2nd ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 56. ISBN 0-900424-99-0.
^ ""Austrian Singles Charts Search for Alice Cooper"" Austriancharts.at. Retrieved on August 10, 2009."
^ ""Dutch Singles Charts Search for Alice Cooper"" dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on August 11, 2009."
^ ""Irish Singles Charts Search for Alice Cooper"" irishcharts.com. Retrieved on August 11, 2009."
^ ""German Singles Charts Search for Alice Cooper"" Archived September 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine musicline.de. Retrieved on August 11, 2009."
^ "MR BEAN & SMEAR CAMPAIGN FEATURING BRUCE DICKINSON | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
^ "Mr. Bean and Comic Relief: I Want to be Elected". www.videocollector.co.uk.

[1] Hung, Steffen. "Alice Cooper - Elected!". hitparade.ch.

[2] "Perry Films: Hart Perry". www.perryfilms.com.

[3] Talevski, Nick (2010). Rock Obituaries: Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 64. ISBN 9780857121172.

[4] Donald A. Guarisco. "Elected Review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 30, 2024.

[5] "Alice Cooper – 'Elected'". Alpha Media. October 24, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[6] "Alice Cooper". Music Might. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2010.

[7] Marc Maron (August 24, 2017). "Episode 840 - Alice Cooper". WTF with Marc Maron (Podcast). Event occurs at 52:15. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2021.

[8] Tupica, Rich (September 29, 2021). "A look back: When Alice Cooper wanted to be 'Elected'". City Pulse. Retrieved March 20, 2025.

[USsingleschart-9] "Alice Cooper - Charts & Awards - Billboard Singles" Allmusic. Retrieved on August 10, 2009."

[UKchartsbook-10] Rice, Jo; Tim Rice; Paul Gambaccini; Mike Read (1979). The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles (2nd ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 56. ISBN 0-900424-99-0.

[AUTsingleschart-11] ""Austrian Singles Charts Search for Alice Cooper"" Austriancharts.at. Retrieved on August 10, 2009."

[NETsingleschart-12] ""Dutch Singles Charts Search for Alice Cooper"" dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on August 11, 2009."

[IREsingleschart-13] ""Irish Singles Charts Search for Alice Cooper"" irishcharts.com. Retrieved on August 11, 2009."

[GERsingleschart-14] ""German Singles Charts Search for Alice Cooper"" Archived September 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine musicline.de. Retrieved on August 11, 2009."

[15] "MR BEAN & SMEAR CAMPAIGN FEATURING BRUCE DICKINSON | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-22.

[16] "Mr. Bean and Comic Relief: I Want to be Elected". www.videocollector.co.uk.

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v t e Bruce Dickinson
Studio albums	Tattooed Millionaire Balls to Picasso Skunkworks Accident of Birth The Chemical Wedding Tyranny of Souls The Mandrake Project
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Songs	"Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" "Tattooed Millionaire" "All the Young Dudes" "Dive! Dive! Dive!" "Born in '58" "(I Want To Be) Elected" (with Mr. Bean) "Tears of the Dragon" "Shoot All the Clowns" "Back from the Edge" "Accident of Birth" "Man of Sorrows"
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v t e Mr. Bean
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