This boy crazy love ballad still tugs heartstrings almost 100 years after its debut
Words and Music by the British playwright and songwriter Noel Coward.It’s a testament to the song’s power that it has endured over the decades, reworked by numerous artists and taken to heart by millions of listeners.In its first incarnation, in Words and Music, “Mad About The Boy” was sung by several women in the queue for a cinema.
They are all besotted with the matinee idol they are queuing to see.Subscribe to our newsletter for your front-row seat to all things entertainment with a sprinkle of everything else queer.“On the silver screen, he melts my foolish heart in every single scene.”The theme of unrequited love resonated with many.
This included gay listeners at the time, so many of whom were used to pining for people to whom they could never reveal their feelings.“I’m mad about the boy, I know it’s stupid to be mad about the boy, I’m so ashamed of it but must admit, the sleepless nights I’ve had about the boy.”Noel Coward was born in 1899.
He became internationally known as a suave, debonair, British composer and songwriter. However, the aristocratic persona was something he worked hard to create.
