Frankie Vaughan Frankie Vaughan's 1954 version for
His Master's Voice reached the UK charts that year with a peak position of No. 11.
Col Joye's Joy Boys Col Joye's backing band recorded an instrumental version on the
Festival label, which peaked at No. 16 in November 1960 according to the back-then Australian charts, ending up as No. 95 for the 1961 year-end ranking.
Bing Crosby Bing Crosby began performing a version on his weekly radio show
The Bing Crosby Show for General Electric. It was first broadcast as a duet with
Ella Fitzgerald at the end of 1953, and later with
Connie Russell in early 1954. It featured
John Scott Trotter's Orchestra and trumpet soloist
Ziggy Elman.
Bette Midler Bette Midler performed the song as part of her 1976 special for Home Box Office,
Live at Last. It appears on the album of the same name.
Big Muffin Serious Band Big Muffin Serious Band, a ukulele-based music performance group from New Zealand, released a cover on their LP
Jabberwocky Goes to Town in 1987.
They Might Be Giants •
Elektra /
WEA (Europe) •
Alan Winstanley }} One of the best-known versions of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is the cover by American
alternative rock band
They Might Be Giants, who released it as the second single on their album
Flood in 1990. They Might Be Giants' version is at a faster tempo than the original. The music video was featured in the first season of
MTV's
Liquid Television. The single reached number 61 on the
UK Singles Chart in 1990. They Might Be Giants later recorded an electronic version of the song for their 2011 compilation album,
Album Raises New and Troubling Questions. The song is prominently featured in the 1991 episode "
Tiny Toon Music Television", of
Tiny Toon Adventures, for a music video segment featuring
Plucky Duck trying to find a missing statue. It was used as the theme in the 1992
TV movie Black Magic, starring
Judge Reinhold. It plays as an ending to the 2005 episode "
Mobile Homer", of
The Simpsons. The song plays during a donut shop fight scene in the 2019 series premiere, "
We Only See Each Other at Weddings and Funerals", of
The Umbrella Academy.
The Sacados A Spanish language version called "" was recorded by Argentine synth-pop trio
the Sacados in 1990. The song was included on their debut album (1990).
The Muppets In Season 2, Episode 4 (October 12, 1997, U.S. release) of the television series
Muppets Tonight, portions of the song were performed by a quartet of rats in kaftans and fezzes.
The Trevor Horn Orchestra An orchestra version by the
Trevor Horn Orchestra was recorded for the 2003 film
Mona Lisa Smile, starring
Julia Roberts. It used as background music.
Bart & Baker Electro swing duo Bart & Baker covered the song for their album
The Jet Lag EP (2012). Another version called "Istanbul 2016" was included on their curation album
Best of Electro Swing by Bart & Baker (2016).
PJ Harvey PJ Harvey used a loop of the song as inspiration for the title track of her album
Let England Shake. Her release
Let England Shake – Demos revealed that the Four Lads original recording was used as a constant sound bed under
Let England Shake with Harvey singing lyrics from the song at the end of demo.
Other versions in live performances The Doox of Yale, an
a cappella group at
Yale University, perform the song at the end of most of their concerts. The song has been in the repertoire of the group since 1953 (when they were known as the Duke's Men). During the 2000s, the song was performed live by Australian klezmer/
gypsy jazz band
Monsieur Camembert, appearing on the album
Live on Stage. Guitarist
Trey Anastasio has teased the song on numerous occasions with
Phish and with his own band,
Trey Anastasio Band. ==References==