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At one point in time, every wedding, bar mitzvah, and birthday party wasn’t complete with the very repetitive tune of ‘Ag-a-doo-doo-doo, push pineapple, shake the tree’ ringing out through some community hall. The dance moves, the lyrics, despite not listening to it on purpose, would become ingrained in your psyche. Information stored in the very membrane of your soul for ever more.
But what ever happened to Black Lace? A new documentary explores the current life and career of Dene Michael, best known for fronting the novelty pop group and its sole surviving member.
Still Pushing Pineapples, which premiered at Sheffield DocFest this month, follows Michael over a two-year period as he continues to perform under the Black Lace name at venues including holiday parks, pubs and care homes.
Prior to Agadoo, the group had previously represented the UK at Eurovision in 1979 and later achieved commercial success with songs such as Superman, Do the Conga, and I Am the Music Man.
Reflecting on his career, Michael said: “Not many people get to tell their life story in a movie. So, hard work but very exciting.”
Agadoo was released in 1984 and spent 30 weeks in the UK Top 75, peaking at number two. It was later voted “worst song of all time” in a 2003 Q magazine poll.
Michael, who was not part of the band when the hit song was released, has said he remains conflicted about the track and he is still required to perform regularly.
Having officially joined the group in 1986 after founding members Terry Dobson Gibb and Alan Barton took a step back, in 1991, he had walked away from the band amid “personal and professional issues”.
After leaving, he agreed not to use the Black Lace name—but that didn’t last. He launched a short-lived band called Barracuda, then resurfaced in 2007 using the Black Lace name again, sparking a rift with former bandmates.
At one point, he even performed under the moniker Mr Agadoo—a nickname originally associated with Gibb—despite having no connection to the track when it was first released.
By 2012, Dene had gone solo, and three years later appeared in a Walkers Crisps advert singing Agadoo alongside Gary Lineker.
But his solo career hit the skids in 2016 when he was jailed for benefit fraud. He’d claimed over £24,000 in disability payments, insisting he was severely unwell, despite being caught on stage performing those signature Black Lace moves. It’s even been reported that he kept the party going inside, entertaining fellow inmates with Agadoo behind bars.
His past legal issues are not covered in the documentary. Director Kim Hopkins said the omission was deliberate, stating: “It’s a film set in the present… It’s not meant to be a comprehensive story covering Dene’s entire life.”
Hopkins added that the project was driven by an interest in “the fleeting nature of stardom” and what happens when performers attempt to maintain public careers later in life.
Michael was removed from the Black Lace brand by text message during filming and now performs at Pontins and other holiday parks under his own name. He remains hopeful about achieving renewed success and continues to write and record music.
“I’ve still got that ambition, still got that hope,” he said.
