Marty Wilde

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Marty Wilde (born Reginald Leonard Smith, April 15, 1939, in Greenwich, South London) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to imitate American rock'n'roll.

1 Career
2 Singles
3 Partial discography
4 Filmography
5 Trivia
6 External links
7 Reference

[edit] Career

He was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in 1957 when he was spotted by impresario Larry Parnes. Parnes gave his protégées surnames like Fury, Power, Gentle and Pride etc, hence the change to Wilde. The 'Marty' came from the commended 1955 film Marty. Wilde was signed to the British recording arm of Philips, with US releases appearing on the Epic label via Philips' reciprocal licensing agreement with Columbia Records Stateside. (Philips had yet to acquire the Mercury group as its US division).

From mid 1958 to the end of 1959, Wilde was one of the leading British rock singers, along with Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard. Wilde's backing group were called the Wildcats who featured Big Jim Sullivan on lead guitar, and Brian Locking and Brian Bennett on drums who later joined The Shadows.

He appeared regularly on the BBC Television show 6.5 Special and was the main regular artiste on the Saturday ITV popular music shows Oh, Boy! and Boy Meets Girls. There he met and married Joyce, one of The Vernons Girls who were also show regulars. The courtship was highly public but, after the marriage, Wilde's popularity as a teen idol declined.

He moved partly into all-round entertainment, appearing in musicals such as the West End production of Bye Bye Birdie and films.

He enjoyed success as a songwriter in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He penned the virtual one-hit wonder's The Casuals' "Jesamine", plus Lulu's "I'm A Tiger", and the early Status Quo's "Ice In The Sun".

In the early 1970s, Wilde changed his music style to Glam Rock and became 'Zappo'. He released only a few singles which never charted and reverted back to Marty Wilde shortly after.

Later on, as songwriter and/or record producer, he masterminded a string of 1980s hits for his daughter Kim Wilde. His son, Ricki Wilde also gained some notice in the music industry, working mainly in promotion and A&R.

Like many of his contemporaries, Wilde continues to perform in nostalgia tours in the UK and beyond.

In 2007 he celebrated 50 years in the business with another UK tour, and the issue of a compilation album, The Greatest Hits.

[edit] Singles

His notable UK singles are listed below, with their peak positions in the UK Singles Chart and, for cover versions, the song's original artist given in a further set of brackets.

"Honeycomb" (-) (Jimmie Rodgers)

1958

"Endless Sleep" (4) (Jody Reynolds) (June 1958)
"Fire of Love" (-) (Jody Reynolds)

1959

"Donna" (3) (Ritchie Valens) (February 1959)
"A Teenager In Love" (2) (Dion and the Belmonts) (May 1959) This was also covered in the UK by Craig Douglas.
"Sea Of Love" (3) (Phil Phillips) (September 1959)
"All American Boy" (September 1959)
"Blue Moon of Kentucky" (September 1959)
"Bad Boy" (7) (November 1959) — written by Wilde himself, this was even a Top 50 hit in the U.S. and was covered shortly after its release by Robin Luke and later by Nirvana and Robert Gordon. The flip side "It's Been Nice" was recorded by The Everly Brothers in 1963.

1960

"Johnny Rocco" (30)- written by Les Vandyke.
"The Fight" (47)
"Little Girl" (16) (October 1960)

1961

"Rubber Ball" (9) (Bobby Vee)
"Hide and Seek" (47)
"Tomorrow's Clown" (33) (September 1961) - written by Wilde himself
"Sea of Heartbreak" (Don Gibson)

1962

"Jezebel" (19) (Frankie Laine) (April 1962)
"Ever Since You Said Goodbye" (31)

1968

"By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (Johnny Rivers / Glen Campbell) (January 1968)
"Abergavenny" A hit in Europe, which he wrote himself. (It was also a Top 50 hit in the U.S. under the pseudonym Shannon).

1971

"The Busker"

[edit] Partial discography

Wilde About Marty (LP, August 1959)
Showcase (LP, May 1960)
Diversions (LP, 1969?)
Wilde About Marty / Showcase BGOCD594 (CD compilation album of the first two LPs, 2003)