UK "Pop" Stars Rich List !

On the subject of the Beatles

In 1963 I bought my young wife the Beatles first album, "Please, Please Me." It was a third pressing. A mono version. An example of which in mint condition, is supposedly worth £150.
Although I'd suggest, few records that are fifty-five years old, are "mint."

She only played it a few times and was not impressed, it's not been played since. We have no other Beatles records, (I'm not a fan), not even in either of my vinyl jukeboxes which have examples of many other singers and groups from that era.

According to this site,

PLEASE PLEASE ME - Beatles Collecting Guide

It says.

"On a rare version of this pressing, it appears a 33+1/3 on label."


That's on ours.

 

I know nowt about the list. However I well remember as a cop, having to provide motor-cade escorts for ones such as the Beatles. Personally much of the pop era music....yuck. OK some songs/tunes became classics compared to much of todays stuff. Some of the Beatles music sounds good when orchestrated.
The early 60's was very much made up of ballards. Boy tells his girl, how much he loves her etc. I think that most of us, irrespective of age or sex. There seems to be this something that grabs our attention. Perhaps we liked a particular song, so when the artist brings out another, we automatically buy it and so the trend continues. Likewise with books. We read a good book and become hooked on that author. Then of course the car. A guy has always bought Fords. The last five Fords, to him have been C*** compared to the former models. Yet he still buys Fords.

Nowt so strange as folk.

 

I've always said, I'll listen to anything pop song that has a good tune and is sung well. I didn't think any of the Beatles sang well.
Favourites of the fifties, were Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers and many other American singers and groups. The Brits of that era were just copyists, as were the Beatles in their early years and didn't appeal to me. I was also into "trad jazz." At the age of fifteen, I took a girlfriend to see Chris Barber when Lonnie Donegan was still playing banjo in his band. From the age of seventeen when I became "mobilised," having bought my first car, it was the jazz club at the Eel Pie Island Hotel every Saturday night. But I became progressively interested in modern jazz. At twenty, my future wife and I moved into a flat in Soho. We were already members of Ronnie Scott's first club and spent a lot of week-day evenings there as it was free for members and warmer than our flat. In the early sixties I got into Motown.
But my interest in modern jazz has endured. It's timeless. It forms a major part of my vynil album, CD and mp3 collection.

This is from an album I bought in 1959. For me it sounds as fresh now as it did back then.

 

The BBC made a TV documentary years ago about The Cavern, concentrating mostly on The Beatles. The numpty presenter, pointed out the name of artists who had appeared there inscribed on purposely added cladded bricks on the outside.
He made a point of indicating the one dedicated to Tubby Hayes, saying "Who ever heard of him?" as if he were a five minute wonder decades ago.

The Cavern wasn't all about the Beatles at one time.

 

Quite a list of 50's stars @shiney I can just about remember most of them . In fact a few weeks back there was a Morecambe and Wise documentary, Dicky Valentine was in one of the sketches. I always wondered what happen to him .I found out that ,sadly ,he died in a car accident in 1971.

 

Answer Me was written by a couple of Germans in 1952.
Both David Whitfield and Frankie Laine recorded it in 1953

Frankie Laine's version was No 1 in the States for 8 weeks
I'm not sure if it was released in the UK. I think that applies to a lot of recordings, many record companies were multilateral. So I guess it was "horses for courses."


I didn't like either.

Frankie Laine was the big star in the mid fifties, "I Believe" was No1 for 18 weeks in 1953 in the States.
He had three No1s in the USA in 1953.

Dickie Valentine recorded a lot of songs also recorded by other artists.

I looked up his hits.

• "Endless" – (1954) – No. 19
• "Mister Sandman" – (1954) – No. 5
• "Finger of Suspicion" – (1954) – No. 1
• "A Blossom Fell" – (1955) – No. 9
• "I Wonder" – (1955) – No. 4
• "Christmas Alphabet" – (1955) – No.

Mr Sandman was recorded in the USA by the Chordettes, the Four Aces, Buddy Morrow, Vaughn Monroe, Les Elgart, the Lancers, and the Song Singers.

I've even got a track of it on a CD by the Ray Ellington Quartet.

A Blossom Fell was a huge hit for Nat King Cole, here in 1955. taking over from Dickie Valentine's and reaching No3.
Of course before the 60s there was only the BBC, Radio Luxembourg and if you could get it AFN playing records. The BBC favoured home grown products.

 

Hey! Many great name there. When my first daughter was born in hospital, I shoved in a request on the hospital radio thingy. Sitting beside Val's bed. We listened in. Suddenly our names were mentioned and. Here is. Nat King Cole singing. When I fall in love. At Val's funeral I had that same song played. Oh dear here we go again. The old eyes are raining again.

With music, we often refer to the golden oldies. Oh for the sound of the big bands. Glenn Miller and Tommy Sorsey etc.


Play it again Sam. Turn the volume up.

 

All them in one film ! Including Sounds Inc. a superb instrumental band who backed a lot of American R and B stars on tour.