Junk Box Jury

“I’m A Hog For You Baby” taken from the album “Good Rockin’ – now and then on (Philips 6382 102) 1974

Marty Wilde | Good Rockin’ – then and now | (Philips) | One important lesson of the Great Electric Experiment now so soon to end, seems to be this: British Rock ‘N’ Roll, Fifties-style, certainly packs in the crowds, at ball-rooms, colleges and clubs — thanks largely to crackle-and-blaze performances by 1970s rock revivalist combos such as the Wild Angels, Hellraisers, Shakin’ Stevens & The Sunsets, Crazy Cavan & The Rhythm Rockers, and many others.

A lot of groups and individuals sing rock ‘n’ roll; Marty Wilde, born Leonard Reginald Smith in Greenwich, London, April 15, 1939, is no exception, but he sure as heck does it a lot better than most. It’s a long time ago, but merely the mention of such Long Ago TV shows as “Boy Meets Girl”, “Drumbeat”, “Off The Record”, “Thank Your Lucky Stars”, “Six-Five Special”, and “Wham!” bring those golden, treasured memories flooding back.

Ever since I first saw Jack Good’s “Oh Boy” TV show, I have had my homegrown heroes. Here they are: Billy Fury, Cliff Richard & The Shadows (nee Drifters), Don Lang & His Frantic Five, Jess Conrad, Joe Brown & The Bruvvers, Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Lord Rockingham’s XI (with Red Price, tenor sax; Cherry Wainer, organ; and Don Storer, drums), MARTY WILDE, Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages, Vince Eager and Wee Willie Harris.

Those were the days when the early prejudice that had turned many rock and roll fans, myself included, away from the “made-in-England” rock groups was dissipated, knocked aside by the rock’em-sock’em stage performances of MARTY WILDE & THE WILDCATS and such fine performers as Art Baxter & The Rocking Sinners, Bert Weedon, Cuddley Dudley, Cliff Bennett, Danny Rivers, Dickie Pride, Duffy Power, The Houseshakers, Julian X, Keith Kelly, Kingsize Taylor & The Dominoes, Lance Fortune, Michael Cox, Neville Taylor & The Cutters, Little Tony, Tommy Bruce, Tony Sheridan, Terry Dene, Rory Blackwell, Roy Young, Shane Fenton, Sounds Incorporated, Vince Taylor and so forth.

But nobody sings rock and roll better than Marty Wilde. It’s his thing, his bag. “Oh, I’ve been bitten by the rock and roll bug, all right” Marty will tell you. “I don’t like to analyse it, but I know I was born to rock. It’s a very compulsive thing — when I’m singing rock and roll, I’m happy; when I’m not, I’m miserable”.

In 1958, at the age of 19, Marty came to the attention of impresario Larry Parnes when he was performing at London’s Condor Club — but not for long. Larry sensed something original and exciting in the flashfire act of the young Greenwich singer-songwriter; he immediately signed him to a management contract and changed his name — and, perhaps more important, he introduced him to two well known people. One was Philips’ record producer Johnny Franz. The other was Josephine Douglas, a TV personality and producer of BBC-TV’s “Six-Five Special”.

The same year he made his first record entitled “Honeycomb”, and although it set no sales records, it did help to get his name known around the country. As a recording artist he did not make the initial impact of, say, Tommy Steel, whose “Rock With The Caveman” was brilliantly successful back in 1956. But his second record “Endless Sleep” was an instant success; aside from it’s other attractions, this record made it clear beyond question that in Marty Wilde, Larry Parnes had discovered an artist of extraordinary talent.

That was in 1958/59 and since that time he has worked virtually all over the world, has topped bills in several European cities and has worked practically every major cabaret club in England and Wales. For all his remarkable talent, Marty Wilde has not always been the most exciting recording artist around, but when he is very good — as he frequently is here — he is very good indeed.

Marty Wilde | Good Rockin’ – then and now | (Philips)

Included among the goodies are “Rave On” and “Summertime Blues”, which are both rock and roll battle hymns that have the kind of irrisistable beat to keep ye olden day rock gentry — Ton-Up Teds — on their feet. Heretofore, my favourite recorded version of “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” had been Lloyd Price’s Speciality disc, chiefly by virtue of it being the original. However, the Marty Wilde track (despite a few minor reservations) now takes over the top spot in my book.

Especially exciting are his arrangements for Roy Brown’s “Good Rockin’ Tonight” and the driving “Hound Dog”. His rendering of “Donna” is something else again. And his exciting “Long Tall Sally” is simply that — exciting.

Today Marty Wilde is one of those comfortable fixtures on the British rock and roll scene who has been chanting the old standards so well and so unostentatiously for so many years that one tends to almost forget he’s there while more fashionable (non-rolling rock) singers monopolise the air-waves and the TV channels.

But don’t think that Marty Wilde has gone soft because you’d be very, very wrong. The sharp edges have been rounded off, yes, and perhaps his thoughts about music and making singles have changed. This is the new, revitalised, “Mr. British Rock ‘N’ Roll”, Marty Wilde; singer, songwriter, and former “Boy Meets Girl” TV host — now wowing audiences from Land’s End to John 0′ Groats.

Today the Alvin Stardusts and Gary Glitters have taken over, but maybe you will understand a little better now, a part of what is meant when an older brother or sister mentions the “Fantastic Fifties”. Yes, those days are gone, but I think they still live in the hearts and minds of all who play this flawless gem of an album — and remember. Now that that’s out of the way — let’s do the bop! Max Needham (Waxie Maxie) RECORD & RADIO MIRROR

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cost of record: £2
from: The Children’s Society