February 14, 1958 THE NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS 3 'N.'N. " \1 ...and ready to fight back is

DEREK JOHNSON 1411416 surveys the odd situation caused by the fact that Perry and Ronnie,once on the same label, are now rivals in the disc world. itaar challenger battling forMagic oute the reason to Perry's Stateside television show, which is now being seen weekly on the BBC channel He had already become recognised as one of the most outstanding TV performersinAmerica-andwith Moments' millions of viewers eagerly awaiting his show every week, he had therally around anartistthey knowclimbedto twelfthpositioninthe idealshowcaseforexploitinganyrather than one they don't. table over there. new record he may have waxed- Thesearealsomotiveswhich Perryis no newcomer toour such as the time when he introducedprompted HMV toissueHilton's Charts,however.Mid -1956saw "Round And Round " by perform-" NoOther Love," insteadof himinfourthplace,withhis ing itthree times, within the spacePerry's. excitinginterpretationof" Hot of an hour I One is tempted to speculate on Diggity " (which climbedtoNo. Now that the show has come to what might have beentheout- 2 in the States). Britain, the spearhead of his attack come of the present Como -Hilton Alittlelaterintheyear,his can be said to have established an duel, had Ronnie's treatment beencoupling of " More "and" Glen- KAYE SISTERS important beachhead in this country. totallydifferent from Perry's,in-dora" achieved fourthpositionin stead of practically the same. America and, although on first sight LOVE ME FOREVER For it has certainly gained him Iam inclinedtothinkthatait did not do quite so well over here, increased popularity and a host ofmarked distinction between the twothis is doubtless due to the fact that HANDED DOWN newly acquired admirers. might have givenrisetoacloserin Britain the two titles were rated It seems highly unlikely that Perrybattle-butthat'sonlyapersonalseparately - " More "reached No. PB 778 will be able to cross the Atlantic foropinion. 10, and" Glendora "No. 18- some time, as the success of his TV Until the advent of his TV showthough a combination of thetwo show is bound to keep him anchoredon January1,Perry has beenin-wouldhavegiventherecord a in New York indefinitely. But withfinitelybetter known at home thansubstantially higher placing. At about the BBC's decision to start screen-inBritain.Sure, he has hadhisthis same time, another Como record ing his show over here, his problemrecordsuccessesoverhere,butcame into the lower half of the tables JOHNNIE RAY has virtually been overcome. nothing like on the scale which he-this was " Juke Box Baby." has experienced in the States. Going back a few years, we recall MISS ME JUST Loser, too Throughout last year, for instance,that in1933, Perry was riding high A LITTLE although his discs enjoyed reasonablywithaNo. 1 best-seller,simul- There have been occasions when,consistent sales-he didn't getintotaneously inBritain and America- SOLILOQUY OF A FOOL witha Como recording competingthe sellers' charts at all. this was " Don't Let The Stars Get Thesetitles comprise just two ofnumbers as " No Other Love " and against versions by other artists, he Yet during the same period, heIn Your Eyes." And the followingthe eleven Golden Discsheholds," Around The World," he beat all PB 785 has lost the battle to a British singerhadone record, " RoundAndyear, he enjoyed another top -of -the -for million -plus sales on his record-available competition. -partly because the latter has hadRound," which reached the very toptablesuccessintheStateswithings;othernumbers inthesame He became the nation's best-seller the advantage of personal exploita-of the tree in America, while another" Wanted," though on this occasioncategory, and upon which Como haswith " No Other Love " and, battling tion, and partly because the fans willdisc, " JustBorn "/" Ivy Rose,"it didn't do quite so well over here.sethissealforalltime,includemainlyagainstBingCrosbyand " Prisoner Of Love," " Temptation "GracieFields,reached ashighas and " Till The End Of Time." This,fourth place with his " Around TheTHE FOUR LADS of course, fakes us back quite a bitWorld " -back to theremarkable year of Immediatelyfollowinghis "No PUT A LIGHT IN Gary Miller's Lifeg-lines 1946, whenPerryachievedtheOther Love "success, Ronnie very sensational featof sellingfournearlyrepeatedtheformulawith THE WINDOW millionrecordsin touring with small revues as singer Story Of My Life" (reached14th the space ofa" Who Are We ?" which got as high and dancer ; concert parties; position). single week as No. 6, and we mustn't overlook THE THINGS WE variety dates; also a return to theRecords which justmissed: "Hold thehithe scoredwith " Two DID LAST SUMMER legitimate theatre, playing Romeo MyHand,"" Wanted,"" The Different Worlds " just over a year in " Romeo and Juliet." YellowRoseOfTexas "I" The Done well ago. PB 776 First broadcast: " Up and Coming," Man From Laramie," "The Moon- BONNIE HILTON has given an His last appearance in the sellers 1952. raker's Song." extremely good account of him-was in August, when he just looked Firsttelevision:" ShopWindow,"LP's:One 12 -inchcalled" Meetselfoverthelasttwoyears,forin briefly with " Wonderful, Wonder- Firstsingingexperience:Withthe 1952. Mister Miller." during that time, he has appeared inful." VIC DAMONE famous St. Cecilia's Choir when heFirst big TV break: Resident in theCurrently:Entertaining theForcesthehit parade with no fewer than Itis reasonable to suppose that was11.LatersoloistatWelsh fortnightly " Kaleidoscope " series. in Cyprus. seven differenttitles. Ronnie was hoping for even better Eisteddfods. This ledtohisfirst record con-FutureReturns to Britain February Naturally, hehasmadeother things with " Magic Moments "- THE GIFT OF LOVE Wartime service: though it is to his misfortune that Lieutenant in the tract, which was with the Philips 28, beginsatour with therecordswhich havenotbeenso JUNIOR MISS RNVR. Company. American vocalgroup,Thesuccessful (haven't all singers, except the song happened to coincide with After demob.: Studied languages atAchievements: Televised many times Crickets, on March 1. possibly Presley ?) PerryComo'ssuddenfluxof PB 788 London University. onboth channels. AppearedinFamily: Wife (Joy-he met herin But he has invariably fared well, popularity here, as a result of his First show business work: As straight variety astop -of -the -bill. Italy, when he was inthe Navy, eveninthefaceofstiffcom- TV series. actor. After a few small parts, wasCurrent record company: Pye-Nixa. and she was with ENSA.Three petition. But don't count Ronnie out of the castin" Lend Me Robin "atRecord best-sellers: "Davy Crockett" young sons (Pip, Kit and Jonty). Although Ted Hockridge beat himfightyet, by any means. He has a London's Embassy Theatre. It was /"RobinHood" (reached 10thRelaxations: Sport. Once played ason" Young AndFoolish " andvastfollowingofsupporters, who the star of the play, Sonia Dresdel, position in NME Chart); "Garden anamateurforBlackpoolFC.Frankie Laine topped the Chart oncan confidently be expected to rally who recommended that he should Of Eden" (reached 14th position); Now turns out for the Show Busi-" A Woman In Love," Ronnie never-round, andIshouldn't beatall take up singing seriously. "Wonderful, Wonderful" (reached ness XI. Also enjoys cricket andtheless managed to get into the sellerssurprised to seehis name creeping Subsequent work:Severalyears of 29th position); and currently "The sailing. with hisversions;while with suchinto the Charts in the near future.

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