From:   "Dik de Heer"  
Date:  Thu Jun 19, 2003  1:16 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Charlie Drake
 
CHARLIE DRAKE

Born Charles Sprigall, 19 June 1925, London, England

The enormously popular British actor/comedian Charlie Drake is always
instantly recognizable with his shock of red hair, diminutive 5 feet 1 inch 
frame and distinctive cockney voice.

He became famous through television, in which he started (in 1954) as 
half of a children's TV slapstick duo. He became a great favourite with
TV audiences with the catch phrase 'Hello my darlings'.

It wasn't a great surprise that he should extend his comedy to records. 
In 1958, he hit the UK Top 10, outselling Bobby Darin with a cover version
of "Splish Splash". He followed this with more chart entries, a comic version 
of "Volare", a cover of Larry Verne's "Mr. Custer" (heavily anglicised for the 
UK market) and "My Boomerang Won't Come Back" (1961), the latter 
co-written by Drake, in collaboration with Max Diamond. Released on
United Artists in the USA, "My Boomerang Won't Come Back" was a
surprise hit there, peaking at # 21 in Billboard in early 1962.

With strong managerial backing from Colonel Bill Alexander and the 
producing talents of Parlophone's A&R man George Martin, Drake was
in good hands and his comedy workouts translated well on to disc. 
Although he continued recording, acting commitments increasingly
took precedence, although he did make a brief chart reappearance 
in 1972 with "Puckwudgie". His most recent appearances have been
in fellow comedian Jim Davidson's "blue" pantomime, Sinderella.

Autobiography: Charlie Drake, Drake's Progress. London : Robson, 1986.