From: "Dik de Heer" Date: Mon Apr 15, 2002 1:16 am Subject: Born To Be With You : Marty Wilde MARTY WILDE (By Shaun Mather) Born Reginald Leonard Smith, 15 April 1936, London, England Marty Wilde was probably the first home grown rock 'n' roll superstar, although his level of success fell short of his predecessors Cliff Richard and Billy Fury. As with most British artists he got his start in a skiffle band before securing a gig at the Condor Club where he worked as Reg Patterson. Songwriter Lionel Bart recommended him to entrepeneur Larry Parnes who quickly changed his name and got him signed to Philips Records. His first few singles like Honeycomb were failures but following some much-needed exposure on BBC TV's 6.5 Special, he was able to hit in 1958 with a cover of Endless Sleep. He worked on Jack Good's Oh Boy! until a fall out over the song Misery's Child. A string of hits came with Donna, A Teenager In Love, Sea Of Love and his self-written Bad Boy. He married Vernon Girl Joyce Baker and moved further away from the sounds of rock 'n' roll, despite hosting the TV pop show, Boy Meets Girl. His final big hit came in '61 with a cover of Bobby Vee's Rubber Ball. By the end of the decade he was recording as the Wilde Three with his wife and Justin Hayward. He nearly scored with Abergavenny, although it was a Top 5 hit in Holland, where Dik bought 4,000 copies. (No need to exaggerate, Shaun, it was only 3,163 - Dik) His off-spring moved into the business with son Ricky moving from singer to song-writer and daughter Kim moving from heart-throb to heart-throb. Marty has continued to make a comfortable living as a star of the Solid Gold Rock 'n' Roll Show which tours the country annually to sold out crowds. Recommended listening: The Best of Marty Wilde - Spectrum. A budget CD, 24 tracks, with all the hits. More info: http://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dirm/martyw.htm