Since you've gone - The Wilde Three

The previous two entries on this blog came with the big one: this single. I have been hunting for the two Wilde Three singles for decades now, but they are very rare and so I haven't been able to get them - until now. 'Since you've gone' was the first release by the Wilde Three, the group formed by Marty Wilde after his solo career didn't go as well as before. Figuring that there was a trend for harmony groups, he enlisted his wife Joyce and a young unknown singer called Justin Hayward to record a handful of tracks. This single shows exactly what they were made of: two great songs written by Marty (using his pseudonym Frere Manston) and performed with passion by three excellent singers.

The single didn't chart, and Justin soon parted ways again. However, it was Marty who encouraged him to write his own song material. Without him, the world might never have heard songs like 'Nights in white satin', for that was a song penned by Hayward just two years later.

Meanwhile, this single sits proudly in my record collection now. And if anyone can find the other one, 'I cried', I will gladly pay. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6292
Found: Discogs.com, received May 29, 2020
Cost: enough
Tracks: 'Since you've gone' / 'Just as long'

Kiss me - Marty Wilde

I've already got a lot of singles by Marty Wilde - you have seen them on this blog no doubt - but there are still some missing. For instance, this one. 'Kiss me' was released in 1964. After having been signed to Philips for years, he switched labels in the early Sixties, for an unsuccessful run of singles on the Columbia label.

Unsuccessful in terms of chart success, because artistically these songs stand the test of time very well. Both sides of this single were written by Wilde himself, and recorded with his own backing band, the Wild Cats.

My collection: 7" single no. 6267
Found: Discogs.com, received March 20, 2020
Cost: 7 pounds
Tracks: 'Kiss me' / 'My what a woman'

Rock and roll crazy - Zappo

I have been after this single for a long time, primarily because of the sleeve. I already have the two tracks on this single, thanks to the French edition that swapped the two sides. On this sleeve, you can see Marty Wilde - for it is him - wearing a Superman costume, complete with a 'glam rock' helmet... it is a priceless picture.

Both sides of this single were written and produced by Peter Shelley and Marty Wilde, who collaborated a lot during this time. Released in 1973, 'Rock and Roll crazy' wasn't a hit, even though it was a glam rock stomper if ever I heard one.

My collection: 7" single no. 6233
Found: Discogs.com, received January 8, 2020
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Rock and roll crazy' / 'Right on'

The busker - Marty Wilde

Released in 1971, 'The busker' is one of the rarer Marty Wilde singles. Marty continued to release singles in the 1970's, even if he didn't manage to reach the singles charts anymore by himself. By contrast, his song 'I'm a tiger' was a hit for Lulu in 1968 and 'Jesamine' was a worldwide hit for the Casuals in 1969.

Written by Parker and Stirling, 'The busker' was the only Marty Wilde single I was still very much after - although obviously I'll continue to hunt for variations and EP's in the near future.

My collection: 7" single no. 6188
Found: Discogs.com, received November 9, 2019
Cost: 10 pounds
Tracks: 'The busker' / 'It's so unreal'

Shang shang a lang - Sylvie Vartan

During what was probably the hottest week of this year, I was on holiday in Paris with the family. And like every year there wasn't a lot of time to scour the record shops. However, last Wednesday, as the temperature was rising near 40 degrees Celsius, they went back to the apartment during the afternoon and I suddenly had a few hours on my own. Much to my dismay I found that Parisian record shops are a weird thing: they are either on holiday or unwelcoming to guests. The two shops that were open were 'Musiques Musiques' (but the owner turned me away for no apparent reason) and 'Monster Melodies' (which had closed their upper floor where the vinyl was stacked up high).

And so I had only one address left: Gilbert Joseph, a large store for second hand books, films and comics as well as records. Their second hand singles were quite interesting, I found. My first find was an old Sylvie Vartan single. 'Shang shang a lang' was written by Marty Wilde and Peter Shelley. I was so familiar with the sleeve of this single that I thought I already had it, but it turns out I didn't. It was very nice to scoop up this disc.

My collection: 7" single no. 6143
Found: Gilbert Joseph, Paris, July 24, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Shang shang a lang' / 'Toi mon aventure'

When you wish upon a star - Scrumpy 'n Dumpy

Leigh Harline and Ned Washington wrote 'When you wish upon a star' for Walt Disney's 1940 adaptation of Pinocchio. The original version was sung by Cliff Edwards in the character of Jiminy Cricket, and is heard over the opening credits and in the final scene of the film. The song has since become the representative song of The Walt Disney Company. It won the 1940 Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was also the first Disney song to win an Oscar.

This single, released in 1972, contains a cover version of the song by Scrumpy 'n Dumpy. It is probably one of the most bizarre cover versions of the song. The minds behind this duo were Peter Shelley and Marty Wilde. They were probably just having a laugh when they released it, as you can hardly take this single seriously. It may surprise you, however, that despite this lack of seriousness and its obvious 'novelty record' status, this single has become very difficult to find - and pretty expensive when you have to buy it. As a collector, I had to get my hands on it, of course - even if this copy came without the original picture sleeve. Who can resist a Marty Wilde record in whatever shape or form?

My collection: 7" single no. 6133
Found: Discogs.com, received June 28, 2019
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'When you wish upon a star' / 'The Scrumpy 'n Dumpy boogaloo'

Save your love for me - Marty Wilde

In my ongoing quest for Marty Wilde singles, I have found yet another one. It is slightly damaged as you can see here, but finding a copy of 'Save your love for me' isn't easy to begin with. Released in 1963, it was one of the first singles that didn't end up in the UK singles charts, and also one of the first singles that Marty released for Columbia instead of Philips.

The hits of Marty Wilde have become very wellknown, but I have to say that I heard these two songs for the first time. And I liked them a lot. It's interesting how the music from half a century ago is more captivating than whatever's in the charts right now.

My collection: 7" single no. 5996
Found: Discogs.com, received February 12, 2019
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'Save your love for me' / 'Bless my broken heart'

All the love I have - Marty Wilde

Marty Wilde released 'All the love I have' in 1969, after he had some success in Europe with his single 'Abergavenny'. The album 'Diversions' (from which the B-side 'Any day' was taken) had not been as successful, but Marty was still at it, writing great songs and recording them himself. Unfortunately this single did not chart, despite the fact that he revealed himself to be quite the singer once again.

This single and 'The busker' (which I am still searching for) represent probably some of the rarest Marty Wilde singles, because only one run was made and they appear online for fairly high prices if they do at all. This is why I am glad to have obtained this single - I am nearing completion.

My collection: 7" single no. 5969
Found: Discogs.com, received December 24, 2018
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'All the love I have' / 'Any day'

No trams to Lime Street - Marty Wilde

'No trams to Lime Street' is a British television play, written by the Welsh playwright Alun Owen. It was originally transmitted in 1959 on ITV in the UK. In 1965, the play was remade by the BBC and broadcast on 21 March 1965. Both these versions have been lost.The play was remade for television a second time, again by the BBC, in 1970. Broadcast on March 18, 1970, it included songs and music by Marty Wilde and Ronnie Scott. This version survives as a black and white telerecording, although it was made in colour.

The title track, 'No trams to Lime Street' was released as a single, with a Wilde composition on the B-side: 'A prelude to old age'. If you don't like the whimsical A-side, you are sure to love the more introspective, melancholical B-side. It's a thing of beauty.

My collection: 7" single no. 5954
Found: Discogs.com, recieved November 20, 2018
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'No trams to Lime Street' / 'A prelude to old age'

Sea of love - Phil Phillips & the Twilights / Marty Wilde

Phil Phillips' most famous song, "Sea of Love", peaked at the top of the US Billboard R&B chart and number 2 in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959.The song was soon covered by Marty Wilde in the UK, and he had a top 10 hit with the song over there too.

In 1989, the movie 'Sea of Love', starring Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin and John Goodman was released. The soundtrack album featured both versions of the song - and they were eventually released as a single too. This is the UK pressing of that single, released in 1991.

My collection: 7" single no. 5748
Found: Discogs.com, received 10 November 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Sea of love' (Phil Phillips & the Twilights) / 'Sea of love' (Marty Wilde)

When does it get to be love - Marty Wilde

Released in 1961, 'When does it get to be love' was released between Rubber ball, which peaked at no 9 in January, and Hide and seek, which got to no. 47 in July. The fact that this single didn't chart may be because of the slightly overenthusiastic choir girls on this record. It's not down to Marty's voice, because his performance of this song (which was written by Doug Morris and Camille Kaye) is excellent.

The B-side, 'Your loving touch' was penned by Marty himself and was covered by Joe Brown.

My collection: 7" single no. 5945
Found: Recordsale.de, Germany, received November 3, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'When does it get to be love' / 'Your loving touch'

Little girl - Marty Wilde

More Marty Wilde fun with these two singles of 'Little girl'. If I am to believe the labels of these singles, they are both promotional discs. However, it probably is only the white label one that is the true promotional 7" single; the yellow label one only has a 'for demonstration use only' sticker glued onto it - a simple way to change a commercial record into a 'rare' promotional one.

Anyway, these two singles were the other two of the four American 7" singles I bought in one go a few months ago, along with the two 'Bad boy' singles. Here's hoping tomorrow's record fair in Utrecht will give me a few more of these beauties.

My collection: 7" single no. 5885 & no. 5886
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 11, 2017
Cost: 3 euro each
Tracks: 'Little girl' / 'Your seventeenth spring'

Bad boy - Marty Wilde

It doesn't happen very often that you find rare American singles you've been searching for as a bargain. But that's exactly what happened in November, when I was at the Record Fair in Utrecht. One dealer had four American singles of Marty Wilde, at just 3 euros each. What's more, they were in great condition as you can hear on this first disc. I actually found two versions of this one, with slight label variations as you can see.

'Bad boy' appeared on the US Epic label with a different B-side when compared to the UK version, featuring 'Teenage tears' instead of 'It's been nice'. In the UK, 'Teenage tears' was the B-side of Sea of love.

My collection: 7" single no. 5883 & 5884
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 11, 2017
Cost: 3 euros each
Tracks: 'Bad boy' / 'Teenage tears'

No one knows - Marty Wilde

Only two days until Marty Wilde performs live in London, celebrating 60 years in the music business. And this single, 'No one knows', comes almost from the very beginning of his career.... it was released in 1958. Unlike other singles around that time, this one wasn't a hit.

The song was written by Hecht and Maresca, and previously recorded by Dion and the Belmonts. That version actually reached number 19 in the American singles charts.

My collection: 7" single no. 5870
Found: Discogs.com, received October 25, 2017
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'No one knows' / 'The fire of love'

Right on - Zappo

You will recognise the track 'Right on', the A-side of this single, as the B-side of Yellow Bird's 'Attack Attack'. No, it's not a cover version: it's the exact same recording. So who is this Zappo person? Well, it's a nickname of Marty Wilde. On different pressings of this single he appears on the sleeve in a strange superhero suit - but since those singles are quite expensive I opted for this French pressing instead.

Most editions have 'Rock and roll crazy' (which is the B-side on this single) as the A-side. Like 'Right on', that song is written by Marty Wilde and Peter Shelley.

My collection: 7" single no. 5792
Found: Ebay, received February 10, 2017
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Right on' / 'Rock and roll crazy'

Attack attack - Yellow Bird

The band Yellow Bird only ever released one single. 'Attack Attack' was written and produced by Peter Shelley and Marty Wilde. The couple worked together intensively as songwriters and producers during the Seventies, while Marty was no longer successful as a pop star in his own right. In 1974, when this single was released, he was also trying to launch his son Ricky's career, but it would be Kim, his daughter, who would find success in the next decade.

Yellow Bird was a five man band, as you can see on the sleeve on this single, but I don't know who they are. The B-side is an instrumental track that you will also find on another single, soon on this blog...

My collection: 7" single no. 5790
Found: Ebay, February 10, 2017
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Attack attack' / 'Right on'

No! Dance with me - Marty Wilde

Released in 1963, 'No! Dance with me' was one of the first singles released by Marty Wilde not to chart after his run of hit singles between 1958 and 1962. The song was written by Marty himself, as might well be the B-side, which is incorrectly credited to Gerald Goffin and Carole King. They did indeed write a song with a similar title, but it does not resemble this song here.

This single was one of five Marty Wilde singles I ordered back in May, but for your pleasure I've spread the posting of them a little bit. After all, this is not a Marty Wilde tribute website - although I am quickly completing my collection now. There's still a handful of - rather expensive - singles missing, but I'll get there eventually.

My collection: 7" single no. 5822
Found: Recordsale.de, received May 11, 2017
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'No! Dance with me' / 'Little miss Happiness'

Mean woman blues - Marty Wilde

'Les rois du rock' declares the sleeve of this single, which means that it is some kind of reissue series, released in France. And indeed it is: 14 singles exist in this series, featuring artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and indeed, on vol. 10, Marty Wilde.

'Mean woman blues' and 'So glad you're mine' were never released as a single originally. Both tracks were taken from Marty's 1959 album 'Wilde about Marty'. The release date of the series 'Les rois du rock' is unknown because there is no year stated on the label. One source suggests that volume 1 was released in 1969, so this is most likely a late 1960's release.

My collection: 7" single no. 5855
Found: Ebay.co.uk, received July 19, 2017
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Mean woman blues' / 'So glad you're mine'

When day is done - Marty Wilde

I guess I'm not giving away a big secret when I say that Marty Wilde is a big fan of Elvis Presley. Out of all of his recordings, I find it's most evident in this recording: 'When day is done', released as a single in 1964.

The song was originally written in 1924 by Austrian composer Robert Katscher as 'Madonna, du bist schöner als der Sonnenschein'. It was translated into English by Buddy DeSylva and released as 'When day is done' in 1926. The earliest recordings were made by Art Kahn, Harry Archer and his Orchestra and Nat Shilkret. Later the song was covered by artists such as George Benson, Bing Crosby, Al Jolson and indeed Marty Wilde. His version didn't become a hit, although listening to this I can't imagine why not. Simply beautiful!

My collection: 7" single no. 5844
Found: Discogs.com, received June 25, 2017
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'When day is done' / 'I can't help the way that I feel'

Jesamine - Jason Chase

Some singles are mysterious. This single by Jason Chase is a good example. Released in 1968 on the Atco label in the USA, it features two cover versions: the A-side is a version of Marty Wilde and Jack Gellar's 'Jesamine' (made famous by the Casuals), and the B-side is a version of Leonard Cohen's 'Suzanne'.

But who is Jason Chase? Other than the fact that he sings both these tracks and has also produced them, there is no information anywhere about this man. I'd be interested to find out more, but for now, he remains a total mystery.

My collection: 7" single no. 5849
Found: Discogs.com, received July 12, 2017
Cost: $3
Tracks: 'Jesamine' / 'Suzanne'