Marty Wilde



Marty Wilde, (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky, Kim and Roxanne Wilde.

Career
Wilde was born in Blackheath, London. He was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in 1957, when he was spotted by impresario Larry Parnes. Parnes gave his protégés stage names like Billy Fury, Duffy Power and Dickie Pride, hence the change to Wilde. The 'Marty' came from the commended 1955 film, Marty. Wilde was signed to the British recording arm of Philips Records, with US releases appearing on the Epic label via Philips' reciprocal licensing agreement with Columbia Records stateside. (Philips had yet to acquire the Mercury group as its US division.)

From mid-1958 to the end of 1959, Wilde was one of the leading British rock and roll singers, along with Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard. Wilde's backing group was called the Wildcats. At various times they featured Big Jim Sullivan on lead guitar, Tony Belcher on rhythm guitar, Bobby Graham or Bobbie Clarke on drums, plus Brian Locking on bass guitar and Brian Bennett on drums who both later joined the Shadows.

He appeared regularly on the BBC Television show 6.5 Special and was the main regular artiste on the Saturday ITV popular music shows Oh Boy! and Boy Meets Girls. There he met and married Joyce Baker, one of the Vernons Girls who were also show regulars. The courtship was highly public but, after the marriage, Wilde's popularity as a teen idol declined.

He moved partly into all-round entertainment, appearing in musicals such as Conrad Birdie in the original West End production of Bye Bye Birdie and several films. He enjoyed success as a songwriter in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With Ronnie Scott, he co-wrote the one-hit wonders the Casuals' "Jesamine" under the pseudonyms of Frere Manston and Jack Gellar. The pair also wrote Lulu's "I'm a Tiger" and the early Status Quo hit, "Ice in the Sun".

He also tried to tap into the growing Glam Rock boom, releasing the single "Rock'n'Roll Crazy"/"Right On!" as Zappo, and recording as The Dazzling All Night Rock Show (20 Fantastic Bands), and Ruby Pearl and The Dreamboats (The Shang-A-Lang Song). None of the releases were a commercial success, and Wilde ditched the glam rock genre, going on to work with his son, Ricky Wilde.

Like many of his contemporaries, Wilde continued to perform in nostalgia tours in the UK and beyond. In 2007, he celebrated 50 years in the business with another UK tour which featured his youngest daughter Roxanne Wilde, and the issue of a compilation album, Born To Rock And Roll – The Greatest Hits. It included a duet with Kim Wilde of Elton John's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word", which was released as a promotional only single.

The tour culminated in a concert recorded at the London Palladium, and reunited the remaining Shadows: Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Jet Harris, Brian Locking and Brian Bennett.

In 2017, Wilde went on a UK tour with The Solid Gold Rock'n'Roll Show, which also featured Eden Kane, Mark Wynter and Mike Berry.

Family
He and his wife Joyce have four children, Kim (born 1960), Ricky (born 1961), Roxanne (born 1979) and the youngest, Marty Jr. (born 1983), who was a contestant on the Golf Channel's The Big Break IV: USA vs. Europe in 2005. Kim, Ricky and Roxanne have worked in the music industry, like their parents.

Singles
His notable UK singles are listed below, with their peak positions in the UK Singles Chart and, for cover versions, the song's original artist given in a further set of brackets.

1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1968
 * "Honeycomb" (-) (Jimmie Rodgers)
 * "Endless Sleep" (4) (Jody Reynolds) (June 1958)
 * "No One Knows"/"Fire of Love" (-) (Jody Reynolds)
 * "Donna" (3) (Ritchie Valens) (February 1959)
 * "A Teenager in Love" (2) (Dion and the Belmonts) (May 1959) This was also covered in the UK by Craig Douglas.
 * "Sea of Love" (3) (Phil Phillips) (September 1959)
 * "All American Boy" (Bobby Bare, mislabelled as by Bill Parsons) (September 1959)
 * "Blue Moon of Kentucky" (Bill Monroe) (September 1959)
 * "Bad Boy" (7) (November 1959), which Wilde wrote, a Top 50 hit in the US in 1960 and covered shortly after its release by Robin Luke, in 1964 by Françoise Hardy and later by Nirvana and Robert Gordon. The B-side, "It's Been Nice", a Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman composition, was later recorded by the Everly Brothers and Freddy Cannon.
 * "Johnny Rocco" (30) (March 1960) – written by Les Vandyke
 * "The Fight" (47) (May 1960)
 * "Little Girl" (16) (October 1960)
 * "Rubber Ball" (9) (Bobby Vee) (January 1961)
 * "Hide and Seek" (47) (July 1961)
 * "Tomorrow's Clown" (33) (September 1961) – written by Wilde
 * "Sea of Heartbreak" (Don Gibson)
 * "Jezebel" (19) (Frankie Laine) (April 1962)
 * "Ever Since You Said Goodbye" (31) (October 1962)
 * "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (Johnny Rivers, Glen Campbell) (January 1968)
 * "Abergavenny" – which Wilde (as Frere Manston) and Ronnie Scott (not the famous jazz musician) (as Jack Gellar) wrote, with the orchestra of Peter Knight (not the folk musician) backing – was a hit in, among other places, Europe in May 1968 and Australia, on the Go-Set charts from the mid summer of 1968, eventually reaching the top 10 several times, and top 5 on Modern Melbourne, and also top 5 in the Netherlands and top 10 in Belgium. (It was also a Top 50 hit in the US and #41 in Canada in August 1969 under another Reginald Smith pseudonym, "Shannon".)

1969
 * "Jesamine"

1971
 * "The Busker"

1975
 * "Come Back & Love Me / She's A High Flyer"

Albums

 * Wilde about Marty (LP Philips BBL 7342, August 1959)
 * Marty Wilde – Showcase  (LP, Philips BBL 7380, June 1960)
 * Versatile Mr Wilde (LP, Philips BBL 7385, August 1960)
 * Bye Bye Birdie (LP, Philips S/ABL 3383, 1961)
 * Dr. Dolittle (LP, 1968)
 * Diversions (LP, Philips SBL 7877, March 1969)
 * Rock 'n' Roll (Philips 6308 010, 1970)
 * Good Rockin' Then and Now (LP, Philips 6382 102, 1974)
 * The Wildcat Rocker (LP, Philips 6381 022, 1981)
 * Solid Gold (CD, Select Records SRCD01) (issued to accompany Wilde's 1994 tour of the same name)
 * Wilde About Marty / Showcase BGOCD594 (CD compilation album of the first two LPs, 2003)
 * Born to Rock And Roll – The Greatest Hits (CD, 2007)

Songwriting
The following songs were written, or co-written, by Wilde and recorded by as noted:


 * "2-6-5-8-0" - Kim Wilde
 * "Action City" - Kim Wilde
 * "All the Love I Have" - John and Anne Ryder
 * "Back Street Joe" - Kim Wilde
 * "Bad Boy" - Robin Luke, Robert Gordon, Nirvana, Françoise Hardy
 * "Bladerunner" - Kim Wilde
 * "Boys" - Kim Wilde (B-side of "Water on Glass")
 * "Cambodia" - Kim Wilde
 * "Can You Come Over" - Kim Wilde
 * "Can You Hear It" - Kim Wilde (B-side of "Love Blonde")
 * "Chaos at the Airport" - Kim Wilde
 * "Chequered Love" - Kim Wilde
 * "Child Come Away" - Kim Wilde
 * "Ego" - Kim Wilde
 * "Elizabeth Dreams" - Status Quo


 * "Everything We Know" - Kim Wilde
 * "Falling Out" - Kim Wilde
 * "Four Letter Word" - Kim Wilde
 * "Halfway to Where" - The Freshmen
 * "Harmonica" - Graham Bond Organization
 * "Hide all Emotion" - Sandie Shaw (B-side of "Think Sometimes About Me")
 * "Hot Summer Girls" - Flash Cadillac
 * "House of Salome" - Kim Wilde
 * "I Still Believe in Tomorrow" - John and Anne Ryder
 * "Ice in the Sun" - Status Quo
 * "I'm a Tiger" - Lulu
 * "It's Here" - Kim Wilde
 * "Janine" - Kim Wilde
 * "Jesamine" - The Casuals (as earlier was co-penned under the name Frere Manston)
 * "Just a Feeling" - Kim Wilde


 * "Just Another Guy" - Kim Wilde (B-side of "Child Come Away")
 * "Kids in America" - Kim Wilde
 * "Love Blonde" - Kim Wilde
 * "Love in the Natural Way" - Kim Wilde
 * "My Heart is Free" - The Fireballs
 * "Never Trust a Stranger" - Kim Wilde
 * "Our Town" - Kim Wilde (B-side of "Young Heroes")
 * "Paradise Flat" - Status Quo
 * "Polaris" - The Krew Kats
 * "Rage to Love" - Kim Wilde
 * "Schoolgirl" - Kim Wilde
 * "Shane" - Kim Wilde (B-side of "Chequered Love")
 * "Shoot to Disable" - Kim Wilde
 * "Sing It Out For Love" - Kim Wilde (B-side of "House of Salome")
 * "Sparks" - Kim Wilde


 * "Stay Awhile" - Kim Wilde
 * "Suburbs of Moscow" - Kim Wilde
 * "Take Me Tonight" - Kim Wilde (B-side of "View from a Bridge")
 * "The Second Time" - Kim Wilde
 * "The Touch" - Kim Wilde
 * "Thought It Was Goodbye" - Kim Wilde
 * "Tuning In Tuning On" - Kim Wilde (B-side of "Kids in America")
 * "View from a Bridge" - Kim Wilde
 * "Watching for Shapes" - Kim Wilde (B-side of "Cambodia")
 * "Water on Glass" - Kim Wilde
 * "Wendy Sadd" - Kim Wilde
 * "Words Fell Down" - Kim Wilde (B-side of "Ego")
 * "You'll Never Be So Wrong" - Kim Wilde
 * "Young Heroes" - Kim Wilde

Filmography
Marty Wilde appeared in the following films:-
 * Jet Storm (1959)
 * The Hellions (1961)
 * What a Crazy World (1963)
 * Stardust (1974)