V RARE 1959 JOHNNY GENTLE 78 WENDY/ BOYS & GIRLS (BEATLES CNX) PHILIPS PB 908 E+
£
55
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73
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Description
IN ALL MY YEARS COLLECTING - I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS ONE BEFORE
THE SINGER THAT TOOK THE (SILVER) BEATLES ON THEIR FIRST EVER TOUR ON A MEGA RARE UK PHILIPS 78 FROM 1959!
JOHNNY GENTLE
WENDY / BOYS AND GIRLS
JOHNNY GENTLE - on tour in Scotland - picture shows part of his backing band (George Harrison)
Johnny Gentle was in the Larry Parnes "Stable" of male solo singers that included Marty Wilde, Billy Fury, Vince Eager etc. He was born John Askew and grew up in Liverpool. After leaving school he was apprenticed as a carpenter, and, using a borrowed book for instructions, made his own guitar. He teamed up with Bobby Crawford and the pair began performing at local clubs, singing Everly Brothers songs, before Askew took a job working on a luxury ocean liner. On his return, he entered talent competitions as a solo singer, and changed his stage name, first to George Baker and then to Ricky Damone. He moved to London and worked on a building site, before winning a talent competition at the Locarno Ballroom in Streatham. He was auditioned by manager Larry Parnes, who won him a recording contract withPhilips Records in 1959, and gave him the stage name Johnny Gentle.
Gentle released two singles on Philips in 1959 – the self-penned "Wendy", followed by "Milk From The Coconut" – but they did not make the charts, and nor did an EP, The Gentle Touch, combining the two singles.
In early May 1960, Parnes co-promoted, with Allan Williams, a show at Liverpool Stadium starring Gene Vincent supported by local groups Cass and the Cassanovas, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and Gerry and the Pacemakers. Parnes thought it would be a good idea to use Liverpool groups as backing bands for his artists, who included Billy Fury, and held auditions on 10 May 1960. This resulted in the Silver Beetles being selected to back Gentle on a short Scottish tour.
The tour, between 20–28 May 1960, included performances at Alloa, Inverness, Fraserburgh, Keith, Forres, Nairn and Peterhead. At the time, the group comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Tommy Moore. Although the group themselves were not specifically credited in tour publicity, being billed as "Johnny Gentle and his group", informally McCartney used the pseudonym Paul Ramon, Harrison called himself Carl Harrison, Lennon was "Long John", and Sutcliffe was known as Stuart de Staël. Their repertoire included "It Doesn't Matter Anymore", "Raining in My Heart", "I Need Your Love Tonight", "Poor Little Fool", "(I Don't Know Why) But I Do", "C'mon Everybody" (a tribute to Eddie Cochran, who had died while on tour with Gene Vincent a few weeks earlier), and "He'll Have to Go". Gentle later wrote:
"We met at the venue just half an hour before our first public performance together and all things considered we sounded pretty good from the off. Every night the sound we made got better, by the end of the tour I knew these boys were as good as any I'd worked with....."
This Philips 78 features his first release Wendy - rare enough on a 45 - but Hen's teeth on a 78!
DISC DETAILS
UK PHILIPS PB 908 10" 78rpm SHELLAC A SIDE:- WENDY B SIDE:- BOYS AND GIRLS CONDITION EX+ HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO PICK UP THIS MEGA RARE 1959 RELEASE ON A UK PHILIPS 78 DON'T MISS OUT - BID NOW
10" 78 RPM RECORDS NEED CAREFULLY PACKING, AND I CLAIM TO HAVE THE BEST PACKAGING IN THE WORLD FOR DISPATCHING THEM!!
THE GREG'S GREAT'S SYSTEM CONSISTS OF A SPECIALLY DESIGNED INNER BOX MADE OUT OF 1" THICK POLYSTYRENE, WHICH THEN GOES INSIDE A DOUBLE CORREGATED STIFF OUTER CARDBOARD CARTON. THE BOXES CAN TAKE UP TO 21 RECORDS,
USUALLY FOR MAILING OVERSEAS, I RECOMMEND NO MORE THAN 7 IN A BOX, OTHERWISE IT GOES OVER THE AIRMAIL SMALL PACKET MAXIMUM WEIGHT OF 2Kgs WHICH CAUSES A LARGE HIKE IN POSTAL RATES.
I SEND OUT ON AVERAGE ABOUT 30 PARCELS A WEEK AND DISPATCH IS NORMALLY DONE ONCE A WEEK SO
IF YOU HAVE AN URGENT REQUIREMENT FOR THE RECORD - BIRTHDAY PRESENT, WEDDING, FUNERAL etc PLEASE TELL ME - I WILL DO MY BEST TO GET IT OUT FOR YOU QUICKLY.
IF A RECORD ARRIVES CRACKED OR BROKEN DESPITE MY BEST EFFORTS WITH THIS FANTASTIC PACKAGING I WILL REFUND THE MONEY IN FULL. - JUST SEND ME A QUICK SCAN - IF IT IS A VERY RARE RECORD I MAY ASK YOU TO SEND IT BACK OTHERWISE IT WILL BE YOURS TO KEEP OR DISPOSE OF.
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