|
THE
1964 SONG THAT MADE A LOT MORE THAN FOUR PENNIES !
The
Four Pennies like, four pennies you might find in
your Sixties pocket of loose coppers, all from consecutive
years. Lead singer Lionel Morton was born in 1942,
drummer Alan Buck in 1943, and writers Fritz Fryer
in 1944 and Mike Wilsh in 1945.
Lionel
had a singing voice among the best, having sung for
many years in a cathedral choir. And the group's drummer
had a good pedigree, having performed with Johnny
Kidd of Shakin' All Over fame and Joe Brown and the
Bruvvers.
The
group had been formed in Lancashire under the name
The Lionel Morton Four but just before they began
recording, it was changed to The Four Pennies.
Their
first release for Philips struggled somewhat making
just No.47 in the UK charts - Do You Want Me To, but
their next release, penned by group members Fryer
and Wilsh was a stormer.
There
is a story that Juliet was destined for the other
side of the single with Tell Me Girl the A side, but
they were swapped and after entering the charts at
No.36, it climbed all the way to the top, making No.1
on May 23 1964.
One
might expect the success of that song to set them
up, but in the world of pop music, one of the hardest
jobs is to follow up a No.1 with another chart success.
The our Pennies failed to dent the Top 10 with their
next single - I Found Out The Hard Way.
There
followed six more releases on Philips up till 1966
but each failed to make any big impression.
A
break up followed, with Fritz Fryer leaving to form
Fritz, Mike and Mo.
Lionel
Morton went into television, carving a career in children's
programmes. Children who grew up in the Sixties and
Seventies will remember Lionel in Play School on BBC
TV.
However
The Four Pennies may still be heard today with one
original member among their number - Mike Wilsh.
|
Get the