Carl Wayne
Encyclopedia
Carl Wayne was a British singer and actor. He is best remembered as the lead vocalist of Birmingham rock group The Move
during the 1960s.
, Birmingham
, England, he grew up in the Hodge Hill
district of the city. Inspired by the American rock'n'roll of Elvis Presley
, Eddie Cochran
and Gene Vincent
, he formed The G-Men in the late 1950s, and joined local band The Vikings, where his powerful baritone
and pink stage suit helped make them one of the leading rock groups in the Midlands
of their time. In 1963 they followed in the footsteps of The Beatles
and other Liverpool
bands, by performing in the clubs of Hamburg
's Reeperbahn
red light district
. On returning to Birmingham, in the wake of the Beatles' success, record companies were keen to sign similar guitar bands. The Vikings went with Pye Records
, but all three single
s failed to chart.
A major career highlight saw him representing England at the prestigious Golden Orpheus
Song Festival in Bulgaria. In front of a live and televised audience of over 20 million, Carl won first prize: "Carl Wayne is the finest ambassador our country has ever had at these proceedings. They cheered and encored him until it seemed impossible anyone else would be allowed on stage."
beat supergroup drawn from top local bands. They included three members of the Vikings, bass guitarist Chris 'Ace' Kefford
, drummer Bev Bevan
and Wayne himself, alongside Trevor Burton
, lead guitarist with Danny King and the Mayfair Set, and Roy Wood
, lead guitarist with Mike Sheridan And The Nightriders. They enjoyed three years of hits with singles such as "Night of Fear", "I Can Hear The Grass Grow", "Flowers In The Rain", "Fire Brigade", and their only number one success "Blackberry Way". In their early years The Move had a stage act which occasionally saw Wayne taking an axe
to television set
s, or chainsawing a Cadillac
to pieces at The Roundhouse
, London during "Fire Brigade", an escapade which resulted in the Soho
area being jammed with fire engines
, and the group being banned for a while from every theatre venue in the UK.
But by 1968 the group began fragmenting as a result of personal and musical differences. Wayne's increasingly MOR style, and aspirations towards cabaret
, were at odds with Wood's desire to experiment in a more progressive and classical direction, which would lead to the foundation of the Electric Light Orchestra
. As Wood not only wrote all the original material, but was also handling more of the lead vocals, Wayne felt sidelined, and left shortly after the Top 20 hit "Curly
" in 1969.
It was believed for some years that he walked out after a gig during which Wood threw a glass at a persistent heckler
who was making fun of his long hair, though this was probably coincidence; Wayne had already decided that his days with the group were coming to an end.
, (the theme song to an ITV variety series he co-hosted), "Maybe God's Got Something Up His Sleeve", the John Lennon
song "Imagine
", plus a cover version
of the Cliff Richard
hit "Miss You Nights
", and Wood's "Aerial Pictures". He was originally offered the chance to record "Sugar Baby Love" but rejected it as "rubbish"; it was promptly given to a new band, The Rubettes
, and it launched their career with a number one hit. As well as "Hi Summer", his work on TV included singing the theme songs to the talent show "New Faces". In 1977, Wayne took part in the A Song For Europe
contest, hoping to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest
. His song, "A Little Give, A Little Take" finished in 11th place out of 12 songs.
Wayne also made a few recordings with the Electric Light Orchestra as guest vocalist, though these remained unreleased, until they appeared as bonus track
s on a remastered re-issue of the group's second album, ELO 2 in 2003. He never made the charts after leaving The Move, but still enjoyed a steady career in cabaret and on TV, recording versions of songs from the shows of Andrew Lloyd Webber
and Tim Rice
, as well as voiceover
s and jingle
s. He sang backing vocals on Mike Oldfield
's Earth Moving
, released in 1989.
It is rumoured that shortly after leaving The Move, he was invited to join Status Quo.
In his acting
career he had a small role in the Birmingham based soap opera, Crossroads, and in 1974 married Susan Hanson
, another member of the cast. His most acclaimed stage role was as the narrator in Willy Russell's Blood Brothers between 1990 and 1996. Later he became a presenter on BBC Radio WM, in the course of which he interviewed several of his former colleagues from The Move, among other guests. He was also a tireless fund raiser for leukaemia research, and ran several London marathon
s for charity. He also made an appearance on The Benny Hill Show
in 1985, in which he played the "Face" character in a parody of The A-Team
.
, he joined The Hollies
, touring Europe and Australasia
, with them as well as playing venues all over the United Kingdom. They recorded a new song, "How Do I Survive", in February 2003, which appeared as the only previously unreleased item on a 46-track compilation CD of the Hollies' greatest hits later that year. In addition to most of the Hollies' songs, they also included "Flowers In The Rain" and "Blackberry Way" in their live repertoire. Their drummer Bobby Elliott
described him as "a fearless performer and powerhouse singer".
Wayne played what turned out to be his last concert with the group on 10 July 2004 at Egersund
, Norway. Shortly afterwards he was admitted to hospital for tests, where he was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and he died a few weeks later, aged 61.
Because of poor sales, none of Wayne's solo releases remained on catalogue for long during his lifetime. In 2006 an album of his performances, remastered with the involvement of Wood and some previously unreleased, was issued under the title Songs From The Wood And Beyond 1973-2003.
The Move
The Move, from Birmingham, England, were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s. They scored nine Top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any success in the United States....
during the 1960s.
Early days
Born in Winson GreenWinson Green
Winson Green is a loosely-defined inner-city area in the west of the city of Birmingham, England. It is part of the ward of Soho.It is the location of HM Prison Birmingham and City Hospital .The area has a very multi-racial population, with large Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities.R&B singer...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England, he grew up in the Hodge Hill
Hodge Hill
Hodge Hill is an area seven km east of Birmingham city centre, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee....
district of the city. Inspired by the American rock'n'roll of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
and Gene Vincent
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...
, he formed The G-Men in the late 1950s, and joined local band The Vikings, where his powerful baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
and pink stage suit helped make them one of the leading rock groups in the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
of their time. In 1963 they followed in the footsteps of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and other Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
bands, by performing in the clubs of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
's Reeperbahn
Reeperbahn
The Reeperbahn is a street in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, one of the two centres of Hamburg's nightlife and also the city's red-light district...
red light district
Red Light District
Red Light District may refer to:* Red-light district - a neighborhood where prostitution is common* The Red Light District - the title of the 2004 album by rapper Ludacris* Red Light District Video - a pornography studio based in Los Angeles, California...
. On returning to Birmingham, in the wake of the Beatles' success, record companies were keen to sign similar guitar bands. The Vikings went with Pye Records
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
, but all three single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
s failed to chart.
A major career highlight saw him representing England at the prestigious Golden Orpheus
Golden Orpheus
The Golden Orpheus, is an international and Bulgarian song contest. It has been held annually between 1965 till 1999 in different concert halls located on the Sunny Beach.-External links:* *...
Song Festival in Bulgaria. In front of a live and televised audience of over 20 million, Carl won first prize: "Carl Wayne is the finest ambassador our country has ever had at these proceedings. They cheered and encored him until it seemed impossible anyone else would be allowed on stage."
The Move years
In December 1965 he joined The Move, a BrumBrummagem
Brummagem is the local name for the city of Birmingham, England, and the dialect associated with it...
beat supergroup drawn from top local bands. They included three members of the Vikings, bass guitarist Chris 'Ace' Kefford
Ace Kefford
Christopher John "Ace" Kefford is a bassist and was the co-founder of The Move in October 1965 with Trevor Burton, after meeting David Bowie at Birmingham's Cedar Club, following a performance by Bowie's band Davy Jones and the Lower Third...
, drummer Bev Bevan
Bev Bevan
Bev Bevan is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra...
and Wayne himself, alongside Trevor Burton
Trevor Burton
Trevor Burton is a British guitarist and was one of the original members of The Move.-Danny King & The Mayfair Set:...
, lead guitarist with Danny King and the Mayfair Set, and Roy Wood
Roy Wood
Roy Adrian Wood is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands.-Career:Wood...
, lead guitarist with Mike Sheridan And The Nightriders. They enjoyed three years of hits with singles such as "Night of Fear", "I Can Hear The Grass Grow", "Flowers In The Rain", "Fire Brigade", and their only number one success "Blackberry Way". In their early years The Move had a stage act which occasionally saw Wayne taking an axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
to television set
Television set
A television set is a device that combines a tuner, display, and speakers for the purpose of viewing television. Television sets became a popular consumer product after the Second World War, using vacuum tubes and cathode ray tube displays...
s, or chainsawing a Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
to pieces at The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse is a Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England, which has been converted into a performing arts and concert venue. It was originally built in 1847 as a roundhouse , a circular building containing a railway turntable, but was only used for railway...
, London during "Fire Brigade", an escapade which resulted in the Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
area being jammed with fire engines
Fire apparatus
A fire apparatus, fire engine, fire truck, or fire appliance is a vehicle designed to assist in fighting fires by transporting firefighters to the scene and providing them with access to the fire, along with water or other equipment...
, and the group being banned for a while from every theatre venue in the UK.
But by 1968 the group began fragmenting as a result of personal and musical differences. Wayne's increasingly MOR style, and aspirations towards cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
, were at odds with Wood's desire to experiment in a more progressive and classical direction, which would lead to the foundation of the Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
. As Wood not only wrote all the original material, but was also handling more of the lead vocals, Wayne felt sidelined, and left shortly after the Top 20 hit "Curly
Curly (Move song)
Curly was a song recorded in 1969 by English rock group The Move.The song charted at No. 12 in the UK, and was the last single by the band to feature Carl Wayne on vocals, as well as the first with Rick Price replacing Trevor Burton on bass guitar...
" in 1969.
It was believed for some years that he walked out after a gig during which Wood threw a glass at a persistent heckler
Heckler
A heckler is a person who harass and try to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes.Hecklers are often known to shout disparaging comments at a performance or event, or interrupts set-piece speeches, for example at a political meeting, with intent to disturb its performers or...
who was making fun of his long hair, though this was probably coincidence; Wayne had already decided that his days with the group were coming to an end.
Solo performing and acting
He went solo and made several singles and albums, some including songs written and produced by Roy Wood. Among his singles were "Way Back In The Fifties", "Hi Summer" backed with "My Girl And Me", both written and produced by Lynsey De PaulLynsey De Paul
Lynsey de Paul is an English singer-songwriter. Allmusic journalist, Craig Harris stated, "one of the first successful female singer-songwriters in England, de Paul has had an illustrious career".-Early life:De Paul was born to Meta and Herbert Rubin, a property developer...
, (the theme song to an ITV variety series he co-hosted), "Maybe God's Got Something Up His Sleeve", the John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
song "Imagine
Imagine (song)
"Imagine" is a song written and performed by the English musician John Lennon. It is the opening track on his album Imagine, released in 1971...
", plus a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
hit "Miss You Nights
Miss You Nights
In 1994, Cliff Richard released a new version of the song as a double A side single as "All I Have To Do Is Dream/Miss You Nights"."All I Have to Do Is Dream" originally by The Everly Brothers was recorded as a live duet with Phil Everly, and "Miss You Nights" as a live solo version...
", and Wood's "Aerial Pictures". He was originally offered the chance to record "Sugar Baby Love" but rejected it as "rubbish"; it was promptly given to a new band, The Rubettes
The Rubettes
The Rubettes were an English pop band assembled in 1973 by the songwriting team of Wayne Bickerton, then the head of A&R at Polydor Records, and his co-songwriter, Tony Waddington, after their doo-wop and 1950s American pop-influenced songs had been rejected by a number of existing acts...
, and it launched their career with a number one hit. As well as "Hi Summer", his work on TV included singing the theme songs to the talent show "New Faces". In 1977, Wayne took part in the A Song For Europe
A Song for Europe
A Song for Europe may refer to:*A Song for Europe, former name of British pre-selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest, now known as Eurovision: Your Country Needs You...
contest, hoping to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
. His song, "A Little Give, A Little Take" finished in 11th place out of 12 songs.
Wayne also made a few recordings with the Electric Light Orchestra as guest vocalist, though these remained unreleased, until they appeared as bonus track
Bonus track
In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...
s on a remastered re-issue of the group's second album, ELO 2 in 2003. He never made the charts after leaving The Move, but still enjoyed a steady career in cabaret and on TV, recording versions of songs from the shows of Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
and Tim Rice
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
, as well as voiceover
VoiceOver
VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind...
s and jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
s. He sang backing vocals on Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
's Earth Moving
Earth Moving
Earth Moving is the 12th record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1989.- Album analysis :Oldfield used several vocalists on the album, including his then girlfriend, Anita Hegerland. The album's music was performed mainly with synthesizers...
, released in 1989.
It is rumoured that shortly after leaving The Move, he was invited to join Status Quo.
In his acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
career he had a small role in the Birmingham based soap opera, Crossroads, and in 1974 married Susan Hanson
Susan Hanson
Susan Hanson is an English actress who played the part of Diane Parker in the long-running British soap opera Crossroads from 1966 to 1987. Hanson is the widow of musician Carl Wayne, with whom she has a son, Jack.Susan married singer Carl Wayne in 1974...
, another member of the cast. His most acclaimed stage role was as the narrator in Willy Russell's Blood Brothers between 1990 and 1996. Later he became a presenter on BBC Radio WM, in the course of which he interviewed several of his former colleagues from The Move, among other guests. He was also a tireless fund raiser for leukaemia research, and ran several London marathon
London Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
s for charity. He also made an appearance on The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill.There were various incarnations of the show between 1951 and 1991, and it aired in over 140 countries. The show is generally sketch-based with heavy use of slapstick, mime, parody and double-entendre...
in 1985, in which he played the "Face" character in a parody of The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
.
With The Hollies
In 2000, on the retirement of lead vocalist Allan ClarkeAllan Clarke (singer)
Allan Clarke is a retired British singer who was one of the founding members of The Hollies. He retired in 1999.-Career:...
, he joined The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
, touring Europe and Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
, with them as well as playing venues all over the United Kingdom. They recorded a new song, "How Do I Survive", in February 2003, which appeared as the only previously unreleased item on a 46-track compilation CD of the Hollies' greatest hits later that year. In addition to most of the Hollies' songs, they also included "Flowers In The Rain" and "Blackberry Way" in their live repertoire. Their drummer Bobby Elliott
Bobby Elliott
Robert Hartley "Bobby" Elliott is a rock drummer, best known for playing with The Hollies, who has been described as "one of the very finest drummers in all of pop/rock".-Early life:...
described him as "a fearless performer and powerhouse singer".
Wayne played what turned out to be his last concert with the group on 10 July 2004 at Egersund
Egersund
The town of Egersund was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 . It was merged with the surrounding municipality of Eigersund January 1, 1965....
, Norway. Shortly afterwards he was admitted to hospital for tests, where he was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and he died a few weeks later, aged 61.
Because of poor sales, none of Wayne's solo releases remained on catalogue for long during his lifetime. In 2006 an album of his performances, remastered with the involvement of Wood and some previously unreleased, was issued under the title Songs From The Wood And Beyond 1973-2003.