Dickie Pride
Encyclopedia
Dickie Pride was a British
rock and roll
singer. He was one of Larry Parnes
' stable of pop music
stars
, who did not enjoy as successful a career as most of his contemporaries.
, Surrey
. As a boy Richard Kneller visited the Royal School of Church Music in Croydon
, where a career as an opera
singer was suggested. Later on Pride was a member of a skiffle
group, the Semi-Tones.
Knellar had several poorly paid jobs. Russ Conway
heard him performing at the Castle public house in Tooting
, South London
. Conway recommended him to Larry Parnes, who immediately signed him. Parnes gave him his stage name, Dickie Pride. At 16, he gave his first concert, as Dickie Pride at the Kilburn Gaumont State Cinema
, which was then the biggest cinema in the United Kingdom. The music magazine Record Mirror
stated that "he ripped it up from the start" and that the theatre shook so much during his performance that he should be known "The sheik of shake".
This was followed by tours, television and, in March 1959, the first single
"Slippin' and Slidin'
" (a cover
of the song
made famous by Little Richard
). He also performed in 'The Big Beat Show' at Southend with Marty Wilde
, Billy Fury
, Terry Dene
, Johnny Gentle
, Duffy Power
and Sally Kelly. Despite his live performances, with most of his subsequent recordings
, commercially Pride was far below expectations. The only single of Pride's that ever made it into the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart
- "Primrose Lane" appeared in October 1959 for only one week in 28th place.
Television producer
, Jack Good
had seen Pride sing in Southend. In April 1960 the first edition of Good's rock and roll TV show
, Wham! was shown on ABC-TV
, and included Pride. The guitarist
, Albert Lee
, had his first professional stage appearance
as an accompanist of Pride.
Pride was very successful during live performances but had difficulty transferring this success recordings. In 1961 Parnes attempted to reposition Pride as a mainstream singer, and he made an album of 'Tin Pan Alley
' standard
s with the Ted Heath
Orchestra
, called Pride Without Prejudice. However, the record sold very poorly and Pride was subsequently dropped by Parnes. He later formed several other groups including the Guvnors and the Sidewinders.
In addition to mental health
problems, Pride was under the influence of drugs
, including heroin. In 1962 he married
, and in 1965, his son was born. His musical career however started to decline. In 1967, he was submitted a psychiatric
clinic, where a lobotomy
was performed.
On 26 March 1969, Pride was found dead in his bed. He died at the age of 27 due to an overdose
of sleeping pills
. Fellow artists Parnes' such as Billy Fury and Joe Brown stated that Pride had been the most talented singer of Parnes' artists.
In 1999, Charles Langley wrote the stage
play
, Pride With Prejudice, about Pride's tragic life.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
singer. He was one of Larry Parnes
Larry Parnes
Laurence Maurice "Larry" Parnes was an English pop manager and impresario. He has been described as "the first major British rock manager... Parnes' stable encompassed most of the most successful pre-Beatles British rock singers."...
' stable of pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
stars
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
, who did not enjoy as successful a career as most of his contemporaries.
Life and career
He was born Richard Charles Kneller at 74 Parchmore Road, Thornton HeathThornton Heath
Thornton Heath is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is situated south-southeast of Charing Cross.-Geography:...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. As a boy Richard Kneller visited the Royal School of Church Music in Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, where a career as an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer was suggested. Later on Pride was a member of a skiffle
Skiffle
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly...
group, the Semi-Tones.
Knellar had several poorly paid jobs. Russ Conway
Russ Conway
Russ Conway was a British popular music pianist. Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two number one hits.-Career:...
heard him performing at the Castle public house in Tooting
Tooting
Tooting is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
. Conway recommended him to Larry Parnes, who immediately signed him. Parnes gave him his stage name, Dickie Pride. At 16, he gave his first concert, as Dickie Pride at the Kilburn Gaumont State Cinema
Gaumont State Cinema
The Gaumont State Cinema is a Grade II* listed Art Deco theatre located in Kilburn, a district in northwest London.Designed by George Coles and opened in 1937, the Gaumont State was one of the biggest auditoria in Europe, with seating for 4,004 people. The name State is said to come from the huge ...
, which was then the biggest cinema in the United Kingdom. The music magazine Record Mirror
Record Mirror
Record Mirror was a British weekly pop music newspaper, founded by Isadore Green and featured, news articles, interviews, record charts, record reviews, concert reviews, letters from readers and photographs. The paper became respected by both mainstream pop music fans and serious record collectors...
stated that "he ripped it up from the start" and that the theatre shook so much during his performance that he should be known "The sheik of shake".
This was followed by tours, television and, in March 1959, the first 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...
"Slippin' and Slidin'
Slippin' and Slidin'
"Slippin' and Slidin" is an R&B/rock song performed by Little Richard. The song is credited to Little Richard, Edwin Bocage , Al Collins, and James Smith....
" (a cover
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 song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
made famous by Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
). He also performed in 'The Big Beat Show' at Southend with Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde 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 Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
, Billy Fury
Billy Fury
Billy Fury, born Ronald William Wycherley , was an internationally successful English singer from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death...
, Terry Dene
Terry Dene
Terry Dene is a former British pop singer popular in the late 1950s. He achieved three Top Twenty hits between June 1957 and May 1958.-Career:...
, Johnny Gentle
Johnny Gentle
Johnny Gentle is the stage name of John Askew . He was a British pop singer who is now best remembered for having briefly toured Scotland with the Silver Beetles - later known simply as The Beatles - as his backing group in 1960....
, Duffy Power
Duffy Power
Duffy Power is an English blues and rock and roll singer, who achieved some success in the 1960s and has performed and recorded intermittently since then.-Career:...
and Sally Kelly. Despite his live performances, with most of his subsequent recordings
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
, commercially Pride was far below expectations. The only single of Pride's that ever made it into the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
- "Primrose Lane" appeared in October 1959 for only one week in 28th place.
Television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, Jack Good
Jack Good
John or Jack Good may refer to:* I. J. Good, Irving John Good , British statistician* John G. Good, Pennsylvania politician* Jack Good , icon painter and television & music producer...
had seen Pride sing in Southend. In April 1960 the first edition of Good's rock and roll TV show
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, Wham! was shown on ABC-TV
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
, and included Pride. The guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, Albert Lee
Albert Lee
Albert William Lee, born 21 December 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire, England, is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked both in the studio and on tour with some of the most famous musicians which stretch through a very wide of genres...
, had his first professional stage appearance
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
as an accompanist of Pride.
Pride was very successful during live performances but had difficulty transferring this success recordings. In 1961 Parnes attempted to reposition Pride as a mainstream singer, and he made an album of 'Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
' standard
Traditional pop music
Traditional pop or classic pop or standards music denotes, in general, Western popular music that either wholly predates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of rock and roll,...
s with the Ted Heath
Ted Heath (bandleader)
Ted Heath, musician and big band leader, led Britain's greatest post-war big band recording more than 100 albums and selling over 20 million records...
Orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, called Pride Without Prejudice. However, the record sold very poorly and Pride was subsequently dropped by Parnes. He later formed several other groups including the Guvnors and the Sidewinders.
In addition to mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
problems, Pride was under the influence of drugs
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
, including heroin. In 1962 he married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, and in 1965, his son was born. His musical career however started to decline. In 1967, he was submitted a psychiatric
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
clinic, where a lobotomy
Lobotomy
Lobotomy "; τομή – tomē: "cut/slice") is a neurosurgical procedure, a form of psychosurgery, also known as a leukotomy or leucotomy . It consists of cutting the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain...
was performed.
On 26 March 1969, Pride was found dead in his bed. He died at the age of 27 due to an overdose
Drug overdose
The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
of sleeping pills
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....
. Fellow artists Parnes' such as Billy Fury and Joe Brown stated that Pride had been the most talented singer of Parnes' artists.
In 1999, Charles Langley wrote the stage
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
, Pride With Prejudice, about Pride's tragic life.
Singles
- "Primrose Lane" / "Frantic" - ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
DB 4340 - 1959 - UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
No. 28 - "Slippin' And Slidin'" - ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
DB 4283 - 1959
Albums
- The Sheik of Shake - See for Miles RecordsSee For Miles RecordsSee for Miles Records is a British record label which distributed some of the records of Dandelion Records on CD in the 1990s. The name hints both to its owner Colin Miles and The Who's "I Can See for Miles."...
- 1992 - Slippin 'N' Sliding with Dickie Pride - Rigsby Records RIGCD-7752
- The Complete Dickie Pride - Peaksoft PEA009 - 2010
Compilation albums
Compilations featuring Pride- Great British Rock & Roll: As Good As It Gets - Disky Communications Europe BV 2000
External links
- Dickie Pride (by Steve Walker)
- Pride with Prejudice (photographs)
- Pride with Prejudice (about the play)
- Who was Dickie Pride?
- Dickie Pride clips
- Dickie Pride (NME)