Eden Kane
Encyclopedia
Eden Kane is an early 1960s British
pop
singer.
, Pete Best
, and Engelbert Humperdinck
, Eden Kane was born in India, but returned to Britain
as a child. He first created some interest for his talent with an advertising
jingle
for Cadbury's, called "Hot Chocolate Crazy", issued as a single
by Pye Records
. This was played almost as often as Horace Batchelor's football pools advertisement on Radio Luxembourg
.
This was quickly followed in 1961 by his only number one hit
in the UK Singles Chart
, "Well I Ask You
", on Decca
. The song was written
by Les Vandyke
and arranged
by John Keating
. Vandyke had earlier worked on two chart-topping singles
for Adam Faith
, ("What Do You Want
" and "Poor Me
"). The further quirky connection is that both artist's stage names owed more than a little of their originality to Genesis, Chapter One.
Success continued with three further Top10 hits during the next twelve months. However, a couple of flops, financial problems, and a change in label
to Philips
subsidiary Fontana
marked a decline similar to that experienced by most of the pre-Beatles
UK
stars
. Like many of his teen idol
peers, Kane sought to stave off chart
oblivion by hitching a ride onto the beat boom
bandwagon, teaming with a group with real Liverpool
pedigree - Fontana labelmates Earl Preston and the TT's. This energetic attempt, originally titled "Do You Love Me" (c/w "Comeback") was reissued with a new title "Like I Love You", to avoid confusion with the UK hit covers
by Brian Poole & the Tremeloes
and the Dave Clark Five of The Contours
' U.S.
hit of the same name
, and some momentum was lost.
Kane's next release, a UK and Australia
Top 10 comeback hit with "Boys Cry" in 1964, was just a hiccup on the general downward spiral and did little to sustain his career. However, he was arguably the last British solo star to succeed before the arrival of the Beatles, and his five chart
singles all made the Top Ten. After "Well I Ask You" made No 1 in June 1961, "Get Lost" reached No 10 in September 1961; "Forget Me Not" achieved No 3 spot in January 1962. Both of these were also written by Les Vandyke
. "I Don't Know Why" reached No 7 in May 1962, and finally "Boys Cry" made No 8 in January 1964.
Kane later moved to America
and married journalist
Charlene Groman (the sister of actress Stefanie Powers
), whom he had first met while passing through the United States in the mid 1960s. He remained active in the entertainment business in the States, as a record producer
.
The family was far from finished. His brother
, Peter Sarstedt
, got to number one himself in 1969, with "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)
"; whilst the youngest brother Clive
, who had earlier recorded under the supervision of Joe Meek
as Wes Sands, later used his middle name to call himself Robin Sarstedt and reached the British Top 3 in 1976 with his cover
rendition of the old Hoagy Carmichael
song, "My Resistance Is Low".
As a footnote, in the mid 1970s all three brothers sang together briefly, but this did not create new chart action for Kane. On 20 June 1973, the brothers made their first joint appearance as a group at Croydon
's Fairfield Halls
.
Eden, Peter and Robin went on to win a joint BASCA Award for composing and songwriting. Eden has recorded
for Decca, Fontana, Bell
, Monarch, HMV and Festival (the last two being Australia
n releases).
, all three of the Sarstedt brothers are still active in the music industry and Eden has toured the UK
several times with the 'Solid Gold Rock and Roll' tours.
Kane was a contract actor
on the Star Trek
team, and made many appearances in the TV
series under his real name Richard Sarstedt.
Currently he has a CD
, entitled Y2Kane, available on his website
.
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...
pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
singer.
Life and career
Like Cliff RichardCliff 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....
, Pete Best
Pete Best
Pete Best is a British musician, best known as the original drummer in The Beatles. He was born in the city of Madras, British India...
, and Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)
Engelbert Humperdinck is a British pop singer, best known for his hits including "Release Me " and "After the Lovin'" as well as "The Last Waltz" .-Early life:...
, Eden Kane was born in India, but returned to Britain
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...
as a child. He first created some interest for his talent with an advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
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...
for Cadbury's, called "Hot Chocolate Crazy", issued as a 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...
by 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...
. This was played almost as often as Horace Batchelor's football pools advertisement on Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
.
This was quickly followed in 1961 by his only number one hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
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 ...
, "Well I Ask You
Well I Ask You
"Well I Ask You" is a song by Eden Kane.Recorded in 1961 as the follow-up to his debut single, "Hot Chocolate Crazy" , "Well I Ask You" was also issued as a single in the UK and reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in August 1961...
", on Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. The song was written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by Les Vandyke
Les Vandyke
Les Vandyke was a popular music singer and later songwriter in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also known as Johnny Worth and John Worsley...
and arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
by John Keating
John Keating (musician)
John Keating is a Scottish musician, songwriter and arranger.After studying piano and trombone, he taught himself how to arrange and compose in his teens. He went to work with British big band leader Ted Heath in 1952 as a trombone player, but within two years Heath asked him to become his...
. Vandyke had earlier worked on two chart-topping singles
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...
for Adam Faith
Adam Faith
Terence "Terry" Nelhams-Wright, known as Adam Faith was a Teen idol English singer, actor and later financial journalist. He was one of the most charted acts of the 1960s. He became the first UK artist to lodge his initial seven hits in the Top 5...
, ("What Do You Want
What Do You Want?
"What Do You Want?" was a 1959 song which became a number one hit in the United Kingdom for Adam Faith. It was written by Les Vandyke and produced by John Burgess and arranged by John Barry. It first appeared on the charts on 20 November 1959 and spent 19 weeks there...
" and "Poor Me
Poor Me (song)
"Poor Me" is a single released by the English singer, Adam Faith. On 10 March 1960, it reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, staying there for two weeks.-Song profile:...
"). The further quirky connection is that both artist's stage names owed more than a little of their originality to Genesis, Chapter One.
Success continued with three further Top10 hits during the next twelve months. However, a couple of flops, financial problems, and a change in label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
to Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
subsidiary Fontana
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
marked a decline similar to that experienced by most of the pre-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...
UK
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...
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...
. Like many of his teen idol
Teen idol
A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...
peers, Kane sought to stave off chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
oblivion by hitching a ride onto the beat boom
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
bandwagon, teaming with a group with real 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...
pedigree - Fontana labelmates Earl Preston and the TT's. This energetic attempt, originally titled "Do You Love Me" (c/w "Comeback") was reissued with a new title "Like I Love You", to avoid confusion with the UK hit covers
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...
by Brian Poole & the Tremeloes
The Tremeloes
The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, Essex, and still active today.-Career:They formed as Brian Poole and the Tremoloes influenced by Buddy Holly and The Crickets...
and the Dave Clark Five of The Contours
The Contours
The Contours were one of the early African-American soul singing groups signed to Motown Records.The group is best known for its Billboard Top 10 hit, "Do You Love Me," a million-selling song that peaked twice in the Top 20....
' U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hit of the same name
Do You Love Me
"Do You Love Me" is a 1962 hit single recorded by The Contours for Motown's Gordy Records label. Written and produced by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr., "Do You Love Me?" was the Contours' only Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. Notably, the record achieved this feat...
, and some momentum was lost.
Kane's next release, a UK and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Top 10 comeback hit with "Boys Cry" in 1964, was just a hiccup on the general downward spiral and did little to sustain his career. However, he was arguably the last British solo star to succeed before the arrival of the Beatles, and his five chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
singles all made the Top Ten. After "Well I Ask You" made No 1 in June 1961, "Get Lost" reached No 10 in September 1961; "Forget Me Not" achieved No 3 spot in January 1962. Both of these were also written by Les Vandyke
Les Vandyke
Les Vandyke was a popular music singer and later songwriter in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also known as Johnny Worth and John Worsley...
. "I Don't Know Why" reached No 7 in May 1962, and finally "Boys Cry" made No 8 in January 1964.
Kane later moved to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and married journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
Charlene Groman (the sister of actress Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart in the 1980s television series Hart to Hart.-Early life:...
), whom he had first met while passing through the United States in the mid 1960s. He remained active in the entertainment business in the States, as a record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
The family was far from finished. His brother
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
, Peter Sarstedt
Peter Sarstedt
Peter Eardley Sarstedt is an Anglo-Indian singer-songwriter.-Career:Sarstedt was born in India and attended Victoria Boys' School in Kurseong, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. His family relocated to England in 1954...
, got to number one himself in 1969, with "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)
Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)
"Where Do You Go To ?" is a 1969 song by Peter Sarstedt and recorded by renowned producer Ray Singer. Engineered by John Mackswith at Lansdowne Recording Studios. It was a #1 hit in the UK charts for four weeks in 1969 and was awarded the 1969 Ivor Novello Award, together with David Bowie's "Space...
"; whilst the youngest brother Clive
Clive Sarstedt
Clive Sarstedt is a British pop music singer.He made his recording debut as Wes Sands , and later continued as Clive Sands. He joined The Deejays in Sweden in 1966/1967...
, who had earlier recorded under the supervision of Joe Meek
Joe Meek
Robert George "Joe" Meek was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter....
as Wes Sands, later used his middle name to call himself Robin Sarstedt and reached the British Top 3 in 1976 with his 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...
rendition of the old Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagy Carmichael
Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
song, "My Resistance Is Low".
As a footnote, in the mid 1970s all three brothers sang together briefly, but this did not create new chart action for Kane. On 20 June 1973, the brothers made their first joint appearance as a group at 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...
's Fairfield Halls
Fairfield Halls
Fairfield Hall is an arts centre in Croydon, London, England and opened in 1962. It contains a concert hall, the Ashcroft Theatre , the Arnhem Gallery civic hall and an art gallery....
.
Eden, Peter and Robin went on to win a joint BASCA Award for composing and songwriting. Eden has recorded
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...
for Decca, Fontana, Bell
Bell Records
Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 by Arthur Shimkin in New York, the owner of children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny Bell who used the Bell name to issue risque novelty records. A...
, Monarch, HMV and Festival (the last two being Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n releases).
, all three of the Sarstedt brothers are still active in the music industry and Eden has toured the UK
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...
several times with the 'Solid Gold Rock and Roll' tours.
Kane was a contract actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
on the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
team, and made many appearances in the TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series under his real name Richard Sarstedt.
Currently he has a CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, entitled Y2Kane, available on his website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
.
Singles discography
- "Well I Ask YouWell I Ask You"Well I Ask You" is a song by Eden Kane.Recorded in 1961 as the follow-up to his debut single, "Hot Chocolate Crazy" , "Well I Ask You" was also issued as a single in the UK and reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in August 1961...
" - 1961 - Number 1 - "Get Lost - 1961 - Number 10
- "Forget Me Not" - 1962 - Number 3
- "I Don't Know Why" - 1962 - Number 7
- "Boys Cry" - 1964 - Number 8
See also
- List of artists under the Decca Records label
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
External links
- 45-RPM website - Eden Kane musical biography
- California Ballroom - Eden Kane Management info and biography
- [ Allmusic.com biography]