Ronnie Harris (singer)
Ronald Harris | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1928 Tottenham, London |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1940s-50s |
| Labels | Columbia Records |
Ronnie Harris was a British singer, active in the 1950s, who had a top ten hit in 1955.
Singing career[edit]
Harris served in the Second World War as an air mechanic in the Royal Naval Air Service, based in Portsmouth.[1] after demob he joined his brother's window-cleaning company in north London, but, after a fall from a ladder, the customer invited him inside to recover; the pair got to discussing his love of singing, and he was invited to perform at a concert that evening, the success of which gained him bookings as a singer.[2] He therefore turned professional as a dance band singer[3] and in the late 1940s he teamed up with Margaret Haynes, who performed under the name Terry Blayne, as a duo; the pair got married in Nottingham in January 1950.[4]
In April 1954, he signed a record deal with Columbia Records,[5] and he had over a dozen singles released over the decade, including duets with Barbara Ryan. Despite being the subject of a Pathé News short about the making of a pop single in early 1955,[6] only two of them made any of the national music charts. The first, a cover of the Al Martino hit "The Story Of Tina", peaked at no. 12 in the New Musical Express chart in October 1954.[7] The low chart position belied the song's popularity, as he was presented with a Record of the Year award for the cut in the Royal Albert Hall Record Ball the same month.[8]
The second, "Don't Go To Strangers", backed by The Coronets, was at number 9 in the first Record Mirror chart on 22 January 1955, and peaked at 8 a week later.[9] However it did not appear in the NME chart.
Harris however missed out on a possible hit single in 1957, after he turned down the chance to record "Around The World", thinking that it was not "a particularly good number".[10] Instead it became a top ten hit for Bing Crosby, Ronnie Hilton, and Gracie Fields.
As skiffle and rock and roll began to dominate the charts, Harris gradually stepped back from performing, and in April 1958 emigrated to Germany;[11] he soon opened his own talent agency, originally based in Wiesbaden.[12] By 1975 he was based in Kent and specialized in finding European bookings for British acts.[13]
References[edit]
- ^ Hind, Bob. "The Portsmouth sailor who became a singing sensation in the 1940s". Portsmouth News. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Ronnie is climbing the ladder again". Edinburgh Evening News: 10. 19 November 1954.
- ^ "Best-seller on TV". The Stage: 4. 7 October 1954.
- ^ "The Variety Stage". The Stage: 7. 19 January 1950.
- ^ "Winter Gardens". Morecambe Visitor: 4. 26 May 1954.
- ^ British Pathé. "Birth Of A Record (1955)". youtube. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "The Story Of Tina by Ronnie Harris". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Off the record". Liverpool Echo: 5. 18 September 1954.
- ^ Jasper, Tony (1976). 20 Years of The British Record Charts 1955-1975. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 5.
- ^ "Ronnie's a bit rueful". Portsmouth Evening News: 4. 10 August 1957.
- ^ Hartley, James (19 May 1960). "The exile's return". The Stage: 26.
- ^ Hartley, James (5 November 1964). "It's a small world". The Stage: 4.
- ^ "Want the world as your stage?". Ballymena Observer: 19. 30 January 1975.