Marty Wilde
| Marty Wilde MBE |
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|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Reginald Leonard Smith |
| Born | 15 April 1939 , Blackheath, South London, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Rock and roll, pop, rockabilly |
| Years active | Late 1950s–present |
| Labels | Philips (UK), Epic (US) |
| Associated acts | The Wildcats |
| Website | martywilde |
Marty Wilde, MBE (born Reginald Leonard Smith, 15 April 1939) 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, Kim and Roxanne Wilde.
Wilde was born in Blackheath, London. He was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in 1957, when he was spotted by impresario Larry Parnes. Parnes gave his protégés stage names like Billy Fury, Duffy Power and Dickie Pride, hence the change to Wilde. The 'Marty' came from the commended 1955 film, Marty. Wilde was signed to the British recording arm of Philips Records, with US releases appearing on the Epic label via Philips' reciprocal licensing agreement with Columbia Records stateside. (Philips had yet to acquire the Mercury group as its US division.)
From mid-1958 to the end of 1959, Wilde was one of the leading British rock and roll singers, along with Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard. Wilde's backing group was called the Wildcats. At various times they featured Big Jim Sullivan on lead guitar, Tony Belcher on rhythm guitar and Bobbie Clarke on drums; plus Brian Locking on bass guitar and Brian Bennett on drums who both later joined the Shadows.
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