成人快手

by Bob Stanley

When you think of sixties 'popsploitation' movies you might think first of the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night first, then possibly 鈥楶lay it Cool鈥�, or terrifically bleak 鈥楥atch Us If You Can鈥�. The chances are you wouldn't immediately be reminded of 鈥楿p Jumped A Swagman鈥�, which has just appeared on DVD. I haven't had a chance to see it yet, but it seems like an appropriate moment to look back on some of the highlights of Frank's career. One of the first records I was ever given was Confessin', his fourth and final number one from 1963. I have to admit that as a five year-old I preferred the b-side, 'Waltzing Matilda', and if I'd heard 'She Taught Me How To Yodel' - the flip of Frank's second number one, 'Lovesick Blues' - I'm sure I'd have liked that even more.

Though Frank was born in Coventry, his parents were Australian and he moved there as a child, releasing a 78 single - 'Did You See My Daddy Over There' - when he was just 13. By 1959 he was back in Britain and scored his first hit with 'Lucky Devil' (no.22) the following year. It would be the best part of three years before he scored another major hit, and it was inescapable.

With its memorable falsetto jumps and sea-faring harmonica intro, I Remember You stayed at number one for seven weeks in 1962, sold a million copies, and also reached number 5 in America. Over there it was licensed by the Vee Jay label, who also had the rights (temporarily, as Capitol had initially said they weren't interested) to four Beatles songs: Please Please Me, Thank You Girl, From Me To You and Ask Me Why. Making the most of their good fortune, and Capitol's dozy A&R team, Vee Jay bolted these four tracks onto an album with eight Frank Ifield songs - for no better reason than Frank was the only other English singer they had the rights to. The result was the unintentionally hilarious Jolly What! England's Greatest Recording Stars: The Beatles and Frank Ifield on Stage. Talk about misleading! It wasn't a live recording, but it was housed in a terrific sleeve - a painting of some obscure establishment figure, with added moptop. It was later issued with a painting of the Beatles on the cover - this version is very rare, and if Frank still owns a copy he could probably get the best part of 拢20,000 for it.

Frank Ifield on A Song For Europe

Frank has had two stabs at Eurovision, the first in 1962 before his major breakthrough, and the second was in 1976 with the classy, midtempo 'Ain't Gonna Take No For An Answer'. The programme which selected the song to represent the United Kingdom, A Song For Europe, was big enough back then to be broadcast live from the Albert Hall, and the show was presented by Michael Aspel. 'Ain't Gonna Take No For An Answer' was produced by Alan A Freeman, the Pye records A&R man who had convinced Brian Matthew to work with him at Radio Luxemburg back in the early sixties. Unfortunately for Alan and Frank, the public's answer was a resounding "no" - their effort came 12th out of 12 entries, and went on to win the contest with 'Save Your Kisses For Me'. There's no accounting for taste.