Parnes went on a Wilde goose chase after star Marty took bus home
Jewish Telegraph, October 2020
MUSIC legend Marty Wilde celebrates eight decades in showbusiness with the release of his new album, Running Together (Pushka Records), today.
But he almost missed out on fame because he had to catch a bus home after a gig.
Wilde was born Reginald Leonard Smith in 1939, but was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London’s Condor Club in 1957, when he was spotted by Jewish impresario Larry Parnes.
Parnes was the first major British rock manager and his stable of stars included Tommy Steele, Billy Fury and Joe Brown.
Wilde was earning £1 a night — and a bowl of spaghetti — from the Condor Club. Parnes went backstage after one performance to meet the performer, but was told that Wilde had had to leave quickly to catch his bus home to Greenwich.
Parnes had been tipped off about Wilde by Jewish songwriter Lionel Bart.
However, the music manager managed to obtain Marty’s address and headed to Greenwich with a contract in his pocket, all on the basis of Bart’s recommendation.
As Wilde — the father of pop star Kim Wilde — was underage, his parents, Reginald and Jessica Smith, had to sign the contract.
Parnes, known in the business as ‘Mr Parnes, Shillings and Pence’, was a fan of powerful names, having named Billy Fury, Duffy Power and Dickie Pride. He chose Wilde for his new protege and took Marty from the 1955 film of that name.
Parnes, a friend of The Beatles manager Brian Epstein, then landed him a deal with Philips Records in the UK and Epic in America.
Marty and Bart penned the B-side (Wildcat) of Marty’s first single. The A side, Honeycomb, was written by Bob Merrill who, along with Jules Styne, later wrote the musical Funny Girl, which starred Barbra Streisand.
Willesden-born Parnes was accused of exploiting his artists. But a spokesman for Wilde told the Jewish Telegraph: “Marty got on great with Larry.
“Unlike Larry’s other acts who received a weekly wage, Marty had a 60–40 agreement.
“Marty has never forgotten the opportunities Larry gave him in realising his musical dream. Larry was often considered akin to Elvis’ manager, Col Tom Parker, in his wheelings and dealings.”
There are plenty of other Jewish connections for Wilde.
One of his biggest hits, A Teenager In Love, was written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman.
The majority of Marty’s recordings on the UK Philips label were produced by John Franz, who would later go on to produce hits for Dusty Springfield and The Walker Brothers among others.
Parnes also used theatrical agent Hyman (Hymie) Zahl to book his artists via the Foster Agency in Piccadilly.
Running Together includes a duet with daughter Kim called 60s World. She also appears on the title track with younger sister Roxanne.
