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John Leyton
Matinee idol and pop star John Leyton, best remembered for his hit song Johnny Remember Me, was born in Frinton-on Sea, Essex, on 17 February 1939. After completing his National Service he studied drama paying his way through drama school with bit-part roles in films and on television. His first major acting role was his portrayal of Ginger in a 1960 Granada adaptation of Biggles, which earned him a large following of young female fans and led to the formation of a John Leyton fan club. Following the success of Biggles, Leyton attended a singing audition with producer Joe Meek, and his first hit Johnny Remember Me, which reached Number 1 in the UK chart in August , coincided with his appearance as an actor in the popular ATV television series Harpers West One . He played a singer named Johnny Saint Cyr and performed Johnny Remember Me during the show. His next single, Wild Wind, reached number 2 in the chart, and later singles also achieved chart positions. The sound produced by Joe Meek, led to accusations that artists were created by engineers rather than having any merit as singers or performers. Leyton was also highly regarded as a stage performer. According to 1963's Pop Weekly Annual Leyton was 'one of the best stage performers in this country' and 'many of his fans who have seen him believe he is better than anything that Elvis ever did back in 1957/58!' At the peek of his career Leyton managed to combine
his singing career and that of actor, appearing in the movies Guns at Batasi,
The Great Escape and Von Ryan's Expre In the 1990s he began performing in the Solid Gold Rock 'n' Roll Show, appearing with artists such as Marty Wilde and Joe Brown. The Autumn 2004 tour featured Leyton, Showaddywaddy, Freddy Cannon and Craig Douglas. Leyton has also returned to acting, with a cameo appearance in the 2005 film Colour Me Kubrick starring Joe Malkovich. In May 2006, Leyton featured on Hi Ho, Come On England, a re-working of Jeff Beck's Hi Ho Silver Lining, to coincide with the World Cup in Germany. A new album, Look for a Star, was released in September 2006. See Johnny sing Johnny Remember Me Anyone interested in keeping taps on Leyton's current releases should take a look at his official website at http://www.johnleytonofficial.com/
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ss with Frank Sinatra.
He confessed that combing the two careers was difficult, but he thought himself
primarily as an actor: 'I've grown to love the singing side of my career', he
confessed in Top Pop Stars for 1963. 'I shall never give that
up, but acting also has a strong appeal for me'. His hit-making career was
over by the mid-1960s but he had already started to make a name for himself as a
movie actor in the USA. He returned to the UK in the early 1970s but was
unable to re-launch his singing career. Acting roles also began to dry up by the
end of the decade and by the 1980s he was no longer active in show business.