1950s UK Rock ‘N’ Roller Marty Wilde Scores First Top Ten Album At 80

Marty Wilde, who rose to fame in the first wave of British rock ‘n’ roll acts, has achieved his first UK top ten album in the week he turned 80. UMOD/Universal’s compilation Dreamboats and Petticoats Presents The Very Best of Marty Wilde entered the Official Charts Company’s artist album chart, published yesterday (19), at No. 7.

Remarkably, the achievement comes 60 years and nine months after his first top ten UK single with ‘Endless Sleep,’ a cover of Jody Reynolds’ US top five hit of the same year, 1958. Wilde, born Reginald Smith in south London on 15 April 1939, is the father of later British pop star and television personality Kim Wilde, and had six top ten hits in his home country. He’s perhaps best known for the 1959 cover of Dion and the Belmonts’ ‘A Teenager In Love,’ which took him closer to a UK No. 1 than any other single. It peaked at No. 2 behind Bobby Darin’s ‘Dream Lover.’

Wilde’s last top 40 single was ‘Ever Since You Said Goodbye’ in 1962, but he has maintained an active performing career and a loyal following ever since. In 2007, he had his first-ever UK chart album with the earlier compilation The Greatest Hits — Born To Rock ‘n’ Roll, which reached No. 19; it included a newly-recorded duet with daughter Kim on a cover of Elton John’s ‘Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.’

The 21-track Dreamboats and Petticoats Presents The Very Best of Marty Wilde is released in Universal Music’s series of compilations of rock ‘n’ roll-era hits. This led in turn to an equally successful stage show which opened in 2009, had a run in the West End and prompted several touring productions. A prolific stage performer, Wilde has numerous live dates booked around the UK throughout 2019.

Format: UK English