by Ian Woolley
Marty talks about his love for his family and somewhere close to my heart, Abergavenny…
Marty Wilde at home
On the tail end of his recent tour at the age of 80, I met up with Marty in the town of Wimborne in Dorset. It seems fate that our paths should cross.
Back in the ’70s, I met Marty at Butlins where I supported him in my band. But the connection doesn’t stop there.
I was born in Abergavenny which as avid fans will know gave him a chart hit during the ’60s. I named my youngest daughter Jesamine which was after that 1968 Casuals hit which I loved.
Only many years later did I find out that it was, yes, Marty who co-wrote it. So it seems that fate once more would bring us together.
Marty met his future wife when they were performing on the hit show Oh Boy! Joyce Baker was singing in The Vernons Girls and it was love at first sight. He admitted that his career did suffer when his marriage became public, despite having the advice to keep their relationship secret from his fans.
“I never took that side of the business too seriously anyway”, he began.
“Before I met Joyce, it had been a life of recording, singing, and sleeping, with little time for anything else. The road can be a very lonely place at times. Once Joyce came along, of course, things were different. There is nothing stronger in the world than two people working together”.
“She’s a great businesswoman and very astute and has given me great advice throughout my career and we recently celebrated our Diamond Wedding anniversary.”
Kim, Marty, and Roxanne
Having had four children, three of which are involved in music to this day, Marty is very proud of what his children have achieved.
“Roxanne works regularly with me, and Ricky and Kim have forged their own successful careers in the music business. Our other son Marty, junior, is a successful landscape gardener, owning his own company. (Kim is an avid gardener too).”
Does Marty have a favourite song that he loves to sing?
“Bad Boy and Endless Sleep, although the latter I don’t really do very much in my repertoire these days. I also love to do Abergavenny, which we do every once in a while.”
Having been born there, I asked him about that novelty song of 1968.
“My wife and I were on our way to a pantomime in Swansea when I saw a sign with the place name called *Abergavenny. I thought the name would make a great song the way it rolled off the tongue and subsequently recorded with a brass band. It did really well abroad because, at that time, I wasn’t really selling records.”
Had he ever been to the place? “I’ve been there many times since as it’s such a beautiful place, and always sing it at the little theatre in the town. The people, too, are really great and I love it to bits.”
Marty serenades
Forging a successful career in songwriting, Marty wrote chart hits for Lulu (I’m A Tiger) and Status Quo (Ice In The Sun) before writing virtually all of daughter Kim’s hits.
I asked him which of his songs gave him the most satisfaction in his long career.
“Recorded by The Casuals, the song I co-wrote with Ronnie Scott called Jesamine and Kids in America for my daughter Kim, without a doubt. I had bought this organ and was playing around in the chord of C, which was the easiest key for me to play in.
I started to write it and Ronnie helped me to finish it. Ronnie was a great songwriter and we had a lot of success together. (He went on to write a lot of chart hits for Bonnie Tyler).
“It would certainly have got to the top of the charts in 1968 if it was not for The Beatles being there with Hey Jude. Nobody was going to move them from that top spot.”
Having come through several health scares and a brush with cancer, however, Marty still loves to perform for his fans. He recently toured with Eden Kane, Mark Wynter, and Mike Berry.
So what does the future hold for Marty?
“Apart from my other stuff, I am hoping later on in the year to do some dates with Eden Kane now he’s getting better after his recent health scare.
Watch out for our exclusive Valentine’s Beat special with Marty on Valentine’s Day!!!
Read the full interview with Marty Wilde in the 2020 March edition of the Beat. Back copies are available from our website.
*Abergavenny was also the nearest town where, in 1971 actor and singer Dickie Valentine was killed one night in the early hours when his car careered into a bridge in the village of Glangrwyney, with his drummer and pianist. He was coming back from the Double Diamond Club in Caerphilly. Dickie was just 41 years of age at the time of his death. (More about the plaque unveiling shortly).
Marty remembers flowers being placed there down the years and there is now a new plaque on the new bridge. Dickie Valentine was very supportive of Marty in his early career.