'Alvin Stardust' (born Bernard William Jewry,
27 September 1942,
Muswell Hill,
North London) is an
English pop singer and
stage actor.
Career
Moving to
Mansfield,
Nottinghamshire at a young age, he made his stage debut in
pantomime at the age of four. In the early
1960s he became known as
Shane Fenton, and with his backing group, The Fentones, had a handful of hits in the
UK singles chart. His band based their sound on that of
The Shadows. He also appeared in
Billy Fury's
movie, ''Play It Cool''.
During the early
1970s, he became Alvin Stardust, as he tried to cash in on the
Glam Rock bandwagon. His biggest
hit was "
My Coo-Ca-Choo" in
1973; and he had four other chart successes with the hits - "Jealous Mind", "You, You, You", "Red Dress" and "Good Love". In total, he amassed seven
Top Ten entries, in a chart span lasting almost 25 years.
In 1985, Stardust participated in
A Song for Europe, the UK qualifying heat of the
Eurovision Song Contest, with the song ''The Clock on the Wall''. He finished in third place behind Vikki and Kerri Wells.
Moving into musical theatre, Stardust starred in the
UK tour of ''
Godspell'' and played
Uriah Heep in ''
David Copperfield - The Musical'' and Sir Billy Butlin in ''The Butlin Story'' at the
London Palladium.
In
2005 Stardust starred as the Child Catcher in ''
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'', also at the London Palladium.
Stardust has numerous
television appearances to his credit, and continues to tour as a performer and
vocalist.
On 28 April 2007 he visited
Birmingham's St. Mary's Hospice, with
Nick Bailey and
Antony Costa.
Discography
Shane Fenton & The Fentones
★ "I'm A Moody Guy" - 1961 -
UK Singles Chart high - No. 22
★ "Walk Away" - 1962 - No. 38
★ "It's All Over Now" - 1962 - No. 29
★ "Cindy's Birthday" - 1962 - No. 19
Alvin Stardust
★ "
My Coo-Ca-Choo" - 1973 - No. 2
★ "
Jealous Mind" - 1974 - No. 1
★ "Red Dress" - 1974 - No. 7
★ "You You You" - 1974 - No. 6
★ "Tell Me Why" - 1974 - No. 16
★ "Good Love Can Never Die" - 1975 - No. 11
★ "Sweet Cheatin' Rita" - 1975 - No. 37
★ "
Pretend" - 1981 - No. 4
★ "A Wonderful Time Up There - 1981 - No. 56
★ "I Feel like Buddy Holly" - 1984 - No. 7
★ "I Won't Run Away" - 1984 - No. 7
★ "So Near To Christmas" - 1984 - No. 29
★ "Got a Little Heartache" - 1985 - No. 55
Personal life
Stardust has been married three times. Firstly, Iris Caldwell, who was an ex-girlfriend of both
George Harrison and
Paul McCartney, having grown up with them in Liverpool, and secondly actress
Liza Goddard . He is now married to the actress Julie Paton.
His son Shaun, became headteacher at
Pate's Grammar School in 2006. His other son, Adam, is a
drum and bass producer and
DJ, known as
Adam F.
References
★
Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
★ The Guinness Book Of 500 Number One Hits - ISBN 0-85112-250-7
External link
★
Alvin Stardust's Official Website
★
Shane Fenton and the Fentone's Official Website