Cuddly Dudley (singer)
Encyclopedia
Cuddly Dudley was an English rock & roll singer, and actor, who came to fame on the Oh Boy! TV series, and is noted for being “Britain's first black rock & roller”.
in the West End
, before singing in clubs for 6 months. He then played in Folies Bergeres at the Hippodrome, London
and toured Australia in Cole Porter
's Kiss Me, Kate
, before joining Sid Milward's Comedy orchestra, The Nit Wits, supporting Max Bygraves
.
By the mid-1950s Dudley was recording for Oriole Records, as part of the Charles Ross Orchestra, and adopted the nickname Cuddly Dudley, playing on his slightly round figure. He toured New Zealand and Switzerland with Charles Ross, then joined Mambo bandleader Perez Prado
to tour Italy, before returning to the West End with Plaisirs de Paris at the Prince of Wales Theatre
.
Dudley was influenced by early rock 'n' roll and, being black, with a strong voice, decided to change musical style. His manager, Guy Robinson, promoted him as "Bristol's answer to The Big Bopper
" and he adopted a big grin, flashy suits and snazzy ties. He was also a co-founder of The Dominoes, with pianist Iggy Quail and vocalist
Boysie Grant.
Although he was little known outside Afro-Caribbean circles, within this community he was as popular as any other rock & roll performer, which led to his manager persuading Jack Good
to give him a residency on Good's new TV series Oh Boy!.
and appeared in a total of 21 episodes, the most appearances by any artist, one more than Cliff Richard
, whilst The Drifters (who became The Shadows
) and Marty Wilde
appeared on 17 shows each. His first recordings as Cuddly Dudley were on the TV spin-off album Oh Boy! (Parlophone 1958), where he sang "Hey Hey Hey Hey" (later covered by The Beatles) and "Lets Rock While the Rocking's Good". A solo single "Later" b/w "Lots More Love" was released in 1959, and in 1960 he appeared, as himself, in the film Girls of the Latin Quarter, directed by Alfred Travers
and starring Jill Ireland
, which was filmed in the London branch of the nightclub Latin Quarter
. He also deputised for Cliff Richard, appearing at several concerts when Cliff was ill.
on their 1960 UK tour, and released a second single, a cover of Chuck Berry
's "Too Pooped To Pop".
In 1961 he became the lead singer with “The Redcaps”, with whom he released a single "Sitting On A Train". Originally known as "Red-E-Lewis And The Redcaps" (named after Gene Vincent
's The Blue Caps) original lead singer Reddy Lewis (Edward Stubbs) had left to form the Red Cats, with Jimmy Page
on guitar. The Redcaps comprised Mick Green
, Vic Cooper, Frank Farley, Johnny Patto and Johnny Spence, and from May–July 1961 Reddy Lewis returned, but Dudley remained lead vocalist. Farley, Patto and Spence left to become The Pirates backing Johnny Kidd (who had the same manager as Dudley), when the original Pirates “jumped ship”. Green, The Redcaps other guitarist, joined the Pirates later when Patto left.
By 1963/64 Dudley had rejoined pianist Iggy Quail and recorded some of the first bluebeat and ska
tracks outside Jamaica. Dudley and Quail formed a trio with Clyde Davies (bass), who accompanied comedians such as Tommy Trinder
and Bob Monkhouse
and had a residency at the Kingfisher Club. Dudley released several singles on Piccadilly as well as some more for Oriole. He retired from the music business in the mid-1960s.
He died on 15 July 2011 aged 87
Compilations
Early career
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, on 22 May 1924 (although Dudley later pretended to be younger, claiming to be 29 in early 1959 whilst Allmusic said he was born in the 1930s) he started performing when very young with a "native song and dance act" for tourists. In 1947 he went to Britain where he spent a year in the play Sauce Tartare at the Cambridge TheatreCambridge Theatre
The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons...
in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, before singing in clubs for 6 months. He then played in Folies Bergeres at the Hippodrome, London
Hippodrome, London
The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Charing Cross Road and Leicester Square in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survivors...
and toured Australia in Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
's Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
, before joining Sid Milward's Comedy orchestra, The Nit Wits, supporting Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves OBE is an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs...
.
By the mid-1950s Dudley was recording for Oriole Records, as part of the Charles Ross Orchestra, and adopted the nickname Cuddly Dudley, playing on his slightly round figure. He toured New Zealand and Switzerland with Charles Ross, then joined Mambo bandleader Perez Prado
Perez Prado
Dámaso Pérez Prado was a Cuban bandleader, musician , and composer. He is often referred to as the 'King of the Mambo'.His orchestra was the most popular in mambo...
to tour Italy, before returning to the West End with Plaisirs de Paris at the Prince of Wales Theatre
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre on Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner...
.
Dudley was influenced by early rock 'n' roll and, being black, with a strong voice, decided to change musical style. His manager, Guy Robinson, promoted him as "Bristol's answer to The Big Bopper
The Big Bopper
Jiles Perry "J. P." Richardson, Jr. also commonly known as The Big Bopper, was an American disc jockey, singer, and songwriter whose big voice and exuberant personality made him an early rock and roll star...
" and he adopted a big grin, flashy suits and snazzy ties. He was also a co-founder of The Dominoes, with pianist Iggy Quail and vocalist
Boysie Grant.
Although he was little known outside Afro-Caribbean circles, within this community he was as popular as any other rock & roll performer, which led to his manager persuading Jack Good
Jack Good
John or Jack Good may refer to:* I. J. Good, Irving John Good , British statistician* John G. Good, Pennsylvania politician* Jack Good , icon painter and television & music producer...
to give him a residency on Good's new TV series Oh Boy!.
Oh Boy!
Dudley appeared on both pilot recordings of Oh Boy! (T1 & T2) as Dudley Heslop, but changed back to Cuddley Dudley, before the main series started. He was usually backed by the house band, Lord Rockingham's XILord Rockingham's XI
Lord Rockingham's XI was a group of British session musicians, led by Harry Robinson , who had a #1 hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1958 with "Hoots Mon"....
and appeared in a total of 21 episodes, the most appearances by any artist, one more than Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
, whilst The Drifters (who became The Shadows
The Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
) and Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
appeared on 17 shows each. His first recordings as Cuddly Dudley were on the TV spin-off album Oh Boy! (Parlophone 1958), where he sang "Hey Hey Hey Hey" (later covered by The Beatles) and "Lets Rock While the Rocking's Good". A solo single "Later" b/w "Lots More Love" was released in 1959, and in 1960 he appeared, as himself, in the film Girls of the Latin Quarter, directed by Alfred Travers
Alfred Travers
-Selected filmography:* Men of Tomorrow * Glorious Colours * Meet the Navy * The Strangers Came * Solution by Phone * Don Giovanni * The Primitives * One for the Pot...
and starring Jill Ireland
Jill Ireland
Jill Dorothy Ireland was an English actress, best known for her many films with her second husband, Charles Bronson.-Life and career:Born in London, England, Ireland was the daughter of a wine importer...
, which was filmed in the London branch of the nightclub Latin Quarter
Latin Quarter (nightclub)
Latin Quarter is a nightclub in New York City.The Club which originally opened in 1942 featured big name acts. In recent years it has been a focus of hip hop, reggaeton, and salsa music....
. He also deputised for Cliff Richard, appearing at several concerts when Cliff was ill.
Later career
After the demise of Oh Boy! in May 1959, he began touring with his own all-black band, The Embraceable Four, with whom he supported The PlattersThe Platters
The Platters were a vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre...
on their 1960 UK tour, and released a second single, a cover of Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
's "Too Pooped To Pop".
In 1961 he became the lead singer with “The Redcaps”, with whom he released a single "Sitting On A Train". Originally known as "Red-E-Lewis And The Redcaps" (named after Gene Vincent
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...
's The Blue Caps) original lead singer Reddy Lewis (Edward Stubbs) had left to form the Red Cats, with Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
on guitar. The Redcaps comprised Mick Green
Mick Green
Michael Robert "Mick" Green was an English rock and roll guitarist who played with Johnny Kidd & The Pirates and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas.-Biography:He was born Michael Robert Green, in Matlock, Derbyshire...
, Vic Cooper, Frank Farley, Johnny Patto and Johnny Spence, and from May–July 1961 Reddy Lewis returned, but Dudley remained lead vocalist. Farley, Patto and Spence left to become The Pirates backing Johnny Kidd (who had the same manager as Dudley), when the original Pirates “jumped ship”. Green, The Redcaps other guitarist, joined the Pirates later when Patto left.
By 1963/64 Dudley had rejoined pianist Iggy Quail and recorded some of the first bluebeat and ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
tracks outside Jamaica. Dudley and Quail formed a trio with Clyde Davies (bass), who accompanied comedians such as Tommy Trinder
Tommy Trinder
Thomas Edward Trinder CBE known as Tommy Trinder, was an English stage, screen and radio comedian of the pre and post war years whose catchphrase was 'You lucky people'.-Life:...
and Bob Monkhouse
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan "Bob" Monkhouse, OBE was an English entertainer. He was a successful comedy writer, comedian and actor and was also well known on British television as a presenter and game show host...
and had a residency at the Kingfisher Club. Dudley released several singles on Piccadilly as well as some more for Oriole. He retired from the music business in the mid-1960s.
He died on 15 July 2011 aged 87
Discography
Singles- "Later" / "Lots More Love" - (1959) - HMV (Pop 586)
- "Too Pooped to Pop" / "Miss In-Between" - (1960) - HMV (POP 725)
- "Sitting in a Train" / "The One That I Like" - (1961) - Ember (S136)
- "Blarney Blues" / "Peace On Earth" - 1964 - Oriole (ICB9)
- "Way of Life" / "When Will You Say You'll Be Mine" - 1964 - Oriole (ICB10)
Compilations
- Oh Boy! (1958) Parlophone - 2 tracks:- "Hey Hey Hey Hey" and "Lets Rock While the Rocking's Good" CD (2009) Highnote (GVC1008)
- That British Sound Vol 10 - CD (2010) No Hit Records BLC 89 - 2 tracks:- "Sitting in a Train" & "Later"
- From Calypso to Disco: The Roots of Black Britain - 1 Track:- "The Ferryboat Ride"
- The Piccadilly Story - (1994) & (2006) - Castle (72386) - 1 Track:- "The Ferryboat Ride"
- British Rock'n'Roll 1955~1960 CD (1986) See For Miles (SEE38) "Later" & "Lots More Love"