Marty Wilde, MBE (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) 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, Kim and Roxanne Wilde.
From mid-1958 to the end of 1959, Wilde was one of the leading British rock and roll singers, along with Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard. Wilde's backing group was called the Wildcats. At various times they featured Big Jim Sullivan on lead guitar, Tony Belcher on rhythm guitar, Bobby Graham or Bobbie Clarke on drums; plus Brian Locking on bass guitar and Brian Bennett on drums who both later joined the Shadows.
He appeared regularly on the BBC Television show 6.5 Special and was the main regular artiste on the Saturday ITV popular music shows Oh Boy! and Boy Meets Girls. There he met and married Joyce Baker, one of the Vernons Girls who were also show regulars. The courtship was highly public but, after the marriage, Wilde's popularity as a teen idol declined.
He moved partly into all-round entertainment, appearing in musicals such as Conrad Birdie in the original West End production of Bye Bye Birdie and several films. He enjoyed success as a songwriter in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With Ronnie Scott, he co-wrote the one-hit wonders the Casuals' "Jesamine" under the pseudonyms of Frere Manston and Jack Gellar. The pair also wrote Lulu's "I'm a Tiger" and the early Status Quo hit, "Ice in the Sun".
Like many of his contemporaries, Wilde continued to perform in nostalgia tours in the UK and beyond. In 2007, he celebrated 50 years in the business with another UK tour which featured his youngest daughter Roxanne Wilde, and the issue of a compilation album, Born To Rock And Roll – The Greatest Hits. It included a duet with Kim Wilde of Elton John's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word", which was released as a promotional only single.
The tour culminated in a concert recorded at the London Palladium, and reunited the remaining Shadows: Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Jet Harris, Brian Locking and Brian Bennett.
In 2017, Wilde went on a UK tour with The Solid Gold Rock'n'Roll Show, which also featured Eden Kane, Mark Wynter and Mike Berry.
He and his wife Joyce have four children, Kim (born 1960), Ricky (born 1961), Roxanne (born 1979) and the youngest, Marty Jr. (born 1983), who was a contestant on the Golf Channel's The Big Break IV: USA vs. Europe in 2005. Kim, Ricky and Roxanne have worked in the music industry, like their parents.
His notable UK singles are listed below, with their peak positions in the UK Singles Chart and, for cover versions, the song's original artist given in a further set of brackets.
"A Teenager in Love" (2) (Dion and the Belmonts) (May 1959) This was also covered in the UK by Craig Douglas.
"Bad Boy" (7) (November 1959), which Wilde wrote, a Top 50 hit in the US in 1960 and covered shortly after its release by Robin Luke, in 1964 by Françoise Hardy and later by Nirvana and Robert Gordon. The B-side, "It's Been Nice", a Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman composition, was later recorded by the Everly Brothers and Freddy Cannon.
^ "Martywilde.com". Martywilde.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
^ a b c d e f g h Bruce Eder. "Marty Wilde | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
^ "The Solid Gold Rock n Roll Show 2017 Tickets - Tour Dates & Tickets - ATG Tickets". Atgtickets.com. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
^ "Wilde Life Encyclopedia biographies". Wilde-life.com. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 602. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
^ "Abergavenny - Record Details". 45cat. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
^ "1968 Charts Index". Go-Set, The Teens & Twenties Newspaper. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
^ "Hits of the World: Australia" (PDF). Billboard. 21 September 1968. p. 49. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
^ "Hits of the World: Belgium" (PDF). Billboard. 28 September 1968. p. 72. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
^ "Marty Wilde | Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
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