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Date Posted:Fri February 08, 2008 01:59:14 In reply to:
Mark R. Deaver
's message, "Re: British Singers" on Fri February 08, 2008 01:05:14
Mark, thanks for your retrospect on Chewing Gum. This had been a hit here in 1959, entering our chart this very week.
Donegan subsequently had a bigger (number 1) novelty hit here a year later with My Old Man's A Dustman. I'm not sure what your word is for dustman.
At around this time, he seemed to lose direction and struggled to find a niche in the changing market. He turned out a balladic version of I Wanna Go Home (Wreck of the John B), covered the Highwaymen's Michael and followed with a weird (for him) string backed version of The Party's Over. His final hit in 1962 was more like him - Pick A Bale of Cotton (Leadbelly song I think). He then disappeared from our charts for good - swamped by the very people who claimed him as one of their inspirations.
One small correction - he was a Scot, not English. Well, actually, that's quite an important correction! I seem to remember that he bought rights of the Moody Blues song catalogue which gave him a decent pension. His widow has recently been prominent in an unsuccessful campaign to extend the 50 year copyright period on recordings here.
Little known and useless trivia - Jerry Allison played triangle on a track on his final album.
