Malcolm Roberts
Malcolm Roberts |
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Malcolm Roberts represents a bit of an anomaly because he was a ballad singer of a kind that it's easy to believe had disappeared with the coming of the Beatles and the beat era. In fact, Malcolm Roberts didn't start recording until 1967. He'd arrived on the music scene through a previous career in acting- even appearing briefly in a tiny role on TV's Coronation Street. However, it was while performing in the London stage musical "Maggie May" that it became widely apparent that he could sing. His powerful singing voice may have had great appeal only with the older generation- but they certainly went out and bought his records in great numbers. His first release only scraped into the bottom of the UK top 50, and his following RCA releases didn't do even that well. However, after switching to the newly formed 'Major Minor' label his rendition of the romantic "May I Have The Next Dream With You" took him into the top 10. This disc and the later, "Love Is All"- a sensation in South America after winning the Rio de Janeiro Song Festival- established Malcolm as one of Britain's foremost balladeers and put the singer briefly in the same league as Engelbert Humperdinck and Tom Jones. Perhaps it was because Malcolm Roberts began to spend more time abroad instead of cultivating his home audience, but no further 1970s UK chart hits followed his heady 1960s beginnings. He did however maintain a high profile in musical shows and continued as a popular stage performer throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s. More recently, he was able to establish himself a niche at 1960s nostalgia concerts. Sadly, Malcolm Roberts died after suffering a suspected heart attack on February 7th, 2003 near his home in Chertsey, Surrey. Sheila Welch who runs the Malcolm Roberts Fan Club has informed me that an album entitled "Rio", which was still being produced at the time of Malcolm Roberts' demise, is to be released on October 6th 2003. It should be available on a CD with the catalogue number 'Right 020' from Right Recordings- a great opportunity to obtain Malcolm's very last recordings from your local record dealer. |
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| RCA 1578 | 1967 | Time Alone Will Tell/ Maria | #45 |
| RCA 1625 | 1967 | Yours Until Tomorrow/ Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing | |
| RCA 1671 | 1968 | Most Of All There's You/ Where Did I Go Wrong | |
| RCA 1702 | 1968 | Our Song/ Just You Wait And See | |
| Major Minor MM581 | 1968 | May I Have The Next Dream With You/ Where Did I Go Wrong | #8 |
| Major Minor MM598 | 1969 | Stand Beside Me/ Dancing Partners | |
| Major Minor MM617 | 1969 | Please Don't Go Away/ Picking Up The Pieces | |
| Major Minor MM637 | 1969 | Love Is All/ Eva Magdelena | #12 |
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