Photos supplied by Vince Eager
In 1960 my manager Larry Parnes decided to branch out and produce an eight-week summer show at the Britannia Pier in Great Yarmouth starring Billy Fury, Johnny Gentle, Dickie Pride, American soul singer Davy Jones, and yours truly, with my group The Quiet Three. Unfortunately, it was only two months after Eddie Cochran’s fatal accident and I wasn’t speaking to Parnes due to his insensitive handling of the publicity surrounding Eddie’s demise. Any communications between Parnes and myself were dealt with by my road manager Noel and my publicity manager Chris Reynolds, who acted as my go-betweens.
It transpired that the season would consist of matinee performances from Tuesday to Saturday inclusive, and two shows on Sunday evenings. On this occasion I had to take my hat off to Parnes for his reasoning in having matinees for five days of the week. He felt – and he was proven to be right – that youngsters on holiday with their parents were more likely to want to spend an afternoon watching their favourite pop idols, as opposed to being tied to their parent’s apron strings whilst building sandcastles, or spending hours in the penny arcade.