I got involved with 'Opportunity Knocks'  a TV talent show.  It was the most popular television show in Britain in the early 1970's.  It started on the BBC radio some years before that.  The Presenter, the Engineer one could say,  was a man called Hughie Green.  Doris Barry and Len Marten were the associate producers and they liked what I was doing then.  The first person they introduced me to was Norman Newell.  I was ignorant and too young to know what an opportunity I was involved in,  I had no idea that he wrote songs for Shirley Bassey, Petula Clark, The Beatles.   I had no idea that he had awards for the songs he wrote and that he was a very 'big' record producer with EMI.  (Emmy, Grammy, and 3 Ivor Novello awards.)

It was my birthday and Norman telephoned and told my mother that Hughie Greene was very excited by my performance and that he wanted to meet me as soon as possible.  At that time I had just acquired my first car, a Mini Van,  I drove to London and went around in circles looking for Montague Mansions,  off Baker Street,  terrified of being late I parked the car and hailed a taxi,  the taxi driver refused to take me pointing across the road he said "There it is !".  A little hot and a little bothered I pushed the bell push and waited a moment.  A man who told me he was Norman's assistant ushered me in. My shoes sank into deep pile carpet.   The man gave me a drink,  in those days I did drink a little alcohol,  it was in a beautiful  crystal glass  which had a beautiful pattern cut into it.  It was very large and very full.  The man spoke of many stars one name I remember was the 'Everly Brothers'  I knew this name and I knew they were big stars.  He spoke, loftily, of 'The Country' and riding there at weekends,  with Norman,  in the Bentley.  I knew that that was a different kind of car from my Mini but it still did not register that I was in 'The Big Time' !  Norman swept in,  in a blaze of charisma.  He told me his neighbour was the great actress Peggy Mount,  I liked her and hoped to meet her on the stairs but we zipped off to a restaurant where we were served steak spread over two plates,  something which I had never seen until then and have never seen since. The waiter caressed a large Mango,  I knew what that was but I had never seen one so big.  Norman and the others joked and laughed with the restaurant owner,  they knew each other well.  I wondered how I would pay my share of the bill,  but Norman could obviously afford to pay for everyone,  and he did.  Who the others were I am not sure they arrived and disappeared,  at this moment life was very exciting and very different.  Back to Montague Mansions and the first time I had seen gold taps in a bath room,  may be they were solid gold,  I don't know.

Now I had to sing,  and they liked it and they said have you any brand new songs.  I had one it went something like this 'Winter's a good time for.......various different things   and then it went on to Winter's a good time fish and chips and sitting in the cafe.'  That was where the song came from,  I was sitting, on a very cold evening, with my girl friend in a fish and chip cafe.  Norman looked at me and said...'Such a beautiful song winter's a good time for but why on earth would you spoil it with all that rubbish about a Fish and Chip Shop ?'  That was the end of that song,  I was into doing things that were a little different but that is not really what Pop Music is about, yes there are tunes and songs which stand out but not like a sore thumb and I was more into sore thumb than conforming to,  or competing with the norm. 

All the same I was impressive enough to be invited to a test  recording for EMI.  So a few days later,  on a dark cold evening,  my guitar and I walked through the London winter to Chapels Music Store in New Bond Street. Up the stair and into the recording studio.  This was not my first recording,  a guy I knew from my youth club worked in a studio and he recorded some of my earliest songs,  he was called Henry Edwards.  The studio was full of people and was very alive and there was a lot of action.  Another artist was doing a test recording that day he was wearing a skin tight cat suit,  un-zipped to the navel and,  obviously no underwear,  he had lots of hair and afro style and gold necklace and bracelets.  He was giving it all he had got singing 'Calendar Girl',  by Neil Sadaka,  Norman looked through the glass from the control room to the studio and said "If he becomes a star he'll ware me out !". 

Then it was my turn and I sang some songs I had written and then Norman asked for a song that was known so I did 'Streets of London'.  Later Norman told me that the people at EMI liked that very much.  

On another night we had dinner in another restaurant, on Baker Street,  where the fish were swimming around waiting for some one to choose one for their dinner.  This was another first for me and I couldn't do it,  so I chose something more mundane and Norman ate Oysters,  you guessed it another first to watch someone eating something supposedly alive.  We talked of 'Mrs Mills'  who Norman produced.  She was an 'older' lady who played piano. Norman asked many personal questions about girl friends and marriage.  From this conversation I had the impression that things could get extremely big for me in the music business and because of it I made a huge,  and looking back on it, such a hurtful mistake,  so big headed was I that I told my girl friend that I was heading for the big time and if she didn't feel she could handle it she 'Should get out now'.  You should by now understand how  young, immature and naive I was.  I cannot today imagine saying such a thing to anyone,  but as I said it I knew it was wrong,  what must it have sounded like ?  I don't want to imagine.  I cannot tell if I was ever forgiven for this but she did stay around for some years and strong young women.  All I can say is sorry but I learned and would never do such again but I am writing this thirty years on.

One day Norman phoned to invite me to a live recording,  'Danny La Rue'  was going to make a new album of sing-a-long songs.  I was so go and clap on the record.  It was a big live recording, with an invited audience, in a big studio,  although I cannot remember which one,  it might have been Abbey Road.  Danny was very nice to me and spent along time talking and telling me what he had done and how he got started.  He sang 'On Mother Kelly's Door Step' and many other songs and 'Geoff Love' and his orchestra made the music.  Later in my career I got involved with his son Adrian who became a Capital Radio and Radio 2 disc-jockey. 

In  January  I wrote Norman a Song,  a fun song for his birthday.  I put it all together and Nigel Cameron helped me to finish it off turning it into a 'kinda rocky blues thing'...  Norman telephoned me and said that no one had ever written him a song before.  I thought strange when he has written so many songs for so many people. 

Mr. Producer Make Me a Star

Hey Mr. Producer

Won’t you make me a Star

I wanna make big money

Drive a Rolls Royce Car

I wouldn’t worry

But someone told me I could go far

Hey Mr. Producer

Take me as I am

Then you can transform me

Into a new man

As long as I get the money

I’ll do anything in your plan

Hey Mr. Producer

I want to have a million fans

They’ll by all my music

I’ll be the new guitar man

Then I will be singing

to every Man and Woman in the land

Stephen Clarke and Nigel Cameron

© 1975

The greatest words of wisdom Norman gave me were these 'It takes some artists many many years to mature into the stars they were born to be.' 

Norman was born in 1919 and in the issue 15 of the MCPS/PRS magazine issue 15,  Feb 2005 I read Normans Obituary. Norman  died on 1 December 2004 at the age of 85, having been awarded the OBE for his services to British music.  He played a great part in my career and I wish that I could say thank you to him once again. 

http://www.eastlondonhistory.com/norman%20newell.htm 

© 2005