Georgie Fame

First taking piano lessons as a child in Lancashire, Georgie Fame formed his first band The Dominoes at 15. He got a job as an entertainer at Butlins Holiday Camp in Pwllheli, Wales and at 16 was signed by top entrepreneur Larry Parnes - manager of Billy Fury and Marty Wilde - who changed his name to Georgie Fame and launched his career in earnest. He played piano with Billy Fury's backing band The Blue Flames and, when Fury sacked them in 1961, Fame kept the band together and became front man, playing a mixture of pop, R&B and jazz. They released their first live album Rhythm & Blues At The Flamingo in 1963, got a London residency and appeared several times on the top pop TV show of the day, Ready Steady Go. Fame's chart breakthrough, however, came in 1965 with the bouncy Yeh Yeh, a cover of an old Latin soul tune which topped the UK charts for two weeks. He had another Number 1 the following year with Getaway and again in 1967 with - his biggest hit of all - The Ballad Of Bonnie & Clyde, which also made his name in the US. Other hits include Sunny, Sitting In The Park and Rosetta (with Alan Price) and That's Life. He was also a founding member of Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings and went on to work extensively with Van Morrison, releasing the 1996 single That's Life with him. Others Fame has worked with include Count Basie, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Joan Armatrading and The Verve.