Malcolm Roberts born 31 March 1944

 

Malcolm Roberts (31 March 1944 — 7 February 2003) was an English singer, who enjoyed three hit singles from 1967 to 1969 in the UK Singles Chart.

 

Born in Blackley, Manchester, Roberts arrived in the music industry through a previous career in acting - even appearing briefly in a tiny role in ITV's soap opera, Coronation Street. It was while appearing as Tony in West Side Story  that he received his big break. Composer  Lionel Bart spotted his potential and cast him in appear in his West End production of Maggie May at the Adelphi Theatre, in 1964.

 

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 single, "Time Alone Will Tell" reached number 45 in May 1967, followed by his biggest hit, "May I Have the Next Dream With You" in November 1968, reaching number 8 and staying on the charts for 15 weeks. His final hit, in November 1969, was "Love is All", which reached number 12. According to the sleeve notes of his 2001 retrospective CD collection, his recording career continued in Brazil, where he scored many hits.

 

 

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.

 

He also appeared on American television on 6 November 1970, via The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He had previously sung on both The Morecambe and Wise Show (1969) and The Kenneth Williams Show on the UK's BBC Television. Roberts later appeared in pantomime, starring opposite Ronnie Corbett and Clodagh Rodgers in the 1971 production of Cinderella at the London Palladium. In 1985, he joined a six-member group to represent Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest. The song, "Children, Kinder, Enfants" was written by Ralph Siegel, Bernd Meinunger and Jean-Michel Beriat, all of whom had written Eurovision entries before, with Seigel and Meinunger writing the 1982 German winner. The group consisted of an international line-up of the UK's Roberts and Ireen Sheer, Dutch singer Margo, Frenchman Franck Olivier, German Chris Roberts and Canadian Diane Solomon. The song was performed mainly in French, with a counterpane sung in English and German. They got 37 points and finished in 13th place.
                          

In 1991, Roberts attempted alone to represent the UK, with his own composition, "One Love", but finished last in the A Song For Europe contest. Numerous stage appearances in various shows across the country followed, and his back catalogue of recordings was re-released for a new audience. The highpoint in his private life came in April 1995 when his son, Oliver, was born.

 

In 2001 Malcolm started to appear in more shows but because of the need for a new hip had to curtail several other shows that he had lined up.The operation took place in May 2002 and by July Malcolm was back on stage at Blackpool. Work was also on a brand new CD that contained songs that Malcolm had written. But on February 7 2003 Malcolm’s many fans were left shattered when they heard the news he had suffered a fatal heart attack near his home in Chertsey, Surrey. He was found collapsed at the wheel of his car in the car park of council offices in Addlestone, near Chertsey. He was only 58.

 

 

His funeral took place at Henley-on-Thames, and he was buried at Remenham Cemetery near Henley on 20 February 2003. (Info edited from Wikipedia & 45rpm)