Dave King

b. Twickenham, Middlesex, England. A very popular comedian and singer in the UK during the 50s and 60s, at the age of 15 King was a stooge and washboard player in the bill-topping variety act, Morton Fraser’s Harmonica Gang. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1950 and returned to the Gang afterwards. His big solo break came with appearances on UK television’s Showcase and Television Music Hall. These resulted in West End appearances and his own television variety series. King first recorded in 1955 with producer George Martin for Parlophone and his debut hit came in 1956, with a cover of ‘Memories Are Made Of This’ on Decca, which gave the Dean Martin original strong competition in the UK charts. He also enjoyed success with ‘You Can’t Be True To Two’ in 1956 and ‘The Story Of My Life’, which was one of three versions of the Burt Bacharach song to make the UK Top 20 in 1958. King was one of the rare UK comedians to make any impact in the USA having his own summer television series there in the late 50s. He joined Pye in 1959 but no more hits came the way of this easy-going, relaxed ballad singer whose television appearances also eventually dried up. In later years King became a respected character actor in UK films and television.