Tony Weston - S/T (1974)

This is an interesting one. On first glance there is not much that distinguishes Tony Weston's freshman stab at vinyl fame from the multitude of other wannabees. Bargain basement design? Check. Letraset fonts? Check. 'Private' label? Check. Ridiculously posed cover shot? Check. Autographed sleeve? Check ("To Lisa, Love ya")". Admittedly, the sleevenotes are unusually copious and serious, but still attest to the typically tertiary levels of fame, inflated by the simmering desperation of a manager who can smell the next recession. Check.

But my nobler half took it upon himself to do a little research the day I found this LP and it seems that there is a grain of truth in the hyperbole. Poor Tony Weston departed for the ballroom in the sky in 2005, but not before a carefully rehearsed send-off. According to the Bournemouth Daily Echo, "shoppers in Westbourne stopped in their tracks as the flamboyant funeral procession for '60s singing star Tony Weston passed by". It seems time has been a little unkind to his legacy if the paper's assertion that Weston "...was a big name on the international cabaret circuit in the 1960s and, at the height of his fame, had a fan club with 10,000 members" is true. But let's concentrate on this LP, his first testament.

What little else I have been able to find about the man suggests that he was in the old-school mould of ribald humour, loud songs and even louder clothes and there is nothing before me that would contradict that (may I mention Pontins at this point?). But the record really isn't that bad. Of course, his voice is way too high in the mix as befits someone used to standing alone at the front of the stage, but he has a good stab at Spinning Wheel, which is difficult to mess up admittedly, and introduced me - with his pleasing rendition - to Petula's Clark's I Know a Place (...in fact I did sort of know the song I now realise due to Julian Cope ripping it off for his 'augmented' cover of the Vogues' 5 O'Clock World). As an aside, the backing band on this is credited as the "New Dawn", coincidentally the same as an Oregon band responsible for a fantastic £500+ LP from 1970 'There's a New Dawn', also privately pressed. Ridiculous to think these things would be related, but weirder things have happened...

Like most of the albums on this blog, this one doesn't have a date on the sleeve or labels, but I'm assuming this is the "new album" referred to in the aforementioned sleeve notes, reproduced below in all their small town glory, so 1974 it is.

HAIR BY RAYMOND

[PS sorry for the skip in track 5, clearly Lisa didn't love this record as much as Tony loved her...]

Tony Weston - s/t (1974)
Steenhuis Recording Studios STEREO SPC 344

Side One
1. For Once in my Life
2. Your (sic) My World
3. Love Is All
4. Cabaret Medley
5. And I Love You So

Side Two
1. Spinning Wheel
2. Steets (sic) of London
3. Love Story
4. I Know a Place
5. My Life

International star singer and dancer TONY WESTON has already packed a lifetime of show business into his career. His dynamic act has brought him terrific success that prompted a leading London manager to sign up this fast rising star for a tour of the world's entertainment capitals. During the next twelve months, TONY sang in some of the world's top night clubs including Calcutta, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney, Wellington, the list is endless. At the exclusive Goodwood Hotel in Singapore, TONY won the admiration of Noel Coward, who assured him that he could make a great name for himself in Australia.

It was soon after this that TONY starred in the musical revue 'Starlight Roof' and with a cast of sixty travelled all over Australia and New Zealand. The Melbourne Press said of TONY, "The most explosive, dynamic, all round entertainer to come out of England". The Adelaide Pres said of him, "Just watching him work made one feel exhausted...he had so much energy". TONY's next success was the leading role in the musical "The Roaring 20's", but he still found time to appear on television in Sydney. Eventually, TONY decided to return to England, after travelling 90,000 miles and through some sixty countries, he felt it was time to see his family again. On his return to England, he broke all records appearing several times at Barbarellas Club in Norwich and the same at Winstons in Bournemouth and the same story at the Maison Royale Club in Bournemouth.

THE LONDON EVENING NEWS By James Green
The first time I saw him was in Majorca, the temperature was around 90 degrees, and he gave a one man cabaret act that lasted for seventy-five minutes, he didn't so much get a reception as an ovation, they stood on chairs to cheer, the name is TONY WESTON, and as I told him then nobody, not even Sammy Davis, could have done it better. I picked the right man because the coloured American is WESTON's idol.

Now things arre happening for this Cornish born entertainer who is billed, not without reason as Mr. Dynamic. He sings, dances, shakes, twists, turns cartwheels and sometimes sings on the floor kicking his feet in the air.

TONY WESTON with his blond hair and lace shirts is a remarkable show business character. He has 92 shirts and 35 suits and does not dress to be lost in a crowd, he has done cabaret in Japan, Hong Kong and India, just to mention a few of the many places he has appeared.

THE NORWICH EVENING NEWS
With songs like "This is my Life", "My Way" and "Love is All" echoing round the packed MELODY ROOMS on Thursday, who else could have been the singer but TONY WESTON, back amongst his Norwich fans after a lengthy absence. Yes it was the same TONY WESTON flamboyant and irrepressible as ever, and there were the same encores at the end of his exhausting performance, except the encores were more demanding. If TONY ever doubts the lasting devotion of his many fans in Norwich he will need to see a psychiatrist for even after this long break, he had only to swing onto one of his memorable numbers to draw loud applause...For him and him alone, it seems Norwich audiences reserve the mass turn out and spontaneous appreciation normally earned only by a few top stars, the belly laughs followed on as well as ever, from his wise cracks and stories, the women in the audience responded just as well to his wild gyrations finally, after tremendous applause TONY WESTON stepped out of the spotlights.

THE STAGE By David Lester
Five appearances at the same club in the space of fifteen months, must be a record, the artist in question TONY WESTON, the club Winstons in Bournemouth. I attended TONY's opening night which was nothing short of a sensation, with superb backing from "The New Dawn". TONY was able to tackle his audience without any worries and he entertained for over one hour, giving the performance of a lifetime...WESTON must be one of the few entertainers left who really understands what showmanship is all about. 1974 is going to be a very busy year for him. He is in the throes of making a new album. He has a top of the bill spot lined up at the Variety Club Show in Torquay, engagements at home and abroad, until the start of the summer season when Holiday Camp King FRED PONTIN has re-engaged him to entertain his guests all over the country.

Hair styling: Raymond of Bournemouth
Tony Weston's cloths (sic): Anthony Goble
Photography: Malcom Ransom
Sleeve Design: Kent Studio, Canterbury, Kent
Musical Arrangement: Ian Simpson
Backing Group: New Dawn
Recording Engineers: Paul Steenhuis & Clive Taylor
Steenhuis Recording Studios, Broadstairs, Kent