Craig Douglas (born Terence Perkins, 12 August 1941, Newport, Isle Of Wight) is an English pop singer, who was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Career

Born a twin [1], before becoming a professional singer, the once Terence Perkins was employed as a milkman.

Voted 'Best New Singer' in 1959, Douglas went on to record no less than eight cover versions of former American hit songs, in his total of nine Top 40 UK singles. Amongst that tally, Douglas had a Number One single in 1959 with "Only Sixteen", which easily outsold Sam Cooke's original version in Britain. Douglas also clocked up, an almost impossible to match, four consecutive No. 9 placings on the UK Singles Chart.

His clean cut, teen idol image was also copied largely from the U.S. scene, from the likes of Pat Boone, and Rick Nelson. Douglas also starred in the 1961 movie, It's Trad, Dad!, with Helen Shapiro, but it did not boost either artists acting career.

He topped the bill on The Beatles' first major stage show, although their emergence ultimately spelt the end of Douglas' chart career. His final hit came in February 1963, when "Town Crier", flopped at Number 36.

Nevertheless, the well-remembered, early British rock and roll pioneer, tours to this day, doing cabaret, cruise ships, and other bookings. Indeed, well into the 1990s, Douglas had an annual month-long booking in Hong Kong.

UK singles chart discography

• "A Teenager in Love" - 1959 - Number 13
• "Only Sixteen" - 1959 - Number 1
• "Pretty Blue Eyes" - 1960 - Number 4
• "The Heart of a Teenage Girl" - 1960 - Number 10
• "Oh! What a Day" - 1960 - Number 43
• "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" - 1961 - Number 9
• "Time" - 1961 - Number 9
• "When My Little Girl is Smiling" - 1962 - Number 9
• "Our Favourite Melodies" - 1962 - Number 9
• "Oh Lonesome Me" - 1962 - Number 15
• "Town Crier" - 1963 - Number 36

References

• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
• Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits - ISBN 0-85112-250-7

See also

• List of NME covers
• List of Identity Parade guests on Never Mind the Buzzcocks
• List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
• List of British pop musicians of the 1960s
• List of British pop musicians of the 1950s
• List of number-one singles from the 1950s (UK)
• United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1961
• UK No.1 Hits of 1959

External links

• Douglas's entry at 45-rpm.org
• All Music Guide website page