Alex Wharton (born 1939), later also known as Alex Murray, was part of the singing duo the Most Brothers with Mickie Most, and later, co-manager and producer of

the Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The g ...

Singing and acting career

The Most Brothers worked in the famous

the 2i's Coffee Bar The 2i's Coffee Bar was a coffeehouse at 59 Old Compton Street in Soho, London, that was open from 1956 to 1970. It played a formative role in the emergence of Britain's skiffle and rock and roll music culture in the late 1950s, and several maj ...

in London's

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

. They toured the UK with early rock'n'rollers

Marty Wilde Marty Wilde, (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, scoring several 1950s hit singles including " Endless Sl ...

, Colin Hicks (younger brother of Tommy Steele), the

Tony Crombie Anthony John Kronenberg (27 August 1925 – 18 October 1999), known professionally as Tony Crombie, was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader, and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest English jazz drummers and bandleaders, an oc ...

Big Band,

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

, the Kalin Twins, and Wee Willie Harris. In 1957 they recorded on the Decca

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

with "Whistle Bait" and "Takes a Whole Lotta Loving to Keep My Baby Happy" before disbanding the act in 1958. In 1959 Wharton adopted the name Murray and moved into an acting career with the

Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West E ...

company in Stratford, East London, under the direction of the

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

Joan Littlewood Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of M ...

. He appeared in the first production of '' Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be'' before transferring to London's

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...

, Wyndam's, as understudy to

Alfred Lynch Alfred Cornelius Lynch (26 January 1931 – 16 December 2003) was an English actor on stage, film and television. Early life Lynch was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of a plumber. After attending a Catholic school, he worked in a drawing o ...

in the title role of '' The Hostage''. He played a small role in the

Arnold Wesker Sir Arnold Wesker (24 May 1932 – 12 April 2016) was an English dramatist. He was the author of 50 plays, four volumes of short stories, two volumes of essays, much journalism and a book on the subject, a children's book, some poetry, and oth ...

one-act play ''Last Day In Dreamland'' at the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

, and interspersed acting in minor film roles (''

Never Let Go ''Never Let Go'' is a 1960 British thriller film starring Richard Todd, Peter Sellers and Elizabeth Sellars. It concerns a man's attempt to recover his stolen Ford Anglia car. Sellers plays a London villain, in one of his rare serious roles. P ...

'' - 1960), TV parts and commercials with solo record releases on Decca. He wrote songs with Tony Crombie before working in 1961 as A&R man at Decca Records, the youngest in the country, at 20, in the post. His first production, "Love is Like A Violin" sung by

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian, singer and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer", and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances. A lifel ...

, went to #8 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It was followed by hits with

Mark Wynter Mark Wynter (born Terence Sidney Lewis; 29 January 1943) is an English singer and actor, who had four Top 20 singles in the 1960s, including "Venus in Blue Jeans" and " Go Away Little Girl". He enjoyed a lengthy career from 1960 to 1968 as a p ...

; plus Rhet Stoller's "Chariot", which reached #26 in the UK. Wharton gave much needed work to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

musicians, at a time when they were out of fashion and struggling to find work, by producing a pioneering stereophonic album, ''Sweet Wide and Blue'', with Stan Tracy (Piano),

Victor Feldman Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as ...

(vibes), Lenny Bush (bass), Tony Crombie (drums) and others. He also recorded albums and singles with

Mantovani Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (; 15 November 1905 – 29 March 1980) was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' sta ...

Winifred Atwell Una Winifred Atwell (27 February or 27 April 1910 or 1914There is some uncertainty over her date and year of birth. Many sources suggest 27 February 1914, but there is a strong suggestion that her birthday was 27 April. Most sources give her ye ...

, and several other Decca labelmates before leaving Decca, disillusioned, and finally outraged when he was not allowed to produce " Portrait of My Love" with Matt Monro due to 'office politics'. The song was thereafter released by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

and peaked at #3 in the UK chart. He returned to acting and travelled to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

to visit Mickie Most who he helped and encouraged to produce his own records, and taught to handle a mixing desk in the studios there.

Career as manager/producer

Wharton went on to discover and manage the Moody Blues, and produced their single " Go Now". He promoted it with a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, produced and directed by him, and filmed on 35mm at the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed wh ...

, scoring a #1 UK single and a #10 US hit in early 1965. He produced another chart hit in 1970 with "Friends" by Arrival which peaked at #8 in the UK Top Ten charts. He left the music industry in 1971. In 1973, Wharton moved to Wales.

Discography

*" Teen Angel"/"Paper Doll", Decca F11203, 1960 *"All On My Own"/"String Along", Decca F11225, 1960 *"When You Walked Out"/"Send For Me", Decca F11345, 1961

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, Alex 1939 births Living people British pop singers British record producers British music managers