Wee Willie Harris
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Charles William Harris (born 25 March 1933), better known by his stage name of Wee Willie Harris, is an English
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
singer. He is best known for his energetic stage shows and TV performances since the 1950s, when he was known as "Britain's wild man of rock 'n' roll".


Life and career

Born in
Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham ...
, Harris left his job at a Peek Freans bakery in London to start his music career. He began performing at
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
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 ...
, London, where he was the resident piano player, performing with
Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele reco ...
,
Adam Faith Terence Nelhams Wright (23 June 1940 – 8 March 2003), known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. A teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart with " What Do You Want?" (1959) and "P ...
, Screaming Lord Sutch and others. He was named for his 5' 2" height, and in tribute to Little Richard. In November 1957, he was picked by the
TV producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon a ...
, Jack Good, to appear in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
show ''
Six-Five Special ''Six-Five Special'' is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain. Description ''Six-Five Special'' was the BBC's first attempt at a rock-and-roll programme. ...
''. His appearances on the show led to concerns being expressed in the media about the BBC's role in "promoting teenage decadence". His debut single, the self-penned "Rockin' At the 2 I's", was released on the
Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
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 ...
in December 1957, and was followed by several others, although none reached 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 ...
. He became a popular performer on TV shows and in live performances, and was known for his unrelenting energy, multicoloured dyed hair (often green, orange or pink), and clothes including "larger-than-life stage jackets that looked like the coat hanger was still inside, tight drainpipe trousers, and a huge polka-dot bow tie". Another critic wrote that: "He gyrates like an exploding Catherine wheel, emitting growls, squeals and what sounds like severe hiccupping".
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
and
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
reportedly queued for his autograph when he played in
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
in 1958. According to Harris, the idea for dyeing his hair pink originally came from his manager, professional wrestler and wrestling promoter
Paul Lincoln Paul Lincoln (born James McDonald Lincoln; 3 May 1932 – 11 January 2011), better known by the ring name Dr. Death, was an Australian professional wrestler and promoter. Professional wrestling career After leaving high school, Lincoln bega ...
, who was inspired by American wrestler
Gorgeous George George Raymond Wagner (March 23, 1915 – December 26, 1963) was an American professional wrestler known by his ring name Gorgeous George. In the United States, during the First Golden Age of Professional Wrestling in the 1940s–1950s, Gorgeous ...
. In May 1960, he joined a tour of the UK featuring Conway Twitty, Freddy Cannon and
Johnny Preston John Preston Courville, known professionally as Johnny Preston (August 18, 1939 – March 4, 2011), was an American rock and roll singer, best known for his international number one hit in 1960, "Running Bear". Life and career Born in Port Arth ...
. He continued to record in the 1960s, for
HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...
,
Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...
and
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 continued to perform in the UK as well as in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, Spain and elsewhere, and on
cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...
s. In the mid 1970s, he lived in Prestwich, near
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
.. He resurfaced in the late 1970s as a nostalgia act, after
Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads ...
mentioned him in the song " Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3". Harris later recorded an album dedicated to Dury, ''Twenty Reasons To Be Cheerful'' (2000), and his early recordings were released on CD in 1999. In 1991, he briefly featured in the
video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...
for Hale & Pace's "The Stonk" contribution to
Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...
and, in 2003, he released the album ''Rag Moppin, backed by the Alabama Slammers. In 2005, Harris appeared as a "mystery guest" on the comedy music quiz programme ''
Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hos ...
'', and was easily identified. In 2011, he was interviewed by Melvyn Bragg as part of the series "Reel History of Britain", talking about rock and roll in Britain. In 2018, Rollercoaster Records published ''I Go Ape! - The Wee Willie Harris Story'' by Rob Finnis, a 88 page illustrated biography accompanied by a 30-track CD, featuring the best of Harris's rock and roll recordings.


Discography


Singles

*"Rockin' At The 2 I's" / "Back To School Again" (Decca, 1957) *"Love Bug Crawl" / "Rosie Lee" (Decca, 1958) *"Got A Match" / "No Chemise, Please!" (Decca, 1958) *"Wild One" / "Little Bitty Girl" (Decca, 1960) *"You Must Be Joking" / "Better To Have Loved" (HMV, 1963) *"Listen to the River Roll Along" / "Try Moving Baby" (Polydor, 1966) *"Someone's in the Kitchen With Diana" / "Walk With Peter And Paul" (Parlophone, 1966) *"Together" / "Rock 'n' Roll Jamboree" (Decca, 1974)


EPs

*''Rocking With Wee Willie'' (Decca, 1958) *''I Go Ape'' (Arton, 1960)


Albums

*''I Go Ape'' (Arton, 1962) *''Wee Willie Harris Goes Ape'' (Ace 178, 1986) *''Twenty Reasons To Be Cheerful'' (Fury, 2000) *''Rag Moppin (Pollytone, 2003) *''I Go Ape - Rockin' With Wee Willie Harris'' (Rollercoaster, 2018)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Wee Willie 1933 births Living people English pop singers English male singers English pop pianists People from Bermondsey British rock and roll musicians British male pianists 21st-century pianists 21st-century British male musicians