Wayne Fontana, (real name Glyn Geoffrey Ellis), was born on 28th October 1945 in Manchester. Before embarking on his music career, he trained as a telephone engineer in Manchester. It is said that he adopted his stage name in homage to Elvis Presley's drummer D J Fontana. Wayne was an accomplished rhythm and blues singer and soon had a sizeable following of female admirers and fans. Wayne was the lead singer with local group, The Jets. Their debut audition was to take place at the Oasis Club in Manchester, though the band apparently failed to turn up and Wayne was left to audition solo, having hastily enlisted the services of other musicians already there and spontaneously calling this motley crew "Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders". Despite the fact that Wayne was still only in his teens, the audition so impressed Jack Baverstock of Fontana Records that he gave them a two year recording contract on the spot.
The group line-up included Wayne Fontana (vocals), Eric Stewart (guitar), Bob Lang (bass), and Ric Rothwell (drums). Their most successful song was "The Game of Love" and none of their other music ever managed to attract the kind of public approbation that this song did. While failing to reach number one position in the UK record charts, it did achieve that position in the USA.
The group's first record hit was in 1963 with "Hello Josephine". After the success of "The Game of Love" several minor hits followed, including "Just A Little Bit Late" and "She Needs Love".
In 1965, Wayne married one of his young fans, left the group and set out on a solo career with a few hits like "Come On Home" and "Pamela, Pamela", though he never managed to repeat his former successes and retired from the music industry in the early 1970s. Meantime, The Mindbenders (now without Wayne Fontana) had a brief success in America with "Groovy Kind Of Love", and in the UK with "Ashes to Ashes". The Mindbenders finally broke up in 1968.
Despite taking some years away from performing, Fontana came out of retirement in the late 1980s and has made occasional live appearances and performances, tours and on the club circuits.
Sounds Like
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"Hello Josephine" b/w "Road Runner" - 1963 - UK 46
"For You, For You" b/w "Love Potion No. 9" - 1963
"Little Darlin'" b/w Come Dance With Me - 1964
"Stop Look and Listen" b/w Duke of Earl - 1964 - UK 37
"Um Um Um Um Um Um" b/w "First Taste of Love" - 1964 - UK 5
"Game of Love" b/w "Since You've Been Gone" - 1965 - UK 2, U.S. 1
"Just a Little Bit Too Late" b/w "Long Time Comin'"- 1965 - UK 20, U.S. 45
"She Needs Love" b/w "Like I Did" - 1965 - UK 32
Wayne Fontana (solo)
"It Was Easier to Hurt Her" b/w You Made Me What I Am Today - 1965 - UK 36
"Come on Home" b/w My Eyes Break Out In Tears - 1966 - UK 16
"Goodbye Bluebird" b/w The Sun's So Hot Today - 1966 - UK 49
"Pamela Pamela" b/w Something Keeps Calling Me Back - 1966 - UK 11
"24 Sycamore" b/w From A Boy To A Man - 1967 (huge hit in Australia)
"The Impossible Years" b/w In My World - 1967 (Australian hit)
"Gina" b/w We All Love the Human Race - 1967 (No.1 in Rio de Janeiro)
"Storybook Children" b/w I Need To Love You - 1968
"The World of Bartholomew" b/w Mind Excursion - 1968
"Never An Everyday Thing" b/w Waiting For A Break In The Clouds - 1968
"Dayton Ohio 1903" b/w Say Goodbye To Yesterday - 1969
"We're Building a Love" b/w Charlie Cass - 1969 (Calders Collection's cover made top ten in South Africa)
"Charlie Cass" b/w Linda - 1969
"Together" b/w One Man Woman (hit in Australia) - 1973
"The Last Bus Home" b/w Give Me Just A Little Bit - 1976
Review of "Wayne One"
• Wayne Fontana's first album following his split with the Mindbenders, 1966's Wayne One, is a curious affair. While the Mindbenders' releases followed the same British Invasion/blueeyed soul path, Fontana made a headlong rush into the pop world. Featuring the smooth Les Reed Orchestra and top sessioneers like Big Jim Sullivan as backing musicians, the record is a mix of covers of Gershwin tunes, pop ballads like "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" and "Perfidia," a nice version of "The Entertainer," and some fine selfpenned soul weepers. Fontana wails like a man breaking loose from his past and really puts his heart into the songs. When the slick backing is scaled down a bit and the additional vocalists show some grit, like on "Come On Home" or "My Friend and I," he works up quite a head of steam. The best song on the record, where his easy pop aspirations reach their Scott Walkerstyle apex, is his massive cover of the Bert Berns/Jerry Ragovoy ballad "It Was Easier to Hurt H...er." It makes up for the couple of duff tracks like the corny Gershwin song "Please Stop the Wedding," which includes some incomprehensible (and reprehensible) voiceovers, and the melodyfree "Internal Circle." Despite the failure of the record at the time, it sounds like a very noble and entertaining effort many years later, certainly worthy of reissue, especially when it is paired with a disc of Fontana's singles from 1965 to 1970. The 22tracks are a mix of ballads, soul, and Baroque pop that didn't do much on the charts, but as with the Wayne One album there is much to enjoy here. The highlights are the two Graham Gouldman penned tracks "Pamela Pamela" and "The Impossible Years," the selfpenned "I Need to Love You," the cute Bee Geesesque "The Words of Bartholomew," and his last single of the decade, "I'm in Love." Played in a row, the singles make a case for Fontana as one of the buried treasures of the '60s pop scene. His place in history aside, it also makes for fine, fun listening. If you love Scott Walker but his heaviness wears you down a bit, turn to Wayne Fontana and this excellent collection. - Tim Sendra, All Music Guide Read more Less
I just picked up "The British Beat Live!" DVD from 2007. It was that PBS special. It is fantastic! You sounded great as did Mike Pender. You guys stole the show. We're just finishing up the Deadbeat Poets new album this week & it will be out in March. I'll send you a copy.
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