Vince Eager

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vince Eager

Vince Eager in 1980
Background information
Birth name Roy Talor
Also known as Vince Eager
Born (1940-04-03)April 3, 1940
Grantham, Lincolnshire
Genres Rock and roll, pop
Occupations Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments Guitar, vocals
Years active 1958–present
Labels Decca, Parlophone, Top Rank, Pye, Avenue, Nevis, Charley Farley, Rollercoaster, Pink 'n' Black, Western Star
Associated acts Marty Wilde, Billy Fury, The Vagabonds, The Memphis Tones, The Puppets
Website http://www.vinceeager.co.uk

Vince Eager (born Roy Taylor, 4 June 1940, Grantham, Lincolnshire[1]) is a British pop singer. He was widely promoted by impresario Larry Parnes, but later quarrelled with him over his commercialising of Eddie Cochrane's tragic early death. Eager has since appeared in cabaret and on the West End stage.

Youth and early career

As a teenager, he formed the Harmonica Vagabonds, later the Vagabonds Skiffle Group, with Roy Clark, Mick Fretwell, and bassist Brian Locking.[2] The group reached the final round of a televised "World Skiffle Championship" in 1958, and were offered a residency at the 2 I's Coffee Bar in London. There, they were signed by impresario Larry Parnes, who took Taylor into his stable of performers, and gave him one of his characteristic stage names, Vince Eager. After touring and releasing an EP as Vince Eager & The Vagabonds, Clark and Fretwell returned home. Vince Eager and Brian Locking remained in London, Locking performing with Marty Wilde before joining The Shadows.

The Parnes era

During 1959 Vince Eager was a regular on BBC TV's Drumbeat, often accompanied by The John Barry Seven. In 1960 he was one of the contestants on A Song for Europe. His song, "Teenage Tears", in the semi-final was ranked last in the total of six entries for nomination to the Eurovision Song Contest. According to Vince Eager's website, "the death of his best friend Eddie Cochran in a car crash on Easter Sunday 1960 was to prove a turning point in Vince's career. He was disgusted with the manner in which Parnes sought to gain publicity from the accident and he began the process of getting away from the "Parnes Stable" of popsters."[3]

Later career

In the years that followed the Parnes era, he toured on the cabaret circuit, and performed in theatre and pantomime. For five years he starred in the award-winning West End musical Elvis. In 1986 he relocated to Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he worked as a Cruise Director on American luxury cruise ships.

Now residing back in the UK, Eager's career has had something of a resurgence. Teaming up with producer and musician Alan Wilson, there have been many new recordings some of which have featured Vince's old friends including; Marty Wilde, Albert Lee and Chas Hodges (of Chas & Dave). The resulting album release, titled "788 years of Rock n Roll" sold well enough for Wilson's Western Star record label to invite Eager back for another session in 2013. The latest album "Rockabilly Dinosaur" will be released in early 2014. Eager now lives in Nottinghamshire.[3]

Discography[3]

Singles

  • Five Days b/w No More, Parlophone, 1958
  • Railroad Song b/w When Is Your Birthday Baby, Parlophone, 1958
  • No Other Arms No Other Lips b/w This Should Go On Forever, Parlophone, 1958
  • I Wanna Love My Life Away b/w I Know What I Want, Top Rank, 1959
  • Why b/w El Paso, Top Rank, 1959
  • The World's Loneliest Man b/w Created In A Dream, Top Rank, 1960
  • Makin' Love b/w Primrose Lane, Top Rank, 1960
  • Lonely Blue Boy b/w No Love Have I, Top Rank, 1961
  • Anytime Is The Right Time b/w Heavenly, Pye, 1963
  • I Shall Not Be Moved b/w It's Only Make Believe, Pye, 1963

Extended Plays

  • Vince Eager & The Vagabonds: Soda Pop Pop, Yea Yea b/w Lend Me Your Comb, Tread Softly Stranger, Gumdrop, Decca, 1958
  • Hound Dog – Vince Eager & The Vagabonds: Money Honey, Be Bop A Lu La, Cotton Fields, My Dixie Darling, Rollercoaster, 2000

Albums

  • Vince Eager Pays Tribute To Elvis, Avenue, 1971
  • 20 Years On, Nevis, 1977
  • Raised on Rock, Charley Farley, 2001
  • Yea Yea! It's Vince Eager!, Rollercoaster Records, 2003
  • The Complete Vince Eager, Pink 'n' Black Records, 2007
  • 788 Years of Rock and Roll, Western Star records, 2011
  • Rockabilly Dinosaur, Western Star records 2014

Compilations

  • Oh Boy, Parlophone, 1958 (various artists; Vince Eager: Buzz Buzz Buzz and Blue Ribbon Baby)
  • Drumbeat, Parlophone, 1959 (various artists; Vince Eager: It's Late, This Should Go On Forever and It Doesn't Matter Anymore)
  • British Rock 'n' Roll 1955–1960, See For Miles, 1986 (various artists – two songs by Vince Eager)
  • Without You – The Songs of Billy Fury, Peaksoft, 2002 (one song by Vince Eager & Big Jim Sullivan)
  • The Top Rank Story 1959, One Day Music, 2012 (various artists – one song by Vince Eager)
  • The Top Rank Story 1961, One Day Music, 2012 (various artists – one song by Vince Eager)

References

  1. ↑ VINCE EAGER (By Steve Walker). Rockabilly.nl. Retrieved on 2013-08-06.
  2. ↑ Vince Eager & the Vagabonds. Vinceeager.co.uk. Retrieved on 2013-08-06.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Welcome. Vinceeager.co.uk. Retrieved on 2013-08-06.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.