Chart entered : 26 November 1954
Chart peak : 3
Number of hits : 18
As the chart celebrated its second birthday along came another balladeer to support the claims of Hull as an early musical hotbed.
Ronnie was born as Adrian Hill which prompts an obvious question. Granted there aren't too many Adrians in pop's firmament but "Ronnie Hilton " ? He left school at 14 and fought in World War Two. He became an engineer in Leeds and a big fan of the boys from Elland Road.
Despite Ronnie being 28, "I Still Believe" was actually his first single on HMV. There are absolutely no surprises here. It's a plain, old-fashioned ballad with light orchestral backing from Frank Cordell and Ronnie's nice but unremarkable tenor, a bit like his compatriot Mr Whitfield but much more controlled, affirming his continued commitment to his partner. I'm amazed it got to number 3 but then again it was Christmas.
I get your point about the name change... Ronnie Hilton sounds like he should have been playing left wing for Bolton Wanderers around this time.
ReplyDeleteThe age of the gimmick of changing names into more "exciting" alternatives can't be too far away...