Leonard Davies (9 November 1936 – 19 April 2024), known professionally as Larry Page, was an English pop singer and record producer, primarily from the late 1950s until the early 1970s and briefly in the 1990s.[1]
Larry Page | |
|---|---|
 Page in 1972 | |
| Born | Leonard Davies 9 November 1936 Hayes, Middlesex, England |
| Died | 19 April 2024 (aged 87) Avoca, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupations |
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Biography
editLeonard Davies was born in Hayes, Hillingdon, Middlesex in 1936.[2][3] After changing his name to Larry Page, in honour of Larry Parks, the star of The Jolson Story (1946), the teenager began a recording career as a singer.[4]
Page tried to magnify his fame through the wearing of unusually large spectacles, as "Larry Page the Teenage Rage".[5] The title was originally coined by Jack Bentley, the showbusiness correspondent from The Sunday Pictorial.[2] He toured the United Kingdom with Cliff Richard and appeared at top venues, including the Royal Albert Hall. He was a regular on television programmes such as Six-Five Special and Thank Your Lucky Stars.
Page later became a successful manager, record producer and record-label owner.[1] Much of his producer/manager success centred on his efforts with the Kinks and the Troggs,[6] and his ownership of Page One Records and Penny Farthing Records.[1] He produced such hits as "Wild Thing" along with all the other hits by the Troggs.[1] Apart from the Troggs and the Kinks, the Larry Page Orchestra gave Jimmy Page (later of Led Zeppelin) some early exposure when he played on Kinky Music. In June 1967, the British music magazine NME reported that Page's bid to retain his former 10% interest in the Kinks had been dismissed by London's High Court.[7]
Page was the producer on Daniel Boone's charting single "Beautiful Sunday". In 1972, Page was also involved in producing a song for Chelsea F.C. The song, "Blue is the Colour", is still played at the end of home matches.
As of the 2000s, Page lived in Avoca Beach, New South Wales, Australia. He died there on 18 April 2024, at the age of 87.[8]
Discography
editThe Larry Page Orchestra
- Kinky Music (1965)
- Executive Suite (1967)
- From Larry with Love (1968)
- Instrumentally Yours (1969)
- Presenting the Larry Page Orchestra (1969)
- This Is Larry Page (1970)
- Their Melodies Together (1973)
- Their Melodies Together Again (1974)
- Rampage (1976)
- Erotic Soul (1977)
- Skin Heat (1978)
- Imagine (1979)
- John Paul George Ringo (1996)
- Night Cruising (1998)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 336/7. ISBN 0-7535-0149-X.
- ^ a b Rogan, Johnny (2015). Ray Davies : A Complicated Life (1st ed.). London: The Bodley Head. p. 45. ISBN 9781847923172.
- ^ Fleming, John (14 July 2017). Davies and Penhall's Sunny Afternoon. Taylor & Francis. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-315-29468-1. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 46. CN 5585.
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 148. CN 5585.
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 173. CN 5585.
- ^ "Music icon Larry Page dies". Coast Community News. 22 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
External links
edit- Career overview by Richie Unterberger at AllMusic
- Larry Page discography at Discogs
- Larry Page Orchestra discography at Discogs
- Page One Records album discography
- Larry Page Productions
- Larry Page at IMDb
- Larry Page Orchestra at IMDb