The 20th of February 1974
Official U.K. Singles Chart results from Sunday the 17th to Saturday the 23rd of February 1974
Cut-off for sales figures was up to the end of Saturday the 16th of February
Results counted from Sunday the 17th,
published on Tuesday the 19th,
and broadcast on B.B.C. Radio 1 on Sunday the 24th of February 1974.
Alvin Stardust
My Coo Ca Choo
At No.28, on the “The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart”, the week of my 2nd Birthday, is Alvin Stardust with My Coo Ca Choo.
Over a decade…
…before Milli Vanilli took the world by storm by lip-syncing to songs that were entirely written and sung by somebody else, there were acts such as this.
Alvin Stardust (no direct relation to Ziggy), with a look just like a real rocker called Vince Taylor (who did have a big influence on the character of Ziggy), was a stage name whose actual persona was 31 year-old Bernard William Jewry; except, on this initial track, at least on the ear, it isn’t actually who you think it is.
That honour (and voice) goes to the writer of the song, and who is also the co-founder of the Magnet record label the single had released upon. A guy called Peter Shelley, who had also invented the character Alvin Stardust.
You see, as this single released, Alvin Stardust was just an idea; a myth; as real as any other of the imaginary characters floating around inside Peter’s head.
The issue was, when the song took off, as if it had a life all of its own, it became inevitable that “Alvin” would have to appear publicly, which was something Peter just wasn’t prepared to do himself.
Enter Bernard.
Now, Bernard had tasted music success before.
Over ten years previously, back in the very early 1960’s, he’d had to become someone else, before this current character had even been a little black-clad twinkle in its creator’s eye.
Back then, he’d been a roadie for the group Shane Fenton and the Fentones. The group’s namesake, Shane Fenton, was also an alter ego, for a singer whose real name was Johnny Theakston.
The group had been exploring all the avenues in an attempt to step onto that magical ladder to success; with one of those ideas being to send demos to the BBC, in the hope that someone would take notice and possibly give them a step up to the next level which had so far eluded them.
It was while they were waiting for any responses from these recordings, that Johnny died from a rheumatic fever that had plagued him as a child; thus suddenly swiping the band of their main character and face of the group – Shane Fenton; and seemingly, any chance of carrying on.
With the group, obviously in mourning for their friend and leader, disillusioned, and unable to carry on, a letter unexpectedly dropped through the letterbox from the BBC, asking the group to appear for an audition for an upcoming TV show.
Johnny’s mother urged the band to somehow find a way to honour her deceased son’s wish and appear. So, with no idea how to achieve this with no natural replacement leader of the pack (so to speak), they decided to re-group and somehow find a way to tele-visual prominence.
Enter Bernard.
Asking if he could become the new Shane Fenton, the group unanimously agreed, and in the end, success came their way for a short while; with the revitalised group managing to rack up a few hit singles.
Now, over a decade later,..
…during the autumn of 1973, Bernard was about to be touched by the fickle finger of fate once again.
He took on the character of Alvin, after his manager put his name forward for the role; and just in time too.
The single…
…had already entered the charts last year at No.50, on the 28th of October 1973, and had begun climbing; slowly at first, but after a couple of weeks it soon became obvious that sales were flourishing for Peter Shelley’s creation, and that appearing on the BBC’s Top of the Pops wasn’t just likely, but inevitable.
Peter, who as far as I know, wasn’t related to a certain classic author named Mary; yet he certainly seemed to channel the main protagonist’s intentions of her most famous story; and just like the book, brought his vision to life by unexpectedly creating something that at this moment, was quickly becoming a monster.
As Bernard…
…(who professionally up until now was still using the name of his other alter-ego Shane Fenton) came to the rescue, dressed as close to Peter’s vision as he could get, and stepped into the TV spotlight to mime to Peter’s dulcet tones as Alvin, he also seared the look of that character, now alive and actually real in black, into the cataracts of the unprepared viewers through the nation’s TV screens; and from that moment on, the single rocketed up the chart.
By the 18th of November, the song had crashed through the Top 10 barrier and sat at No.8. The following week, it climbed all the way up to No.2; with only one other act in his way, which just so happened to be another remnant from the early 1960’s who was also enjoying a new and improved experience of fame with his own fictional character, and who had during the early 1960’s, also previously performed under another former pseudonym named Paul Raven.
Unfortunately for Alvin/Shane/Bernard, No.2 would become this single’s best position as, the following week, it began to slip back down; however, it did so very slowly indeed.
Sales of the single kept it buoyant enough that it stayed inside the Top 10 for a further 9 weeks. In fact, it wasn’t until it was well and truly ensconced into this new year of 1974, and this month of February, that the single began slipping further away; with last week being the first time it had slipped back outside the Top 20.
From here,..
…it will stay one more week within the Top 30, before falling further, when eventually it will disappear from the chart after the 23rd of March, with an impressive 21 consecutive weeks to show for it.
Not bad for an act that didn’t actually sing on the record.
However, do not worry…
…if you think this act continued to con you throughout the duration of their career, as that was not the case at all.
After this release, Bernard, as Shane, as Alvin, will indeed step up to the microphone in the recording booth and go on to genuinely use his own voice for every track recorded after this one.
From this moment, Bernard, who had unexpectedly become Shane all those years before, wholeheartedly becomes Alvin Stardust. Not just in smouldering looks, but now also impeccable voice.
The “A” Side
The “B” Side
Alvin Stardust – My Coo Ca Choo (Promotional Video)
Alvin Stardust – My Coo Ca Choo (Top of the Pops Appearance 22nd November 1973)
Alvin Stardust – My Coo Ca Choo (TV Appearance)
Alvin Stardust – My Coo Ca Choo (“Disco” TV Appearance – 2nd March 1974)
Alvin Stardust – My Coo Ca Choo (TV Appearance)
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