"Then" A family tribute to Craig Douglas
Like father, like son. Like godson... we invited journalist SEAN HANNAM to pen a tribute to the singing milkman, who passed away at the weekend. Here follows Sean's personal eulogy, plus three extra special Craig Douglas cuts to hunt down...
"Craig Douglas has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember - he was a best friend of my dad’s, Isle of Wight-based showbiz journalist and broadcaster, John Hannam, and when I was born, in 1974, Craig became my godfather.
My dad, who died in 2021, knew Craig for over 60 years - they first met outside Ryde’s Commodore Cinema in the summer of ’59 - the year that Craig’s pop career took off - but their paths had crossed before then…
Craig - real name Terry Perkins - had banged three goals past my dad in a school football match, when East Cowes team Grange Road met Newport’s Barton in a cup tie. My dad was in goal for Grange Road, who were beaten 6-0.
My dad’s father, Roy, used to work as a linotype operator at the Isle of Wight County Press and, through this connection, dad used to write all the latest news on Craig for the local paper, and he even got the odd byline.
Following Craig’s career in the early days, via visits to Weston-Super-Mare, Southend, Scotland, Bournemouth and London, broadened my dad’s outlook and gave him the chance to meet other famous people, which would lead to him becoming a freelance showbiz journalist for almost 50 years, so you could say meeting Craig changed my dad’s life.
Over the years, my dad wrote many stories on Craig for the County Press, and, in August 2021, only a few weeks before he died, he organised a surprise 80th birthday party for Craig, which was covered by the newspaper.
In 2019, my dad interviewed Craig on stage at the Talking Pictures TV and Renown Pictures Film Festival in St Albans - the event was filmed and shown on the Talking Pictures TV channel.
To many people, he was ‘Craig Douglas - pop star’, but for me and my sister, Caroline, who is four years younger than me, he was ‘Uncle Craig’ - and we have so many great memories of hanging out with him and watching him perform in concert.
I can recall seeing him with fellow ‘60s star Helen Shapiro at Newport’s Medina Theatre, and on a family trip to the Alhambra theatre in Bradford, in the late ‘80s, where Craig played Robin Hood in the pantomime, Babes In The Wood, alongside comedy duo, Cannon and Ball.
In 2016, my dad and I, and my wife Susie, spent a wonderful afternoon with Craig at his home, in London, and, in more recent times, when Craig had moved back to the Isle of Wight, I visited him with my dad, and he showed me some of his collection of memorabilia, including some great photos from throughout his career, including one of him in Newcastle with The Rolling Stones, and piles of his seven-inch singles.
I used to love hearing Craig’s showbiz stories, including his recollections of performing with The Beatles at The Liverpool Empire, in 1962, and meeting The Stones while recording the TV show, Thank Your Lucky Stars, in ‘63 - at that time, Craig and The Stones were both signed to the Decca label.
When I’m visiting record shops and doing some crate digging, I always make a habit of looking for Craig’s singles and buying any I haven’t got.
Strangely, about an hour before I heard the news of his death, I’d been in my local second-hand record shop in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, and happened to pick out a copy of ‘Only Sixteen’, while I was looking through the boxes of seven-inch singles.
My favourite songs by Craig are some of his lesser-known recordings, so, as this tribute piece is for Triple A Records, I thought I’d share them with you, in case you want to try and track them down.
So, here are my top three Craig Douglas songs - in reverse order…
3. ‘From Russia With Love’: Craig’s cover version of Matt Monro’s 1963 Bond song was released in the same year, on the Decca label, but, sadly, it wasn’t a hit. Personally, I think Craig’s take on it, produced by Bunny Lewis, is more dramatic than Matt’s - the upbeat pop arrangement swings and has a slightly exotic and mysterious feel.
2. ‘Don’t Mind If I Cry’: This is a Craig Douglas deep cut. Originally released on Pye Records, in 1969, as the B-side to his cover of ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head’, it has become a sought-after gem for collectors of ‘60s Mod pop, freakbeat and soul. Produced by Tony Hatch and written by J.A. Freedman, it’s moody, cinematic and soulful, with a great orchestral arrangement, and a stunning vocal performance by Craig. Musician, producer and DJ, Andy Lewis, who has played with Paul Weller, thinks it’s the best British ‘big beat’ ballad ever recorded, and he can’t believe it was hidden on a B-side. The song was reissued as a limited edition 7in single in 2011 by UK specialist label Spoke Records - it’s definitely worth seeking out a copy.
1.‘Then’: My favourite song by Craig is another B-side, ‘Then,’ which was written by the legendary Jimmy Webb, and is on the reverse of Craig’s 1969 Pye Records single, ‘How Do You Feel About That’. It’s also available on the 1999 CD tribute album, Up, Up and Away: The Songs of Jimmy Webb. With Tony Hatch on production duties, ‘Then’ is a haunting, reflective and melancholy ballad that was also recorded by US vocal group, The Vogues, for Reprise Records in 1968 - personally, I prefer Craig’s version, which is much more powerful and striking. Funnily enough, ‘Then’ was also my dad’s favourite song by Craig - so much so, that he asked for it to be played at his funeral. Now that he and Craig have both gone to the great gig in the sky, I like to think they will both be sat up there, sharing their memories and showbiz stories with each other. Knowing my dad, he’ll probably be interviewing Craig as we speak…
Picture shows (left to right) John Hannam, Craig Douglas, Sean Hannam. Photograph used by kind permission of Sean Hannam.