Emile Ford What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes For Me ? (CD)

(CASTLE) 15 tracks PYE 1959-62

Emile Ford was a pioneer sound engineer whose original ambition was to market superior amplification equipment, but along the way he became, briefly but memorably, Britain's first black pop star. He formed his group the Checkmates in 1958 (a family affair with stepbrothers George and Dave on bass and sax and future movie composer Alan Hawkshaw playing keyboards) as a vehicle for demonstrating his amps and speakers. But winning the Soho Music Fair in '59 and the Pye record deal that followed propelled him into the UK rock'n'roll mainstream.

His debut disc was a vintage pop song given a slow R&R treatment with an arrangement blatantly cribbed from a previous No.1 - Johnny Otis' "Ma, He's Making Eyes At Me" in '58. With Emile producing and Joe Meek engineering, the result was one of Britain's best-ever rock'n'roll sides and the first Number One of the Sixties. Emile's hit streak lasted from '59 to '62 and included Top 20 classics "On A Slow Boat To China" "You'll Never Know What You're Missing", "Them There Eyes" and "Counting Teardrops". When the hit bubble burst, Emile relocated to Sweden, then California, still spends time in the UK, and to this day is still a pioneer in sound amplification and remastering.