Billy Sanders (singer)

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Billy Sanders (* May 16, 1934 as Brian Sanderson in Ashington ; † March 29, 2001 in Blyth ) was a British rock 'n' roll and pop singer who was active in Germany between 1958 and 1967.

biography

Brian Sanderson, his real name, grew up with six siblings in his native town Ashington. After finishing school he worked as a miner in a coal mine. From 1952 to 1957 he was a member of the Coldstream Guards , a guard regiment of the British Army . During this time, Sanders spent several months in Egypt and, after his first marriage and the birth of two sons, in Krefeld . Sanders learned the German language and occasionally appeared in front of his comrades as a singer of current hits. He then lived again as a miner in Ashington. There he won a talent competition in 1957, which was followed by an engagement at the Panama Club in London . Two choreographers gave the singer, who from then on appeared under the name Billy Sanders , a contract with the renowned Tabaris dance palace in Düsseldorf . From 1958 he sang well-known swing , blues and rock 'n' roll numbers there.

Label of the first single Di-Di-Dinah , 1958

The pianist Paul Kuhn , who was a guest at the Tabaris and at this time gained his first experience as a music producer , became aware of Sanders. At the beginning of the same year, the British singer signed his first record deal with Electrola , which recorded a total of seven singles with him . These mainly contain German-language cover versions of American hits by Frankie Avalon , Johnny Carroll , The Coasters , Jackie Lee Cochran , Lonnie Donegan , Billy Fury and Wanda Jackson . With the repertoire, Electrola attempted to establish another German rock 'n' roll singer alongside Peter Kraus . Critics attested that the recordings, which were mostly accompanied by the Paul Kuhn Ensemble and which achieved a certain level of notoriety in circles of youngsters , were of above-average quality. The single I'm not a handsome man / Jackety Jack was even released in the USA ( Atlantic Records 2023). Despite this respectable success, the singer, remotely reminiscent of Buddy Holly , could not land a great sales success. In 1960 the contract with Electrola expires.

Label of the single Rocky-Rocky-Baby , 1961

In the same year Sanders was seen in two movies. In the music film Schlagerparade 1960 (with Renate Ewert and Thomas Alder ; director: Franz Marischka ) he appeared with the title Shuffle Beat Baby , in Schwank Das Dorf ohne Moral (with Paul Löwinger and Loni Heuser ; director: Rudolf Zehetgruber ) he sang the Bambi skirt . 1961 followed his film appearance in confession of a sixteen year old (with Barbara Frey and Ivan Desny ; director: Georg Tressler ) with the number My Little Girl . All three titles did not appear on record . The piece Fräulein Schmidt , which can be heard in the film Schwarzer Kies (with Helmut Wildt and Ingmar Zeisberg ; director: Helmut Käutner ), was published in 1961 on a Telefunken single (B-side: Rocky-Rocky-Baby ).

In the second half of the same year, Sanders moved to the Ariola record label . There, the choice of music for Sanders was based primarily on the style of Bill Ramsey, who was hired by the competition . In addition to fashion dances such as Twist and Hully Gully , mood hits were now also part of Sanders' program. The garden gnome march composed by Christian Bruhn developed into a great sales success. The title was covered by the Jacob Sisters , among others, and is still part of the standard repertoire of music bands at popular festivals . The next single, which featured a hit about the popular soccer player Uwe Seeler , was also noted in the hit lists. In addition, Sanders, who lived in Zurich with his second wife from 1963 , appeared in several television programs, including music from Studio B (1962) with Chris Howland and music auction (1964) by director Truck Branss .

The advent of beat music ended Billy Sanders' recording career in 1964. In the same year the singer appeared for the first time in East Berlin in the GDR . This was followed by concerts in Gera , Jena , Suhl and in Czechoslovakia , where he was a sought-after entertainer with songs by Tom Jones . After alcohol problems and the separation of his second wife, Sanders returned to Blyth, England in 1967, where he married a third time and found work in an aluminum foundry. In 1970, Sanders again had a son and two years later his first daughter. In 1981 and 1983 two more children were added.

In 2001, Sanders, who was living off odd jobs and a small pension after an industrial accident in 1982, died of bone cancer in a hospital in Blyth .

Discography (selection)

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Garden gnome march
  DE 12 11/01/1962 (28 weeks)
Give the ball to Uwe Seeler
  DE 33 06/01/1963 (4 weeks)

Singles

Label of the single Hallo Mister Twist , 1961
  • Di-Di-Dinah (De-De-Dinah) / Ja, so 'ne Party (Party) (1958; Electrola )
  • Jackety Jack (Yakety Yak) / I'm not a handsome man (1958; Electrola)
  • You Have So Much Sex-Appeal / Let It Be (Buy a Car) (1959; Electrola)
  • But You Never Leave Me Alone (Bandstand Doll) / Something Goes On In Brooklyn (1959; Electrola)
  • Daisy, you have to go to sleep / Italy fever (1959; Electrola)
  • Does it always have to be like this / My Dixieland (with Margret Fürer ) (1960; Electrola)
  • That's Love / Weit ist der Weg nach Rio (Nobody Understandings Me) (1960; Electrola)
  • Fräulein Schmidt (from the UFA film »Black Gravel«) / Rocky-Rocky-Baby (1961; Telefunken )
  • Michaela (Michael, Row the Boat) / Enzian and Tyrolean Wine (1961; Ariola )
  • Hello Mister Twist / It 's My Home Only (1961; Ariola)
  • Garden Gnome March (Adelheid, Adelheid ...) / Hey, you there! (Are You Ms. Luna?) (1962; Ariola)
  • Give the ball to Uwe Seeler / You stole my bride (1963; Ariola)
  • The box must go / Die Diamanten-Lilli (1963; Ariola)
  • The Pi-Pa-Po-Party (Ay-Ay-Ay) / No, We're Not Going Home Yet (1964; Ariola)
  • Baby Elsie Molly (Lazy Elsie Molly) / The Indian Knows No Pain (1964; Ariola)
  • Let's do the Jerk / Swim Baby, Swim (1964; Ariola)

LP

CDs

  • I'm Not a Handsome Man (2001; Bear Family Records)

Filmography

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bernd Matheja: 1000 pin pricks: Americans & Brits sing in German, 1955–1975; Biographies, Discographies, Cover & Photos; Bear Family, 2000; ISBN 3-89795-715-9 ; especially pp. 216, 219
  2. ↑ Chart placements by Billy Sanders ( memento of the original from February 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.musicline.de
personal data
SURNAME Sanders, Billy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sanderson, Brian (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British singer
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Ashington
DATE OF DEATH March 29, 2001
Place of death Blyth (Northumberland)