Monday, April 07, 2008

Fun Monday # 61 Celebrity Crush!!



Jo is our host this week and she came up with a really good assignment. This is what she says.........

'I want to know about your first ‘celebrity’ crush. You know, the one you fancied from that band, or that film, or who read the news, or who won Gold at the Olympics.

Did you have their pictures on your wall or in your locker?

Did you dress like them, style or colour your hair like them, follow them, meet them, marry them? (It could happen.)

Photos of THEM would be good, photos of YOU at the time you liked them would be even better.

Also, if you have time, I’d like to know whether they had any influence over your life, the person you became, or if they were just an embarrassing blip you would kind of rather forget about'.

I don't know about you, but I had a good laugh remembering my one and only pop star crush on Tommy Steele (those in the UK are probably too young to remember him and if you live outside the UK you have probably never heard of him)! I suppose I was around 13 or 14 when he had his first hit record and I was immediately smitten. I used to listen to Radio Luxemburgh, which I think came on air in the evening and a lot of the older DJ's now TV presenters started on RL 208 medium wave. This radio station was funded from advertising and I wonder if anyone will remember the Horace Batchelor adverts (I'm digressing so I won't explain~ but it did make Keynsham near Bristol famous~some might say infamous!). I joined the Tommy Steele fan club and got photos and even got one signed personally for me~ I've often wondered if he actually signed it himself!
Money was scarce back then but I did manage to get a couple of his records, which I still have today.

In one of the fan club letters there was an advert for a pen-pal from another fan so I wrote to this boy in Denmark. You can see from the photo he tried to emulate his pop hero and he has the photos on his wall~ just the same as I did!
Jens wrote very good English and after corresponding for a while we decided to visit each other. I'm totally amazed that my parents agreed to this, especially my father who was so strict. Well, Jens did come over during the school holidays. However at 16 females can be fickle and I had just met a rather gorgeous boy who was older (20) and looking back I'm afraid I wasn't that nice to Jens. I took him to visit London and he got on well with my cousin, David, and all the family liked him, but I was not interested in him, nice as he was! The worst part is I never would do the return visit to Denmark, how stupid is that! It is always a regret of mine, but I dug my heels in as didn't want to leave the 'boyfriend' (who I might add dumped a couple of years later, but that's another story). What happened to Jens~ writing dwindled out after a few years I believe the last time I heard from him he was getting married and I do sometimes wonder what he is doing now it would be nice to know. While writing this post I did google his name but found so many people so there is no way of knowing if he is one of those names.

Now who in their right mind would want to look like a bloke! Yes you got it.. I wanted the 'look', and tried to cut my hair like Tommy's but it didn't quite work as you can see from the photo.
Of course I wanted to marry Tommy, but he married, Ann, who ran his fan club, and they have one daughter. He has had a long and successful career in show business, doing a lot of musical theatre (he is a great dancer and worked with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly), he made a few films, he's written a book (done masses of other things but I won't bore you). However I will mention that he got an OBE in the New Year Honours list back in 1980 and he was still working in 2005 and looking good at 70!
I'm sure you won't have time to listen but I'll leave you with his first No 1 Singing the Blues 1957.


Have a fun day and I'll see you soon to read all about your heart throbs!
Archives:
2007: One a penny two a penny hot cross buns+ <200th>

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38 Comments:

At 7/4/08 10:35, Blogger Steffi said...

Cool pictures and great memories !I like to hear some older music too like Frank Sinatra.
Have a nice week,Chris!

Greetings to Beccy! I heard already since longer time not from her!I hope she and her family is okay!

 
At 7/4/08 10:37, Blogger Celeste said...

I love the hair on your loves.

Have your tried to catch up with Jens by "googling" him? I did that with a lost college love; we had a nice long conversation, said that we should get together, again, etc. Unfortunately, timing was not right as I was in the midst of a move. Nine months later, when I was settled in, I tried to find his number. The website was gone....after more searching, I found his obituary. I'm still glad that we had that nice talk, though.

 
At 7/4/08 10:41, Blogger Jo Beaufoix said...

Chris I do remember him, in fact, he's playing in Nottingham in June as Dr Dolittle. How weird is that? And I can remember him singing 'Little White Bull' from films I watched when I was little. He was lovely.

And Jens was also very cute.

Thanks for playing and have a fab day. :D

 
At 7/4/08 12:24, Anonymous Anonymous said...

In a former occupation, life even, I did some printing for Horace Batchelor, Department R, Keynsham spelt KEYN SHAM. hE HAD GOT HOLD OF AN ANCIENT COMPUTER AND HAD PRINTED OUT A COMPLETE ANY EIGHT FROM FIFTY-TWO permutation which was the number of games on the Football Poools in them far off days and he sold parts of them off. Oh that was over forty years ago.Don't the old Tempus Fugit.

 
At 7/4/08 13:14, Blogger kitten said...

This FM sure has brought out some beautiful memories.
He had a beautiful voice!

 
At 7/4/08 14:06, Blogger SwampAngel65 said...

Thanks for sharing your memories! I think back at how I treated the few who liked me when I didn't like them and am embarassed and ashamed at how I acted. But, the acts of youth have to be forgiven, don't they?

(It is almost scary how easy it can be to track people down from your past. Internet- curse or blessing?)

 
At 7/4/08 14:28, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This one is new to me but fun to look at and read about.
Great stories...leaves you wondering...h-m-m-m-m!

 
At 7/4/08 14:40, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This Fun Monday amuses me to no end. Great job!

 
At 7/4/08 15:05, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Half a sixpence and Fnnians Rainbow were two pretty big movies... I think he may have been pretty big to girls of a *ahem* certain age. He was very cute looking. I do/did have a bit of crush on the very young Mickey Rooney! Having said that he was pretty cute in Night at the Museum. "Not so fast Hotdog!!" :o)

 
At 7/4/08 16:30, Blogger Kaytabug said...

I can see why you had a crush on him!! LOVE the photo of you! Thanks for sharing! Great post!!

 
At 7/4/08 16:38, Blogger Beckie said...

I love that picture of you!

I listened to the Tommy Steele recording - I would like him too.

 
At 7/4/08 16:49, Anonymous Anonymous said...

No, I had never heard of him either, but how devoted to cut your hair in honor of him! (and btw, I think you look great with that "do"...mine, short? Not so good :/).

What a fun aside that you found a pen-pal through your crush; that would be a great reality show--Pen pals from childhood meeting in real life! You should go for it!!

(and to me, fascinating that he was able to visit you!)

 
At 7/4/08 16:52, Anonymous Anonymous said...

That picture of Jens - he was a cutie!!!

I couldn't get the video to work - I'll have to look Tommy Steele up to listen to him.

 
At 7/4/08 16:55, Blogger Rose said...

Tommy Steele! I remember him.
I'm not sure how, but I do remember his songs more than his face.
Love your picture.
Yes, Johnny Hallyday was known as the French Elvis Presley.

 
At 7/4/08 17:43, Blogger storyteller said...

Wow … this is a totally unfamiliar name and face for me, but I enjoyed learning about him through your post today.
Hugs and blessings,

 
At 7/4/08 18:29, Blogger Aoj and The Lurchers said...

Tommy Steel! He used to live around the corner from me a few years back!

 
At 7/4/08 18:35, Blogger the mother of this lot said...

When I was little they used to play 'Little White Bull' on Ed Stewart's radio show for kids. I loved it!

 
At 7/4/08 18:37, Blogger Mariposa said...

I don't know him...so I might be googling more about him...and OMG, you are so cute!!!

 
At 7/4/08 18:43, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ha! This is one marvelous post about your crush! Love the photos and all your memorabilia.

 
At 7/4/08 19:08, Blogger Molly said...

The name, Tommy Steele, does not seem familiar. However,"Singing the Blues" is a tune that I recognize. I am wondering if Tommy Steele's "Young Love" is the same as the song recorded by Sonny James. It begins. "They say for every boy and girl, there is just one love in this whole world."

 
At 7/4/08 19:29, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Actually now I've looked at the photos Tommy Steele looked pretty good when he was younger! Great post!

Rosie

 
At 7/4/08 19:31, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What fun memories you have!! This has been one of my favorite Fun Mondays!

 
At 7/4/08 20:20, Blogger Alison said...

great post Chris..I love all the memories this FM is bringing up!

 
At 7/4/08 20:25, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I might be way too young, but the first job I had was working in a 50s diner, and I loved singing and dancing to all the 'Oldies!!

Enjoyed reading all your great memories! And I think your hairstyle looked lovely on you.

 
At 7/4/08 20:39, Blogger Jan said...

Wow, you're right, I never heard of him, here in California. This is a great post, and the pics are great, too. Regarding Jens, too bad we don't know when we're young all the things we know when we're "mature".

 
At 7/4/08 20:53, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I often read your posts and think, we have so much in common. Today is no exception. My sisters, several years older than me were crazy about Cliff Richard and Elvis respectively. I needed a heartthrob of my own. Tommy did it for me with 'Little White Bull'. I loved him. I was a little young for posters and fan clubs so unfortunately no memorabilia.

 
At 7/4/08 20:53, Blogger Hula Girl at Heart said...

I love this story and especially the photos. You were so devoted to cut your hair!! Don't we all have a Jens that we wonder about every now and then?

 
At 7/4/08 21:05, Blogger Unknown said...

I had never heard of him. I think your hair looked nice. :)

 
At 8/4/08 01:05, Blogger IamwhoIam said...

Cute little didity - but Tommy has a little trouble sayin thing woha woha woha. Thanks for sharing I you look cute in the hair cute.

 
At 8/4/08 02:10, Blogger Sandy said...

I love your hair.

I did not know Tommy Steele, although I am the right age...lol.

Great job, Chris.

 
At 8/4/08 03:15, Blogger frannie said...

that was the cutest story!
except for the part about Jens... poor guy!

 
At 8/4/08 05:08, Blogger Pamela said...

I THINK I REMEMBER HIM!

 
At 8/4/08 05:08, Blogger Pamela said...

I got so excited I hit enter before I complete my comment.

I remember doing something very similar to a young man when I was about that age. What was wrong with us anyway???

 
At 8/4/08 07:54, Blogger bichonpawz said...

Definitely new to me too! But all great memories!!

 
At 8/4/08 07:54, Blogger ChrisB said...

celeste I did try google but it came up with a lot of guys with the same name!

jo if Nottingham were closer I might be tempted to try and get tickets!

robin I also had a pen-friend in Ohio called Kathy (wish I could remember more)and she sent me two little cat brooches which I found the other day!

karmyn sorry I don't know the video didn't work it's ok this end!

angela if he had lived near me I think I might have redeveloped my crush!!

mjd I think it was that same song

ginger grandma you have good taste!

pamela I hesitate to say we were immature~ I don't know about you but I thought I was very grown up at 16~ clearly NOT! :)

 
At 8/4/08 09:43, Blogger Anon said...

NOOO!!!!

He irritated the life out of me! LOL

 
At 8/4/08 17:21, Blogger Attie said...

OOHh I love it!!!!!!!!! You were quite into him huh!!
I always had a love for Sam Elliot!! and thanks I knoew i had seen a blog the kept track of it but at the time couldn't remeber which one it was!!!!!!!

 
At 12/4/08 06:15, Blogger ~ej said...

what great photos and good memories...as i was reading this tho i kept thinking "where do i know tommy steele from" and now i recall from the movies!! he's a cutie...so was jens ;-)

 

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