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THE Made in Britain — Six-Five Special Edition show, which will be staged at the Villa on Saturday, November 28, will no doubt bring back memories for some of the audience.

In addition to Craig Douglas — who is celebrating his 50th year in showbusiness — it features tributes to Cliff Richard and Billy Fury as well as a 60s band.

And performing on the show also brings back some special times for Craig himself.

'I am thoroughly enjoying it. It is so nice to sit in the dressing room and hear these old songs from Cliff and Billy and knowing that in 1959 I knocked Cliff off the number one spot with Only Sixteen, when he had been at number one with Living Doll. So it all brings back a lot of memories for me.'

He recalls performing on the Six-Five Special Edition TV show when Cliff and Billy were among the other acts.

'I was 17 years old when I did that and everything was live in those days. It was very nerve wracking and you had 18 to 20 million viewers watching,' he said.

In fact just going to London was a strange experience for him.

'First and foremost I was born in the Isle of Wight, coming to London having singing lessons was a bit horrendous for me, I would see people rushing in the morning going to work and I thought "what are they rushing about?"

'Being very young and going on tour in a bus was a bit frightening at that age, going to a theatre that was packed and walking on stage and hearing all these girls screaming.

'I gradually got used to it and met a lot of friends in the business who were much older than me.

'When I did Six-Five Special I remember the producer called my agent who said he wanted to see me. I went to his office on a Monday and there was about six bags of mail there. He said they were for me, so I picked a card out from virtually each bag. Everyone said pretty much the same thing, "Isn't it nice to watch and listen to someone on the television and hear every word?"' In addition to Only Sixteen Craig's hits included A Hundred Pounds of Clay, Teenager in Love, Pretty Blue Eyes and When My Little Girl Is Smiling, among others.

In the late 60s he ventured further afield — he went to Australia and then used to go and perform in that country every three years after that.

In fact his singing led to him being able to see the world and he ended up performing on three or four cruises a year in the 1970s.
'It's been a great life,' he said.

He also appeared in musicals, plays and pantomimes during his career.

The Made in Britain — Six-Five Special Edition show will also feature Michael King as Billy Fury, Steve Halliday as Cliff Richard and the band The Rapiers. Formed in the early 1980s in the north of London, The Rapiers are a 1960s-style group who have released a number of albums.
Known for being a great live act, the band has been a supporting group for several British musicians, including Cliff Richard, Billy J Kramer and Freddie Garrity.

The group has also starred as The Shadows in a touring British production titled Cliff The Musical.

They have been described as the most authentic British 60s band available – from their original Vox amplifiers to the unmistakeable cut of their suits and shine on their winkle pickers. Michael King, who appears as Billy Fury in his early years, has performed in numerous theatre productions around the world.

He played the role of Billy Fury in the 2008 hit show Buddy Holly 50th Anniversary Tour and also Fury in Rave On.

Michael also starred as Dion De Mucci in the 1959 re-creation Winter Dance Party and performed as Elvis in the UK theatre show The Power Of Presley. He also plays the role of Presley in the touring production Elvis Rocks. It was while playing Las Vegas with Elvis' very own backing group The Jordanaires that Michael was presented with a Las Vegas Icon Award for his performances there.

Steve Halliday, who appears as a young Cliff Richard, has appeared in other shows as Eddie Cochran and Elvis and has appeared on TV's Stars In Their Eyes. He has performed all over the world and has played alongside legendary performers such as Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana.

Tickets for the Villa Marina show, organised by King Arthur Promotions, are £19.50 (£18.50 for senior citizens and under 16s). They are available from the Welcome Centre at the Sea Terminal, Douglas, by ringing the ticket hotline on 600555 or 694555 and online at www.villagaiety.com.
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