Biography
Born as John Askew in Liverpool, England, in 1941, the future entertainer worked as a merchant seaman while performing semi-professionally as a singer until the celebrated '50s Svengali, Larry Parnes, discovered and rechristened him Johnny Gentle. His first single, "Boys and Girls Were Meant for Each Other," appeared on Philips Records in 1959, after which every subsequent release by this square-jawed hunk bypassed the U.K. chart; nevertheless, regular spots on British television pop programs such as Oh Boy and Drumbeat ensured a steady run of well-paid one-nighters. Fellow Merseysiders the Beatles and Cass and the Cassanovas supplied backing at many of these engagements, whose sets combined widely known rock & roll standards with the simpler selections from Gentle's own output, among them the self-penned "Wendy." Still without a recording contract in 1963, Gentle took Gordon Mills' place in the Viscounts and withdrew from show business by the mid-'60s. Askew died on February 29, 2024, at the age of 87, taking Johnny Gentle with him.