Mark Wynter

Emerging in the shadow of Cliff Richard and Billy Fury, Mark Wynter established himself as one of the more modestly prosperous British pop and rock vocalists of his generation. Born Terry Lewis in Woking as one of six children, he first gained notice as a boy soprano in his local church. Rock and roll was beginning to register across England by his mid-teens, and at sixteen in 1959 he received his initial break when manager Ray Mackender heard him substitute for an absent lead singer during a dance-hall performance and immediately offered a contract. Lessons in acting and singing followed, together with the adoption of the name Mark Wynter, and by 1960 he was appearing at leading London cabaret venues, making his television debut that August.

Decca Records signed him in 1960, and five of his seven singles reached the British charts over the next two years; the first, a version of the Safaris’ hit “Image of a Girl,” climbed to number eleven. In 1961 he released the album The Warmth of Winter and became a major pop draw, earning New Musical Express’s Most Promising Newcomer accolade. Later that year he performed in the United States, including a slot on American Bandstand, though an American single release, like most contemporary British teen-pop efforts, made little impact. His momentum continued into 1962 with an appearance in the political-satire film Just for Fun, a sequel to It’s Trad, Dad. That summer, however, Decca declined to renew his contract after “Angel Talk” failed to chart. Wynter moved promptly to Pye Records, where his debut release, a cover of “Venus in Blue Jeans,” reached number four, and a subsequent cover of “Go Away Little Girl” peaked at number six. “Aladdin’s Lamp” missed the charts, but “Shy Girl” entered the Top 30.

By then the Merseybeat wave led by the Beatles had begun to displace singers of Wynter’s style, sharply reducing their sales. Further attempts, among them the Sloan-Barri composition “Can I Get to Know You Better” produced by Andrew Oldham, failed to restore his commercial standing. By the early 1970s he had exchanged pop recording for a stage career in London’s West End, remaining active in theater throughout the English-speaking world well into the 1990s. Although his Decca singles appear only sporadically in the CD catalogue, Castle Communications issued the two-disc Go Away Little Girl: The Pye Anthology in 2000, collecting his entire Pye output.