Richard Anthony

Born Richard Anthony Bush on 13 January 1938 in Cairo, Egypt, the future performer abandoned university studies in Paris in pursuit of a singing career. To support himself he took on assorted employment alongside work as a session saxophonist. Pathe-Marconi issued his first record, ‘La Rue Des Coeurs Perdus’, in 1958, yet it attracted little attention. Popularity arrived instead through French-language versions of American hits such as Buddy Holly’s ‘Peggy Sue’ and Lloyd Price’s ‘Personality’. The twist era finally brought genuine success when ‘C’est Ma Fête’, the local adaptation of ‘It’s My Party’, caught fire, while his unchanged rendition of ‘Let’s Twist Again’ positioned him as a serious competitor to Johnny Hallyday, France’s counterpart to Elvis Presley. A French cover of Peter, Paul And Mary’s ‘500 Miles Away From Home’ sold a million copies and paved the way for two British hits: ‘Walking Alone’ entered the UK chart in 1963 and ‘If I Loved You’ climbed into the Top 20. An impressive reading of the Everly Brothers’ ‘Crying In The Rain’ came close to charting but fell short. Focus on the British market weakened his standing at home until the 1966 release of ‘Fille Sauvage’, his take on the Rolling Stones’ ‘Ruby Tuesday’, restored his domestic profile. For several years the Roulettes served as his backing band both live and on record; their performance on a French version of ‘Concrete And Clay’ particularly impressed him. Anthony’s fortunes continued to fluctuate, although cumulative sales ultimately surpassed twelve million records.