Charlie Drake

Charlie Drake (19 June 1925 – 23 December 2006), was an English comedian, actor, writer and singer. With his small stature, curly red hair and liking for slapstick he was a popular comedian with children in his early years, becoming nationally-known for his "Hello, my darlings" catchphrase. He recorded a remarkable number of records, the first of which, Splish Splash, a cover version of a rock and roll number originally recorded by Bobby Darin, got into the UK Top 10, but the rest were mostly novelty songs. One of these, My Boomerang Won't Come Back, became a modest hit in the United States, where for the most part his work was otherwise not known. In 1975, Drake recorded a very unusual single for Charisma, unusual in that it is a novelty record with connections to the world of progressive rock. Written by Peter Gabriel and Martin Hall (who also co-wrote the light-hearted Excuse Me from Gabriel’s first solo album), the record has long been rumored to feature Genesis members and has been a source of great confusion for Genesis & Peter Gabriel collectors. Recently, in response to a post in the forum at www.philcollins.co.uk, Phil Collins offered the following recollection of the sessions for this single.... ''....the post about Charlie Drake and his recording session brought back many memories. It did indeed feature Robert Fripp, Percy Jones, Keith Tippett, me and Peter G. A friend of Pete's, Martin Hall wrote the song, or possibly co-wrote it with Peter, called You Never Know. Apparently Charlie Drake who was a huge comedy star of the 50's and 60's wanted to make a record. How he ended up with this line up I have no idea !!! It seems the most obscure set of people to make a comedy record. On the day Charlie, who was quite small, turned up with a brand new denim outfit for his rock debut....it was quite touching to see him at it. Percy Jones and I were already in Brand X by then. The whole session was one of life's interesting snapshots !!!!''