HE MAY be 83, but Marty Wilde – the original ’50s pioneer of British rock and roll, veteran recording artist and songwriter – is still performing live and very much kicking.
Speaking to him ahead of his show in Wimborne Minster on December 1, we get chatting about Elvis Presley and he says The King was a huge influence on his early career.

Veteran performer Marty Wilde with Cliff Richard

“We all wanted to be Elvis. Me, Cliff (Richard) and Billy (Fury), we all copied him – the hair, the clothes, the dancing, the turned-up collars and rolled up sleeves.
“It took me a while to realise that I wasn’t Elvis and needed to do my own thing.”
Marty did do his own thing, racking up hit after hit with the likes of Bad Boy, Sea of Love, Endless Sleep and Teenager in Love. Then he wrote songs for Lulu, Status Quo, and the massive next-generation teen anthem, Kids in America, for his daughter Kim Wilde.
“You could feel the excitement in those early Elvis performances and that’s the thing that’s stayed with me,” he said. “It’s what I still aim to bring to every show I do.”
He’s been taking the current show to venues all year, including a 23-date tour with ’60s artists, Mark Wynter and Eden Kane.
Taking a rare month off – his first break in several years – has seen him write his memoirs, new songs and even return to the recording studio.
By the end of 2022, the evergreen hit machine will have completed 54 concert dates and he shows no sign of flagging with more dates scheduled for 2023.
Marty and his band, the Wildcats will be rocking the Tivoli Theatre on December 1.
For more details visit www.martywilde.com, www.stur-exchange.co.uk and www.tivoliwimborne.co.uk/event/marty-wilde-and-the-wildcats-2.
LORRAINE GIBSON