Description
Ronnie Hilton (26 January 1926 – 21 February 2001) was an English singer and radio presenter. According to his obituary in The Guardian newspaper, “Hilton was one of those 1950s vocalists whose career coincided with rock and roll’s 1956 onslaught on the ballad dominated hit parade. But for a time Hilton was a star – strictly for home consumption – with nine Top 20 hits between 1954 and 1957, that transitional era between 78 and 45rpm records. A quarter of a century later he became the voice of BBC Radio 2’s ‘Sounds of the Fifties’ series”.
From a comparatively unknown Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, “Me and Juliet” written in 1953, Ronnie Hilton took the hit tune “No Other Love”, and scored his one and only UK Number One hit in 1956. In securing the Number One, Hilton fought off competition from the UK-based Canadian Edmund Hockridge, and from The Johnston Brothers. Oddly, no American versions of “No Other Love” reached the UK Singles Chart at the time. Perry Como had been very successful with the song in America, but his version was released much earlier in 1953, when “Me and Juliet” first opened on Broadway. Nevertheless, Hilton’s light operatic style, similar to fellow Hullensian, David Whitfield, was already by the mid-1950s being overtaken by events. By the time “No Other Love” dropped off the UK Singles Chart, Elvis Presley had clocked up his first three UK hit singles. Hilton also performed in three Royal Variety Performances. He also took part in the inaugural A Song For Europe contest in 1957, failing in his attempt to be the UK’s first representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. Hilton’s last chart hit for almost five years, in 1959, was “The Wonder of You”; the same song that Elvis Presley topped the UK chart with in 1970.
This copy of his “very best of” LP has been hand signed on the front cover in blue ink.