Recent email from Ray Reardon better known to Embassy Collectors as Ray Pilgrim also recorded under the name of Bobby Stevens.I asked him several questions,the ones he could answer are listed below................

Can't help you much on the 1955-1959 period. I started recording for
Oriole and Embassy in March/April 1960.

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However Q.4 is dead easy to answer: Bobby Stevens was me!

There was no logic in choosing that particular name at all. In fact
the Bobby Stevens name came about purely by accident. Oriole wanted
to keep the Pilgrim name for releases on the Oriole label so I was
asked to suggest another "nom de plume" (or "nom de disque") ...
which also had the advantage of not having any potential contractual
conflict with the Pilgrim name that I was using with the Rabin
Orchestra on the bandstand and every week on BBC radio. It also
calmed a bit of nervousness about me singing many of the exact same
songs every week live on our BBC "Go Man Go" radio programme ... with
virtually identical arrangements ... which might have been considered
unfair plugging.

In fact, all these years later I really wished I'd used the Reardon
name, but sadly I didn't.

Anyway the day after I recorded the WB390 tracks (Fall in love with
you/Wild One) I got a call from Reg Warburton (who was the Oriole/
Embassy A&R man and a really wonderful guy) saying they were about to
print the labels and what did I want to be called? To be honest, I
hadn't really given it much thought. I liked the name Kevin as a
last name, so I said: "How about Bobby Kevin?" "You can't have
that", said Reg, "because there's drummer who's already using it".
"How about Steve then?", I said, really meaning "Steve Kevin". Reg
must have misheard that as "Stevens" because he said: "That sounds
good. If you want to be credited as Bobby Stevens that's fine by
us". So I left it at that ... that was it ... no real rhyme or reason.

But it didn't really fool anybody and caused the odd smile when the
BBC regularly got requests to play Ray Pilgrim singing a song that
had been released on Embassy as Bobby Stevens. And I always got a
kick out of it when someone in the audience would ask me to autograph
an Embassy record but insisting that I used the Pilgrim name.

I graduated from University in Summer 1962, and because I planned my
long term career to be outside the music biz, I made sure that I
didn't have any more long term contractual complications after that.
So I had a word with Reg and asked: "How would you feel if we started
to credit the Pilgrim name instead of the Stevens one?" "Great!", he
shouted. And so we did. Mike Redway decided to do the same thing
and started to use Redway instead of Redd Wayne. Much better all
round!

However, as the early 60's "bands" scene got underway things got even
more confused as we started to use other group names such Typhoons,
Jaybirds, Starlings, Beatmen, Happy Knights.

And it all carried on that way until the very last Embassy singles
session (for the Embassy Big4 WT series) on July 26th 1965.

I'm proud I had the opportunity to do so many Embassies. A very
important period of my life.

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Re Q2. In my opinion, Rikki Henderson was one of the very best
Embassy artists. He came from Scotland and had a really great voice.
I didn't know him well, but had often listened to him singing with
the Denny Boyce Orchestra before I actually got into the business
myself. He always impressed me greatly. I lost track of him in the
mid-60's when I decided to make a clean break from the music biz and
concentrate on my "proper" career and in any case I was by then
regularly traveling around the world, so had little time for singing.

However an old mate of mine told me he knew Rikki and used to go to
the pub with him in the late 60's (when he was now known as Rick
instead of Rikki) when they were both working together at Sainsbury's
Administrative offices in Streatham, South London. He believes Rick
was still there in 1969. Whether he was still singing
professionally, I don't know.

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Hope this helps,

Regards
Ray
rs as Ray Pilgrim/Bobby Stevens.

 

 

Many Instrumentals were recorded on Embassy, such as
"Reveille Rock"-"Theme from A Summer Place"-"Perfidia"
and many more, credited to Steve Stannard, reputed to
be Musician and Comedian, Welshman Stan Stennett.

Yesterday 16-02-08 I interviewed him on the subject and
he commented at no time had he ever recorded anything
for Embassy, he knew of the label but that is all.
In the 50/60s period he was Guitarist in various bands
including Ted Heath,Joe Loss and The BBC Showband.
He still tours with a Show called "Bless em' All" and has
just finished Pantomime in Cardiff.

So it still remains to find out who was behind the name
"Steve Stannard".?????

 

There MUST be someone who knows who all these talented session musicians were, why is it such a guarded secret?

 

When is Ray Pilgrim's website going to take off???? 

Embassy records were essentially cover versions of potential hits, but this one is rather special. Cover or Original?? Adam Faith had the hit with this song, but it was actually written by Johnny Worth under the pseudonym Les Van Dyke.