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An interview with John Leyton  "IF anyone had told me back in 1961 that I'd still be singing Johnny Remember Me in my 60s I'd have said, not me mate, you've got the wrong man!" So says John Leyton, singer, actor, restauranteur and many other roles besides during a long and successful career. The blue-eyed Mr Leyton, still sporting a blonde thatch, incredibly celebrated his 63nd birthday earlier this year, and is currently touring with Jet Harris and Mike Berry, following last year's hugely successful Solid Gold 60s Tour with Marty Wilde, Joe Brown and Eden Kane."Not in my wildest dreams would I have believed I'd still be doing this in 2002," says John. "After all, my early career was as an actor, the singing came about by accident. I started out in repertory theatre in York before Granada TV signed me up for the "Biggles" TV series. I used to get loads of letters from teenage girls saying I looked like a pop star, and asking if I could sing, so it was ironic that I was later offered a guest starring role in the TV series "Harpers W1" playing a singer!" As the character Johnny St.Cere (sincere, geddit!) John sang the song "Johnny Remember Me" on the show, which EMI released as a single, and within two weeks it was number one way back in 1961. "I recorded the single with the legendary Joe Meek," recalls John. "Joe operated the controls in the bathroom, the string section was in the hallway, and I was singing in the sitting room, stood behind the sofa - it was crazy." Crazy or not it led to a No 1 hit record that topped the charts for six weeks, leading to two or three years of teenage adulation for John and several more hits including "Wild Wind." "It was always my intention to use my singing success as a way back into acting," admitted John, "and within a year I was filming "The Great Escape" with Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. I auditioned for the part in the usual way, and filming took 6 months. It wasn't until half way through shooting that the director John Sturgess realised I also had a career as a pop singer! Looking back it was the happiest film I've ever been in. I don't want to sound like a mysoginist, but it was an all-male cast, and we all developed a real camaraderie without the intrusion of any temperamental actresses!" "I played Willie the Tunnel King," recalled John, "and we filmed the prison scenes in a replica camp in Munich studios. After the "break-out" - Charles Bronson and I escaped on a boat - we filmed on location all over Germany. "The Great Escape" was tremendously successful at the time, and it must have been shown on TV more times than any other film - everybody seems to enjoy it." John's performance in "The Great Escape" prompted 20th Century Fox to sign him up, and hand him a starring role in "Guns at Batasi" at Pinewood Studios, with Richard Attenborough, Mia Farrow and Jack Hawkins. Next came "Von Ryan's Express" filmed in Hollywood with Trevor Howard and Frank Sinatra. "I know Frank had the reputation of being difficult, but he certainly wasn't with me. Sorry if this sounds boring, but he was always very approachable, and very kind to me. He even invited me to watch him play the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas after filming had finished. I got there to find that the whole bill, accommodation and everything had been taken care of by Frank. I met him after the performance when he called me over to introduce me to some of his pretty heavy looking party. I met a guy called Sam and asked him what he did, and he replied that he owned Chicago!" "I also met Elvis Presley when I was filming "Von Ryan's Express," recalls John, "he was filming "Roustabout" on the next set, and I got to know him quite well. He wasn't happy about all the lightweight musicals he was making, and really wanted to do a movie where he didn't have to sing. His idol was James Dean, and he wanted to play the sort of parts that Dean had. I remember one special incident that happened one day on the lot. After having something to eat, Elvis drove me back to my trailer in one of those little golf buggies. We had to stop to allow a huge set door to be opened, and a crowd of tourists who were being shown round the studios congregated on my side of the vehicle. They all recognised me and clamoured around for my autograph. Strangely enough, no one recognised Elvis, and after signing away for ages, I turned to him and said, "OK - Drive on, driver!" John stayed on in Hollywood way into the 70s, making TV series like "Jericho" and more films like The Idol" and "Krakatoa, East of Java". Eventually returning to London to take up stage offers, he became involved in film and TV production that entailed helping to raise finance. Dealing with people in the city soon led to involvement with property and becoming Chairman and Managing Director of a firm which owned the Meridiana, a well known London restaurant, before selling it on for redevelopment in a lucrative deal. Despite his new career, John was still in constant demand for guest and personal appearances, and in November 1993 he was invited to perform in a "Capital Gold Anniversary Concert" at the Royal Albert Hall. Such was the reaction to his performance that John was invited to join the touring Solid Gold Rock & Roll Show the next year, and has been involved with the annual excursions ever since. (©Peter Ashton 2001) |
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