Between 1958 and 1970 versatile singer and popular entertainer Clinton Ford released some three dozen records, and achieved a modicum of chart success.
Born Ian George Stopford Harrison into a musical family in Salford on November 4, 1931, he began performing folk songs and accompanying himself on guitar whilst serving abroad in the armed forces.
On returning to England he joined a skiffle outfit and adopted the stage name Clinton Ford, became a Butlin’s redcoat and then played in a jazz band.
With his version of Old Shep in 1959, Ford became one of the first British artists to enjoy a hit with a country song. His best known number, Fanlight Fanny, was a music-hall standard about a fading striptease dancer, which George Formby had performed in one of his films.
During the early sixties Ford featured prolifically on a number of BBC radio shows, such as Saturday Club, Easy Beat, Worker’s Playtime and his own series Clinton’s Cakewalk.
He also appeared in several pantomimes, notably playing the role of Widow Twanky in Aladdin at Bolton. Television appearances included The Good Old Days, Stars and Garters and the Billy Cotton Band Show.
After a spell touring with trumpeter Kenny Ball and his band, Ford’s final hit record was Run to the Door in early 1967, after which he worked for several years in summer season at northern seaside resorts.
Clinton Ford died in Douglas, Isle of Man on October 21. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, a son and three daughters.
Content is copyright © 2010 The Stage Newspaper Limited unless otherwise stated.
All RSS feeds are published for personal, non-commercial use. (What’s RSS?)