Page 1 | Page 2

The rock & roll years

It was time to take some time off as Josie was expecting their first child. After twelve years of marriage Gilbert Edward Calvert finally arrived on January 21st 1957. In a 'Mirabelle' exclusive Josie was quoted "Lots of people who put off having a baby as long as we had often don't find it so easy to make nature fall in with their plans, but we were lucky and we're thrilled to bits."

The following week Eddie was back on the road at the Finsbury Park Empire and in March two new releases were issued. 'Let the rest of the world go by' featured Gerry Brereton and 'Almost Paradise' Eddie's trumpet. Neither made the Charts even though Patrick Doncaster writing for the Daily Mirror thought the later should be a hit. Eddie could still be heard on Radio Luxembourg and in May he began a twelve week Sunday afternoon show with the Peter Yorke Orchestra.

The beginning of 1958 saw Eddie on a six week tour of Italy with the Peter Crawford trio. He loved the country, and its music suited his style. There followed a ten day tour of Iceland, arriving back in Britain for the Jack Jackson show on 22nd Febuary.

In March it was a recording made in the previous June that grabbed the headlines. 'Eddie blows back into the lolly' was how the Daily Mirror described 'Mandy' his latest chart success. It reached no 9 and Eddie was delighted to be back after an absence of nearly two years. In June 'Little Serenade' reached no 28, stayed for just two weeks and was gone.

It was to be Eddies last chart entry. In August he was interviewed by 'Disc' magazine about his next release 'Americano'. This was an Italian tune but it was the B-side that Eddie wanted to talk about. It was called 'The Common Touch' and was written for his son Gilbert. Readers were assured of a surprise, which if they bought it they got. The track was a vocal sung by Eddie himself.

In October Eddie toured with the Kalin Twins and new boy Cliff Richard, but it was a later newspaper article that caused a bit of a stir. In December he upset more than a few people when he was quoted as saying "Louis Armstrong is a great entertainer, but a lousy trumpet player". Personally he was always willing to admit his own playing could be corny, but thats what the public wanted.

In early January 1959, Eddie and Josie accompanied by his drummer Bobby Adrian began a tour of South Africa. At the Alhambra in Cape Town a reviewer was quoted "when the curtain fell on his 30-minute spot, a packed house applauded for fully five minutes. They would have been happy to be entertained for the rest of the evening by Mr. Calvert, an artist who combines an engaging personality with his astonishing skill." In Johannesburg he played at the Ciro's club, impressing them so much that he joined forces with the resident Quartet and singer Peter Lotis to record a LP called 'Eddie Calvert with his Golden Trumpet in the Golden City.' One of the numbers he recorded was 'Smile', something he probably found difficult to do on his return to London.