Sad to hear of the death of Alvin Stardust today. I was a bit young to remember much of his 70s stuff - and all that Glam-era rock leaves me a bit cold anyway if I'm honest - but I did enjoy his early 80s resurgence, when he became an unlikely member of the Stiff Records roster before finding yet more chart success at Chrysalis. The first song of his I was really aware of would have been 1981's
Pretend, which made number 4 in the UK hit parade despite already having been recorded by a host of artists in the rock era* - Nat King Cole, Brenda Lee, and Gerry & The Pacemakers to name but three. Alvin's version is my favourite, though - chiefly because it's the only one I've ever heard.
This video was clearly filmed on a lovely sunny day in Blighty, and features various frolicking dogs and some baffled children clearly too young to have the faintest idea who this strange miming man is. At least he wasn't wearing a leather glove and trying to help them cross the road I s'pose.
*Casey Kasem eat your heart out.
Mildly Interesting Pop Fact Alvin's real name wasn't Shane Fenton, as many believe, but Bernard William Jewry. Take that, Peppy Castro!
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