"Terry" is the debut single by British singer Lynn Ripley, who performed under the name

Twinkle Twinkle may refer to: * Twinkling, the variation of brightness of distant objects People * Twinkle (singer) (1948–2015), born Lynn Annette Ripley, English singer-songwriter * Twinkle Bajpai, Indian singer, television and film actress * Twinkl ...

. It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1964, spending a total of fifteen weeks on the

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent t ...

. The track also reached number 5 on the Canadian charts, spending four weeks in the top 40 in February 1965, and number 2 on the Hong Kong charts in March 1965. The song is about the death of a young man named Terry, killed in a motorcycle accident. It was banned by both the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, and by ITV's ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...

'' on grounds of taste (the last line, "Please wait at the gates of heaven for me, Terry" indicated the intention of suicide), but despite (or possibly because of) this, it shot up the charts. It was Twinkle's only top 10 hit, although her follow-up, "Golden Lights" (later covered by

the Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

), reached number 21 in the UK.

Cover versions

Claude François Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of " Comme d'habitude" ( ...

released a

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version of "Terry" on his 1965 EP ''Les Choses De La Maison''. In 1986, the song was sung by

Mandy Smith Amanda Louise Smith (born 17 July 1970) is an English pop music, pop singer and Model (person), model. She became known in the mid-1980s for her underage relationship with, and subsequent marriage to, Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, who is 3 ...

, for inclusion on her debut album, but was unreleased until 2009. In 2010, Anika included a cover of the song on her debut album '' Anika''.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described "Terry" as "magnificent —

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

meets

The Shangri-Las The Shangri-Las were an American girl group of the 1960s, consisting of Mary Weiss, her sister Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss and twin sisters Marguerite "Marge" Ganser and Mary Ann Ganser. Between 1964 and 1966 several hit pop songs of theirs docu ...

on a rain-slicked English back-road" — and said that it "should have set up Twinkle for never-ending fame".

References

1964 songs 1964 debut singles English pop songs Decca Records singles Songs banned by the BBC Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements {{1960s-single-stub