Alex Wharton (born 1939), later also known as Alex Murray, was part of the singing duo the Most Brothers with

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey and t ...

, and later, co-manager and producer of

the Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of Graeme Edge (drums), Denny Laine (guitar/vocals), Mike Pinder (keyboards/vocals), Ray Thomas (multi-instrumentalist/vocals) and Clint W ...

Singing and acting career

The Most Brothers worked in

the 2i's Coffee Bar The 2i's Coffee Bar was a coffeehouse at 59 Old Compton Street in Soho, London, that was open from 1956 to 1970. It played a formative role in the emergence of Britain's skiffle and rock and roll music culture in the late 1950s, and several m ...

in London's

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

. They toured the UK with early rock and rollers

Marty Wilde Marty Wilde, (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, scoring several 1950s and 1960s hit singles including " E ...

, Colin Hicks (younger brother of

Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele recor ...

), the

Tony Crombie Anthony John Kronenberg (27 August 1925 – 18 October 1999), known professionally as Tony Crombie, was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader, and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest English jazz drummers and bandleaders, an oc ...

Big Band,

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

, the Kalin Twins, and Wee Willie Harris. In 1957 they recorded on the

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

with "Whistle Bait" and "Takes a Whole Lotta Loving to Keep My Baby Happy" before disbanding the act in 1958. In 1959 Wharton adopted the name Murray and moved into an acting career with the

Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West ...

company in Stratford, East London, under the direction of the

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

Joan Littlewood Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of M ...

. He appeared in the first production of ''

Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be ''Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'be'' is a 1960 West End theatre, West End musical comedy about Cockney low-life characters in the 1950s, including spivs, prostitutes, teddy-boys and corrupt policemen. The work is more of a Play (theatre), play w ...

'' before transferring to London's

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ...

, Wyndam's, as understudy to Alfred Lynch in the title role of '' The Hostage''. He played a small role in the Arnold Wesker one-act play ''Last Day In Dreamland'' at the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a nonprofit theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London."About the Lyric" > "History" ''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved January 2024. Background The Lyric Theatre ...

, and interspersed acting in minor film roles ('' Never Let Go'' - 1960), television parts and commercials with solo record releases on Decca.

Career as A&R, manager and record producer

He wrote songs with Tony Crombie before working in 1961 as A&R man at Decca Records, the youngest in the country, at 20, in the post. His first production, "Love is Like A Violin" sung by

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English stand-up comedy, comedian, actor and singer. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer" and was primarily known for his live stand-up comedy, stand-up pe ...

, went to number 8 in the UK singles chart. It was followed by hits with Mark Wynter; plus Rhet Stoller's "Chariot", which reached number 26 in the UK. Wharton gave much needed work to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musicians, at a time when they were out of fashion and struggling to find work, by producing a pioneering stereophonic album, ''Sweet Wide and Blue'', with Stan Tracy (piano), Victor Feldman (vibes), Lenny Bush (bass), Tony Crombie (drums) and others. He also recorded albums and singles with Mantovani,

Winifred Atwell Una Winifred Atwell (27 February or 27 April 1910 or 1914There is some uncertainty over her date and year of birth. Many sources suggest 27 February 1914, but there is a strong suggestion that her birthday was 27 April. Most sources give her ye ...

, and several other Decca labelmates before leaving Decca. " Portrait of My Love" by

Matt Monro Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons; 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career and sold a reported 23 million records. AllMus ...

was released by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

and peaked at number 3 in the UK chart. He returned to acting and travelled to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

to visit Mickie Most who he helped and encouraged to produce his own records, and taught to handle a mixing desk in the studios there. Wharton went on to discover and manage the Moody Blues, and produced their single " Go Now". He promoted it with a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

, produced and directed by him, and filmed on 35mm at the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue in London, England, that opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. It was a small and relatively cheap club, in the heart of London's West End of London, West End. It was the location of the first ...

, scoring a number one UK single and a number 10 US hit in early 1965. He produced another chart hit in 1970 with "Friends" by Arrival which peaked at number 8 in the UK singles chart. He left the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

in 1971. In 1973, Wharton moved to Wales.

Discography

*" Teen Angel" / "Paper Doll", Decca F11203, 1960 *"All On My Own" / "String Along", Decca F11225, 1960 *"When You Walked Out" / "Send For Me", Decca F11345, 1961

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, Alex 1939 births Living people British pop singers British record producers British music managers