Philip Darrell Core (12 September 1945 – 23 August 2013), known professionally as David Garrick, was an English singer who was best known for his 1966 pop
hit single
A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...
, "Dear Mrs. Applebee".
Biography
As a teenager Garrick sang in a Liverpool church choir, but became interested in opera and succeeded in obtaining a scholarship to train as an opera singer in
Milan, Italy
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
. He returned to Liverpool after two years, where he was frequently found at the famous
Cavern Club
The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England.
The Cavern Club opened on 16 January 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The club becam ...
and once improvised an opera excerpt of
Pagliacci
''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...
, rendering him the surname "The Opera Singer" at the club.
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
' manager, Robert Wace, invited Core to come to London to record a first single. He picked the name "David Garrick" as stage name, after the famous 18th-century
actor and playwright.
Garrick's first two singles, "Go" (1965) and "One Little Smile" (1965), were unsuccessful. In 1966 he released a
cover
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of c ...
of
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
song "
Lady Jane", which had some
airplay
Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...
in the UK, reached number 28 on the
UK Singles Chart,
but peaked at number 5 in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. Later that year he covered "Dear Mrs. Applebee", a relatively unknown American song first recorded by Flip Cartridge, and written by Billy Meshell and Phil Barr. Garrick's version was a hit in Germany (number 1), in the Netherlands (number 3), and
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
(number 3), but got no higher than number 22 on the
UK chart.
In following years, Garrick released numerous singles and albums but never again achieved any notable success. In Germany he had two minor hits in 1967. In 1970 he went to live in South Africa and
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
for some years. In the 1990s, he returned to Europe to attempt a comeback mainly focused in Germany. In 1999, he recorded "Apassionata", produced by Mal Jefferson at Mastersound Studios, Southport, which was released on Prestige Records. He continued throughout the 1990s to perform at festivals in Germany, where he had a loyal following.
Death
Garrick died in
Wirral, England, on 23 August 2013, aged 67.
Discography
Albums
*''A Boy Called David'' (1967)
*''Don't Go Out into The Rain Sugar'' (1967)
*''Blow Up'' (Live, 1968)
*''Apassionata - A Tribute to Lanza'' (1999)
Singles
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrick, David
1945 births
2013 deaths
English pop singers
English male singers
Singers from Liverpool
Marble Arch Records artists