Norman Alexander Milne (26 November 1924 – 29 October 1963), known professionally as Michael Holliday, was an English singer, who was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He had a number of chart hits in the UK, including two number one singles, " The Story of My Life" and " Starry Eyed".

Early life

Michael Holliday was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, and brought up in the Kirkdale district of the city. His career in music began after he won an amateur talent contest, 'New Voices of Merseyside', at the Locarno Ballroom, West Derby Road, Newsham, Liverpool. According to

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

, while working as a seaman in the Merchant Navy, he used to

smuggle Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

obscure U.S. jazz records into the UK, where Costello's mother, Lilian Ablett, sold them. Finding himself in the U.S. as a seaman, Holliday was persuaded to enter a talent contest at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

in New York City, and again he won, inspiring him to seek a career in show business. In 1951, he secured two summer seasons' work as a vocalist with Dick Denny's band at Butlin's Holiday Camp, Pwllheli.

Singing career

In March 1953, he joined the Eric Winstone Band, another Butlin's contracted band that toured when the summer season's work was over. They also broadcast occasionally on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

. In December 1954, Holliday wrote to the BBC requesting a TV audition. His audition came in April 1955 and he made his first TV appearance on ''The Centre Show'' on 22 July 1955. This TV performance was seen by

Norrie Paramor Norman William "Norrie" Paramor (15 May 1913 – 9 September 1979) was a British record producer, composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, and orchestral conductor. He is best known for his work with Cliff Richard and the Shadows, both togethe ...

, then head of A&R for

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

's Columbia

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

, who signed him as a solo artist. He also sang "

Four Feather Falls ''Four Feather Falls'' is a British children's western television series, the third puppet TV show produced by AP Films (APF) in association with Granada Television. It was based on an idea by Barry Gray, who also wrote the show's music. The ...

", the

theme tune Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

to the

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

-based television programme of the same name produced by

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist, who is known for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s production ...

. Holliday's style of singing was influenced by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

, who was his idol. The style earned him the title of "the British Bing Crosby". A biography entitled ''The Man Who Would Be Bing'', written by Ken Crossland, was published in 2004.

Illness and death

Holliday had an ongoing problem with

stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

and in 1961 he suffered a

mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

. He died in October 1963 from a suspected drug overdose, in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, Surrey.

Discography

UK single (release date), highest chart position * " The Yellow Rose of Texas" / " Stein Song" (September 1955) * "

Sixteen Tons "Sixteen Tons" is a song written by Merle Travis about a coal miner, based on life in the mines of Rosewood, Kentucky. Travis first recorded the song at the Radio Recorders Studio B in Hollywood, California, on August 8, 1946. Cliffie Stone ...

" / "The Rose Tattoo" (January 1956) * "Nothin' To Do" / "Perfume, Candy and Flowers" (March 1956), UK No. 20 * "The Gal with the Yallow Shoes"/" Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)" (June 1956), UK No. 13 * "Ten Thousand Miles" / "The Runaway Train" (September 1956), UK No. 24 * "I Saw Esau" / "Yallow Yallow Gold" (January 1957) * "My House Is Your House" / "

Love Is Strange "Love Is Strange" is a crossover hit by American rhythm and blues duet Mickey & Sylvia, which was released in late November 1956 by the Groove record label. The song was based on a guitar riff by Jody Williams and was written by Bo Diddley u ...

" (March 1957) * " Four Walls" / "Wringle Wrangle" (May 1957) * " All of You" / "It's the Good Things We Remember" (July 1957) * " Old Cape Cod" / "Love You Darlin'" (September 1957) * " The Story of My Life" / "Keep Your Heart" (January 1958), UK No. 1 * "In Love" / "Rooney" (February 1958), UK No. 26 * " Stairway of Love" / "May I?" (May 1958), UK No. 3 * "I'll Always Be in Love with You" / "I'll Be Lovin' You Too" (June 1958), UK No. 27 * "She Was Only Seventeen" / "The Gay Vagabond" (September 1958) * "

My Heart Is an Open Book "My Heart Is an Open Book" is a song written by Hal David and Lee Pockriss and performed by Carl Dobkins Jr. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, U.S. pop chart and #11 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, U.S. R&B chart in 1959. It was featured on h ...

" / " Careless Hands" (November 1958) * "Palace of Love" / "The Girls from the County Armagh" (February 1959) * "Moments of Love" / "Dearest" (May 1959) * "Life Is a Circus" / "For You, For You" (August 1959) * " Starry Eyed" / "The Steady Game" (November 1959), UK No. 1 * "

Skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially ...

" / "Dream Talk" (March 1960), UK No. 39 * " Little Boy Lost" / "The One Finger Symphony" (June 1960), UK No. 50 * "Catch Me a Kiss" / "Stay in Love" (November 1960) * "The Miracle of Monday Morning" / "

(Remember Me) I'm the One Who Loves You "(Remember Me) I'm The One Who Loves You" is a song written and originally sung by Stuart Hamblen, which he released in 1950. The song was a hit for Ernest Tubb the same year, and Dean Martin in 1965. Johnny Cash also covered it on his 1957 debu ...

" (February 1961) * "Dream Boy Dream" / " I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" (June 1961) * "Wishin' on a Rainbow / "I Don't Want You to See Me Cry" (April 1962) * " Have I Told You Lately that I Love You?" / "It Only Takes a Minute" (September 1962) * "Laugh and the World Laughs With You" / "Iron Fence" (February 1963) * "Between Hello and Goodbye" / "Just to Be with You Again" (July 1963) * "Drums / "Can I Forget You" (November 1963) * " Dear Heart" / "My Year of Love" (March 1964) * " My Last Date (with You)" / "Always is a Long, Long Time" (June 1964)

Albums

* ''Hi!'' (1957). * ''Mike!'' ( Columbia - catalog No. 33SX1170) (1959) * ''Holliday Mixture'' (1960). * ''Happy Holliday'' (Columbia - catalog No. 33SX1354) (1961). * ''To Bing - from Mike'' (1962).

References

External links

Michael Holliday at AllMusic
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holliday, Michael 1924 births 1963 suicides 1963 deaths 20th-century English singers 20th-century English male singers British Merchant Navy personnel Drug-related suicides in England English crooners English male singers Traditional pop music singers Musicians from Liverpool Burials at Anfield Cemetery