El Tel

Introductions are not needed with El Tel, but some background on why he likes to sing.
This from a Guardian article/interview done in 2002:

“He’s not new to crooning. As a nightclub owner he used to treat the punters to a regular SingalongaTel, and as a teenager he sang with band leader Joe Loss. At 17 he had to choose between football and singing. “I won the week’s talent contest at Butlins, and was invited back for September. I said to [the manager] Tommy Docherty, ‘Look, I’ve won this competition, I need to go back in September, if that’s all right with you’, and he said, ‘No you can’t do that ’cause you might be in the team’. It was a good way of finding out if I was in the team, really. Hahahaha! If he’d said, ‘Go and sing the song’, you knew you was in trouble.”

It also mentions in that article about him being in the studio recording tracks for an album. By the looks of it this didn’t transpire.

As for this single:

El Tel’s legendary penchant for trying his hand at just about anything seems certain to lead to a first brush with pop stardom.

The former England boss and TV pundit has recorded a double A-side called England Crazy catering for every supporter’s tastes.

Written by up-and-coming band Rider, and due out next month, one side is a Frank Sinatra ‘swing’ version with a big-band style accompaniment.

The other is more of a ‘terrace’ version more suitable for chanting, with a chorus of “We’re all going England Crazy – all right, it’s all right.”

Rider basist Nick Keynes gives the Cockney crooner the thumbs up. “Terry’s a born star, a real natural,” he said. “We knew he had a voice on him and he didn’t disappoint.”

Venables did sing at the Hammersmith Palais as a teenager, but will be hoping for better fortune than on his first foray into the pop business.

He recorded ‘What Do You want To Make Those Eyes at Me For?’ in 1974, but it failed to make the charts.

» Taken from this BBC article

What we have here is the swing version, so putting out another appeal – if you have the Terrace version… Ta.

» Plus his 1974 outing – seen here in a clip from the Jonathan Ross show – in which they show a clip of him singing to his team on the Russell Harty show.

» Rider featuring Terry Venables – England Crazy

BONUS SONG: …and a step back through time to 1967 and with his Tottenham teammates (including Jimmy Greaves) giving us a taster of a Cockney classic:

» Terry Venables – Bye Bye Blackbird

But that’s not all:

Mozza released a single in 1995 and it featured a picture of Terry on the cover:

The cover for the single Dagenham Dave

The song wasn’t about him, although Venables was born in Dagenham.

» Additional fact: He appeared on an episode of Stars In Their Eyes performing as Anthony Newley.

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