A light went out in the entertainment industry when Vince Hill passed away earlier this year, says Jimmy Cricket.
Entertainer Jimmy pays tribute in a recent newspaper column to singer/songwriter Vince, best known for his cover of the hit Edelweiss.
His version reached number two in the UK pop charts in 1967. It stayed in the charts for 17 weeks.
The song was originally from the 1965 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.
In a recent Blackpool Gazette column (which also appears in the Lancashire Evening Post newspaper), Jimmy recalls Vince’s amazing life and career.
He describes him as “one of the nation’s finest vocalists”.
“Most readers will remember Vince for his big hits during the 60s like Edelweiss from the musical, The Sound of Music, and Roses of Picardy – a ballad about a wartime romance.”
Jimmy recalls doing several UK tours with Vince, including of Scotland.
“Vince enthralled the Scottish audiences, especially when he did this amazing arrangement of Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s most popular tunes.”
He concludes: “When he left us, we lost one of our greatest ever singers and a light went out in the UK entertainment industry.”
Successful TV shows
Vince first sang in public as a teenager and joined vocal group The Raindrops, but went solo in the early sixties.
He rose to fame with his debut single The River’s Run Dry and went on to produce a number of hits.
His other songs included Take Me To Your Heart Again and Love Letters In The Sand.
While known mainly for his singing, he was also a songwriter.
Additionally, he hosted several successful TV shows during the seventies and eighties, including the BBC’s The Musical Time Machine.
Before finding fame as a singer, he worked as baker, truck driver and coal miner.
Vince died peacefully at his home in Oxfordshire on 22 July.
Read: The life of British singer Vince Hill
From this website: Vince Hill: Cherished memories of touring Scotland with him
Autobiography – Buy Jimmy Cricket’s autobiography now
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