Episode 040 - Seven Inches Of History 002 - Michael Holliday - Starry Eyed
Release Date: 07/08/2026
Episode 043 - The Making Of The Italian Job (1969)
Rainbow Valley
"Just remember this - in this country they drive on the wrong side of the road" In 1969, British cinema delivered one of its most enduringly cheerful acts of grand larceny. The Italian Job had Michael Caine, three Mini Coopers, a coach balanced rather inconveniently above a precipice and a plan that looked perfectly sensible provided nobody examined it too closely. In this episode of Rainbow Valley, we go behind the scenes to explore how this much-loved crime caper found its way onto the screen. Written by Troy Kennedy Martin, directed by Peter Collinson and produced by Michael Deeley, the...
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Episode 042 - Seven Inches Of History 004 - Adam Faith - Poor Me
Rainbow Valley
Two number ones before breakfast. Adam Faith was just getting started. Adam Faith was not an accident. While some artists stumble into the charts through luck or timing, Terence Nelhams-Wright from Acton arrived at number one in the spring of 1960 as the result of a series of very deliberate decisions. The name. The image. The sound. All of it carefully assembled, and all of it working perfectly. "Poor Me" was his second consecutive number one, following "What Do You Want" which had topped the chart at the end of 1959. Back to back number ones before most people had even worked out who he...
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Episode 041 - Seven Inches Of History 003 - Anthony Newley - Why
Rainbow Valley
The accidental pop star who couldn't wait to get back to the theatre. Anthony Newley never really wanted to be a pop singer. He wanted to be in the theatre. The trouble was, the British public had other ideas, and in February 1960 they kept "Why" at number one for four consecutive weeks, making it very difficult for him to pretend the whole pop star thing wasn't happening. The route to the chart had been almost accidental. Newley had been cast as a rock and roll singer in a 1959 film called "Idle on Parade," recorded a few songs for it, and watched in mild surprise as one of them reached...
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Episode 040 - Seven Inches Of History 002 - Michael Holliday - Starry Eyed
Rainbow Valley
One week at the top, a lifetime of sadness behind the smile. The first brand new number one of the 1960s belonged to a man from Liverpool with a voice like warm honey and a stage name chosen for its lightness. Michael Holliday. It suited him perfectly. What it didn't tell you was anything about the anxiety and depression that shadowed every step of his career. "Starry Eyed" went to number one on January 24th 1960, held off the blocks for one week before Anthony Newley came along and nudged it aside. One week sounds brief. In a chart as competitive as early 1960s Britain, one week at the...
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Episode 039 - Seven Inches Of History 001 - Emile Ford and the Checkmates - What Do Want to Make Those Eyes At Me For?
Rainbow Valley
The record that started a decade, and made history doing it. The 1960s didn't begin with a fanfare. They began with a carry-over. Emile Ford and the Checkmates had reached number one back in November 1959 with "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For" and when January 1st 1960 arrived, they were still sitting comfortably at the top of the British chart. The new decade started mid-song. There are worse ways to begin. But here's the thing about that chart position that goes well beyond the novelty of a decade boundary. Emile Ford was the first Black British artist ever to reach number one...
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Episode 018 - The Making Of Cleopatra (1963)
Rainbow Valley
Episode 018 of The Rainbow Valley podcast – telling the stories that made the swinging decade.
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Episode 016 - The Hammersmith Nude Murders (1964 - 1965)
Rainbow Valley
The story of the Sixties answer to Jack the Ripper in the west of London. Six, possibly seven victims – all prostitutes…murdered in a chilling reign of terror in the early years of the swinging decade.
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Episode 015 - Matt Monro
Rainbow Valley
Matt Monro was described as the UK’s answer to Frank Sinatra, a label he detested. For Matt Monro was not an answer to anything. Matt Monro was unique, he was his own entity, had his own marvellous style, and was possibly the finest male popular music singer the UK has ever produced.
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Episode 019 - Dusty Springfield
Rainbow Valley
Join me as I tell the story of one of the finest singers Britain has ever produced.
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Episode 017 - Hits and Headlines of 1963
Rainbow Valley
Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of the hits and headlines from 1963.
info_outlineOne week at the top, a lifetime of sadness behind the smile.
The first brand new number one of the 1960s belonged to a man from Liverpool with a voice like warm honey and a stage name chosen for its lightness. Michael Holliday. It suited him perfectly. What it didn't tell you was anything about the anxiety and depression that shadowed every step of his career.
"Starry Eyed" went to number one on January 24th 1960, held off the blocks for one week before Anthony Newley came along and nudged it aside. One week sounds brief. In a chart as competitive as early 1960s Britain, one week at the top was no small thing.
Holliday had built his career on a voice that drew inevitable comparisons to Bing Crosby, warm and unhurried, perfectly suited to the kind of professional pop that Norrie Paramor produced for him at Columbia Records. "Starry Eyed" was exactly that kind of record. Bright, melodically comfortable, performed with a ease that concealed how much work had gone into making it sound effortless. His second number one, following "The Story of My Life" in 1958, and a reminder that before the beat groups arrived, this was what British pop sounded like at its best.
The sadder part of the story is what came after. The commercial tide was turning. The 1960s had different ideas about what pop should sound like, and the warm baritone crooner wasn't part of them. Holliday died in 1963, at thirty-eight. The inquest returned an open verdict.
Seven Inches of History tells all of it. The hits, the stories, the people behind the records. These are Rainbow Valley's bite-size episodes, short and focused, dropping into the main feed as the series works its way through every UK number one of the decade.
Listen to this episode and everything else Rainbow Valley has made at https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/rainbowvalley and follow us at @rv_podcast
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