15 JANUARY 1966
In the 1960s, you were just as likely to find Ken Dodd or Val Doonican in the Top Ten as you were to find the Beatles or the Stones there. In fact, this song ‘Tears’ spent SEVENTEEN WEEKS in the Top Ten, five of them at #1, and it was the top-selling UK single of 1965. It seems incredible now, but this was also the third best-selling UK record of the entire 1960s.
Dodd was from Liverpool and was friendly with the Beatles, but this was about as far from what they were doing in 1966 as you could get. 'Tears' sounded very much like a 1940s-style arrangement, with Dood being the serious crooner, the polar opposite of his wacky TV personna. The success of this song showed that not only young people bought records, and there were a million grandmothers around Britain who would have listened to this type of thing over a nice cup of tea.
Ken's career as a zany comedian and children’s TV entertainer continued long after he scored almost twenty Top-40 hits over fifteen years. An incredible success for such a musical throwback in a time of frenzied cultural innovation.
B-side: 'You and I'
Released: August 1965
Highest chart position: #1 (UK)
Length: 2:52
Label: Columbia DB 7659
Writers: Billy Uhr, Frank Capano
