Adam Faith
- Charlie Clarke
- Nov 10
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 11
Random Reminiscences from Teenage Years by Dottie Pickles
I remember visiting Soho and hearing Adam Faith’s latest song, ‘You Make My Life Worthwhile’, coming out of the record shop, Musicland. That was in 1968, when I was 14 years old and began my singing career.
Adam Faith, one of the top charted pop stars of the 1960s, was also one of the first UK singers to record original songs. These were penned by songwriters such as Les Vandyke, John Barry, Burt Bacharach and Hal David..
The Early Career Years and Elstree
Adam Faith wanted to become an actor and first worked as a film cutter at National Studios at Elstree. He also sang with and managed the Skiffle group, the Worried Men, gigging in Soho coffee bars.
His first television appearance was in the BBC music programme, Six-Five Special, with his group, the Worried Men. The Producer, Jack Good, was impressed with Terence (real Christian name) and a solo record deal was offered by HMV under the name of Adam Faith.
Drumbeat
March 1959, his contract ended with HMV, John Barry invited Adam to audition for the rock and roll show broadcast by the BBC, Drumbeat. Stewart Morris, the Producer, contracted Adam for three shows. However, Adam remained for the full 22 week run of Drumbeat.
He moved to Parlophone in 1959 when the hits began.
Adam had two Number One hits. ‘What Do You Want’ first appeared in the charts on 20th November 1959, was there for 19 weeks and was number one for three weeks. It was voted a Hit on Juke Box Jury.
Top of the Pops 1969
I was very excited watching Top of the Pops in 1969 when Adam appeared, singing his 1959 chart topper, ‘What Do You Want’. It was such a treat.
‘Poor Me’, released on 15th January 1960, reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 10th March 1960, remaining there for two weeks.
He became the first UK artist to lodge his initial seven hits in the Top 5. By the end of his singing career Adam Faith had made 35 singles, 15 Eps, seven albums and he had 24 chart entries. During his singing career with EMI, he vied with Cliff Richard in the male pop idol popularity stakes.
Acting Career
Adam Faith first appeared in films during 1960, in ‘Beat Girl’ and ‘Never Let Go’. In ‘Beat Girl’ his supporting role was a youth from a working-class background, who plays guitar and writes songs. Owing to John Barry’s arranging and writing songs for Drumbeat, he was asked to write the music score for the film. ‘Beat Girl’ was John Barry’s first film commission.
The music score was also the first British soundtrack to be released on a vinyl LP. It was a success. It reached number 11 on the UK Albums Chart, paving the way for more film scores to be released. The song, ‘Made You’, which Adam Faith performed in the film, achieved minor hit status before being banned by the BBC for suggestive lyrics.
In 1961 Adam Faith was given the lead role in the British comedy film, ‘What a Whopper’, alongside a host of well-known stars including Sid James, Spike Milligan, Wilfred Bramble, Carole Lesley, Terry Scott, Clive Dunn and Charles Hawtrey.
Theatre and Television
In 1968, after departing from his record label EMI, Adam Faith took a number of small parts in theatrical plays. He took on a more substantial role, playing opposite Dame Sybil Thorndike in the play written by Emlyn Williams, ‘Night Must Fall’.
In the autumn of 1969, he played Billy Fisher, in a touring production of the comedy-drama play, ‘Billy Liar’. Written by Willis Hall and Keith Waterhouse, ‘Billy Liar’ was originally a film in 1963, with Tom Courteney and Julie Christie in the lead roles.
Popular TV Role - Budgie
Between the summer of 1971 and 1972, Adam Faith played the starring role of Ronald Bird in the TV hit, ‘Budgie’. It was a brilliant show that ran for 26 episodes. The series was produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV network on Tuesdays at 9pm.
‘Budgie’ was created by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall. Ray Davies wrote one of the theme songs, ‘Nobody’s Fool’, which was performed by Cold Turkey. The other theme song was ‘The Loner’ by the Milton Hunter Orchestra.
The character Ronald Bird, nickname of Budgie, is a cockney petty criminal newly out of prison. He gets involved in hare-brained schemes to make money which are outside legal, usually for the local villain Charlie Endell, played by Ian Cuthbertson. A young Adrienne Posta of Up the Junction (1968) film fame plays a 15 year old stripper.
After ‘Budgie’
Between the years of 1973 and 2002, he appeared in several more roles, and was nominated for a BAFTA, for his role as the manipulative manager of pop star David Essex in the 1974 film, Stardust.
Happy days!
Article and fictional character Dottie Pickles © Charlie Clarke 2025
