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Ray Pilgrim | |
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| Birth name | Ray Pilgrim |
| Also known as | Bobby Stevens |
| Born | 1936 (age 86–87) |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, record producer, musician |
| Years active | Mainly 1960–1965 |
| Labels | Embassy (main), Oriole, Pye, Top Rank, WRC, Redrock |
| Website | Raypilgrim.co.uk |
Ray Pilgrim (born 1936 in London, England) was one of the most prolific big band singers, radio broadcasters, recording and session singers in Britain in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
He recorded mainly for UK's Embassy Records under the Ray Pilgrim name and also made nearly 150 cover records for the Embassy Records label, using in addition to Ray Pilgrim the name Bobby Stevens (particularly in earlier 1960–1962 releases). In later releases he used the names The Typhoons, The Starlings, The Jaybirds and the Beatmen. [1] He was the lead vocalist in the Typhoons alongside Mike Redway, and the lead vocalist in the Starlings alongside Joan Baxter.
His recordings under various names were released on over 30 different labels in over 20 different countries, with aggregate sales estimated at around five million. He also recorded TV jingles, demos, and film soundtracks.
Pilgrim did not regard singing as a long-term career, and said he only became a professional singer to enable him to give up his job at a bank, in order to go to university and get a degree at the London School of Economics. He sang with the Oscar Rabin Orchestra and was featured for over 190 consecutive weeks singing live on the popular BBC radio programme Go Man Go. He was also a guest on other shows such as the BBC's Saturday Club and ITV's Cool for Cats .
Pilgrim, although concentrating on singing cover versions of many famous songs, wrote a few original songs, including "Baby Doll", "Little Miss Make Believe" and "Love Is Blind" which he recorded himself for Oriole. His songs were also interpreted by other artists. "Little Christine" was a successful hit for Dick Jordan, Burt Blanca and Danny Fisher, "Just One More Dance" was recorded by Lee Curtis, and "Big Boy"—which was an English version of the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest song "Voi Voi"—was performed and recorded by Nora Brockstedt.
Eventually, Pilgrim gave up singing after he gained his degree and made a successful career in information technology. However, he briefly came out of "retirement" to record his last session in April 1966, singing the theme song for the film Carry On Screaming! .
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