|
PROMOTER Ritchie Gee reaffirmed his status as Britain's number
one rock'n'roller by being chosen to drive Elvis Presley's songwriters
to a film premiere.
Ritchie, who lives in Southgate and runs
the monthly Tennessee Rock'n'Roll Club at Trent Park Golf Club,
chauffeured Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller to the National Film
Theatre last Thursday for the premiere of a movie about the duo's
lives. Lieber and Stoller, both now 68 wrote such legen-dary tracks
for the King as Hound Dog, and Don't Be Cruel as well as the score
Jerry Leiber (left) and Mike Stoller (right) with Ritchie. |
for Elvis feature films Love Me Tender and Jailhouse
Rock.
The pair also penned Searchin', Yakety Yak and Charlie Brown for
the Coasters in the 1950s and later wrote hits for the Drifters
including Save the Last Dance For Me, On Broadway and Up On the
Roof.
Ritchie drove the pair to the film theatre in his gleaming white
and blue 19ft-long Lincoln Continental - the only one of its kind
m the country and was greeted by hordes of rock 'n' roll fans
and the paparazzi.
"There was all these cameras going off and I have never experienced
anything like it," Ritchie said.
"People must have thought I was them when I went to open the door.
"Mike Stoller even asked me where I got the car from because you
don't even get them in the States."
The Lincoln is a rare edition, designed by international yacht
designer Bill Blass in 1979, and only 3,900 were ever manufactured.
Ritchie became an idol to Elvis fans last year when, on a similar
jaunt with Sam Phillips, the man who discover-ed Elvis, he narrowly
avoided a collision ith a double decker bus. At the star-studded
theatre premiere, Ritchie had in encounter with actress Britt
Ekland.
"Britt came up to me and said 'that's a nice quiff you've got'
and then said I had a really sharp suit on," he beamed.
Ritchie was proudly airing his £500 tailored whistle, which he
describes as his 'Raindrop' design.
With the likes of Britt Ekland, Helen Mirren and Susan George
adding a touch of glamour to proceedings, Ritchie believes that
the rock'n'roll movement is on the verge of a major resurgence.
"I really do think it's becoming fashionable again," he said.
His view is reinforced by the line-up for a recent Lieber and
Stoller tribute gig at the Hammersmith Apollo featuring Meatloaf,
Bob Geldof, Leo Sayer, Jimmy Tarbuck and Brian Conley.
And TV's Never Mind the Buzzcocks' host Mark Lamarr, dubbed the
50s throwback, has also been known to attend the Tennessee Rock'n'Roll
Club.
|
