Wayback Wednesday: Wayne Fontana
October 28th is the birth anniversary of Wayne Fontana, best known as lead singer of The Mindbenders. Wayne just passed away on August 6th, at the age of 74, so this is a way to commemorate him. Born Glyn Ellis, he took his stage name from Elvis Presley’s drummer, D.J. Fontana. He formed The Mindbenders in June, 1963, and signed a record contract with, coincidentally, Fontana Records. Their big hit was “Game Of Love” in early 1965, which went all the way to #1 in the U.S. After a couple less successful singles, Wayne quit the band, reportedly leaving in the middle of a concert performance. As a solo artist, Wayne had some big hits in the U.K, but not in America. The Mindbenders went on without him, scoring a big 1966 hit with “ Groovy Kind Of Love”.
Wayne largely left the music business in 1976, and said later he drank too much. However, after giving up drinking, Wayne joined the ‘60s revival circuit.
“Game Of Love” is performed here on Hullaballoo from London, and is introduced by his manager, Brian Epstein, who also of course, managed the Beatles. Enjoy this Top 40 Classic!
