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60s singer back in charts

Sixties pop star Dorian Gray, aka Tony Ellingham
Sixties pop star Dorian Gray, aka Tony Ellingham

A singer who was a one-hit wonder in the 1960s is hoping to make it back into the charts 43 years later.
I’ve Got You On My Mind, by Dorian Gray, spent seven weeks in the Top 40 before the singer turned his back on a career in music.
Now the single is featured on a new compilation album Sounds of the Sixties which has just been released and looks set to reach the charts.
Dorian, whose real name is Tony Ellingham, lives in Lordswood Lane, Lordswood. He said his record reached number 37 and he appeared on Top of the Pops in 1968 alongside Cilla Black and Tom Jones.

Dorian Gray
Dorian Gray

He said: “I was 26 when it was all happening. I had just moved into a new house, my wife had a baby in February and I was on Top of the Pops in March, but I had responsibilities and a mortgage to pay, so I had to turn my back on my singing career. I don’t regret it, I just had to be realistic as there wasn’t the money in music back then.”
Tony, who had been given six months off by his boss at Kent Art Printers in Rochester, returned to his job but was keen to get back into music and in 1974 formed his band Unit Five, which he still performs with today.
Tony added: “You couldn’t make the money back then that you can now. I was talking to the Stereophonics last year and they couldn’t believe that I didn’t make much money. I am a bit envious of the money they can make today, but it was all so different then.”.
“Back then my record was being played every single moment of the day on pirate radio stations, but when the government closed them down it changed.”
Speaking about the new record he added: “It’s been great and the sales of the CD have already been fantastic. I even went to a branch of HMV and signed a few copies.”
The album, Sound of the Sixties, is out now.

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