‘Teenage Rage’ producer who unleashed Wild Thing and managed The Kinks

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By Glenn A. Baker

May 7, 2024 — 1.35pm

Larry Page, 1936–2024

Record shaper Larry Page, who worked with legendary bands The Kinks and The Troggs and aboriginal settled successful Australia, has died astatine 87 from a bosom attack.

Christened Leonard Davies, Page learned the capricious ways of British euphony aboriginal on. Born successful Hayes, Middlesex, the location of EMI, helium followed the way of astir each young idiosyncratic successful the municipality and knocked connected the doorway of this monolithic grounds institution seeking employment. The mill took him connected arsenic a packer – a occupation helium continued erstwhile immoderate of the records helium was packing had his ain sanction connected the label.

By then, helium had assumed the sanction Larry Page, inspired by Larry Parks, the prima of The Jolson Story. Setting his sights somewhat higher than the warehouse, helium auditioned arsenic a vocalist and, to the astonishment of many, was taken connected by the company. He reached Jack Bentley, showbiz columnist for the Sunday Mirror, who dubbed him “Larry Page – The Teenage Rage”.

There was a clutch of singles successful 1957. Start Movin’ (In My Direction) was a alternatively tame screen of Sal Mineo’s American hit. It didn’t basal overmuch of a accidental erstwhile the better-known Terry Dene covered it arsenic well. After different Columbia singles, similar That’ll Be The Day, besides spot the dust, Larry’s days astatine EMI were over, and his releases began appearing connected Saga Records successful 1958. New releases specified arsenic Big Blon’ Baby went down the aforesaid path.

But, with the enactment of Bentley, and his ain determination, “The Teenage Rage” was proving to beryllium a unrecorded drawcard. Elvis Presley had burst retired worldwide, and each state wanted their ain version. Britain threw up Marty Wilde, Tommy Steele, Billy Fury, Vince Eager, Craig Douglas and Cliff Richard. So, without a deed to his name, Parks was connected the aforesaid measure arsenic Cliff and recovered himself connected signifier astatine the Royal Albert Hall and connected television’s Thank Your Lucky Stars and 6–5 Special. He was successful the papers – euphony and mainstream – constantly.

In his lengthy profile, Larry Page – The Man Who Rewrote Pop History, music professional Johnny Rogan pointed retired that, “Pop stars were treated similar teen gods whose virility seemed inextricably linked to their bachelorhood. Like respective of his contemporaries, Page discovered that 1 quality involvement communicative could make greater attraction than a fig 1 hit.” Although helium could surely bash with the latter, it was thing helium would not forget.

Larry Page (centre) connected an medium screen for The Kinks.

As the 1950s ended, Page saw the penning connected the wall. He would picture each his records arsenic “terrible” – a presumption surely shared by Bruce Welch of the Shadows, who described Page arsenic “the worst vocalist I ever heard successful my life”. So Page bowed retired and went disconnected to Wales to tally a pub. When the boredom of this settled upon him, helium was easy returned to showbiz by an outfit called Empire Enterprises who were converting dying cinemas and abandoned theatres into ballrooms, launching caller acts on the way.

In 1964, Page became 1 of 3 simultaneous managers of The Kinks, the 1 with philharmonic direction. Apart from encouraging Ray Davies’ instauration of songs, his main input was to archer the set to travel up with beardown riffs and usage their guitars arsenic phallic symbols to emphasise their “kinkiness”. This attack led to 3 large hits – You Really Got Me, All Day And All Of The Night and Tired Of Waiting, making them the third-biggest set successful the UK astatine the time. You Really Got Me is present seen arsenic 1 of the gathering blocks of hard rock–heavy metal. In time, the unwieldy absorption operation and the volatile quality of the Davies brothers led to a tribunal lawsuit that severed the narration with Page and ran for 3 gruelling years.

By then, Page was a mover and shaker successful British music. He brought Sonny & Cher to London and toured Bob Lind, a would-be Dylan riding precocious with Elusive Butterfly. Deciding revenge was called for and seeking “another Kinks”, helium came upon a yobbish, neanderthal set called The Troggs from Andover successful Hampshire.

This time, helium was successful the producer’s chair. He took an American opus by Chip Taylor (brother of histrion Jon Voight) of which Troggs’ pb vocalist Reg Presley (aka Reginald Ball) said later: “We knew it was either going to spell to fig 1 oregon person america laughed retired of the business.”

Larry Page (right) and Reg Presley pb vocalist of The Troggs.

Fortunately, the erstwhile transpired, and Wild Thing stormed the charts successful Britain, America, Australia and elsewhere. It and the follow-up, Reg’s With A Girl Like You – another fig one – were recorded successful virtually a fewer minutes of workplace clip near implicit from the signaling of 1 of the 14 Larry Page Orchestra albums that would look implicit the years. Any Way That You Want Me, Give It To Me, I Can’t Control Myself and Love Is All Around would travel into the higher reaches of the charts.

Larry Page had beaten The Kinks astatine their ain game, and his restitution was evident to all. Although things ended up successful the precocious court, successful a akin mode to his parting from the Kinks, helium was inactive by the Troggs’ broadside successful 1991 erstwhile they made Athens Andover, a collaboration with R.E.M. recorded successful the American band’s hometown of Athens, Georgia. He adjacent penned 2 songs for the project. As a songwriter Page had co-written, with Ray Davies, the archetypal Kinks recording, Revenge.

Most of his aboriginal income was derived from his stock of the publishing of Love Is All Around, which enjoyed a 15-week tally astatine fig 1 successful Britain by the radical Wet Wet Wet from the movie Four Weddings & A Funeral. Page had antecedently entered into an statement with Dick James, the Beatles publisher. Though the 2 had parted company, with Dick forming the statement DJM (which struck golden with Elton John) portion Larry soldiered connected with his Page One imprint, they some remained linked successful concern with each other. Indeed, that was astatine the halfway of the Troggs’ High Court complaint: Larry Page was their manager, producer, cause and part-publisher, a struggle of involvement of monumental proportion.

It was an bonzer comedown. For a clip Page and The Troggs had seemed joined astatine the hip. But it became overbearing, and guitarist Chris Britton recalled: “He wanted our names successful the papers arsenic overmuch arsenic possible. If we happened to beryllium successful an country wherever idiosyncratic needed a boutique, fête oregon grounds store opened, we were loaded into a car and taken there.” Page adjacent interrupted a Muhammed Ali grooming league to person him photographed sparring with the group.

The 1970s were not arsenic benignant to Larry, though his Page One statement kept busy. There was Vanity Fare, who gave him 2 hits, including Hitching A Ride. The large exception, selling 2 cardinal singles worldwide, was an uplifting, optimistic song, Beautiful Sunday, by British singer-songwriter that Page had heard successful passing and insisted connected producing.

Page relocated to Australia successful 2000, pursuing his 2 children with his 2nd wife, Aileen, to whom helium had been joined for 24 years. Daughter Caroline, who had worked for Sony Music successful London, took up a relation arsenic concern affairs manager astatine EMI Australia, portion her younger sibling Ashley ended up successful New Zealand and kept the household contented live by moving his ain Page One Management.

He led a quiescent beingness successful Avoca Beach, wrong comparatively casual scope of his section grandchildren Olivia and Flynn. The archetypal of Page’s 3 marriages – to Ann Ward, a euphony instrumentality successful England – had fixed him 2 children, Lorraine and Lynette, 5 grandchildren, and, it is believed, astatine slightest 1 great-grandchild.

Occasionally, helium would marque his way, often with Caroline, to euphony manufacture trivia nights, wherever helium mingled happily with the likes of Jimmy Barnes, Jenny Morris, Iva Davies and sometimes myself. At times, I recovered myself introducing him to younger members of the manufacture arsenic “the antheral who produced Wild Thing”. When helium erstwhile mildly pointed retired to maine that helium had done different things arsenic well, I replied, “Was determination thing much important successful the annals of stone past than producing Wild Thing?” “I accidental not”, helium conceded.