ERNIE SIGLEY

Ernest William "Ernie" Sigley was born in 1938 in Footscray and was the eldest of six boys. Ernie began singing in 1949 when he joined St.Paul's choir and later transfered to the Christ Church Choir. He was with the latter choir when they they sang at the wedding of Jeanette Brooks, the daughter of the then Victorian Governor, Sir Dallas Brooks. He joined radio station 3DB in 1952 as a turntable operator and with the encouragement by the staff there enjoyed a rapid rise as a singer and was a regular on the local Town Hall circuit. Television started in Australia in 1956 and Sigley made his TV debut in 1957 as host of Teenage Mailbag, later known as The Teenage Show, on Seven Network's HSV-7. Shortly after this, he travelled to London, gaining some work experience at the BBC. But a bigger break was to come with a three-year stint at Radio Luxembourg, where he performed under the name "Ernie Williams".

Sigley is remembered for his 1964 association with the Adelaide leg of the Beatles' tour of Australia. In one press conference, his questioning of the Beatles brought about an enthusiastic response from John Lennon, which led to one of the more notable interviews of the tour.

Sigley was often styled as a "little Aussie battler" with a larrikin sense of humour. In 1957, his first record, ''It Happened Again / Love Is A Golden Ring'', was released by W & G Records. In the mid 60s he moved to the RCA label releasing a number of singles and remained with them until the early 70s. Moving to the Festival label, he recorded ''Hey Paula'' with Denise Drysdale in 1974.This song went on to be a best-selling hit for them in Australia. Ernie died in 2021 after a long battle with Alzheimers.

SINGLES

''It Happened Again / Love Is A Golden Ring'' (#9) 1957 W&G
''I'm Just A Vagabond Lover / Love Is Just Around The Corner'' 1957 W&G
''The Big Beat / A Woman In Love'' 1958 W&G
''Sugar Moon'' 1958 Kingsley
''Midnight'' 1958 Kingsley
''She Was Only Seventeen'' 1958 Kingsley
''It's Late / Never Be Anyone Else But You'' 1959 W&G
''Mary's Boy Child (#57) / This Pullover'' 1961 Pye
''Think About Me (#52) / Mona Lisa'' 1965 RCA
''Hey! Girl (#73) / It's Almost Tomorrow'' 1966 RCA
''Boy Without A Girl (#76) / True Love'' 1967 RCA
''A Clown Am I (#85) / A Million Years Or So'' 1967 RCA
''Give Me Love (#99) / A Little Thing Called Love'' 1971 RCA
''City Of The Angels (#69) / What A Beautiful World'' 1971 RCA
''Just Thank Me / When Morning Has Come'' 1973 Festival
''Hey Paula (#2) / Until The End Of Time'' [with Denise Drysdale] 1974 Festival

''The Three Bells / Jean'' 1974 Festival
''That's Why You Remember / My Sentimental Friend'' 1975 Festival
''Hey Baby / All I Have To Do Is Dream'' [with Denise Drysdale] 1975 Festival
''Living With Love Everyday / When I See You Smile Again'' 1976 Festival 

EPs
'Ernie Sigley' 1959 W&G
'True Love' 1969 RCA

ALBUMS

'Ernie' 1969 RCA
'Ernie Sigley' 1971 RCA
'Ernie Sigley Sings' 1973 Panther
'And Here's Ernie' 1974 Festival
'Smile' 1998 Bilarm

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Sigley

http://top100singles.blogspot.com.au/