Paddy Roberts - Strictly for All Ages: The Complete Recordings 1959-1962 (2021)

A prolific pop songwriter of the pre-rock 'n' roll 1950s with hits by Max Bygraves, David Whitfield, Anne Shelton and Ruby Murray (and many more) to his credit, Paddy Roberts became an unlikely recording artist in his own right at the end of the 1950s at the instigation of a friend who worked for a record label.

Delivered in a style described in the sleeve note as 'a cross between Noel Coward and Eartha Kitt', Roberts own pithy, humorous and frequently risqué material was 'Strictly For Grown Ups' rather than the teenagers who bought pop singles. Nevertheless it didn't stop it from receiving the kind of radio play that led to strong album and EP sales. Paddy even had a 'turntable hit' with 'The Ballad Of Bethnal Green' a cheeky number that frequently found its way onto all manner of BBC radio shows - even 'Children's Favourites'!

This Jasmine collection brings together everything Paddy recorded between late 1958 and late 1962 - three full length albums, an EP and a brace of non-album 45s. Some of this has been issued on CD before but the vast majority of it has not. A more comprehensive collection of his work from those years could not be possible. As always, the collection is remastered from the best possible sources and features a comprehensive biography of Paddy in the booklet.

Pop music has evolved and changed considerably in the 60+ years since the earliest of these recordings were committed to tape, but the wit of Paddy Roberts' charming, cheeky catalogue has not dimmed even slightly in that time, and what was once 'For Grown Ups' is now 'Strictly For All Ages'!