21 Facts About Terry Dene

Terry Dene was born on Terence Williams, 20 December 1938 and is a British rock music singer popular in the late 1950s and early 60s.

Terry Dene had three Top Twenty hits between June 1957 and May 1958.

Terry Dene's recording of "Stairway of Love" in 1958 remained in the chart for eight weeks.

Terry Dene toured Britain, was one of the first to appear in the BBC Television's first pop show, Six-Five Special in April 1957, and appeared in a film, The Golden Disc.

Terry Dene was originally expected to report to Winchester Barracks, where he was due to join the King's Royal Rifle Corps on 7 July 1958, but his call-up was initially deferred until contractual commitments had been completed.

When he finally did go in, it was so badly handled by the press that after two months Terry Dene had to be discharged on psychological grounds as his mental health had deteriorated considerably.

Terry Dene later joined the Larry Parnes' stable of stars and toured with them around Britain.

Disheartened by the bad publicity in 1964, Terry Dene turned his back on the British pop scene and became an Evangelist, crossing over to singing and writing spiritual and gospel music, recording three gospel albums.

Terry Dene travelled abroad as an itinerant preacher, playing in churches, prisons and other venues, and preached in the Scandinavian Lutheran Church for five years in Sweden where he married for the second time.

In 1974, Dene released a book and album, both entitled I Thought Terry Dene Was Dead, and around 1984 reformed his group, the Dene Aces, with Brian Gregg.

Terry Dene released an album, The Real Terry Dene, in 1997 which was voted as one of the top forty best listening CDs, and has has appeared in rock and roll shows.

In October 2007, Terry Dene created his own company and label with his partner, Countess Lucia Liberati, named LLTD.

COM, and in December 2012, released a new CD, The Best of Terry Dene, featuring a compilation of 12 tracks of his own choice, including his own version of "Mystery Train", and a remix of "C'min and Be Loved, So Long", which was written by Dene.

Terry Dene married his fellow pop singer Edna Savage in 1958.

Terry Dene is settled with an Italian countess, Lucia Liberati, whom he met in London in 2000.

Terry Dene appeared on Juke Box Heroes in 2011, broadcast by BBC One, in a condensed biopic of his life.

Terry Dene played in September 2004 at the Rock 'n' Roll Weekend Festival in Chippenham, alongside Little Richard, the Comets, and Charlie Gracie.

In February 2005, Terry Dene appeared in the Best of British magazine dedicated to British music, and on 2 November 2006, as a 'mystery guest' on series 19, episode 2 of Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

Terry Dene performed at the 100 Club in London in October 2007, January 2008 and January 2010, in commemoration of the first Six-Five Special, where he was a regular guest.

Terry Dene performed on 29 February 2008 at Borough Green Rock 'n' Roll Club, backed by Dave Briggs' New Ravens, and appeared in Pop Britannia, broadcast by BBC Four.

Terry Dene appears at the British Music Experience, at the O2 Arena in Greenwich, dedicated to the history of British popular music in the UK over the past 60 years.