The Staccatos - Cry to me

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Description

One of South Africa’s most iconic bands. They were formed in November 1961 by Brian Le Gassick and featured the following members:

1. Brian Le Gassick – lead vocals, guitar
2. John Leach – lead guitar
3. Willie van der Walt – bass
4. Ian Miller – drums

In 1962 some of the better-known members joined:
1. Richard Crouse – lead guitar
2. Jimmy Routledge – bass
3. Billy Andrews – lead vocals

The Staccatos regularly performed in Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand but disbanded towards the end of 1964 due to study and military commitments. They reformed after 9 months and landed a recording contract. Their first South African Top 20 hit was with “Come Back Silly Girl” which reached #2 and charted for 17 weeks. Billy Andrews left the band towards the end 1965 and joined up with Billy Forrest to form the very popular duo The Dream Merchants. Steve Lonsdale then joined as lead vocalist.

After making the charts with another 3 songs, The Staccatos released “Cry To Me” in December 1968. It entered the Top 20 on 24 January 1969 at #20, reached #1 three weeks later and held this position for three weeks, but fell off the charts after 12 weeks. Later that year the movie “Katrina” was released, with Jill Kirkland in the leading role and with The Staccatos performing “Cry To Me” live. This resulted in the song re-entering the charts for a further 26 weeks, thereby spending a total of 38 weeks on the Top 20, making it the song with the most weeks on the local charts.
The Staccatos released 4 solo albums between 1965 and 1969, as well as one that they shared with The Falling Leaves. They also released many 7” singles with 6 of these that charted. Steve Lonsdale, the lead vocalist on the iconic “Cry To Me”, left the band in 1970 to move to the USA. These days he resides in Britain and recently released a new version of “Cry To Me” which is available on YouTube.

Other members in later years include Wanda Arletti and Peter Vee, both on vocals. Wanda married lead guitarist Richard Crouse.

The Staccatos’ 6 South African Top 20 hits:

1. Come back silly girl – 1965, #2, 17 weeks
2. Spicks and specks – 1967, #10, 9 weeks
3. New York mining disaster 1941 – 1967, #18, 3 weeks
4. Butchers and bakers – 1968, #7, 10 weeks
5. Cry to me – 1969, #1, 38 weeks
6. Hold on to what you've got – 1969, #12, 6 weeks

Although The Staccatos disbanded in 1999 one of the original members, guitarist Brian le Gassick, and the singer Steve Ashley again use the name for live performances these days.

This song was released on 7" single in 1968.