Terry Dene (born Terence Williams, 20 December 1938) is a British rock music singer popular in the late 1950s and early 60s.
[1] After being arrested for public drunkenness and breaking a shop window in 1958, and ripping out a telephone box from the wall whilst claiming his passionate love for Edna Savage,[3] Dene was branded as a 'bad apple' and the exemplifier of the 'evil of rock and roll' by the press, and was then conscripted into the Army for national service.
[3] He 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.
[6] When he finally did go in, it was so badly handled by the press (who filmed and publicised his arrival at the barracks) that after two months Dene had to be discharged on psychological grounds as his mental health had deteriorated considerably.
[1] He released an album, The Real Terry Dene, in 1997 which was voted as one of the top forty best listening CDs, and has continued to appear in rock and roll shows.
Dene also 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.