Liverpool Native Russ Hamilton Dies

Russ Hamilton, who had major hits on both sides of the Atlantic, passed away on Saturday, October 11 in Buckley, North Wales at the age of 76.

Born Robert Hulme in 1932, the Liverpool native began entertaining at Butlins camps in the U.K. as a Redcoat, doing shows for the patrons. A number of the members of the Redcoats got together to form a skiffle group which led to Hamilton recording his first record, the teen ballad We Will Make Love. The song went to number two in the summer of 1957 in the U.K. but, in the United States, the record was flipped and Rainbow became the hit, reaching number four on the pop and ten on the R&B chart. It was rare for a British artist to have an American hit at the time, so it gave him the unique requirement of performing and promoting on both sides of the Atlantic.

Hamilton followed up his U.K. hit with the number 20 Wedding Ring but never charted again in America. He released a total of 17 records between 1957 and 1964, including a number for Mercury Nashville. Throughout, he kept contact with the Redcoats and joined them on tour in 1967.

Numerous reports out of the U.K. have stated that Hamiltion had recently fallen on hard time and had been living in a "council flat" (subsidized housing) for the last several years.