Clive Sarstedt

{{Short description|British pop music singer (1944–2022)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Clive Sarstedt

| image = Robin Sarstedt.jpg

| alt = Robin Sarstedt in 1976

| caption = Sarstedt in 1976

| birth_name = Clive Robin Sarstedt

| alias = {{hlist|Wes Sands|Robin Sarstedt}}

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1944|01|21}}

| birth_place = Ajmer, Ajmer-Merwara Province, British India

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2022|01|22|1944|01|21}}

| origin = Croydon, London, England

| genre = Pop

| occupation = {{hlist|Singer|musician}}

| instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar}}

| years_active = 1959–2022

| label = RCA Victor

| associated_acts = {{hlist|Eden Kane|Peter Sarstedt}}

}}

Clive Robin Sarstedt (21 January 1944 – 22 January 2022), who also recorded as Clive Sands,{{Cite web |title=Clive Sands |url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/1460057-Clive-Sands |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=Discogs |language=en}} Wes Sands, and Robin Sarstedt, was a British pop singer and instrumentalist active from the late 1950s. He was best known for his 1976 UK hit "My Resistance Is Low", a version of a song written and originally recorded by Hoagy Carmichael. He was the younger brother of singers Eden Kane and Peter Sarstedt.

Early life

Sarstedt was born in Ajmer, British India, now in Rajasthan,{{Allmusic | class = artist | id = p20360 | tab = | label = Clive Robin Sarstedt | accessdate = 2012-04-24 }} to parents who were British civil servants working there during the Second World War. Both had trained as classical musicians. After Indian independence from Britain in 1947, they remained in India and managed a tea plantation, and their sons went to school there. In 1954, Sarstedt's father died, and the family moved to Britain,{{cite web|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|title=Peter Sarstedt|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/peter-sarstedt-mn0000843106/biography|website=AllMusic|access-date=20 September 2020}}{{Cite news |url=https://scroll.in/latest/826234/british-indian-singer-songwriter-peter-sarstedt-dead-at-75 |title=British-Indian singer-songwriter Peter Sarstedt dead at 75 |work=Scroll |date=9 January 2017 |access-date=9 January 2017}} settling in south London.{{cite web|title=The Sarstedt Brothers|url=http://www.petersarstedt.com/sarstedt_brothers.html|website=Petersarstedt.com}}

Sarstedt was the youngest brother of Peter Sarstedt and Eden Kane and with them formed a skiffle group, the Fabulous Five.

Career

Sarstedt appeared on many live music shows including Top of The Pops. He initially recorded under the names "Wes Sands"{{Allmusic | class = artist | id = q1713053 | label = Wes Sands | accessdate = 2012-04-24 }} (recorded by his manager, Joe Meek) and "Clive Sands".{{Allmusic | class = artist | id = p1140753 | label = Clive Sands | accessdate = 2012-04-24 }} He joined The Deejays in Sweden in 1966 and 1967. They had two big hits on "Tio i Topp" in Sweden: "Dum Dum (Marble Breaks And Iron Bends)" and "Baby Talk". He finally had a hit in 1976, with a cover version of the Hoagy Carmichael penned song, "My Resistance Is Low", using his middle name and billed as Robin Sarstedt.{{Allmusic | class = artist | id = p1670542 | tab = songs | label = Songs for Robin Sarstedt | accessdate = 2012-04-24 }} It reached Number 3 in the UK Singles Chart.{{cite book| first= David| last= Roberts| year= 2006| title= British Hit Singles & Albums| edition= 19th| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London| isbn= 1-904994-10-5| page= 482}}

Without other chart success, he remained a British one-hit wonder. However, in the Benelux countries he hit the charts later in 1976 with his version of "Let's Fall in Love", a song written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler and published in 1933, thus prolonging his short chart career there.

Later life and death

From the late 1990s Sarstedt lived in the Almería area of Spain.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Sarstedt died from a heart attack on 22 January 2022, at the age of 78.[https://www.facebook.com/cliverobin.sarstedt/posts/4932178350153945 Clive Robin Sarstedt, Facebook, 23 January 2022]. Retrieved 6 April 2022[https://giftofhope.bhf.org.uk/In-Memory/Clive-Robin-Sarstedt?fbclid=IwAR1DtgINOxXaurNw8rqWOVc-oPDJziANiwdOIiBhl8Owvjg7p9oqT0Q93HY "Clive Robin Sarstedt", British Heart Foundation]. Retrieved 6 April 2022{{better|date=April 2022}}

Album discography

  • Clive Sarstedt – 1970 – RCA Records{{Allmusic | class = artist | id = p20360 | tab = discography | label = Discography for Clive Robin Sarstedt }}
  • Freeway Getaway – 1971 – RCA
  • In a Dream – 1971 – RCA

See also

References

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