Rocky Sharpe (26 November 1952 – 5 December 2019), was the lead singer of the English doo-wop/rock and roll revival group Rocky Sharpe and the Replays, who first found fame in the late 1970s. The usual line-up of the group was Rocky Sharpe (born Robert Podsiadły, Helen Highwater (real name: Helen Blizard), Johnny Stud (Sharpe's brother Jan Podsiadły) and Eric Rondo (Mike Vernon). An earlier incarnation of the group, Rocky Sharpe and the Razors, included Den Hegarty, Rita Ray, Griff Fender and Nigel Trubridge, who later formed Darts.
Rocky Sharpe, born Robert Podsiadly, was the third son of Stanislaw and Stefania Podsiadly, Polish refugees who settled in Brighton after the war. The family was active in the local Polish community with Eddie, Johnny (Jan) and Robert growing up performing in Polish Academia on holidays and feast days. Even without this audience Robert enjoyed singing his way through the day at home. The opportunity to shine came with a performance singing Polish Christmas Carols as a trio. The trio sang Polish folk songs in further shows and became popular playing for Polish dances with old time dances on the accordion and pop songs on the guitar. Bookings from social clubs and folk clubs required a name for the band, Silver Sword (Srebrna Szabla in Polish). A regular Saturday night spot at a local pub always ended up as a riotous grannies’ knees up.
In 1972 Silver Sword joined forces with the Rather Annoyed Angels and others for a performance at the Arlington on Brighton Seafront as Shey Ney Ney, a spoof of Sha Na Na. The joke was on the band when the audience demanded an encore. The moment Blue Moon was reprised, Rocky Sharpe was born. Rocky’s ambition to become an actor remained and he took up a place at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. The now more credibly named Rocky Sharpe and the Razors moved from local gigs to the London pub circuit and beyond following a national pub talent competition in 1974.
In spite of a healthy following and some self-financed recordings commercial success was elusive and the curtain finally came down on the Razors on 18 June 1976, with the only lasting evidence a Chiswick Records EP from the recordings. Rocky naturally turned to the theatre, performing in rep and in some TV walk-ons. But in a lull Johnny called Chiswick Records in 1978 and asked if they would like to make a record. Chiswick said yes and recruited Mike Vernon as producer (and later group member). Helen Highwater (Helen Blizard) was added to the line-up as the Replays.
The group enjoyed its first commercial success with "Rama Lama Ding Dong", a cover version of the Edsels' original hit, which reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart. It became the perfect showcase hit record for Rocky’s vocal gymnastics and performances and opened the door to a short career defined by four albums, and chart success in the UK, Germany, Spain, Austria and Australia.
To this day the music has held a deep and abiding love in the hearts of Replays’ fans, particularly in Spain. More chart success quickly followed with another single, "Imagination", which reached number 39 in 1979. After this, success was more difficult to find, and Sharpe found greater success in touring than in the charts.
In 1982, Sharpe had another major hit. "Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)", a cover version of Ernie Maresca's 1962 hit, reached the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart. The song became his only charting release in Australia peaking at number 39. The group's last chart single was "If You Wanna Be Happy", which reached UK chart position 46 in 1983.
After a few line-up changes during 1982-1984, the band finally broke up in early 1985. Sharpe launched a new career as an actor - but he was forced to retire in 1988 after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He lived with his wife Paulina in the family home in Brighton until late 2013, when he became a full-time resident at the Queen Alexandra Hospital Home (QAHH) in Worthing.
Rocky Sharpe and the Replays had always been particularly popular in Spain and in 2013, a Spanish vocal group called the Velvet Candles, whose music had long been inspired by the group, staged a benefit/tribute concert for him in Barcelona after hearing about Sharpe's medical condition. As an added attraction, Sharpe's brother Jan Podsiadly flew out to Spain and, readopting his former Replays persona as Johnny Stud, joined them as a special guest on stage.
The concert raised almost £2,000, which Sharpe donated to the Queen Alexandra Hospital funds. News of the concert also reached people that used to run Chiswick Records (the record company with whom Sharpe and the Replays had their early hits) and they donated an additional £5,000 to the QAHH funds. Sharpe died on 5 December 2019 at the age of 67.
(Edited from Wikipedia & Ace Records)