Welcome back to the Chatterbox Redux podcast with Sue and Nick. Our special guest on this edition is Billy J. Kramer. And now on Chatterbox UK, we're just lucky enough to welcome for the very first time, a living legend, Billy J. Kramer. Billy, welcome to Chatterbox. How are you? Hello, Billy. Pleasure to be on Chatterbox. Nice to see you. Great to meet you as well. Right. Now, 2024, I know we've got a Christmas single to
talk about, but it's been quite a year. Now, I'm very much a statistician, we say, and using the statistics, of your songs this year, your singles you brought out mainly, it's great to see that you've hit the top 20 three times this year and that is equal to the number of hits you had in 1963, so you've actually equaled your record of 63. And of course you've had your album out, so big congratulations. That's very interesting to know. You know, that's from the CD Are You
With Me, you know. I recorded that at Abbey Road, you know, and I think the first Are You With Me, I think it was a great record and it was a great video. I did the video on Living For A While and then it's a tribute to Brian Epstein, I thought it was a nice song. I couldn't have done it without you, My Sweet Rose, which is my partner. And now the Christmas song is another thing. Yeah. Now, if that gets in the top 100, no reason why it can't when you've actually had
songs getting to 14, 14 again, and 18. No reason why that's not going to be a hit. And that would be your best year in terms of... chart statistics that you've ever had. So let's talk about that. That is amazing. I'm thrilled with that. You know, actually, it's number 19 this week. Brilliant.
There you go sorted. We can now say, Billy J. Kramer, your most successful year as far as charts go, and we're talking about the official chart, you mentioned the heritage chart there, and I've got a feeling you'll be in the official singles chart this week coming. I know you're doing lots of interviews, and this goes out to a lot of radio stations, so let's hope between us we can do that for you. When I speak to you next time, 2024 was your most successful year with four
hit singles, I just want to do it. Trust me. Right. Let's talk about. Yeah, brilliant. It's fantastic. Let's talk about this Christmas single, the inspiration behind it and yeah, the story of it coming out. Yeah. Well, you know, I just woke up one day and I said to my partner, I was, you know, I think I'd like to do a Christmas record. And I called up Tom Hambridge, a friend of mine, a producer in Nashville. And I said,
I want to do a Christmas song. And he sent me the Christmas song, you know, Christmas kind of feeling. It was just a demo, you know, with him and another guy on acoustic guitars. And I went to Nashville and recorded there. I've been to Nashville before. I've recorded there, but I've never had anything out that I've recorded in Nashville. You know, I did some things which we just can never use. I went there specifically to do this single and it came out great. Absolutely
brilliant. So basically you felt the song was for you when it got sent to you and added the Billy J Kramer vocals and the Billy J Kramer touch and this is what we're hearing today. So brilliant and if you're over the other side of the pond why not go to Nashville to sort it all
out. um is it something i mean you said you woke up morning this year and you thought about doing a christmas single is it something that ever crossed your mind like back in the 60s and throughout your long career has it ever crossed your mind before was this literally the first time for a christmas song no i've never you know i've um i've thought about it but you know it's it's uh you know uh i've noticed like that we have the the official christmas songs that come out
every year And I think the thing that swayed me was the fact that it's a new original song, you know. I didn't want to cover a song. I didn't want to do like Christmas singing. You know, Rudolph the Red Nose didn't really do it. And I thought it was a good song. I get that totally. Out of interest. I mean, obviously Christmas, although things can be turned around quicker these days, I guess, with everything being digital, we can work from home and do bits and pieces.
How far back this year, how far back in 2024, did you actually go to Nashville and put your vocals on the song? I mean, is it September or when was it? I mean, it would be... I would say in the last six weeks. Oh. Wow. There you go. Very good. Very good. Six weeks, two months at the most, you know. And we did it in three hours. I love it. The oldest. Mind you, it's a lot different to the old tape days, isn't it? And you know, it's just all digital. You take a little bit
out, add a bit in. Even I can do that. But yeah, compared to what it was. We didn't do it like that. No, it wasn't done like that. It's I think it's a complete taker. I was very pleased with it Wow Hats off to you again. If that that's
one complete take that's brilliant. Yeah Perfect, but we are talking to a professional of course Billy let's have a look just say you you know, you still do concerts and things like that Just say any tour you're doing we say 2025 now, whatever you got planned You go out on that stage What are the audience really expecting of you? Are they expecting the 60 songs? The new stuff? What is it that you're wanting to give them? What do you prefer out of all your stuff? What's your
hero? I try to do a setlist on something old, something new, something bar or something blue. That's what I make a setlist on. Brilliant. Something old, something new and songs I like to do. Brilliant Billy, I like it. I'll say you've been very busy. I know you've been over our side of the pond as well quite a bit this year. Now tours, we've got Woody Station's actually listening at the moment and Can we expect some more touring off you in the UK next year? I'm hoping to come back
in April or May and do some shows there. That's brilliant. We'll see if we can nab you a few weeks from now. That's what I'm working on. No, let's hope it all works out. I still come back to the UK quite often. I was back there three times last year, you know. Brilliant. I did that moving pictures TV show, you know. Okay, yeah, yeah, I know. Yeah, brilliant. Sue? Yes, I've got a question, Billy. The song Little Children, how did that come about? Because that's my favorite
song of yours. It came about because I, you know, I got to a point where I heard it, where I'll
keep you satisfied. which got to number three and then I started just to search out songs and I was in a place called Ryan Sussex with about 600 acetate you used to get back then you know which an acetate is a record which is aluminum with just a coat of plastic it'll only play a few times before it doesn't sound good anymore and I woke up one day and I put this demo on this acetate and it was the songwriter, a guy called Mort Schumann. He wrote it with a guy
called Leslie McFarland. And it was, you know, out of all the songs I've done, it was the one that really struck me the most that I thought would be a hit. And I presented, you know, Brian Epstein presented me with the song. It was not rather difficult to sort of turn down Lennon McCartney songs, but I thought that it was the strongest song I had at the time. And I've recorded
it. you know you're not right all the time but for once i got it right and it was a number one hit for me it's a lovely song it's my favorite thank you yeah and ended up to you very well in america thank you we released there yeah could have mentioned uh well we mentioned we're from hastings but of course uh you mentioned rhyme that's nine or ten miles away we are just very close to our neck of the woods so yeah yeah and you mentioned i was in the mermaid hotel though
i know up mermaid street yeah absolutely cobbled street yeah I've got to pay, you mentioned Brian Epstein and I've got to pay homage to you about how tasteful the whole thing of I couldn't have done it without you was. Not only were you paying tribute to him, you were thanking him and the video was just amazing. You know, we could tell it's from the heart, but it was just a great piece all round. One to listen to as a song and
the video to watch. It was just amazing. I could tell all the thought and your heart was there. I could just tell everything went into it and it is good. all around. Perfect. Well, you know, I must say with that song what happened was I'd laid out, I was going to do a new album for my 60th anniversary and my birthday party there and I laid out 10 songs and then the guy who wrote it was a guy called Mark Hudson. I'd been speaking to him about nine months before about
this kind of song and then he called me. and said you know there's a song we thought about well i've done it and he sent it to me and i had to drop one of the songs because i i thought it was very appropriate i thought it was a great song no absolutely no that's how i like the album and the album we're talking about was that the one that was released back in the summer uh called are you with me is that the album you're talking about i guess it is yes yeah that's the album
okay perfect yeah i like that okay right um before we let you go uh we're going to do some social media and things however i'd like to uh because obviously we have a few guests on on the show each week uh i know that chesney hawks is uh chip hawks's son uh he's on he's on the same show we've got a gentleman who's sort of like a I don't know how to describe him as a gospel singer, but he's a religious rock singer. The
way he does it is quite amazing. Now he's called John Henry Harvey, and he says that he's honored beyond words to be sharing the bill with Billy J. Kramer. Billy J. Kramer was instrumental in me getting into music with the Mercy Sound and the Dakotas and the early British invasion. God bless you and Billy so much. There you go, nice words, nice words. Wonderful, that's very nice to know. Brilliant, like that. Billy, we've mentioned
April and May next year. I mean, the stuff you're bringing out, it's as though you've got as much energy now as you had in the early 60s when you started. What else can we expect? Can we actually expect more releases off you next year? You're going to go for sure. I've got the ball rolling, I'm going to keep it rolling, definitely. Looking at you, you're looking great and I'll tell you what, you don't look like you're going anywhere anytime soon, put it that way, you look great.
Thank you very much. You look more energetic than I am and I can knock 30 years off. But darling, we've interviewed Billy J Kramer. We will remember when they re -interviewed Billy J Kramer more than he remembers when he got interviewed by Nick Prince and Sue. There we go. Billy, let's do some social media. You've got a website, I guess, and let's have a look. BillyJKramerMusic .com. Perfect. And we click on that. It's on all the sites. Yeah, that's what I was going
to say. Wow, what a lovely, gorgeous picture. What a handsome man 1965 Lovely picture. He still looks great. So looks great. So yeah, I'm on the homepage of your website now Thank you. And yeah, Billy Billy J Kramer music .com and you mentioned all your other stuff and We've got the links down here where people can get onto your other social media. Anyway There you go. It's all that I'm on YouTube Yeah, I think that's
where I saw saw saw the videos actually. Yeah So yes, it's all there and is a nice little website. So 60s fans and Billy J Kramer fans should take a look at this website and I see There is some dates as well and all of your other dates when they get booked for the UK They're beyond in the same place. I guess. Yeah, I'm also doing a cruise in March Nice Nice nice flower power cruise. That's that sounds brilliant. That sounds
good. I like it So yes now your Christmas song is already available, of course And as you say, it's number 18 in the heritage chart I'm going to be looking for that email to drop Friday from the official single shot I'm gonna be looking for you to be even anywhere in the top hundred means Four singles and the UK singles chart in one year for the first time on and I do know what? Even if you do know and you have the daily mile or someone ring you up saying hey What do
you reckon Billy? I will actually make a point of just messaging you and congratulating you so you know it's happened. There you go wonderful Billy, I'd like to say thank you so much for letting us do this interview. When Nick got the email saying he was interviewing, he was well excited. Yeah, you sort of have to change your breathing a bit. Now, it doesn't happen very often. I'll tell you the other one. It was also
a guy from Merseyside. And the other one where I had to change my breathing this year, like you, it was Pete Best, Beatles drummer. He knew I had to like change my breathing because It's just so good for the show and the listeners love it. Yeah, there we go. It's been a pleasure. It's been a pleasure. And for us. Wish you the best of luck for the future. Thanks, Billy. Take care, Billy. Thank you very much. This edition of Chatterbox Redux podcast was presented by
Nick and Sue. We thank our special guest who was Billy J. Kramer. All inquiries please to nickelbum at myyahoo .com or we have a postal address at P .O. Box 26, the old Observer building. Telford Road St. Leonard's -on -Sea East Sussex England TN38 9LZ We thank you very much for your company and look forward to welcoming you again next time for another Chatterbox Redux podcast when our special guest will be Alan Clark of the Hollies. Bye bye for now you