Albert Hammond was only 16 years old when he saw a girl in Gibraltar that inspired him to write his first song, Blue Boy.
Albert Hammond
Albert spent only a short time with her that day but, somehow, she was tracked down and will appear with Albert on the BBC 1 program The One Show on Wednesday (March 27) morning so that he can sing the song to her.
Hammond explained on his website:
A BIG OCEAN LINER DOCKED IN GIBRALTAR (THATS WHERE IM FROM) FILLED WITH SCHOOL CHILDREN OF ALL AGES FROM SCOTLAND THAT WERE TOURING THE MEDITERRANEAN, I HAD A SKIFFLE GROUP THEN CALLED THE DIAMOND BOYS AND WE WERE ASKED TO PLAY ON BOARD FOR THE STUDENTS, THATS WHERE I NOTICED A GIRL WITH BLUE EYES AND GINGER HAIR THAT STOOD OUT FROM THE REST, SHE SAT IN THE FRONT ROW AND SMILED AT ME ALL THROUGH THE PERFORMANCE LATER WE WALKED AROUND THE SHIP FOR A FEW HOURS HOLDING HANDS, I KISSED HER GOODBYE AND THE SHIP SAILED AWAY, I WAS NEVER TO SEE HER AGAIN, THE SADNESS I FELT THAT MOMENT BROUGHT TEARS TO MY EYES SO I WENT HOME STRUMMED MY GUITAR AND WROTE MY FIRST LOVE SONG CALLED ¨BLUE BOY¨FOR THIS GIRL NAMED ANN ANDREWS I HAVENT SEEN HER SINCE THAT DAY IN 1960, BUT ON WEDNESDAY 27 OF MARCH 2013 LIVE ON TV I’M GOING TO SEE HER FOR THE FIRST TIME AND I WILL SING LIVE WITH MY GUITAR THE SONG BLUE BOY WHICH I WROTE FOR HER.A TRUE STORY ABOUT TEENAGE LOVE.
Hammond hit it big in the U.S. with It Never Rain in Southern California but was also responsible for other hits like The Air That I Breathe (Hollies), When I Need You (Leo Sayer), Little Arrows (Leapy Lee) and 99 Miles From L.A. (Art Garfunkel)
