Who remembers Mal Ryder and the Spirits?

They were one of Oxford’s top pop groups in the 1960s, entertaining fans throughout the country.

We were reminded of them when reader David Brown sent in a page from the December 1963 edition of Midland Beat, which featured the group.

The four members then were Mal Ryder, Mick Charleton, Vode Chequer and Tony Merry.

Midland Beat described them as “four very professional young entertainers” and added: “They have performed from four miles south of John O’Groats to the south coast and have toured Scotland three times.

“The boys have appeared with most of the big names in the business and appear regularly in the Midlands. Their latest record, Cry Baby, impressed Decca so much it was made their ‘Record of the Week’.”

However, in 1966, disappointed that they had not made more of an impact in Britain, Mal (real name Paul Couling) decided his future lay in Italy – and what a good move it turned out to be.

He had started his working life as an apprentice electrician with the Southern Electricity Board, earning £2 12s 6d a week.

By 1971, he was the centre of a multi-million lire business, a veteran of four films, six long-playing records and 10 singles, and had become Italy’s heart-throb. He was charging £1,000 a night and £30,000 for each film.

He became known as Il Bel Mal – the handsome Mal – but fame came at a cost.

He once said: “I have only to walk out of the door of my penthouse apartment in Rome and there is a photographer waiting, hoping to get a pretty teenager in the shot and pass her off as my latest girlfriend. The girls love me and their boyfriends hate me.

“As for the girls, I get four or five hundred fan letters a day. I can guarantee on a one-nighter to lose a shirt, all the buttons on my jacket or half my hair. It can be wearing.

“As for the boys, I don’t leave my car where it can be spotted. I’ve collected a few scratches and had tyres slashed.

“Being a pop star is a hell of a strain. I’m working from the moment I get up to the minute I go to bed. I don’t get any free time. I can’t walk in the street, go shopping, I can’t do a thing without being mobbed. Every hall I play in is completely full.”

Mr Brown, of Jordan Hill, Oxford, writes: “The two surviving members of the band have achieved their personal ambitions. Mal Ryder settled in Italy while Robert Wakely (alias Vode Chequer) is still a great guitarist and happily married.”

Any memories of Mal Ryder and the Spirits to share with readers? Write and let me know.