The 1950s pop sensation Craig Douglas – real name Terence Perkins – has sadly died aged 85.
Craig, who was born in Newport on 14th August 1941, was best known for his No1 hit single ‘Only Sixteen’, which sold over a million copies worldwide.
Douglas – a twin – was 1 of 9 children born to William and Mildred Perkins. Mildred gave birth to 3 sets of twins altogether. The future popstar attended Priory Boys School before finding work at a farm in Carisbrooke.
The moment that changed his life came in his teenage years when he arrived home from his milk round to receive a letter informing him that he was to appear at a local talent contest at Medina Cinema (now the Slug and Lettuce Cocktail Bar). It was the first letter he had ever received.
His Mum had entered him into the talent contest, which he went on to win at the tender age of 16. He then came under the wing of a top London agent Bunny Lewis, who gave him the name Craig Douglas. He also had the nickname ‘the Singing Milkman’ at the start of his career.
In 1959, Douglas was voted Best New Singer by the New Musical Express (NME). He then recorded ‘A Teenager in Love’, which reached Number 13 in the British pop charts. His big hit – a cover of a Sam Cooke song Only Sixteen – was released the same year. It easily outsold the original version.
By this point, Craig Douglas had become a superstar. When he came back to perform 2 sell-out concerts at Commodore Cinema in Ryde, such was his popularity that he stopped the traffic.
Craig told a reporter it had been a “dream come true”. He would walk by building sites in London and hear workmen singing or whistling his song. He was recognised in the street and mobbed by fans. He was then outselling the biggest names in the music business such as Cliff Richard, Frank Sinatra and the Everly Brothers.
Further hits followed, with Douglas achieving 9 top 40 hit singles. In 1961, he entered the ‘A Song for Europe Contest’ with his song ‘The Girl Next Door’.
His next claim to fame was topping the bill on The Beatles first major stage show in Liverpool Empire Theatre, shortly after they had recorded their first hit single ‘Love Me Do’.
His final top 40 record came in 1963 with ‘Town Crier’, which peaked at Number 36.
Douglas continued to perform since the early 60s in clubs, on cruises and in cabarets. He had an annual 1-month booking in Hong Kong right up to the end of the 20th century.
Craig retired in 2009. However, he came out of retirement in 2019 to make a final appearance at the Renown Pictures Film Festival in St Albans.
The 2 movies he has appeared in – ‘It’s Trad, Dad and A Painted Smile’ – are regularly shown on Renown’s Talking Pictures’ TV Channel.
Although Craig lived in London for most of his life, he was able to move back to where it all began – the Isle of Wight – in recent years.
Craig passed away just weeks after his 85th birthday on Friday afternoon (4th September 2026).
