Billy J. Kramer & Wayne Fontana - Back To Back: Billy J. Kramer & Wayne Fontana (2011)

Billy J. Kramer:
One of the most popular Merseybeat singers, Billy J. Kramer (born Billy Ashton) was fortunate enough to become a client of Beatles manager Brian Epstein and was gifted with several Lennon-McCartney songs in 1963 and 1964, some of which the Beatles never ended up recording. Even tossing aside the considerable value of hearing otherwise unavailable Lennon-McCartney compositions, his best singles were enjoyably melodic pop/rock.
Kramer's cover of "Do You Want to Know a Secret" -- which featured clever production by George Martin that hid the cracks in the singer's upper register with loud piano notes -- made it to number two in the U.K. in mid-1963, followed by another Lennon-McCartney effort, "Bad to Me." "I'll Keep You Satisfied" and "From a Window" were other gifts from the Beatles camp that gave Kramer solid hits; one Beatles reject, "I'll Be on My Way," was even relegated to a B-side (the Beatles' own BBC version was finally released in 1994).
Kramer actually landed his biggest hit, the pop ballad "Little Children," without assistance from his benefactors; the single also broke him, briefly, as a star in the United States, where it and its flip side ("Bad to Me") both made the Top Ten. He appeared in the legendary 1964 The T.A.M.I. Show rockumentary film, and the Dakotas recorded some instrumental rock on their own, getting a Top 20 British hit with the Ventures-ish "The Cruel Sea." Early British guitar hero Mick Green, formerly with Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, was even a Dakota briefly. But after 1965's cover of Bacharach-David's "Trains and Boats and Planes," the hits ceased, as the Beatles' and Epstein's attention was lost. Kramer continued recording throughout the '60s, even briefly venturing into hard psychedelic-tinged rock, and subsequently toured often on the oldies circuit.

Wayne Fontana:
b. Glyn Ellis, 28 October 1945, Manchester, England. After changing his name in honour of Elvis Presley’s drummer D.J. Fontana, Wayne was signed to the appropriately named Fontana Records by A&R head Jack Baverstock. Wayne’s backing group, the Mindbenders from the horror film of the same name, were as accomplished as their leader and provided a gritty accompaniment. Their first minor hit was with the unremarkable Hello Josephine’ in 1963. Specializing in mild R&B covers, the group finally broke through with their fifth release, the Major Lance cover ‘Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um’, which reached number 5 in the UK. The 1965 follow-up, ‘The Game Of Love’, hit number 2 and spearheaded a Kennedy Street Enterprises Manchester invasion of the USA which lifted the group to number 1. Thereafter, the group struggled, with ‘Just A Little Bit Too Late’ and the below par ‘She Needs Love’ being their only further hits. In October 1965, Wayne decided to pursue a solo career, first recording the Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy ballad ‘It Was Easier To Hurt Her’ before finding success with Jackie Edwards’ catchy ‘Come On Home’. Erratic progress followed, with only the Graham Gouldman composition ‘Pamela Pamela’ breaking a run of misses. After giving up music during the early 70s, Fontana joined the revivalist circuit, although his progress was frequently dogged by personal problems.