1960's Pop Stars The Beatles Dusty Springfield Billy Fury Kathy Kirby Mister Softee Ice Cream Trading Cards

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Mister Softee , who ran an ice cream van fleet, issued a number of pop star trading card sets from the 1960’s -1970’s. This 1965 card set was issued in association with the Record Mirror, which was a popular music newspaper of the time. There are details of a competition on the back and it states that the “prize winners will be announced from Mister Softee ice cream vans”. This card set features a diverse range of talented singers from the “British Invasion” era.

The Beatles

The USA had dominated popular music for decades. The Beatles managed challenge this with their own unique take on Rock-n-Roll. Once established, they had the creative freedom to experiment with multiple music genres whilst maintaining their mass appeal.

Sandie Shaw

The barefooted pop princess had a long string of hits in the 1960’s and was the UK’s first singer to win the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Puppet on a String”.

Roy Orbison

Elvis Presley described him as the greatest singer, a perfect accolade for a singer. His distinctive voice and haunting ballads secured him a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Manfred Mann

Were regular chart toppers in the 1960s and were the first south-of-England band to top the US charts during the British Invasion era.

Dusty Springfield

This British icon scored numerous hits in the 1960’s and made a huge impression the American market.

Georgie Fame

This talented singer /song writer scored big 1960’s hits with “The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde” and “Yeah, Yeah”. His much in demand musicianship has meant that he is still active today, collaborating with many music veterans .

Adam Faith

He scored numerous hits in the 1960’s, the first seven of which were in the top 5. Unlike many of his peers, Adam Faith was a shrewd investor, securing him a position as a financial journalist in the 1980s.

Kathy Kirby

This Blonde Bombshell, whose voice was considered good enough for opera, scored 5 hits from 1963 to 1965. Her last hit was I Belong, which was the song she sang at the Eurovision Song Contest. In an interview, Kirby explained that her career declined after a 6 month affair with Bruce Forsyth. Her manager, who she was romantically involved with, was insanely jealous and destroyed Kirby’s chances of becoming a Hollywood star.

Cilla Black

After achieving worldwide fame as a 1960’s singer, she went on to become the best paid female presenter in British television history.

Cliff Richard

Sir Cliff Richard has sold 260 million records worldwide and is the only singer to have had a number one single in the UK in six consecutive decades.

Billy Fury

He went from a Liverpool dockworker to an internationally successful English singer, but sadly died young.

The Bachelors

Heralding from Ireland, this group had a monster hit with the song “Diane” .

Mister Softee, Top Ten ("Win a Big Prize") (12 cards)

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1960's Rock Stars, Pop Stars & Ice Cream Vans: The Kinks, Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones Mister Softee Trading Cards

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One particular ice cream franchise, Mister Softee, didn’t just hand out confectionary and ice cream from their vans. They also issued many series of trading cards, especially on rock stars and pop stars of the 1960s and 1970s

The card set pictured above is called “Lord Neilson’s Star Cards” and consists of 12 cards. I believe that the music newspaper “Record Mirror” helped contribute to the descriptions on the backs of the cards, and perhaps the pictures too.

The Kinks are featured on one of the cards. Although perhaps not the most commercially successful of bands from the British Invasion era, they were incredibly important and influential. Dave Davies was the first musician to popularize the power chord in the band’s first commercially successful single, “You Really Got Me”. This played a crucial role in the early development of the hard rock and punk rock genres. Dave Davies achieved his distorted guitar riff with a cone, but not an ice cream cone, by modifying the speaker cone on his Elpico amplifier. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes Ray Davies, his brother, as “Rock’s most literate, witty and insightful songwriter”.

This set also includes the Beach Boys, rising to fame with their tight harmonies and Brian Wilson’s knack for creating timeless hit singles. They even rivalled the Beatles at one point.

One important thing to note, is that this is the only Mister Softee card set I know of to feature an all black group, The Supremes. The choice of words in the description on the back isn’t very politically correct.

Alan Price, the organ playing wizard that gave The Animals its distinctive sound makes an appearance on card no. 12 along with the singer Chris Farlowe, who didn’t achieve the success he deserved.

This set also includes music legends such as Cliff Richard, Tom Jones, The Rolling Stones, Lulu, Manfred Mann, Georgie Fame, The Walker Brothers and a pop group with a name combining the nicknames of all the band members: Dave Dee, Dozy Beaky, Mick and Tich.

Mister Softee, Lord Neilson’s Star Cards (12 Cards), 1967

Includes:The Beach Boys, The Supremes, Cliff Richard and The Shadows, Tom Jones, The Kinks, Manfred Mann, Julie Felix and Georgie Fame, Lulu, The Rolling Stones, The Walker Brothers, Alan Price and Chris Farlowe; Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich

If you would like to find out more about the classic cards featured in this blog please click here.
Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you found it interesting!