Malcolm Vaughan was born Malcolm James Thomas, the son of a miner, in Abercynon, Glamorgan in March 1929. The family were to move to Troedyrhiw, near Merthyr Tydfil, where his grandfather was a cobbler. The young boy was soon singing in the local choir, and, in 1943, his aunt wrote to the actor, Emlyn Williams, about joining his wartime repertory company. Thomas appeared in a touring version of The Druid's Rest which ended up in the West End. Richard Burton also made his stage début in this play. After this, Thomas had a singing role in another West End show, Jenny Jones.
Malcolm Thomas was still a boy soprano when he was 16 but his voice broke on stage while he was singing "Danny Boy" at the Glasgow Empire. Overcome with embarrassment, he returned home. He took jobs as they came along, appearing as an errand boy in the film Bedelia with Margaret Lockwood and being the voice of Dennis the Dachshund in a television production of Larry The Lamb. He was in the West End productions of two Thornton Wilder plays, Our Town and The Skin Of Our Teeth, which was directed by Laurence Olivier.
In 1947 Thomas did national service in Greece and Egypt. He then returned to show business, appearing in Aladdin and Dick Whittington on ice in Brighton. In 1952, he teamed up with three other vocalists to become the Welsh Street Singers and then supported Old Mother Riley in pantomime.
In 1953, Thomas appeared in the revue Going Gay in Eastbourne and befriended a comedian, Kenneth Earle. They thought of becoming a double act but didn't care for the sound of "Earle and Thomas". They walked around the high street, trying out different names, and settled on "Earle and Vaughan". Their humour was mundane by today's standards but they got by:
Earle: "Why was Bernard Shaw very like me?"
Vaughan: "I don't know. Why was Bernard Shaw very like you?"
Earle: "We're both clean-shaven, except for Bernard Shaw."
When the BBC disc jockey Jack Jackson saw Earle and Vaughan at the Chiswick Empire in 1955 he was impressed with Vaughan's impersonation of Mario Lanza. He arranged an audition with Wally Ridley, the head of HMV Records, who steered him away from light opera to the ballads of the day.
His first record, "Ev'ry Day Of My Life", became a Top 10 hit and he followed it with a successful version of Gilbert Bécaud's "Mes Mains", now called "With Your Love". Vaughan incorporated his records into Earle and Vaughan's act but he did not want to break up the partnership. They spent Christmas 1955 as Chinese policemen in Aladdin in Salford.
During 1955, Earle and Vaughan had judged a beauty contest at a holiday camp in Guernsey. Vaughan was attracted by the winner, Gaye Hands (Earle renamed her "Sad Feet"), and they were married in June 1956. They settled in Tooting and they were to have two children, Daryl Earle Haydn Samuel in 1957 and Damon Charles Michael in 1963. In 1963, Malcolm changed his name by deed poll to Malcolm Vaughan.
In 1957, Earle and Vaughan toured with the American rock'n'roll stars, Bill Haley and the Comets, and did surprisingly well in the circumstances. Later in the year, Vaughan appeared alongside other balladeers including David Whitfield and Ronnie Hilton in a special production number in the Royal Variety Performance. At the time he was enjoying another Top 10 single with "My Special Angel": in this case, Wally Ridley had amended the lyric of Bobby Helms' original to avoid a BBC ban.
Vaughan had further hits in the 1950s with "To Be Loved", "More Than Ever (Come Prima)" and "Wait For Me", and sang the theme song from the Kenneth More film about the sinking of the Titanic, A Night To Remember (1958). Strangely, Vaughan did not make an album until Hello in September 1959. Ridley, his producer, told the New Musical Express: "I felt it was better to let his voice mature before getting him to tackle the better quality songs needed for an album."
Earle and Vaughan continued to work as a double act throughout the 1960s but never realised their ambition of making comedy films like Morecambe and Wise. It would have been better for Vaughan's career if he had continued making records and capturing the same market as Matt Monro. The duo split up in 1972 with Earle becoming an agent and Vaughan touring in productions of The Good Old Days. A biography, The Reluctant Star, by Edward Thomas was published in 2009, the title reflecting the fact that Malcolm Vaughan put family life above everything.
Spencer Leigh
Malcolm James Thomas (Malcolm Vaughan), singer: born Abercynon 22 March 1929; married 1956 Gaye Hands (two sons); died Eastbourne 9 February 2010.
More Than Ever
Malcolm Vaughan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
More than ever, more than ever
More than ever, more than ever
Every day
I will love you more than ever,
Come what may
When the day breaks,
When the moon wakes in my dreams,
I'll hold you near
More than ever, more than ever
Than before
We have found love, only true love
Ever more
From this moment till forever;
Close together we will stay
For I love you more than ever,
Every day
When the day breaks,
I'll be there walking beside you
When the moon wakes in my dreams,
I'll hold you near
More than ever, more than ever
Than before
We have found love, only true love
Ever more
From this moment to forever,
Close together we will stay
For I love you more than ever,
Every day
More than ever
More than ever, my love ...
The lyrics to Malcolm Vaughan's song "More Than Ever" express the depth and intensity of the singer's love for someone special. The repetition of the phrase "more than ever" adds weight and emphasis to each line, reinforcing the message that the singer's love continues to grow and intensify over time. The lyrics express a deep commitment to the relationship, with the singer pledging to love their partner "more than ever, every day, come what may." The imagery in the lyrics creates a romantic and dreamy atmosphere, with references to walking together in the daytime and holding each other close in the moonlit night.
The chorus reinforces the central message of the song, with the repeated line "more than ever, than before, we have found love, only true love, ever more." The use of "ever more" at the end of each chorus adds to the sense of timelessness and permanence in the relationship. The final verse highlights the enduring nature of the love that the singer feels, with the promise that they will stay "close together" forever. The final repetition of "more than ever" in the coda reinforces the idea that the singer's love has no limits.
Line by Line Meaning
More than ever, more than ever
I love you more now than I ever have before and that love keeps growing stronger each day.
Every day
My love for you is not just a passing feeling, but it is a commitment that I make every day.
I will love you more than ever,
No matter the obstacles that come our way, my love for you will only increase with time.
Come what may
Whatever life may bring, I will always be by your side, loving you unconditionally.
When the day breaks, I'll be there walking beside you
Every morning, I will wake up with you and walk with you through life's journey, supporting and uplifting you.
When the moon wakes in my dreams, I'll hold you near
Even in my dreams, I long for your presence and cherish the moments we share together.
Than before
My love for you continues to grow and surpass the love I had for you in the past.
We have found love, only true love
Our love is not based on superficial qualities, but on a deep connection that we share with each other.
Ever more
Our love will continue to endure and thrive for all eternity.
From this moment till forever;
Our commitment to each other is not just for a moment, but for all time.
Close together we will stay
Nothing can come between us, as we stay united and strong in our love for each other.
More than ever, more than ever
Once again, I want to emphasize that my love for you is growing stronger and stronger with each passing moment.
More than ever
My love for you is greater than any words or actions can express.
Writer(s): Mario Panzeri, Vincenzo Dipaola, Sandro Taccani, Mary Bond
Contributed by Grayson M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@findmejak1
Come prima, più di prima t'amerò
Per la vita, la mia vita ti darò
Sembra un sogno rivederti, accarezzarti
Le tue mani fra le mani stringere ancor'
I-Il mio mondo, tutto il mondo sei per me
A nessuna voglio bene come a te
Ogni giorno, ogni istante dolcemente ti dirò:
Come prima, più di prima t'amerò
Come prima, più di prima t'amerò
Per la vita, la mia vita ti darò
Sembra un sogno rivederti, accarezzarti
Le tue mani fra le mani stringere ancor'
I-Il mio mondo, tutto il mondo sei per me
A nessuna voglio bene come a te
Ogni giorno, ogni istante dolcemente ti dirò:
Come prima, più di prima t'amerò
@kevinbarnfield8501
My Mother was 16 when this came out, she recently passed away 1 month off her 80th birthday, she requested the Italian version of this song as her coffin proceeded within the church and we played this version as we left to attend grave side. xx
@homehome8583
This great song is played to perfection in the final scene of the great show, Call the Midwife, Season 3, Christmas episode !
@lindapoplin4473
This guy was long before MY time. I learned of his music by watching on of the best shows on television ,"Call The Midwife" and he is really good. There's SO MUCH beautiful music out there to be found still. I'd LOVE to have all of the music from that show AND the DVDs. GREAT entertainment from the years gone by. Before I was born . I had never heard of this guy...nice voice.
@chrisharrison777
Thanks for sharing. Some singers have an indefinable quality to their voice that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Malcolm had it. No vocal gymnastics, no gimmicks, just purity, honesty, sincerity and talent hone with years of practice. Listen and learn all you wannabees.
@andypandy4078
Watertown is a classic album - one of my favourites.
@tigerteff015
A truly unique voice that can reach inside you .
@davidwilliams-qq4iq
This guy had such a beautiful voice it still gives me a tingle even 60 years on
@john111257
Reminds me of Mum, in the pic xx
@jacquelinedeigan776
Stunning voice..love this
@mohave5011
Greetings to all my brothers and sisters of Rhythm & Blues and of the many other Rock'n'Roll sounds that filled the airwaves during the 50s and 60s that defined our loves, losses, hopes and dreams.
Besides hearing the latest hits blaring from the radios at the local stores in NYC, I was blessed to have had a teenage aunt that would put on her latest 45 purchases: Devil or Angel by the Clovers, and many others.
Now that I'm 72, these "oldies but goodies" have become immortal, and although I have an eclectic taste, I do need some level of punctuation, identifiable melody and an uncoded story line in my songs. I'm not built for anything more esoteric than "Shoobe doo pah pahdah".
WPLnH
[World Peace, Love and Health be yours]