Darren Burn in a 1973 documentary

Wow, Man Alive! That theme takes me right back to being sat on the floor next to the open fire with mum and dad wandering around the living room . A few houses and a lifetime ago!

Some of the locations seen in this film, filmed during July and August, 1973: Grovelands Park, Southgate, Middlesex (Darren riding his Chopper bike); EMI House, 20, Manchester Square, Westminster, London (launch of Darren’s first record, since demolished); 17, Queen Elizabeth’s Drive, Southgate (Darren’s home in 1973, still there but considerably upgraded since then). Southgate Underground Station (Darren and his mother pass it in their chauffeur driven car while on their way to EMI House) Studio 2, EMI Abbey Road Studios (Darren’s recording session); 38, Hertford Street, Mayfair, London (Radio Luxembourg studios with interviewer Tony Prince) Sundown music venue, formerly the Regal cinema, corner of Fore Street and Silver Street, Edmonton, north London (the site of Darren’s first public appearance. It was demolished in 1985 and a supermarket now occupies the site).

Thank you for posting the Man Alive documentary showcasing child prodigy Darren Burn.

Darren's mother "It's the first time I've been driven around in a limousine" You still haven't, it's a badge engineered Landcrab. (Wolsey Six, posh version of the Austin/Morris 2200)

It's poignant to think Darren Burn would have been sixty this year, had he lived.

July 20th, 2021. It was 48 years ago today that Darren's first EMI single, “Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart” backed with “True Love Ways” was released.

I've just discovered that Darren's mother, Johanna, passed away on Wednesday, December 22nd, 2021, aged 85.

So crazy that Marty Wildes daughter Kim ended up being a real and natural star - still touring today!

This is so sad. I loved his voice and his version of Something.

Darren committed suicide at 30, so maybe he should never have been pushed in this direction. His mother does appear to be living through him in this programme and yet there is a huge sadness about her.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 28th, 2021. Had he lived, Darren would have celebrated his 60th birthday on this day. Happy Birthday, Darren.

Wednesday, August 28th, 2019. Remembering Darren today on what would have been his 58th birthday.

I still remember watching this on a black /white tv  as a child...  I still have the recording on a cassette tape. I loved his voice, very sad to learn about Darren.

In July of this year (2023) this Man Alive film will be fifty years old. An incredible half a century.

I love these old man alive documentaries, especially now we all know what we now know about the entertainment industry especially in the 70s.

None of the kids profiled ever had any real success as performers, and the records all flopped. Darren Burn had everything going for him, the big EMI publicity machine, recording in the Beatles' Studio 2 at Abbey Road with top session players, producer Eric Woolfson who went on to be half of the Alan Parsons Project. How could it fail? Well, it seems like Darren really wasn't that into it, and was just being pushed by his parents, despite the claims to the contrary. Jonathan King says it perfectly @ 22.50. Ironically, it was Ricky Wilde's big sister Kim who eventually really did become a star, with a pile of big hit records around the world.

It's very sad watching this now, knowing what the future had in store for Darren. His depression and heroin addiction destroyed his life to such an extent that to him, the only way out was to kill himself.  In the follow up documentary in 1988, where John Pitman interviewed Darren as a 26, going on 27 year old, he found Darren to be a pale imitation of the bright and bubbly eleven year of fifteen years earlier. As someone once observed, the youthful twinkle had been replaced by a cold bitterness. He seemed to be blaming his parents, especially his mother, for the 1973 - 1974 disaster at EMI and his last words on camera were "I wouldn't allow one of my children to do that...should I ever have any". Sadly, he never got married, nor had any children and three years later, he took his own life. The BBC should remaster this Man Alive film to its original colour and picture quality. Us Darren Burn fans have had to put up with this old editing copy for far too long. But thank you for uploading it, as for now, it's this or nothing.

21:10 Johnathon King, 'mentoring' children (is that what they called it, back then?)

Life is all memory 💙💚

I’ve just received from an eBay seller in Stockton on Tees an interview with Darren cut from the music paper Disc and dated July 28th, 1973, in which it states that one of the recordings he made at his first recording session was “There’ll Never Be Anyone Else But You”, a track that was subsequently never released. I wonder if EMI still have it in their vaults, as it would be very interesting to hear it. Darren also says that he found “True Love Ways” very difficult to sing, although you’d never guess that from listening to it. The article also reveals that he called his father Colin. “I always have”, said Darren. When asked what Colin Burn did at EMI, Darren says: “Sits in his office and chain smokes.”