10 things you didn't know about Gene Pitney

Gene Pitney, the American singer best known for his hit song Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa, has been found dead in his hotel bed midway through a UK tour.

Pitney's agent discovered the 65-year-old at 10am today at the Hilton Hotel in Cardiff, where he had performed at St David's Hall last night. He was due to sing in Bristol later today.

His 40-year career included the hits Twenty-Four Hours and Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart, which gave him his first British No1 when it was re-released in the 1990s in a version with Marc Almond.

A spokesman for South Wales Police said that the body had yet to be formally identified. He added: "(The death) is not believed to be suspicious." The Cardiff coroner has been informed.

Pitney’s tour manager James Kelly said the singer was found dead in his room by long-term friend and agent Geoff Clennell.

"We don’t have a cause of death at the moment but it looks like it was a very peaceful passing," said Mr Kelly. "He was found fully-clothed, on his back, as if he had gone for a lie-down. It looks as if there was no pain whatsoever, which is nice."

Mr Kelly added: "It’s terrible news and I’m still shaking. I just can’t believe it. There was no indication anything was wrong. It’s terribly sad.

"It wasn’t like a business relationship (with Gene) - he was a friend and that is why it has hit hard with everybody. It was almost like he had a family going around with him. He was a really nice person."

Wendy Horton, a journalist who reviewed Pitney's performance last night for the South Wales Echo newspaper, said that the singer had given one of his best ever shows but had appeared to be in some pain. "He did show a little discomfort on stage, which was well covered by the showman that he is. You could see a slight limp as he walked across the stage."

She described how after he performed his last song - Town Without Pity - the audience gave him a standing ovation, and scores of fans rushed to the front of the stage to shake his hand and ask him to sign autographs.

"I couldn’t believe (the news of his death)," she said. "Last night at Cardiff he was so alive. When we came out (of the concert) I said ’My God, he’s really got it all... I’ve seen him six times and I don’t think he’s ever been that enthusiastic’. He just wanted to please - and he did."

In an interview at Christmas, Pitney spoke of his excitement at taking his show around the UK on the 23-date tour. He denied it was a gruelling schedule, saying: "I take care of myself. I can finish up the tour no problem whatsoever. I love doing what I’m doing - to pick and choose where I want to go and what I want to do."

The singer was regarded as one of the hardest-working stars in showbusiness. Royalties from his string of hits had made him rich but he continued to perform around the world.

"OK, I’m what you’d call a pop millionaire and, for sure, I don’t need to be on the road, at what seems like a million miles from my home in New England, never mind Tulsa," he said.

"But when I tell you I enjoy what I’m doing, loving playing to theatre audiences, I am telling you the honest truth."

He is survived by his wife, Lynne, and his three sons David, Todd and Chris who live in his native Connecticut, where he was born the son of a mill worker in the village of Rockville in February 1941.

He first found success in 1960 as a songwriter for Roy Orbison, Rick Nelson and Marty Wilde, but within months he was regularly selling a million copies of songs he recorded himself. He collaborated with songwriter Burt Bacharach, record producer Phil Spector and even with the Rolling Stones.

His headlong trajectory of his career calmed down in 1970 when he decided to spend more time with his family. He continued to tour abroad however. The Sixties star found a new generation of fans when he duetted with Marc Almond on Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart in 1989, achieving his first UK No 1- 22 years after the song's first release.

In 2002 he was inaugurated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Always more popular in the UK than in America, when he died he had nine dates left on his latest UK tour, with gigs still to come in Manchester and Blackpool.

Mr Kelly said: "I last spoke to him on Sunday after the show at Symphony Hall in Birmingham. He was very well and was enjoying the tour. He was talking about the next time he was coming over to Britain as he said this was the best tour he had done for a number of years."

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