With his boyish charm, smartly turned out appearance, and well-scrubbed ‘boy next door’ good looks Mark was one of the most popular brylcreem boys of the pre-Beatles era and enjoyed a phenomenally high profile on TV & radio, in adverts and commercials, in films, pop mags and girls’ comics, on package tours, summer seasons and pantomimes.
His path to pop stardom began in a Peckham dance hall in July 1959. Sixteen year old Terry Lewis was fronting a semi-pro beat group, (deputising for a friend who had lost his voice) and was noticed by a talent scout, one Ray Mackender, who became his manager and was responsible for guiding him from part time amateur to full time professional. Ray and Mark below.

The first change was his name! Terry was a very fashionable name at the time of his birth – remember Adam Faith and Matt Monro – they were both Terrys! – but to lessen the confusion with Jerry Lee Lewis Terry Lewis decided to change his name to ‘Mark’ and ‘Wynter’ came out of the phone book. And so the newly named Mark Wynter made his first major public appearance at a charity bash in Cheshunt thrown by local hero Cliff Richard, with his newly formed backing group called “The Snowdrifts.”

Mark’s “Snowdrifts” failed to settle and were a seasonal affair lasting only three months, but Mark enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame during his first year in showbiz. The rave reviews from Mark’s first London cabaret dates at the Blue Angel in June 1960 led to impresario Harold Fielding offering him his first Summer Season in Bournemouth and radio and television appearances followed along with his first recording contract with Decca Records. The picture on the left is from Mark’s first ever photo session shot by Brian Tufano who went on to be a very successful cinematographer on BLADE RUNNER, TRAINSPOTTING, EAST IS EAST and BILLY ELLIOTT.