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I Was The Boy Who Stole The Platters' Shoe


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Yep. After all this time I'm finally coming clean on the world-wide web. I was the boy who caused the singing group, The Platters, some grief during their 1959 (?) tour of Great Britain.

 

I didn't go to their concert at the Sheffield City Hall since I wasn't a great fan of The Platters. I did, however, stop off to see what might be going on after the concert on my way back home from a movie. I was an avid fan of showbiz persons back then.

 

I arrived in time to see some of the group signing autographs for a few fans outside the Grand Hotel. I had no autograph book or even a piece of paper on which they could sign their names. I DID, however, notice a pair of shiny patent leather stage shoes belonging to one of the male members. Actually, there was only one female in the group if I recall. Anyway, he had placed the shoes on a low feature wall outside the hotel in order to free up his hands with which to sign autographs.

 

Oh, what a temptation! I had Satan on one shoulder telling me to grab a shoe as a souvenir and God on the other shoulder telling me not to. What a dilemma! Unfortunately, Satan won the conflict fairly quickly and I deftly picked up the (very large) shoe (containing a sock) and quietly disappeared into the night clutching my treasure.

 

The following day I showed off this celebrity exhibit at school and became somewhat of a celebrity myself for having 'ripped off' the shoe in the first place ...not to mention the sock. I HAD felt guilty at first but the status of 'celebrity thief' was making the experience a worthwhile one. Not for long. That evening the local newspaper (The Star?) headlined "Platter Hopping Mad!" as my evil act became the talk of the town. Anyone recall this event?

 

I felt sure that I'd be tracked down, tried, sentenced, and committed to Juvenile Hall for life. To help alleviate my overwhelming feelings of guilt my mother took the shoe (and the sock) to the Grand Hotel in the city in the hope of it being reunited with its rightful owner. They (the staff of the hotel) didn't want any part of it since they had no way of getting it to 'the Platter' in question anyway.

 

So, mom returned home with the shoe (and sock) and it was placed in a cupboard and eventually forgotten. I have no idea what happened to it over the years. Who knows, it might now be in the possession of someone who has long wondered, "Who did this shiny patent leather stage shoe (and sock) belong to and what is the story behind it?"

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I met the girl who had the shoe belonging to------oh his name evades me, same era, deaf, sang Oh what a night it was.

Got it Johnny Ray

hazel

 

ps just put that to music apollo

 

it already has music sing it to smoke gets in your eyes by The Platters:hihi:

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