Background
He was born in Basildon, Essex, and worked as a child actor before forming his first group when at school.
He was born in Basildon, Essex, and worked as a child actor before forming his first group when at school.
Although he only had one United Kingdom chart hit, "Super Girl" in 1966, his success has continued in Europe. In 1961 he joined the Espresso Five, followed in 1962 by The Ambers, with whom he performed at the Star-Club in Hamburg. In 1964 he became lead singer with The Riot Squad, a band put together by manager Larry Page.
After three unsuccessful singles for Pye Records in 1965, Bonney left the band for a solo career.
He started writing songs with Barry Mason, and his second solo single "Super Girl", issued on the Columbia label, reached no.19 on the United Kingdom singles chart in 1966. lieutenant proved more popular in Europe, reaching number 1 in some German charts and remaining in the top 10 there for several months, reportedly selling over 1 million copies.
His German hits included "Das Girl mit dem Louisiana-Louisiana-Louisiana", "Wähle 333", "Du bist viel zu schön", and "Brandy". He appeared regularly on German television, toured with The Beach Boys and others, and had his own television show, Hits a Go Go.
He returned to Britain in 1969 to co-host early editions of the television show Lift Office with Ayshea.
He continued to be a popular entertainer in Germany through the 1970s and 1980s, his British citizenship allowing him to perform in East as well as West Germany. He also made television appearances in the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Spain, and has continued to perform and release records in Germany.