 Using an abbreviated form of his name, as Emile Ford, he first entered show business at the age of 20, and made his first public performance at the Buttery, Kensington.His first appearance with a backing group was at the Athenaeum Ballroom in Muswell Hill.His TV appearances in 1958 included outings on "The Music Shop", the "Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson Show", "Oh, Boy!