EDEN'S
Eden Kane was born Richard Graham Sarstedt in New Delhi,
India. During 1943, Eden's parents, Coral and Albert, moved their family to Kurseong near Darjeeling, in
the foothills of Mount Everest to manage a large tea plantation. Along
with his two younger brothers, Peter and Clive, one younger sister Lorraine and
two elder teenage sisters, Pam and June (from Albert's first marriage),
spent four years in this picturesque setting, with its jungle covered hillsides
contrasting the snow capped Himalayan mountains in the distance. When the children were
old enough, the boys were sent to various boarding schools in the mountain
regions. The family moved to Calcutta in 1947; however, due to the precarious
political climate resulting from India getting its independence, their parent's
considered it too dangerous for the children to be living in the city
permanently. As a result, they still managed to spend 9 months of the year in
the hills and Richard's education was undertaken at the boarding schools favored by
the British community.
In March of 1954, the family moved to England. Albert left India a few month earlier to arrange things, but tragically died prior to the rest of the family's arrival. They established a residence in the Norbury area South of London. Richard and his family settled into their new home and began their new life.
At the age of twelve, Richard attended Heath Clark Grammar School where his academic talents allowed him to seriously consider a career in architecture. He also excelled on the sports field playing cricket, soccer, field hockey and was also a high jump champion. Eden was also a member of the 67th Croydon Scout Troop. After school he would deliver milk and newspapers to make extra money. After Richard left school, he worked in London as a trainee architect.
Richard realized early on that he had a special talent since the Sarstedt's had long been a musical family. When Richard first picked up a guitar that a friend had brought to school, he was hooked, especially when he saw Bill Haley live on stage in Croydon. Richard's Mother and Grandmother had formerly been trained in classical music, while his father learned to play a variety of musical instruments, especially the banjo.
Little did Richard know, he was watching the birth of something he could relate to....Rock and Roll music. He formed a skiffle group which included his younger brothers Peter and Clive. They called themselves 'The Fabulous 5' and played in coffee-bars and youth clubs around London. The stage was set for Richard and his brothers to enthusiastically launch themselves onto the music scene. In 1961, Richard entered a talent contest staged at the Classic Cinema on Kings Road in Chelsea. Among the judges were Record Producers Michael Barclay and Phillip Waddilove, who realized his potential and declared Richard the winner and immediately signed him to a management contract. Things were looking up! The prize for the contest was a contract to promote Cadbury's Drinking Chocolate. With this win, his first recording was sponsored by Cadbury Chocolate and the song was called "Hot Chocolate Crazy", an advertising jingle used on Radio Luxembourg, which Richard wrote. With it went the title 'Chocolate Time Troubadour'.
As soon as Decca Records heard this jingle, they moved in with an offer for a record deal. The first move was a change of stage name for Richard. "Eden", came about because of it's Biblical relevance, and "Kane" because Citizen Kane was Michael Barclay's favorite film. Then came the change of image...the immaculate white suit!
