#2: Julie Ann by Peter Foldy

City: Peterborough, ON
Radio Station: CKPT
Peak Month: January 1977
Peak Position in Peterborough ~ #5
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Julie Ann”
Lyrics: “Julie Ann”

Peter Foldy was born in Budapest, Hungary, in the late 40s. His family fled Hungary in 1956 during the Hungarian Revolution and landed as refugees in Sydney, Australia. Once he arrived in Australia Foldy became a childhood friend of the Bee Gees who inspired him toward a career in music and film. He was the poster boy for Nestles Crunch chocolates as a teenager in Australia. After a family move to Canada, Foldy enrolled in film school but supported himself by playing guitar in a rock band. He studied film at York University. He also formed a rock band that performed in various bars and lounges throughout the city.

Foldy soon began writing songs and quickly landed a recording contract as an artist with a small indie label, Kanata Records. His first single, “Bondi Junction”, was released in 1973 and the record eventually reached number one on RPM magazine’s Adult Contemporary chart on July 7, 1973. Foldy was also featured on the cover of RPM that same week. The record received two Juno Award nominations, including Canadian Pop Music Single of the Year. It reached #3 in Sault Ste. Marie (ON), #14 in Hamilton (ON), and Toronto, and #17 in Windsor (ON).

His followup, “I’ll Never Know” was a minor hit later that year. In 1974, “When I Am So in Love” and “Christmas Eve with You” were Top 20 Adult Contemporary chart hits in Canada. That year he released his self-titled debut album Peter Foldy.

A subsequent release in 1975, “Hollywood”, was a commercial flop. However, “Roxanne” reached #2 in Hamilton (ON) and #6 in Ottawa in 1976.

In 1977, Foldy released “Julie Ann”.

“Julie Ann” is a song co-written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1938 he was given the birth name William Wylie MacPherson. After schooling, he worked for awhile in the shipyards as a builder. Next, he worked as a marine engineer. After which he studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, England. In 1960, he played football in South Africa. He returned the following year and pursued songwriting. He changed his name to Bill Martin, as he viewed his birth name as “too Scottish.”

In 1965, Martin met Phil Coulter and the pair began writing songs together. Coulter was born in 1942 in Derry, Northern Ireland. He studied classical music in university and was hired as an arranger/songwriter for Denmark Music in London’s West End in 1964. He got to work with Van Morrison, Tom Jones and Jerry Lee Lewis. That year he made an arrangement for the song “Twinkle” which became a #4 UK hit for the pop singer Terry. He also co-wrote I Can Only Give You Everything” which was recorded by Them, and later the Montreal band The Haunted.

In 1967, Martin and Coulter had a number-one hit UK Sandie Shaw’s cover of “Puppet On A String”, first recorded by R&B duo Bob and Earl in 1964. Sandie Shaw was the UK entry for the Eurovision contest in 1967 and the song won that year. That year Martin and Coulter wrote some incidental music for the cartoon TV show Spider-Man. Martin and Coulter wrote another number-one UK hit in 1968, this time for Cliff Richard titled “Congratulations”. It was the number-two placing entry in that years’ Eurovision contest. In 1969, Cilla Black recorded “Surround Yourself With Sorrow” which peaked in the UK at #4. Martin and Coulter had another number-one hit in 1970 with The England World Cup Squad titled “Back Home”.

In 1973, the Irish glam show band Kenny had a #11 hit with “Heart of Stone”. They had further success with Martin and Coulter tunes in 1975 with “Fancy Pants” (#4 UK), “Baby I Love You, OK” (#9 in Ireland and #12 in UK), and “Julie Anne” (#6 Australia, and #10 in both Ireland and UK). In the midst, Elvis Presley had a #5 UK hit with “My Boy”. As well, the songwriting duo wrote hits for the Bay City Rollers. These include “Remember (Sha La La)” (#6 UK), “Shang-A-Lang” (#2 UK), “Summerlove Sensation” (#3 UK), “All of Me Loves All of You” (#4 UK), and “Saturday Night” (#1 USA and Canada).

In 1975, Martin and Coulter reached the Eurovision final for the third time, with “Toi” which was the entry for Luxembourg. The duo wrote one more notable hit titled “Forever and Ever” for Silk in 1976, which topped the pop singles chart in the UK.

In 1983, Martin and Coulter parted ways. That year Martin produced the musical Jukebox, which had a six-month run in London’s West End theatre district. In 2017, Martin published his autobiography, Congratulations. Songwriter To The Stars. Bill Martin died on 26 March 2020, aged 81.

Meanwhile, in 1983 Phil Coulter wrote “Deeper and Deeper” which became a Top Ten Irish hit for Joe Dolan. He subsequently had modest success with a few solo albums. In 2001, he was nominated for a Grammy Award in the “New Age” category for his album Highland Cathedral. As of 2019, Phil Coulter has released fifteen studio albums. He has also received three honorary doctorates from different universities in Ireland. In a 2019 Belfast Telegraph interview the paper wrote “Phil says that he was able to escape Northern Ireland’s Troubles through music. As the streets of his home city burned, he was trying to carve his career in London.” In 2022 he was bestowed with the Freedom of the City in Derry in recognition of being a valued member of the community.

“Julie Ann” is a song about a guy who ran away from Julie Ann. He’s been trying to live without her. His solution has been to fill up his days going to the beach, surfing in the morning, going to discos, dances and parties every night. However, it’s no use. When he’s on the beach, he draws her picture in the sand. He recalls a song by Neil Sedaka and a way to say goodbye. But, now he’s on his knees and begging her to take him back.

“Julie Ann” climbed to #5 in Peterborough (ON), #7 in Oakville (ON), and #16 in Toronto.

In 1979, Foldy had a Top Ten Adult Contemporary hit single in Canada with “Love City”. And in 1982, he had two more Top 30 Adult Contemporary chart hits with “School of Love” and “My Christmas Wish for You”. He has released a dozen and a half singles across his career. His most recent, “Friend-Zone”, was released in 2021. In 2014 he released the albums Nine Lives, and Peter Foldy 4 Christmas.

In 1984, he co-wrote and produced a feature film titled Hot Moves. This was followed by working on Todd Bridges 1992 movie Homeboy. In 1993, he co-wrote the screenplay for the Jan Michael-Vincent movie Midnight Waitress. In 2000, he directed Silver Man starring Eugene Levy. Since 1984, Foldy has worked on eighteen feature films. He has also worked on a handful of dramatic short subject films. In his film career, Peter Foldy has variously worked as a screenwriter, associate producer, producer, music supervisor, segment director, and director.

An avid photographer, Foldy has exhibited his black and white photographs.

December 8, 2025
Ray McGinnis

References:
“About Peter Foldy,” peterfoldy.com.
Leona O’Neill, “Phil Coulter: I’m known as a proud Derry man but my mother came from the Markets area of Belfast and it’s where I found my career as a musician,” Belfast Telegraph, July 20, 2019.
“Songwriter Bill Martin Dies At The Age Of 81,” ESCBubble, March 26, 2020.
Kenny, “Julie Anne“, RAK Records, 1974.

CKPT 1420-AM, “Top 30”, Peterborough (ON), February 10, 1977.