Sucu hit amazes Nina and Frederik . Nina and Frederik are happily divided ! or at least , that &apos;s the expression which Nina used , when she spoke to me on the phone from her Birmingham hotel . and if anyone should jump to the conclusion that this is another marriage on the rocks , let me hasten to correct them - there is n&apos;t a more happily married couple in the whole of show business . no , they are merely happily divided on a matter of personal opinion . for Nina told me that she actually prefers cabaret work , as opposed to appearing in large variety theatres - Frederik , on the other hand , settles for the theatres in preference to the night clubs . so we agree to differ , bearing in mind that we each have our fair share , chuckled Nina . Nina told me that both she and Frederik were thoroughly enjoying their first full-scale tour of Britain , and that they had been pleasantly surprised by audience reaction throughout this country and in Eire . we had n&apos;t previously seen very much of Britain , but now that we &apos;re able to get around to some extent , I can tell you that it has certainly come up to expectations . and Ireland was a special revelation . I had n&apos;t been to Dublin before , though Frederik spent a few hours there last year , she said . contrary to general belief , most of Nina and Frederik &apos;s work on the continent is confined to theatres rather than cabaret . and it frequently happens that they adapt their act to each venue . but this has n&apos;t proved necessary in Britain . we have several numbers which we regard as cabaret specialities , said Nina . yet they appear to be so well-known here , that we &apos;re able to do them on stage . having recently returned from Ireland when I spoke to her , Nina had n&apos;t realised that their recording of Sucu-Sucu had climbed into the hit parade . it &apos;s quite amusing how this came about , she explained . the song was originally sent to us by a music publisher , and at the time it had a Spanish lyric . but we liked the melody so much that Frederik translated it into English and French - we &apos;ve also recorded it in French . then one day during their cabaret season at the Savoy Hotel , they were relaxing for a few minutes in their dressing-room , watching TV . and at the end of the top secret adventure yarn which they had switched on , they suddenly heard the strains of Sucu-Sucu - complete with Frederik &apos;s lyric . we were amazed at the time , Nina continued . but when we discovered how popular the series is , we were not surprised when Laurie Johnson &apos;s recording came into the best-sellers . actually , in view of this , I &apos;m rather surprised to learn that our version has become a hit . I asked Nina about their subsequent plans , after the current British tour finishes early in December , and she told me that initially they will return to the continent - with the principal object of searching for new material . and we &apos;re hoping to come back to Britain in the spring , with a collection of new songs , she said . Derek Johnson . meet the composer . Bunny Lewis scrubbed floors before fame came . a distinguished war career counts for very little when hostilities cease and you don civilian clothes to start looking for a job . take the case of composer-agent-promoter Bunny Lewis , for example . during the last war , he served with the famous black watch regiment and special air services , won a military cross and was mentioned in dispatches . his first post-war job ? &amp;hellip; scrubbing floors ! it was the only thing I could find . my war career meant nothing , and I had a terrible time finding work . finally , I turned to scrubbing floors to make ends meet . but eventually things got better and I ended up in the music business , Bunny told me this week . Bunny made his first contact with the music business in 1947 , when he was employed as a publicist for impresarios Tom Arnold and Prince Littler at dance halls . a little later , he worked for the BBC , writing scripts for the picture page TV series and then moved on to become professional manager at Francis , Day and Hunter , the music publishers . after a spell with Decca , he launched his own agency in 1955 - and that &apos;s when the Bunny Lewis success story really began . the agency grew to be a powerful concern , and Bunny now handles the affairs of such stars as Craig Douglas , the Mudlarks , Garry Mills , the Avons , Al Saxon , Lorrae Desmond , orchestra leader Harry Robinson , newcomer Doug Sheldon , and top disc jockeys like David Jacobs , Jack Jackson , Don Moss , Alan Freeman and David Gell . he personally records most of his artists &apos; discs , promotes concert and variety dates and , as a result of appearances on the panel of BBC-TV &apos;s juke box jury , is also something of a TV personality himself . in addition , it &apos;s important to note that Bunny is also one of Britain &apos;s finest and most successful lyricists . remember David Whitfield &apos;s million-selling transatlantic hit cara mia ? Bunny wrote the lyrics . he also wrote the words , too , for girl of my best friend , a big hit in Britain for Elvis Presley and a best seller in the States for promising newcomer Ral Donner . he also penned the lyrics for such memorable hits as Cliff Richard &apos;s voice in the wilderness and livin&apos; lovin&apos; doll , Garry Mills &apos; top teen baby , Frankie Vaughan &apos;s Milord ( which had special English words ) , David Whitfield &apos;s rich man , poor man , Max Bygraves &apos; little train , Craig Douglas &apos; riddle of love and the Mudlarks &apos; the love game . Vera Lynn has enjoyed success with many of Bunny &apos;s songs , among them forget me not , the homecoming waltz , the love of my life , the Windsor waltz and try again , which was waxed in the States by Dean Martin . orchestra leader Mantovani had a big seller with his instrumental Luxembourg polka , which also hit the highspots in the U.S . apart from riddle of love , Craig Douglas has waxed such Lewis songs as the girl next door , my first love affair , my hour of love and his latest release no greater love , written in collaboration with Michael Carr . Dickie Valentine did well with Bunny &apos;s lazy gondolier , while Al Saxon just missed the charts with his blue eyed boy , which is covered on two new Stateside discs this week . Bunny also contributed songs to the Cliff Richard film Expresso Bongo and for the savage , underworld movie the frightened city . he worked with Norrie Paramour to produce two songs , I laughed at love and the marvellous lie ( which has been waxed by Helen Shapiro ) . more songs by London-born Bunny - who is married to French singer Janique Joelle , formerly a principal star with the famous Folies Bergere and has a six-year-old daughter , Fabienne - will be heard in such future films as a change of heart ( which stars Janette Scott ) , the painted smile ( in which Craig Douglas appears ) , and the much-publicised it &apos;s trad , Dad . Keith Goodwin . Derek Johnson predicts . Sinatra will put himself in the background much more . it seems generally agreed that Frank Sinatra &apos;s Granada is one of the most satisfying records he has cut for some time . his more recent releases on Capitol , both singles and albums , have all generated a feeling of staleness and apathy , which now seems to have been remedied with Frank &apos;s switch to his own label . there &apos;s little doubt that working for himself has caused Sinatra to shed his cloak of indifference , and it could well be that the revitalised Frank will aspire to even greater heights under these new circumstances . but just how long can Frank remain as a top recording star , having now long passed the stage of being a teenage idol ? will he continue more or less indefinitely , as Bing appears to be doing ? or what &apos;s more to the point , does he want to continue singing ? it is increasingly apparent that he is devoting considerably more time these days to filming activities , involving straight acting roles . and earlier this year , he signed a 15-million dollar contract , which will keep him busy either producing or starring in movies for the next seven years . but as the Reprise label is his latest investment , it &apos;s obvious that he will devote a great deal of interest to this project - though not necessarily with the object of showcasing himself as an artist . speaking of his future plans recently , Sinatra said : one idea I have for the future is to develop more things that do n&apos;t involve me personally and my talent . I &apos;d like to be able to function more in other departments than I have been able to do in the past . with this new film deal , I want to try and find properties that do n&apos;t concern me directly . same thing with my record company - I want to spend more time looking for new talent , soloists , song writers , young guys . in one of the rare interviews which Sinatra granted a couple of years back , he intimated that - after more than 20 years in the business - he would still rather sing than do anything else . but no doubt his 45 years are now catching up with him , particularly bearing in mind the tremendous pace at which he lives , and he sees himself today as a sort of patriarch of youth . absorbing . I have just been reading one of the most absorbing show-biz books to come my way for many months - a no-punches-pulled character study of Sinatra and his rat pack by the American writer , Richard Gehman . it &apos;s a paper-back , selling at 3 s 6 d and published by Mayflower - and for a remarkably revealing close-up of this controversial entertainer and his friends , I strongly commend it to you . the term rat pack seems to have superseded clan in the description of Sinatra &apos;s followers and friends - and the book devotes a full chapter to an analysis of each of them , including Humphrey Bogart who was the original leader of the clan . so far as Frank is concerned there is a complete biography contained within the book - and the basic facts are buried in such a welter of anecdotes it never fails to hold one &apos;s attention . no detail is overlooked - from an assessment of his income ( reckoned to be a 2 1/2 million dollars last year ) to a survey of his many love affairs - real and rumoured - which have played such a predominant part in his stormy career . probably due to his rather squalid surroundings as a child , Frank is one of the most extravagant spenders in the entertainment world . one of his closest friends is quoted as saying : Frank does n&apos;t spend money - he destroys it ! and examples galore are given to substantiate this point . when he was appearing in Miami , he had his favourite Broadway barber flown down to give him a haircut ; when he broke a tooth , he had a dentist flown thousands of miles to fix it ; he has a cuff-link collection which occupies two drawers ; he owns more than 150 suits and countless shirts - which he will need if the statement that he changes his shirt six times a day is correct ! despite his spendthrift habits , Sinatra is also exceedingly generous . nobody knows all the wonderful things Frank does , says comedian Joey Bishop , who is a member of the rat pack . but Richard Gehman &apos;s book has unearthed some of the instances - how Frank paid for Mildred Bailey &apos;s funeral , and has subsequently kept her former husband Red Norvo in regular work ; how he helped Bela Lugosi when he was in hospital , although Frank had never met the actor ; how when Phil Silvers &apos; partner fell ill just before their cabaret debut at the Copacabana , Sinatra flew to New York to open with him , and how he gave some of his best lines in a picture to an actor who , he thought , needed them . and there &apos;s the fascinating story of the manner in which he aided the widow of an acquaintance of his - Charles Morrison , owner of Hollywood &apos;s Morcambe night club . learning that Mrs Morrison was in financial trouble , Frank phoned to say that he was going to appear at the club for a couple of nights without payment - and duly arrived complete with a 21-piece band ! 