Alfie (Burt Bacharach song) version of "Alfie" was released at the end of June 1966 almost two months prior to the film's US premiere (August 25, 1966); Sonny Bono's production showcased the song à la Phil Spector. Despite being the follow-up to the #2 hit "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)", "Alfie" rose no higher than #32. It was also a top 40 hit in Canada, reaching #36. The versions of "Alfie" by both Cilla Black and Cher were released in Australia in July 1966, with Black's becoming the major hit at #22; the Cher version's Australian chart peak was #96. "Alfie" was
Michael Caine (1963) and "Ping Pong" on the BBC Third Programme (1964). A big break came for Caine when he was cast as Meff in James Saunders' Cockney comedy "Next Time I'll Sing To You", when this play was presented at the New Arts Theatre in London on 23 January 1963. Scenes from the play's performance were featured in the April 1963 issue of "Theatre World" magazine. When this play moved to the Criterion in Piccadilly with Michael Codron directing, he was visited backstage by Stanley Baker, one of the four stars in Caine's first film, "A Hill in Korea", who told