It was no surprise then that Kidd, like many of his contemporaries such as Adam Faith and Eden Kane soon opted for the safety of Merseybeat, recording Gordon Mills' "I'll Never Get Over You", originally a Buddy Holly styled B-side issued by Mills' erstwhile group The Viscounts and reaching number 4 on the UK chart in the summer of 1963. The hit put Kidd and the Pirates firmly on the beat music scene. The follow-up, "Hungry For Love", was also written by Mills and broke into the top twenty during the autumn, fending off a competing EP version by The Searchers. The "Hungry For Love" recording session was very productive, also yielding a Pirates-only single. Both sides, "My Babe" and "Casting My Spell" featuring Spence on vocals were recorded in one take each, a sign of this Pirates line-up's power, ability and confidence. According to Mick Green, this single was issued to test the waters whether Kidd and the Pirates could be split into two successful acts; however, the single wasn't a hit, which put a stop to any further experiments on this front.