Intending a farewell to his street musician friends, he hired the Royal Albert Hall in January 1969 and put on a "Buskers Concert" before an audience of 3,700, featuring buskers (including Dave Brock, later of Hawkwind), who would all share the profits equally. His third single "Top Man", however, failed to make the UK chart. He spent the summer of 1968 performing nightly shows at Blackpool Pier, alongside Solomon King, Les Dawson and others. He also released a self-titled LP, which included folk and blues songs by Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy and Oscar Brand along with versions of Otis Redding's " (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and Robin Williamson's "First Girl I Loved", and several of his own compositions. 3 in June 1968, and he was featured on the front cover of the pop weekly Disc. His second hit quickly followed when "Blue Eyes" reached No. Later in May 1968, he performed at the NME Musical Awards Show at Empire Pool, Wembley, to a crowd of 10,000 alongside multiple artists including the Rolling Stones. On 5 April 1968, Partridge appeared alongside Amen Corner, Gene Pitney, Status Quo and Simon Dupree and the Big Sound at The Odeon Theatre, Lewisham, London, on the opening night of a twice nightly UK tour covering 27 venues in 32 days.
Following its success, Partridge quit busking for a more orthodox professional singing career. His debut recording of his own song, "Rosie", reached No. Record company executive Don Paul, previously of rock and roll group The Viscounts, then won him a recording contract with Columbia Records.
He was frequently arrested and fined, but gained a local following and made TV appearances on several shows, including the Eamonn Andrews Show. Soon afterwards, he found that he gained more attention by performing as a one-man band, playing guitar, kazoo or harmonica (both held on a harness), bass drum (on his back), cymbals and tambourine at the same time. In London in 1966, together with fellow busker Pat Keene as "The Brotherhood", he recorded his first album entitled Singin' 'n' Sole-in. Later, inspired by American singer Jesse Fuller, he constructed his first one-man band and started writing some of his own compositions. In 1964, he and his friend Alan Young were described in the Evening Standard as the first young street musicians to be seen in London since World War II. In the early 1960s, he developed his busking and performing skills firstly in London and Continental Europe, later in 1963 busking around the coastal towns of South West England with fellow guitarist Alan Young and also playing at British and Irish folk clubs, initially singing British, Irish and American folk songs and blues with a guitar. In July 1963, he was reported in the national newspapers when he jumped off Hammersmith Bridge, London, equipped with home-made wings, trying to fly. By his own account, he left home at age 15 and became a burglar, before working at some 45 different jobs. Partridge was born in Bournemouth, England.