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BEFORS'ffi(0[vlING GLAi-I-ERA SMRALVIN' STARDUSI HF IfiJAS SHAHE FEHI0.II,IION OF THE EARLY'605. ONE OF THE ODDEST DOUBLE IDENTITY IWI$S IN ROCK'N'ROLL Hl ST0RY lS EXPL0RED BY' JEREIIY' lsfiA[, ..

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g t was almost blind luck that an struck down by the rheumatic fever from il obscure singer-songwriter named which he had suffered as a child.'Tohnny il Bernartl Jewry hit the pop big time and I were really big mates," recalled il when he reinvented himseiias Jewry. "I waiked over to his house for a S Alvin Stardust in 1973. But it wes an rehearsal one day and he wasn't there. t even wilder and more tragic fluke His mum said'He's very ill, he's been a decade earlier that found him flonting taken into hospital'. Two days later, I TI l Shadows rivals the Fentones, and rockin' went round and she said'He's died'. We f I I just g out with the likes of Cliff Richard, Marty completely fell apart." I I Wilde, Tommy Steele and Joe Brown. At first the young musicians - Jerry ! I T Born on 27 September 1942 in Wilcock and Mick Eyre on lead and T I Musweli Hill, Bernard William Jewry rhythm guitars, Bill Bonney on bass and 3/ moved with his family to Mansfield, Tony Hinchcliffe on drums - were so I Nottinghamshire. By the late I950s he shocked that they wanted to disband. was obsessed with the rock'n'roll sounds But Theakston's grief-stricken mother of Elvis, Gene Vincent, Littie Richard and implored them to continue, using his Eddie Cochran, regularly attending rock stage name in honour ofher son, so road concerts, and even meeting Buddy Holly manager Jewry became lead singer under backstage in 1958. It was while appearing Theakston's professional moniker. with his own trio, The Jewry Rhythm Not only did Shane Fenton and the Band, in a talent contest at Mansfield Fentones keep their appointment with Palais that he met another group ofteen the BBC, they won their coveted Saturday hopefuls called Johnny Theakston and Ciub appearance, proving so popular the Tremeloes, formerly the Beat Boys. that they became a regular fixture on The group made him their road manager, the show as well as beinpl inundated even allowing him to join them on stage with live bookings. "We started getting on vocals once in a while. tours with people like Billy Fury Marty As the l960s dawned, Theakston Wilde, Joe Brown and Dickie Pride," decided on a name change, calling himself said Jewry. "Billy was bigger than Cliff, after the title character of the classic and Joe was our own Eddie Cochran. I Holly,wood western Shane and suddenly realised we were in the music a local printing company called Fenton's, business." The programme's musical with the band being rechristened the director, Tommy Sanderson, took over as Fentones. They were going over big in live their manager, eventually getting them a venues across Nottinghamshire, which recording contract with EMI's subsidiary encouraged them to record a demo tape label Parlophone Records. for submission to the BBC in the hope of Parlophone was not the giant it would landing a radio slot. Incredibly, the band become after signing The Beatles. was invited to audition for the nationally Founded in Germany in 1896, it had broadcast music showcase Saturday Club. evolved into a leadingjazz label in the "Radio was big in those days - 25 to 30 192Os, but by the early 196Os it was part of million listeners a week," Jewry told Electric & Musical Industries Ltd (EMI), Cherry Red TV in 2009.'After two shows, and regarded as the poor relation to you're a household name." EMI's other imprints, which boasted such But while the band were au,aiting their high-profiie acts as Cliff Richard, The audition date, Theakston was suddenll' Shadows and Johnny Kidd & the + E I g * \ 't::"' [: E E EI trF fi, a tE E El E m EI il E: s EI \l I x

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Piratcs. But ir.r 1950, buclding proclucer comprositions by Jervr1,, nou. knor'vn as Cleorgc Martin joined the company after Shane Fenton. Spurred b1, their modest studyir.rg at thc Lluildl"rall School of N.[usic chart shou,ings, the groul.r embarked on and Dlama anrl working briefly frrr the a tour thlt inclucled Liverpool's Cavern ::Lr|]g ,,irti:lit::llli:: BBC's classical music clcpurtment. When Club, headlining a biii that inclucled the label boss Oscar Preuss letired in 1955, nascent Beatlcs. T\r'o months later the,v lr r\ 1':-:., Martir-r became top ciog at Parlophone. releasccl lt's All Over Now, peakecl : l'r.' "vhich Most of Martin's work had been at #29, rvith the Jcu,ry co-rvrite l4lhy rl,itl'r nor.elty acts, proclucing recorcls Little (]irl on the R-side. by comedians such ;rs Pcter Sellels, At this time in the rock business, . .:r.::r&:.iiarrr Bernard Cribbins, Brucc Forsyth and emphrisis was placed on the lead singer, Peter Cook and Dudlel' N{oore, along rvitl-r u.hich rneant that, u,hile Parlopl-rone

MOR artists such as Cleo Lairre, .lohnn1, gru( )lr)c(l Shl rl(' Fcn to ll's pop inl :lit-(' i n Dar-rku,orth, Humphrey Ll,ttelton and anticipation of a solo carccE l-ris bircl

On The Ground, u'as the fir'st of n-rany rnill i on l istenels," Jer'vry later expl ained. t n :t ''Peoplq e would still be buying a record six months afterwards, so even if it wasn'r in !' ed rhe Top 30 anymore it was still selling a few thousand each week." Yet despite solid songs penned by esrablished writers or band members, and played by top-drawer musicians, plus numerous film, radio, TV and live appearances. (including their own regular Swing Along With Shane radio show). Shane Fenton and the Fentones had failed ro carve themselves a lasting niche like Billy Fury, or Cli[iand The Shadows. Tlreir next two singles, Too Young For Sad Memories/You're Telling Me (the first penned by Larry Parnes scribe Lionel Bart) and lAln't Got Nobody/Hey Miss Ruby, didn't chart at all. Neither did rwo Fenton solo singles A Foal's Paradise (written by Eden Kane, who also sang $ backing vocals) and Don'l Do That,both released in 1963. ln July oFthat year d Jewry rejoined the 'Tones for Hey Lulu/ n I Do, Do You. the latter sel F-pen ned, but ief this also failed to do any business. What It',s was the problem? ling Although not derivarive. Shane and the Fenrones'music was reminiscent of Cliff nichard and The Shadows and many or. other acts, albeit not quite as smooth, Lsed a little rougher around thdlddges. And while originals such as I'm A Moody Guy and Walk Away had a rock'n'rol] une edge to them, cover songs and Shadows on soundalike tunes had failed to make their mark. Add to that the intense :d competition from existing rivals and,

) more importan tly, burgeoning new beat acts as The Beatles whom TS, such - with producer George Martin was now t5 spending much more of his time - and the d. reason was obvious. + { ,.]i: =l ,{ /7t\ t L&}i

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In1964, Shane Fenton and the Fentones Bernard appeared for the last time on the BBC's Jewry had left Saturday Club,the scene oftheir first the group in success. Over the years, the band's line-up late 1964 ("I'd had changed frequently as drummer Tony had enough Hinchcliffe emigrated to South Africa, of touring," he handing over to George Rodda, who had later confessed beaten Keith Moon to the slot. In 1963, "It was doing '' l dre: Rodda was replaced by Bobby Elliott, who my head in and "a glir stayed a few months before joining new I needed a break"). He moved into music .iving Parlophone signing The Hollies, making management, working with the Holiies Choo ' way for Don Burrel1. and Luiu before returning to his roots The Then Jewry left, and the band with the Shane Fenton Rock'n'roll Trio. .-ihe11e

continued as an instrumental outfit "We played nothing but '50s rock'n'roll," STAT. S, before joining vocalist Duffii Povyer for he stated proudl-v. "We'd get to a club Alr'in a tour of Germany, even recording a where we'd either die completely or we'd Pops t couple of covers with hin:', Money Honey storm the place and they'd be up dancing rvho c andLawdy Miss Clawdy, with the young on the tables. After a while we got a nice looke Ginger Baker (these tracks are included little circuit of rock'n'ro1l venues." fWo He tu on the 2002 RPM compilationLeapers singles were released on Bil1y Fury's Hal C And Sleepers). After parting from Duffy, eponymous record label in1972 (Eastern the Fentones returned to Mansfield Seaboard/Blind Fool as Shane Fenton ,rl: and played locally before winding up and The Fly/Perdona Mia as To Jo E11is'), in September 1965. The adventure had but another fluke r,vas about to bring the lasted four years, but their early promise singer his second big career break. had run out after just one, and for the In 197 3, former song plugger-turned- c0 next three they had merely been marking ll,riter/producer Peter Shelle"v and music time. It was over. industry accountant Michael (now $, Lord) Ler'ry formed a record label called Magnet Records. Subsequent Magnet '..:::.. i ) . ...)..r..:..bt:? mani '*w*:*xt*w: 1t'. t',1,*,o: artists would include rockabilly rebels aka i ili'' Matchbox, doo-r.vop revir.al outfit Darts, g'ritr -*^nq' '':fii &'.i,i'IF Gu-vs'n'Dolls and guitar p1a1,er Cl-rris Rea, been ,^' but first the pair needed a hit to launch got t iw S#fifq, f.- .,,:r,a,,:;:. :te.,.:, .:g their new enterprise. "We had no artists," Bror :,', ,.i&t.. "'* Levy later said, 'Just a logo and a name." a go: t'* So Shelle.v penned and recorded a son€ t, * pop tune entitied My Coo Ca Choo, like releasing the record under the fictitious chat name of Alvin Stardust. Expectations Ir for the single were 1ow, so Shelley was Fen' gobsmacked to be offered a slot on tllt N{ot OffWith Ayshed, a teen pop shorv that gun had broken David Borvie's StarmanlB lvhi months earlier. With his new label's hec success at stake, Shelley took the gig. sinl !

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1975. There were later hits in the 1980s - with disastrous results. Black streaks with Nat King Cole's Pretend (a #4 hit on "I dressed for the part," he later recalled, appeared on his face, and his hands were StiffRecords in lg8l), I FeelLikeBuddy "a glitter-suited recluse who had been covered with indelible purple stains. Holly and I Won't Run Away, which both living in Spain. To my surprise, My Coo Ca "There was no way I could go on TV reached #7 in1984. Choo went into the charts the next week." looking like that," he recalled, "so I found As with his brief t96os rock'n'roll The record hit, but A&R director a theatrical wigmaker who had these success - nine months of modest hits lr I Shelley had no desire to become a pop long, black sideburns, perfect for covering followed by a series of flop singles tlrl {t I star, so the search was on to find a'real' up the streaks on my face. llhey fitted and a slide into obscurity - Jewry's Alvin Stardust in time for aTop Of The them there and then." A trip to a ladies' second career as Alvin Stardust was d Pops appearance. "I wanted someone outfitters for a pair ofblack leather gloves also brief: a run ofbig hits that tailed who could sing rock'n'roll but who to cover his stained hands completed off after just over a year. However, ilirl a lil ) Iooked pretty mean," Shelley said later. the masquerade. Suitably disguised and having won his place in the glam rock lr He turned to Bil1y Fury's former agent sheathed head-to-toe in black leather pantheon, combining 1970s glitter with llr Hal Carter, who just happened to be a la Gene Vincent, Je\.vry stepped onto retro-rock reminiscent of his earlier career, he became a British rock'n'roll icon, continuing to record and piay to "l SAID ',YEAH!', AND IHOUGHI '.JilY starstruck audiences, often sporting a towering jet-black parody wig and NA['4E LIKE platform shoes, until his death from T(}(} M CH()(), AND A ATVIil prostate cancer in 2014 at the age of 72. llll rli When Rolling Stone Keith Richards STARDUSI? IT DOESN'I STAND A CHA}I(E"' dubbed him'the Godfather of British rock'n'ro11', nobody knew whether he managing rock'n'roller Shane Fenton; the podium onTop Of ThePops and lip- meant Shane Fenton or Aivin Stardust. aka Bernard Jewry: "Hal said'I know this synched to Shelley's vocais. In realiry it was Bernard Jewry a seminal writer and producer Peter Shelley who's "Bernard could clearly sing, as his great figure on the UK rock scene for more til been working with Marty Wilde and he's live performances proved," expiained than half a century who, even as he got this song but neither Marty nor Joe Ler,ry', "but it was Peter's voice on that transcended the millennium, remained Brown want to do it. Do you fancy having first record. That was standard record true to the early rock sounds ofthose a go?' I said 'Yeahl' Then I thought, A industry practice at the time." Whoever pre-Beatles days. song called My Coo Ca Choo and a name was singing Alvin Stardust became an "Whatever I've been into over the years like Alvin Stardust? It doesn't stand a overnight sensation, and by December I've alu,a.vs slipped back into rock'n'roli, chance!"' He went for it just the same. 1973 My Coo Ca Choohad shot to #2 in just to keep my brain together," he In contrast to his 1960s blond Shane the UK charts. A raft of hits followed in declared in2OO9. "Even now we'll do a Fenton took, Jewry devised a new image. 1974,b$ this time Jewry sang the songs: '50s rock'n'roll set - in fact sometimes Modelling himself on Jack Palance's follow-up single Jealous Mind topped I'll do a whole night of rock'n'rol1." gunslinger role in the 1952 movie Shane the charts, followed by RedDress,You His perennial energ'y, enthusiasm and which had inspired Johnny Theakston, You You, Tell Me Why and Good Love dedication to original rock'n'ro11 is the il he dyed his hair black in his bathroom Can Never Diq with Sweet Cheatin' Rita reason u,h.v, for many music fans, the sink the night before his big performance being the last ofthe run to chart in early Jewry will never be out. * iil

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