the bettajive review magazine #35
The exciting Mystery Train Riders feature in this issue
Aaaaaand, we are back! For those who have wondered where the live feeds have gone, where are the gig photos, where's the latest Bettajive Review Magazine? Well here's a quick resume for you.
Pic on the left, is how most of you know June. This was taken a couple of weeks ago. What you may not know is that for the last ten years or so, she has had issues with arthritis. Tough to understand if you've seen us on the dancefloor I know
2014, she had to have her right hip replaced, 2018 surgery on her left knee, 2022 her left hip was replaced, and finally just over ten weeks ago, her left knee was replaced. Each time she has bounced back with enthusiasm, despite the many challenges such operations bring forth. Therefore, gigs and travelling long distances have had to be on hold for the past two and a half months. We have booked the Rhythm Riot to maintain her 100% attendance record, but it's unlikely she will be dancing. I'll have a bop or two but I only jive with June, so most of the time I'll do the photography for our magazine.
She's now walking well with the use of a nordic pole, and knowing her as I do, she'll bounce back once again (and there are no plans to complete the set!) See you somewhere soon in October.
In this issue, we have two interviews for you. Sharon Thurston you may know as Whiskey Jean, and Ian Gillon Jr, who you may know as Ian Gillon Jr :) from the Wigsville Spliffs, the Bus Stop Boys, Juke Joint Jump, and regular MC at the Rhythm Riot. We also have a review of his first solo album release. Bands featured are the Mystery Train Riders, The Royal Flush and The Rhythm Aces.
True this issue may not be as 'bumper' as the last, or for that matter what is planned for the next two. We are usually out and about every weekend, or attending some kind of festival (unlike a supposed, favourite Rock 'n' Roll magazine, that had no one attend and cover the biggest Rockabilly weekender in the country *sic*). But that has not been possible or practical in the past weeks of course.
Enjoy
We rely on donations to help keep this magazine free to read, so if you'd like to donate, please use the button below. Many thanks
Pic on the left, is how most of you know June. This was taken a couple of weeks ago. What you may not know is that for the last ten years or so, she has had issues with arthritis. Tough to understand if you've seen us on the dancefloor I know
2014, she had to have her right hip replaced, 2018 surgery on her left knee, 2022 her left hip was replaced, and finally just over ten weeks ago, her left knee was replaced. Each time she has bounced back with enthusiasm, despite the many challenges such operations bring forth. Therefore, gigs and travelling long distances have had to be on hold for the past two and a half months. We have booked the Rhythm Riot to maintain her 100% attendance record, but it's unlikely she will be dancing. I'll have a bop or two but I only jive with June, so most of the time I'll do the photography for our magazine.
She's now walking well with the use of a nordic pole, and knowing her as I do, she'll bounce back once again (and there are no plans to complete the set!) See you somewhere soon in October.
In this issue, we have two interviews for you. Sharon Thurston you may know as Whiskey Jean, and Ian Gillon Jr, who you may know as Ian Gillon Jr :) from the Wigsville Spliffs, the Bus Stop Boys, Juke Joint Jump, and regular MC at the Rhythm Riot. We also have a review of his first solo album release. Bands featured are the Mystery Train Riders, The Royal Flush and The Rhythm Aces.
True this issue may not be as 'bumper' as the last, or for that matter what is planned for the next two. We are usually out and about every weekend, or attending some kind of festival (unlike a supposed, favourite Rock 'n' Roll magazine, that had no one attend and cover the biggest Rockabilly weekender in the country *sic*). But that has not been possible or practical in the past weeks of course.
Enjoy
We rely on donations to help keep this magazine free to read, so if you'd like to donate, please use the button below. Many thanks
the bettajive review
Welcome, Bienvenue, Wilkommen. Who are those people you meet when you arrive at a club? Who are those poor forgotten, forlorn individuals that are entrusted with ‘taking the money’ as you go in? Well brothers and sisters of this congregation, beware, not all are what they seem.
Let’s face it readers, how would you like to be the one ‘appropriate’ to sit out in a draughty foyer of a village hall, while the temperature rises within, it steadily drops in your environment? (Rhetorical question of course). Often, it’s the club boss’ ‘less or non-rockin’ relation’. If they want to spend Saturday night with their boyfriend or girlfriend, they’re not going to bounce around on your furniture under the thin guise of ‘housesitting’, they can bally-well help by taking the money at the door at the club! Either that or it’s time for mum/dad to stop rattling around their house all alone, let’s invite them to our rock n roll club…..then abandon them in the foyer for three hours, with rubber stamp & ink pad, cloakroom tickets, grandchild with a colouring book/tablet, a force eight gale whistling round their ears and the flyers blowing around.
How many times have you blundered through the doors at a village hall followed by stinging wisps of drizzle and a hooley blowing the ladies ponytails horizontal, to find a solitary grey faced soul huddled within their snorkel parka, with just their nose poking out? The door you entered has a slow closer mechanism which only enhances the strength of the breeze and sends piles of ‘Our Next Gig’ notifications across the foyer confetti style. The meet-and-greeter has been stationed there since doors opening and will be there ‘til about 10.30.
Their only source of warmth being the waft that accompanies people as they exit on their way to the toilets or outside for a nicotine fix. Ah the wonders of being near the toilets eh readers. The main issue being that sooo much is clearly audible. The conversations, the declarations of like, love and dislike, the physical projectile results of over-indulgence, and of course normal ablutions, covering more tooting notes than the French Horn Concerto (other concertos for brass instruments with wrapped tubing and flared bell, are available). And the only recompense for them is half a lager for their troubles, that’s flatter than a flounder!
To add insult to that particular injury, sometimes they have to sell raffle tickets as well. The thankless task of walking around revelling rock n rollers and trying to tease a quid a strip for five cloakroom tickets. Five tickets to win a prize from the owners recent ram-raid of the pound shop, and the inevitable ‘Here’s a pound, where’s the strip then hur hur’ (that sound you can hear is your eyes rolling). Then fold them up into an empty Celebrations tub (other miniature chocolate bar selections, are available). Oh, it doesn’t end there though, they are the ones that have to go out into the night and try and find if someone outside having a smoke has ‘pink ticket 240-245’.
Mind you there are those charged with this task who take it seriously to the nth degree as we have encountered.
One infamous occasion was when we went to a well-established, though now sadly defunct, Rock ‘n’ Roll club in an ‘affiliated’ (© Colin Crompton circa 1974) club environment. Entering the long and wide entrance hall, we were halted by a decidedly bumptious hobgoblin, chain smoking behind an equally small table (you could smoke indoors then!). Enquiring about our membership cards, I explained we were only visiting for the rock n roll, he insisted we were supposed to be members of the club. As many other punters concertina-ed up behind us, we were aware of a certain amount of tutting and sighing, along with a worried ambience of ‘hang on, we’re not members either’, while the few that were, attempted to sidle past.
It was clear we were not going to get in by the normal means, so I offered us to join the club, only to be told it would have to go before the committee in a couple of weeks, and a member had to propose us and get a seconder. Feeling this had the ingredients of a wind-up, and expecting someone from You Tube to appear, and oh how we’d laugh, I suggested maybe he go and have a word with the chairman of the rock n roll club. Refusing to vacate the area, one of the members already allowed to pass, fetched him out. Rounding the corner with a face like a beetroot, sweating bullets and full of apologies, the chairman offered to sign us in. Filling in the chit, he was asked to produce his membership card….which of course, he didn’t have with him. While he was being admonished by the jobsworth pixie, and the queue of tutters and blowers got longer, we finally entered the club. You couldn’t make it up folks.
Hopefully nowadays, any such requirements to get into a club are made apparent before new punters travel any distance. Now we tend check in advance, though even that can be fraught with problems. Unusually for us, we had two potential additions to our journey to see the Jets some years ago (that’s all I’ll say), so me, and three females. To ensure our unhindered entrance to the gig, I rang one of the honchos a few days before. Although he wouldn’t be on the door, he insisted to just mention his name to those that were, and we’d get in. Oh yeah! I made him aware that I had some potentially pretty aggressive cargo along with me and if even one of them was premenstrual, and there was the remotest chance our entry would be refused, somebody’s bum would be in a sling!
The above might be extremes, readers, though I would say, next time you zip through the entrance, do spare a thought for the door people. On the whole it must be soul destroying watching the world go by on it’s way to a night of enjoyment, while they have just a pile of pound coins for company. And to you door people…….you should really come in, IT’S GREAT inside 😊
Let’s face it readers, how would you like to be the one ‘appropriate’ to sit out in a draughty foyer of a village hall, while the temperature rises within, it steadily drops in your environment? (Rhetorical question of course). Often, it’s the club boss’ ‘less or non-rockin’ relation’. If they want to spend Saturday night with their boyfriend or girlfriend, they’re not going to bounce around on your furniture under the thin guise of ‘housesitting’, they can bally-well help by taking the money at the door at the club! Either that or it’s time for mum/dad to stop rattling around their house all alone, let’s invite them to our rock n roll club…..then abandon them in the foyer for three hours, with rubber stamp & ink pad, cloakroom tickets, grandchild with a colouring book/tablet, a force eight gale whistling round their ears and the flyers blowing around.
How many times have you blundered through the doors at a village hall followed by stinging wisps of drizzle and a hooley blowing the ladies ponytails horizontal, to find a solitary grey faced soul huddled within their snorkel parka, with just their nose poking out? The door you entered has a slow closer mechanism which only enhances the strength of the breeze and sends piles of ‘Our Next Gig’ notifications across the foyer confetti style. The meet-and-greeter has been stationed there since doors opening and will be there ‘til about 10.30.
Their only source of warmth being the waft that accompanies people as they exit on their way to the toilets or outside for a nicotine fix. Ah the wonders of being near the toilets eh readers. The main issue being that sooo much is clearly audible. The conversations, the declarations of like, love and dislike, the physical projectile results of over-indulgence, and of course normal ablutions, covering more tooting notes than the French Horn Concerto (other concertos for brass instruments with wrapped tubing and flared bell, are available). And the only recompense for them is half a lager for their troubles, that’s flatter than a flounder!
To add insult to that particular injury, sometimes they have to sell raffle tickets as well. The thankless task of walking around revelling rock n rollers and trying to tease a quid a strip for five cloakroom tickets. Five tickets to win a prize from the owners recent ram-raid of the pound shop, and the inevitable ‘Here’s a pound, where’s the strip then hur hur’ (that sound you can hear is your eyes rolling). Then fold them up into an empty Celebrations tub (other miniature chocolate bar selections, are available). Oh, it doesn’t end there though, they are the ones that have to go out into the night and try and find if someone outside having a smoke has ‘pink ticket 240-245’.
Mind you there are those charged with this task who take it seriously to the nth degree as we have encountered.
One infamous occasion was when we went to a well-established, though now sadly defunct, Rock ‘n’ Roll club in an ‘affiliated’ (© Colin Crompton circa 1974) club environment. Entering the long and wide entrance hall, we were halted by a decidedly bumptious hobgoblin, chain smoking behind an equally small table (you could smoke indoors then!). Enquiring about our membership cards, I explained we were only visiting for the rock n roll, he insisted we were supposed to be members of the club. As many other punters concertina-ed up behind us, we were aware of a certain amount of tutting and sighing, along with a worried ambience of ‘hang on, we’re not members either’, while the few that were, attempted to sidle past.
It was clear we were not going to get in by the normal means, so I offered us to join the club, only to be told it would have to go before the committee in a couple of weeks, and a member had to propose us and get a seconder. Feeling this had the ingredients of a wind-up, and expecting someone from You Tube to appear, and oh how we’d laugh, I suggested maybe he go and have a word with the chairman of the rock n roll club. Refusing to vacate the area, one of the members already allowed to pass, fetched him out. Rounding the corner with a face like a beetroot, sweating bullets and full of apologies, the chairman offered to sign us in. Filling in the chit, he was asked to produce his membership card….which of course, he didn’t have with him. While he was being admonished by the jobsworth pixie, and the queue of tutters and blowers got longer, we finally entered the club. You couldn’t make it up folks.
Hopefully nowadays, any such requirements to get into a club are made apparent before new punters travel any distance. Now we tend check in advance, though even that can be fraught with problems. Unusually for us, we had two potential additions to our journey to see the Jets some years ago (that’s all I’ll say), so me, and three females. To ensure our unhindered entrance to the gig, I rang one of the honchos a few days before. Although he wouldn’t be on the door, he insisted to just mention his name to those that were, and we’d get in. Oh yeah! I made him aware that I had some potentially pretty aggressive cargo along with me and if even one of them was premenstrual, and there was the remotest chance our entry would be refused, somebody’s bum would be in a sling!
The above might be extremes, readers, though I would say, next time you zip through the entrance, do spare a thought for the door people. On the whole it must be soul destroying watching the world go by on it’s way to a night of enjoyment, while they have just a pile of pound coins for company. And to you door people…….you should really come in, IT’S GREAT inside 😊
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Dot...dot Best tracks in the world ever ever to crisp your crackling for this month are Hank Thompson’s ‘Let’s Get Drunk and Be Somebody’ (top jiver from 1969 indeed), ‘Don’t Call Me Sweetie’ by the DeCastro Sisters and Pat Cupp’s ‘Do Me No Wrong’….. I’ve noticed photos of groups of boppers on the dancefloor posted on t’internet. Dunno about you readers, but they always look to me like a Long John Silver convention…..Jivers look like mixed tag team wrestling and strollers are always caught as if a gust of wind has swept in……As you will read in the Rhythm Aces review, the covered Johnny Kidd material. What a great single ‘Please Don’t Touch’ and ‘Growl’ was/is folks…….Whilst on the subject, isn’t it amazing that there is no live performance film footage of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates out there? (or at least none that we've seen)....... How rockin’ are you? In the supermarket, there were three tills open, and massive queues at them. A fourth till opening was announced, and I walked straight to the front of it. The people in the other queues nudged each other and said, ‘Wow, he’s really rockin’……….
Next up at Chesterfield RnR Club, click on the flyer for details
The Royal Flush
Flushed with talent. Remember when July was hot? Kind of. Well, that was the case when we paid our first visit to the Central Rock n Roll Club in Ibstock, Leicestershire at the beginning of the month. The venue was the Central Bar, a site that had undergone considerable renovation we were told. Indeed, the coolness of the air conditioning made it very conducive to a comfortable evening for the many that turned up for the evening.
The band, The Royal Flush, were on tour from Switzerland, and were playing the second date of their UK tour. Their reputation went before them, and were a considerable draw for the locals and those from surrounding areas, shall we say. DJ and organiser, Sharon Thurston, known to many of you as Whiskey Jean (as in Whiskey Jean and the Chasers and the Del Sharrons), took DJ duties for the gig.
The Royal Flush, formed in 2007, consist of band members that appear to have single names, Raffu, Domu, Marcu and Romu (I’m missing umlauts over the second letter of each member’s name, simply because I am still a keyboard luddite), and employ the classic instrument line up of lead and rhythm guitars, upright bass and drums. Opening up with ‘Freight Train Boogie’, they soon treated the crowd to some of their own material, like the thumping bop beat of ‘Just a Bottle of Booze’ equalled in the shout-back style of ‘Jump Left, Jump Right’ with it’s slidey, blues-bop-meets-Rockabilly sound.
Similar in style, ‘Time to Bop’, suggesting the appropriate moves to make, accompanied by enthusiastic onstage gyrations. Indeed, on a number of occasions these moves extended out into the crowd, who were loving it right at the front. The growling beat of ‘Moonshine Truck’ and nippy rocker ‘Bop to The Boogie’ ended the first set, to considerable adulation from the crowd.
Set two opened up with a tune I might suggest that if Johnny Horton had lived, would have recorded. ‘Rocking Tonight’ has a ‘I’m Coming Home’ feel about it, solid track. Likewise the curiously titled ‘No Snobby Hole’ , ‘Switchblade’ and ‘Call My Lady’ had the crowd attentively bouncing at the stage. ‘We Wanna Rock, We Wanna Roll’ is a call to arms, and once again features the call-and-answer style, similar to ‘Teenage Boogie’, although that’s where the similarities finish(!).
A breathless performance from start to finish, well deserving of the rowdy cheers at the end of the show. A memorable visit to Ibstock for us, at a club that has regular events covering a variety of Rock n Roll styles, which you can keep up with here https://www.facebook.com/CentralRnR It would be rude not to
The band, The Royal Flush, were on tour from Switzerland, and were playing the second date of their UK tour. Their reputation went before them, and were a considerable draw for the locals and those from surrounding areas, shall we say. DJ and organiser, Sharon Thurston, known to many of you as Whiskey Jean (as in Whiskey Jean and the Chasers and the Del Sharrons), took DJ duties for the gig.
The Royal Flush, formed in 2007, consist of band members that appear to have single names, Raffu, Domu, Marcu and Romu (I’m missing umlauts over the second letter of each member’s name, simply because I am still a keyboard luddite), and employ the classic instrument line up of lead and rhythm guitars, upright bass and drums. Opening up with ‘Freight Train Boogie’, they soon treated the crowd to some of their own material, like the thumping bop beat of ‘Just a Bottle of Booze’ equalled in the shout-back style of ‘Jump Left, Jump Right’ with it’s slidey, blues-bop-meets-Rockabilly sound.
Similar in style, ‘Time to Bop’, suggesting the appropriate moves to make, accompanied by enthusiastic onstage gyrations. Indeed, on a number of occasions these moves extended out into the crowd, who were loving it right at the front. The growling beat of ‘Moonshine Truck’ and nippy rocker ‘Bop to The Boogie’ ended the first set, to considerable adulation from the crowd.
Set two opened up with a tune I might suggest that if Johnny Horton had lived, would have recorded. ‘Rocking Tonight’ has a ‘I’m Coming Home’ feel about it, solid track. Likewise the curiously titled ‘No Snobby Hole’ , ‘Switchblade’ and ‘Call My Lady’ had the crowd attentively bouncing at the stage. ‘We Wanna Rock, We Wanna Roll’ is a call to arms, and once again features the call-and-answer style, similar to ‘Teenage Boogie’, although that’s where the similarities finish(!).
A breathless performance from start to finish, well deserving of the rowdy cheers at the end of the show. A memorable visit to Ibstock for us, at a club that has regular events covering a variety of Rock n Roll styles, which you can keep up with here https://www.facebook.com/CentralRnR It would be rude not to
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A mystery no more. Chesterfield the following night bought another new band for us, the Mystery Train Riders. They had come recommended by friends in the North East who had already checked them out at a couple of clubs up there, over a ‘broon ale’ or two. Hopefully the guys won’t mind the observation of mixing the younger with the slightly more experienced musicians. On lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Chris Blakely, who despite being in his early twenties, has a wealth of experience already. On lead guitar, the towering figure of Dan Garland, slinging the orange Gretsch. The senior members are Terry Warnock on double bass, with Michael ‘Sticks’ Stoker on drums, both with masses of experience from Bernie and Bluenotes among others.
DJs as always for the night, the highly dependable Steve O and Andy B, spinning the type of stuff that just about every gig, has us going ‘What’s this one then’. Top dance tunage from all corners of the Rock ‘n’ Roll spectrum.
The lads took the stage for their first set. With their name, many wondered if there would be an Elvis, Sun Records feel to the set list. And what do you know, they opened up with ‘Baby Let’s Play House’ in the Presley style (as opposed to the Bluesy Harold Gunter original). But that was it, along with ‘What a Wonderful Life’ from ’62, as far as Elvis was concerned for the first set, as they followed up ably with Eddie Cochran’s ‘C’mon Everybody’ and ‘Jeanie Jeanie Jeanie’, which sandwiched a really good take of Cliff’s ‘We Say Yeah’.
They ripped through Chalie Gracie’s ‘Fabulous’ and rocked out some Rockabilly classics with ‘Everybody’s Movin’, ‘Bertha Lou’, the slightly slower tempo of Glen Glenn’s ‘One Cup of Coffee and a Cigarette’ and Dale Hawkins’ ‘Teenage Dolly’. It might seem a little disingenuous to flag up an instrumental as one of the best tracks of the night, but we have to flag up the awesome version of Duane Eddy’s ‘Rebel Rouser’ from 1958. Just the right amount of twang on Dan’s guitar, so much so, you wouldn’t miss the sax breaks of the original. Smashing.
The second set hit the ground running with another kicking instro, this time the Surfaris’ surf anthem, ‘Wipeout’. This set also had the switching in styles and from the well known to the slightly lesser covered tracks. Some more Elvis with ‘Paralysed’ and ‘Little Sister’, and class Rockabilly stuff like ‘Blue Jeans and Boy’s Shirt’, ‘Rockin’ Daddy’ and Don Woody’s ‘You’re Barking up the Wrong Tree’. Then there was popular material, involving audience participation with ‘Teenager in Love’ and ‘The Wanderer’.
Gene’s seminal classic ‘Be Bop a Lula’ and indeed the follow up, ‘Race With the Devil’ showed up with Dale Hawkins’ ‘Little Pig’ and, unsurprisingly, ‘Mystery Train’ closing a top show. Check these guys out folks, you won’t be disappointed.
DJs as always for the night, the highly dependable Steve O and Andy B, spinning the type of stuff that just about every gig, has us going ‘What’s this one then’. Top dance tunage from all corners of the Rock ‘n’ Roll spectrum.
The lads took the stage for their first set. With their name, many wondered if there would be an Elvis, Sun Records feel to the set list. And what do you know, they opened up with ‘Baby Let’s Play House’ in the Presley style (as opposed to the Bluesy Harold Gunter original). But that was it, along with ‘What a Wonderful Life’ from ’62, as far as Elvis was concerned for the first set, as they followed up ably with Eddie Cochran’s ‘C’mon Everybody’ and ‘Jeanie Jeanie Jeanie’, which sandwiched a really good take of Cliff’s ‘We Say Yeah’.
They ripped through Chalie Gracie’s ‘Fabulous’ and rocked out some Rockabilly classics with ‘Everybody’s Movin’, ‘Bertha Lou’, the slightly slower tempo of Glen Glenn’s ‘One Cup of Coffee and a Cigarette’ and Dale Hawkins’ ‘Teenage Dolly’. It might seem a little disingenuous to flag up an instrumental as one of the best tracks of the night, but we have to flag up the awesome version of Duane Eddy’s ‘Rebel Rouser’ from 1958. Just the right amount of twang on Dan’s guitar, so much so, you wouldn’t miss the sax breaks of the original. Smashing.
The second set hit the ground running with another kicking instro, this time the Surfaris’ surf anthem, ‘Wipeout’. This set also had the switching in styles and from the well known to the slightly lesser covered tracks. Some more Elvis with ‘Paralysed’ and ‘Little Sister’, and class Rockabilly stuff like ‘Blue Jeans and Boy’s Shirt’, ‘Rockin’ Daddy’ and Don Woody’s ‘You’re Barking up the Wrong Tree’. Then there was popular material, involving audience participation with ‘Teenager in Love’ and ‘The Wanderer’.
Gene’s seminal classic ‘Be Bop a Lula’ and indeed the follow up, ‘Race With the Devil’ showed up with Dale Hawkins’ ‘Little Pig’ and, unsurprisingly, ‘Mystery Train’ closing a top show. Check these guys out folks, you won’t be disappointed.
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The Rhythm Aces
Aces ace it. For our first trip out in nearly three months, we were back at Chezzy again. This time, it was the return of the Rhythm Aces to the club. This handily co-incided with the Ted walk, locally and hence brought in a load of like-minded ‘Aces fans. In fact, it was another bumper crowd at the Birdholme venue, digging the sounds once again from Andy B and Steve O, along with a guest set from Steve Mellor. A healthy chunk of British Rock ‘n’ Roll peppered the records, while the Rhythm Aces set up.
The familiar sight of the lads immaculately turned out in their long black drapes drew the crowd to stage front. The line up is now Pete Lyth on lead guitar and vocals, with Chevy Coles slapping the white upright bass and Luke Twyford on drums. An energetic first set opened up with a kicking version of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates’ 1959 chart hit ‘Please Don’t Touch’. Tough to think it ‘only’ reached #25 on the chart, however ‘Shakin’ All Over’ which also made an appearance, hit the top spot (1960). ‘Rockin’ Daddy’ and ‘Put Your Cat Clothes On’ rocked along in quick succession. Their own ‘Me and the Boys’, along with the evergreen original ’78 RPM’ featured in the first set, two first class rockers indeed.
A couple of other British classics hit the high and goldens, namely Tommy Steele’s ‘Take Me Back Baby’ and Billy Fury’s ‘Turning My Back On You’ which had the assembled bopping down the front. The anthemic ‘Brand New Cadillac’ topped off a hugely well received first set.
Set two picked it up again, and included a healthy slab of the band’s own material, the throbbing drumbeat of ‘The First Teenager’, the thump-ticking rhythm of ‘Tunnel of Love’, the twangy ‘Carry On Teddyboy’ and the fist pumping ‘ATEDtude’. Some of these originals are over thirteen years old readers, hard to believe that.
Those tunes were blended with Rock ‘n’ Roll classics, like, ‘Twenty Flight Rock’, ‘Matchbox’ and ‘High School Confidential’ and Tommy Tucker’s 1963 bluesy rocker ‘Hi-Heeled Sneekers’. Out of left field came ‘Bop ‘til I Drop’, by Ray Dorset, released in 1969. Ray Dorset? Well think Mungo Jerry, that’s him. And there was also time for another anthem, Ray Campi’s ‘Rockabilly Man’ and the encore of Chuck Berry’s ‘Maybelline’, which topped off another memorable night at the Derbyshire club.
The familiar sight of the lads immaculately turned out in their long black drapes drew the crowd to stage front. The line up is now Pete Lyth on lead guitar and vocals, with Chevy Coles slapping the white upright bass and Luke Twyford on drums. An energetic first set opened up with a kicking version of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates’ 1959 chart hit ‘Please Don’t Touch’. Tough to think it ‘only’ reached #25 on the chart, however ‘Shakin’ All Over’ which also made an appearance, hit the top spot (1960). ‘Rockin’ Daddy’ and ‘Put Your Cat Clothes On’ rocked along in quick succession. Their own ‘Me and the Boys’, along with the evergreen original ’78 RPM’ featured in the first set, two first class rockers indeed.
A couple of other British classics hit the high and goldens, namely Tommy Steele’s ‘Take Me Back Baby’ and Billy Fury’s ‘Turning My Back On You’ which had the assembled bopping down the front. The anthemic ‘Brand New Cadillac’ topped off a hugely well received first set.
Set two picked it up again, and included a healthy slab of the band’s own material, the throbbing drumbeat of ‘The First Teenager’, the thump-ticking rhythm of ‘Tunnel of Love’, the twangy ‘Carry On Teddyboy’ and the fist pumping ‘ATEDtude’. Some of these originals are over thirteen years old readers, hard to believe that.
Those tunes were blended with Rock ‘n’ Roll classics, like, ‘Twenty Flight Rock’, ‘Matchbox’ and ‘High School Confidential’ and Tommy Tucker’s 1963 bluesy rocker ‘Hi-Heeled Sneekers’. Out of left field came ‘Bop ‘til I Drop’, by Ray Dorset, released in 1969. Ray Dorset? Well think Mungo Jerry, that’s him. And there was also time for another anthem, Ray Campi’s ‘Rockabilly Man’ and the encore of Chuck Berry’s ‘Maybelline’, which topped off another memorable night at the Derbyshire club.
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What a brilliant all dayer this will be in early 2024
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Although the accommodation is sold out, you can still join in the weekender by contacting the office. Click the flyer for details
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Jokers Wild – Ian Gillon Jr
CD Review
As you have probably gathered from our interview from elsewhere in this issue, we were sent a copy of Ian Gillon Jr’s first solo album. In the accompanying note sent to us, he suggests that gigging this track-list will be a ‘swine’, conjuring up frightfully English black-and-white Ealing comedy skits. It would be a gig worthy of the entrance fee for sure. So how about the CD? Well, it’s a mix of tracks that have been stored hard drive of life until finally seeing the light of day on this release, along with a couple of old Wigsville Spliffs tunes reworked.
All the instruments (sic) are played by Ian, all the mixing, mastering and general knob twiddling, he did as well, and probably vacuumed the studio up afterwards. The eye-catching artwork was created by Jonathan Hensman of www.Jonathanhensmanart.co.uk
From the moment you pop the CD in the player, you’ll be taken on an uplifting and joyous gambol through various style, opening up with a saucepot of a jaunt named ‘Gonna Win Your Heart’. A hot mix of piano driven boogie, harmony vocals within the chorus, a super cool sax break, complemented by slap bass and lead guitar. Ace jive beat for dancers and toe-tappers alike.
The title track, ‘Joker’s Wild’, tinged with a slight irony in that Ian didn’t have the greatest affection for it, although the band at the time (Bus Stop Boys) did. Confined to the back burner for nigh on two decades, it’s now out there, with it’s horn blaring backing and deft lead guitar work, with just the right amount of reverb to the vocals. As many know, I’m a sucker for slide guitar, and there’s some slickness in the six-string glide to open up the first of the reworked Wigsville Spliff tracks ‘Lovin’ Man’. A corking bluesy number, at a slower tempo compared to the original, adding to the duration, which is by no means a bad thing folks.
‘Hot Chilli Dip’ is another masterclass in bringing every instrument to the fore, set against Ian’s vocals. This has seen the light of day after laying on the metaphorical cutting floor since the Juke Joint Jump days. It’s a frantic two-and-three-quarter minutes, both vocally and musically, and for dancefloor enthusiasts, has an almost twist tempo. How about a surf sounding instrumental then? Well for that, you might recall Peter Sellers’ hapless and inept detective, Jacques Clouseau in the Pink Panther film from 1964 ‘A Shot In The Dark’. Ian has taken Henry Mancini’s moody theme tune and injected some crashing waves, in the percussive sense, and pacy guitar work to the fore, to produce this three-minute winner.
I saw ‘Soaking Wet’ as the next song listed, and given the propensity of the jump jive style Ian’s performed and written in the past, I really did wonder if it was going to be about the weather. Don’t let the search for a double entendre detract from the appreciation of this cool stroll beat. Next up is a real peach of a doo-wop number, conceived in that crazy Covid lockdown time. The harmony vocals are spot on, I wonder how it is harmonising with yourself, and the tempo is so uplifting despite the bitter-sweet lyrics. Contender for track of the release, and even those who ‘don’t-wop’ I reckon will like this.
Tickling the ivories once again to open a track, we move on to ‘High Time’, a catchy jump blues number, sounding like it had been a discovered and dusted off 78rpm from way back when. Nope, it’s an original, and a darn good one at that. ‘Beat The Blues’ is another bouncing beauty, you could imagine Cab Calloway or Louis Armstrong’s vocal delivery over the rich 40’s rhythm. ‘I Guess I’m Drunk Again’ is the second amelioration of a Wigsville Spliffs song. The original was a thump-ticking bass driven Rockabilly belter. This take has added horns, and piano to add an adjunct to the R&B sound.
From the accompanying notes we were supplied with, it was suggested that ‘Rock With My Grandfather Clock’ was going to be ‘much ruder’ than it has turned out to be. Maybe there will be a post-watershed version somewhere down the line for those still desperately searching for a double entendre. Whatever, this has it all, a rolling beat, a highly effective key change, and everything a jiver could desire. Curses, it’s the ‘Last Roll of the Dice’ already. The final track, peppered with key changes and a smashing baritone sax break. A fitting end to the track listing.
So much to appreciate on this release readers. Musicianship, vocals, well-crafted lyrics and there’s such a feel-good vibe about it. We defy you not to enjoy it. Excellent
Like what you see so far? How about popping a donation over to help keep this magazine free to read. Donate button below
CD Review
As you have probably gathered from our interview from elsewhere in this issue, we were sent a copy of Ian Gillon Jr’s first solo album. In the accompanying note sent to us, he suggests that gigging this track-list will be a ‘swine’, conjuring up frightfully English black-and-white Ealing comedy skits. It would be a gig worthy of the entrance fee for sure. So how about the CD? Well, it’s a mix of tracks that have been stored hard drive of life until finally seeing the light of day on this release, along with a couple of old Wigsville Spliffs tunes reworked.
All the instruments (sic) are played by Ian, all the mixing, mastering and general knob twiddling, he did as well, and probably vacuumed the studio up afterwards. The eye-catching artwork was created by Jonathan Hensman of www.Jonathanhensmanart.co.uk
From the moment you pop the CD in the player, you’ll be taken on an uplifting and joyous gambol through various style, opening up with a saucepot of a jaunt named ‘Gonna Win Your Heart’. A hot mix of piano driven boogie, harmony vocals within the chorus, a super cool sax break, complemented by slap bass and lead guitar. Ace jive beat for dancers and toe-tappers alike.
The title track, ‘Joker’s Wild’, tinged with a slight irony in that Ian didn’t have the greatest affection for it, although the band at the time (Bus Stop Boys) did. Confined to the back burner for nigh on two decades, it’s now out there, with it’s horn blaring backing and deft lead guitar work, with just the right amount of reverb to the vocals. As many know, I’m a sucker for slide guitar, and there’s some slickness in the six-string glide to open up the first of the reworked Wigsville Spliff tracks ‘Lovin’ Man’. A corking bluesy number, at a slower tempo compared to the original, adding to the duration, which is by no means a bad thing folks.
‘Hot Chilli Dip’ is another masterclass in bringing every instrument to the fore, set against Ian’s vocals. This has seen the light of day after laying on the metaphorical cutting floor since the Juke Joint Jump days. It’s a frantic two-and-three-quarter minutes, both vocally and musically, and for dancefloor enthusiasts, has an almost twist tempo. How about a surf sounding instrumental then? Well for that, you might recall Peter Sellers’ hapless and inept detective, Jacques Clouseau in the Pink Panther film from 1964 ‘A Shot In The Dark’. Ian has taken Henry Mancini’s moody theme tune and injected some crashing waves, in the percussive sense, and pacy guitar work to the fore, to produce this three-minute winner.
I saw ‘Soaking Wet’ as the next song listed, and given the propensity of the jump jive style Ian’s performed and written in the past, I really did wonder if it was going to be about the weather. Don’t let the search for a double entendre detract from the appreciation of this cool stroll beat. Next up is a real peach of a doo-wop number, conceived in that crazy Covid lockdown time. The harmony vocals are spot on, I wonder how it is harmonising with yourself, and the tempo is so uplifting despite the bitter-sweet lyrics. Contender for track of the release, and even those who ‘don’t-wop’ I reckon will like this.
Tickling the ivories once again to open a track, we move on to ‘High Time’, a catchy jump blues number, sounding like it had been a discovered and dusted off 78rpm from way back when. Nope, it’s an original, and a darn good one at that. ‘Beat The Blues’ is another bouncing beauty, you could imagine Cab Calloway or Louis Armstrong’s vocal delivery over the rich 40’s rhythm. ‘I Guess I’m Drunk Again’ is the second amelioration of a Wigsville Spliffs song. The original was a thump-ticking bass driven Rockabilly belter. This take has added horns, and piano to add an adjunct to the R&B sound.
From the accompanying notes we were supplied with, it was suggested that ‘Rock With My Grandfather Clock’ was going to be ‘much ruder’ than it has turned out to be. Maybe there will be a post-watershed version somewhere down the line for those still desperately searching for a double entendre. Whatever, this has it all, a rolling beat, a highly effective key change, and everything a jiver could desire. Curses, it’s the ‘Last Roll of the Dice’ already. The final track, peppered with key changes and a smashing baritone sax break. A fitting end to the track listing.
So much to appreciate on this release readers. Musicianship, vocals, well-crafted lyrics and there’s such a feel-good vibe about it. We defy you not to enjoy it. Excellent
Like what you see so far? How about popping a donation over to help keep this magazine free to read. Donate button below
Building on the success of the past two years, Juniper Fayre's fine event is back for 2024. Click the flyer for details
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Hot Rock n Boogie is back again for 2024. Claire and Neil Seabrook's event promises another top weekender. Click the flyer for details
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Ian on stage as MC at the Rhythm Riot
Interview with Ian Gillon Jr
Musician, vocalist, songwriter and regular MC at the Rhythm Riot, Ian Gillon Jr has been a mainstay on the Rock ‘n’ Roll music circuit for many years. Think the Wigsville Spliffs, The Bus Stop Boys and Juke Joint Jump, and now, the release of his first solo long player.
An interview was definitely over due. We start with some background
BJR. We ask many of our interviewees this question, where did your interest in 50’s Rock ‘n’ Roll start?
IGR Pretty much in the late 1970’s just after Glam Rock fizzled out. Decided I didn't like what was on the radio and TV anymore so I dug back a bit and discovered the 1950’s.
BJR. Did you get ‘into’ 50’s styles in the so-called revival of the 70’s & 80’s?
IGR Yes I pretty much started off as a sort of Ted with homemade gear. Mum stitched a velvet collar on my Dads de mob suit! But after a couple of trips to The Royalty Southgate I soon changed into a Hep Cat!
BJR. What was the first musical instrument you decided you wanted to play?
IGR I started to play guitar when I was 8 but my lessons were classical and I hated it as at the time. I wanted to be like Noddy Holder in Slade or a Sweet style Glam Rock band and the two were a million miles apart! Gave up lessons at the age of 11 as my parents didn't want to waste 50p for half an hour if I wasn't getting it! LOL
BJR. Do you recall the first songs you learned?
IGR When I was 8 it was Mel bay book one classical stuff but when I started playing Rock n Roll at about 14 I am pretty sure it was Peggy Sue. Record on, play along needle on, needle off. Then the Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps album took a similar hammering. Cruising, Pretty Pretty Baby, Who Slapped John etc loved and still love that stuff.
BJR. What was the name of your first band, and where did you play first?
IGR The first band I ever played a gig with didnt even have a name. We played youth clubs and I remember playing for my Mum & Dads 25th Wedding anniversary. I was about 15. The first named band was Spellbound and that same line up became the Wigsville Spliffs.
BJR. Tell us about the Wigsville Spliffs, and your involvement in the band
IGR I formed the Spliffs with my best mate from childhood Mike Lister and another buddy of ours Danny Mowl RIP. We started as Spellbound but found there was a country and western band with that name. I came up with Wigsville Spliffs as I thought there wasn't any danger of two bands with that name. Wigsville is referred to in Ray Ellingtons Long Black Nylons and Spliffs came from Willy Boy Waldo and the Harlem Spliffs, an imaginary band written up in the sleeve notes on a Stargazers EP. being from the sticks I didnt even realise what a spliff was back then! Just thought it was a cool name. Oh the innocence of youth in 1980. We started playing the Rockabilly circuit but from initially loving it we found it went a bit stale in the mid 80’s the fans seemed to be more obsessed with how they looked and being original and not so keen on being as wild as they were in the early 80’s. We got invited to play at the now legendary KluB Foot and switched over to the neo/psychobilly circuit but we still just played our normal set. Suddenly there was wildness again in the audience which is for me what it was all about.
Musician, vocalist, songwriter and regular MC at the Rhythm Riot, Ian Gillon Jr has been a mainstay on the Rock ‘n’ Roll music circuit for many years. Think the Wigsville Spliffs, The Bus Stop Boys and Juke Joint Jump, and now, the release of his first solo long player.
An interview was definitely over due. We start with some background
BJR. We ask many of our interviewees this question, where did your interest in 50’s Rock ‘n’ Roll start?
IGR Pretty much in the late 1970’s just after Glam Rock fizzled out. Decided I didn't like what was on the radio and TV anymore so I dug back a bit and discovered the 1950’s.
BJR. Did you get ‘into’ 50’s styles in the so-called revival of the 70’s & 80’s?
IGR Yes I pretty much started off as a sort of Ted with homemade gear. Mum stitched a velvet collar on my Dads de mob suit! But after a couple of trips to The Royalty Southgate I soon changed into a Hep Cat!
BJR. What was the first musical instrument you decided you wanted to play?
IGR I started to play guitar when I was 8 but my lessons were classical and I hated it as at the time. I wanted to be like Noddy Holder in Slade or a Sweet style Glam Rock band and the two were a million miles apart! Gave up lessons at the age of 11 as my parents didn't want to waste 50p for half an hour if I wasn't getting it! LOL
BJR. Do you recall the first songs you learned?
IGR When I was 8 it was Mel bay book one classical stuff but when I started playing Rock n Roll at about 14 I am pretty sure it was Peggy Sue. Record on, play along needle on, needle off. Then the Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps album took a similar hammering. Cruising, Pretty Pretty Baby, Who Slapped John etc loved and still love that stuff.
BJR. What was the name of your first band, and where did you play first?
IGR The first band I ever played a gig with didnt even have a name. We played youth clubs and I remember playing for my Mum & Dads 25th Wedding anniversary. I was about 15. The first named band was Spellbound and that same line up became the Wigsville Spliffs.
BJR. Tell us about the Wigsville Spliffs, and your involvement in the band
IGR I formed the Spliffs with my best mate from childhood Mike Lister and another buddy of ours Danny Mowl RIP. We started as Spellbound but found there was a country and western band with that name. I came up with Wigsville Spliffs as I thought there wasn't any danger of two bands with that name. Wigsville is referred to in Ray Ellingtons Long Black Nylons and Spliffs came from Willy Boy Waldo and the Harlem Spliffs, an imaginary band written up in the sleeve notes on a Stargazers EP. being from the sticks I didnt even realise what a spliff was back then! Just thought it was a cool name. Oh the innocence of youth in 1980. We started playing the Rockabilly circuit but from initially loving it we found it went a bit stale in the mid 80’s the fans seemed to be more obsessed with how they looked and being original and not so keen on being as wild as they were in the early 80’s. We got invited to play at the now legendary KluB Foot and switched over to the neo/psychobilly circuit but we still just played our normal set. Suddenly there was wildness again in the audience which is for me what it was all about.
With the Bus Stop Boys (on the right w/ sax
BJR. The Bus Stop Boys, produced a different sound, tell us about your role in that band
IGR After the Spliffs stopped playing I was getting itchy feet and wanted to play again. I always loved the Stargazers and later King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys. So after initially going out as another rockabilly style band the Bus Stop Boys eventually morphed into a Jive style group with Sax and piano. We did pretty well on the UK swing Jive scene and played a few times abroad, in France and Germany. Great times with some great guys. Produced 2 albums both of which pretty much sold out as far as I know. Jive Time as both a 10” vinyl and then a CD and Honking at the Honey CD only..
BJR. A question specifically from June, what prompted the change from the Bus Stop Boys to Juke Joint Jump, when the sound was very similar?
IGR It was mainly when Gary Newman, our sax and piano player, decided to call it a day. The Bus Stop Boys was very much about its members and though we carried on for a while in the same guise it wasn't the same. So a few of us original BSB’s decided to add a few new members and have a try as Juke Joint Jump. I always fancied a full horn section too, so that was a chance to try something else. It never really took off as the band members were in other bands and it became too difficult for promoters to book us when all members were available.
Bit of a curse I find these days especially in the UK. You see so many bands sharing the same horn section or piano player.. I don't particularly like that but it's just the way it is.
IGR After the Spliffs stopped playing I was getting itchy feet and wanted to play again. I always loved the Stargazers and later King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys. So after initially going out as another rockabilly style band the Bus Stop Boys eventually morphed into a Jive style group with Sax and piano. We did pretty well on the UK swing Jive scene and played a few times abroad, in France and Germany. Great times with some great guys. Produced 2 albums both of which pretty much sold out as far as I know. Jive Time as both a 10” vinyl and then a CD and Honking at the Honey CD only..
BJR. A question specifically from June, what prompted the change from the Bus Stop Boys to Juke Joint Jump, when the sound was very similar?
IGR It was mainly when Gary Newman, our sax and piano player, decided to call it a day. The Bus Stop Boys was very much about its members and though we carried on for a while in the same guise it wasn't the same. So a few of us original BSB’s decided to add a few new members and have a try as Juke Joint Jump. I always fancied a full horn section too, so that was a chance to try something else. It never really took off as the band members were in other bands and it became too difficult for promoters to book us when all members were available.
Bit of a curse I find these days especially in the UK. You see so many bands sharing the same horn section or piano player.. I don't particularly like that but it's just the way it is.
With Juke Joint Jump at Twinwood
BJR. What inspired you to produce a solo album?
IGR. I haven't got any friends!…………….well no actually it was a mix of things. When you record in a studio at our level it's always a bit rushed due to cost and you end up in the hands of the sound engineer. Sometimes the result isn't quite what you envisaged. I always wanted to have a go at doing the whole bit so set about assembling my own home studio and having a go. Also while we were in lockdown though I still worked at my day job throughout it gave me something to do in the evening. It was a heck of a learning curve and I am positive I have done things that a real sound engineer would say that's a no no too but I have managed to get the CD completed and actually I am pretty pleased with the result for the most part. Playing all the instruments and singing all the vocals, mixing and mastering 11 original tracks with only one cover. Shame is I can't ever see myself being able to do much with it in terms of playing it live as I would need at least an 8 piece band and that is a hard act to assemble.
BJR. Any other projects in the pipeline?
IGR I will start another solo CD at some point but need a bit of a break to be honest to gather more inspiration for songs. I could of course do an album of covers but I prefer creating new music. I can't compete with the original performers so doing your own stuff is my mantra.
The Wigsville Spliffs are still playing so keep an eye out for us.
You never know the Ian Gillon Jr band could happen but it will depend if the CD sparks the imagination. Come on you DJ’s I just need one track to be a dance floor filler!
BJR. Where can people get in touch with you about your music?
IGR Best bet is head to my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/IanGillonJr or check my you tube channel https://www.youtube.com/@iangillonjr
I have started to create a Google site too https://sites.google.com/view/ian-gillon-jr which can be found on links from the aforementioned pages. A PayPal link is on the page to click if anyone would like a copy of Jokers Wild My solo CD or just PM me on Facebook if you don't have paypal.
I will also have some with me at the Rhythm Riot so maybe I will be lucky and sell some then. Please don't be shy folks!
I am keeping a few back as in November we (The Wigsville Spliffs) are doing a memorial gig for our old pal Big Ian Smith who was taken from us at the young age of 30 and I will be donating a couple of quid from any sales to the Meningitis charity.
BJR. TY IGJr 4 the intvw 😉
IGR. I haven't got any friends!…………….well no actually it was a mix of things. When you record in a studio at our level it's always a bit rushed due to cost and you end up in the hands of the sound engineer. Sometimes the result isn't quite what you envisaged. I always wanted to have a go at doing the whole bit so set about assembling my own home studio and having a go. Also while we were in lockdown though I still worked at my day job throughout it gave me something to do in the evening. It was a heck of a learning curve and I am positive I have done things that a real sound engineer would say that's a no no too but I have managed to get the CD completed and actually I am pretty pleased with the result for the most part. Playing all the instruments and singing all the vocals, mixing and mastering 11 original tracks with only one cover. Shame is I can't ever see myself being able to do much with it in terms of playing it live as I would need at least an 8 piece band and that is a hard act to assemble.
BJR. Any other projects in the pipeline?
IGR I will start another solo CD at some point but need a bit of a break to be honest to gather more inspiration for songs. I could of course do an album of covers but I prefer creating new music. I can't compete with the original performers so doing your own stuff is my mantra.
The Wigsville Spliffs are still playing so keep an eye out for us.
You never know the Ian Gillon Jr band could happen but it will depend if the CD sparks the imagination. Come on you DJ’s I just need one track to be a dance floor filler!
BJR. Where can people get in touch with you about your music?
IGR Best bet is head to my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/IanGillonJr or check my you tube channel https://www.youtube.com/@iangillonjr
I have started to create a Google site too https://sites.google.com/view/ian-gillon-jr which can be found on links from the aforementioned pages. A PayPal link is on the page to click if anyone would like a copy of Jokers Wild My solo CD or just PM me on Facebook if you don't have paypal.
I will also have some with me at the Rhythm Riot so maybe I will be lucky and sell some then. Please don't be shy folks!
I am keeping a few back as in November we (The Wigsville Spliffs) are doing a memorial gig for our old pal Big Ian Smith who was taken from us at the young age of 30 and I will be donating a couple of quid from any sales to the Meningitis charity.
BJR. TY IGJr 4 the intvw 😉
Sharon, pic by Becky Ryan https://www.beckyryanphotography.co.uk/
Interview with Sharon Thurston
Singer, songwriter, gig promoter, guitarist, DJ and radio presenter, that’s quite the resume for anyone. These titles all apply to Sharon Thurston, also known as Whiskey Jean. After meeting her for the first time at the recent Royal Flush gig at one of the clubs she runs, we were keen to get an interview with her. So here we go
BJR. What first got you into 1950’s music and fashions?
ST – So my love of 1950s music started from a very early age really. I was around 5 years old and we had several cassette tapes in the car that we’d listen to on long journeys, and one of my favourites was a Rock n Roll Greatest hits tape. I remember 2 tracks from the tape really well, they were ‘Lipstick on Your Collar – Connie Francis’ and ‘Rubber Ball – Bobby Vee’. My dad (Rob Thurston) also had a large part to play in my love of and fascination of the 1950s music, because I remember him playing guitar at home when I was very young and 2 songs I loved him playing were Teenager in Love – Dion & the Belmonts and Sea of Heartbreak Don Gibson!!
It wasn’t until I was a little older, when I started to discover more and more music and began to naturally have a preference to certain styles and genres. I would come to realise they were Rock n Roll. I had my first CD player from the age of 8 years old and at the time only had 2 CDs. I quickly got extremely bored with them, so I turned to my step mum and asked her if I could borrow and listen to some of her CDs. Little did I know at the time she used to go out to RnR dances all the time from a young age, and her music collection certainly reflected that and I discovered music from Buddy Holly, Elvis and some compilations CDs. One of which was a soundtrack CD from the tv programme, Heartbeat, which I may have worn out the CD or something, if I remember rightly, I played it that much!!
So, to my step mum if you’re reading this my apologies but you shouldn’t have had such good taste in music lol! I often remember my mum listening to rock n roll music too during the time she was at home and both my mum and step mum are great Jivers and my dad too, who I’d learn was, or should I say, is, a Teddy Boy. Then, when I was around 10 years old, I first watched the film Grease, and that started my love for the fashion the cars and style etc of the 1950s further enhanced when I first watched the film Dirty Dancing age 13 I think. I even went on to perform in a school production of Grease when I was 15 or 16 but by this point my love of the music and fashion was already strong. I went to my first weekender when I was 15 I believe. I remember seeing Marty Wilde and dressing the part, I had recently been taught to jive by my step mum and I will always remember me and my dad dancing to Marty Wilde performing Teenager in Love!! The music just does something to me and makes my heart and soul happy!! Although my heart lies firmly with the 1950s styles of music, I am also a big fan of many other genres too one of my other favourites being blues, but almost all my favourite music is from decades that occurred long before I was born.
BJR. What came first, your interest in the 50’s or playing the guitar?
ST – My love of the 1950s and music definitely! However, I have been singing since a ridiculously young age as early as 3 years old and had a Fisher Price toy recording thing which would record your voice to tape lol, and have recordings from the age of 3 onwards, which NO, will never be released hahaha. I didn’t have any training or anything until I did a BTech performing arts at school which was Dance, Drama and Music where I learnt some singing and breathing techniques, which helped me along with my natural ability to sing. The first time I played an instrument, I was, I think around 10 years old and it was actually piano. We had a music lesson at school prior to my BTech years and we all had an electric Keyboard in front of us. We all had to learn the same thing over the space of 2 lessons and perform it. It just so happened to be a Rock n roll piece.
Anyway, I played it in the lesson and was quite good and the teacher kept teaching me extra bits to add in to make it better. At home I had the tiniest little piano toy thing, and I had really small fingers, so I practiced it at home. My dad overheard me playing and could see what I was playing on and obviously felt I had potential. I aced the exam and then begged my dad for a year to get me a proper keyboard and around my 11th or 12th birthday I got my wish. However, as he predicted LOL (sorry dad) I got bored very quickly and because my dad seemed to be playing guitar more and more it led me to then want to learn guitar. I was 13 when I started playing and have had many challenges along the way that I’d come to realise was most likely down to my EDS (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) which is a rare illness in which one of the symptoms is that all the joints are floppier than they should be. So certain chords took me longer than usual to master, but to overcome this I have developed almost my own style of playing rhythm guitar but it seems to fit and just blend nicely in the background in both my bands, The Del Sharrons & Whiskey Jean & The Chasers.
Singer, songwriter, gig promoter, guitarist, DJ and radio presenter, that’s quite the resume for anyone. These titles all apply to Sharon Thurston, also known as Whiskey Jean. After meeting her for the first time at the recent Royal Flush gig at one of the clubs she runs, we were keen to get an interview with her. So here we go
BJR. What first got you into 1950’s music and fashions?
ST – So my love of 1950s music started from a very early age really. I was around 5 years old and we had several cassette tapes in the car that we’d listen to on long journeys, and one of my favourites was a Rock n Roll Greatest hits tape. I remember 2 tracks from the tape really well, they were ‘Lipstick on Your Collar – Connie Francis’ and ‘Rubber Ball – Bobby Vee’. My dad (Rob Thurston) also had a large part to play in my love of and fascination of the 1950s music, because I remember him playing guitar at home when I was very young and 2 songs I loved him playing were Teenager in Love – Dion & the Belmonts and Sea of Heartbreak Don Gibson!!
It wasn’t until I was a little older, when I started to discover more and more music and began to naturally have a preference to certain styles and genres. I would come to realise they were Rock n Roll. I had my first CD player from the age of 8 years old and at the time only had 2 CDs. I quickly got extremely bored with them, so I turned to my step mum and asked her if I could borrow and listen to some of her CDs. Little did I know at the time she used to go out to RnR dances all the time from a young age, and her music collection certainly reflected that and I discovered music from Buddy Holly, Elvis and some compilations CDs. One of which was a soundtrack CD from the tv programme, Heartbeat, which I may have worn out the CD or something, if I remember rightly, I played it that much!!
So, to my step mum if you’re reading this my apologies but you shouldn’t have had such good taste in music lol! I often remember my mum listening to rock n roll music too during the time she was at home and both my mum and step mum are great Jivers and my dad too, who I’d learn was, or should I say, is, a Teddy Boy. Then, when I was around 10 years old, I first watched the film Grease, and that started my love for the fashion the cars and style etc of the 1950s further enhanced when I first watched the film Dirty Dancing age 13 I think. I even went on to perform in a school production of Grease when I was 15 or 16 but by this point my love of the music and fashion was already strong. I went to my first weekender when I was 15 I believe. I remember seeing Marty Wilde and dressing the part, I had recently been taught to jive by my step mum and I will always remember me and my dad dancing to Marty Wilde performing Teenager in Love!! The music just does something to me and makes my heart and soul happy!! Although my heart lies firmly with the 1950s styles of music, I am also a big fan of many other genres too one of my other favourites being blues, but almost all my favourite music is from decades that occurred long before I was born.
BJR. What came first, your interest in the 50’s or playing the guitar?
ST – My love of the 1950s and music definitely! However, I have been singing since a ridiculously young age as early as 3 years old and had a Fisher Price toy recording thing which would record your voice to tape lol, and have recordings from the age of 3 onwards, which NO, will never be released hahaha. I didn’t have any training or anything until I did a BTech performing arts at school which was Dance, Drama and Music where I learnt some singing and breathing techniques, which helped me along with my natural ability to sing. The first time I played an instrument, I was, I think around 10 years old and it was actually piano. We had a music lesson at school prior to my BTech years and we all had an electric Keyboard in front of us. We all had to learn the same thing over the space of 2 lessons and perform it. It just so happened to be a Rock n roll piece.
Anyway, I played it in the lesson and was quite good and the teacher kept teaching me extra bits to add in to make it better. At home I had the tiniest little piano toy thing, and I had really small fingers, so I practiced it at home. My dad overheard me playing and could see what I was playing on and obviously felt I had potential. I aced the exam and then begged my dad for a year to get me a proper keyboard and around my 11th or 12th birthday I got my wish. However, as he predicted LOL (sorry dad) I got bored very quickly and because my dad seemed to be playing guitar more and more it led me to then want to learn guitar. I was 13 when I started playing and have had many challenges along the way that I’d come to realise was most likely down to my EDS (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) which is a rare illness in which one of the symptoms is that all the joints are floppier than they should be. So certain chords took me longer than usual to master, but to overcome this I have developed almost my own style of playing rhythm guitar but it seems to fit and just blend nicely in the background in both my bands, The Del Sharrons & Whiskey Jean & The Chasers.
Pic by Becky Ryan https://www.beckyryanphotography.co.uk/
BJR. Do you recall the first songs you learnt and performed?
ST – Well the first songs I can remember learning and performing were at primary school and we did an ABBA song and the ‘Bare Necessities’ LOL the first song I learnt on guitar I think was My Girl the Temptations – I’m not sure why that song, but my dad taught me my first few chords and set me on my way with guitar, he could play that song and thought it’d be a good one to try. I didn’t perform it as such though but I’m assuming by the next question
BJR. And your debut performance in front of an audience, do you recall that?
ST - School years and karaoke performances aside lol it was with my 1st band the Del Sharrons in July, I think it was 2009 at a small event in Markfield mostly a gathering of friends and we did an hour’s set.
BJR. You are very involved in two bands, the Del Sharrons and Whiskey Jean and the Chasers. How do the two differ, and what roles do you take in each band?
ST – This is naturally a question I get asked a lot so I’ll give a little backstory on both bands before highlighting the main differences between the two. The Del Sharrons first formed in 2009 just 3 friends with a love for old music until we added a lead guitarist. The line up has changed over the years but has been the same now for 6 years and is our strongest line up yet. Whiskey Jean & The Chasers however only formed in Spring 2019. The band sort of happened by accident with our drummer contacting Matt (the 2nd lead singer in Whiskey Jean) about a potential gig booking at our West end Rock n Roll club with their band which at the time was Aaron and the Houndogs. They got chatting and it turned out they were going to be in need of a lead singer, Matt happened to mention we were singers so we met up and everything gelled really well and the band was born. At the time my aunty, who was like a 2nd mum to me hadn’t long passed away and we needed a band name, we discussed a lot of ideas involving her name Jean and settled on Whiskey Jean & The Chasers because whiskey was her favourite drink.
Anyway, back to the original question, lol, the difference between the bands are that firstly Whiskey Jean & the Chasers is a 6 Piece band With 2 Lead singers Myself & Matt Collins as well as Mark Widdowson on Piano, Chris Henson on Drums, Dennis Smith on Lead Guitar and Danny Gill on Double Bass. Whiskey Jean & The Chasers perform 1950s music, as well as Modern or Revival Tracks but also our very own original tracks too. T
The Del Sharrons however is just a 4 piece band with Jullian Pugh on Lead Guitar, Andy Horrobin on Double Bass and Raffael De Vivo on Drums with only myself on Lead Vocals. The other main difference between the two is that The Del Sharrons perform only cover songs and they are now all 1950s tracks rather than Revival or Modern Rockin Tracks. Hopefully that’s helped highlight some of the differences between the 2 bands, but both bands are aimed to get you up on the dance floor or tapping your feet!!
Just to add a bit more excitement to the mix I’ve recently become part of 3rd band a Buddy Holly Tribute Band as a backing singer for Buddy Holly Tribute – Danny Gill (whiskey Jean Dbl Bassist) which is the Whiskey Jean and the Chasers band members but with Danny Gill on lead guitar, Dennis Smith on Double Bass, Mark Widdowson on Piano & Rhythm Guitar, Chris Henson on Drums & Myself and Matt Collins on Backing Vocals. We recently performed our 1st gig and I’m looking forward to more gigs to come in the future.
BJR. Who are your influences (past and present)
ST – I have so many both past and present, I think some of my influences have to of course include those closest to me, my parents and step mum from growing up with some of their great music tastes. I also have to thank Matt because he influences me with encouragement and has given me faith many times in my own writing ability when I have perhaps lacked it, as I’m sure we all do from time to time. I also have a few really good friends who have always encouraged me too and I continue to be influenced by all the talented musicians I get to share a stage with. But musical influences from the past include the likes of Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Everly Bros, Dion & The Belmonts, Big Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, Brenda Lee, Tiny Topsy, Clyde McPhatter, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Preston Wanda Jackson, Huelyn Devall and about a million more artists on top LOL.
BJR. Now let’s talk about you as a radio DJ. How did that come about? Especially the shows on WDIG and latterly, Splinterwood.
ST. So my radio career started by accident actually, haha. A good friend of mine, Andy Horrobin, was working for WDIG radio Station based in Dothan, Alabama USA. He had friends over there that owned the station Larry McKee and Janet Williams, and they thought how good it would be to have a British presenter presenting a British invasion show. The station has also been under the name WDYG when I first joined but changed back to its original name WDIG a few years back. I can’t recall the reason for the change now. Anyway, he also does a British Rockabilly Hayride playing all our Revival and Modern Rockin artists performing Classic American Rock n Roll Songs or performing music in an American RnR style. One day I was with Andys whilst he was doing his British Invasion radio show. Because of the time difference the shows are prerecorded and he asked if I wanted to join him and do a show and 7 years later I’m still doing shows now. But this left me wanting more and one day during the Pandemic, I saw an advert on the Splinterwood Radio Facebook page asking for Presenters. By this time, I had also got 2 years live DJing under my belt, as well as my experience with WDIG. Because Splinterwood is a Specialist 1950s Rock n Roll Station and one I’d listened to for many years, I honestly felt like I could give it a really good go. I had a lot of music and knowledge about the era, and scene already, enough to be able to satisfy a wide range of people and was absolutely thrilled when Brian welcomed me to the team!!
There was, of course one very big difference from the Splinterwood shows to the WDIG ones – The Splinterwood Ones were of course live, and although I have been live on radio and done live shows in America at the WDIG Headquaters, I had never presented a show on my own before and not live. When pre-recording a show the way we did it, you can edit and delete anything daft you might say, but of course you don’t have that luxury with live shows haha!! I can remember being very nervous before my first show in case I got tongue tied and a million other things, but it almost instantly disappeared as I started the show and now I’ve been at Splinterwood for nearly three years. I absolutely love the live aspect of the shows on Splinterwood and interacting with people and being told how much people enjoy it. I focus on trying to play a mix of music for everyone but often have themes to my shows, like animals where every song has an animal in the title or from a certain record label or all names in the title. This have proved to be very popular and often throws up some brilliant songs you either haven’t heard before or that don’t get played too often. I love all kinds of 1950s style music Rock n Roll, Rockabilly, Doowop, Blues and Country, but my shows focus on the more Rockin side of the music, songs with a good dance beat or ones you wouldn’t be able to play at a live in person event because they are not really danceable but still really great songs to listen to. You can catch me Live every Wednesday afternoon from 1pm-4pm or listen back to my shows over on Mixcloud by searching for Whiskey Jean.
BJR. And if that wasn’t enough, you are promoter at Rock n Roll clubs as well. Which clubs do you promote?
ST Yes, I am indeed lol …I must be mad!! So roughly 8 years ago our friend Andy who is also The Del Sharrons Double Bassist, was running Ibstock Rock and Roll as it was then called. My partner Matt who is also a lead singer in Whiskey Jeans and the Chasers, had contacted him, I think, regarding a potential booking for our band The Del Sharrons (which Andy wasn’t in at the time) and he said he was looking for someone to take over the club. We ended up jointly putting on a night in February with his band at the time Hot Rockin Bones and our band The Del Sharrons. This was a success and as of May that year, myself and Matt took over. It was held at The Central Bar Ibstock. Sadly about 2 years later the venue closed down, and after desperately trying to find a venue to use, to honour the events we already had in the diary, we moved to the West End in Coalville about 5-10 minutes away. We remained there right up until this year 2023 in May, when we had to move venue due to changes being put in place at the West End meaning we could no longer afford to use the venue. So we moved to Thringstone Rock n Roll at Thringstone Members Club about 10 minutes from our previous venue.
Prior to this we had been receiving reports that some people were no longer coming to what was Ibstock rock n roll since it moved to the west end for various reasons. So, in January 2022 Andy, who has always had some involvement in the club whether as a DJ himself or helping us out, decided to try an experiment after we had found out The Central Bar in Ibstock had not only reopened again, but also had a big and much needed refurb. He arranged with the venue to start up a Rock n Roll night again under the name Central Rock n Roll and asked if I would help promote it, to see if a venue change was indeed what we needed to help increase numbers again. But at first it didn’t seem to make much difference and we couldn’t have the dates we originally wanted due to the venue availability. Now it is always on the 1st Friday of the month and slowly over time the club has started to grow and the venue looks fabulous inside now with full disabled access and a fair size dance floor. We hope that both clubs continue to keep going, although neither club has had an easy time of it. There is talk of myself and Matt stepping in and taking more of a lead role in Central Rock ‘n’ Roll as of mid-next year where we plan to put on a variety of Rockin bands very different from Thringstone Rock n Roll. But for now, we are just hoping neither club becomes the next to disappear like so many others sadly have recently.
ST – Well the first songs I can remember learning and performing were at primary school and we did an ABBA song and the ‘Bare Necessities’ LOL the first song I learnt on guitar I think was My Girl the Temptations – I’m not sure why that song, but my dad taught me my first few chords and set me on my way with guitar, he could play that song and thought it’d be a good one to try. I didn’t perform it as such though but I’m assuming by the next question
BJR. And your debut performance in front of an audience, do you recall that?
ST - School years and karaoke performances aside lol it was with my 1st band the Del Sharrons in July, I think it was 2009 at a small event in Markfield mostly a gathering of friends and we did an hour’s set.
BJR. You are very involved in two bands, the Del Sharrons and Whiskey Jean and the Chasers. How do the two differ, and what roles do you take in each band?
ST – This is naturally a question I get asked a lot so I’ll give a little backstory on both bands before highlighting the main differences between the two. The Del Sharrons first formed in 2009 just 3 friends with a love for old music until we added a lead guitarist. The line up has changed over the years but has been the same now for 6 years and is our strongest line up yet. Whiskey Jean & The Chasers however only formed in Spring 2019. The band sort of happened by accident with our drummer contacting Matt (the 2nd lead singer in Whiskey Jean) about a potential gig booking at our West end Rock n Roll club with their band which at the time was Aaron and the Houndogs. They got chatting and it turned out they were going to be in need of a lead singer, Matt happened to mention we were singers so we met up and everything gelled really well and the band was born. At the time my aunty, who was like a 2nd mum to me hadn’t long passed away and we needed a band name, we discussed a lot of ideas involving her name Jean and settled on Whiskey Jean & The Chasers because whiskey was her favourite drink.
Anyway, back to the original question, lol, the difference between the bands are that firstly Whiskey Jean & the Chasers is a 6 Piece band With 2 Lead singers Myself & Matt Collins as well as Mark Widdowson on Piano, Chris Henson on Drums, Dennis Smith on Lead Guitar and Danny Gill on Double Bass. Whiskey Jean & The Chasers perform 1950s music, as well as Modern or Revival Tracks but also our very own original tracks too. T
The Del Sharrons however is just a 4 piece band with Jullian Pugh on Lead Guitar, Andy Horrobin on Double Bass and Raffael De Vivo on Drums with only myself on Lead Vocals. The other main difference between the two is that The Del Sharrons perform only cover songs and they are now all 1950s tracks rather than Revival or Modern Rockin Tracks. Hopefully that’s helped highlight some of the differences between the 2 bands, but both bands are aimed to get you up on the dance floor or tapping your feet!!
Just to add a bit more excitement to the mix I’ve recently become part of 3rd band a Buddy Holly Tribute Band as a backing singer for Buddy Holly Tribute – Danny Gill (whiskey Jean Dbl Bassist) which is the Whiskey Jean and the Chasers band members but with Danny Gill on lead guitar, Dennis Smith on Double Bass, Mark Widdowson on Piano & Rhythm Guitar, Chris Henson on Drums & Myself and Matt Collins on Backing Vocals. We recently performed our 1st gig and I’m looking forward to more gigs to come in the future.
BJR. Who are your influences (past and present)
ST – I have so many both past and present, I think some of my influences have to of course include those closest to me, my parents and step mum from growing up with some of their great music tastes. I also have to thank Matt because he influences me with encouragement and has given me faith many times in my own writing ability when I have perhaps lacked it, as I’m sure we all do from time to time. I also have a few really good friends who have always encouraged me too and I continue to be influenced by all the talented musicians I get to share a stage with. But musical influences from the past include the likes of Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Everly Bros, Dion & The Belmonts, Big Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, Brenda Lee, Tiny Topsy, Clyde McPhatter, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Preston Wanda Jackson, Huelyn Devall and about a million more artists on top LOL.
BJR. Now let’s talk about you as a radio DJ. How did that come about? Especially the shows on WDIG and latterly, Splinterwood.
ST. So my radio career started by accident actually, haha. A good friend of mine, Andy Horrobin, was working for WDIG radio Station based in Dothan, Alabama USA. He had friends over there that owned the station Larry McKee and Janet Williams, and they thought how good it would be to have a British presenter presenting a British invasion show. The station has also been under the name WDYG when I first joined but changed back to its original name WDIG a few years back. I can’t recall the reason for the change now. Anyway, he also does a British Rockabilly Hayride playing all our Revival and Modern Rockin artists performing Classic American Rock n Roll Songs or performing music in an American RnR style. One day I was with Andys whilst he was doing his British Invasion radio show. Because of the time difference the shows are prerecorded and he asked if I wanted to join him and do a show and 7 years later I’m still doing shows now. But this left me wanting more and one day during the Pandemic, I saw an advert on the Splinterwood Radio Facebook page asking for Presenters. By this time, I had also got 2 years live DJing under my belt, as well as my experience with WDIG. Because Splinterwood is a Specialist 1950s Rock n Roll Station and one I’d listened to for many years, I honestly felt like I could give it a really good go. I had a lot of music and knowledge about the era, and scene already, enough to be able to satisfy a wide range of people and was absolutely thrilled when Brian welcomed me to the team!!
There was, of course one very big difference from the Splinterwood shows to the WDIG ones – The Splinterwood Ones were of course live, and although I have been live on radio and done live shows in America at the WDIG Headquaters, I had never presented a show on my own before and not live. When pre-recording a show the way we did it, you can edit and delete anything daft you might say, but of course you don’t have that luxury with live shows haha!! I can remember being very nervous before my first show in case I got tongue tied and a million other things, but it almost instantly disappeared as I started the show and now I’ve been at Splinterwood for nearly three years. I absolutely love the live aspect of the shows on Splinterwood and interacting with people and being told how much people enjoy it. I focus on trying to play a mix of music for everyone but often have themes to my shows, like animals where every song has an animal in the title or from a certain record label or all names in the title. This have proved to be very popular and often throws up some brilliant songs you either haven’t heard before or that don’t get played too often. I love all kinds of 1950s style music Rock n Roll, Rockabilly, Doowop, Blues and Country, but my shows focus on the more Rockin side of the music, songs with a good dance beat or ones you wouldn’t be able to play at a live in person event because they are not really danceable but still really great songs to listen to. You can catch me Live every Wednesday afternoon from 1pm-4pm or listen back to my shows over on Mixcloud by searching for Whiskey Jean.
BJR. And if that wasn’t enough, you are promoter at Rock n Roll clubs as well. Which clubs do you promote?
ST Yes, I am indeed lol …I must be mad!! So roughly 8 years ago our friend Andy who is also The Del Sharrons Double Bassist, was running Ibstock Rock and Roll as it was then called. My partner Matt who is also a lead singer in Whiskey Jeans and the Chasers, had contacted him, I think, regarding a potential booking for our band The Del Sharrons (which Andy wasn’t in at the time) and he said he was looking for someone to take over the club. We ended up jointly putting on a night in February with his band at the time Hot Rockin Bones and our band The Del Sharrons. This was a success and as of May that year, myself and Matt took over. It was held at The Central Bar Ibstock. Sadly about 2 years later the venue closed down, and after desperately trying to find a venue to use, to honour the events we already had in the diary, we moved to the West End in Coalville about 5-10 minutes away. We remained there right up until this year 2023 in May, when we had to move venue due to changes being put in place at the West End meaning we could no longer afford to use the venue. So we moved to Thringstone Rock n Roll at Thringstone Members Club about 10 minutes from our previous venue.
Prior to this we had been receiving reports that some people were no longer coming to what was Ibstock rock n roll since it moved to the west end for various reasons. So, in January 2022 Andy, who has always had some involvement in the club whether as a DJ himself or helping us out, decided to try an experiment after we had found out The Central Bar in Ibstock had not only reopened again, but also had a big and much needed refurb. He arranged with the venue to start up a Rock n Roll night again under the name Central Rock n Roll and asked if I would help promote it, to see if a venue change was indeed what we needed to help increase numbers again. But at first it didn’t seem to make much difference and we couldn’t have the dates we originally wanted due to the venue availability. Now it is always on the 1st Friday of the month and slowly over time the club has started to grow and the venue looks fabulous inside now with full disabled access and a fair size dance floor. We hope that both clubs continue to keep going, although neither club has had an easy time of it. There is talk of myself and Matt stepping in and taking more of a lead role in Central Rock ‘n’ Roll as of mid-next year where we plan to put on a variety of Rockin bands very different from Thringstone Rock n Roll. But for now, we are just hoping neither club becomes the next to disappear like so many others sadly have recently.
Pic by Becky Ryan https://www.beckyryanphotography.co.uk/
BJR. Do you have time for anything else? 😊
ST Well, lol, in my very little spare time I have many little hobbies, I make most of my own Hair Flowers and sometimes can be found with a little stall selling my handmade flowers & Handmade Jewellery. Until I decided that all sewing machines in the world are against me, LOL, I did enjoy making the odd dress or skirt for myself, but I create all the posters for the 2 clubs, the flyers for my radio shows, band posters and run all the bands and club websites which also keeps me busy. I obviously also spend time listening to music, singing or song-writing, my life literally revolves around music. I wouldn’t change it for the world, but I also have to fit in time to rest and for hospital visits and such like because of my Ehlers Danlos Syndrome which takes a lot of different consultants and treatments to try and manage it.
I have found with the musician’s lifestyle you often miss out on a lot of social gatherings with family or friends because you are working during most of them, but I try my best to find time to catch up with everyone when I can and when we do have a rare weekend off we also try to support the clubs, Bands & Scene as best we can too.
BJR. What does the immediate future hold musically? Any recordings in the pipeline for example?
ST The immediate future is looking good, we have just released a brand-new Live album which was recorded this year at the Austin Sports and Social Club Longbridge Birmingham which is available from our website. We hope to release a new 4 track CD or Album in the earlier part of next year with some brand-new original tracks that I’ve been working on. I have lots of songs in the pipeline, all written by myself in a 1950s style, as were 10 of the songs on our first album release “My Little Miss” which we also still have copies of for sale on our website, but that release is also available to stream on most major music streaming platforms too so feel free to check us out!!
BJR. How can people get in touch for further information about your various ventures?
ST To keep up to date will all our ventures you can follow our pages on Facebook or Instagram or you can visit our websites, see all details below …..
The Del Sharrons – www.thedelsharrons.co.uk
Email – [email protected]
Facebook @thedelsharrons
Instagram @thedelsharrons
Whiskey Jean & The Chasers – www.whiskeyjeanchasers.com
Email – [email protected]
Facebook @whiskeyjeanchasers
Instagram @whiskeyjeanchasers
Twitter @WhiskeyJChasers
DJ Whiskey Jean – www.whiskeyjeanchasers.com/Dj-Whiskey-Jean
Email – [email protected]
Facebook @WhiskeyJeanSplinterwood
Instagram @WhiskeyJeanPerformer
Thringstone Rock n Roll – www.thringstonerocknroll.com
Email [email protected]
Facebook @thringstonerocknroll
Instagram @thringstonerocknroll
Central Rock n Roll – www.centralrocknroll.com
Email – [email protected]
Facebook – @Centralrocknroll
Instagram @centralrocknroll
Buddy Holly Tribute - Danny Gill www.buddytribute.com
Email - [email protected]
Facebook @BuddyTributeUK
BJR. Many thanks for taking part in our interview
ST Well, lol, in my very little spare time I have many little hobbies, I make most of my own Hair Flowers and sometimes can be found with a little stall selling my handmade flowers & Handmade Jewellery. Until I decided that all sewing machines in the world are against me, LOL, I did enjoy making the odd dress or skirt for myself, but I create all the posters for the 2 clubs, the flyers for my radio shows, band posters and run all the bands and club websites which also keeps me busy. I obviously also spend time listening to music, singing or song-writing, my life literally revolves around music. I wouldn’t change it for the world, but I also have to fit in time to rest and for hospital visits and such like because of my Ehlers Danlos Syndrome which takes a lot of different consultants and treatments to try and manage it.
I have found with the musician’s lifestyle you often miss out on a lot of social gatherings with family or friends because you are working during most of them, but I try my best to find time to catch up with everyone when I can and when we do have a rare weekend off we also try to support the clubs, Bands & Scene as best we can too.
BJR. What does the immediate future hold musically? Any recordings in the pipeline for example?
ST The immediate future is looking good, we have just released a brand-new Live album which was recorded this year at the Austin Sports and Social Club Longbridge Birmingham which is available from our website. We hope to release a new 4 track CD or Album in the earlier part of next year with some brand-new original tracks that I’ve been working on. I have lots of songs in the pipeline, all written by myself in a 1950s style, as were 10 of the songs on our first album release “My Little Miss” which we also still have copies of for sale on our website, but that release is also available to stream on most major music streaming platforms too so feel free to check us out!!
BJR. How can people get in touch for further information about your various ventures?
ST To keep up to date will all our ventures you can follow our pages on Facebook or Instagram or you can visit our websites, see all details below …..
The Del Sharrons – www.thedelsharrons.co.uk
Email – [email protected]
Facebook @thedelsharrons
Instagram @thedelsharrons
Whiskey Jean & The Chasers – www.whiskeyjeanchasers.com
Email – [email protected]
Facebook @whiskeyjeanchasers
Instagram @whiskeyjeanchasers
Twitter @WhiskeyJChasers
DJ Whiskey Jean – www.whiskeyjeanchasers.com/Dj-Whiskey-Jean
Email – [email protected]
Facebook @WhiskeyJeanSplinterwood
Instagram @WhiskeyJeanPerformer
Thringstone Rock n Roll – www.thringstonerocknroll.com
Email [email protected]
Facebook @thringstonerocknroll
Instagram @thringstonerocknroll
Central Rock n Roll – www.centralrocknroll.com
Email – [email protected]
Facebook – @Centralrocknroll
Instagram @centralrocknroll
Buddy Holly Tribute - Danny Gill www.buddytribute.com
Email - [email protected]
Facebook @BuddyTributeUK
BJR. Many thanks for taking part in our interview
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Here's Andy and April from Razzle Dazzle Vintage. You've seen them at the weekenders this year, now check out their etsy store and Instagram online. Hop along to their stall at the upcoming Rhythm Riot. You'd be mental not to
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Next month, we review the 25th Rhythm Riot, don't miss it.
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Many thanks
We want to keep this magazine free to read, so rely on advertisers and donations. If you like what you see, help us keep it free by popping us a donation using the button. This has to be a two way street for us to be able to continue beyond 2022. Many thanks
Bands and artists who would like their music or latest record release reviewed. We listen to records several times before writing a word about them. We research songs if they are covers, credit writers, performers and musicians. In effect, we pay true reverence to your recordings, not relying in on merely describing a song as a bopper, jiver or stroller. If we don't know about your release, we can't review it. You can send it to us in electronic form or the actual article, drop us an email and we'll arrange it. We do not plagiarise unlike some other sites and publications. Get in touch at [email protected] if you want your record included.
When you get chance to, as seemingly the case is now, do go and support live music, gigs, clubs and bands. Never before has the industry needed it's customers than now. It's much more exiting than two cans and a takeaway in front of the telly.
When we are able to get out and about, if you would like us to cover your event or club night, please get in touch. For two press passes, we will review your event, or your band's show at a gig, in detail, in both words and pictures. We are out there, boots on the ground, front, centre and right and most points in between.
Photographs in this magazine have been provided by the subjects, for use here, or are from our own library. All are copyright
NB, Events and all advertised services are supplied by the advertisers themselves. We do not accept any responsibility for any alterations or adjustments, cancellations or disputes between customers and the advertisers. Please check before booking, travelling to, or buying from advertisers in our magazine
Please note that all material on this website is (c) Andrew Smith, June Smith, The Bettajive Review. Please avoid copying and pasting articles or parts of articles to your websites or social media, we'd much prefer people to visit our site direct. Thank you for reading our online magazine. Comments, remarks, suggestions and yes, even gentle criticism, all welcome. We do not share links to adult sites here, although adults are welcome to read it. We are considering deleting some early issues and we're interested in your thoughts on whether we should keep them or not. Drop us a note with your thoughts sometime.
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Cheers 'til next month
Andrew and June
Next month, we review the 25th Rhythm Riot, don't miss it.
To keep this magazine free we rely upon donations and advertising. We would ask if you could drop us a donation of whatever you can by using our Paypal.me account here. The smallest contributions all add up so we can keep our monthly publication going. This is the way we can continue beyond 2023
Many thanks
If you have enjoyed our magazine, why not pop a donation over by using the button below. Many thanks
