Jackie Lynton

Jackie Lynton is a British rock and rhythm and blues singer from Shepperton, Middlesex. Born John Bertram Lynton in 1940, he comes out of the early UK rock and roll scene and is associated with pub rock and beat as well as later hard-working live-band circuits.

Early career

He first performs with the Plect-Tones, a group that includes guitarist Roger Brown and future keyboard player Mike Pinder, before the band changes its name to the Teenbeats. Lynton builds an early residency at the Two I’s Coffee Bar in Soho, with proprietor Tom Littlewood becoming his first professional manager. He then appears on the Larry Parnes one-nighter and package-tour circuit alongside artists such as Billy Fury, Vince Taylor and the Playboys, Wee Willie Harris, Terry Dene, Lance Fortune, Screaming Lord Sutch and his Savages, Nero and the Gladiators, John Leyton and Freddie Star and the Midnighters.

Radio sessions on Saturday Club and Music with a Beat follow, along with a contract with Pye’s Piccadilly label. His first single is a Tony Hatch-produced version of “Over the Rainbow”. A second single follows with “Wishful Thinking”, written by Les Read and Johnny Worth, and New Musical Express names him a “Most Promising Newcomer”.

1960s recordings

“All of Me” becomes a notable release for Lynton, marking the recording debut of guitarist Albert Lee, who continues to work with him until 1965. The single receives favourable reviews and radio play. He then records revivals of “I Believe”, “Teddy Bears Picnic”, Chuck Berry’s “I’m Talkin’ ’Bout You” and Lloyd Price’s “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”. His version of Lennon and McCartney’s “Little Child” includes a solo by Jimmy Page.

Lynton is one of the early British rock and roll performers to visit Hamburg in 1962 and also records there. In 1964 he cuts 16 tracks in Hamburg with a session band including saxophonist Rikki Barnes, drummer Roy Mills and Fraser Hines’ brother on keyboards. These recordings later appear on beat-group compilations under the name Boots Wellington and His Rubber Band, including a version of Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say” on 16 Beat Groups from the Hamburg Scene.

His final Piccadilly single is a revival of “Laura”. He then records independently with producer Ray Horricks, leading to the Decca single “Three Blind Mice”/“Corrina Corrina”. In 1966 he signs to EMI’s Columbia label and cuts three singles there: revivals of “He’ll Have to Go” and “Answer Me”, and the Tony Colton and Ray Smith song “Decision”, all produced by Mark Wirtz. He writes his own B-sides “Sporting Life” and “I Never Loved a Girl Like You”, with Zoot Money playing piano on the latter.

Later 1960s and Savoy Brown

In 1969 Lynton works with former Casuals producer David Pardo. During those sessions he records Ennio Morricone’s “The Ballad of Hank McCain”, the theme from John Cassavetes’ film Gli Intoccabili, released in Italy on the Joker label. The same period also produces Decca singles with Andee Silver, Pardo’s wife. They record as Spring Fever for “My World Could Be Your World”/“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” and later as Purple Heart for a version of Bacharach and David’s “(They Long To Be) Close To You”, with Lynton’s own song “Audrey” on the flip. He also records under the name People, issuing “I Am the Preacher” in 1970.

In 1972 he joins Savoy Brown when Dave Walker leaves before a US tour. The line-up includes Kim Simmonds, Dave Bidwell, Andy Pyle and Paul Raymond. Lynton contributes heavily to the band’s material, and for Jack the Toad he writes four songs on his own and shares writing credit on a fifth. The album is released in 1973, reaches the US chart and remains there for 14 weeks. “Coming Down Your Way” is issued as a single to support touring with ZZ Top. His time with Savoy Brown lasts from September 1972 to February 1974.

Pub-rock, solo work and the Jackie Lynton Band

After returning to the UK, Lynton forms the Jackie Lynton Band and works the growing pub-rock circuit. He records his first solo album later in 1974 with guest musicians including Rory Gallagher and members of Heads, Hands & Feet. He also releases a version of “I Only Have Eyes for You” and begins mixing music with spoken-word material, adding monologues and poems to his sets. Songs such as “The Hedgehog Song”, “Ain’t I Lucky” and “Nice One” lead to a publishing deal for a book of his writing, If I Could Sing I’d Tell Jokes.

In 1974 he appears on Old Grey Whistle Test and BBC Radio 1’s In Concert, and releases The Jackie Lynton Album. In 1975 he records a one-off single with Albert Lee for Bell Records. The following year he assembles former members of the Stormsville Shakers as Jackie Lynton’s Happy Days. After a line-up change in 1978, the group becomes Jackie Lynton’s HD Band and then the Jackie Lynton Band. They appear on two Guildford compilation albums and record ’Til We’re Blue in the Face.

Further releases and live work

In 1978 Lynton co-writes “Again and Again” with Rick Parfitt, later a hit for Status Quo. He says the song is a tribute to Chuck Berry, whom he supports on a successful mid-1970s tour. In 1979 he records No Axe to Grind with contributors including Rick Parfitt, Clem Clempson, Paul King, Chas & Dave, Colin Pattenden, Chris Slade, Drew McCulloch and others. He also releases A Bit Near the Mark, a double album combining live and studio material, followed by White Line in 1983 with a heavier band line-up including Greg Terry-Short, Graham White, Willie Bath and Tony Leach.

He continues playing London pub gigs and releases Live in London in 1987. In 1994 he returns to the studio for the cassette album Sharp as a Donut. In 1995 he works with A New Day Records for Quick as a Roof, and in 1996 releases the double-CD live set Alive at the Bleak House. Pin Board Wizards follows in 1998, with guests including Rick Parfitt, Mick Moody, Mick Abrahams, Big Jim Sullivan, Mick Summerland, Clive Bunker, Dick Taylor, Martin Barre, Al Hodge, Chris Bryant, Ian Anderson and others. Anderson adds flute to “Let it Rock” and harmonica to “You Gotta Go”.

Later releases include the double CD Cereal Thriller in 2001, which pairs original studio material with an adult monologues-and-jokes disc, and Cereal Thriller 2, which combines new songs, standards and another archive disc. He also issues Rockin’ in Cornwall, Rollin’ in Surrey in 2007 and All’s Fair in Love & Rock’n’Roll in 2011.