Fifty years ago next Friday...

[JimN]

Jet mimed MTT on Spot the Tune around that time...first time I saw a Bass VI...

"Spot The Tune" was a live Granada TV musical quiz show, co-hosted by Marion Ryan and with music provided by a studio orchestra. Just imagine that today!

When Jet appeared, he was interviewed immediately after his spot by Ryan, who (of course) asked him why he had left The Shadows (by this time, four months had elapsed). Jet answered the question by asking Marion why she had (famously) left her singing spot with the Ray Ellington band. The correct answer would have been that she was too big for the band by the late fifties and had the prospect of a well-paid career on her own (including many TV appearances as a solo artiste and "personality"), but she said something along the lines of wanting to see whether she could have success as a solo act. Jet then gave more or less the same answer.

I recall that Ryan also asked Jet about his "mean, moody" image and asked why he never smiled on stage. He answered that because he was playing "two tones lower than anyone else", he had to concentrate hard when "playing those notes".

JN

PS: Marion Ryan's obit in the Independent (available online at http://tinyurl.com/bmngbxu says that "Spot The Tune" was later re-named "Name That Tune". That is incorrect. Granada's free-standing programme STT ended in 1963. In the 1970 and 1980s, Thames Television included a segment in a midweek variety show which they called "Name That Tune", but it was not connected back to the Granada programme: there's no copyright on playing melodies to contestants and asking them the title!

[Keith Bateman]

Jet at the Spot The Tune recording. Main Title Theme is my favourite Jet solo track and the sound of the Fender VI is haunting. So much so that I had to buy one (thanks David)

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Keith

[Arpeggio]

A fantastic set of photos!! Thanks Keith.

Rob

[Iain Purdon]

Terrific photos of Jet and the mother of Paul and Barry!

Reverting to Guitar Tango entering the charts 50 years ago, this was also Brian Bennett's first appearance on a Shads A side.

The track Roy may have been thinking of is Bo Diddley from the OOTS LP where Jet played bass on the basic track and Lic added harmonica in a subsequent session.

Iain

[roninnes]

Great photos, and I recognise Pete Murray, Marion Ryan, Jet (obviously) but who is the man with the grande moustache. I should know however the little grey cells are not running at full capacity.
Ron

[RayL]

Ron,

That'll surely be Johnny 'The Tash' Gray, sax player (you can see the tenor sax that he's holding and the sling for the sax around his neck).

(and he's wearing one of Alan Taylor's shirts!)

Ray

[Geoff Alderton LH]

Hi all
Super set of pictures Keith. Thank you for posting.
Regards Geoff.

[Uncle Fiesta]

... Johnny 'The Tash' Gray, sax player ...
Ray

I was thinking it might be Jimmy Edwards!

(but he would have been holding a tuba or euphonium)

[JimN]

I too thought it was Jimmy Edwards!

The resemblance is uncanny. I was racking my memory as to whether JE was ever on "Spot The Tune"...



For that matter, though, I don't recall Pete Murray on it either.

JN

[Arpeggio]

I also wondered if it was Jimmy Edwards! Refs: Johnny Gray - although Ray's definitely correct - there was some confusion as he was also often referred to (doubtless by people who misheard his nickname) as Johnny 'The Gash' Gray!

Rob