Jimmy Campbell was a musician and songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 from Liverpool. He was a member of Merseybeat groups The Kirkbys, The 23rd Turnoff, Rockin' Horse as well as releasing three solo albums.

Career

Campbell started in music at school, forming the band The Panthers. They supported The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 in January 1962. The band performed at The Cavern on numerous occasions, and one show, broadcast on Radio Luxembourg

Radio Luxembourg (English)

Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....

, saw them introduced as The Kirkbys, the presenter confusing their name with their home town. The name stuck, and the group released a single, "It's A Crime", in 1966, at the tail end of the merseybeat era.

Campbell moved on from the mersey sound to the newly evolving psychedelic scene, renaming the band to The 23rd Turnoff. The name was taken from the motorway sign indicating the nearby M6

M6 motorway

The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...

 exit. Here he found his Liverpool roots placed him at a disadvantage, with the scene establishing itself in London. Described by Bob Stanley of The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

as "the era's lost songwriter", Campbell wrote a number of songs recorded by other artists. Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard

Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....

, Billy Fury

Billy Fury

Billy Fury, born Ronald William Wycherley , was an internationally successful English singer from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death...

, The Swinging Blue Jeans

The Swinging Blue Jeans

The Swinging Blue Jeans were a four piece 1960s British Merseybeat band, best known for their hit singles with the HMV label; "Hippy Hippy Shake", the follow-up, Little Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly", and "You're No Good", a Clint Ballard song that provided a change of pace and furnished the...

 and Rolf Harris

Rolf Harris

Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...

 all covered songs of Campbell's. Although Campbell did not achieve acclaim in the 60s and 70s, his work later came to be well regarded, with Will Sergeant

Will Sergeant

Will Sergeant is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in the centre of Liverpool, he grew up in the suburb of Melling and attended nearby Deyes High School...

 naming Campbell's single "Michael Angelo", recorded with 23rd Turnoff among his top ten psychedelic records. The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

included the 2004 compilation album "The Dream of Michelangelo" in its list of 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die.

With The Kirkbys

Singles:

• 'Cos My Baby's Gone / She'll Get No Lovin' That Way (1965 / 7" single / RCA FAS 947 (Finland))
• Don't You Want Me No More / Bless You (1965 / 7" single / RCA FAS 948 (Finland))
• It's A Crime / I've Never Been So Much In Love (1966 / 7" single / RCA 1542)

With The 23rd Turnoff

Singles:

• Michael Angelo / Leave Me Here (1967 / 7" single / Deram DM 150)

As Jimmy Campbell

Singles:

• On A Monday / Dear Marge (1969 / 7" single / Fontana TF 1009)
• Lyanna / Frankie Joe (1970 / 7" single / Fontana TF 1076)
• Don't Leave Me Now / So Lonely Without You (1970 / 7" single / Fontana 6007 025)

Albums:

• "Son Of Anastasia" (1969 / LP / Fontana STL 5508)
• "Half Baked" (1970 / LP / Vertigo 6360 010)
• "Jimmy Campbell's Album" (1972 / LP / Philips 6308 100)

With Rockin' Horse

Singles:

• Biggest Gossip In Town / You Say (1971 / 7" single / Philips 6006 156)
• Stayed Out Late Last Night / Julian The Hooligan (1971 / 7" single / Philips 6006 200)

Albums:

• "Yes It Is" (1971 / LP / Philips 6308 075)

Compilations

• "The Vertigo Annual", (Track 3: Half Baked, 1970 / LP / Vertigo 6657 001)
• "Heads Together, First Round" (Track 3: Lonely Norman ,1971 / LP / Vertigo 6360 045)

External links

• http://www.myspace.com/jimmycampbell1
• http://www.cherryred.co.uk/esoteric/artists/jimmycampbell.htm
• http://mersey-beat.com/a-z/jcampbell.shtml
• http://mersey-beat.com/a-z/jimmycampbell.shtml