Johnny Edward
Encyclopedia
Johnny Edward is a British
musician
, writer and record producer
, also known as the creator of the children's television character Metal Mickey
.
, Flux joined the R&B group The Manish Boys, whose lead singer became David Jones, later known as David Bowie
. Billed as John "Purpleknees" Edward, in March 1965 Parlophone Records released "I Pity The Fool
", a cover version
of a Bobby Bland
song. With Bowie focused on numerous projects, and the single unsuccessful, the group broke up.
station Radio City
. Based at Shivering Sands Army Fort
, his theme tune was The Shadows
tune "Sweet Dreams". After successfully applying for a position at Wonderful Radio London
, he with agreed with the programme director Ben Toney to start in November 1965, billed as John Edward - his Christian names. Never having a regular slot, he stayed with the station until July 1966.
man, Edward hated the soft-kitsch
style of production at that time in the early 1970s, specifically citing Brotherhood Of Man
's "Save Your Kisses For Me
" which won the Eurovision Song Contest 1976
, as:
In response, he wrote with his wife Sue a song called "Save Your Love
" to a kitsch-Italian
orchestral themed backing.
In 1975, he heard West Midlands
-resident Italian waiter
Renato Pagliari audition for ITV
's talent show New Faces
. Teaming Pagliari with British-born female singer Hilary Lester, Edward renamed them Renée and Renato
to record the song. "Save Your Love" entered the UK Singles Chart
in October 1982 at number 54. However, it began to pick up sales during the Christmas
period, and seven weeks after its debut was at the top of the chart, resulting in it being played on Top of the Pops
and many radio station
s. Lester, whom by now Edward had placed in another Hollywood Records band, did not appear in the video
, replaced by a more-Italianate looking model. "Save Your Love" was a UK Number one
hit single
, remaining at the top of the chart for four weeks before being knocked off by Phil Collins
' "You Can't Hurry Love
". It was the first song produced by an independent record label
to ever reach the UK Number one position. The Edwards written contractually enforced follow-ups, "Just One More Kiss" stalled at Number 48, and "Jesus Loves Us All" did not chart, breaking the duo up.
. Voiced by Edwards with a catchphrase of "boogie, boogie, boogie", his favourite treat was Atomic Thunderbusters, which had the appearance of lemon bonbon
s. First shown on the Southern Television
produced The Saturday Banana
in 1978, friend and former The Monkees
drummer Micky Dolenz
picked up the rights to produce and then direct the first episodes of The Metal Mickey TV Show. Set in a family-home environment with the grandmother played by Irene Handl
, the show had a peak ITV
Saturday teatime viewing figure of 12 million people, and ran for three series from 1980 to 1983.
, supported by his on-screen wife Yvonne Delahaye.
Edward is one of the voices on Radio London's the Oldies Project Fab 40 Show (every Sunday at 11am), and recorded a special Fab 40 countdown at Christmas 2005.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, writer and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, also known as the creator of the children's television character Metal Mickey
Metal Mickey
thumb|Metal Mickey, a robot character on UK children's television in the 1980sMetal Mickey was a five-foot-tall fictional robot, which was created, controlled and voiced by Johnny Edward. A modernised vision of a 1950s space toy, Metal Mickey first appeared on British television in the ITV...
.
Musician
A guitaristGuitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, Flux joined the R&B group The Manish Boys, whose lead singer became David Jones, later known as David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
. Billed as John "Purpleknees" Edward, in March 1965 Parlophone Records released "I Pity The Fool
I Pity the Fool
"I Pity the Fool" is a song originally recorded by Bobby Bland in 1961 for Duke Records. The song was credited to Deadric Malone, a pseudonym of Duke Records owner Don Robey...
", a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of a Bobby Bland
Bobby Bland
Robert Calvin Bland better known as Bobby "Blue" Bland, is an American singer of blues and soul. He is an original member of the Beale Streeters, and is sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues"...
song. With Bowie focused on numerous projects, and the single unsuccessful, the group broke up.
Pirate DJ
Flux and saxophonist Woolf Byrne joined pirate radioPirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
station Radio City
Radio City (pirate radio station)
Radio City was a British pirate radio station that broadcast from Shivering Sands Army Fort, one of the abandoned Second World War Maunsell Sea Forts in the Thames Estuary.- Origins :...
. Based at Shivering Sands Army Fort
Shivering Sands Army Fort
Shivering Sands Army Fort [U7] was a Maunsell army fort built near the Thames estuary for anti-aircraft defence. It is made up of several once interconnected towers north of Herne Bay and is 9.2 miles from the nearest land. They can be viewed from Shoeburyness East Beach on clear, cloudless summer...
, his theme tune was The Shadows
The Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
tune "Sweet Dreams". After successfully applying for a position at Wonderful Radio London
Wonderful Radio London
Radio London, also known as Big L and Wonderful Radio London, was a top 40 offshore commercial station that operated from 16 December 1964 to 14 August 1967, from a ship anchored in the North Sea, three and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England...
, he with agreed with the programme director Ben Toney to start in November 1965, billed as John Edward - his Christian names. Never having a regular slot, he stayed with the station until July 1966.
Hollywood Records
Returning to the music business, he set up independent label Hollywood Records as a vehicle through which to write and produce his own songs via a series of unattached artistes. Being a rock and rollRock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
man, Edward hated the soft-kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
style of production at that time in the early 1970s, specifically citing Brotherhood Of Man
Brotherhood of Man
Brotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s, most notably by winning the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Save Your Kisses for Me"....
's "Save Your Kisses For Me
Save Your Kisses For Me
"Save Your Kisses for Me" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1976, performed for the United Kingdom by Brotherhood of Man in The Hague, Netherlands. The lyrics and music were written by Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden, and Martin Lee, the latter two being members of the band...
" which won the Eurovision Song Contest 1976
Eurovision Song Contest 1976
The Eurovision Song Contest 1976, the 21st in the series, was held in The Hague, Netherlands, on 3 April 1976. With Corry Brokken as the presenter – the first time a previous winner of the contest had played hostess – the contest was won by Brotherhood of Man, representing the United...
, as:
In response, he wrote with his wife Sue a song called "Save Your Love
Save Your Love
"Save Your Love" is the first single from Tracie Spencer's second album, Make the Difference, written by Kenny Harris and released on August 30, 1990...
" to a kitsch-Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
orchestral themed backing.
In 1975, he heard West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
-resident Italian waiter
Waiter
Waiting staff, wait staff, or waitstaff are those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers — supplying them with food and drink as requested. Traditionally, a male waiting tables is called a "waiter" and a female a "waitress" with the gender-neutral version being a "server"...
Renato Pagliari audition for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's talent show New Faces
New Faces
New Faces was a British television talent show popular in the 1970s and 1980s, presented originally by Derek Hobson. It was produced by ATV Network Limited for the ITV Network. The first run of the show was from 29 September 1973 to 2 April 1978 and was recorded at the ATV Centre, Birmingham...
. Teaming Pagliari with British-born female singer Hilary Lester, Edward renamed them Renée and Renato
Renée and Renato
Renée and Renato was a female/male vocal duo, who had a UK Number one hit in December 1982 with "Save Your Love". The follow-up single "Just One More Kiss" peaked at #48...
to record the song. "Save Your Love" entered the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in October 1982 at number 54. However, it began to pick up sales during the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
period, and seven weeks after its debut was at the top of the chart, resulting in it being played on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
and many radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s. Lester, whom by now Edward had placed in another Hollywood Records band, did not appear in the video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, replaced by a more-Italianate looking model. "Save Your Love" was a UK Number one
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
, remaining at the top of the chart for four weeks before being knocked off by Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
' "You Can't Hurry Love
You Can't Hurry Love
"You Can't Hurry Love" is 1966 song originally released by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song topped the United States Billboard pop singles chart and in the UK in the top 5, released and peaking late summer in 1966...
". It was the first song produced by an independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
to ever reach the UK Number one position. The Edwards written contractually enforced follow-ups, "Just One More Kiss" stalled at Number 48, and "Jesus Loves Us All" did not chart, breaking the duo up.
Metal Mickey
Edward created the 1960s inspired robot Metal MickeyMetal Mickey
thumb|Metal Mickey, a robot character on UK children's television in the 1980sMetal Mickey was a five-foot-tall fictional robot, which was created, controlled and voiced by Johnny Edward. A modernised vision of a 1950s space toy, Metal Mickey first appeared on British television in the ITV...
. Voiced by Edwards with a catchphrase of "boogie, boogie, boogie", his favourite treat was Atomic Thunderbusters, which had the appearance of lemon bonbon
Bonbon
The name bonbon refers to any of several types of sweets, especially small candies enrobed in chocolate.The first reports of bonbons come from the 17th century, when they were made at the French royal court. Their name arose from infantile reduplication of the word bon, meaning 'good'...
s. First shown on the Southern Television
Southern Television
Southern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until the night of 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited and the title Southern Television was consistently used on-air throughout its life...
produced The Saturday Banana
Saturday Banana
The Saturday Banana was a Saturday morning children's television show produced by Southern Television for ITV and presented by Goodies star Bill Oddie. Oddie also wrote and sang the theme tune...
in 1978, friend and former The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
drummer Micky Dolenz
Micky Dolenz
George Michael "Micky" Dolenz, Jr. is an American actor, musician, television director, radio personality and theater director, best known as a member of the 1960s made-for-television band The Monkees.-Biography:...
picked up the rights to produce and then direct the first episodes of The Metal Mickey TV Show. Set in a family-home environment with the grandmother played by Irene Handl
Irene Handl
-Life:Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the daughter of an Austrian banker father and French mother. She took to acting at the relatively advanced age of 36, and studied at the acting school run by the sister of Dame Sybil Thorndike...
, the show had a peak ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
Saturday teatime viewing figure of 12 million people, and ran for three series from 1980 to 1983.
Present
Edward is currently working on relaunching Metal Mickey to new audiences, with his former voicing/operator role taken over by Liverpudlian actor Lee JacksonLee Jackson
Lee Jackson is an English former rugby league footballer of the 1980s, '90s and 2000s. He was a for the Great Britain team, England, Hull , Sheffield, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Newcastle Knights, Leeds, and York....
, supported by his on-screen wife Yvonne Delahaye.
Edward is one of the voices on Radio London's the Oldies Project Fab 40 Show (every Sunday at 11am), and recorded a special Fab 40 countdown at Christmas 2005.
External links
- Metal Mickey official website
- Johnny Edward at LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a business-related social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. , LinkedIn reports more than 120 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. The site is available in English, French,...
- Johnny Edward at TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...