Terry and Gerry
Encyclopedia
Terry and Gerry was a British
pop
band, formed in the early 1980s by Terry Lilley and Gerry Colvin in Birmingham
, UK. Unusually for the time the band was based on a skiffle
sound making use of a washboard for percussion instead of a drum kit. Terry Lilley played double bass. Gerry Colvin sang lead vocals and played acoustic guitar.
Terry and Gerry took their style from nineteen fifties pop artists – they wore black evening suits and ribbon ties in the style of the Everly Brothers while sounding more akin to Britain’s Lonnie Donegan
. The songs written by Colvin/Lilley were remarkable for their brevity with the three songs on the first side of their debut EP Butter’s On the Bread totalling just four minutes and five seconds. Butter’s on the Bread referred to the miners’ strike of 1984.
Butter’s On the Bread appeared on Robert Lloyd’s Vindaloo records but subsequent records were released on the In Tape record label run by Marc Riley
(ex The Fall).
BBC disc jockey and Donegan fan John Peel
promoted the band when apparently by chance he picked out their demonstration tape because his wife’s best friends were also known as Terry and Gerry. He thought the coincidence was too great to ignore. The band recorded three sessions for the John Peel programme.
Their second and most successful release "Clothes Shop" was reviewed by Morrissey
on BBC Radio who declared “I like it – don’t know why”. It reached number 5 in the UK Indie Chart
.
The band’s third release "Banking on Simon" was used as the theme to regional children’s television show Poparound. Despite the use of the A-side as a children’s TV theme the B-side featured a song about a young man named Joey tragically addicted to illegal drugs. At the time the name Joey had a particular stigma attached to it after children cruelly used it to abuse others in reference to Joey Deacon
a man with cerebral palsy who had appeared on BBC children’s TV show Blue Peter. Another theme was recorded for the Newshound show but not released on record.
Terry and Gerry’s only LP record From Lubbock to Clintwood East is a reference to Buddy Holly
’s hometown Lubbock, Texas and a fictitious suburb that is a play on the name of the actor Clint Eastwood
.
"Reservation", a comment on European treatment of indigenous Americans also serves as a comment on UK housing policy. It was backed by "Pizza Pie and Junk" a tale from the point of view of a British person saving up to fly to America on Freddie Laker’s or Richard Branson’s cut-price airlines and what they might find.
"Last Bullet in the Gun" is an uncharacteristically slow-paced song that offered no hope or joy and which describes a suicide. It was to be the band’s last single and it reached #1 in the indie charts.
Gerry Colvin collaborated with singer-songwriter Alison Moyet
on the song "Find Me" which appears on her 1991 album Hoodoo. He went on to front two bands, Gerry Colvin's Inexperience and The Atlantics, both of which were popular live acts. Colvin now performs and records with Nick Quarmby, Martin Fitzgibbon, Allen Maslen and Marion Fleetwood as ColvinQuarmby.
Terry Lilley studied for and achieved a higher national diploma in jazz studies; the only double-bass player to do so.
Jeremy Paige formed Rumblefish
releasing an album on East West Records
in 1992 and then Low Art Thrill
releasing an album on Island Records
in 1996, both with various supporting singles.
Mick Howson joined the Destroyers, a 15 piece gypsy band playing hurdygurdy.
Side 1:Hello
Side A.
Clothes Shop/ Kennedy Says (In Tape Records IT 014) released 2/3/85
12-Inch EP (IT 018) includes Butter's on the Bread, Dennis and Brian, Wait Until You're Older (Live)
Banking On Simon/ Joey (In Tape Records 019) released 10/8/85
12-Inch includes The Good, The Bad and the Usherette and Wolfman’s Request
From Lubbock To Clintwood East LP: (In Tape Records Twenty-Two) released 7/12/85
Side 1:
Hello/
Joey/
Ballad of a Nasty Man/
C.A.R.S/
A Thousand Towns/
Percy Crusoe/
The Good, the Bad and the Usherette/
Side 2:
Fashion Rodeo/
The Armchair Terrorist’s Song/
How Long Johnny?/
Reservation/
A Sea Shanty for the Gravy Boat/
Hello (Slow version)/
Oscar’s Theme
The cassette version of the album adds Wolfman’s Request, Kennedy Says and Clothes Shop to side 1.
Reservation/ Pizza Pie & Junk (In Tape Records IT 027) , released 19/4/86
Nb the single version of ‘Reservation’ differs from the LP version.
The Last Bullet in the Gun/ Victory Polka/ Independents’ Day/ Joey (ITTI 036) released 6/9/86
Let's Get The Hell Back To Lubbock (Cherry Red Records cdmred315) released 23/4/07 is a comprehensive CD compilation of Terry & Gerry studio recordings with some additional live tracks.
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...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band, formed in the early 1980s by Terry Lilley and Gerry Colvin in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, UK. Unusually for the time the band was based on a skiffle
Skiffle
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly...
sound making use of a washboard for percussion instead of a drum kit. Terry Lilley played double bass. Gerry Colvin sang lead vocals and played acoustic guitar.
History
Gerry Colvin had studied American Studies at university and worked for an American bank before turning to music. Americana and comment on American politics and culture were to feature strongly in some of the band’s songs ("Kennedy Says", "Reservation", "A Thousand Towns", "Pizza Pie and Junk"). Terry Lilley had previously been a member of punk band Dennis & the Din Makers and later of Vision Collision.Terry and Gerry took their style from nineteen fifties pop artists – they wore black evening suits and ribbon ties in the style of the Everly Brothers while sounding more akin to Britain’s Lonnie Donegan
Lonnie Donegan
Anthony James "Lonnie" Donegan MBE was a skiffle musician, with more than 20 UK Top 30 hits to his name. He is known as the "King of Skiffle" and is often cited as a large influence on the generation of British musicians who became famous in the 1960s...
. The songs written by Colvin/Lilley were remarkable for their brevity with the three songs on the first side of their debut EP Butter’s On the Bread totalling just four minutes and five seconds. Butter’s on the Bread referred to the miners’ strike of 1984.
Butter’s On the Bread appeared on Robert Lloyd’s Vindaloo records but subsequent records were released on the In Tape record label run by Marc Riley
Marc Riley
Marc Riley is a British musician, alternative rock critic and radio DJ on BBC 6 Music. Formerly a member of The Fall, he had his own record label, In-Tape, and also worked as a record plugger...
(ex The Fall).
BBC disc jockey and Donegan fan John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
promoted the band when apparently by chance he picked out their demonstration tape because his wife’s best friends were also known as Terry and Gerry. He thought the coincidence was too great to ignore. The band recorded three sessions for the John Peel programme.
Their second and most successful release "Clothes Shop" was reviewed by Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
on BBC Radio who declared “I like it – don’t know why”. It reached number 5 in the UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
.
The band’s third release "Banking on Simon" was used as the theme to regional children’s television show Poparound. Despite the use of the A-side as a children’s TV theme the B-side featured a song about a young man named Joey tragically addicted to illegal drugs. At the time the name Joey had a particular stigma attached to it after children cruelly used it to abuse others in reference to Joey Deacon
Joey Deacon
Joseph John "Joey" Deacon was a British author and television personality.-Biography:Joseph "Joey" Deacon was born with severe cerebral palsy, a neurological condition which left him with a muscular "spastic pattern", particularly arms and legs, resulting in a tendency of muscular tonus in the...
a man with cerebral palsy who had appeared on BBC children’s TV show Blue Peter. Another theme was recorded for the Newshound show but not released on record.
Terry and Gerry’s only LP record From Lubbock to Clintwood East is a reference to Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
’s hometown Lubbock, Texas and a fictitious suburb that is a play on the name of the actor Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
.
"Reservation", a comment on European treatment of indigenous Americans also serves as a comment on UK housing policy. It was backed by "Pizza Pie and Junk" a tale from the point of view of a British person saving up to fly to America on Freddie Laker’s or Richard Branson’s cut-price airlines and what they might find.
"Last Bullet in the Gun" is an uncharacteristically slow-paced song that offered no hope or joy and which describes a suicide. It was to be the band’s last single and it reached #1 in the indie charts.
After Terry and Gerry
In 1986 Gerry Colvin worked with other musicians as The Man Upstairs co-writing "Consumer Song", "Country Boy" and "I Bet They’re Really Missing Me Downstairs" on the collectable The Consumers’ EP.Gerry Colvin collaborated with singer-songwriter Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet , is an English singer, songwriter and performer noted for her bluesy voice.Her UK album sales have reached a certified 2.3 million, with 800,000 singles sold, all in the UK, where all seven of her studio albums and three compilation albums have charted in the Top 40 UK Album Chart,...
on the song "Find Me" which appears on her 1991 album Hoodoo. He went on to front two bands, Gerry Colvin's Inexperience and The Atlantics, both of which were popular live acts. Colvin now performs and records with Nick Quarmby, Martin Fitzgibbon, Allen Maslen and Marion Fleetwood as ColvinQuarmby.
Terry Lilley studied for and achieved a higher national diploma in jazz studies; the only double-bass player to do so.
Jeremy Paige formed Rumblefish
Rumblefish
Rumblefish were a UK indie pop group, formed in Birmingham in 1986. After several releases on independent labels they were signed by East West who issued the band's only album while still together in 1992.-History:...
releasing an album on East West Records
East West Records
East West Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, and operates under WMG's Independent Label Group.-History:...
in 1992 and then Low Art Thrill
Low Art Thrill
Low Art Thrill is a UK pop group formed from the ashes of Rumblefish who released singles, 'Kilometre' and 'She'll Kill You' and a self-titled album on Island Records in 1996. They featured on soundtrack of 'Hollyoaks' in 1996, the late night special in 2003 and the ITV programme 'Premiere'...
releasing an album on Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
in 1996, both with various supporting singles.
Mick Howson joined the Destroyers, a 15 piece gypsy band playing hurdygurdy.
Band members
- Terry Lilley - double bass and singing
- Gerry Colvin – guitar and singing
- Doreen Deville (aka Su Richardson, Su Sonic) – washboard and singing
- Andy Downer – guitar and singing
- Jeremy Paige replaced Andy Downer for ‘Reservation’
- Mick Howson ex ricky cool and the icebergs founder member replaced Jeremy Paige for ‘Last Bullet in the Gun’
Discography
- Butter’s On the Bread EP: (Vindaloo Records UGH7) 7-inch
Side 1:Hello
- 1. Butter’s On the Bread
- 2. T.V. Song
Side A.
- 1. Dennis & Brian
- 2. Wait Until You’re Older
Clothes Shop/ Kennedy Says (In Tape Records IT 014) released 2/3/85
12-Inch EP (IT 018) includes Butter's on the Bread, Dennis and Brian, Wait Until You're Older (Live)
Banking On Simon/ Joey (In Tape Records 019) released 10/8/85
12-Inch includes The Good, The Bad and the Usherette and Wolfman’s Request
From Lubbock To Clintwood East LP: (In Tape Records Twenty-Two) released 7/12/85
Side 1:
Hello/
Joey/
Ballad of a Nasty Man/
C.A.R.S/
A Thousand Towns/
Percy Crusoe/
The Good, the Bad and the Usherette/
Side 2:
Fashion Rodeo/
The Armchair Terrorist’s Song/
How Long Johnny?/
Reservation/
A Sea Shanty for the Gravy Boat/
Hello (Slow version)/
Oscar’s Theme
The cassette version of the album adds Wolfman’s Request, Kennedy Says and Clothes Shop to side 1.
Reservation/ Pizza Pie & Junk (In Tape Records IT 027) , released 19/4/86
Nb the single version of ‘Reservation’ differs from the LP version.
The Last Bullet in the Gun/ Victory Polka/ Independents’ Day/ Joey (ITTI 036) released 6/9/86
Let's Get The Hell Back To Lubbock (Cherry Red Records cdmred315) released 23/4/07 is a comprehensive CD compilation of Terry & Gerry studio recordings with some additional live tracks.
Sources
- Sleeve notes
- Cherry RedCherry RedCherry Red is a London-based independent record label formed in 1978.-History:Cherry Red grew from the rock promotion company founded in 1971 to promote rock concerts at the Malvern Winter Gardens...
Records website - Craig Harris, Allmusic
- Biography of John Peel, “Margrave of the Marshes”