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Hello. I am very interested in biographical data about The Shadows and people whom I regard as "related" to them, i.e. Tommy Steele and Marty Wilde, who employed BrianB, Licorice, and/or Jet at various times. I was reading something about The Vipers/The Vipers Skiffle Band...and a few familiar names were in that paragraph.

When I searched YouTube, this was the only Vipers video that actually had visual footage in it. All the others are records spinning on turntables, etc. I was wondering if there are any people in this video (like the names I mentioned above) and maybe I just didn't recognise them.

Thanks very much.

Kind regards,
Donna

That's the late Wally Whyton on the right, playing a Martin guitar. I don't recognise anyone else, though It is possible that the other guitarist (and main vocalist on that song) is Johnny Booker.

Thank you very much, Jim.

Kind regards,
Donna

Donna,
The other guitar player (in glasses) is Dickie Bishop. A really good book about those times is The Restless Generation by Pete Frame (of Rock Familiy Trees fame). It will tell you all about London's music scene in the 1950s. Bruce and Hank are in it of course and Jet and Tony and Brian and Cliff and Marty and Tommy and . . . . . It will also tell you who the bass player in The Vipers was!
ISBN978-0-95295-407-1

Ray

Johnny Booker, seen here playing a Hopf guitar, was often referred to as Johnny Martyn and died in Vancouver in 2007. I think the bass player was probably Tony Tolhurst. Guitarist and banjo player, Dickie Bishop, subsequently played with Acker Bilk and other trad jazz bands of the period.

Bill

Ray and Bill: Thanks very much. I took your advice and have just ordered a copy of "The Restless Generation" via Amazon.com. Tommy Steele's photo is on the cover, so I like it already. I recently bought greatest hits CDs of both Marty Wilde and Tommy Steele, but I think this book is going to be perfect. I want to learn about the history of their music, not just hear the recordings. I also just got my copy of the 50th anniversary Marty Wilde DVD. I want to watch the parts with Jet again...."Here's a tune nobody likes."

Thanks again for the terrific recommendation.

Kind regards,
Donna

Tommy Steele is currently topping the bill at the London Palladium in the musical 'Scrooge'. Marty Wilde is currently touring the UK with Eden Kane and Mike Berry in 'Marty's Rock'n'Roll Party'. Cliff Richard currently has one of the top-selling picture calenders for 2013 with some 'bare-chest' shots. Elizabeth Windsor has recently done a parachute jump into the Olympic Stadium.

There's no holding back the oldies!

Ray

Hi! I have just received my "Restless Generation" book and am looking forward to reading it. Surprisingly I don't see any photos in it, but I bought it for the history lesson, which I'm sure will not disappoint me in the least. I am happy to hear that Tommy and Marty are still active in the music business...I think I'll take a look on the internet to find out more.

Funny you should mention the Cliff calendar. I used to buy one every year, especially all throughout the 80s, and then I slowly dropped out of that habit. I remember at the end of 2010, my employer moved me to another desk/work area...one that had what we call "cubicle walls" and so I decided to order the 2011 Cliff calendar since I now had a wall on which to place it. I ended up keeping the calendar on "January 2011" all year long because January had the only "proper" looking photo. The rest of the months had the bare-chested or unbuttoned shirt theme, which at my job would have been considered inappropriate. Before the year was about to end, I asked someone to snap a photo of me with the last Cliff calendar I would likely ever buy. Now I'm a couple of years older and I have to put on my specs to even see the photo!

Kind regards,
Donna