I posted this at the Hoffman board. I hope it's ok to duplicate the post. Jack Good was a massive and pivotal figure in British music in the years before The Beatles and The Stones. Without him, British pop music would have been a whole lot different and arguably without him, that all-important wave of British Beat Groups might never have happened......

It's reported that Jack Good has died. Many will know of his involvement in Around The Beatles and Shindig but his role in breaking British Beat Group music was pivotal. Starting out at the BBC with what he envisaged would be a fast-moving teenage rock 'n' roll style programme with the Six-Five Special in 1957, he revolutionised "youth TV". After a dispute with the BBC who wanted a straighter, teenage magazine-type show, he left to pursue his vision with UK independent TV company ABC where he came up with the 1958 show "Oh Boy", a fast paced rock n roll show that was intended as a vehicle for Marty Wilde. In the gap between the pilot shows and the series proper starting, Cliff Richard and The Drifters released Move It, unquestionably one of the most important records in British music history. Cliff, who's TV image was shaped by Good, was an immediate sensation and his backing group The Drifters (later The Shadows) influenced practically every beat group in Britain who followed to the mid-60s.
Good followed up "Oh Boy" with Boy Meets Girls (1959-60) where he secured the services of Joe Brown (an unsung pioneer of British Beat) in the house band and featured Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent on several shows, a major coup at the time.
As a massive fan of Johnny Kidd and The Pirates, I have to mention that Good was critical to Kidd's career. When Peter Sullivan, Walter Ridley's assistant attempted to sign Kidd based on a demo acetate of Please Don't Touch, Ridley was not impressed and Sullivan approached his friend and former boss for help. As a result of that conversation, according to Sullivan, he came away from the meeting, chatted with his wife who came up with the name Johnny Kidd and The Pirates (Kidd's real name was Fred Heath) and Good's promise to include Kidd on a future TV show clinched the deal at HMV. A year later, Good was prepping his 3rd ABC-TV series "Wham!" (1960) starring Billy Fury among others. He signed Kidd up for two shows and suggested a more dynamic image including wearing an eye patch to play up on the Pirate name.
I could go on.
Sad to say that only 3 episodes of Oh Boy have survived, all of Boy Meets Girls was wiped shortly after broadcast (some audio circulates) and barely even a photograph from "Wham!" has made it to the 21st Century. However Good's legacy remains. Without him, Cliff Richard and The Shadows might not have made it in the way that they did and without them, there's a very good chance that the wave of bands that followed including The Beatles might never have happened. Writing many of their own songs, Vox Amps, "That British Sound", Hank Marvin "Guitar Hero", lead, rhythm,bass and drums, EMI Studio 2....Cliff and The Shads did it first.
Good was the first to truly pin his faith in quality British, American-influenced rock 'n' roll. He deserves a very special place in British popular music history and we owe him a massive debt of thanks.

RIP Howlin' Jack Good.
[www.youtube.com]





"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-09-27 12:40 by Deltics.

In 1962 Brian Jones wrote a letter to Disc magazine regarding an article by Jack Good.
It was published in the March 31st edition.



Jack Good responded to it in the April 7th edition.




"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"

Great post Deltics,
I have read many of Jack Good's columns from that period. By and large he was pretty spot on iirc. When his show Wham ended that was pretty much it for UK pop TV shows for several years with the exceptions of Discs A Go Go and Thank Your Lucky Stars which both began in 1961 but were mimed. He branched out into record production with Charles Blackwell at Decca, did Around The Beatles (something the band apparently very much enjoyed the style of) and then Shindig.
I think his idea for Shindig mirrored a combination of his previous shows and Ready Steady Go which was still largely mimed in 1964. Shindig had a house band (as had his previous UK shows) and the series was initially a big success but started having problems when Jack and the network fell out over direction and he left. A familiar story but he was one of those guys who really should have been allowed to do as he pleased with his projects.

Jack Good also produced the first Blues Incorporated album.






"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"

I forgot about that. That's seriously cool.

Quote
Deltics
In 1962 Brian Jones wrote a letter to Disc magazine regarding an article by Jack Good.
It was published in the March 31st edition.



Jack Good responded to it in the April 7th edition.

Fantastic source!!! Never seen before.

Good ol´ Brian!
A real enthusiast and specialist he was!
You can feel the spirit he took into the Stones...

What a great find! And IMNSO Good was right about the rule of thumb. Just listen to the music, who cares what it is called.

Jazz News May 30, 1962 speculating that Mick might sing on Blues Inc's album.
In the end it was Long John Baldry.



Jazz News June 20, 1962.
Recording session for "R & B From The Marquee".




"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-09-29 02:27 by Deltics.

Good also produced the Billy Fury 1960 album "The Sound Of Fury". Though it has dated, it is basically a British rock n roll album and every track is written by Fury. The drummer is Andy White (of Love Me Do fame) and Joe Brown plays some great rockabilly guitar. It also features two bass players. Joe said they didn't know how they got the great slap bass sound on Elvis et al records so one guy played the bass while another slapped his. Shows you how far away we were at the time but the enthusiasm of people like Fury, Brown, Good, Cliff and The Shads, Johnny Kidd kick-started the scene ready for the Mop-heads and Stoners.
I know Keith is a fan of The Sound Of Fury. It's hard to find in it's original form (10" LP) but if you want to get hold of the ten best British pre-Beatles albums that's one of them and there might only actually be 5 or 6 in this theoretical Top Ten. We really hadn't quite cracked it at that point. Plenty of kick-ass singles to choose from and Jack Good played a big part in that.
Keep 'em coming Deltics !!

Wondeful and intriguing inside glimpse about someone we never hear much about here thanks very much;
I know some of those songs and have heard some of those records though. thnx for thread.
Love the history of all things big-beat UK as the Invasion seeds started to sprout.
Fascinating guy and thougtful writer too. Thanks for those clips.
RIP Mr. Good.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-09-27 17:32 by hopkins.

A good article on Jack Good and how influential he was in the early days of British TV pop music programmes.

[www.billyfury.com]


"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"