Terry Dene

Born Terence Williams on 20th December 1938 in south London, Terry was one of the many early UK rock and rollers that sang at London's 2 'I's Coffee Bar. This was the same venue that helped launch the early musical careers of Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard, Adam Faith and many others.

Dene was convinced that he could sing as well as the American stars and was noticed by Jack Good and so got the opportunity to record with Decca and to find a weekly spot on the BBC's Six-Five Special and other Jack Good productions.

His early releases were moderately successful but Terry fell foul of the press following a drunken incident which led to his arrest.

He appeared in the film The Golden Disc and in early 1958 the already mentally stressed singer was called up for National Service but because of his emotional state he was discharged after a few days.

The press, who had covered his first day in the army in great detail, turned on him and his chart career ceased at that point. He made a couple more records and appeared on BBC's Drumbeat, accompanied by The John Barry Seven, but his mental health continued to cause problems.

After recovering from a nervous breakdown that followed the end of his professional music career, Terry turned to religion during the 70s singing gospel music.

Despite the adverse publicity of his early career, the artist eventually became accepted by fans as one of Britain's early Rock'n'Roll pioneers.

He now appears at nostalgia and revivalist concerts.

Read 8626 times Last modified on Friday, 07 October 2016 14:45
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THE STRINGBEAT YEARS

  

The Stringbeat Years cover2

Now available!

The Stringbeat Years: Songs accompanied by John Barry

Now available, a 4-CD box-set comprising of 144 tracks, a 24-page booklet (replete with period photographs and comprehensive notes) and including ten bonus tracks (among them the CD debut of the first ever cover version of a John Barry instrumental composition).

Featuring – for the first time – the film versions of ‘Mix me a Person’, ‘The Time has Come’, and ‘What a Whopper’ (slightly shortened). There’s also an unique opportunity to hear the original version of ‘Ah, Poor Little Baby’, making its premiere appearance on CD.

The box-set is limited to 500 copies and is only £16.99 post-free in the UK, so don’t miss out! It is available direct from this website!

£16.99  post-free in the UK
£19.99  anywhere else in the world

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Track listing

HIT AND MISS: THE STORY OF THE JOHN BARRY SEVEN

HitAndMiss 1000

Thoroughly and painstakingly researched over a number of years, it features contributions from several ex-members of the band and from friends and relatives of John Barry.

Comprising of over 360 pages, it is packed with an array of rare photos of the band, and the singers they often supported, as well as some unique images of memorabilia and documentation from that era; some never previously published, many more seldom seen.

Even if you are not necessarily a devotee of The John Barry Seven per se, the book offers a fascinating historical insight into the British music scene of the period and, more importantly, provides an essential read for anybody remotely interested in discovering more about John Barry’s formative career.

The book’s cover price is £30, but anybody ordering direct from us will receive a 33% discount, reducing the cost to £19.99.

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