With four foreign tours and four LPs under its belt NYJO goes into its second decade, well established as a fine youth jazz orchestra .
The next ten years are even more hectic. Tours to Scotland, Russia, Australia and Turkey, and no less than nine LPs, two of them doubles.
Click on any picture to enlarge (all the sleeve notes are readable)
Click on the BLUE text for videos
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1976
The archive for the first decade over-spilled onto 1976. This was the USA Bicentennial Year so we’ll continue into the second decade with some shots of Bill receiving something important presumably from a grateful representative of the USA! Mark Hutchings-baritone on lap seems unimpressed.
Great band-shot, actually taken from another venue, Maurice Cambridge and Phil Todd, unknown and Mark Hutchings visible on saxes, Guy Barker is in the trumpets and Graham Ward on drums.
On returning to the UK NYJO records for RCA, In CAMRA.
An unusual horse for a youth organisation to hitch its wagon (or should that be dray) to but the sleeve notes explain all, and its all eminently sensible!
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NYJO at The Hopbine
The Hopbine was for many years a major jazz venue in North Wembley, London.
Paul Hart, violin, Saxes; Chris Hunter, Phil Todd, Dave Bishop, Maurice Cambridge, Jay Craig
Carol Kenyon vocals. photos courtesy Jay Craig
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1977
1977 dawns and NYJO is soon on tour again, this time to Scotland.
Before they do they appear on the popular ITV Childrens TV programme Magpie!
NYJO 1977 on ITV ‘Magpie’
(This off air VHS recording is a bit jittery at the start but it settles down after a bit.)
And then its off to north of the border.
North with NYJO.
This documentary made by BBC Scotland is a fascinating look at the band on the road. Narrated by Derek Jewell
NYJO 1977 ‘North With NYJO’
And not only did the tour yield the documentary, but also the TV programme ‘Encore NYJO’
NYJO 1977 ‘Encore NYJO’
This is the concert that featured in BBC Scotland’s documentary ‘North with NYJO’ marking a return to BBC 2 Hosted by George Chisholm.
NYJO in 1977 with ‘NYJO’s World of Music’
This is an amazing lineup! Joining George Chisolm on Trombone are Guy Barker-Flugel, Dave Bishop-Tenor and Chris Hunter- alto.
The whole band are named in the end credits (which is unusual these days) and are:
Trumpets; Guy Barker, Dave Plews, Tony Hepworth, Chris Smith, Simon Taylor, Trombones; Rick Taylor, Pete Beachill, Vincent Sullivan, Martin Koch, Bob Hughes, Saxes; Chris Hunter, Chris White, Dave Bishop, Phil Todd, Dave Read, Horn; Julie Lord, Flutes; Carole Kenyon, Jane Bebbington, Kate Cuzner, Piano; Mike Hatchard, Bass Guitar; Phil Cranham, Rhythm Guitar; Bob Cranham, Drums; Graham Ward, Percussion; Ian Green, Charlie Spiteri.
And waistcoats are all the rage!
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Scotland 1977, photos courtesy Jay Craig
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Then with their bags scarcely unpacked they’re off again…to Russia!
which results in this superb double LP,
And later in 1977 its Gong Time, Bill is awarded the MBE and it makes the 6 o’clock news!
Bill’s MBE 1977 on the News!
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1978
So its only fitting that the following year NYJO appears in front of the Queen Mother at the Royal Variety Show.
NYJO 1978 at ‘The Royal Variety Performance’.
NYJO open the second half of the show
NYJO 1978 on Daytime ITV’s ‘Good Afternoon’
This video of ‘Good Afternoon’ is a little shakey at the start but stick with it.
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1979
NYJO performs in Belfast with legendary American trumpet player Joe Newman.
click on the contact sheets to enlarge
1979 is a very important year because its the year King Henry VIII great galleon The Mary Rose was discovered on the bottom of the Solent. This was a huge news story at the time and as the sleeve notes explain, the original Mary Rose track became Radio One Record of the Week, and royalties from it went to the Mary Rose Appeal Fund. So the subsequent recovery of the ship a few years later, was thanks partly to NYJO!
In fact, this NYJO 50th Anniversary is also the anniversary of the successful raising of the ship in 1982.
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Publicity shot of Kim Lesley, featured on the Mary Rose Album.
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On the road to Portsmouth – photos courtesy Jay Craig
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1980
Now that daytime TV had been cracked, NYJO in various small group combos makes the first of many appearances on BBC Pebble Mill at One show.
NYJO 1980 at BBC Pebble Mill ‘Gynaecology’
NYJO 1980 at Pebble Mill with Kim Lesley ‘Leaving Here’
A fitting tune for Kim to sing as NYJO were literally just about to leave the UK again starting the 1980s with a tour of Australia
NYJO about to tour Australia
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The Australia trip proved quite eventual
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Photos from the Australia trip courtesy Jay Craig
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As if 1980 wasn’t eventful enough NYJO released The Sherwood Forest Suite.
The first of several suites that would be written by Paul Hart, who first played with the band in the early 1970s on bass. The suite was written in 1977
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1981
1981 and NYJO combos are back in Birmingham on Pebble Mill for several appearances.
NYJO 1981 at BBC Pebble Mill ‘Paying My Tax!’
NYJO 1981 at BBC Pebble Mill 2 ‘Bishops Move’
And again here with Shorty Rogers
NYJO 1981 at BBC Pebble Mill with Shorty Rogers ‘Boar Jibu’
NYJO 1981 at BBC Pebble Mill with Shorty Rogers ‘Sweetheart of Sigmund Freud’
1981 NYJO were invited by the British Council to tour Turkey!
This was the first ever documentary commissioned and aired on the newly inaugurated Channel 4
NYJO 1981 ‘Playing Turkey’ (original version)
NYJO 1981 ‘Playing Turkey’ (short version)
and it was still being aired 4 years later!
The trailer shows the band ‘enjoying’ the touring life on the coach to a piece the voice over says they call, ‘The Road’ But which actually is Ken Gibson’s ‘The Perfumed Garden’
NYJO 1981 In the early days of Channel 4 this trailer could often be seen during Teletext transmissions
Once back in the UK some of the performances were made into the LP Playing Turkey!
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1982
1982 The ‘NYJO at The Cornwall Coliseum’ Concert was made into 4 TV programmes for broadcast.
NYJO 1982 at the Cornwall Coliseum Programme 1
NYJO 1982 at the Cornwall Coliseum Programme 2
NYJO 1982 at the Cornwall Coliseum Programme 3
NYJO 1982 at the Cornwall Coliseum Programme 4
And also in 1982 NYJO make appearances on ITV’s Wood & Walters.
NYJO 1982 ITV Wood & Walters’ TV Show
NYJO 1982 on ITV ‘Wood & Walters’ TV Show with Julie Walters as the Singer
Another trip to BBC TV’s Pebble Mill for a NYJO Combo and Litsa and Nick Gallant for a couple of songs.
NYJO 1982 BBC Pebble Mill 1 ‘A Lady Can Tell’
NYJO 1982 BBC Pebble Mill 2 ‘Accident Prone’
And to promote yet another LP this time the first of the Vocal Albums
NYJO 1982 with Litsa Davis on Daytime TV
‘Why Don’t They Write Songs Like This Anymore?’
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1983
Back to Birmingham for more Pebble Mill at One on BBC this time joined by west coast trumpeter/composer Shorty Rogers
NYJO 1983 with Shorty Rogers at BBC Pebble Mill play ‘Infinity Promenade’
NYJO 1983 with Shorty Rogers at BBC Pebble Mill play ‘Aurex 83’
NYJO will go on to play the Cork Festival with Shorty shortly after.
NYJO team up with west-coast Trumpeter Shorty Rogers.
This major set sees Shorty in fine form ably supported by NYJO
NYJO 1983 Cork Jazz Shorty Rogers
Curiously the slate and even the end title caption says 1982 but this was the 1983 Festival!
At some point before 1983 NYJO rehearsal sessions move from the Cockpit to The City Lit.
BBC TV Saturday Superstore’s Maggie Philbin pays NYJO a visit and discovers a young lad playing sax
NYJO 1983 BBC ‘Saturday Swap Shop’
Back in the studio that young lad starts to fulfil his destiny!
Could this be Nigel’s first session?
This is so prescient yet bizarre it’s spooky!
Nigel Hitchcock is now the premiere session and Jazz saxophonist in the UK and can be heard on countless hit records.
Publicity shot of the sax section circa 1982, L-r; Clive Hitchcock, Paul Weimar, Julian Arguelles, Nigel Hitchcock (then 11) Jamie Talbot, and who’s that on Bari?
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1984
1984 and a series of amazing concerts with some of the biggest international names of the time:
NYJO 1984 Live at City Hall Sheffield
There were 2 live concerts from which 4 programmes were broadcast using different permutations of the performers.
NYJO had its own solo spot, mysteriously truncated on the broadcast, but also served as backing band for Peggy Lee, Jimmy Witherspoon and Buddy Greco! Read Peggy’s lips!
NYJO 1984 ‘Live at City Hall’
NYJO 1984 Live at City Hall Jimmy Witherspoon 1 ‘You Got Me Runnin’
NYJO 1984 Live at City Hall Jimmy Witherspoon 2 ‘Stormy Monday’
NYJO 1984 Live at City Hall Peggy Lee 1 ‘Kansas City’
NYJO 1984 Live at City Hall 2 ‘Salt Lake City Blues’
NYJO 1984 Live at City Hall Buddy Greco 1 ‘At Long Last Love’
NYJO 1984 Live at City Hall Buddy Greco 2
NYJO 1984 plays for Her Majesty The Queen in ‘A Royal Celebration of Youth’
NYJO 1984 at ‘A Royal Celebration of Youth’
with Lorraine Craig singing ‘Don’t Go To Her’
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1985
1985 sees the release of Concrete Cows, inspired by the sculptures adorning Milton Keynes which was home to John Dankworth and the Wavendon music venture.
Here’s the complete photo used on the LP sleeve as a promo for the sponsors C&A
just as well they didn’t use this one! (photo courtesy Graham Russell)
1985, NYJO is 20 so there’s only one title for the next LP
This group shot taken sometime in the late 1970s
Identifiable are;
Back row Phil Todd,then in front to the right, Mark Hutchins, in front of him, Carol Kenyon, John Reid, Guy Barker,
middle centre left Dave Bishop.
front left, Bill.
Can you identify any others?
Sponsorship
As activities increased so did the overheads, and more financial support became necessary.
Fortunately NYJO was seen as being suitable for sponsorship, and one of the earliest were WHSmith.
NYJO stands bore this decal from 1979 to 1982
and then more significantly C&A
THE C&A YEARS 1982 1988
One of the first pieces for the NYJO pad was (inevitably) Take the C&A train.
Apparently this is it!
Did you get this train? Tell us if you were on board!
.Click on the contact sheet to enlarge
Bone Structure, a band made from the NYJO Trombone section led by Mark Nightingale.
Press Promo folder
And of course there were many appearances at Ruislip Golf Club and The Rayners over the years. We’ll be showing as many as we can, here is a selection from the C&A years.
If you can put names to any of the faces to any of the photos here (except Bill’s) please let us know.
Check back often these pages are continually updated
If you can help identify players in photos please contact the NYJO office nyjo.org.uk
If you have any NYJO photos or material that you’d be willing to share please contact the NYJO office nyjo.org.uk
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