After the breakup of John's Children, bassist John Hewlett went to work for Apple in the publishing division. Then, when the company started falling apart, he went into management with Gallagher & Lyle and later McGuiness Flint. But John Hewlett soon lost interest 'cause it wasn't really the sort of music he liked. Jook was an attempt to get back to he really wanted.
The Jook were the brainchild of Sparks manager John Hewlett, who introduced guitarist Trevor White to singer-songwriter Ian Kimmett, and recruited bassist Ian Hampton and John's Children drummer Chris Townson. John Hewlett secured a record deal with RCA and a publishing contract with producer Mickie Most.
Singer and guitarist Ian "Ralf" Kimmet worked for Feldman's publishers in London at the time. He and guitarist Trevor White spent some months in Ian's native Jedburgh, Scotland, fulfilling a long cherished desire to "write some songs", and put a band together. There they encountered bassist Ian Hampton from Edinburgh. Before they left drummer Chris Townson - formerly John's Children with John Hewlett - had discussed his desire to be part of that project, being of no fixed abode or gainful drummage employment. After six months Chris Townson received a call, asking him to come along and see if his drumming was as compatible with the material Ian Kimmet and Trevor White wrote. The band name was supplied by John Hewlett, adapted from Gene Chandler's "Jook (Duke) of Earl."
The band took a monthly residency at The Sundown in Edmonton, North London. Jook's uniform of braces, boots, and cropped hair drew a deeply loyal skinhead audience to their side. But the boys, labelled as "Skinheads" by the press, claimed they were not Skinheads but Rudies !
RCA already had Sweet under contract and had just signed David Bowie and were looking for the next big thing. Jook should have been just that. The Jook's debut single, "It's All Right With Me," appeared that summer and over the next two years, the group released four further 45s. The second Jook's single was a cover of Gallagher & Lyle's "City and Suburban Blues" and their third one featured the stomping "Oo Oo Rudie". The song "King Capp" from the next single was about Andy Capp - Andy Capp is a famous British comic character which can be seen on Kimmet's shirt on the photo bellow. The fifth and Jook's last single was "Bish Bash Bosh." Producer Mickie Most signed the Jook to a publishing deal in early 1974 without even hearing a note.
Jook singles were powerful records with Slade-like production and full of Pete Townshend-styled guitars which would not become common currency elsewhere until the advent of punk - Ian Kimmet used to play on a little black Gretsch guitar and he 'scratched' it into oblivion rather than power chorded it to the same destruction.
Their teen rebellion lyrics were punchy and one of them - "Oo Oo Rudi" - inspired early Irish label mates of the Undertones to name themselves "Rudi". Some of the songs were great, from the debut "Alright With Me" to the flip side of their last single "Crazy Kids" which was later remade by Trevor White. All five records are now rightly regarded as classics of British Glam/Punk/Rock/Pop music...ut Jook records were relative flops and the final nail in the coffin was when they were unable to promote their last single, "Bish Bash Bosh", after their tour with The Sweet had been cancelled. It was also alarming, for Jook to switch on the television one evening in early 1974 and catch the Bay City Rollers in their own variation on the same look - tartan uniforms - only weeks earlier, that the Jook had met the Bay City Rollers at a gig in Scotland and been flattered by the local band's admiration for their image.
Meanwhile, together with John Hewlett, Ron and Russell Mael were looking everywhere for potential recruits in order to form a new Sparks line-up. The Maels liked Jook and an idea of merging the two bands was proposed - but vocalist Ian Kimmet obviously wouldn’t be needed. Even Sparks were a great group when it came to it the boys felt so bad about breaking up the little family they’d been in for a couple of years.
Jook's drummer Chris Townson however found the time to lend his services to the interim Sparks that recorded demos and auditioned new members. Slight irony that bassist Ian Hampton and guitarist Trevor White, not Chris Townson, would be the Jook members later to find room in Sparks.
The Jook struggled on for another six months but finally breaking up after manager John Hewlett invited Trevor White and Ian Hampton to join Sparks after bassist Martin Gordon was fired. Drummer Chris Townson joined Martin Gordon's Jet with formerly John's Children' singer Andy Ellison.
Guitarist Trevor White & bassist Ian Hampton played along side with Ron & Russ Mael and recorded Sparks' "Propaganda" (1974) and "Indiscreet" (1975) albums. - more about Sparks...After Sparks, bassist Ian Hampton did studio sessions mostly. He backed Elizabeth Barraclough in 1978 for two albums released on Todd Rundgren's Bearsville label and Ian Hampton played with various artists as The Three Degrees, Hazel O'Connor and Hot Chocolate.
Following his departure from Sparks,Trevor White joined Jet mark II from August 1975 up to August 1976 replacing guitarist Davy O'List. Several demos with Trevor White were recorded, but the band fell apart. Trevor White cut a solo single for Sparks' then-current label, Island. This 7" was a remake of "Crazy Kids" backed by the Jook's previously unreleased (and uncredited) with "Moving in the Right Direction" as flip-side. Trevor White did a video which featured himself playing on the mantlepiece in a living room whilst his despairing parents looked on. Then Trevor White co-produced Radio Stars' first single "Dirty Pictures" in April 1977.
For a while, Trevor White led a band with guitarist Adrian Fisher (formerly with Sparks and later with Boxer), bassist Ian Hampton and Marc Mortimore, then Trevor joigned Martin Gordon's Radio Stars one year later. When Martin Gordon decided to leave to form "The Blue Meanies", Trevor White, singer Andy Ellison & guitarist Ian McLeod decided to continue under the name of Radio Stars until September 1979 but the magic was gone with the bass player.
In 1981, Trevor White formed The Four Squares with John Hewlett, drummer Norman "Dinky "Diamond (formerly with Sparks) and Chuck Wagon who became member of L.A band The Dickies. Some demo tapes were recorded by the band but unfortunately nothing surfaced. Finally, Trevor White reunited with Martin Gordon in 2000 for the Jet "Nothing To Do Tour" performing his song "Crazy Kids" during the gigs. A live verson of "Crazy Kids" by Trevor White can be heard on the japanese pressing of Jet's "Music For Herd Of Herrings" Cd.
In 2005, an issue of the never released Jook album "Different Class" saw the light of day. This Cd contained all the singles and unreleased studio recordings by Jook. Today the UK market for 70's power pop has embraced the Jook, whilst elsewhere such as the States and Japan the market for proto punk has equally identified the Jook for re-appraisal.
This collection has had the full input from the band members - Ian Kimmett, Trevor White, Chris Townson and Ian Hampton - including loan of archives and leader Ian Kimmett digging up his original album songwriter demos as a special bonus. The sleeve design was based on the bands look of the period as captured by photographer Gered Mankowitz, with name spray painted on a wall, spiky mod haircuts and accusatory stares at the camera.
Jook "Different Class"Cd track listing : 1. Alright With Me (Ian Kimmet - Trevor White) 2. Do What You Can (Ian Kimmet - Trevor White) 3. City And Suburban Blues (Gallagher - Lyle) 4. Shame Shame Shame (Willie Dixon) 5. Oo Oo Rudi (Ian Kimmet) 6. Jook's On You (Kimmet - White - Ian Hampton - Townson) 7. King Capp (Ian Kimmet) 8. Rumble (Kimmet - White - Ian Hampton - Townson) 9. Bish Bash Bosh (Ian Kimmet) 10. Crazy Kids (Trevor White) 11. Aggravation Place* (Ian Kimmet) 11. Everything I Do (Ian Kimmet - Trevor White) 12. La La Girl (Ian Kimmet) 13. Watch Your Step (Ian Kimmet) 14. Hey Doll (Ian Kimmet - Trevor White) 15. That's Fine (Ian Kimmet - Trevor White) 16. Mohair Sam (Ian Kimmet - Trevor White) 17. Couch (Ian Kimmet - Trevor White) 18. Different Class (Ian Kimmet - Trevor White) 19. Movin' In The Right Direction (Ian Kimmet - Trevor White) - Bonus tracks : 20. Aggravation Place (Ian Kimmet demo) 21. Everything I Do (Ian Kimmet demo) 22. La La Girls (Ian Kimmet demo).
Ralf Ian Kimmet : "What we all had in common was the view that rock was stagnant and it was definitely time for a fresh wind to sweep through. We really saw it that way…all of us. We inspired each other in our collective rebellion against all the boring traditional social mores and rock bands of the time. Our attitude was to capture the public’s imagination a few years later with the advent of the whole punk movement. We pre-empted all of that."
Trevor White : "Jook was labelled as skinheads in the press but we were Rudies... Skinhead was totally the wrong word. We wanted to be masculine, but not violent. We just wanted to have a good time. Jook wanted to cater for working class kids, not just on a visual level, but by giving them the music they really want to hear."
Chris Townson : "Jook ? Probably the most fun I had in the music business, but ultimately the most disappointing... a real 'nearly' band. Ian Kimmet was without doubt the best "front man" I played behind. It's a great shame circumstance didn't give him the opportunity to 'sock it to 'em' on a bigger stage."
Ian Hampton : "What missed Jook to have more success ? Well... bad marketing ! But we have recently all met up again. We still have some new musical projects and Jook may be about to reform..."
Trevor White : "Jook was the best thing we ever done, everything just as we wanted. Unfortunately we were desperate to have a hit. Our music was getting so contrived that at one point, we were listening to whatever was the number one single that week, to see what it had got, apart from success, that we hadn't. Then we'd borrow it. Integrity just went out of the window. We'd hear something and say, 'that's it, that's what we should be sounding like. ...If we'd stayed together we might have had the breakthrough."
FONTE---> AQUI !
TRADUÇÃO---> AQUI !
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