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Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts

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Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts
Background information
OriginCrawley, England
GenresBlues
Years active1968–2013
LabelsClan Celentano
[1]Sonet Records
Exson[2]
Past members

Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts were a British club and touring blues band, formed in 1968 and later, a rarely performing pub band. Under the pseudonym Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs they released "Seaside Shuffle", a novelty single that reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart in 1972.

Background

Brett Marvin and The Thunderbolts originally comprised school pupils and staff from Thomas Bennett School in Crawley, West Sussex, England.[3] An early line-up was Dave Arnot (drums), Pete Gibson (trombone/vocals/percussion), Graham Hine (guitar) and Jim Pitts (guitar/vocals/harmonica), with John Randall and Keith Trussell (percussionists). The band was later joined by John Lewis (Jona Lewie) as vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist. Further personnel changes included Pete Swan (bass), Doug Strathie (bass) and Taffy Davies (vocals/keyboard/clarinet/mandolin) who joined the band after the departure of John Lewis, who had left to pursue a solo career after the band's first breakup. Instrumentation included "bizarre inventions", such as an 'electric ironing board' and a lagerphone, band-named a 'Zobstick'.[2][4][5]

Career

Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts' debut album was the 1970 Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts. This was also issued in Italy on the Clan Celentano label.[6][7] This was followed by Twelve Inches of Brett Marvin and Best of Friends in 1971, Alias Terry Dactyl in 1972, and Ten Legged Friends in 1973, all for Sonet Records. In 1993, the band released Boogie Street under the Exson label. Following their first album the band, under the pseudonym Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs, released "Seaside Shuffle", a novelty single written by Jona Lewie, that eventually reached No. 2 in the UK chart in 1972. Further releases under Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs were not successful.[2]

Band members Taffy Davies died in June 2010, Jim Pitts in 2012, John Randall and Peter Gibson in 2021.[8][9][10]

References

  1. ^ Istituto Centrale Per I Beni Sonori Ed Audiovisi - *Brett Marvin & The Thunderbolts
  2. ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 177/8. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  3. ^ "Brett Marvin and The Thunderbolts (aka Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs)". crawleymuseums.org. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Christmas Special", British Comedy Guide. Danny Baker references "Seaside Shuffle" and the zob stick on QI
  5. ^ "Where are they now…? Singer Jona Lewie", Daily Express, 11 July 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2016
  6. ^ Discogs - Brett Marvin & The Thunderbolts – Brett Marvin & The Thunderbolts
  7. ^ Istituto Centrale Per I Beni Sonori Ed Audiovisi - *Brett Marvin & The Thunderbolts
  8. ^ Puddifoot, David (29 June 2010). "Taffy Davies obituary". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Jim Pitts dies". Thisissussex.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  10. ^ Hanelle Levine, "Obituaries: Peter Gibson", The Guardian, 24 July 2021, Journal p.9
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