Jimmy Campbell (musician)

For the British songwriter and music publisher, see Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly.

Jimmy Campbell (4 January 1944 – 12 February 2007) was a musician and songwriter from Liverpool.[1] He was a member of Merseybeat groups The Kirkbys, The 23rd Turnoff, Rockin' Horse as well as releasing three solo albums.[1]

Career

Campbell started in music at school, forming the band The Panthers. They supported The Beatles in January 1962. The band performed at The Cavern on numerous occasions, and one show, broadcast on Radio Luxembourg, saw them introduced as The Kirkbys by Bob Wooler, the presenter of the show, 'Sunday Night at the Cavern.' Bob felt that changing the name of the group to that of their home town would help expand its fan base. The name stuck, and the group released a single, "It's A Crime", in 1966, at the tail end of the merseybeat era.[2]

Campbell moved on from the mersey sound to the newly evolving psychedelic scene, renaming the band to The 23rd Turnoff. The name was taken from the motorway sign indicating the nearby M6 exit.[2] Here he found his Liverpool roots placed him at a disadvantage, with the scene establishing itself in London.[3] Described by Bob Stanley of The Times as "the era's lost songwriter",[3] Campbell wrote a number of songs recorded by other artists. Cliff Richard, Billy Fury, The Swinging Blue Jeans and Rolf Harris all covered songs of Campbell's.[2] Although Campbell did not achieve acclaim in the 60s and 70s, his work later came to be well regarded, with Will Sergeant naming Campbell's single "Michael Angelo", recorded with 23rd Turnoff among his top ten psychedelic records.[4] The Guardian included the 2004 compilation album "The Dream of Michelangelo" in its list of 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die.[5]

Discography

With The Kirkbys

Singles

With The 23rd Turnoff

Singles

As Jimmy Campbell

Singles
Albums

With Rockin' Horse

Singles
Albums

Compilations

References

  1. 1 2 "JIMMY CAMPBELL ; Writer of psychedelic classics" The Independent (London); 14 February 2007; Spencer Leigh; p. 37
  2. 1 2 3 "OBITUARY: Jimmy Campbell" Daily Post (Liverpool); 15 February 2007; p. 11
  3. 1 2 "The quality of mersey unrestrained" The Times (London); 12 August 2003; Bob Stanley; p. 16
  4. ↑ "ROCK & POP: THE TEN BEST PSYCHEDELIC BRITISH SONGS" The Independent (London); 2 July 2004; WILL `SGT FUZZ' SERGEANT; p. 18
  5. ↑ "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die:" The Guardian (London); 22 November 2007; p. 3

External links

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