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Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–69), Petula Clark (1957–71), The Searchers (1963–67), The Kinks (1964–71), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971) and Brotherhood of Man (1975–79). The label changed its name in 1980, but was briefly reactivated in 2006.

History[link]

The Pye Company originally manufactured televisions and radios. Its main plant was situated off what used to be Haig Road, in Cambridge, and it entered the record business when it bought Nixa Records in 1953. In 1955, the company acquired Polygon Records, a label that had been established by Petula Clark's father to control distribution of her recordings, and merged it with Nixa Records to form Pye Nixa Records.

Expansion[link]

In 1958, Pye International Records was started. The company licensed recordings from American and other foreign labels for the UK market, including Chess, A&M, Kama Sutra, Colpix, Warner Bros., Buddah, 20th Century, and King. It also released recordings from British artist Labi Siffre which were produced outside the company.

In 1959, Pye Nixa became Pye Records and ATV acquired 50% of the label.^[1] ATV bought the other half of the business in 1966. The company entered the budget-priced album market in 1957, reissuing older Pye material on Pye Golden Guinea Records, priced at a guinea (one pound and one shilling). This was closed in the seventies and eventually replaced by Marble Arch Records, selling at an even lower price.

Piccadilly and Dawn labels[link]

Another, full-price, subsidiary, Piccadilly Records, was for new pop acts, including Joe Brown & the Bruvvers, Clinton Ford, the Rockin' Berries, Sounds Orchestral, Al Saxon, the Sorrows and, later on, the Ivy League (who metamorphosed into the Flower Pot Men, famous for their Summer of Love anthem "Let's Go to San Francisco" on Deram Records). In 1969, Pye launched a less mainstream label for folk, jazz, blues and progressive acts, Dawn Records, the most successful Dawn act being Mungo Jerry.

As PRT Records[link]

When the rights to the name Pye expired in 1980, the label changed its name to PRT, which stood for Precision Records and Tapes. At that time, it had sublabels such as Fanfare Records, a late 80's/early 90's UK-based Hi-NRG label issuing records by Sinitta; R&B Records, an 80s disco/electro label featuring Imagination; and Splash Records, which featured Jigsaw and the Richard Hewson Orchestra. PRT ceased operations in 1989.

Brief revival[link]

In July 2006, Pye Records was reactivated by Sanctuary Records as an indie and alternative label, featuring artists such as Scottish alternative rock group Idlewild. However, plans for continued usage of the Pye name were abandoned when Universal Music Group bought Sanctuary in 2007. Pye Reccords was a subsidiary to ATV Music Publishing which was bought by Michael Jackson in 1985. Ten years late, Jackson merged ATV Music Publishing with Sony and it was renamed Sony/ATV Music Publishing. The company became the second largest music publisher in the world.

Pye international divisions[link]

Pye in the U.S.[link]

Starting with the "British Invasion" of 1964, Pye placed their artists in the U.S. mostly on labels that they distributed in the UK: The Searchers to Mercury Records, Liberty Records, and finally Kapp Records, The Kinks to Cameo Records and then to Reprise Records, David Bowie, The Sorrows and Petula Clark to Warner Bros. Records, Donovan to Hickory Records, and Status Quo to Chess Records (which issued their records on their newly created Cadet Concept Records label).

From 1969 to 1971, Pye was a co-owner with GRT (General Recorded Tape) of Janus Records, which at the outset served as the U.S. label for such Pye acts as Jefferson, Sounds Orchestral, Pickettywitch, Mungo Jerry and Status Quo, and also re-issued the early (pre-1966) recordings of Donovan. Pye sold its share of Janus back to GRT in 1971.

In 1972, Bell Records set up a short-lived Pye label, featuring Michel Pagliaro, a Canadian artist whose first English-language album was issued on UK Pye (largely recorded in England), and Jackie McAuley, whose lone solo album was originally issued on UK Dawn. The label only lasted a very short time.

In 1974, Pye established an American version of its record label. The label was not a success, however, and closed its U.S. operations in 1976. The head of the U.S. division, Marvin Schlachter, then started Prelude Records, named after one of Pye's acts of the time, Prelude; its initial LP and 45 catalogue series were carried over from the ill-fated U.S. Pye label (with the catalogue prefix changed from PYE- to PRL-), and Prelude had a string of disco and dance music hits into the early 1980s.

Pye in Canada[link]

Whilst Pye did not have its own operations in Canada, it arranged with Canadian record companies to issue Pye recordings on the Pye label in Canada. Before then, Quality Records issued Pye recordings on the Quality label. Their earliest Pye Canada releases such as Lonnie Donegan's "My Old Man's A Dustman" were distributed by Astral Music Sales. Around 1963, distribution shifted to Allied Record Corporation. In 1968 distribution shifted to Phonodisc.^[2]

Artists on Pye Records[link]

(including the U.S. labels that issued records by the artists during the time they were on Pye)

• The Bachelors
• Sounds Orchestral (issued in U.S. on Parkway)
• Long John Baldry (issued in U.S. on Warner Bros.)
• Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen (issued in U.S. on Kapp)
• Trader Horne
• Acker Bilk
• Chris Barber's Jazzband (issued in U.S. on Laurie)
• David Bowie (1965–1966; issued in U.S. on Warner Bros.)
• The Brook Brothers (1961–64)
• Brotherhood of Man (1975–1979)
• Max Bygraves made a successful series of singalong albums for Pye
• Petula Clark (1957–1971: in addition to dozens of singles, her output for Pye included seventeen albums. Issued in U.S. on Laurie and then on Warner Bros.)
• Clem Curtis
• Joe Dolan
• Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969; issued in U.S. on Mercury, Atlantic, then Dot)
• Donovan (1965–1971; issued in U.S. on Hickory and then Epic)
• Carl Douglas
• The Enid
• Episode Six (issued in U.S. on Elektra for 1 single only)
• The Flying Machine (1969; issued in U.S. on Congress and then Janus)
• Emile Ford and the Checkmates
• The Foundations (issued in the U.S. on Uni)
• Brian Joseph Friel (issued in the U.S. on ATV Records)
• Benny Hill (1961–1965)
• The Honeycombs (1964–1966; issued in the U.S. on Interphon and then Warner Bros.)
• Idlewild (2006)
• The Ivy League (1965–1966; issued in the U.S. on Cameo)
• Tony Jackson and the Vibrations (1964–1966)
• Jimmy James & The Vagabonds
• The Kinks (1964–1971; issued in the U.S. on Cameo and then Reprise)
• Vera Lynn (1979–1981)
• David MacBeth
• Man
• Gerald Masters (1977–1980)
• Mungo Jerry (1970–1974; issued in the U.S. on Janus and then Bell)
• Olivia Newton-John (Olivia, Festival, Australia, 1972)
• Maxine Nightingale
• The Migil 5 (1964–1965)
• Des O'Connor
• Lennie Peters (1966)
• The Real Thing (1976–1979)
• Joan Regan (1960–1961)
• The Remo Four
• The Searchers (1963–1967; issued in the U.S. on Mercury Liberty and then Kapp)
• Sandie Shaw (1964–1972; issued in the U.S. on Reprise)
• Labi Siffre (1970–1973, Pye International)
• Hurricane Smith (1976–1977)
• The Sorrows (1964–1966; issued in the U.S. on Warner Bros.)
• Status Quo (1968–1971; issued in the U.S. on Cadet Concept and then Janus)
• Graduate (1979)
• Tommy Steele
• Frankie Vaughan (1973–1978)
• Velvett Fogg (1969)
• Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band (issued in the U.S. on Kapp)
• Mark Wynter (1962–1968)

See also[link]

• Category: Pye Records (albums, singles, artists)
• List of record labels
• Nixa Records

External links[link]

• http://www.discogs.com/label/Pye+Records
• Marble Arch Discography
• Official Yahoo! Group for Pye Records

References[link]

Johnny Wakelin (born 1939, Brighton, Sussex, England) is an English Pye Records recording artist.

Career[link]

He had his first outings in clubs in his hometown but without big success.^[1] Discovered by Pye record producer Robin Blanchflower, the man who launched Carl Douglas to the top of the charts with "Kung Fu Fighting", and working with Steve Elson and Keith Rossiter in addition to Branchflower, Wakelin set about writing songs that would, he hoped, "catch people's eye"^[1]

Then he got the idea of writing a homage to the boxing champion Muhammad Ali who fought on 30 October 1974 in Kinshasa against George Foreman in a matchup known as The Rumble in the Jungle, gaining victory in the eighth round. In January 1975 Wakelin's "Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)" reached number seven in the UK Singles Chart.^[2] It reached number one in Australia and spent six months in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in more than one chart run in 1975, eventually peaking at #21 in September of that year. Ali, however, did not approve of the song and shunned it completely.^[1][3] It is thought that the American success of Wakelin's song inspired DC Comics to publish the 1978 comic Superman vs. Muhammad Ali.^{[citation needed]} 1975 brought a further single, "Cream Puff," backed by "Gotta Keep on Going"; it flopped, but both songs would be incorporated into Wakelin's March 1976 album, Reggae, Soul & Rock 'n' Roll.^[1]

A bigger success was "In Zaire" (also about Muhammad Ali) in 1976, which reached the charts in many parts of Europe. After few further hits ("Africa Man", "You Turn Me On", "Dr. Frankenstein's Disco Party") his success cooled down.^[1] He re-recorded his hit "In Zaire" in different versions which had a little success. Furthermore he stayed active as a songwriter, and continued to release albums.^[1]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Black Superman (1975)
• Reggae, Soul & Rock 'n' Roll (1976)
• In Zaire (1976)
• African Man (1976)
• Double Trouble (1978)
• Gems from the Pen (1984)
• Rock 'n' Country Blues (1996)
• From Ali to the Naz (1997)
• Sway with Me (2005)
• In Africa (2005)
• Right Before My Eyes (2006)
• No Smoking (2007)

Singles[link]

• "Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)" (1975) - Pye 7N 45420 - US #21 / UK #7 §
• "In Zaire" (1976) - Pye 7N 45595 - UK #4

§ - Credited to Johnny Wakelin and The Kinshasa Band^[2]

See also[link]

• List of performers on Top of the Pops
• List of people from Brighton and Hove
• List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Discography & Info

Jackie Trent (born Yvonne Burgess,^[1] 6 September 1940, Newcastle-under-Lyme) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress.

Career[link]

Trent's first stage appearance was as a ten-year-old ingenue in the pantomime Babes In The Wood, but her primary interest was a career in pop music. Her first single, "Pick Up the Pieces," was released in 1962, but it was not until two record labels and three years later that she scored her first hit, "Where Are You Now" which was featured in the popular TV series The Inspector Rose Mysteries and was written by Tony Hatch, who at that time was involved in a successful professional collaboration with Petula Clark. "Where Are You Now" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in May 1965, topping the chart for one week.^[1]

With Clark's 1966 hit, "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" inspired by the ongoing affair between Trent and Hatch, they went public with their relationship. A year later, they were married in Kensington, London.

Although she recorded several singles and albums, both as a solo artist and in tandem with her husband, Trent was more successful as a songwriter rather than a singer.^[2] In addition to their compositions for Clark, over the years she and Hatch wrote a wealth of material for other artists, including Frank Sinatra, Jack Jones, Nancy Wilson, Des O'Connor, Val Doonican, Shirley Bassey, Vikki Carr, and Dean Martin.

In the late 1960s, Trent returned to the stage with a UK tour of the musical Nell with Hermione Baddeley. In 1970 Trent recorded the Les Vandyke composed, "I'll Be Near You". In March that year she appeared on the cover of the British music magazine, NME.

The 1970s saw Hatch and Trent diversify into the world of musical theatre. The first of their projects, The Card, based on Arnold Bennett's novel, with book by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, ran in London's West End with Jim Dale and Millicent Martin in the starring roles. (Coincidentally, Clark had starred in the 1952 film version with Alec Guinness). An original cast album was released in 1975. A rewritten version of the show, starring Peter Duncan and Hayley Mills, played the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in the 1990s and spawned a new cast album. The second Hatch/Trent musical was Rock Nativity, with book and lyrics by David Wood. Initiated and produced by Cameron Mackintosh, it first played in Newcastle upon Tyne. An updated version of the show toured nationally in 1976, and was broadcast nationally by Scottish TV. A full-length concert version was also recorded at the Cork Opera House for transmission by RTÉ.

In 1972 the couple wrote the song "We'll Be With You", a celebration of Trent's home town football club Stoke City reaching the final of the Football League Cup. It was released under the name The Potters (the club's nickname), and reached number 34 on the UK chart.^[3] Stoke beat Chelsea F.C. 2-1 in the final. The track is still played at Stoke's home games to this day.

In August 1978, Trent appeared on the BBC Television programme, Seaside Special. Later the same year, the couple left the UK for a four-year residency in Dublin, where they hosted their own TV series Words And Music and It's A Musical World, before moving to Australia in 1982. It was while down under that the couple wrote what might be their most famous composition, the theme tune for the TV soap, Neighbours.

Trent and Hatch separated in 1995, and divorced in 2002.

Following the couple's initial separation, Trent made a successful return to the British stage, touring the country in the musical High Society. After spending several years in semi-retirement, she toured Australia with a series of concerts in April and May 2004.

On 24 November 2005, Trent married Colin Gregory.

In 2008, Trent collaborated with the record producer, Ted Carfrae, to work on her latest album entitled Trentquility.^[4]

See also[link]

• List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
• List of performers on Top of the Pops

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Wayne Gibson was the stage name of Edward William "Bill" Allen (b. 15 December 1942). He was a British pop singer who had two hits on the UK singles chart, "Kelly" in 1964 and "Under My Thumb" in 1974.

Career[link]

In the early 1960s, he was lead singer in a South London-based band called the Tornadoes (unrelated to the instrumental group, The Tornados), who then changed their name to Wayne Gibson & the Dynamic Sounds.^[1] Other band members included Mick Todman (lead guitar), Ray Rogers (bass), Pete Gillies (rhythm guitar) and Larry Cole (drums). In 1961-62, they performed at The Top Ten Club in Hamburg, Germany.

In 1963 they won a recording deal with Decca Records, where their records were produced by American-born Shel Talmy, at that time the producer of The Bachelors (and later of The Kinks and The Who, among others). However, the group's first two singles, cover versions of Ray Sharpe's "Linda Lu" and Ritchie Valens' "Come On Let's Go", were not successful, and they moved on to the Pye label. Their next record, a version of Del Shannon's "Kelly" which featured session musician Jimmy Page on guitar,^[2] reached # 48 on the UK chart in March 1964,^[3] but the follow-up, "Portland Town", was not a hit. The group moved on again, to the Columbia label and then Parlophone, where they released a version of "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead" from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.^[4] In 1964-65, they also appeared regularly as the house band on the BBC TV programme The Beat Room.^[1][5]

Gibson's later recordings were as a solo singer. In May 1966 he released a version of The Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb", produced by Terry King. Again, however, it was not immediately a hit, and nor was his next record, a version of The Beatles' "For No One".^[4] However, "For No One" was reportedly then picked up for release in the US by Motown Records, Gibson becoming the first British singer to be issued by that label.^[2][3]

Gibson did not record after 1966 and seems to have left the professional entertainment business at that time. However, in 1972, the small Kingdom label reissued "For No One" in the UK. By 1974, "Under My Thumb" had become well known on the Northern soul club scene, and it was reissued on the Pye Disco Demand label.^[4] It rose to # 17 on the chart in late 1974,^[3] and Gibson briefly re-emerged to promote it on Top of the Pops.^[6]

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2011)

John Valmore Pearson (18 June 1925 – 20 March 2011),^[1] known as Johnny Pearson, was a British composer, orchestra leader and pianist. He led the Top of the Pops orchestra for sixteen years, wrote a catalogue of library music, and had many of his pieces used as the theme music to television series.

Early years[link]

Born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire^[1] Johnny Pearson showed talent with the piano at an early age. By nine, he had won a scholarship with the London Academy of Music. Here he spent four years under English pianist, Solomon. In his teens, he would give classical recitals, but his true love at the time was jazz. His first band was the Rhythm Makers. After World War II, he signed up and became one of the founding members of the Malcolm Mitchell Trio, before leaving in 1954. During his time with the trio, he toured England and Europe, playing the West End and theatres.

After leaving the trio, Pearson turned his talents to British radio, as well as performing in the Peter York Concert Orchestra. By 1960, he was conducting the Romance in Rhythm Orchestra.^[2] He recorded two singles for Parlophone, "Waterfall" in mid 1959, and "Theme from an L shaped room" in 1962. He was then offered a solo album deal with Oriole Records, which first teamed him up with John Schroeder. The Oriole album, Piano Sweet - Piano Wild, had a single taken from it, "Ooh La La", released in 1962. After the Oriole releases, Johnny Pearson continued to perform with various concert orchestras until 1964.

Working with Cilla Black[link]

In early 1964, Johnny Pearson took part in helping launch the career of Cilla Black, a rising singer who had been spotted by The Beatles producer, George Martin. She had released her first 45 single, "Love of the Loved", in 1963, but it had charted only modestly despite having been written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. A scout for George Martin had spotted the track "Anyone Who Had a Heart" after hearing the US singer Dionne Warwick's version. Originally the song was to have been recorded in the UK by Shirley Bassey, but George Martin saw the piece as being more suitable for Black's voice. Early in 1964, "Anyone Who Had a Heart" was recorded by Cilla Black at London's Abbey Road Studios, in an arrangement by Pearson which featured the use of bassoons. In February 1964, it entered the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 1 in the UK, Ireland and other parts of Europe. The Dionne Warwick version was also in the charts at the time, but Cilla Black's treatment used slightly different lyrics and a different arrangement.

Following the success of "Anyone Who Had a Heart", Pearson was invited to work on the next Cilla Black single, "You're My World", which was released in May 1964. This was also recorded at Abbey Road Studios, and again went to number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. Pearson also worked on other Cilla Black tracks, some of which featured on her album, Cilla Sings a Rainbow.

Sounds Orchestral[link]

Sounds Orchestral was an idea by John Schroeder, who had moved from Oriole Records to become the label manager at Pye Records and was interested in producing and instrumental version of the US hit song "Cast Your Fate to the Wind". This had been suggested to him at the time by Pye staff member, Tony Reeves. As his project moved to fruition, Schroeder looked for a piano player. His efforts came about when he was reminded of Johnny Pearson from a few years earlier, after he heard him on Radio Luxembourg. Initially paid a session fee to record "Cast Your Fate to the Wind", Pearson was subsequently made a full partner in the Sounds Orchestral project.^[3] "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" was a number 5 hit in the UK Singles Chart in early 1965.^[4] Pearson is also known to have composed under the pseudonym 'Oscar Brandenburg', a name he shared with Neil Richardson and Alan Moorhouse. Sounds Orchestral would end up recording some seventeen albums between 1965 and 1977. Some have subsequently been reissued on CD.

[edit] Top of the Pops

Pearson first came into contact with the BBC's Top of the Pops, in early 1965. Sounds Orchestral had just charted with "Cast Your Fate To The Wind", which featured on the first Top Of The Pops show. The following year, in 1966, Pearson took charge of the Top Of The Pops Orchestra. This would be a position he would fill for the next fifteen years, finally leaving the series in late 1981. Pearson's arrangement for the Top of the Pops Orchestra of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" was the theme tune to Top of the Pops for most of the 1970s. The last drummer to work with Pearson in "The Top Of The Pops Orchestra" was Peter Boita. Peter started with "The Top Of The Pops Orchestra" in 1977 and stayed until the orchestra's last performance after which the show's format was changed.

The Carpenters[link]

In October 1971, Johnny Pearson helped produce the BBC Television special, Carpenters: Live at the BBC, featuring the American musical duo of Karen and Richard Carpenter. It was broadcast the following month on British TV and elsewhere. In early 1973, Pearson was again contacted by Richard Carpenter to ask permission to use one of his songs, on the then forthcoming Carpenters LP, Now & Then. This track, originally titled "Autumn Reverie", first appeared on the 1968 KPM album, Gentle Sounds, and was retitled "Heather" by producer John Bettis in the Carpenters' version. Richard Carpenter apparently first heard the track as background music for a commercial for the US health food supplement maker, Geritol, and loved it straight away.^[5] "Autumn Reverie" would also feature again on the 1974 Johnny Pearson LP, Touch Me in the Morning and as background music on the British television series, All Creatures Great and Small (1978–90).

Johnny Pearson and his Orchestra[link]

As leader of the Johnny Pearson Orchestra, he reached number 8 in the UK chart in early 1972 with "Sleepy Shores", the theme from the television series Owen, M.D.^[6] (1971–73). The Johnny Pearson Orchestra, which as a musical project was begun in 1972, ran side by side with his other projects. At the time, these projects included working on albums with John Schroeder for Sounds Orchestral and also providing library music to Britain's KPM Records.

Instead of the slightly jazzy sounding, Sounds Orchestral albums, Pearson was offered a project for easy listening and romance music, based on the success of his "Sleepy Shores" hit. This time he teamed up with music executive Larry Page, who wanted to move his label Penny Farthing into the easy listening genre. The albums were released outside the UK in Europe, Australia, Canada and the US. In 1978, Larry Page decided to rename his Penny Farthing label to Rampage Records, to reflect a more modern outlook. One of the first singles and albums from the Rampage label, would be another of Pearson's international hits, the theme from All Creatures Great and Small.

Library and theme music[link]

In the United Kingdom[link]

Pearson was a successful composer of theme music for television series. Examples of his work included 3-2-1, The Rat Catchers, All Creatures Great and Small, Captain Pugwash, Monday Night Football, Mary Mungo & Midge and ITN's News at Ten (the last of which was titled "The Awakening", a piece otherwise known to American audiences as the main title theme to the 1964/1972 animated film Journey Back to Oz). He also wrote the Grampian Television start-up music "Sounds On" and the ATV startup theme "Midlands Montage", as well as music used during intervals between schools programmes on ITV.

In the United States[link]

In the United States, Pearson's best known composition is "Heavy Action", originally used as the theme to the BBC sports show Superstars, and subsequently adopted by ABC's Monday Night Football (the NFL's weekly nationally televised showcase) and the SFM Holiday Network. In 1989, Edd Kalehoff composed and recorded a new arrangement of this music for later seasons of Monday Night Football. His piece "Graveyard" was used in Ren and Stimpy. NFL Films has used many of his other compositions for its Super Bowl and other highlight films.

In Australia[link]

In Australia, his best known library music piece was "Power Drive," which was used as the theme for the 1969-75 police drama Division 4. This tune was also famous in the U.S. for use in some episodes of the 1967-70 cartoon series Spider-Man, as well as being the theme for Los Angeles station KNXT/KCBS-TV's afternoon movie series The Early Show for much of the 1970s and into the 1980s, as well as for their Saturday night movie show The Fabulous 52 from the late 1960s until the end of its run in 1974. The track "Sleepy Shores" was also used as incidental music in some of the courting scenes from the 1970s ABC TV drama series, Certain Women. Some of Johnny Pearson's library music was also used as background scene music for the Ten Network series, Prisoner. Also during late 2011, another Johnny Pearson track, And a Very Good Morning to You, from 1970, was used as a piece of background music, on the Nine Network series, Underbelly.

In the Netherlands[link]

In the 1970s, Johnny Pearson composed the music score for the Dutch TV series Sil de Strandjutter, performed by his orchestra. Pearson's composition "Heather", as performed by the Carpenters, has served as the background music to the "Plaat & zijn Verhaal"-section ("A record and its story") at Radio Veronica, in which a song's lyrics are translated into Dutch and read by the DJ.

The 1980s and later[link]

In late 1981, Johnny Pearson's tenure at BBC's Top Of The Pops came to an end, as the show had itself undergone a major reorganisation. By that time he had been associated with the programme for sixteen years. He was credited on the milestone 900th Top Of The Pops episode, in July 1981; his last credit with the show, was in late August 1981. After this, Pearson continued to work on independent projects and in 1982, released the instrumental album On Golden Pond through Larry Page's Page One Records.

In 1984, Pearson assembled another orchestra, the Johnny Pearson Studio Orchestra, and contributed to John Paul Jones' motion picture soundtrack, Scream For Help. Following this, during 1985, he worked on producing music for the BBC TV production drama Maelstrom. Notable on the recordings for Maelstrom is the track "Camellia Waltz", which was treated to sound like an old 78rpm record. Other tracks by Pearson for the series came from his work with KPM. In 1987, together with business partner Adrian Kerridge, Pearson negotiated the purchase of CTS Studios, in Wembley.^[7] In 1988, he returned to the KPM record label and the recording of two new library CDs for the radio and television industry. Both were recorded at CTS Studios in Wembley, with Adrian Kerridge.

After the 1980s, Pearson made occasional live appearances as part of a quartet. In 1996, he recorded a CD of library music, for the radio and television industry, titled Simply Piano. This was followed in 2005 by another CD, Simply Piano 2.

Death[link]

Johnny Pearson died at the age of 85, on 20 March 2011.

Discography[link]

Johnny Pearson at one time had at least four different projects going at the same time: Sounds Orchestral, as pianist; Johnny Pearson and his Orchestra; work with KPM Records, with background music for radio and television; and as arranger with Top Of The Pops. Apart from his work with John Schroeder and Sounds Orchestral, at Pye during 1964-1975, his solo work included:

• 1962 Piano Sweet - Piano Wild (Oriole PS40023)
• 1967 Portrait Of The 20th Century (KPM Records UK)
• 1970 Sounds Extravanganza (Aristocrat UK)
• 1970 The Johnny Pearson Sound, Studio 70 Orchestra (A&M Records)
• 1971 Heavy Action (Superstars)
• 1972 Sleepy Shores
• 1974 Touch Me in the Morning
• 1975 In Love
• 1976 Sil de strandjutter (original score from Dutch TV series)
• 1976 Rodrigos Guitar Concerto (Australian reissue of Sleepy Shores)
• 1977 If You Leave Me Now
• 1978 All Creatures Great and Small (UK release)
• 1980 Bright Eyes
• 1981 I Remember that Summer
• 1982 On Golden Pond (PAGE1 Records)

Compilations:

• 1980 Thinking of You (Endeavour Records - Castle Australia)

All the above were released on 12" vinyl, and from 1972 to the late 1970s, on the Penny Farthing Label, with Larry Page producing. In Australia, Sleepy Shores and Touch Me in the Morning are on Festival Records. In Australia from 1976 to 1980, Johnny Pearson and his Orchestra were on M7 Records. M7 Records was the offshoot of the ATN7 Television network of Australia. In Japan, Pearson was on JVC Victor. Around 1989, multiple releases occurred to coincide with the abandonment of vinyl records and cassettes by the global record industry. Titles to be found included Themes and Dreams.

Compact disc releases[link]

• 1989 Themes and Dreams (President Records PRCD171) UK
• 1989 Golden Instrumental Hits (Laserlight 15 171) German
• 1991 Sleepy Shores (BR Music BR132-2) Europe
• 1997 Best Of Johnny Pearson and Orchestra (Music Club MCCD304) UK
• 1998 Breaking Up and Making Up (Music Collection Int ETDCD057) UK
• 1999 Music and Romance (Disky Communications INS857162) Dutch
• 2010 King of Elegant Piano (JVC Victor Japan VICP47025) Double CD

References[link]

External links[link]

• Johnny Pearson at the Internet Movie Database
• Obituary in The Guardian