eddie cochrane

Most of the musicians on the Nursery Rhymes Collection CD are either friends or have come through Comfy Towers Recording Studios as clients. Some are clients that have become friends and when that happens that’s when I beg the question “D’ya wanna play on me Nursery Rhymes album?”

Well one of my recent clients has been the one and only Jess Conrad. You may have heard of him but if not let me enlighten you. Jess was a star in the early 60’s pre-Beatles time. He was under the Larry Parnes ’stable of stars’ and worked for the legendary producer Joe Meek recording with him backed by Clem Cattini, Chas Hodges and Ritchie Blackmore of The Tornadoes.

He was the ‘face of 1960′ and toured with Gene Vincent, Heinz, Eddie Cochrane, Screaming Lord Sutch, Joe Brown, Marty Wilde and Billy Fury. He released tracks on the Decca label but has also been on Pye and EMI and he had some hits with This Pullover, Mystery Girl and Cherry Pie to name but a few. He was also the very first person to play Joseph in the West End smash Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat for Andrew Lloyd Webber (getting this part after playing Jesus in the West End smash ‘Godspell’).

Jess Conrad is also a TV and film actor and has had many great parts over the years most famously in the SxxPistols film ‘The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle’ and recently the story of Joe Meek  (starring Con O’Neill, Kevin Spacey, James Corden, Nigel Harman, Justin Hawkins, Carl Barat, JJ Feild, Nick Moran, Ralf Little, Tom Burke and Pam Ferris ) ‘Telstar – The Joe Meek Story’. 

He’s been in my place recording a new single called ‘Bring You Home To Me (This Christmas)’, written and produced by myself which we hope will be released this year…if not certainly next year! The track highlights the fact that our troops are still away in the field during this festive season as well as the usual boy misses girl at Christmas theme. We had a great time recording, he’s got a great voice and a lovely sense of humour and I even took him down my local pub afterwards and had a couple with him; whilst there we agreed a plan for new Jess album for 2010. So I’m hoping I can call him ‘a mate’ now…

So, to cut a long story short I’m gonna ask him if he’ll do me a vocal on the next Nursery Rhymes album…what a catch that’d be!?!

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