Biography
Born in Florida in 1944, vocalist Jimmy Helms established his recording successes and professional trajectory almost exclusively inside the United Kingdom. Military service with the United States Army nurtured his longstanding musical ambitions, most directly through performances alongside the Fort Jackson Army Band. After leaving the service he relocated from the United States to Britain, switched his focus from ensemble playing to solo vocals, and placed his debut single “Ragtime Girl” with Pye Records in 1963. London Records issued a follow-up, “If You Let Me,” in 1969. Neither release registered commercially, yet both supplied the foundation that propelled Helms into prominence throughout the following decade.
Helms moved to Fly/Cube Records in 1972 and issued the favorably received “So Long Love,” yet it was the 1973 single “I’m Gonna Make You an Offer You Can’t Refuse,” produced by John Worth, that delivered his decisive breakthrough. The track reached the British Top Ten that spring. Subsequent releases “I’ll Take Good Care of You” and “Jack Horner’s Holiday” failed to replicate that impact, and the 1974 album I’m Gonna Make You an Offer, cut with a session ensemble that included former Affinity/Fancy bassist Mo Foster, likewise made no chart impression.
Helms refused to accept one-hit status. Returning to Pye, he completed the Songs I Sing album and the single “Don’t Pull Your Love” in 1975 while simultaneously appearing on other artists’ projects: he portrayed the kingfisher on Roger Glover’s Butterfly Ball and contributed to Eddie Hardin’s 1976 Wizard’s Convention superstar collection. Additional session work during the early and mid-1970s found him on albums by Mick Greenwood and the Scaffold offshoot Fresh Liver.
A 1977 association with producer Biddu yielded the single “Black Joy” and its accompanying soundtrack album, later reissued on CD in 2002. Helms supplied material to the 1985 film Water soundtrack and performed several numbers on the album tied to the mid-1980s stage musical Time. Continued session activity placed him alongside Madness, Then Jericho, and Deacon Blue; his own album Speak surfaced briefly in 1988. That same year marked the beginning of a significant new chapter.
Helms joined Jimmy Chambers, George Chandler (formerly of Olympic Runners), and producer Willy M to form the dance outfit Londonbeat. Driven by drum-machine rhythms and helmed by Martyn Philips, the group issued a succession of British hit singles from 1988 through the mid-1990s. Early successes included the 1988 debut “9 AM (The Comfort Zone)” and a 1991 cover of Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry,” yet nothing eclipsed the Helms-penned “I’ve Been Thinking About You.” The track climbed to number two on the British charts in September 1990 and reached number one in the United States the following February, remaining on the American chart for nearly five months. Ten years afterward Helms continued to front a reconstituted New Londonbeat on the United Kingdom nostalgia circuit.
Helms moved to Fly/Cube Records in 1972 and issued the favorably received “So Long Love,” yet it was the 1973 single “I’m Gonna Make You an Offer You Can’t Refuse,” produced by John Worth, that delivered his decisive breakthrough. The track reached the British Top Ten that spring. Subsequent releases “I’ll Take Good Care of You” and “Jack Horner’s Holiday” failed to replicate that impact, and the 1974 album I’m Gonna Make You an Offer, cut with a session ensemble that included former Affinity/Fancy bassist Mo Foster, likewise made no chart impression.
Helms refused to accept one-hit status. Returning to Pye, he completed the Songs I Sing album and the single “Don’t Pull Your Love” in 1975 while simultaneously appearing on other artists’ projects: he portrayed the kingfisher on Roger Glover’s Butterfly Ball and contributed to Eddie Hardin’s 1976 Wizard’s Convention superstar collection. Additional session work during the early and mid-1970s found him on albums by Mick Greenwood and the Scaffold offshoot Fresh Liver.
A 1977 association with producer Biddu yielded the single “Black Joy” and its accompanying soundtrack album, later reissued on CD in 2002. Helms supplied material to the 1985 film Water soundtrack and performed several numbers on the album tied to the mid-1980s stage musical Time. Continued session activity placed him alongside Madness, Then Jericho, and Deacon Blue; his own album Speak surfaced briefly in 1988. That same year marked the beginning of a significant new chapter.
Helms joined Jimmy Chambers, George Chandler (formerly of Olympic Runners), and producer Willy M to form the dance outfit Londonbeat. Driven by drum-machine rhythms and helmed by Martyn Philips, the group issued a succession of British hit singles from 1988 through the mid-1990s. Early successes included the 1988 debut “9 AM (The Comfort Zone)” and a 1991 cover of Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry,” yet nothing eclipsed the Helms-penned “I’ve Been Thinking About You.” The track climbed to number two on the British charts in September 1990 and reached number one in the United States the following February, remaining on the American chart for nearly five months. Ten years afterward Helms continued to front a reconstituted New Londonbeat on the United Kingdom nostalgia circuit.
Albums
