Biography
Johnny Theakstone stands as the overlooked pioneer of British rock & roll’s formative years, eclipsing every other claimant to that distinction. He passed away before reaching his seventeenth birthday, unnoticed by the public and therefore without any visible mourning, yet his presence endured after Shane Fenton & the Fentones convinced roadie Bernard Jewry to assume the frontman position during a moment of crisis, and it resurfaced a decade afterward when Jewry transformed himself into glam-rock figure Alvin Stardust.
The group first assembled under the name Johnny Theakstone & the Tremolos, with Theakstone handling vocals, Gerry Wilcox on guitar, Mick Hay on rhythm guitar, future Hollies drummer Bobby Elliott, and a bassist known only as Bonny. In late 1960 they altered the name after taping an audition for the BBC’s Saturday Club program; Theakstone felt a fresh identity was required. They took “Shane” from the composer credits on a recent Gene Vincent release and “Fenton” from a garage spotted on the drive home from a performance, then mailed the recording and waited for a response. While still awaiting word, Theakstone died from complications of childhood rheumatic fever. The musicians prepared to disband, yet Theakstone’s mother urged them to carry on as a memorial to her son and insisted the existing band name remain unchanged. Jewry stepped into the Shane Fenton role that same afternoon.
Early the following year the reconfigured Shane Fenton & the Fentones passed the BBC audition without difficulty; Saturday Club’s presenter Tommy Sanderson agreed to manage them and secured an EMI contract within days. Their first single, “I’m a Moody Guy,” appeared in September 1961, and on 3 October the musicians met the press at London’s Center of Sound. A debut on Thank Your Lucky Stars followed, and the record climbed to number 19.
During the opening months of 1962 the band joined one of Larry Parnes’ package tours alongside Billy Fury & the Tornadoes, Karl Denver, and Peter Jay. Although the live performances drew strong responses, the next three singles—“Walk Away,” “It’s All Over Now,” and the Fentones’ instrumental “Lover’s Guitar”—made no commercial impression. June brought a brief upturn when “Cindy’s Birthday” reached the higher chart positions, but subsequent releases “Too Young for Sad Memories,” “I Ain’t Got Nobody,” and another Fentones instrumental, “The Breeze and I,” disappeared without trace.
A second Parnes tour in early 1963 placed the group low on the bill, and by April 1963 Shane Fenton & the Fentones had dissolved. Fenton launched a solo career, yet “A Fool’s Paradise” and “Don’t Do That” also failed. For a period he entered management, partnering with Tommy Sanderson to look after Bobby Elliott’s new band the Hollies. In 1964 he resumed performing, appearing with his wife Iris Caldwell—sister of Rory Storm—as Shane Fenton & Iris in northern England’s cabaret venues. When a fresh recording contract arrived in 1972 he had used the name Shane Fenton for so long that he saw no reason to change it, but his manager Hal Carter proposed an alternative. Roughly a year later, as the single “My Coo Ca Choo” was prepared for release, the new identity was introduced, and he has performed as Alvin Stardust ever since.
The group first assembled under the name Johnny Theakstone & the Tremolos, with Theakstone handling vocals, Gerry Wilcox on guitar, Mick Hay on rhythm guitar, future Hollies drummer Bobby Elliott, and a bassist known only as Bonny. In late 1960 they altered the name after taping an audition for the BBC’s Saturday Club program; Theakstone felt a fresh identity was required. They took “Shane” from the composer credits on a recent Gene Vincent release and “Fenton” from a garage spotted on the drive home from a performance, then mailed the recording and waited for a response. While still awaiting word, Theakstone died from complications of childhood rheumatic fever. The musicians prepared to disband, yet Theakstone’s mother urged them to carry on as a memorial to her son and insisted the existing band name remain unchanged. Jewry stepped into the Shane Fenton role that same afternoon.
Early the following year the reconfigured Shane Fenton & the Fentones passed the BBC audition without difficulty; Saturday Club’s presenter Tommy Sanderson agreed to manage them and secured an EMI contract within days. Their first single, “I’m a Moody Guy,” appeared in September 1961, and on 3 October the musicians met the press at London’s Center of Sound. A debut on Thank Your Lucky Stars followed, and the record climbed to number 19.
During the opening months of 1962 the band joined one of Larry Parnes’ package tours alongside Billy Fury & the Tornadoes, Karl Denver, and Peter Jay. Although the live performances drew strong responses, the next three singles—“Walk Away,” “It’s All Over Now,” and the Fentones’ instrumental “Lover’s Guitar”—made no commercial impression. June brought a brief upturn when “Cindy’s Birthday” reached the higher chart positions, but subsequent releases “Too Young for Sad Memories,” “I Ain’t Got Nobody,” and another Fentones instrumental, “The Breeze and I,” disappeared without trace.
A second Parnes tour in early 1963 placed the group low on the bill, and by April 1963 Shane Fenton & the Fentones had dissolved. Fenton launched a solo career, yet “A Fool’s Paradise” and “Don’t Do That” also failed. For a period he entered management, partnering with Tommy Sanderson to look after Bobby Elliott’s new band the Hollies. In 1964 he resumed performing, appearing with his wife Iris Caldwell—sister of Rory Storm—as Shane Fenton & Iris in northern England’s cabaret venues. When a fresh recording contract arrived in 1972 he had used the name Shane Fenton for so long that he saw no reason to change it, but his manager Hal Carter proposed an alternative. Roughly a year later, as the single “My Coo Ca Choo” was prepared for release, the new identity was introduced, and he has performed as Alvin Stardust ever since.
Albums