The Jetset

The Jet Set stand as one of the strangest curiosities in the annals of British pop. Only tangentially linked to the late-1970s mod revival, the group pushed the aesthetic further by replicating not merely the sonic textures of 1960s pop but also the career arcs and legendary personas of their heroes, staging a near-Rutles-style publicity campaign that encompassed a planned television series, seasonal flexi-disc greetings, comic strips, trading cards, and assorted fabricated Jet Set merchandise. Although they remained confined to cult status and soon faded from memory except among dedicated mod and pop enthusiasts, the band produced a substantial recorded legacy.

Paul Bevoir and Melvyn J. Taub, still in their teens, launched the project in 1979. After cutting initial demos alongside Secret Affair’s Paul Bultitude, the pair assembled temporary musicians solely for publicity shots. Once labels expressed interest, Bevoir and Taub recruited keyboardist Angus Nanan and drummer Paul Bonin to form the official lineup and secured an opening slot on a Secret Affair tour. Bultitude issued the band’s debut, The Best of the Jet Set EP, on his Dance Network imprint in 1983. With that release came an intensified promotional offensive built around an elaborate Jet Set mythology; the EP incorporated stills from the projected television program and featured the “Jet Set Theme.” Their eccentric, Beatles-inspired press antics, together with endorsements from specialist mod fanzines, quickly fostered a devoted following. The first album, There Goes the Neighborhood, appeared in 1985. It earned widespread praise in Britain, prompting Bevoir to undertake a short promotional visit to America in hopes of broadening the group’s reach. Go Bananas followed in 1986; between tracks the record inserted mock advertisements for Jet Set products. Thereafter Bevoir stepped away from live performance to devote himself to composition and studio work. In 1987, driven by an intensifying Beatles fixation, he guided the band toward its own Sgt. Pepper’s counterpart, the elaborately arranged and meticulously crafted Vaudeville Park, which duplicated both the sonic density and the packaging design of the original. Consistent with their pattern, the group next pursued stripped-down sessions, yet creative disagreements between Bevoir and Taub proved insurmountable. The Jet Set disbanded, and their swansong, Five, was assembled from the remaining recordings. Bevoir formed Smalltown Parade in 1990 and returned to solo activity in 1994.