The New Vaudeville Band

Geoff Stephens was a teacher, an air traffic controller and a silk screen printer before ending up working as a songwriter at the heart of the British music industry in Denmark Street, London in the 1960s. He penned the hits Tell Me When for The Applejacks and The Crying Game for Dave Berry (both top ten hits in 1964) and really cemented his reputation when he discovered, managed and produced folk singer Donovan. In 1966 he came up with a quirky novelty record called Winchester Cathedral, made in the style of British Music Hall showtunes from the 1920s. Under the name The New Vaudeville Band, he recruited vocalist John Carter, drummer Henri Harrison and trumpeter Bob Kerr from Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band to complete the project, and they soon had an unlikely hit on their hands. Wilfully odd and eccentric in style, it topped the charts in the US and reached number four in the UK, notched up worldwide sales of over three million and even won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Recording. The group's follow-up singles Peek-A-Boo, Finchley Green and Green Street Green became small hits in the UK and an album, also titled Winchester Cathedral, was released, but the shtick soon wore thin and Stephens returned to writing songs for acts such as Herman's Hermits, The New Seekers, Wayne Newton and even Elvis Presley.