John Paul Joans (aka Reginald John Davidge) secured a management contract with me after winning Granada TV talent show ‘First Timers‘ (which showcased emerging talents such as Reginald Dwight and The Grumbleweeds, Gilbert O’Sullivan) and later morphed into ‘New Faces‘.
John Davidge was a politically motivated and confrontational stand-up comedian with a gravelly deep voice who you can see perform in the clip below as filmed at Bernard Manning‘s Embassy Club:
In 1970, we decided he would record a Christmas record and I arranged for Eric Stewart, Lol Creme and Kevin Godley to write the song with him.
It was ‘Man From Nazareth’ with the flip side ‘Got To Get Together Now’ both were recorded at Strawberry Studios and I arranged a quick release on Mickie Most’s RAK label.
The song was tipped as a 1970 Xmas number 1 but lost its momentum because the other John Paul Jones objected, necessitating that all the records be recalled, destroyed and reprinted! The song peaked at No. 25 in January 1971 after a belated post-Xmas Top of The Pops performance.
Man From Nazareth (A-side)
Got to Get Together Now (B-side)
After my tenure he put out a few more singles under various aliases:
- ‘The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel‘ (Capitol – 1971)
- ‘Jody And The Kid / Colours‘ (Capitol – 1971)
- ‘The Fear of Love’ / ‘Cold Road‘ (Polydor – 1972)
- ‘The Miners’ Song in aid of miners’ dependents’ (Holyground – 1972)
It was through John Paul Joans that I had the good fortune of meeting and representing both:
- Ramases (who John met in NY & suggested me for management) and
- Tony Christie (who was also on the bill at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens).