John Halsey (musician)
Encyclopedia
John Halsey is a rock drummer, best known for his appearance as "Barry" in The Rutles
, leading to his playing with Neil Innes
's band Fatso and appearing in the film All You Need is Cash
(1978).
Halsey was born in Highgate
, North London
and lived in North Finchley and was in a London based Rhythm and Blues
band called Felder's Orioles (1965 – 1968) with Mick O'Brien
on bass; Barry Huband on vocals, organ; Paul Hodgson on guitar; Rod Hinkston on baritone saxophone
and Peter Newman on tenor saxophone
, who released four singles on the Piccadilly Records label between 1965 and 1968. Between 1967 and 1973 he was a member of a band from Southport called Timebox
(formed in October 1965) who later became Patto
without keyboard player Chris Holmes but with the four members Mike Patto
(vocals), Peter "Ollie" Halsall
(guitar vibes and vocals), Clive Griffiths (bass and vocals), and Halsey (drums and vocals).
With record producer, Muff Winwood
, they released three albums and split up in 1973. The band was critically acclaimed with their own style of music: "it was like rock and roll with the freedom of avant-garde
". Ollie Halsall is acclaimed as one of the finest guitar players Britain has ever produced. He died in Madrid in 1992. Mike Patto died in London in 1979.
Phil Collins
says that Halsey is one of his major influences as a drummer.
In 1972 Halsey played drums on the Lou Reed
album Transformer
and as a session musician
performed on many records and albums. He performed on tour with Joe Cocker
, The Scaffold
, Grimms, Chris Jagger, Neil Innes
, Viv Stanshall, Joe Brown
and many others.
In an interview he gave in 1992 to the fanzine Ptolemaic Terrascope he said he spent most of the 1980s selling fish from the back of a van. Following a near-fatal accident in May 1983 returning from a Joe Brown show in Chichester
in a car being driven by Patto bass player Clive Griffiths (who suffered devastating injuries from which he has never fully recovered). Since then, Halsey has been a pub landlord, first in Suffolk in 1986 and since 1996 at the Castle Inn public house
in Castle Street, Cambridge
.
In 2001 Halsey appeared as the mystery guest on the BBC 2 comedy show Never Mind The Buzzcocks
.
In 2007 he appeared on the Channel 4
show What The Pythons Did Next discussing what it was like to work with Eric Idle
and at The Rutles 40 years get together in Los Angeles
in April 2008 where the four original band members played together for the first time ever.
The Rutles
The Rutles are a band that are known for their visual and aural pastiches and parodies of The Beatles. Originally created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes as a fictional band to be featured as part of various 1970s television programming, the group recorded, toured, and released two UK chart hits in...
, leading to his playing with Neil Innes
Neil Innes
Neil James Innes is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.-Personal life:...
's band Fatso and appearing in the film All You Need is Cash
All You Need Is Cash
All You Need Is Cash is a 1978 television film that traces the career of a fictitious British rock group called The Rutles...
(1978).
Halsey was born in Highgate
Highgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
, North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
and lived in North Finchley and was in a London based Rhythm and Blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
band called Felder's Orioles (1965 – 1968) with Mick O'Brien
Mick O'Brien
Michael Terence O'Brien , commonly referred to as Mick O'Brien, was an Irish footballer and coach whose career took him to at least seventeen different clubs. A well built six footer, O'Brien was highly regarded as a centre-half. O'Brien was a dual international and played for both Ireland teams -...
on bass; Barry Huband on vocals, organ; Paul Hodgson on guitar; Rod Hinkston on baritone saxophone
Baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
and Peter Newman on tenor saxophone
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, who released four singles on the Piccadilly Records label between 1965 and 1968. Between 1967 and 1973 he was a member of a band from Southport called Timebox
Timebox (band)
Timebox, formed in October 1965, in Southport, Lancashire, was a 1960s psychedelic pop band, that developed from a complicated ancestry.-Career:...
(formed in October 1965) who later became Patto
Patto
Patto was a progressive jazz-rock band formed in England in 1970 by vocalist Mike Patto with a lineup taken from Timebox consisting of vocalist Patto, drummer John Halsey, guitarist and vibraphone player Ollie Halsall and bassist Clive Griffiths....
without keyboard player Chris Holmes but with the four members Mike Patto
Mike Patto
Mike Patto , is primarily notable as lead singer for Spooky Tooth and Boxer.-History:...
(vocals), Peter "Ollie" Halsall
Ollie Halsall
Peter John 'Ollie' Halsall was a left-handed guitarist and is best known for his role in The Rutles, the bands Patto, Timebox and Boxer, and for his contribution to the music of Kevin Ayers. He is also notable as one of the few players of the vibraphone in rock music...
(guitar vibes and vocals), Clive Griffiths (bass and vocals), and Halsey (drums and vocals).
With record producer, Muff Winwood
Muff Winwood
Mervyn "Muff" Winwood is an English songwriter and record producer, and the older brother of Steve Winwood. Both were formerly members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood played bass guitar...
, they released three albums and split up in 1973. The band was critically acclaimed with their own style of music: "it was like rock and roll with the freedom of avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
". Ollie Halsall is acclaimed as one of the finest guitar players Britain has ever produced. He died in Madrid in 1992. Mike Patto died in London in 1979.
Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
says that Halsey is one of his major influences as a drummer.
In 1972 Halsey played drums on the Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
album Transformer
Transformer (album)
Transformer is the second studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in November 1972.-Background:Unlike its predecessor, Lou Reed, eight songs of which were written during his Velvet Underground days, Transformer contains mainly new material...
and as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
performed on many records and albums. He performed on tour with Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, The Scaffold
The Scaffold
The Scaffold were a comedy, poetry and music trio from Liverpool, England, consisting of Mike McGear , Roger McGough and John Gorman.-Career:...
, Grimms, Chris Jagger, Neil Innes
Neil Innes
Neil James Innes is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.-Personal life:...
, Viv Stanshall, Joe Brown
Joe Brown
Joe Brown may refer to:*Joe Brown , British singer*Joe David Brown , American novelist*Joe E. Brown , American actor and comedian*Joe L. Brown , Major League Baseball front office executive...
and many others.
In an interview he gave in 1992 to the fanzine Ptolemaic Terrascope he said he spent most of the 1980s selling fish from the back of a van. Following a near-fatal accident in May 1983 returning from a Joe Brown show in Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
in a car being driven by Patto bass player Clive Griffiths (who suffered devastating injuries from which he has never fully recovered). Since then, Halsey has been a pub landlord, first in Suffolk in 1986 and since 1996 at the Castle Inn public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Castle Street, Cambridge
Castle Street, Cambridge
Castle Street is a street in the north of central Cambridge, England. To the southeast is a junction with Northampton Street, Magdalene Street, and Chesterton Lane...
.
In 2001 Halsey appeared as the mystery guest on the BBC 2 comedy show Never Mind The Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...
.
In 2007 he appeared on the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
show What The Pythons Did Next discussing what it was like to work with Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
and at The Rutles 40 years get together in Los Angeles
in April 2008 where the four original band members played together for the first time ever.