Big John's Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus.
by Pete Clemons
During the beginning to mid 1975, Coventry born John Goodison, had co written and co-produced The Bay City Rollers second number 1 'Give a Little Love' along with Phil Wainman. By the end of that year he was preparing to set out on tour for a rock and roll project that would ultimately last for the best part of 20 years.
The project called 'Big John's Rock and Roll Circus' actually began during 1974 with the release of an album of the same name. By the end of 1975, Act 2 was released and we were being invited to 'thrill to the sound of the only audio circus ever to have been captured on bits of the black stuff. Enjoy this unique experience in the comfort of your own home. You can actually smell the Elephant House. Starring: Laslo - the high dive artiste, Norman - the amorous archer and Carlo - the human cannonball'.
The Circus as a live band started a little uncertainly in July of 1975. It was the brainchild of Johnny (Big John, known to his band mates as B.J.) Goodison who had risen to prominence with The Brotherhood of Man, and written hits for Mud and The Bay City Rollers. He had selected six musicians to help form the band, all of whom were previously known to him with the exception of drummer Ian Murray.
John Tebb, from Lincoln had left The Casuals to pursue a solo singer-songwriter career and had spent a lot of time in the studio with Big John recording jingles and voice-overs for other bands. Guitarist Gordon Smith, known from Day One as 'Flash', from Edinburgh had been in London since the mid sixties and worked for several bands including a venture with a young Phil Collins in a group called Flaming Youth. Howie Casey from Liverpool was already a veteran sax player and a member of the ‘A’ list musicians on the London studio circuit. Bassist Mike Gregory from Liverpool had helped form the 60’s group The Escorts and then joined the Swinging Blue Jeans before working for Big John on the original Circus concept album in 1974. Geoff Workman, also from Liverpool was Big John's resident studio engineer as well as being an accomplished pianist.
The Circus very much reflected Big John's sense of humour. Apparently the laughs they had during the two week rehearsal to put the show together persisted right to the end, almost fifteen years later, and his high standards of musicianship. Basically, it was a cabaret-review of Rock & Roll from Elvis to the Beach Boys packed into two one-hour shows complete with fireworks, smoke bombs and 'dancing girls’.
The uncertainty, mentioned earlier, was caused by the last-minute cancellation of a six-week tour of South Africa which was actually the raison d’etre of putting the whole thing together. However, Johnny contacted the Bailey's Night Club organisation and secured a series of one-week-residencies around the UK starting at Baileys in Leicester. The band brought the house down on their first night, almost literally it seems as a firework gag went dangerously wrong, and had a standing ovation from an audience that on the final Saturday night, included the members of Showaddywaddy who came in to see the show and 'stole' half the repertoire.
Although the albums were very different to the live shows it was still a very unique concept at the time. And one that continued for years to come. But this was how the first album was greeted, by one reviewer at the time of release, during 1974 - 'Heard some crazy concept albums before but this must go down as the zaniest for some time. Basically it's been put together by 'Big' John Goodison, DJM's in house producer and Phil Wainman, The Sweets producer. Other musicians involved are Gordon Frechter, Mike Gregory and Pip Williams. The album incorporates some of the old Barnum and Bailey's circus acts, Laslo the trapeze artiste, who climbs to a fateful ending and as he crashes down from above the quintet move into a song, appropriately titled 'Long Time No See'. Goodison and Wainman do a fair production job on it all but with the circus atmosphere dominating the song intervals, it's hard to judge rock and roll circus on any great musical level except to say that it's competently put together by experienced session men. The single taken from the album, 'Lady (Put the Light on Me)', is probably the best and most commercial song'.
The Circus as a live band started a little uncertainly in July of 1975. It was the brainchild of Johnny (Big John, known to his band mates as B.J.) Goodison who had risen to prominence with The Brotherhood of Man, and written hits for Mud and The Bay City Rollers. He had selected six musicians to help form the band, all of whom were previously known to him with the exception of drummer Ian Murray.
John Tebb, from Lincoln had left The Casuals to pursue a solo singer-songwriter career and had spent a lot of time in the studio with Big John recording jingles and voice-overs for other bands. Guitarist Gordon Smith, known from Day One as 'Flash', from Edinburgh had been in London since the mid sixties and worked for several bands including a venture with a young Phil Collins in a group called Flaming Youth. Howie Casey from Liverpool was already a veteran sax player and a member of the ‘A’ list musicians on the London studio circuit. Bassist Mike Gregory from Liverpool had helped form the 60’s group The Escorts and then joined the Swinging Blue Jeans before working for Big John on the original Circus concept album in 1974. Geoff Workman, also from Liverpool was Big John's resident studio engineer as well as being an accomplished pianist.
The Circus very much reflected Big John's sense of humour. Apparently the laughs they had during the two week rehearsal to put the show together persisted right to the end, almost fifteen years later, and his high standards of musicianship. Basically, it was a cabaret-review of Rock & Roll from Elvis to the Beach Boys packed into two one-hour shows complete with fireworks, smoke bombs and 'dancing girls’.
The uncertainty, mentioned earlier, was caused by the last-minute cancellation of a six-week tour of South Africa which was actually the raison d’etre of putting the whole thing together. However, Johnny contacted the Bailey's Night Club organisation and secured a series of one-week-residencies around the UK starting at Baileys in Leicester. The band brought the house down on their first night, almost literally it seems as a firework gag went dangerously wrong, and had a standing ovation from an audience that on the final Saturday night, included the members of Showaddywaddy who came in to see the show and 'stole' half the repertoire.
Although the albums were very different to the live shows it was still a very unique concept at the time. And one that continued for years to come. But this was how the first album was greeted, by one reviewer at the time of release, during 1974 - 'Heard some crazy concept albums before but this must go down as the zaniest for some time. Basically it's been put together by 'Big' John Goodison, DJM's in house producer and Phil Wainman, The Sweets producer. Other musicians involved are Gordon Frechter, Mike Gregory and Pip Williams. The album incorporates some of the old Barnum and Bailey's circus acts, Laslo the trapeze artiste, who climbs to a fateful ending and as he crashes down from above the quintet move into a song, appropriately titled 'Long Time No See'. Goodison and Wainman do a fair production job on it all but with the circus atmosphere dominating the song intervals, it's hard to judge rock and roll circus on any great musical level except to say that it's competently put together by experienced session men. The single taken from the album, 'Lady (Put the Light on Me)', is probably the best and most commercial song'.
