- Jess Conrad
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Jess Conrad OBE (born Gerald Arthur James, 24 February 1936, Brixton, London) is an actor and singer from England.
Contents
Career
Having started his career as a repertory actor and film extra, Jess Conrad was cast in a television play "Bye, Bye Barney" as a pop singer.[1] He was noticed by Jack Good, who included him in his tv series 'Oh, Boy',[1] and then was signed to Decca Records and had a number of hits, including "Cherry Pie", "This Pullover", "Mystery Girl" and "Pretty Jenny"; also recording for Columbia, Pye President and EMI record labels.
Between the late 1950s and mid-1960s Conrad appeared in a number of cult films, namely Serious Charge (uncredited), The Boys, Rag Doll, (filmed in 1960, and released in 1961); Kill 1 and Konga.
During the 1970s he spent some time in the stage shows Godspell and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat,[1] and also featured in a cameo role in the Sex Pistols film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle.[1] In 1977, no less than 7 of Jess Conrad's singles were included in the 'World's Worst Record' list, chosen by listeners to Capital FM dj Kenny Everett's show,[2] and "This Pullover", voted #6 worst song ever, later featured on an lp dedicated to the songs voted for.
Conrad also appeared in the 1984 TV series of Miss Marple in the episode entitled The Body in the Library as Raymond Starr. He also starred in the 1990s film, The Punk And The Princess.[3]
A Freemason, he is a member of Chelsea Lodge No. 3098, the membership of which is made up of entertainers.[4] In March 2011 he was elected Captain of the Vaudeville Golfing Society.
In recent years, Conrad has appeared in a number of documentaries and television programmes, often offering stories of violent encounters with other famous people. In a BBC Arena documentary about the legendary record producer Joe Meek, Conrad boasts of biting off part of the nose of singer Heinz during a confrontation backstage at a package show in the early 1960s.[5] Similarly, in 'Sex, Secrets & Frankie Howerd' he tells of threatening to cut off comedian Frankie Howerd's ears when Howerd made untoward advances to Conrad in a dressing room.[6]
He was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours for chartiable services [7]
Selected filmography
- The Ugly Duckling (1959)
- Rag Doll (1961)
- The Golden Head (1964)
References
- ^ a b c d Larkin C 'Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music' (Muze UK Ltd, 1997) ISBN 0-7535-0149-X p125
- ^ Kenny Everett's The World's Worst Wireless Show - http://www.chronoglide.com/wwwshome.html
- ^ Maidenhead Advertiser Online: Shane Richie talks panto from the spooky Hellfire caves
- ^ [1] Chelsea Lodge No. 3098 100 Years 1905-2005
- ^ "The Strange Story of Joe Meek". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324086/. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
- ^ "Sex, Secrets & Frankie Howerd (2004 TV)". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1205525/. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
- ^ http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/59808/supplements/9
External links
Categories:- 1936 births
- Living people
- English pop singers
- English male singers
- English film actors
- People from Brixton
- Musicians from London
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