Hit and Miss: The Story of The John Barry Seven

Thoroughly and painstakingly researched over a number of years, it features contributions from several ex-members of the band and from friends and relatives of John Barry.

Comprising of over 360 pages, it is packed with an array of rare photos of the band, and the singers they often supported, as well as some unique images of memorabilia and documentation from that era; some never previously published, many more seldom seen.

Even if you are not necessarily a devotee of The John Barry Seven per se, the book offers a fascinating historical insight into the British music scene of the period and, more importantly, provides an essential read for anybody remotely interested in discovering more about John Barry's formative career.

The book's cover price is £30, but anybody ordering direct from us will receive a 25% discount, reducing the cost to £22.50. We appreciate the postage to destinations outside the UK is somewhat expensive, but unfortunately there is nothing we can do about this. Due to its size and the number of pages, the book is very heavy — 1.4 kilograms — and shipping overseas is expensive. However, we think buyers will appreciate the quality of the book is well worth it!

 

More than 360 pages

2017 saw the 60th anniversary of the formation and launch of The John Barry Seven, one of the UK’s most famous bands.

To celebrate this, albeit slightly later than intended, we will shortly publish an in-depth book on its lengthy and remarkable history!

The book, which will consist of more than 360 pages, will examine the history of the band in minute detail, and where ever possible will include personal stories of joining and leaving from every musician-member during its eight-year existence.

Tales will be told of the often perilous life on the road in the fifties and sixties, working with teenage idols such as Tommy Steele, Jackie Dennis, Marty Wilde and particularly Adam Faith; recording for EMI's Parlophone and Columbia labels at Abbey Road.

Radio, TV, Film & careers

View details of scores of radio shows such as Saturday Club & Easy Beat, and many TV appearances, including Six-Five Special, Oh Boy!, Sunday Night at the London Palladium, The Royal Variety Show, Thank Your Lucky Stars, and the lengthy BBC TV series, Drumbeat, which was the band's biggest break and played a huge part in the futures of Adam Faith and Johnny Worth, largely via John Barry, Les Reed and the JB7.

The authors take a look at the JB7’s appearances in the films Six-Five Special, A Matter of WHO, The Cool Mikado and the TV film, Girl on a Roof, aided by comments from those members who took part.

We'll explain how the success of the band led directly to the international careers of John Barry & Les Reed, as well as a life and career spent playing music enjoyed by several other ex-members.

Photos, posters & more

There will be a plethora of photos to illustrate the various line-ups of the band, on-stage concert and tour action, concert programmes, posters, LPs, EPs, singles, and a selection of historic adverts originally placed in the music papers of the day. We will also include several historic documents, including letters written by John Barry himself!

We'll examine the band's gradual decline after the split from Adam Faith, combined with John Barry's entry into composing for films full-time; and the revival under Bobby Graham and Alan Bown.

Finally, there'll be a look at what happened to the various members of The John Barry Seven after they left, and took different musical directions.

          

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