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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZJENKINS, Billy(b 5 July '56, Bromley, Kent, UK) Guitar, vocalist, composer, bandleader, the Dennis the Menace of jazz, his style described as 'spazz' (which has all kinds of meanings: 'spass' means 'joke' in German). 'I belong to the ''You gotta know how to play straight to play truly wonky'' school.' His first gig at age 14 was with future pop star Billy Idol; growing up in South London, 'a place straining to be mediocre', a warren of tiny neighbourhoods where a great many rockers since David Bowie have come from, Jenkins bypassed punk and became an intelligent maverick dedicated to bucking trends and providing antidotes to wine-bar music, recording in lo-fi, mistakes and all. An unsuccessful group Burlesque with saxophonist Ian Trimmer was signed to Arista '77; Jenkins and Trimmer worked with drummer Ginger Baker as the Nutters '81. Facetiousness grounded in showmanship and a serious love of music found expression on self-released albums incl. Motorway At Night '88 on De Core Music, Uncommerciality, Round Midnight Cowboy and Blue Moon In A Function Room '86-90 all on VOTP, and a series of 'Big Fights' with fellow improvisers, all released on tape. After a German release on West Wind (In The Nude) he moved permanently to CD when banker Oliver Weindling formed the Babel label, released some back-catalogue items including Entertainment USA (a collection of alternately bilious and affectionate tributes to American entertainers from Oliver North to Doris Day), Scratches Of Spain (sending up the classic Miles Davis album, complete with artwork) and others, plus Mayfest '94 (live in Glasgow with the Fun Horns). First Aural Art Exhibition is a compilation of '84-91 tracks. An '81 album had been called Sounds Like Bromley; the Voice of God Collective made Still Sounds Like Bromley ('From now on as the VOG is nearing adulthood the band is now known as the Voice of the People, and will be commencing an album entitled Suburbia'). The Blues Collective made the brilliant S.A.D. '96 ('Seasonal Affective Disorder') '96 on Babel, followed in 2000-02 by <sadtimes.co.uk> (including 'The Duke And Me'), LIFE and Blues Zero Two, all on VOCD. The group includes Dylan bates on electric violin, Richard Bolton on rhythm guitar, Thad Kelly on electric bass and Mike Pickering on drums; Whispering Gerry Tighe on harmonica comes and goes. Jenkins has also done a lot of studio work and enjoys playing weddings; his collaborators have included former members of Loose Tubes such as Django Bates and Iain Ballamy; their True Love Collective released The True Love Collection '98, deconstructing '70s pop songs: 'Let's face it, we live in a society that lives on crappy music.' Or as Lisa Gee in the Guardian put it, 'This fusion of piss-take with passionate musicianship succeeds in laying bare the process by which music manipulates our emotions. You know you have been conned - and you loved every minute of it.' The humour in the stage act comes across in the recordings, and the musical values are always high. Deeply loved in Britain, in an ideal world Billy Jenkins would tour the USA once a year. |