Johnny Devlin

John Lockett Devlin MNZM (born 11 May 1938) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, and musician known for his influential role in the country's early rock and roll scene. He has often been compared to Elvis Presley. His cover of Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" in 1958 went to number one in the New Zealand charts with sales of more than 100,000, launching a long-term career. He spent much of his time in Australia from 1959 touring in support of The Everly Brothers and making appearances on Australian television shows such as Bandstand, Six O'Clock Rock and The Go!! Show. In 1964, he toured Australia and New Zealand as a support act for The Beatles. John Lockett Devlin was born on 11 May 1938, the son of a railway ganger stationed in the mid-North Island. He grew up in various towns, including in Wanganui or the nearby small town of Raetihi. The family soon shifted to nearby Ohakune and then Marton before eventually settling in Wanganui, where John spent his formative years. He received his secondary education at St Augustines College. He received a guitar for his eleventh birthday and alongside his parents and three brothers, they formed a group called the Devlin Family. The group performed country songs at Wanganui talent quests, playing songs from the Lever Hit Parade such as "Rock Around the Clock". The Devlin Family had been performing regularly up until 1955, when the parents retired from the entertainment business. The four brothers, plus the odd friend or cousin, continued to perform as the River City Ramblers, playing country and western, skiffle, and later Bill Haley style rock 'n' roll. Throughout 1956, enthusiasm began to ebb, and one by one the brothers dropped out, and more frequently weekends would see Johnny performing as a soloist. By the end of the year, the River City Ramblers were no more. It was then that he heard "Heartbreak Hotel" and his life was changed forever. Devlin participated in numerous amateur talent competitions and performed material by Elvis Presley. On weekends, he travelled to Palmerston North, where he sang Presley songs at talent contests held at a youth club organised by New Zealand rock and roll musician Johnny Tahu Cooper. Cooper recognised Devlin's potential, provided guidance on stage performance, and encouraged him to develop his act. He later suggested that Devlin could establish himself as an Elvis-inspired performer in New Zealand. In February 1957, aged 18, Devlin won his first talent quest as a rock 'n' roll performer. Other talent quests followed. In Palmerston North, he met Dennis Tristram, a rock 'n' roll dancer, who tried to persuade Devlin to move to Auckland. Devlin was happy to stay where he was, but did run into Tristram again later, who persuaded Devlin to visit the Jive Centre, and sing with the resident band. Owner Dave Dunningham gave him an audition and agreed to let him do a set that night. Devlin's debut at the Jive Centre featured an all-Presley repertoire and, although there was a general buzz in the audience before he commenced, no-one was prepared for what was to follow. By the time he completed his set, girls were screaming and the crowd was in awe and disbelief. Dave Dunningham was impressed and offered him a regular spot. Back in Wanganui he thought it over and a month later, March 1958, he returned to Auckland. Dave Dunningham became his manager and within a month he had made Johnny Devlin the talk of the town. With Auckland conquered, Dunningham realised that the quickest way to break Devlin nationally was with a record release, but all the record companies in the country disapproved. Phil Warren, a part-time drummer, began working at Begg's Music Store in 1955, and later formed Prestige Records, primarily to distribute overseas releases from independent labels. Dunningham pressured Warren into recording Devlin, so they came to an agreement and selected a poor-selling Presley release, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" for the debut single. It was recorded at the Jive Centre one Sunday afternoon in May 1958, using the Dixielanders as the backing group, and given the primitive circumstances of the session and surroundings, the quality was awful, but "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" launched Johnny Devlin as New Zealand's first superstar, when it was released in June 1958 on the Prestige label. Recorded at the same session was the flipside, "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again". A romping sax break replaces the guitar on Presley's version. Although the single achieved little airplay, and the broadcast panel thought it was not of sufficient quality, it was snapped up by Auckland's teens in an unprecedented frenzy. Once sales had topped the 2,000 mark, the radio stations could no longer ignore it, with the disc topping the Lever Hit Parade within a few weeks. By now, the Dixielanders were out of the picture and Devlin was working with the Bob Paris Combo as his back-up band. Devlin was now in great demand, and by August, his record sales had passed the 10,000 mark. This prompted further recording. He entered Bruce Barton's Wellesley Street studio for his second recording session. Between August and October, Devlin recorded a dozen tracks, to be released as Phil Warren saw fit. The Bob Paris Combo were used as backing on all of these tracks. Warren was receiving little-known records from American artists for distribution by his record company, but selected a few to give to Devlin to record. His second single was a cover of both sides of a Jimmy Lloyd record, "I Got a Rocket in My Pocket" / "You're Gone Baby". It received little airplay and sold only moderately well, but within two weeks Devlin's third single appeared. "Slipping Around" / "Straight Skirt" sold a lot better and without the Presley influence, it demonstrated that New Zealand could produce credible rock 'n' roll. By November 1958, his three singles had sold 50,000 copies. Between November 1958 and May 1959, Prestige released eight further singles, plus three EPs and an album, amassing total sales in excess of 200,000. Graham Dent was an employee of the Kerridge Organisation which operated a string of theatres and cinemas throughout the country. Dent had been responsible for making the movie Rock Around the Clock (1956) successful in the cinemas. He was promoted to manage a new cinema in the Auckland suburb of Point Chevalier. On Sunday afternoons, he ran concerts for the local youth club and talent quests. Recognising Devlin's potential, he organised a concert there. With its success he approached his boss, Robert Kerridge, about the possibility of using their theatre chain to promote a national tour. After some initial doubt, his boss agreed to a two-week tour with extensions if successful. Dave Dunningham left the management to Warren, so Warren and Dent put together a schedule. Bob Paris and his band were not keen on going on the road, so a new backing band had to be put together. Dent asked multi-instrumentalist Claude Papesch if he could put a band together. Claude was a sixteen-year-old blind musician, who was a regular at the Point Chevalier youth club. Papesch recruited guitarist Peter Bazely, bassist Keith Graham and drummer Tony Hopkins. Together they became the Devils, one of New Zealand's first truly rock 'n' roll bands. The tour began at Wellington on 21 November 1958. Over the next two weeks he performed for close to 20,000 ecstatic fans in Wellington, Palmerston North, Masterton, Napier, Gisborne and Tauranga. The press raved and chaos broke out at every performance. The shows exceeded expectations, with New Zealand having never seen anything remotely like it. Back in Auckland, another two-week tour was being organised, but before setting out, Devlin was rushed back into the studio, where in one night he recorded sixteen more tracks. In late November, his fourth single, recorded earlier in the year, was released. It was "6.5 Hand Jive" / "Play Rough". In December, five more records were released, three singles and two EPs. The