Although John Barry is undoubtedly best know for his work on the James Bond films, and particularly for his recordings of 'The James Bond Theme' and '007 Theme', in fact he'd been making music with his John Barry Seven for half a decade before he had those hits. Barry formed The John Barry Seven after he abandoned his original career path of arranging for big bands, and with the addition of three musicians with whom he had served in the Army, and three other local musicians, he formed his band. The first line-up was Barry (vocals and trumpet), Mike Cox (tenor saxophone), Derek Myers (alto sax), Ken Golder (drums), Fred Kirk (bass guitar), Ken Richards (lead guitar) and Keith Kelly (rhythm guitar). The John Barry Seven appeared on British TV shows such as Six-Five Special and Oh Boy! during 1957 and 1958, but arduous rehearsals, a tough touring schedule and homesickness caused by travelling, led to most of the members leaving the band. Barry had to put together a completely new group, and recruited Mike Peters on bass and Jimmy Stead on alto sax, along with Dennis King tenor sax, Dougie Wright on drums, and Vic Flick on guitar. This new line-up lasted until 1961 when Barry became too busy arranging and composing to continue,and so he installed Vic Flick as the leader and brought in Bobby Carr on trumpet to take his place. The band enjoyed some success in the UK Singles Chart, while Barry was pursuing his own career, and in 1962 he added another four members to the group to become The John Barry Seven Plus Four, and recorded his biggest hit with 'The James Bond Theme'. After a temporary hiatus in 1963, Barry assembled the nucleus of a resurrected JB7 with the assistance of session drummer Bobby Graham, enlisting the help of Ray Styles (bass guitar), Tony Ashton (keyboards), Ray Russell (lead guitar), Terry Childs (baritone sax), Bob Downes (tenor sax) and Alan Bown (trumpet). After only a few months, Dave Richmond was recruited to replace Styles on bass guitar, while Ron Edgeworth took over from Ashton on keyboards and vocals, and further singles followed, often with vocals, and so the classic instrumental sound of the JB7 was past. 'Hit And Miss' was one of the biggest hits for the John Barry Seven Plus Four in 1960, after it was used as the theme tune to 'Juke Box Jury', and some of their best work was definitely their Shadows-inspired instrumentals of that period, so this collection features some great tunes from the many incarnations of this under-rated group.
Track listing
01 Twelfth Street Rag (The John Barry Seven 1959)02 Walk Don't Run (The John Barry Seven 1960)03 Hit And Miss (The John Barry Seven Plus Four 1960)04 Rockin' Already (b-side of 'Hit And Miss')05 Get Lost Jack Frost (b-side of 'Black Stockings' by The John Barry Seven 1960)06 The Magnificent Seven (The John Barry Seven 1961)07 Skid Row (b-side of 'The Magnificent Seven')08 Starfire (The John Barry Seven 1961)09 A Matter Of Who (b-side of 'Starfire')10 Watch Your Step (The John Barry Seven 1961)11 Twist It (b-side of 'Watch Your Step')12 The James Bond Theme (The John Barry Seven And Orchestra 1962)
13 The Blacksmith Blues (b-side of 'The James Bond Theme')
14 Cutty Sark (The John Barry Seven And Orchestra 1962)
15 Lost Patrol (b-side of 'Cutty Sark')
16 007 (The John Barry Seven And Orchestra 1963)
17 Zulu Stamp (The John Barry Seven 1964)
18 Monkey Feathers (b-side of 'Zulu Stamp')
19 Seven Faces (b-side of 'Twenty-Four Hours Ago' by The John Barry Seven 1964)
