Elton Motello were an English punk rock and new wave band. Elton Motello is both the moniker of Alan Ward, the lead singer and songwriter, and the name of the band itself.Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Elton Motello", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, Alan Ward was formerly a member of the

glam punk Glam punk is a term used retrospectively to describe a short-lived trend for bands which produced a form of proto-punk that incorporated elements of glam rock, initially in the early to mid-1970s. History Glam punk has been seen as a backlash to ...

band Bastard along with Damned guitarist Brian James, Dez Lover, future

Raxola Raxola is a Belgian rock band, originally from Brussels. The band has reunited several times over the years with different line-ups. History After playing with Brian James ( The Damned) in Bastard, Yves Kengen created Raxola in Brussels in 197 ...

frontman Yves Kengen on bass, and drummer Nobby Goff. Retaining Goff, Motello then recruited a new set of musicians, including Mike Butcher (aka "Jet Staxx" who had played on "Jet Boy, Jet Girl") and Willie Change (bass), to record debut album ''Victim of Time'', which also featured guest appearances from former

Pretty Things The Pretty Things were an English band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent. They took their name from Willie Dixon's 1955 song "Pretty Thing". A pure rhythm and blues band in their early years, with several singles charting in the Unit ...

and

Pink Fairies Pink Fairies are an English rock band initially active in the London (Ladbroke Grove) underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug use, and anarchy, and often performed impromptu gigs and other stunts, ...

drummer John "Twink" Alder, Tony Boast, and Peter Goff (guitar).''Interview: Alan Ward and Mike Butcher''
- 'Attacking the Beat' (2 March 2009) Motello returned in 1980 with a second album, ''Pop Art'', now backed by Butcher, Andrew Goldberg, J.P. Martins, and Walter Mets. Two singles followed towards the end of the year, after which the band split up.

"Jet Boy, Jet Girl"

Alan Ward had toured Belgium with Bastard. Through his connections there, he had his new moniker, Elton Motello, debut on the Belgian label Pinball with the single " Jet Boy, Jet Girl" in 1977. The song was backed by session musiciansLarkin, Colin (1992) ''The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music'', Guinness Publishing, p. 190, Mike Butcher (guitar), John Valcke (bass), and Bob Dartsch (drums), instead of Elton Motello's regular musicians. That exact same backing track was simultaneously used by Belgian artist

Plastic Bertrand Roger François Jouret (born 24 February 1954), better known as Plastic Bertrand, is a Belgium, Belgian musician, songwriter, producer, editor and television presenter, best known for the 1977 international hit single "Ça plane pour moi". Bi ...

on his internationally successful hit single " Ça plane pour moi". Since then, " Jet Boy, Jet Girl" has sometimes been wrongly thought to be a cover of "Ça plane pour moi", with new lyrics over the same backing track, but the truth is that the two songs were simultaneous adaptations of the same backing track.La véritable histoire de Ca Plane Pour Moi (in French)
/ref> While Bertrand's single was an international hit, Motello's single in English made little impact, except in Australia, where it was released on the

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

label and hit #33 on the National Top Forty (and regionally in Melbourne at #11 and in Sydney, at #10). Also in Australia, " Jet Boy, Jet Girl" has appeared in a television commercial, but the commercial only included the chorus and none of the controversial lyrics.

Discography

Albums

Singles

After ''Pop Art''

Alan Ward, after his time with Elton Motello, continued his musical career through producing music. He produced albums for various artists, including Plastic Bertrand, the musician behind " Ça plane pour moi", the sister song of " Jet Boy, Jet Girl". Alan Ward lives in Belgium where he works as a producer at Electric City Recording Studio.

References

English new wave musical groups English punk rock groups Attic Records (Canada) artists {{UK-band-stub