Jigsaw was an English pop rock band best known for their 1975 hit
"Sky High". The band was fronted by the singer-songwriter
duo of Clive Scott and Des Dyer for most of its life. Following Scott's death in 2009, it has been the platform for Dyer's solo work.
In Australia, the group was called "British Jigsaw" due to the existence of
an Australian band of the same name.
Early days
Formed as a six-piece in
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
and
Rugby in 1966,
Jigsaw's original line-up consisted of Dave "Biffo" Beech (vocals and drums), Clive Scott (keyboards and vocals), Barrie Bernard (bass guitar), Tony Campbell (guitar), Tony Britnell (saxophone) and Kevin "Beppy" Mahon (tenor saxophone). Campbell named the band after Manchester nightclub The Jigsaw Club.
Previously, Campbell, Mahon and Beech had worked together in
The Mighty Avengers
''The Mighty Avengers'' is a comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics. Originally written by Brian Michael Bendis, also the writer of '' New Avengers'', the title first featured an officially sanctioned Avengers team of registered ...
, Bernard had been a member of
Pinkerton's Assorted Colours, and Britnell had worked with
The Fortunes
The Fortunes are an English harmony beat group. Formed in Birmingham, the Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim in 1965, when "You've Got Your Troubles" broke into the US, Canadian, and UK Top 10s. Afterwards, they had ...
.
Their style initially bore more resemblance to the blues rock than the pop rock they would later become known for.
In 1967, Beech was replaced on drums by Des Dyer, who also took over lead vocals.
In 1970, the group was invited to be the backing band for
Arthur Conley
Arthur Lee Conley (January 4, 1946 – November 17, 2003), also known in later years as Lee Roberts, was an American soul singer, best known for the 1967 hit " Sweet Soul Music".
Early life
Conley was born in McIntosh County, Georgia, U.S., an ...
on his European tour. The band accepted, but Mahon declined and soon left the band.
Britnell departed at some point later, leaving Campbell, Bernard, Scott and Dyer.
Jigsaw became known for raucous live shows with drum kits set on fire, explosions, fire-eating, and occasional property damage.
In 1970, they released their debut studio album ''Letherslade Farm'' on Philips. The album is named after a hideout used by the perpetrators of
the Great Train Robbery of 1963. The album is a concept album that serves as a satire of the music industry, and loosely tells a tale of a broken-down pop singer, with various "interview" interludes scattered throughout the project.
The single chosen from the album was keyboardist Clive Scott's arrangement of the Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
tune, ''Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (or simply "Joy"; German: ''Jesus bleibet meine Freude'') is the most common English title of a piece of music derived from a chorale setting from the cantata ''Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben'', BWV 147 ("Heart and ...
''. None of these early releases charted.
Change in musical direction and commercial success
During the early 1970s, Scott and Dyer, the main songwriters for Jigsaw, had a hit song with "Who Do You Think You Are Who Do You Think You Are may refer to:
Television series
* ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (British TV series), a genealogy documentary with many adaptations:
** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (American TV series)
** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' ...
", recorded by the UK band Candlewick Green Candlewick Green were a five piece English pop group, formed in the 1970s. It is best known for its song, "Who Do You Think You Are" (1974), also recorded by artists such as Jigsaw and Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods.
The group's name is an all ...
in 1974. The song was later covered in the U.S. by Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods, this version making the U.S. charts, and again in 1993 by Saint Etienne. Later the same year, a Jigsaw version of the song appeared on their 1974 album ''I’ve Seen The Film, I’ve Read The Book'', but the record failed to perform, and the band were soon dropped by their recording label, BASF
BASF SE () is a German multinational chemical company and the largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries ...
.
Left without a label, Dyer, Scott, and their manager and producer Chas Peate founded their own label Splash Records to release more music on. Their first single at the new label, titled " Sky High", was recorded for the film ''The Man from Hong Kong
''The Man from Hong Kong'' (), originally released in the US as ''The Dragon Flies'', is a 1975 action film written and directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith in his directorial debut and starring Jimmy Wang Yu and George Lazenby, with Hugh Keay ...
'', a 1975 martial-arts action movie starring George Lazenby
George Robert Lazenby (; born 5 September 1939) is an Australian actor. He was the second actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service' ...
. The single unexpectedly grew from a modest success on Radio Luxembourg to national success, making the UK Top 10 in November 1975.
Internationally, the song also made waves: The recording was licensed to Chelsea Records in the United States where it reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and to No. 8 on the Adult Contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
chart.
Most surprisingly, the song peaked at No. 2 in the Japan Oricon sales chart. A famous Mexican wrestler
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...
, Mil Máscaras
Mil Máscaras (born Aarón Rodríguez Arellano, July 15, 1942) is a Mexican luchador (professional wrestler) and actor. He is regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of the lucha libre tradition in Mexico – along with El Santo and Blue Demo ...
, used "Sky High" as his theme tune, walking to the ring with the song playing in the background. His popularity in Japan helped "Sky High" to become a hit twice over in that country in consecutive years.
Post–''Sky High'' career and breakup
''Sky High'' was followed by several follow-up singles and a new album, dubbed ''Pieces of Magic'', but these failed to establish themselves, apart from a brief stint in the UK Top 40 in 1977 with "If I Have To Go Away".
Their next brush with fame would come in 1979, when they were offered the chance to write the soundtrack for the controversial film '' Home Before Midnight''. They later released these songs on a soundtrack album of the same name.
Founding member Barrie Bernard left the band in 1978, and by the early 1980s, the band ceased touring altogether. After several more lineup shuffles, the group recorded one last album for Elektra. A final single under the Jigsaw name was released by Splash in early 1983 called "Love Isn't at Home", after which the group dissolved.
Post-breakup
Following Jigsaw's dissolution, Scott and Dyer continued to be successful songwriters, having their work recorded by Bad Boys Inc, Boyzone
Boyzone were an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show''. Their most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Steph ...
, and Bobby Rydell, among others. Though no new Jigsaw studio albums have been issued, eight newly recorded songs were included on a 1995 compilation CD titled ''The Best of Jigsaw'', and Dyer has sporadically revived the Jigsaw name for solo releases in recent years.
Des Dyer has twice attempted to represent the UK at Eurovision, taking part in the 1983 and 1985 A Song For Europe
A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...
competitions. In 1983, he placed third as lead singer of the group Casablanca with the song "With Love". Two years later, as a soloist, he took "Energy" to fourth place. In 1988, Dyer provided backing vocals at the Eurovision final alongside Julie Forsyth and Dominic Grant, both formerly of Guys 'n' Dolls, for the UK entry performed by Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
, "Go". This song placed second in the contest held in Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
on 30 April. The UK lost by one point to Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
, representing Switzerland with "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi" (Don't Leave Without Me).
Scott died on 10 May 2009 after an accident at home. He is survived by his widow and son.[
]
Selected discography
Albums
*''Letherslade Farm'' (1970) Philips
*''Aurora Borealis'' (1972) Philips
*''Broken Hearted'' (1973) BASF
BASF SE () is a German multinational chemical company and the largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries ...
*''I've Seen the Film, I've Read the Book'' (1974) BASF
BASF SE () is a German multinational chemical company and the largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries ...
*''Sky High'' (1975) Splash/Chelsea – AUS No. 93 U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
No. 55 (track listing differed from country to country)
*''Pieces of Magic'' (1977) Splash/EMI K release*''Jigsaw'' (1977) 20th Century S release*''Journey into Space'' (1978) Splash/EMI irst release on vinyl in 2006 in Japan only*''Jigsaw'' (1981) Elektra S release(completely different track listing than 1977 LP of the same name)
*''The Best of Jigsaw'' (1978) Splash weden releaseLP only
*''The Best of Jigsaw'' (1995) (included new recordings) CD (different track listing than 1978 LP of the same name)
Singles
*"Let Me Go Home c/w Tumblin" (1968)
*"One Way Street" (1968)
*"Mister Job" (1970)
*"Keeping My Head Above Water" (1971)
*" Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" (1971)
*"That's What It's All About" (1973)
*"Lollipop and Goody Man" (1974)
*"I've Seen the Film, I've Read the Book" (1974)
*"You're Not the Only Girl" (1974)
*" Sky High" (1975) – UK No. 9, U.S. No. 3, AUS No. 3[
*"Brand New Love Affair (1976) (originally the B-side to "Sky High") – U.S. No. 66
*"Baby Don't Do It" (1975)
*"Love Fire" (1976) – U.S. No. 30, AUS No. 96][
*"Cry 'Til the Tears Run Dry" (1976)
*"If I Have to Go Away" (1977) – UK No. 36, U.S. No. 93
*"Only When I'm Lonely" (1977)
*"Everytime" (1978)
*"Looking for Me" (1979)
*"You Bring Out the Best in Me" (1980)
*"Prizefighter" (1980)
*"I" (1980)
*"No Love Songs" (1981)
*"Love Isn't at Home" (1983)
*"Let's Not Say Goodbye" (1988)
*"Skyhigh" (remake) (1989)
*"Strategy" (1989)
][
]
References
External links
popculturepetridish
rateyourmusic.com/artist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jigsaw
English pop music groups
British soft rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1966
1966 establishments in England
Musical groups from Coventry