Jimmy Campbell (4 January 1944,

Kirkby Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

– 12 February 2007,

) was an English musician and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

from

, England."JIMMY CAMPBELL ; Writer of psychedelic classics" ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' (London); 14 February 2007; Spencer Leigh; p. 37 He was a member of Merseybeat groups The Kirkbys, The 23rd Turnoff, and Rockin' Horse, as well as releasing three solo albums.

Career

Campbell started in music at school, forming the band The Panthers. They supported

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

in January 1962. The band performed at

The Cavern The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely asso ...

on numerous occasions, and one show, broadcast on

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

, saw them introduced as The Kirkbys by

Bob Wooler Frederick James "Bob" Wooler (19 January 19268 February 2002) was compère and DJ at The Cavern Club, Liverpool from 1961 until 1967. An important figure in the Merseybeat scene, Wooler was instrumental in introducing The Beatles to their mana ...

, the presenter of the show, 'Sunday Night at the Cavern.' Wooler felt that changing the name of the group to that of their home town would help expand its fan base. The name stuck, and the group released a single, "It's A Crime", in 1966, at the tail end of the Merseybeat era. Campbell moved on from the Mersey sound to the newly evolving psychedelic scene, renaming the band to The 23rd Turnoff. The name was taken from the motorway sign indicating the nearby M6 exit. Here he found his Liverpool roots placed him at a disadvantage, with the scene establishing itself in London."The quality of mersey unrestrained" ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' (London); 12 August 2003; Bob Stanley; p. 16 Described by Bob Stanley of ''

'' as "the era's lost songwriter", Campbell wrote a number of songs recorded by other artists.

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

Billy Fury Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), better known as Billy Fury, was an English singer, musician, songwriter, and actor. An early star of rock and roll, he equalled the Beatles' record of 24 hits in the 1960s and spent 332 we ...

The Swinging Blue Jeans The Swinging Blue Jeans are a four-piece 1960s British Merseybeat band, best known for their hit singles with the HMV label: " Hippy Hippy Shake", " Good Golly Miss Molly", and " You're No Good", issued in 1964. Subsequent singles released tha ...

and

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...

all covered songs of Campbell's."OBITUARY: Jimmy Campbell" ''

Liverpool Daily Post The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013. Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, with the ti ...

'' (Liverpool); 15 February 2007; p. 11 Although Campbell did not achieve acclaim in the 1960s and 1970s, his work later came to be well regarded, with

Will Sergeant William Alfred Sergeant (born 12 April 1958) is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in Walton Hospital, he grew up in the village of Melling and attended nearby Deyes Lane Secondary Modern. He is th ...

naming Campbell's single "Michael Angelo", recorded with 23rd Turnoff among his top ten psychedelic records. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' included the 2004 compilation album, ''The Dream of Michelangelo'', in its list of 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die."1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die:" ''

'' (London); 22 November 2007; p. 3

Discography

With The Kirkbys

;Singles: *"'Cos My Baby's Gone" / "She'll Get No Lovin' That Way" (1965 / 7" single / RCA FAS 947 (Finland)) *"Don't You Want Me No More" / "Bless You" (1965 / 7" single / RCA FAS 948 (Finland)) *"It's A Crime" / "I've Never Been So Much in Love" (1966 / 7" single / RCA 1542)

With The 23rd Turnoff

;Singles: *"Michael Angelo" / "Leave Me Here" (1967 / 7" single / Deram DM 150)

As Jimmy Campbell

;Singles: *"On a Monday" / "Dear Marge" (1969 / 7" single / Fontana TF 1009) *"Lyanna" / "Frankie Joe" (1970 / 7" single / Fontana TF 1076) *"Don't Leave Me Now" / "So Lonely Without You" (1970 / 7" single / Fontana 6007 025) ;Albums: *''Son of Anastasia'' (1969 / LP / Fontana STL 5508) *''Half Baked'' (1970 / LP / Vertigo 6360 010) *''Jimmy Campbell's Album'' (1972 / LP / Philips 6308 100)

With Rockin' Horse

;Singles: *"Biggest Gossip in Town" / "You Say" (1971 / 7" single / Philips 6006 156) *"Stayed Out Late Last Night" / "Julian The Hooligan" (1971 / 7" single / Philips 6006 200) *(as Atlantis) "I Ain't Got Time" / "Teddy Boyd's Rock 'N' Roll Show" (1972 / 7" single / Fury FY 302) ;Albums: *''Yes It Is'' (1971 / LP / Philips 6308 075)

Compilation albums

*''The Vertigo Annual'', (Track 3: "Half Baked", 1970 / LP / Vertigo 6657 001) *''Heads Together, First Round'' (Track 3: "Lonely Norman", 1971 / LP / Vertigo 6360 045)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Jimmy 1944 births 2007 deaths English male singer-songwriters Musicians from Liverpool Fontana Records artists Vertigo Records artists 20th-century English singers 20th-century English male writers 20th-century British male singers