One the Juggler was a British

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band. The name was derived from the first

Tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, ...

card. It was chosen to complement the band's

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

image. The group signed a record contract with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

in 1982. They had a minor hit in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

when their track "Passion Killer" spent one week at No. 71 in February 1983. They supported artists such as

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

and

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...

. In 1985, a contractual dispute resulted in their last album, produced and played on by

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...

, not being promoted. The group disbanded soon afterward. The band's first album ''Nearly a Sin'' was re-released by

Angel Air Records Angel Air is an English independent record label established in February 1997, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 1960s and 1970s (and latterly new albums from known artists up to the 21st century) ...

on CD in 2015 and met with positive reviews.

Personnel

One the Juggler had a number of different line-ups. Musicians who played with the band included the following: * Rokko (Raymond Morris), vocals and acoustic guitar * Lushi Lee (Jerry Thornton-Jones), bass guitar. Lee later went on to play with Boom Boom Room Now playing in Glamweazel. *Colin Minchin (Lin), Lead guitar. Formerly played with Tennis Shoes. Now playing in Glamweazel. * Steve Nichol, drums. Nichol formerly played with Eddie and the Hot Rods * Mick Rossi, guitar. Rossi had also played with

Slaughter and the Dogs Slaughter and the Dogs are an English punk rock band formed in 1975 in Wythenshawe, Manchester. Their original line-up consisted of singer Wayne Barrett McGrath, rhythm guitar Mick Rossi, drummer Brian "Mad Muffet" Grantham, lead guitarist M ...

* MoMo Blackford, guitar. Formerly of Ligotage, and later went on to Nasa. * Nigel 'Charlie' Mead, bass. Mead had also played with Mike Scott

Waterboys The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained ...

and

* Steve Bray, drums. Bray later went on to play with Squeeze * Joe Slythe, drums. Slythe played in

Splodgenessabounds Splodgenessabounds are an English punk rock band formed in Keston, Kent. The band is associated with the Oi! and punk pathetique genres. Their frontman is Max Splodge (born Martin Everest). They have scored three UK Singles Chart entries, i ...

under the name 'Desert Island Joe' *

, guitar. Ronson produced and played on the group's last album ''Some Strange Fashion'' * Dave Lowe, drums. Played for 2015 reunion gigs and plays with Glamweazel and The Ramshackles.

References

{{Authority control English alternative rock groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1985 Musical groups from London RCA Records artists 1982 establishments in England