Star Turn on 45 (Pints) is an English

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

musical ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

, originally with Steve O'Donnell, Colin Horton Jennings and

J. Vincent Edwards J. Vincent Edwards (born 20 June 1947) is a British singer. He became well known in the musical ''Hair'' in 1968, and began recording a series of singles. The most notable was a song called "Thanks" (1969), which has subsequently appeared on a num ...

. They have recorded a number of

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

since 1981, two of which appeared 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 ...

, and released two

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Background

In the fictional

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around eas ...

social club A social club may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation, or activity. Examples include: book discussion clubs, chess clubs, anime clubs, country clubs, charity work, criminal ...

, Hampton Cummings performs as "Star Turn", a club singer, introduced by

Geordie Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitut ...

concert chairman Albert Charlton who frequently interrupts with announcements and who sometimes joins in the performance, by playing the spoons or providing a spoken word accompaniment. Charlton is played by J. Vincent Edwards, who had previously appeared in the London performance of ''Hair'', had a brief career as a solo singer in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and then moved into songwriting and production, and was a co-writer of "

Right Back Where We Started From "Right Back Where We Started From" is a song written by Pierre Tubbs and J. Vincent Edwards, which was first recorded in the middle of 1975 by Maxine Nightingale for whom it was an international hit. In 1989, a remake by Sinitta reached No. 4 on ...

", a UK No. 8 hit, and US No. 2, for

Maxine Nightingale Maxine Nightingale (born 2 November 1952) is a British Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul music singing, singer. She is best known for her hit single, hits in the 1970s, with the million seller "Right Back Where We Started From" (1975, UK #8 & 197 ...

. Edwards' experiences of performing at affiliated

working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...

s in North East England, early in his career, was part of the inspiration for Star Turn. Cummings is played by Colin Horton Jennings, who had sung and performed with the groups The Greatest Show on Earth and Taggett, and who composed songs for, amongst others,

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...

and the

Salsoul Orchestra The Salsoul Orchestra was the backing band of session musicians for many acts on the New York City label Salsoul Records and, under its own name, recorded several hit singles and albums between 1975 and 1982. History The orchestra was formed i ...

. In 2012, Jennings and the backing musicians from Star Turn formed a group called 'The Ilsleys'.

Career

Star Turn's debut single was "Are You Affiliated?" (1981), followed by "Starturn on 45 (Pints)" in October that year, a parody of the

Stars on 45 Stars on 45 was a Dutch novelty pop act that was successful in Europe, the United States, and Australia in the early 1980s. The group later shortened its name to Stars On in the U.S., while in the UK and Ireland it was known as Starsound (aka ...

singles, a medley of various

pop standard Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

s with a non-stop

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

beat. Both were released by V Tone Records. Jennings' performance exaggerated the "club singer" style, while the concert chairman urged the audience to "settle down; give the lad a chance now, he's only doing his best". In 1984, their album, ''Are You Affiliated?'' was released on the Turn Trax

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

. It contained

parodies A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of songs such as " Send in the Clowns", "

House of the Rising Sun A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

", "

Mary's Boy Child "Mary's Boy Child", also known as "Mary's Little Boy Child", is a 1956 Christmas song, written by Jester Hairston. It is widely performed as a Christmas carol. History The song had its genesis when Hairston was sharing a room with a friend. The ...

" and " White Christmas". Their biggest commercial success occurred in 1988, when "Pump Up the

Bitter Bitter may refer to: Common uses * Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience * Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes Books * '' Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 nove ...

", climbed to No. 12 in the

. It parodied

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

-laden tracks of the era, such as Bomb The Bass's "

Beat Dis "Beat Dis" is a song by British act Bomb the Bass, a studio production 'group' formed by producer Tim Simenon originally as the Rhythm King All Stars, with producer Pascal Gabriel and Adele Nozedar from Indians in Moscow involved too. From Bom ...

" and

M/A/R/R/S MARRS (stylised M, A, R, R, S) were a 1987 recording collective formed by the groups A.R. Kane and Colourbox, which only released one commercial disc. It became "a one-hit wonder of rare influence" because of their international hit " Pump Up t ...

's " Pump Up the Volume", which had been a No. 1

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

in the UK the previous year. The success of "Pump Up the Bitter" gave Star Turn on 45 (Pints) an appearance on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

's ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. Various subsequent releases were not big sellers. Steve O'Donnell died on 4 August 1997. The group went on to cover (amongst other songs)

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

's 2004 hit, "

Take Me Out A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

". In addition they released a medley to coincide with the

Royal Wedding ''Royal Wedding'' is a 1951 American musical comedy film directed by Stanley Donen, and starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell, with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Set in 1947 London at the time of the wedding of Princess Eli ...

in 2011, downloadable with all their back catalogue from

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Video material at YouTubeVisual images
{{Authority control British comedy musical groups 1981 establishments in England