Gypie Mayo (born John Philip Cawthra; 24 July 1951 − 23 October 2013) was an English guitarist and songwriter, playing in Dr. Feelgood from 1977 to 1981, and from 1996 to 2004 in the reborn Yardbirds with

Alan Glen Alan Glen (born 21 December 1951) is a British blues harmonica player, best known for his work with The Yardbirds, Nine Below Zero, Little Axe, and his own bands, The Barcodes and The Incredible Blues Puppies. Career Glen started playing ha ...

Early career

Mayo was born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London ...

, London, on 24 July 1951. At an early age, he listened to the classical music his father played while at home. Later, he heard "

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño a ...

" by

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

and enjoyed the record. However, it was when Mayo saw the group on television with their Fender Stratocasters that he became passionate. After being expelled from school, Cawthra began using the performing name of Mayo and worked in a printing shop before joining the blues band White Mule in 1969. The band stayed together for about a year and played all over the United Kingdom, along with gigs in Switzerland and France. They released a single on

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

which was produced by

Mike Leander Michael George Farr (30 June 1941 – 18 April 1996), known professionally as Mike Leander, was a British arranger, songwriter and record producer. He worked variously with The Beatles, David McWilliams ("Days of Pearly Spencer"), Gary Gli ...

. After White Mule, Mayo played in various rock line-ups during the early to mid-1970s including Halcyon, 747 and Alias. He also was part of an Irish traditional band called Concrete Mick where he played the

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of ...

before becoming Wilko Johnson's replacement in Dr Feelgood.

With Dr. Feelgood

Mayo had been relatively unknown until early 1977 when he replaced Wilko Johnson in Dr. Feelgood, although Henry McCullough had temporarily stood in when Johnson left. He was known as John Mayo until, having suffered several minor ailments, Dr. Feelgood's Lee Brilleaux said "you've always got the gyp" and the nickname stuck. Mayo played with Dr. Feelgood for four years and on six albums (''

Be Seeing You ''Be Seeing You'' was the fifth album by Dr. Feelgood, and was released in October 1977. After the departure of Wilko Johnson, this was Dr. Feelgood's first album with guitarist Gypie Mayo. The album reached number 55 in the UK Albums Chart i ...

'', '' Private Practice'', ''As It Happens'', ''Let It Roll'', ''A Case of the Shakes'' and ''On The Job''). He co-wrote the Feelgood's only UK Top 10 single " Milk and Alcohol" with

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,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 ...

(" She's A Wind Up", " Down at the Doctors", " As Long As The Price is Right" and " Put Him Out of Your Mind"); the only Feelgood single to have charted without him was " Sneakin' Suspicion".

Later career

Mayo's guitar work was featured on the Yardbirds' 2003 album, '' Birdland''. He lived in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, Somerset, where he played in several bands, taught guitar, and made guest appearances on albums such as Pete Gage's ''Tough Talk''. On 23 October 2013, it was announced that Mayo had died at the age of 62. News of Mayo's death broke, when former Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson posted a message on his Facebook page stating: "Very sad to hear Gypie Mayo passed away this morning..RIP Gypie."

References

External links

Concert photographs @ Musicpictures.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Gypie 1951 births 2013 deaths People from Hammersmith The Yardbirds members English rock guitarists English songwriters Musicians from London Protopunk musicians Dr. Feelgood (band) members