THE KENNY BIOGRAPHY
By Hannes A. Jonsson, Reykjavik
Originally
known as Chufff, a North London Progressive Rock outfit which had supported the
likes of Hawkwind, The Edgar Broughton Band, and The Troggs, Kenny were brought
to the collective attention of successful writing/producing team Bill Martin
& Phil Coulter (Sandie Shaw, Cliff Richard, Bay City Rollers) in late 1974.
The pair needed a band to promote a single they had just recorded with
British session singer Barry Palmer. “The
Bump” was that song and it had previously been recorded as a Bay City Rollers
B-side. Martin and Coulter had
other ideas however, and were convinced the song had a more promising hit
potential.
M/C
had just been relieved of their duties as tunesmiths extraordinaire for the
Rollers – for whom they had written and produced four consecutive U.K. Top 10
singles, as well as a number one album. But
M/C thought they had more to offer the world and needed another vehicle for
their particular brand of glammy teen pop.
And that act, they thought, was Chufff.
Initially
the five-piece Chufff (vocalist Ross Prinle, guitarist Yan Style, keyboardist
Chris Lacklison, bassist Chris Redburn and drummer Andy Walton) weren’t all
that impressed but were nonetheless, eventually, persuaded to both change their
name and replace their lead singer Ross Prinle with one Rick Driscoll, who
apparently fitted the new teen band image better than his predecessor.
In
1973, Martin and Coulter had scored a couple of modest hits with an Irish
showband singer named Tony Kenny, who tired quickly of the “pop star” act
and returned to where he had come from. These
songs – “Heart of Stone” and “Give it to Me Now” (the latter of which
can also be found on the Rollers’ debut album “Rollin’”) – were issued
under the artist name of Kenny. Therefore,
being savvy businessmen as well seasoned music industry moguls, M/C knew a
previously established brand name was nothing less than ideal for the new
venture.
With
“The Bump” already riding high in the U.K. charts where it eventually
reached the no.3 position, the newly-christened Kenny group embarked on a
promotional tour of sorts where they could be found miming along to the hit
single on television shows such as Top of the Pops – a crucial promotional
tool in those pre-MTV days. And
although causing a minor controversy with their “K” logo which looked almost
identical to that of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, that did nothing but raise their
media profile even more.
A
follow-up single “Fancy Pants” was issued in early spring ’75 and reached
no. 4 in the British singles charts. It
followed the same formula as “The Bump” - from the high-pitched vocals of
the chorus to the nearly spoken deep voice which then utters the song’s title
at the end of a sentence such as ,,Come on and do (The Bump)” and ,,Oh I
really love your (Fancy Pants)”. Silly
and simple it may have been, but clearly catchy and effective as well.
And
yet another single in the same vein followed in the summer of ’75.
The fact that “Baby I Love You O.K.” failed to crack the U.K. Top 10,
reaching a meager no. 12, though, may have been a sign that the formula was
wearing somewhat thin.
Kenny
nonetheless soldiered on and played a lot of live dates around this time, either
supporting or co-headlining with such contemporaries as Hello, Smokie,
Marmalade, and the Bay City Rollers.
Their
next single “Julie Anne”, issued in late summer ’75, faired slightly
better than its predecessor and peaked at no. 10 in the U.K. charts as well as
ending up as their one and only Top 5 Australian hit.
Time,
however, was running out for Kenny and “Julie Anne” was their last charting
single at home. Their next single
release, “Nice to Have You Home”, didn’t even bother the charts there
although it did become a minor hit for the New Seekers in the summer of 1976
(#44).
“The
Sound of Super K”, Kenny’s first album issued in January 1976, was, needless
to add then, nearly dead in the water appearing in the British album charts for
a lone week at a lowly no. 56 during the month of the year when record sales are
traditionally at its lowest ebb.
Aside
from the five single A-sides, the album did contain the original version of the
Martin/Coulter composition “Forever and Ever” – later in the year a no. 1
hit for Slik.
A
parting of ways with Martin & Coulter was inevitable. M/C, however, continued their hit-making streak for a little
while longer with the aforementioned Slik, for which they also produced an
excellent L.P. – a feat they repeated with the Arrows as well.
Kenny,
meanwhile, left RAK Records in early 1976 and signed with Polydor instead.
Their
first release for their new masters was the single “Hot Lips” in April
’76. The single failed to chart
in the U.K. although it hit the no. 20 spot in Germany, where the band’s fan
base was obviously still considerable.
“Hot
Lips” is a song in similar vein to the early M/C hits like “The Bump” and
“Fancy Pants”, although the production is notably “thinner” and less
effective.
Another
single, “Red Headed Lady”, followed quickly thereafter, in the fall of
’76, and sounded somewhat softer and more pop-oriented.
Again, some German success was guaranteed although the pickings were
still relatively slim at home.
And
Kenny’s second L.P., “Ricochet”, wasn’t even deemed worthy of a U.K.
release before Christmas 1976. Japan
and Germany were the only countries Polydor saw fit to unleash the album on.
For
the most part the new material was self-penned and, unfortunately, rather
unremarkable forgettable MOR pop. Aside
from the singles, both of which were written by people outside the band, and a
passable version of the old Jackie Wilson hit “Higher and Higher”,
“Ricochet” is a rather weak record.
Yet
another mediocre Polydor single, “Old Songs Never Die”, was issued in early
’77, but the writing was already on the wall for Kenny.
As if the emergence of Punk wasn’t enough, then guitarist Yan Style
injuring his hand in a motorcycle accident didn’t help matters much either.
Lead
singer Rick Driscoll and keyboard player Chris Lacklison had both left the group
by mid ’77, being replaced with Dave Bowkers and Ian Culey, respectively.
A
final single, a cover of the Four Tops’ “Reach Out (I’ll be There)”, was
released on the German arm of the Decca label in late 1977. Shortly thereafter, Kenny called it quits.
Now,
Rick Driscoll seems to have been the most musically active former member of
Kenny since their break-up. He
joined Steve Harley’s Cockney Rebel in the late ‘70s, then wrote songs for
and with ‘80s hit acts like Classix Nouveaux and Alison Moyet – for whom he
also worked briefly as a musical director.
Since then he has mainly focused his attention on writing jingles for TV
and radio adverts. He’s an avid
sailor and yoga-enthusiast (!!) as well. However,
in 2009 he formed Rick Driscoll’s Kenny, which every now and then can be found
bumping around the oldies circuit in Britain and Germany, mainly.
As
of 1996, Chris Redburn and Yan Style ran a trucking business catering to, among
others, Rock acts. And Andy Walton
worked in the travel industry while Chris Lacklison ran a pleasure boat business
in Cornwall.
Discography:
Singles:
The
Bump/Forget the Janes, the Jeans and the Might-Have Beens (RAK, 1974)
Fancy
Pants/I’m a Winner (RAK 1975)
Baby
I Love You, OK!/The Sound of Super K (RAK 1975)
Julie
Anne/Dancin’ Feet (RAK 1975)
Nice
to Have You Home/Happiness Melissa (RAK 1975)
Hot
Lips/Bangin’ My Head Against a Brick Wall (Polydor 1976)
Red
Headed Lady/Alone Together (Polydor 1976) GERMANY-ONLY
Old
Songs Never Die/Don’t Hold on (Polydor 1977) GERMANY-ONLY
Reach
Out (I’ll be There)/Time is the Healer (Decca 1977) GERMANY-ONLY
Albums:
“The
Sound of Super K” (RAK 1976)
“Bravo
Prasentiert” (RAK/EMI Electrola 1976) GERMANY-ONLY compilation
“Ricochet”
(Polydor 1976) GERMANY and JAPAN-ONLY
CD’s:
“The
Best of” (Repertoire 1994) Germany
“Higher
and Higher” (Success Mid-‘90s) U.K.
“The
Singles Collection Plus…” (7T’s 2000) U.K.
Sources:
Allmusic.com
Wikipedia.org
British
Hit Singles and Albums (Guinness 2004)
Mark
Brennan’s sleeve notes for the 1994 Repertoire CD, “The Best of Kenny”
(REP 4510-WG)
Mark
Brennan’s sleeve notes for the 2006 7T’s CD, “The Singles Collection
Plus” (GLAM CD 3)
Rick Driscoll’s Kenny Myspace page: www.myspace.com/rickdriscoll
Hannes A. Jonsson, Reykjavik - April 2010.
GLAMROCK OF THE 70S - 2010
Thanks to Hannes from Iceland for this great biography!
