Trevor White

So what''s Powerpop? at this point, merely a word, a word that sounds right the way "punk rock" sounded right in 1977. Any way you look at it, Powerpop began with the Who and the Easybeats. The Raspberries were the first Powerpop band revival. Then, in 1976 came the Ramones, one of the most influential band in Powerpop history, they opened the doors for everyone who''s fed up with predictible rock.

The 90''s powerpop revival began with Nirvana and keeps on today with bands such as Weezer, the Shazam, Myracle Brah, Fountains Of Wayne or Silver Sun





After the breakup of John''s Children, Hewlett went to work for Apple in the publishing division. Then, when Apple started falling apart, he went into management with Gallagher & Lyle and later McGuiness Flint. He soon lost interest working with all these singer songwriters and it wasn''t really the sort of music he liked. So Jook was a conscious attempt to get back to he really wanted.

The thought was the brainchild of Ralph "Ian" Kimmet, who at the time worked for Feldman''s publishers in London. He and Trevor White spent some months in Ian''s native Scotland, fulfilling a long cherished desire to ''write some songs'', and put a band together. Before they left Chris Townson (John''s Children drummer) had discussed the desire to be part of that project, being of no fixed abode or gainful employment (in terms of drummage!). After six months or so, Chris received a call, asking him to come along and see if his drumming was as compatible with the material. This was particularly relevant to his relationship with Ian ''Hacker'' Hampton, who Trevor White and ''Ralf'' Kimmet had picked up on the way.

Jook.... Probably the most fun I had in the music business, but ultimately the most disappointing...a real ''nearly'' band. (Chris Townson quoted). And that''s what Jook was about: a 70''s John''s Children, complete with futuristic Mod clothes. They made five 45''s in a year, powerful records with Slade-like production, teen rebellion lyrics and Townshend-styled guitar, (one of which Oo Oo Rudi inspired early Irish label mates of the Undertones to name themselves Rudi) - and recorded an unreleased album called Different Class - to little commercial success. Some of the songs were great, from the debut "Alright With Me" to the tremendous flip side of their last single "Crazy Kids" (later remade by Trevor White, both versions are among the all-time classic teenage anthems).

As it was, the records were relative flops, and Trevor White left with lan Hampton to join the Sparks Propaganda band (June 1974-December 1975) after Martin Gordon (Radio Stars) was fired. Ian Hampton then backed Elizabeth Barraclough in 1978 (2 albums released on Todd Rundgren''s (Sparks producer) label Bearsville. Chris Townson joined Martin Gordon in Jet #1 (June 1974 until July 1975) along with two former Sparks members (Peter Oxendale and Martin Gordon), the former John''s Children singer Andy Ellison and Davy O''List (the Nice guitar player).

Trevor White joined Jet #2 from August 1975 to August 1976 replacing the often unpredictable Davy O''List, several demos were recorded, but the band fell apart. While Martin Gordon teamed up with Ian North (Milk ''n'' Cookies leader) (October 1976 to December 1976) to form Ian North''s Radio, Andy Ellison went around the record companies with the Jet demo tapes and secured a contract with Ted Carroll''s Chiswick label. Gordon returned, following a brief daillance with Ian North''s Radio and they got hold of Ian McLeod (Jet #2 guitarist), and Radio Stars were ready to release their first single Dirty Pictures / Sail Away (Chiswick NS9 April 1977) produced by Trevor White.

For a while, Trevor White led a band with Adrian Fisher (Sparks guitarist), Ian Hampton and Marc Mortimore. Then, in July 1978, Trevor White who had cut a single for Island : Crazy Kids / Moving In The Right Direction June 1976, joined Radio Stars until January 1979. At the beginning of September 1978 they embarked on a massive 47 date tour to promote their HOLIDAY ALBUM (Chiswick CWK 3001), they worked hard until Christmas, when Gordon decided to leave to form a new band "The Blue Meanies" (Pop Sensibility - Mercury July 1980). Trevor White, Andy Ellison and Ian McLeod decided to continue as Radio Stars until September 1979. That was the end.

In 1978, Chiswick records released in Great Britain a 4-song EP of Jook, maybe the best material of the band, RULE O.K. (Chiswick SW 30), originally the EP had been released in 1976 in the USA on the "J-J" label owned by John Hewlett and Joseph Fleury. In 1981, Trevor White forms The Four squares with John Hewlett, Dinky Diamond (former Sparks drummer) and Chuck Wagon (later with Los Angeles band The Dickies), some demo tapes were recorded but nothing surfaced. Finally , Trevor White reunited with Martin Gordon in 2000 for the "Nothing To Do Tour" de Jet performing his "Crazy Kids" tune.

And in 2005, maybe the world will be ready for a Jook revival with the issue of the never released Jook album Different Class. Today the US market for 70`s power pop has embraced the Jook, whilst elsewhere such as the UK and Japan the market for proto punk has equally identified the Jook for re-appraisal. Whichever way you look at it the band had something going for them and as this unique collection attests there was plenty of substance to their material. The sleeve design is based on the bands look of the period as captured by noted rock photographer Gered Mankowitz . Its is a look Mankowitz furthered with one of his next commissions, for The Jam. Name spray painted on a wall , spiky mod haircuts, accusatory stares at the camera, stark black and white with plenty of murky shadow. This collection has had the full input from the band members, including loan of archives and leader Ian Kimmett digging up his original album songwriter demos as a special bonus

Trevor White
THE JOOK RULE O.K.
THE JOOK
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The Jook