THURSDAY 13TH JUNE 2019
LONDON 100 CLUB 7:30PM £21 Adv.
The song most associated with MUNGO
JERRY is the global hit IN THE SUMMERTIME, it sold over six
million copies worldwide in the first six months of release and
that total is now estimated to be over a staggering thirty
million units, and it is now officially recognised as the most
played summer song of all time. Winning for itself and its
writer RAY DORSET, prestigious Sony / ATV and Ivor Novello
awards.
In
describing the music of MUNGO JERRY as pure pop would be an
insult to the varying styles of rock, blues, boogie and skiffle
that has graced the stages of concerts and festivals which have
seen MUNGO JERRY sharing and indeed at times topping the bill
with the likes of JIMI HENDRIX, ELTON JOHN, ROD STEWART & THE
FACES, GENESIS, STATUS QUO, CANNED HEAT, FREE.
Just
after the single's release, the band turned in a breathtaking
performance at the Hollywood Music Festival, near Newcastle
Under-Lyme with acts including BLACK SABBATH, TRAFFIC, JOSE
FELICIANO and making their first UK appearance, GRATEFUL DEAD.
Soon
after, the music press screamed their approval with headlines of
- MUNGOMANIA! and MUNGO JERRY FEVER!
The long
awaited follow-up to 'In the SUMMERTIME' was 'BABY JUMP', which
also made No 1, it was a Hard rocking Ray Dorset composition
much influenced by his Rock a Billy connections, then another of
his compositions, Lady Rose, became the third Mungo maxi single
and made No 3 in the charts, only failing to make the No 1 spot
because of the fact that a track on the maxi, "Have A Whiff On
Me", Was banned by the BBC because of it's drug connotations,
and had to be re-pressed at the request of the Director of
Public Prosecutions.
1973 saw
one of MUNGO JERRY's biggest hits, 'ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT'
race up the charts to No.3 with the follow-up WILD LOVE charting
and LONG LEGGED WOMAN DRESSED IN BLACK' continuing the hit
making sequence along with songs like 'HELLO NADINE' , 'IT'S A
SECRET'. FORGOTTEN LAND and LET'S GET STARTED etc.
1980 saw
RAY DORSET back at No.1, when Scottish singer KELLY MARIE hit
the top spot with his composition Feels Like I'm In Love.
During
the 80's, Ray Dorset turned his talents towards writing the
music for two popular television shows -PAUL DANIELS children's
TV show, 'WIZBIT', and the Thames comedy/drama serial,
'PROSPECTS'.
No
history of MUNGO JERRY would be complete without mention of the
project in which, Ray invited rock legends, PETER GREEN,
formerly of FLEETWOOD MAC and VINCENT CRANE of ATOMICROOSTER, to
a jam at his home studio which resulted in the KATMANDU album,
'A CASE FOR THE BLUES'.
In 1995 Shaggy released a new
reggae version of 'IN THE SUMMERTIME' complete with samples of
Ray's voice and guitar, it reached number 5 in the UK singles
chart, but more importantly topped the charts in the USA,
meaning that the song had now hit the top spot in every major
territory in the world.
Instead
of simply resting on his laurels and living off the success of
the world's biggest selling Summer song In The Summertime. Ray
Dorset aka Mungo Jerry has in this new millennium maintained his
reputation as the King of the Groove by releasing some of his
best and strongest work and Mungo Jerry's live stage performance
has been much acclaimed at Blues, Jazz and Rock Festivals
throughout the world.
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