The Temperance Seven is a British

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

originally active in the 1960s, specialising in 1920s-style

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

music. They were known for their surreal performances.

Career

The Temperance Seven was founded at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

1955 by students at the

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

, though the band mythologized its foundation as dating from 1904 at the fictitious Pasadena Cocoa Rooms, Balls Pond Road,

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

. The three founder members were Paul McDowell (who originally played

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

), Philip Harrison (who originally played banjo) and Brian Innes (drums). Gradually the band evolved into a nine-piece ensemble with a light-hearted and humorous performing style, although they were all serious musicians. The name "Temperance Seven" was suggested by Douggie Gray, of

the Alberts The Alberts were a British music/comedy troupe of the mid-1950s to mid-1960s, featuring brothers Anthony "Tony" and Douglas "Dougie" Gray, along with Bruce Lacey. They were notable for their surreal performances. Career Educated at the Oratory ...

fame. The Alberts were cult figures in the art scene in the mid 1950s and were forerunners of the sort of humour that became Monty Python. (This was not the band's only link with Monty Python; see below). The Temperance Seven was a subtle play on words – the number seven being "one under the eight". That there were nine members or "one over the eight" implied intemperance. In 1960, they recorded "Ukulele Lady" with vocal refrain by Peter Sellers, produced by George Martin. It was featured on Parlophone PMC 1131, a 12-inch album called Peter and Sophia (Loren). In 1961, the Temperance Seven achieved national fame with the

number one hit 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' ...

You're Driving Me Crazy "You’re Driving Me Crazy" is an American popular song composed (music and lyrics) by Walter Donaldson in 1930 and recorded the same year by Lee Morse, Rudy Vallée & His Connecticut Yankees and Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians (with vocal ...

", arranged by Frank Skinner and produced by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

. It was quickly followed by "

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

", which reached number 4 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 ...

. They toured the UK widely that year, often in shows promoted by their manager Ralph Peters and their performances acquired a set routine beginning with the last few bars of "Pasadena" (which became their signature tune) and ending with the stirring strains of the " Gaumont-British News". By the summer of 1961 their fame was such that they appeared at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

for a two-week top of the bill performance. This was arranged by Ralph in combination with an appearance at that year's Royal Variety Performance. Before the band became known nationally, Paul McDowell had also been a member of the

Experimental Theatre Club __NOTOC__ :''This club should not be confused with the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club of New York.'' The Experimental Theatre Club (ETC) is a student dramatic society at the University of Oxford, England. It was founded in 1936 by Nevill Cogh ...

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

, with Ian Davidson,

Robin Grove-White Robin Grove-White (born Dublin, 1941) is an Anglo-Irish Welsh environmentalist, and academic, Emeritus Professor of Environment and Society at Lancaster University. Grove-White Chairs the board of the Institute for Study of Welsh Estates (ISWE) ...

and Doug Fisher. At the time, they had been performing their show, called "****" (''Four Asterisks''), at the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

, but after the runaway success of "You're Driving Me Crazy", McDowell had to quit the group to tour with his band. This prompted Davidson to look for a replacement, and he found

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...

, future Monty Python member, who thus obtained his first chance to be part of the revue. The Temperance Seven came to popularity during the resurgent trad-jazz era of the early 1960s. Their unique sound, coupled with their musicianship and ingeniously humorous compositions, set them apart from their contemporaries; however, they arrived at the cusp of that era and as popular tastes changed with the emergence of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

, the Temperance Seven gradually slipped into obscurity, although the

Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (also known as The Bonzo Dog Band or The Bonzos) was created by a group of British art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelia with surreal humour and avant-garde a ...

and

Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band, also billed as Bob Kerr and His Whoopee Band, is a jazz band which started in 1967 and continues to perform today. It was an offshoot of the eclectic Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, and shared many similarities with other outfit ...

attempted to wear their mantle for several years whilst claiming no affiliation. The Temperance Seven is also listed as the band for

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his ...

and

John Antrobus John Arthur Antrobus (born 2 July 1933) is an English playwright and screenwriter. He has written extensively for stage, screen, TV and radio, including the epic World War II play, ''Crete and Sergeant Pepper'' at the Royal Court. He authored t ...

' stage play ''The Bed-Sitting Room'',Milligan, Spike, & Antrobus, John (1973) ''The Bedsitting Room''. Tandem: London. First published in Great Britain by Margaret & Jack Hobbs, 1970. Published by Universal-Tandem, 1972. © 1970 Spike Milligan and John Antrobus which opened at the

Mermaid Theatre The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new the ...

on 31 January 1963, with a subsequent production opening on 3 May 1967 at the

Saville Theatre ODEON Covent Garden is a four-screen cinema in the heart of London's West End. Formerly known as The Saville Theatre, a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the London Borough of Camden. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a ...

. The original Temperance Seven were dissolved in the mid 1960s, but the band was resurrected in the latter part of that decade by drummer Dave Mills, who had replaced Brian Innes in 1966 and led the band for several years, firstly as The New Temperance Seven, and was instrumental in arranging their appearances in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

, where he eventually settled to be replaced by Ian Howarth. The band continued to perform with new personnel and, from time to time, original members made guest appearances. During the 1980s, Chris Hook took over leadership of the band. The personnel have not changed since that time and the band continues to work around the UK. Many members of the original band reunited for a

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

programme about the group in 2003.

Members

The Temperance Seven dressed in a manner appropriate to the style of music they played. Some members also went under preposterous pseudonyms emphasised by the wearing of a minor yet conspicuous item of clothing – Colin Bowles a

dog collar A dog collar is a piece of material put around the neck of a dog. A collar may be used for restraint, identification, fashion, or protection. Identification tags and medical information are often placed on dog collars. Collars are often used i ...

and John R.T. Davies a

fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...

. "Josef Kronk", who supposedly arranged ''The Temperance Seven'' 1961 LP, was the collective pseudonym for the band. The early personnel included: * Clifford Bevan (tuba n first recording on Argo RG117 piano,

) * Joe Clark (clarinet) * "Canon" Colin Bowles (piano, harmonium) * Alan Swainston Cooper ( clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano saxophone,

phonofiddle A phonofiddle is a class of stringed musical instruments that are played with a bow and use a phonograph type reproducer as a voice-box. The sound producing diaphragm may be a metal cone as in the Stroh violin or a mica sheet as in the instruments ...

pedal clarinet The contrabass clarinet (also pedal clarinet, after the pedals of pipe organs) and contra-alto clarinet are the two largest members of the clarinet family that are in common usage. Modern contrabass clarinets are transposing instruments pitche ...

, Swanee whistle) * John R.T. Davies "Sheik Haroun of Wadi el Yadounir" (trombone, second trumpet, alto saxophone) * Martin Fry (

sousaphone The sousaphone ( ) is a brass instrument in the tuba family. Created around 1893 by J. W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was designed to be easier to play than ...

) (pseudonym: Franklyn D. Paverty) * John Gieves-Watson ( banjo,

spoons Spoons may refer to: * Spoon, a utensil commonly used with soup * Spoons (card game), the card game of Donkey, but using spoons Film and TV * ''Spoons'' (TV series), a 2005 UK comedy sketch show *Spoons, a minor character from ''The Sopranos'' ...

) * Phillip "Fingers" Harrison (banjo, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone) * Cephas Howard "Captain, cashiered" (trumpet,

euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...

) * Brian Innes "Professor Emeritus" (percussion) * "Whispering" Paul McDowell (trombone, vocal refrains) Later members included: * Ted Wood (vocals) * Melvyn Robinson (trombone) * Ray Whittam (clarinet, baritone saxophone, bass saxophone,

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

) * Bobby Mickleburgh (trombone, trumpet) * Bill Greenow (clarinet, alto saxophone, penny whistle) * Mac White (clarinet, alto saxophone) * Malcolm Everson (baritone saxophone, alto saxophone) * Will Hastie (clarinet, penny whistle) * Geoff Simkins (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone) * Bert Murray (piano, trombone) * Chris Hook - (aka Chris Buckley) (sousaphone) * Dave Mills (percussion) * Ian Howarth (percussion) * Graham Collicott (percussion)

Selected discography

Singles

* "You're Driving Me Crazy" / "Charley My Boy" (1961: 7" Parlophone R4757) – UK No. 1 * "Pasadena" / "Sugar" (1961: 7" Parlophone R4781) – UK No. 4 * "Hard Hearted Hannah" / "Chili Bom Bom" (1961: 7" Parlophone R4823) – UK No. 28 * "Charleston" / "Black Bottom" (1961: 7" Parlophone R4851) – UK No. 22 * "Sahara" / "Everybody Loves My Baby" (1962: 7" Parlophone R4893) * "Runnin' Wild" / "The Mooche" (1962: 7" Parlophone R4934) * "Shake" / "Bye Bye Baby" (1962: 7" Parlophone R4953) * "Ain't She Sweet" / "Seven And Eleven" (1963: 7" Parlophone R5022) * "Thanks for the Melody" / "Easy Money" (1963: 7" Parlophone R5048) * "From Russia With Love" / "PCQ" (1963: 7" Parlophone R5070) * "Letkiss" / "Tajkaedi" (1964: 7" Parlophone R5236) * "Miss Elizabeth Brown" / "Crazy" (1968: 7" MCA 1016) * "Shepherd of the Hills" (1975: 7" DJM DJS 626) * "Mach II March" / "Me and Jane in a Plane" (1976: 7" DJM DJS 673) * "Pasadena" / "You're Driving Me Crazy" (EMI EMI2336) * "You're Driving Me Crazy" / "Charley My Boy" (Old Gold OG 9385) * "You're Driving Me Crazy" / "Charley My Boy" (HMV POP 2007)

Paul McDowell solo single

* "Frankie" (1961: 7" Fontana 267228TF)

EPs

* "The Temperance Seven Inch Record" (1960: EP Argo EAF 14) * "The Temperance Seven" (1961: EP Parlophone GEP 8840) * "The Charleston and other selections" (1961: EP Parlophone GEP 8850) * "1961" (1961: EP Parlophone GEP 8857) * "Runnin' Wild" (1962: EP Parlophone GEP 8872)

Albums

* ''The Temperance Seven Plus 1 – Tiger Rag'' (1957 LP: Argo RG 117) – UK No. 19 (re-released as ''The World of the Temperance Seven'' 1973 LP: Argo SPA 302) * ''The Temperance Seven 1961'' (1961 LP: Parlophone PMC 1152 & PCS 3021) – UK #8 (re-released as ''Pasadena'': World Record Club ST 10002) * ''BBC Sessions'' (1962 LP: Ristic) rivate Pressing* ''Family Album'' (1964 LP: Parlophone PMC 1236 & PCS 3059, 1964) (re-released as ''Family Album'': World Record Club TP 727) * ''Direct from the Ballspond Cocoa Rooms'' (LP: Music For Pleasure MFP 1322) * ''The New Temperance Seven'' (1970 LP: Hallmark HMA 205) * ''The New Temperance Seven in Sweden'' (1972 LP: Philips 6414 303) * ''The Temperance Seven in Hong Kong'' (1975 LP: DJM DJSML 2013) * ''21 Years On'' (1976 LP: DJM DJM 22043) * ''Tea for Eight'' (1989 LP: Upbeat URLP101, 1989 CD: Upbeat URCD 203) * ''33 Not Out'' (1990 CD: Upbeat URCD103) * ''The Writing on the Wall'' (1992 CD: Upbeat URCD108) * ''Pasadena and the Lost Cylinders: Music from the Archives'' (1997 CD: Lake LACD 77) ecorded 1960(1–9), 1961(10–11), 1962(12–19), 1963(20–26), 1967(27–28)* ''Live & In Full Colour – Part 1'' (2000 CD: TS101) (Private Pressing recorded at The Grayshott Club, Hindhead) * ''Live & In Full Colour – Part 2'' (2000 CD: TS102) (Private Pressing recorded at The Grayshott Club, Hindhead) * ''The Parlophone Recordings Vol.1 1960–1962'' (2000 CD: Lake LACD 138) * ''The Parlophone Recordings Vol.2 1962–1965'' (2001 CD: Lake LACD 142) * ''Those BBC Years'' (2002 CD: Upbeat URCD185) * ''Diamond Jubilee Stomp'' (2017 CD: Private Release from website)

Other appearances

The Temperance Seven also appeared on: * "Ukulele Lady" on the album ''Peter and Sophia'' (1960 LP: Parlophone PMC 1131) * ''

The Alberts, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, The Temperance Seven ''The Alberts, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, The Temperance Seven'' is a singles compilation album released in 1971, notable for the first time both sides of the first two Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band singles were released in stereo. Track listing ...

'' (1971 LP: Starline SRS 5151) * ''By Jingo It's British Rubbish'' (1998 CD: HUX 015)

Filmography

* ''

It's Trad, Dad! ''It's Trad, Dad!'' (1962), known in the U.S. as ''Ring-A-Ding Rhythm'', is a British musical comedy featuring performances by a variety of Dixieland jazz bands and rock-and-roll singers. The film was one of the first produced by Amicus Produc ...

'' (1962) * ''Take Me Over'' (1963) * ''

The Wrong Box ''The Wrong Box'' is a 1966 British comedy film produced and directed by Bryan Forbes from a screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove, based on the 1889 novel '' The Wrong Box'' by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne. It was made by ...

'' (1966) * ''The Temperance Seven in Hong Kong'' (1976)

Bibliography

* ''The New Musical Express Book of Rock'', 1975, Star Books, * ''The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons'', 2003, Orion books,

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Temperance Seven, The British comedy musical groups British jazz ensembles British surrealist artists Surrealist groups Musical groups established in 1955 Parlophone artists 1955 establishments in the United Kingdom