Jet were an English

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

band from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, formed in 1974. They released one album in 1975 before splitting up, with the bulk of the band going on to become the punk/new wave band

Radio Stars Radio Stars are an English punk rock band formed in early 1977. They released two albums and had one UK Singles Chart, UK Top 40 single. Career Radio Stars were formed by Sparks (band), Sparks exile Martin Gordon (bass, songwriter) and also i ...

History

The band formed in 1974 with a line-up of Andy Ellison (vocals, ex- John's Children, solo artist), Martin Gordon (bass, ex- Sparks),

Chris Townson Chris Townson (24 July 1947 – 10 February 2008) was an English musician, illustrator and social worker. He was a founding member of the 1960s rock group John's Children, and a member of several other bands, including Jook, Jet (UK band), Jet a ...

(drums, formerly in John's Children),

David O'List David O'List (born 13 December 1948) is an English rock guitarist, vocalist and trumpeter. He has played with The Attack, The Nice, Roxy Music (before being replaced by Phil Manzanera), and Jet (replaced by Ian Macleod). He also briefly dep ...

(lead guitar, ex-member of

The Nice The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music. Keyboardist Keith Emerson, bassist Lee Jackson (bassist), Lee Jackson, guitarist David O'List, and drummer Ian Hague ori ...

and an early member of

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...

) and Peter Oxendale (keyboards for a short-lived live version of Sparks).Thompson, Dave (2000) ''Glam Rock'', Collector's Guide Publishing Inc., , p. 156-8 They released one

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

album from CBS in May 1975, produced by

Roy Thomas Baker Roy Thomas Baker (10 November 1946 – 12 April 2025) was an English record producer, songwriter and arranger who produced rock and pop songs. Life and career Baker was born in Hampstead, London on 10 November 1946. He began his career at De ...

. Preceding the release of the album was a brief UK tour supporting Ian Hunter &

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

. The band's debut single, "My River".Thompson, Dave " Jet Biography

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, retrieved 2010-05-08 was released to coincide with the tour, and was followed by a second single, "Nothing To Do With Us", which received enthusiastic review but failed to make an impact upon the charts. Dropped by CBS in 1975 due to poor sales, they split up in 1976 during sessions for a second album. O'List and Oxendale were replaced by guitarist Ian MacLeod. Subsequent sessions at Island Studios resulted in four recordings which were rejected by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

but welcomed by

Chiswick Records Chiswick Records was a British independent record label. Established in 1975, Chiswick was the "first true ' indie' label to be established in Britain for nearly a decade". The label has been described as "significant" in the "punk era". It rel ...

. The band changed their name to

, and found themselves redefined by the press as a punk/new wave band. The band briefly reformed in 2000 for a European tour, playing dates in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, which resulted in the live album, ''Music for the Herd of Herring''. Ellison, Gordon, Townson and Macleod were augmented for the tour by Trevor White (a former member of Sparks) and

Boz Boorer Martin James "Boz" Boorer (born 19 May 1962 in Edgware, Middlesex, England) is an English guitarist and producer. He founded the new wave rockabilly group the Polecats, and starting in 1991 had a 30-year collaboration with singer Morrissey as c ...

(

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

's musical director). Posthumous Jet releases include ''More Light than Shade'', a collection of live cuts and demos for the band's unrecorded second album, and ''Some Flotsam'', two live sets from their debut UK tour with Hunter-Ronson in 1975. The first officially sanctioned release of the eponymous ''Jet'' album was released in October 2010, on the UK

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

, RPM Records (UK), as part of a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...

release (''Jet/Even More Light than Shade''), including previously unreleased material.

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

finally released the Jet album to digital service providers in 2020. After a long period as a sideman/producer, Martin Gordon embarked on a solo career in 2001, releasing six albums in the so-called 'Mammal Trilogy', with

playing drums, on Radiant Future Records. Gordon continues to record, his most recent solo release being in 2022 with
Another Words - the Phone Call
which featured

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

on vocals.

Discography

Albums

* ''Jet'' (CBS, S-80699, May 1975)

Live albums

*''Music For The Herd Of Herring'' (2001: Radiant Future Records RFVP001CD) - with

& John's Children

Singles

* "My River" / "Quandary" (CBS, CBS-3143, March 1975) * "Nothing to Do with Us" (CBS, CBS-3317, June 1975)

Reissues / Compilations

* ''Nothing To Do With Us - A Golden Treasury Of JET'' (Fan Mael, C08018) * ''Jet'' (Radiant Future Records, RFVP002CD, 2001), re-issued by RPM Records, released digitally in 2020 by Sony Music * ''More Light Than Shade'' (Radiant Future Records, RFVP003CD, 2001) * ''More Flotsam'' (Radiant Future Records, RF015, 2010) - download only * ''Jet / Even More Light Than Shade'' ( RPM Records, RETRO D882, 2010)

References

External links

Jet
at glam-rock.de
Jet on Martin Gordon's websiteRadiant FutureJet
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jet English glam rock groups Musical groups established in 1974 English pop rock music groups Musical groups disestablished in 1976