John Henry Rostill (16 June 1942 – 26 November 1973) was an English musician, bassist and composer, recruited by

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

to replace Brian Locking in autumn 1963. He wrote many of the tunes by the Shadows including " The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt" in 1964. He wrote or co-wrote three songs in the 1970s which were massive hits in the United States—" Let Me Be There", " If You Love Me, Let Me Know" and " Please Mr. Please"—but died before seeing them succeed.

Biography

Born in Kings Norton, Birmingham, England, Rostill attended

Rutlish School Rutlish School is a state comprehensive school for boys, formerly a grammar school with the same name originally located on Rutlish Road, Merton Park, and relocated in 1957 on nearby Watery Lane, Merton Park, in southwest London. History The s ...

in south London (1953–59). He worked with several artists before joining the Shadows, including

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

band The Interns (nowadays sometimes confused with Welsh band The Interns, who were based in London at this time signed with Tito Burns Agency; in fact, they were two different bands), the Flintstones and a stint as part of

Zoot Money George Bruno "Zoot" Money (17 July 1942 – 8 September 2024) was an English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader. He was best known for playing the Hammond organ and for his leadership of the Big Roll Band. Inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ra ...

's early backing band. He also played in the bands recruited to back such visiting artists as the Everly Brothers and Tommy Roe. Stylistically, Rostill combined the solidity of Brian Locking and the adventurousness of Jet Harris. Many of his bass lines were heavily

syncopated In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...

and he developed a range of new sounds on the Burns bass during his time with the group, a longer period than Harris and Locking put together. To many players, Rostill was ahead of his time and included double-stopping in his technique. Unusually for that time, Rostill sometimes played bass finger-style as well as with a plectrum, depending on the sound he wanted. After the Shadows' break-up at the end of the 1960s, Rostill toured with Tom Jones. Rostill was a prolific songwriter, contributing to the Shadows' output from the start (both as a solo composer and as part of the mid-sixties "Marvin/Welch/Bennett/Rostill" team). This combination composed the hits " The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt" (a UK no. 5, 1964) and “Genie with the Light Brown Lamp" (UK no. 17, 1965) as well as all the tunes on the 1964 Rhythm & Greens EP. They also wrote the Cliff Richard and the Shadows hits, " I Could Easily Fall (In Love with You)" (UK no. 6, 1964), "Time Drags By" (UK no. 10, 1966) and "In the Country" (UK no. 6, 1967). He later went on to write for artists such as

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

(" Let Me Be There" (Aus no. 11, US no. 6, 1973), " If You Love Me, Let Me Know" (Aus no. 2, US no. 5, 1974) and " Please Mr. Please" (Aus no. 35, US no. 3, 1975), the last co-written with Bruce Welch). "If You Love Me" and "Let Me Be There" were also recorded in concert by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

after Rostill's death. As a Shadow, Rostill played a prototype Burns "Shadows" bass guitar which differed from the production model that followed. A

replica A replica is an exact (usually 1:1 in scale) copy or remake of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without ...

of his bass was produced by Burns London in late 2006. His personal favourite instrument was a Fender Jazz bass, which he played in both the Terry Young Band and in Bournemouth band, the Interns. He also used it with the Shadows towards the end when the Burns instrument began to wear out. John Rostill died in Radlett,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England, on 26 November 1973 aged 31. He was found dead from

barbiturate Barbiturates are a class of depressant, depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medication, medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological a ...

poisoning in his recording studio by his wife and Bruce Welch. The coroner recorded a verdict of "suicide while in a depressed state of mind". He left behind his wife Margaret and his son Paul, who was a year old when his father died.

Early career

;1963 – Zoot Money Quartet *

(keyboards); Andy Summers (guitar); Jimmy Shipstone (guitar); John Rostill (bass); Colin Allen (drums) ;1964 – The Interns

Discography

*1969: Tom Jones Live in Las Vegas *1971: "Funny Old World"/"Green Apples" – Columbia – DB 8794.

Filmography

*'' Wonderful Life'' (US title: ''Swingers' Paradise''Overview for ''Swingers' Paradise'' (1965)"
Turner Classic Movies page) *'' Finders Keepers'' *''Rhythm 'n Greens'' (B-film) *''Thunderbirds are Go'' (as puppets)

Pantomimes

*''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'' (appeared with

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

) *''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' (appeared with

)

Bibliography

*''Funny Old World'' by Rob Bradford (1988)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rostill, John English rock bass guitarists English pop guitarists English male bass guitarists Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands Barbiturates-related deaths 1942 births 1973 deaths 20th-century English musicians The Shadows members People from Radlett 20th-century English bass guitarists 20th-century English male musicians Drug-related suicides in England