John Arthur Alexander Edgecombe (22 October 1932 – 26 September 2010) was a British jazz promoter, whose involvement with

Christine Keeler Christine Margaret Keeler (22 February 1942 – 4 December 2017) was an English model and showgirl. Her meeting at a dance club with society osteopath Stephen Ward drew her into fashionable circles. At the Cold War (1953–1962), height of the ...

inadvertently alerted authorities to the

Profumo affair The Profumo affair was a major scandal in British politics during the early 1960s. John Profumo, the 46-year-old Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with the 19-year-old model ...

Early life

Edgecombe was born on 22 October 1932 in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, the youngest of eight children. He often accompanied his father on his schooner running petrol from

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

to Antigua. In 1942, his father took United States citizenship and disappeared. The young Edgecombe worked his passage aboard a British ship carrying sugar to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. From there he moved to

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, where he stayed for some years, lodging at a mission for seamen. Searching for his missing father, he hid on a ship bound for

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, but on arrival was arrested and put back on board for the return trip. When he docked in Britain, magistrates jailed him for 28 days as a stowaway. After leaving prison, he made his way to London, where he became involved in petty crime, serving three months for an attempted jewel theft. He ran a drinking and drugs den in premises rented from

Peter Rachman Perec "Peter" Rachman (16 August 1919 – 29 November 1962) was a Polish-born landlord who operated in Notting Hill, London, England, in the 1950s and early 1960s. He became notorious for his exploitation of his tenants, with the word "Rachmanis ...

, and reportedly acted as a pimp to his girlfriend.

Profumo scandal

It was in this " shebeen" that he first encountered Lucky Gordon, who threatened to tip off the police about the drinking den. Edgecombe closed it down, and moved into the jazz scene, driving musicians to gigs, and dealing small quantities of cannabis. In September 1962, he met a nightclub hostess,

, and moved into her flat in Sheffield Terrace. Keeler was involved with several men, and it was this web of relationships and jealousy that triggered the events that led to what became known as the

. Keeler told Edgecombe that Gordon had assaulted her and held her captive after she ended their relationship. Edgecombe confronted Gordon with a knife in the Flamingo Club on 27 October 1962, and Gordon required 17 stitches in the face. Edgecombe asked Keeler to help him find a solicitor before surrendering to the police, but she refused and said that she would give evidence against him. On 14 December 1962, Edgecombe took a taxi to the Marylebone home of osteopath Stephen Ward, where Keeler was in hiding along with friend

Mandy Rice-Davies Marilyn Foreman (21 October 1944 – 18 December 2014), better known as Mandy Rice-Davies, was a Welsh model and showgirl best known for her association with Christine Keeler and her role in the Profumo affair, which discredited the Conservativ ...

. When she refused to come out, he fired at least five shots at the front door with a semi-automatic pistol in an unsuccessful attempt to shoot out the lock on the door. He fled from the scene before the police arrived, but was arrested later that evening. His subsequent arrest set in motion the unravelling of Keeler's relationship with Secretary of State for War

John Profumo John Dennis Profumo ( ; 30 January 1915 – 9 March 2006) was a British politician whose career ended in 1963 after a sexual relationship with the 19-year-old model Christine Keeler in 1961. The scandal, which became known as the Profumo affai ...

and Russian naval attaché Yevgeny Ivanov, with Keeler's non-appearance at his trial at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

in March 1963 finally giving the British press the excuse it needed to publish the story.Martin, Douglas
"Johnny Edgecombe, British Scandal Figure, Dies at 77"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 9 October 2010. Accessed 11 October 2010. Edgecombe was acquitted of assaulting Gordon, but was convicted and sentenced to seven years for possession of a firearm with the intent to endanger life.Olden, Mark
Obituary: Johnny Edgecombe
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 30 September 2010 He served five years before being paroled. On his release in 1968, Edgecombe became a jazz promoter, running a club called Edges, and worked as a film and television extra. In 1987, he made an extended appearance on an edition of the live television discussion programme '' After Dark'' alongside

Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years. Blackburn first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio Londo ...

Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is an Australian-born British human rights campaigner, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party's Parliament of the United Kingdo ...

Victoria Gillick Victoria D. M. Gillick (''née'' Gudgeon; born 1946, in Hendon) is a British activist and campaigner best known for the eponymous 1985 UK House of Lords ruling that considered whether contraception could be prescribed to under-16s without paren ...

and others. Edgecombe also appeared briefly in the 1989 TV documentary ''The Scandal Story'' where he described and reenacted the shooting incident outside the actual Marylebone house. He wrote and published his version of events of the Profumo Affair in a book titled ''Black Scandal'' in 2002. He died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

and

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include ...

in London, aged 77, on 26 September 2010.

Cultural references

*In the 1989 film ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...

'', Edgecombe was portrayed by singer Roland Gift. *Edgecombe was portrayed by Wayne Robinson in

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

's stage musical '' Stephen Ward the Musical'', which opened at the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

on 19 December 2013. * He was portrayed by

Nathan Stewart-Jarrett Nathan Lloyd Stewart-Jarrett (born December 4 1985) is a British actor. He starred as Curtis Donovan in the E4 series '' Misfits'' (2009–2012) and Ian in the Channel 4 series ''Utopia'' (2013–2014). He is also known for his theatre work, ...

in the 2019 British TV drama '' The Trial of Christine Keeler''.

Notes

External links

Johnny Edgecombe obituary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgecombe, Johnny 1932 births 2010 deaths 20th-century British criminals Antigua and Barbuda emigrants to England Deaths from kidney cancer in England Deaths from lung cancer in England British prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales British people convicted of assault