Johnny Theakston, AKA Shane Fenton (1944–1961) was an early

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

singer who was the original lead singer to perform under the Shane Fenton stagename in his band

Shane Fenton and the Fentones Shane Fenton and the Fentones were an English rock and roll group formed in Mansfield in 1960. Shane Fenton, the band's namesake, was actually the stage name of two different musicians; when the first Shane Fenton, actually named Johnny Theakst ...

. Johnny Theakston would have been the face of the band, but died at the age of 17. Johnny originally sang skiffle music, but changed to rock and roll when the genre started to emerge. Wanting to adopt an American sounding name, he became Shane Fenton: 'Shane' from the western, '' Shane'', and 'Fenton' from a local printing firm. His backing groups would then be known as The Fentones. He soon befriended Bernard Jewry, who became a roadie for them and occasionally sang on stage with Johnny Theakston. In 1961, the band sent a demo tape to European label

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

and the BBC and were offered an audition, but a few days before the audition was to take place, Johnny Theakston fell ill. Seeing how ill he looked, Jewry agreed to step in for him. Johnny Theakston subsequently fell severely ill and was rushed to hospital, where he died two days later. Jewry later recalled: "I found him sitting on the settee in the lounge, with blankets wrapped all around him, very ill and too weak to stand." Johnny's cause of death was heart failure. His heart had been weakened since contracting

Rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Si ...

as a child. Because

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

had given the group a slot on the '' Saturday Club'' radio show (and presumably under contract), they were unable to disband, and continued with Jewry on lead vocals. Requested by Johnny Theakston's mother, Bernard took Johnny's stagename, and continued as Shane Fenton and the Fentones. Shane Fenton and the Fentones would have four songs in the UK charts between 1961 and 1962. Their best known song, " Cindy's Birthday", went to number 19.

References

{{Alvin Stardust 1944 births 1961 deaths British rock and roll musicians