John with
Guitar George

As promised in my December News Letter I can now reveal more details about my NEW CD.  My plans are that it will be available during June or July this year.
However we’ve still some work to do on it before then. I’m delighted that guesting on the CD will be Colin Pryce-Jones, the leader of The Rapiers, Clem Cattini, the drummer behind 50 No1 hit records and the leader of the Tornados, on backing vocals Suzi Jari and Clare Funnell and on an exclusive bonus track, guitarist Peter Williams. This is not forgetting the contributions by the many excellent session musicians and Alan Wilson himself.

The theme of the CD is back to the sounds of the 60’s and is my personal tribute to the sound of Joe Meek. It will feature tracks recorded or engineered by Joe for other artistes that I have never previously recorded and possibly a track specially written for me by Bob Butfoy, a member of that fantastic British rock ‘n’ roll group, Jack Rabbit Slim. Check out www.western-star.co.uk for details of their debut CD, it really rocks.

My plans for January include a meeting with Paul Howes who edits and publishes the Dusty Springfield bulletin. Paul also runs a great website about Dusty.
I met Dusty on many occasions and Paul will be interviewing me about my memories of her for an article that will be published in the March edition of his publication.

We are currently working on a few additions to the website which I hope will be made during February or March. The website vaults are currently overflowing with items that have been sent to us and we are considering how we can best show them. Some new items of merchandise will also soon be available for purchase.

New concert dates have recently been added to the Gig Guide: 22nd April and 22nd July, both with The Rapiers.

A Limited Edition various artistes 5 track vinyl EP, (yes vinyl EP,) titled ‘Joe Meek presents’ has now been released by Sanctuary Records. It contains Johnny Remember Me alongside versions of Telstar by The Tornadoes. We have limited stock available for purchase from the online shop here at johnleytonofficial.com. Due to the limited quantity available, I think this could become a real collectors item.

I have always been a great fan of Frank Sinatra and had the pleasure and privilege of working with him on ‘Von Ryan’s Express’. I was very fortunate to become friendly with the great man and had the added pleasure of meeting him socially on several occasions, including being his guest at one of his live shows in Las Vegas. A musical entitled ‘Sinatra at the London Palladium’ is opening at that theatre on 17th February. I intend to see the show as soon as my diary permits. For more information about the show visit www.franksinatra.com

Always yours.