Mickey Jupp
| Mickey Jupp | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michael Jupp |
| Born |
6 March 1944 Worthing, Sussex, England |
| Genres | Rock, pub rock, rhythm and blues |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, guitarist, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Labels | Bell Records, Vertigo, Stiff |
| Associated acts | The Orioles, Legend, Mickey Jupp Band |
| Website | www.MickeyJupp.com |
Michael 'Mickey' Jupp (born 6 March 1944, in Worthing, Sussex, England) is an English musician and songwriter, mainly associated with the Southend music scene.
Jupp played in several Southend bands after leaving art college in 1962 and was in the R&B group the Orioles (1963 to late 1965), which included Mo Witham (guitar, vocals) and Bob Clouter (drums), but the band were never recorded.
After a break from music, Jupp formed Legend in 1968, who were signed to Bell Records. They released an eponymous album Legend, playing a mix of pop, rockabilly and blues rock styles using no electric instruments. The original band: Nigel Dunbar (drums), Chris East (guitar, vocals and harmonica) and Steve Geere (string bass and vocals), who recorded this album with Jupp (guitar, piano and vocals), split soon afterwards, so Jupp assembled a new line-up, with Mo Witham on guitar, John Bobin on bass and Bill Fifield on drums. A recording deal with Vertigo produced a second album, in 1970, using the same line-up. Confusingly, this album was also called Legend, but is usually referred to as the "Red Boot" album, after the cover picture. Fifield left to join T.Rex (where he was renamed Bill Legend, after the band he had left, by Marc Bolan), and was replaced on drums by Bob Clouter who had played with Jupp in the Orioles. This line-up recorded the second Vertigo album Moonshine issued in 1972 (and re-released on CD in 2007), after which the band broke up.
Returning to Southend, Jupp pursued a low-key existence until the pub-rock revolution (spearheaded by local bands such as Dr. Feelgood, for whom he wrote the hit single "Down at the Doctors") created a fresh interest in rock and roll. He signed to Stiff Records in 1978, and they initially released a compilation album of the first three Legend albums, which was also called Legend, giving three albums with this title. This was followed by his first solo album, Juppanese, an album in two different styles. The first half was recorded with Rockpile and produced by Nick Lowe, and is in a simple raw style, whereas the second half, produced by Gary Brooker of Procol Harum, was slicker. The album had a racist cover photo, in which Jupp sits at a table of oriental food, pulling at the corners of his eyes. Jupp had a long-standing connection with Procol Harum; one of his early idols was Gary Brooker then with R&B group the Paramounts. When Procol's bassist David Knights went into management, Legend were his first act. He also produced their final album Moonshine. Robin Trower also produced Legend's second single "Georgia George Part 1" which was actually Jupp backed by Mo Witham and Procol's Matthew Fisher and B.J. Wilson.
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