Vince Taylor; Featured Artist for 14/01/18

Vince Taylor was one of the many UK Elvises floating around Britain in the late fifties and early sixties. They all had names like Billy Fury, Marty Wilde or Tommy Steele, however Vince, born Brian Maurice Holden, got his name from the Latin inscription 'In hoc signo vinces' which he found on a packet of Pall Mall cigarettes. Vince had one advantage over the other UK rockers; he was at least actually an American, or so his band The Playboys thought. During one of their French tours the band saw Taylor's passport and found out he was born in Isleworth, Middlesex. As a teenager, Vince had lived in Hollywood for a short time, when his sister married Joe Barbera (of Hanna-Barbera fame, the ones who gave you The Flintstones, Yogi Bear and Wacky Races).

Vince had a striking look on stage, dressed all in leather, wielding a chain. Unfortunately he couldn't turn his exciting live shows into record sales success. After getting nowhere in the UK he started to get some success in France signing to the Barclay label and beginning to rival French rocker Johnny Halliday. (Vince's live shows occasionally ended with the pumped up audience going out on the streets of Paris for a little rioting.) The European tour was going well, although it is fair to say Vince did like a drink a bit too much, which could cause a few arguments in the band; still they kept it together . . . until one fateful night in France.

It can happen to even the best of artists, that moment of empty promises and even more empty pockets. The band were broke so Vince travelled from Paris to London to collect some money owed. While in London he took his first LSD trip and things started to get a bit odd. The Playboys were waiting in Paris for Vince to return with the money. It was coming up to showtime, so they were getting a little worried. Suddenly the door swung open and there unshaven, hair down and in a white robe stood Vince who took a gulp from the bottle of Mateus wine he was carrying and then proclaimed "I am Mateus, the son of Jesus Christ."

He started to calm down before the show, so the band went on stage and eventually Vince joined them, but suddenly Vince picked up a large jug of water and then went among the crowd blessing people. That was pretty much the end of Vince's career but his story doesn't end there. A young David Bowie trying to break into the music business bumped into Vince on Tottenham Court Road in London in the late sixties. David doesn't quite remember if Vince was claiming to be the son of God or an alien or a bit of both but he does remember that Vince had laid a map of the World out on the street during rush hour and was pinpointing the places where aliens had landed. A couple of years later when Bowie was creating a new character, he remembered that encounter with Vince and it became the basis of Ziggy Stardust. If you would like to hear this story from David himself, there is a great BBC Radio documentary entitled Ziggy Stardust Came From Isleworth, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00tdpz8

On a final note, Vince Taylor's song Brand New Cadillac, is now regarded as one of the classic songs of the UK rock'n'roll era; so much so, that The Clash covered the song on their album London Calling. Vince Taylor's style of music and personality influenced three generations and genres, of UK music.

Next Week’s Featured Artist: Peter Wyngarde