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Saturday, 14 September 2013

JEL ELLIFF


Jel Elliff (Jel Tyson) was born in Scotland and came to Australia in 1970 . He was first heard of in a Sydney band called Chantry Barn whose other members included Al Ward (later of Al Ward / Dan Johnson fame) and a female singer, Jel's girlfriend at that time, Del Ford aka Delores Foxtonfinn who was last heard of in a Newcastle band in the 1990's called Me, Me, Me. Chantry Barn, was a great live act around the folk clubs of Sydney. When Chantry Barn broke up, Jel went solo, scoring a contract with the Australian HMV label. His first release ''What Are You Doing Sunday'' in 1971 was his most successful single reaching #30 in Brisbane, #44 in Adelaide and #23 in Perth.

This was followed by ''Going Nowhere'' (1971, #28 Adelaide: not the Los Bravos song) and Gordon Lightfoot's ''Cotton Jenny'' (1971, #32 Brisbane). He also released ''Silvertown Girl'' in 1972. In November 1971 Jel Elliff represented Australia with ''Going Nowhere'' at Yamaha's World Popular Song Festival. He reached the second semi-final.

He returned to the UK in the mid 70s and became lead vocalist for British band Alaska going under the name Jel Tyson, which achieved success in the U.K. with their 45 hit-"I Don't Know Why". Tyson then went on to front one of Chicago's top 80's bands- The Reason, a group that generated a large and loyal following throughout the Midwest, gaining success by opening for major acts such as Duran Duran, the Psychedelic Furs, the Go-Go's and the Stray Cats, before disbanding in the mid-80's. Tyson returned to his adopted home of Australia, where he built a state-of-the-art recording studio-Fat Boy. Fat Boy served as the recording studio for budding Aussie rock groups such as The Church, The Hoodoo Gurus, and Midnight Oil. Tyson then returned to the U.S. in the early 90's and raised a family while at the same time nurturing his solo career.





SINGLES
''What Are You Doing Sunday (#79) / Willoughby'' 1971 HMV
''Going Nowhere / Pearly John'' 1971 HMV
''Cotton Jenny (#100) / Suzanne'' 1972 HMV
''Silvertown Girl / Morning Has Broken'' HMV 1972 




References

http://ozziemusicman.blogspot.com.au/

http://top100singles.blogspot.com.au/


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