So, I'm having a good neighbourly chat the other week to the guy who lives opposite me. We talk about music, me DJing etc, and then I mention that I'm a huge Northern fan, The neigbour chuckles, and asks me if I've ever heard "Goodbye Nothing To Say" .... "Of couse..." I reply.... "Well, I'm Nosmo King"., he says"...  Small world!

 

Anyway, he mentioned that they once played at Wigan and he told me that they mimed to the record. I'm just wondering if this was normal behaviour for Wigan acts, or whether it was because The Javells were a tailor-made act with a studio backing band?

 

Just curious!

 

Cheers

Jon

Is this your neighbour? .... if not then he's pulling your pisser

 

Real name Steve Jameson (aka Sol Bernstein)

 

https://www.solbernstein.co.uk/

Edited March 22, 201411 yr by Dave Turner

Good job you didn't say "what a load of crap" before he told you who he was. Mind you he'd probably agree with you.

Edited March 22, 201411 yr by SoulStu

  On 22/03/2014 at 18:53, SoulStu said:

Good job you didn't say "what a load of crap" before he told you who he was. Mind you he'd probably agree with you.

 

 

I still do like Maxine more.

The Live appearance was on a Wednesday or Friday early session. Not the allnighter.  It was a bit of a scam by Pye records. They were issuing genuine northern sounds at the time, and they found Goodbye by Nosmo King, the B side of Teenage love, issued early in 74. They covered it up as the Javells & sent EMI discs to Russ & a couple of other DJs.  To me it was a likeable pop record, but it went massive. As a record it was no worse than some other things played at the time, like Keith, Daylight Saving time, or Gary Feckiin' Lewis.  The Javells were Nosmo(Steve Jameson) and a couple of Black female backing singers, probably to give it a bit of cred. After a couple of other releases like Lovin' You Is Easy(which also wasn't bad) He was quoted in the music press that he was leaving the northern scene, "which he helped to create"(FFS)

 

Paul

Yeah, I suppose it's one of those love it or hate records. Admittedly it's not the greatest of records musically and on the popish side but I've always felt if the backing was less tinny and the voice deeper and blacker then this would have been a classic Northern track. Still fresh in my mind is the Casino when this was at it's height. The atmos was absolutely magic, the floor was absolutely rammed with the crowd singing out the chorus lines. So much so that for me it pretty much rivaled Mike Post's "Rhino" for lifting the roof off the place. 

 

Sometimes not so great records hold a special bit of memory magic. 

Agreed a great pop record:)

So, not a tailor made then!

I liked it, but then I also liked Blackburn's version of 'I'll Do Anything...'

Like i have said in another thread, WE all danced to these records but some people are just scared to admit it.

As a 13 year old in 1974 this was part of my initiation to the northern scene.

Didn't know any better so thought it was great, still got the copy I bought then - only of nostalgia value to me now   

I seemed to remember that The Javells was a Kev Roberts cover up.....although he had gone from Wigan by autumn of '74. It was played around the time that "Sea Cruise"; "Panic"; "Surrounded By A Ray Of Sunshine"; "Take A Letter Maria" etc:

I remember being at a mates house and he had just got it from Record Corner in Balham....Nosmo King on Pye.....soon after it was reissued along with The Playthings cover of Samantha Jones.

It was of the time.....and yes, it was massive.

Anyway, that's how I recall it; but it was 40 years ago!

I was sitting in the train station the other day and out the corner of my eye I saw a sign proclaiming "NOSMO KING" and I thought, that's a bit odd. But then I noticed it actually said "NO SMOKING"... 

Russ or someone is on record from the 70s saying thats how he got his name…..No smoking….

I was 15 in 1974 and we went to a club in Retford on a Sunday night the Dj played it 3 times I absolutely loved it and bought it from his shop the next Saturday, still like love it today.

I thought it was a good crossover record at the time i.e. crossover between NS and the mainstream pop charts.

 

It got to No. 26 in the charts so got some radio plays. It was certainly a breath of fresh air on Radio 1 against David Essex and the Bay City Rollers and the Glitter Band and all that kind of stuff that was around at the time.

I've always kinda wished it was by the original Nosmo King (H. Vernon Watson)

 

At least it would have been black .... well, sort of  

 

 

Actually, I think people under-estimate how quickly this blew up. It was played by EVERYONE (including the Mecca) as the Javells via the acetates that Dave Macaleer sent out as detailed by Paul above. I seem to remember it being a few weeks before the Nosmo King connection was forged but it reality it was probably less than 4 weeks. This was one record which literally took off immediately and was huge around the country within 2 weeks. It seems strange thinking about it now but records really could break that quickly back then...........

 

Ian D 

  On 24/03/2014 at 10:13, Steve G said:

Russ or someone is on record from the 70s saying thats how he got his name…..No smoking….

 

Sort of - There was a vaudeville act of the 20's and 30's called H Vernon Watson who changed his name to Nosmo King after seeing a split "No smoking" sign on a door. Steve Jameson" undoubtedly used the Nosmo King name because of this, and the inspiration for Watson's name change somehow jumped 40 plus years and became incorrectly attributed to the "Pye Guy"

Hi all

 

Thanks for your comments....

 

Yep, that's the guy! He's now a comedian operating all over the UK, but often in Central London (Leicester Square)... 

 

He has an original promo poster for the record on his wall which he showed to me Nice chap!

 

Jon

None of us really answered your question Jon, we were caught up in vinyl heaven (or hell).

 

So, did anyone ever mime at Wigan?

Edited March 24, 201411 yr by SoulStu

  On 24/03/2014 at 19:57, SoulStu said:

None of us rally answered your question Jon, we were caught up in vinyl heaven (or hell).

 

So, did anyone ever mime at Wigan?

 

 

i just made up words as i danced to all the instrumentals...

hi all,i seem to remember at the time there was a lot of media fuss  around this record saying that the d.j .and pop mogul Jonathon King was responsible for it. In fact i think he appeared as the lead singer on top of the pops miming

  On 24/03/2014 at 20:10, staceys dad said:

i just made up words as i danced to all the instrumentals...

i still do that.