The difference between ignorance and awareness is wisdom.
We don't know where we are going unless we know where we've been
Without that knowledge... history is gone with the wind
Sherri Lynn
interview for the book:
“SILENT RECORDS”
- DISCO HISTORY -
by
Jan Yahu Pawul
__________________________________________________________
Y@HU - This time my
interview is with Sherri Lynn - lady who deserve to be in here in my opinion (disco & DJ historian)
– and who remembers what was interesting in the late ’60s and
early ‘70s.
Sherri Lynn, Sue Bond, Emperor Rosko, Sue Shaw
outside EGTON HOUSE, (BBC), London 1969
Hard to believe maybe, BUT one picture (above) inspired me to find Sherri
and to do this story
-
this pic shows climate, style and class of late ‘60s, early '70s
Y@HU - Tell me something (as
much as possible) about the pioneer artists and deejays, disco owners you knew - you know / you've met (especially late ’60, early ’70)
?
SHERRI
- It was an exciting time for me and many others who were able to enjoy that
era! I used to plug records at the BBC for RADIO 1 and some RADIO 2 shows, as
well as others such as RADIO LUXEMBOURG and RNI (RADIO NORTHSEA
INTERNATIONAL). By the time I was asked
to promote pop records, our beloved pirate RADIO CAROLINE’s BRITISH CITIZENS
who participated in the running, production and broadcasting of any radio show
(or part thereof) had been outlawed by the MARINE OFFENCES ACT which came into
effect at midnight on the 14th of August, 1967. That was a huge blow to all
those who were directly involved and to the many millions of avid fans in the
UK and parts of Europe, etc.
Prior to that, if my memory serves me well, the PROGRAMME
DIRECTOR of RNI, LARRY TREMAINE (real name Larry Steinman) was working out of
one of the offices at BEACON RECORDS which was founded by MILTON SAMUEL (who
was born in Antigua and Barbuda) in London.
One day Larry asked me if I would like to participate in the recording
of a song called “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE KIDDING, HAROLD WILSON?” as Wilson, the prime minister of the UK at the time, was very much
in favor of making major changes with regard to pirate radio stations. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity
and it was a night to remember... from what I remember of it, probably about 30+ of us
enthusiastically singing the song which is now posted ----------------------------------------->> on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnPcVQfph5o
One of the things I did while working for BEACON RECORDS
was to go and check out live acts and if there was any that I thought would be
suitable for BEACON RECORDS to inform MILTON SAMUEL. One night I was really excited about two acts
that I had seen ... GENESIS and UFO!! I
just absolutely knew that they were both destined to become hugely successful
and couldn’t wait to let Milton know about them the next day.
When I told Milton about them I said that he had better
get in touch with both as quickly as possible because otherwise other companies
would get them. I gave Milton the
contact details that I had been given and he immediately got on the phone to call the musicians I
had met. To my great disappointment, he was told that somebody from a different record company had already
contacted them and that they had just signed a recording deal with them. Fortunately, when he called
the lead singer (or other) from UFO, they arranged to meet up and I was delighted to hear from Milton later
that they had agreed to sign up to BEACON RECORDS. (I subsequently saw that NOEL MOORE who was also with
BEACON RECORDS had seen them at a night club and signed them up to Beacon Records!! Noel and I were friends but I can
categorically state that somebody got that information incorrect)!
Although I had been to some highly reputable discos and night clubs such as ANNABELS in London, my favorite was
Y@HU - Tell me as much as you
remember / as possible about your memories of deejays, artists of ’60 / ’70 disco
era, please – (Emperor Rosko roadshow) ?
SHERRI - Many of the DJs who were on Radio Caroline were hired by the BBC to
present shows on BBC RADIO 1. I met most
of them and got to know some of them better than the others. Ever since I first heard EMPEROR ROSKO on
RADIO LUXEMBOURG...or perhaps prior to that while he was broadcasting on RADIO
MONTE CARLO when he was living in France, I resonated so much with him because
of his style, choice of music, personality and very importantly his voice. I had no idea what he looked like at that
time but still he had captured my attention ... and I was lucky enough to
later get to know him personally when I met him a few times at BBC BROADCASTING
HOUSE at Portland Place and Langham Place in London where I used to tread the
corridors hoping to be able to get a producer or DJ to put one or more of the
records that I was plugging on the all important PLAY LIST for the following
week.
EMPEROR ROSKO has played a major part in my life since
then...and I have been his CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER for the past several
years. As such I have done a variety of
things online for him over the years as he lives in California and I live in the UK. My main thrust has been trying to get other
stations and radio outlets to take on his shows. I thought that would be a cinch....but it
turns out that it isn’t ... usually due to radio stations and internet outlets
having a lack of finances. Another main reason is because he lives in the
States whereas stations and internet outlets which I have contacted choose to
have only LOCAL or LIVE presenters for their shows ... which is understandable,
although I usually try to determine whether they do or not in advance of
contacting them. (However, anybody interested will always be welcome to contact
me at sherri.rhukusa@gmail.com). His shows are in ENGLISH although one of the things I
love about them is that every now and again he speaks a smattering of French, Spanish, Italian or any one of a
number of other languages which for me adds to the interest of his shows and
his fees are very affordable according to today’s more limited budget.
A few years back I decided to start a group called Fans
and Friends of PJ PROBY and / or EMPEROR ROSKO ... two AMERICAN LEGENDS with
whom I had been closely associated. Some
time later I decided to start another group, FANS AND FRIENDS OF EMPEROR ROSKO
which enabled me to have his SCHEDULE of some of the Radio Stations and
Internet Outlets that play his shows, and gave the fans and friends of PJ PROBY
to be able to focus more exclusively on the first group while those of EMPEROR
ROSKO could focus on the second. Many of the photos and other posts about Rosko
that have been posted on one group are shared on the other.
Both groups are very active and it is wonderful to see
the loyal fans and friends of both and their posts which include articles,
photos, videos and many comments keep the groups “alive and well”. It is a great pleasure for me to facilitate
both those groups and yet another, EMPEROR ROSKO RADIO....which is for
listeners to his shows who wish to join.
American
radio presenter Emperor Rosko poses with ( left to right)
Sherri
Lynn, Sue Bond, Sue Shaw in a an Mini Moke ,
UK
EMPEROR ROSKO’S INTERNATIONAL ROAD SHOW which was launched by him and fellow BBC RADIO 1 DJ, DAVE LEE TRAVES was absolutely FANTASTIC as it was the largest mobile disco at the time in the UK, the sound and volume from his speakers (made by ORANGE) were really GREAT, his Light Show, some really good dancers and his personality was for me, as good as it gets. Wish I could have seen it a whole lot more than I did but he travelled around the country with it and I was based in London.
POP STARS who I knew as friends (some more than others)
included DAVE DEE (of DAVE DEE, DOZY, BEAKY, MICK and TITCH), JOHN ROWLES (who
had two hit records at the time, IF I ONLY HAD TIME and HUSH, NOT A WORD TO
MARY, also lived in EARLS COURT not far from where I had my home), PJ PROBY (who I later was hired to be a
back-up singer on his tour of ENGLAND, SCOTLAND AND WALES and some time later became
engaged to), ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINCK, STEVE ROWLAND and other members of FAMILY
DOGG (ALBERT HAMMOND, MIKE HAZELWOOD and ZOOEY QUINN).
... this is pix of that time / tour
left to right: Sherri Lynn, P. J. Proby, Gloria Fowles later known as Gloria Gaynor disco legendary artist
(this pix of Ron Tennant archive)
september 1971 at the Batley Variety Club,Yorkshire
september 1971 at the Batley Variety Club,Yorkshire
another pix of the same time - same artists + other people
(this pix of Ron Tennant archive)
september 1971 at the Batley Variety Club,Yorkshire
I was introduced to FAMILY DOGG by PJ PROBY while he was
recording his album, THREE WEEK HERO with them backing him. I was invited to sing BROWN-EYED GIRL (not
the VAN MORRISON song) with FAMILY DOGG on TV at BREMEN in Germany at CHRISTINE
HOLMES had left Family Dogg. THAT was
exciting for me....going by plane to Germany and then actually appearing on
BEAT CLUB with the group which I really loved, FAMILY DOGG!! At that time I was singing with PJ PROBY, so
that was the only gig I did with them and hugely memorable! It was exciting to be on stage with him and
another back-up singer, a gal whose name I simply could not remember, try as I
did. My mind was an absolute blank!! Several months ago a member of the Fans and
Friends of PJ PROBY and / or EMPEROR ROSKO group let me know that while in
Central America, he (I think...or maybe she) had asked her if she had ever sung
as back-up singer with PJ PROBY and me.
She confirmed that she had. Her
name.....GLORIA GAYNOR!!! I am still
astounded by that but way back at that time, it was before GLORIA GAYNOR had
her major hit, NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE, followed later by her iconic I WILL
SURVIVE!! AMAZING!!! I have now discovered that her original name was GLORIA
FOWLES....so it makes sense to me that perhaps she was using that name when we
were backing PJ PROBY as singers.
Another major star I became friends with soon after the
group had signed up to APPLE was ERROL BROWN from HOT CHOCOLATE and was
thrilled to have HOT CHOCOLATE back me singing an original song (originally
called TO CONQUER THE WORLD and which is
now much longer and it has had a name change to PEACE, LOVE, JOY HEALS THE
WORLD) at a PEACE CONCERT FOR UNICEF at the LYCEUM BALLROOM in London,
1969. In the audience was a lady from
Poland who was a songwriter who asked if I would like to go to Poland to record
some of her songs which I later did...only to find out when I was there that
all the musicians were on holiday for three weeks, so they wouldn’t be back at
work to record again until after I had already left.
Sherri Lynn
september 1971 at the Batley Variety Club,Yorkshire
same room, same time pix as above one of Sherri
but this lady is Gloria Fowles later known as Gloria Gaynor legendary disco artist
(this pix of Ron Tennant archive)
september 1971 at the Batley Variety Club,Yorkshire
Y@HU - Do you keep / hold any contact with the other late ’60, early ’70 disco participants / deejays /artists / '70 mega stars (can you mention any names) with whom you've become close friends maybe ?
SHERRI - I know several of them including TONY BLACKBURN, JOHNNIE WALKER, DAVE LEE
TRAVIS, NOEL EDMUNDS, BOB HARRIS, DAVID HAMILTON and others....but not close
friends with any of them. Also knew some
who have passed on including JOHN PEEL, STUART HENRY, ED “STEWPOT” STEWART and
KENNY EVERETT.
I was lucky enought to be able to be at the INTERNATIONAL
RADIO FESTIVAL in Zurich in June of 2011 when EMPEROR ROSKO, TONY “ROYAL RULER” PRINCE (a
good friend of EMPEROR ROSKO), MARK WESLEY (doing really well as the author of
two novels he has written, BANGK and FRACK!). PAUL BURNETT, TONY BLACKBURN,
PAUL BURNETT and my good friend, LARRY TREMAINE (now no longer with us,
unfortunately) were each given a LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. I am still in
contact via social media with most of them.
Other good friends among the DJs are PAUL ALEXANDER
RUSLING (author of two excellent books about OFFSHORE RADIO STATIONS that he
was hugely instrumental in getting on the air, RADIO ADVENTURES OF THE MV
COMMUNICATOR and LASER RADIO PROGRAMMING) and, although I have not yet met him,
HANS KNOT of HANS KNOT’S INTERNATIONAL RADIO REPORT fame as we communicate
every now and again about his extensive and amazing monthly report on offshore
radio...which is available to anybody who contacts him at his e-mail address, HKnot@home.nl. Contributors to this report come from
around the globe and it is filled with many memories about offshore radio and
those who were a part of it. I am friends with a number of other DJs on my
Facebook page and a several on Fans and Friend of PJ PROBY and / or EMPEROR
ROSKO and FANS AND FRIENDS OF EMPEROR ROSKO....too many for me to mention here. In addition, I am in contact with JOHNNY
BEERLING, co-author of EMPEROR ROSKO’s DJ BOOK...which now has BOOK 2 as an
e-book available.
Other than EMPEROR ROSKO, PJ PROBY, STEVE ROWLAND and
ZOOEY QUINN plus a few others who I am in contact with on social media such as
singer, LINDA LEWIS, I am no longer in contact with most of them.
Y@HU - Tell me about the most exciting moments in / about late ’60, early ’70 era ?
Y@HU - Tell me about the most exciting moments in / about late ’60, early ’70 era ?
SHERRI - Wow ... so many of them!!
Being asked to plug records by CYRIL BLACK (brother of
DON BLACK, hugely successful songwriter who was at that time working for NEMS
ENTERPRISES). Cyril Black was with
SCREEN GEMS MUSIC PUBLISHING when he asked me to plug records for the company,
I told him that I had absolutely NO experience in that field. He reassured me that it would be
“easy”...just go to the producers and DJs at BBC RADIO 1 and Radio 2, GRANADA
TELEVISION, etc. and ask them if they would play the record I was promoting at
the time (which SCREEN GEMS had published) on whatever shows I thought they
were relevant for. NOT that easy, as there were several other “radio pluggers”
at any given time all trying to get the attention of available radio producers
and DJs in the hopes that they would put one or more of the records that we
were plugging on to the all important PLAYLIST (which was restricted to just a
few each time) for each relevant show during the week... and there were
probably about a hundred new records each week. Taking but taking on that job
changed the direction of my life in a way I had absolutely no idea it would at
the time. That led to many exciting times when I was mixing with many of the
pop greats and listening to their music... often when they were performing
LIVE!!
After working for SCREEN GEMS for a while, I was invited to plug records for a number of record companies on an independent basis...which I did, until I eventually accepted a full time job when MILTON SAMUEL offered me a job at BEACON RECORDS ... which is where I stayed until I left promoting records to sing on the PJ PROBY’s tour of England, Scotland and Wales.
One of the exciting things for me was being able to go to the studio for the recording of TOP OF THE POPS on a number of occasions. WONDERFUL! :-)))) It was quite a thrill for me when a record that I plugged, THE WAY WE WERE by GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS became No. 3 on the chart, and therefore made its way on to TOP OF THE POPS!!
In addition, for a period of my time when I was living in London, I worked at the famous nightclub, TALK OF THE TOWN as the assistant to the photographer. What a wonderful job that was!! I have a deep love for music including cabaret shows...and in this job I got to see the world-famous stars every night, usually for 4 weeks at a time. I was there virtually every night as I really enjoyed working there. Normally I was there for just a few hours from before dinner until after the show was over when the photos taken before the show needed to be delivered to those people who had ordered them. I couldn’t believe my luck at having such a fantastically enjoyable job!
Another time I was asked if I would accompany DAVY JONES from the MONKEES to some boutiques in Carnaby Street. Quite an honor, I am sure...and most enjoyable!
... klick on the pix to enlarge ...
stage pictures of that day gig
september 1971 at the Batley Variety Club,Yorkshire
looks like two ladies as background singers:
Sherri Lynn and Gloria Fowless later known as Gloria Gaynor disco legendary artist
Y@HU - Who were (as you remember) some of the great parties / shows and DJs of the disco ’60 / '70 era ?
SHERRI - I went to quite a number and don’t remember them all by name and dates. The one that I very much regret not having been to is the ROCK ‘n ROLL FESTIVAL that EMPEROR ROSKO was a DJ at. I cannot remember WHY I wasn’t there as that was an amazing concert to have been at. One dinner party I recall was in the company of SHIRLEY BASSEY and her husband, TOM JONES, ENGELBER HUMPERDINCK, BARRY MASON (the hugely successful song-writer (at times in partnership with another of my friends, LES REED OBE) and my good friend, ARTHUR WILCOX who had invited me to be with them. He was really wonderful to me as he invited me to the LONDON PALLADIUM to see several shows which I otherwise would not have. Thank you, ARTHUR WILCOX for those happy memories there!
After I had been out of the UK for 32 years, I finally returned to England in October of 2007 and visited PJ PROBY before going to my family who lived in Cornwall at the time. I was really lucky to be invited by him and his personal manager who was visiting him from the Nederlands, MANJA DOLAN, to a very special luncheon at the GROSVENOR HOTEL in London. The event was a Tribute to the hugely successful music career of the aforementioned, LES REED OBE by the HERITAGE FOUNDATION. Details of this amazing event can be found by going to: http://dutchbrand.co.uk/Welcome/Les_Reed_Heritage_Tribute.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Reed_(songwriter)
Y@HU - What do you think about today's techno / house etc. and deejays who use old tracks, samplers, CD mixers, put new beats of computer programs, and "create" special versions of the songs and burn CD's at home of their "creations?" or produce on 12" vinyl. Is this serious or just fake ? - I mean they create nothing in fact - they just use good music made by someone else from the past. In other words they can create nothing if it wasn't from such old, good records of the '70 ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Reed_(songwriter)
Y@HU - What do you think about today's techno / house etc. and deejays who use old tracks, samplers, CD mixers, put new beats of computer programs, and "create" special versions of the songs and burn CD's at home of their "creations?" or produce on 12" vinyl. Is this serious or just fake ? - I mean they create nothing in fact - they just use good music made by someone else from the past. In other words they can create nothing if it wasn't from such old, good records of the '70 ?
SHERRI - I don’t know if what I think about those questions is important as there is always those who rave about them and others who don’t. Sometimes what is created because of today’s technology is outstanding and other times not worth listening to. It depends on what a person likes. Generally I prefer many of the original versions of the songs....but not always. Take WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS for example. To me, JOE COCKER’S version by far outweighs that of the original which was of course by the BEATLES.
While I appreciate the reason behind the re-mixed version of A LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION by ELVIS PRESLEY, it lacked the punch that the original had for me. Many others loved it though!! Likewise, the version of original songs by Elvis for CHRISTMAS WITH ELVIS AND THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA while being excellent, didn’t quite match up to the originals from my point of view. However, many others absolutely love the CD too....fortunately.
Similarly, the ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA has recently recorded playing along with the original recordings of songs by ROY ORBISON such as I DROVE ALL NIGHT. Also very good....but just not AS good to me as the original.
Y@HU - Thank you Sherri.
... with Rosko 2017 UK
*PostScriptum*
Sherri was engaged in early ‘70s to singer P.J. Proby
for a while
Sherri is internet active:
YouTube
Twitter:
Facebook:
FB – Fans
and Friends of Emperor Rosko:
FB – Emperor
Rosko Radio:
FB – Fans
and Friends of P.J. Proby and/or Emperor Rosko:
check also:
*
*
MESSAGE sent to Rosko:
Iam Sherri's sister, and have opened this account to advise you that our beloved Sherri passed away this morning, as she specifically requested that you be informed in such an event. She will be greatly missed! I have attempted to advise the Group she created "Fans and friends of Emperor Rosko" but am not part of the group, do do not think my message went through. I would appreciate it if you could advise them, please.
Many thanks. Take care, Marge
*********************************************************
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal"
Today, November 20th 2020 in the early afternoon Sherri Lynn passed away. Her nice Janet Reed informed me. It is not known yet what caused her death. I know Sherri for many years and she was very connected to the Emperor Rosko through many decades. It’s Michael Pasternak, aka the Emperor Rosko, who I asked after hearing of the passing to write his warm memories on which he responded within thirty minutes.
--- Hans Knot
‘She was a far part of my life. I will miss her, she was very special. Unique in her ability to float above and still score points here on earth. I knew her as Brenda Pidduck back in the late 60’s and early 70’s of last century as a record promoter. She simply one day, after I left the UK, out of the blue said “I am now forming and running your fanclub and that was that. A semiprofessional fanclub and had personal words for everyone she had contact with. She helped to find radiostations to take the LA Connection and Coast to Coast country programmes on the air.
She always defended me no matter how bad I was, she never moaned about my spelling! She never gave up her love for music and radio, and then in a heartbeat, she was gone. What a vacuum, she was a person who one took kind of for granted as she was always a keyboard away. God help you though if you spelt her name wrong! She was one of the purest people I’ve ever known. Well, now she is pain free and watching us all, smiling, always smiling. It’s hard to put it all in words. We lost a true believer and a great friend, rest in peace Miss Sherri Lynn. EMP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFR2M_7EQss
Oh man !
I’ve lost that sad news of December 2020 and found today april 2021. I cooperated with Sherri if created special blog dedicated to EMP: http://emperor-rosko.blogspot.com/ as same as her special interview for my book: http://emperor-rosko.blogspot.com/p/the-difference-between-ignorance-and.html
She was so nice to me and very helpful. I was fascinated her pix with Rosko of ’60 – she sooooo beautiful lady as pop-revolution symbol-girl. Oh man, Oh man !! Our world goin’ away with the wind.
https://www.facebook.com/officialemperorrosko/videos/406616363806666
‘She was a far part of my life. I will miss her, she was very special. Unique in her ability to float above and still score points here on earth. I knew her as Brenda Pidduck back in the late 60’s and early 70’s of last century as a record promoter. She simply one day, after I left the UK, out of the blue said “I am now forming and running your fanclub and that was that. A semiprofessional fanclub and had personal words for everyone she had contact with. She helped to find radiostations to take the LA Connection and Coast to Coast country programmes on the air.
She always defended me no matter how bad I was, she never moaned about my spelling! She never gave up her love for music and radio, and then in a heartbeat, she was gone. What a vacuum, she was a person who one took kind of for granted as she was always a keyboard away. God help you though if you spelt her name wrong! She was one of the purest people I’ve ever known. Well, now she is pain free and watching us all, smiling, always smiling. It’s hard to put it all in words. We lost a true believer and a great friend, rest in peace Miss Sherri Lynn. EMP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFR2M_7EQss
Oh man !
I’ve lost that sad news of December 2020 and found today april 2021. I cooperated with Sherri if created special blog dedicated to EMP: http://emperor-rosko.blogspot.com/ as same as her special interview for my book: http://emperor-rosko.blogspot.com/p/the-difference-between-ignorance-and.html
She was so nice to me and very helpful. I was fascinated her pix with Rosko of ’60 – she sooooo beautiful lady as pop-revolution symbol-girl. Oh man, Oh man !! Our world goin’ away with the wind.
https://www.facebook.com/officialemperorrosko/videos/406616363806666
... and I remember her for good
as beautiful lady '60 pop-revolution symbol-girl
siting next to my DJ guru Emperor Rosko (right arm up with baloon)
... RIP Sherri ...
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