THEY ALSO SERVED

PRODUCER, bassist and guitarist COUNT DUBULAH (b.Nick Page, 1960, below) first came to prominence as part of techno fusionists Transglobal Underground in the early ’90s. His other projects included Temple Of Sound, the Ethiopian/Jamaican soundclash Dub Colossus and further explorations of the musics of Syria, Greece and beyond. Writing in tribute, Peter Gabriel spoke of Page possessing “warmth, a generous musicality and a really original intelligence.”

STAFFORDSHIRE DRUMMER JOHN HINCH (b.1947) played in bands including The Pinch, Bakerloo Blues Line and Hiroshima, the latter with vocalist Rob Halford. The two later joined Brum metallers Judas Priest. Hinch played on the band’s 1974 debut Rocka Rolla, but left the group after that album’s tour, later working in management with acts including Fashion, The Bureau and Uli Jon Roth.

CHARLESTON, South Carolina voice WONDRESS HUTCHINSON (b.1964) gave a powerful, sensuous soul performance on Mantronix’s electro-funk 1989 hit single, Got To Have Your Love. She was heard again the following year on Take Your Time, another UK Top 10 from the album, This Should Move Ya. Later credits included appearances with Spyro Gyra, Baltimore’s DJ Spen and gospel house outfit Jasper Street Co.

BASSIST and vocalist JOE LONG (b.1941) joined New Jersey pop institutions The 4 Seasons in 1965, in time for their cover of Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice, released under the pseudonym The Wonder Who?, to hit Number 12. Nine more Top 30 singles, including 1975’s US Number 3 Who Loves You, followed, before he left. He later played rock and jazz with LaBracio and Jersey Bounce. In 2018, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

MODEL and singer NICK KAMEN (b.1962) famously stripped off to Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through The Grapevine, on a 1985 Levi’s TV advert set in a launderette. This brought the Harlowborn former bass player to the attention of Madonna, who gave him the 1986 UK Number 5 hit Each Time You Break My Heart. She also co-produced Kamen’s self-titled debut album in 1987. After three more LPs, Kamen gave up music to work as an abstract painter and video-maker.

FOLK SINGER, songwriter and lesbian activist ALIX DOBKIN (b.1940, below) started out on the ’60s New York folk scene, rubbing shoulders with Bob Dylan. Dobkin’s 1973 debut album, Lavender Jane Loves Women was one of the first ‘out’ lesbian releases. Forging an independent alternative to the male-dominated music industry, releases on Dobkin’s Women’s Wax Works label included the compilation,

Love & Politics, A 30 Year Saga. She was also known for her The Future Is Female T-shirt, later an internationally recognised slogan of the women’s movement.

RECORD SHOP and label owner BOB KOESTER (b.1932) founded what would become the Delmark imprint in St Louis in 1953. Moving to Chicago in 1958, the proudly independent label released veteran blues men, jazzers and new talent with equal care and attention, the catalogue ranging from Sleepy John Estes and Buddy Guy to Sun Ra and Anthony Braxton, among many others. In 1959 Koester opened his Jazz Record Mart, whose descendant outlet Bob’s Blues & Jazz Mart continues to operate, though he sold Delmark in 2018. In 1996 Koester, also a keen vintage film collector, became one of the few non-musicians to be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame

ALL-NIGHT RADIO LEGEND BOB FASS (b.1933) told his 1960s audience: “I wanna be a neuron – I don’t wanna be the brain. We’re all the brain.” Beginning in 1963, Fass hosted Radio Unnameable on non-commercial WBAI in New York for over a half-century. The show functioned as an incubator for what’s now called the counterculture:

’60s regulars included Bob Dylan and Abbie Hoffman. He also debuted Jerry Jeff Walker’s single Mr Bojangles and Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant live on air.

ENGINEER, producer and harmonica player ROBERT LANOIS (b.1947) was born in Gatineau, Quebec. He and his brother Daniel originally set up MSR Productions from their mother’s house, and he later opened his own studio, Bob’s Shack, in Waterdown, Ontario. Along with his numerous technical credits, Lanois was an experienced photographer who shot cover images for Emmylou Harris’s Wrecking Ball album, while his 2006 solo long-player Snake Road was nominated for a Juno award.

SINGER JOHN DAVIS (b.1954, below) was the ‘real’ voice of Milli Vanilli. From Anderson, South Carolina, Davis inadvertently became a star in 1989 when the French/ German dance duo won the Grammy for Best New Artist for their single Girl You Know It’s True. When frontmen Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus admitted that they’d been lip-syncing to other singers’ voices, including Davis, they were stripped of their award. In ’91, Davis sang on The Real Milli Vanilli’s The Moment Of Truth with other singers who’d sung the duo’s hits, and later formed a duo with Morvan. NEW ORLEANS SAXOPHONIST ANDREW BERNARD (b.1943) joined Louisiana swampers John Fred And His Playboy Band in 1965.

With bandleader John Fred Gourrier, Bernard co-wrote the simple but catchy January ‘68 US Number 1 and global bubblegum smash Judy In Disguise (With Glasses). He left after 1968’s Permanently Stated LP, worked in the oil industry and reunited with Gourrier for the singer’s last LP Somebody’s Knockin’ in 2002.

PRODUCER and songwriter MARCEL STELLMAN (b.1925) survived the Nazi invasion of Belgium. When peace came he worked in BBC children’s programmes including Pinky and Perky. Later, while also serving as European manager at Decca, he produced recordings for Edmundo Ros, The Goons, and Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman, whose 1964 song Kinky Boots was a hit in 1990. As a writer and translator of continental material, Stellman’s credits included songs for Charles Aznavour, Engelbert Humperdinck and Max Bygraves, whose Tulips From Amsterdam was a monster success in 1958. Stellman also imported Channel 4’s quiz show Countdown from French TV, and co-produced three 1978 UK hits for Belgian cartoon phenomenon The Smurfs.