Island Life Magazine Ltd April/May 2013 | Page 113

ENTERTAINMENT

(extended play) on Barclay records.
The ‘A’ track was ‘Woolly Bully’
coupled with two James Brown songs
– ‘And I do Just What I Want’ and
‘Tell Me What You’re Gonna Do’, as
well as ‘Lipstick Traces’. Kerry smiled:
“It might have got to No1 but we
never saw any more from it! There
are still some of the records around,
and apparently they are fetching good
money.”
When The Playboys returned to
England they performed all over the
country and often played on the same
bill as many massive hit-makers of the
time, including Manfred Mann, The
Yardbirds and Ike and Tina Turner.
During one gig in Swindon we were
the headline act, supported by The
Troggs, and also crossed paths with
The Kinks a lot, as well as the Small
Faces.”
One of Kerry’s most memorable
moments came during a tour to
Sweden. He recalls: “We were in
Sweden the night the whole country
changed from driving on the left to
the right. We were in Gothenburg and
Jimi Hendrix was there as well. We
were asked to set up in a private club,
and in walked Hendrix. He just got up
on stage with us, took one of the lad’s
guitars and started playing – it was a
bit special.”
The ‘Playboys’ also stepped in to
back Madeline Bell when her backing
group broke down on the motorway
near Manchester. Kerry said: “We later
found out that the backing group who
broke down had just had their first
chart hit – none other than Status
Quo! And Madeline was a class act.”
There were several changes of
personnel in the ‘Playboys’, until
the group broke up in 1969. That
was when Kerry gave up music as a
full-time job. But he still maintained
a strong interest in the industry,
playing semi-professional in a small
band and even buying himself a piano

and teaching himself to play. He also
went back to college to finish his
electricians’ course.
He reflected: “They were five
fabulous years with the Ma