Jeremy Taylor (singer)
Encyclopedia
Jeremy Taylor is an English
folk
singer and songwriter who has spent much of his life in South Africa
, originally as a teacher of English in southern Johannesburg
, but since 1994 has lived in Wales
and in France
. Part stand-up comedian, part singer, Taylor has used his talents to confront the idiosyncrasies as well as societal woes in life. Much of Taylor's unique songwriting and the success he has enjoyed with many of his songs originate with his live performances. His various accents, facial expressions, manner
isms, and dramatic pauses at critical points in his songs, with a particular chosen word or two, often are arguably what makes his humorous songs so popular. Taylor has the distinction of having performed songs that not only question social problems
in society, but was a pioneer in the area of finding ways to do so while allowing the audience to laugh at themselves, especially in an era where, in the late 1950s and early 1960s McCarthyism
menaced free thinkers in the United States
, while at home in South Africa, both Taylor, and his songs, often political, were banned in South Africa by the South African Broadcasting Corporation
and the Government, during the apartheid era.
in the 1960s and achieved massive success with the comedic
song "Ballad of the Southern Suburbs [of Johannesburg]", known also as "Ag Pleez Deddy
" in 1961. The song was a surprise hit. In a performance in Chicago, he explained that while teaching South African children English, he was "enchanted" by their patois
, and their lust for many Western European luxuries, like Pepsi Cola, and Canada Dry
beverages, Eskimo Pie
, popcorn, chewing gum, and flicks like "Tarzan
", and other products. Taylor mimic
ked their accent in the song, which features a child begging his father to take him to different places and buy these treats. It was frowned upon by parents and the Government, because the song mixed English and Afrikaans
- a practice the Nationalist government disapproved of, feeling that all languages should be kept "pure"; just one reason that Taylor was soon required to leave the Country while under apartheid political rule. However, the children loved it, and so it became a massive hit song, selling more than any Elvis Presley single in South Africa. Also in the early sixties he contributed to the successful musical show "Wait a Minim", performing several of his own compositions.
musical revue Wait a Minim, which opened in 1964, he joined the British
folk music
circuit and regularly appeared on British television. He had his own BBC2 series of six folk-style shows entitled "Jeremy Taylor", supported by the house band Telephone Bill & The Smooth Operators, broadcast between 15 May and 19 June 1980 from the BBC's Shepherd's Bush Theatre. The shows' guests included Barbara Dickson, Alan Price, Spike Milligan, Kenny Baker, Pam Ayres, Peter Skellern and Isla St. Clair. After befriending popular folk-rock
singer-songwriter
, Cat Stevens
, and his close friend and guitarist
, Alun Davies
, Taylor assisted Stevens with the translation of one of his songs, "O Caritas" for an upcoming album, Catch Bull At Four
into Latin
. One of Taylor's albums was produced
by Davies. Davies also guested on a couple of the songs, but was uncomfortable with the idea of playing two roles on another person's album, saying to Melody Maker
, "You can’t put yourself in two places at once and get the best results."
", "Huberta, the hippopotamus
", "The Pot Song", "Mrs Harris" and "Prawns in the Game". His song "Piece of Ground" was recorded in the United States
by Miriam Makeba
, however, his albums never reached most of the American
music audience.
Taylor was a long-term collaborator and performer with Spike Milligan
and recorded a live album with him entitled Spike Milligan and Jeremy Taylor: An Adult Entertainment. This was recorded at Cambridge University on December 2, 1973, and originally released as a double LP entitled Spike Milligan with Jeremy Taylor Live at Cambridge University. It was later re-issued as a 2 CD set.
Jeremy Taylor continues to write songs and to perform, in recent times in the United Kingdom
, in France
and in the United States, with an album recorded in Chicago
, Live in Chicago. (2005)
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singer and songwriter who has spent much of his life in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, originally as a teacher of English in southern Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, but since 1994 has lived in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Part stand-up comedian, part singer, Taylor has used his talents to confront the idiosyncrasies as well as societal woes in life. Much of Taylor's unique songwriting and the success he has enjoyed with many of his songs originate with his live performances. His various accents, facial expressions, manner
Manner
Manner is a line of confectionery from the Austrian conglomerate, Josef Manner & Comp AG. The corporation, founded in 1890, produces a wide assortment of confectionery products...
isms, and dramatic pauses at critical points in his songs, with a particular chosen word or two, often are arguably what makes his humorous songs so popular. Taylor has the distinction of having performed songs that not only question social problems
Social problems
Social problems are problems and difficulties that people often face in society. These include:*crime*corruption*poverty*homelessness*hunger*disease*drug addiction*alcoholism*schizophrenia*depression*pollution...
in society, but was a pioneer in the area of finding ways to do so while allowing the audience to laugh at themselves, especially in an era where, in the late 1950s and early 1960s McCarthyism
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
menaced free thinkers in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, while at home in South Africa, both Taylor, and his songs, often political, were banned in South Africa by the South African Broadcasting Corporation
South African Broadcasting Corporation
The South African Broadcasting Corporation is the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa and provides 18 radio stations as well as 3 television broadcasts to the general public.-Early years:Radio broadcasting began in South Africa in 1923...
and the Government, during the apartheid era.
South Africa
Taylor began performing in clubs and coffee-bars such as the Cul de Sac in Hillbrow, JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
in the 1960s and achieved massive success with the comedic
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
song "Ballad of the Southern Suburbs [of Johannesburg]", known also as "Ag Pleez Deddy
Ag Pleez Deddy
Ag Pleez Deddy is a classic South African song from 1961 sung by Jeremy Taylor. The song was written by Taylor's best friend, Pip, who was killed in the Rhodesian Bush War. Sung with a strong accent, it is full of references to places, brands, and entertainment popular among working-class white...
" in 1961. The song was a surprise hit. In a performance in Chicago, he explained that while teaching South African children English, he was "enchanted" by their patois
Patois
Patois is any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. It can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, and other forms of native or local speech, but not commonly to jargon or slang, which are vocabulary-based forms of cant...
, and their lust for many Western European luxuries, like Pepsi Cola, and Canada Dry
Canada Dry
Canada Dry is a brand of soft drinks owned since 2008 by the Texas-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group. For over a century Canada Dry has been known for its ginger ale, though the company also manufactures a number of other soft drinks and mixers...
beverages, Eskimo Pie
Eskimo Pie
Eskimo Pie is a brand name for a chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar wrapped in foil, the first such dessert sold in the United States. It is now marketed by Nestlé, owners of Dreyer's of the Western United States, and Edy's of the Eastern United States...
, popcorn, chewing gum, and flicks like "Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
", and other products. Taylor mimic
Mimic
In evolutionary biology, mimicry is the similarity of one species to another which protects one or both. This similarity can be in appearance, behaviour, sound, scent and even location, with the mimics found in similar places to their models....
ked their accent in the song, which features a child begging his father to take him to different places and buy these treats. It was frowned upon by parents and the Government, because the song mixed English and Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
- a practice the Nationalist government disapproved of, feeling that all languages should be kept "pure"; just one reason that Taylor was soon required to leave the Country while under apartheid political rule. However, the children loved it, and so it became a massive hit song, selling more than any Elvis Presley single in South Africa. Also in the early sixties he contributed to the successful musical show "Wait a Minim", performing several of his own compositions.
Folk music
After returning to Britain to perform in the West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
musical revue Wait a Minim, which opened in 1964, he joined the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
circuit and regularly appeared on British television. He had his own BBC2 series of six folk-style shows entitled "Jeremy Taylor", supported by the house band Telephone Bill & The Smooth Operators, broadcast between 15 May and 19 June 1980 from the BBC's Shepherd's Bush Theatre. The shows' guests included Barbara Dickson, Alan Price, Spike Milligan, Kenny Baker, Pam Ayres, Peter Skellern and Isla St. Clair. After befriending popular folk-rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
, and his close friend and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, Alun Davies
Alun Davies (guitarist)
Alun Davies is a Welsh guitarist, studio musician, recording artist, and composer who rose to fame primarily with his supporting guitar work and backing vocals as accompanist for English musician Cat Stevens, from early 1970 to 1977...
, Taylor assisted Stevens with the translation of one of his songs, "O Caritas" for an upcoming album, Catch Bull At Four
Catch Bull at Four
Catch Bull at Four is an album by Cat Stevens. It was Stevens' most successful album in the United States, holding the top spot on Billboards chart for three consecutive weeks...
into Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. One of Taylor's albums was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Davies. Davies also guested on a couple of the songs, but was uncomfortable with the idea of playing two roles on another person's album, saying to Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
, "You can’t put yourself in two places at once and get the best results."
Popular work
Some of Taylor's popular songs are: "JobsworthJobsworth
A jobsworth is a person who uses their job description in a deliberately uncooperative way, or who seemingly delights in acting in an obstructive or unhelpful manner....
", "Huberta, the hippopotamus
Huberta, the hippopotamus
Huberta was a hippopotamus and one of the most famous animals in South African history.In November 1928 Huberta left her waterhole in the St. Lucia Estuary in Zululand and set off on the 1600 km journey to the Eastern Cape, a journey which would take her three years. In that time Huberta...
", "The Pot Song", "Mrs Harris" and "Prawns in the Game". His song "Piece of Ground" was recorded in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba , nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist....
, however, his albums never reached most of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
music audience.
Taylor was a long-term collaborator and performer with Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
and recorded a live album with him entitled Spike Milligan and Jeremy Taylor: An Adult Entertainment. This was recorded at Cambridge University on December 2, 1973, and originally released as a double LP entitled Spike Milligan with Jeremy Taylor Live at Cambridge University. It was later re-issued as a 2 CD set.
Jeremy Taylor continues to write songs and to perform, in recent times in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and in the United States, with an album recorded in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Live in Chicago. (2005)
Discography
- Ag Pleez DeddyAg Pleez DeddyAg Pleez Deddy is a classic South African song from 1961 sung by Jeremy Taylor. The song was written by Taylor's best friend, Pip, who was killed in the Rhodesian Bush War. Sung with a strong accent, it is full of references to places, brands, and entertainment popular among working-class white...
(1961) - The Very Best of Jeremy Taylor (1996); Reissue in (2004)
- Live in Chicago (2005)
- Spike Milligan and Jeremy Taylor: An Adult Entertainment]