Kursaal Flyers

Named after a seaside amusement arcade at Southend in Essex (UK) and fronted by Paul Shuttleworth (who could out-spiv Arthur Daley on a charabanc trip), The Kursaal Flyers brought all the fun of the fair to Pub Rock. With a banjo-playing bass player and a pedal-steel guitarist, they wore their country rock hearts on their brightly coloured sleeves, but they hit the stage like comic book heroes.

Their songs (mostly written by drummer Will Birch and guitarist Graeme Douglas) tapped into a rich seam of postcard humour which set them apart from their contemporaries.

Signed to Jonathan King's UK label as successors to 10cc, they were soon a big draw nationally and the subject of a BBC fly-on-the-wall TV documentary (So You Wanna Be a Rock'n'Roll Star?). But nothing on either of their two UK albums matched the sparkle of their live performances.

It was only after moving to CBS to record The Golden Mile with Head-Womble Mike Batt that they got the production (and the hit) they deserved when Little Does She Know reached Number 14 in November 1976.

Douglas left soon after to join Eddie & The Hot Rods (for whom he wrote Do Anything You Wanna Do) and after several line-up changes the band folded late in 1977, leaving Birch to form Powerpop pioneers The Records, before undertaking a successful career as a record producer and rock writer.

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Paul Shuttleworth
Vocals
Graeme Douglas
Guitar
Ritchie Bull
Bass, banjo
Vic Collins
Pedal-steel guitar
Will Birch
Drums