Johnny Devlin

Johnny Devlin was one of the first New Zealand performers to introduce the idea of rock music by New Zealand performers and composers into New Zealand. Previous to his rise to stardom, the most popular songs in the country were all from overseas. Although there had always been New Zealand groups and performers of popular music, a New Zealand pop song had never reached number one on the charts before Johnny Devlin. By the time he had left New Zealand one year later, numerous New Zealand rock bands and performers had followed his example, and the New Zealand music industry was prospering as never before.

LIFE

Johnny Devlin was born in 1938, in the small mid-North Island town of Raetihi. His entire family were musical, from his railway worker father to his three elder brothers, and they could often be found in local talent quests, frequently being placed. Devlin’s first solo performance was at one of these events, yodelling at the Wanganui Opera house when he was thirteen years old. After he left school, Devlin started work at a local bank. By this time his parents had stopped performing in public, so he and his brothers formed their own group which they called the “River City Ramblers”. They were a country and western band who later changed their style to skiffle when it became popular in New Zealand. They were well-known throughout the area and played at various local competitions, youth groups and charity concerts. After a while, however, the other members of the band lost interest and left. Johnny had no choice but to become a skilled soloist, playing his guitar and singing popular tunes of the time. Even though he was performing as frequently and with as much energy as before, without any moral support from friends or family members, Devlin soon became disenchanted. One night, shortly after his brothers had abandoned him, Johnny heard his first Elvis song. His interest in music was suddenly renewed, and Johnny realised his true purpose in life: to become Elvis. Johnny was a big fan of Elvis Presley. He reasoned that since Elvis was not in New Zealand, he may as well become New Zealand’s Elvis. He performed nothing but Elvis songs, and, thanks to the numerous rock music-related movies Johnny queued to see every Sunday, he even began to speak and look like his hero. “Crazy, man, crazy,” he would inform his confused but interested co-workers at the bank, when asked about his now frequent performances. This, and his heavily greased Elvis hair style became a constant source of annoyance for his boss as the bank, and if it had not been for Johnny’s politeness and popularity with almost everyone he met, he would have probably been fired soon after hearing that first Elvis song. As it was, he quit his job at the bank after winning his first talent quest, and, inspired by this success, during a quick inter-job holiday in Auckland, Johnny, on a whim, dyed his hair black and went for a walk in the city. Heads turned. One specific head that turned was that of Dennis Tristram, a famous dancer, who suggested Johnny go to the Jive Centre on Friday night and jive. After much deliberation, Johnny did this. He was met by tens of screaming girls, apparently convinced Elvis had dropped in for the night. After the performance, Johnny was offered a permanent job at the Jive Centre, and he soon became an Auckland-wide phenomenon with hundreds of disappointed fans being turned away from every show. Despite this, he had trouble getting a recording done, and his first hit single, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” - one of Presley’s less popular songs - was of poor recording quality and originally funded out of Johnny’s own pocket. Despite this , it sold over 2000 copies in Auckland alone during its first month of release. Devlin toured the North Island. Sales of “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” passed into the 10 000’s, making Johnny one of New Zealand’s most successful recording artists ever. Inspired by this success, he recorded another twelve songs, all Presley numbers and all popular with the record-buying public. It was after this that his recording company, HMV Records, realised that it was possible to overdo Elvis songs, and also that copyrighting rules were getting stricter. Philip Warren, the man who was now Johnny’s agent, gave Johnny some more then-unpopular American songs to learn. New Zealand loved these, and Johnny’s second and third singles surfaced - “I’ve Got a Rocket in my Pocket” and “You’re Gone Baby”. A two-week ‘national’ tour was organised, and, with the help of sponsor, Coca-Cola, Devlin played around the North Island with backing band “The Devils”. Johnny Devlin and the Devils were considered by many to be “New Zealand’s first truly great rock’n’roll band.” “The Johnny Devlin Show” was immensely popular with audiences, and, after a one day, sixteen-track recording session back in Auckland, was extended to include the South Island. After a slow start, the show and the performer were just as popular, with crowds breaking down doors, converging at train stations and mobbing and removing items of clothing from their hero between performances. It was at about this stage that Johnny realised he didn’t really want to be a rock star anymore. He was concerned as to what his parents might be thinking, and tired of the constant screaming, mobbing, tailor’s bills etc. that seemed to happen around him all the time, whether he was performing on stage or simply walking down the street. And it was not only Johnny who was getting sick of touring - theatre managers everywhere were outraged at the damage being done to their theatres by overly enthusiastic crowds, the older generation were shocked at the younger generations antics.

Stardom

As well as playing some of New Zealand’s first rock music, Devlin had the questionable honour of being New Zealand’s very first rock star. After concerts, crowds of up to 1000 fans could usually be found waiting for their hero to come out of stage door of the theatre. One night, his fans were so enthusiastic that both sleeves were ripped from his shirt as he struggled through the crowd. The next day this was in the headlines. Johnny’s manager, Graham Dent, realised that this could promote Johnny in his tour, and cunningly loosened the seams in all of Johnny’s shirts after this event. The result was the loss of at least a dozen shirts to crazed fans. It was only after a stage door was broken down in Gore and Johnny’s shoes, socks and trousers were taken that Dent decided to stop altering his clothing. This did not, however, stop fans from trying to remove it. After the tour ended, Johnny re-recorded “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” and watched as sales quickly rose to 100 000, making it the best-selling single ever released in New Zealand. Several more albums and singles were released, including some of Johnny’s own compositions, which although initially rather poor soon became of much better quality and the only songs Devlin recorded. Returning home for his 21st birthday, Devlin and his group were offered an Australian tour with another group, the Everly Brothers, and New Zealand’s first superstar slipped inconspicuously out of his country, never to reach such heights they had in New Zealand.

© R.B. 2002


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