Our book
Hit and Miss: The Story of The John Barry Seven
is now available!
Now reduced to £14.99 everywhere in the world,
and post-free in the UK for Black Friday!
Postage in Europe – £12
Postage for Rest of the World – £29
(or £12 economy, though note this can take several weeks).
£19.99
post-free for UK customers
Not only that, we will include a free copy of the CD, John Barry: The Early Years, which normally retails at £10.
Both items sent post-free for UK customers, see below for those living elsewhere in the world.
You can order now!
Or send an email for other payment options if you are unable to use Paypal.
Those customers who wish to pay by bank transfer, please email the appropriate details.
Let us know if you aren’t able to do this and we’ll work out another way. Alternatively, UK residents can order from us via ebay, where credit cards are accepted.
The book’s cover price is £30, so anybody ordering direct from us will receive a 33% discount, reducing the cost to £19.99. The free CD means
you’ll receive goods to the value of £40 at half-price!
For postage and packing for those outside the UK, please add:
Europe – £11.00
Rest of the World – £27 (or £12 economy, though note this can take
several weeks).
We’ll also need your mailing address, of course!
Further discount available if you want two or more copies – please ask for details.
Alternatively, Contact us (email) and we will be in touch!
What our readers have said about the book so far:
At first wasn’t so sure I’d find the book of any interest for me. And soon discovered – couldn’t get it outa my hands.
Bob Downes (former member John Barry Seven)
The book is great, lots of photos and a mountain of information, some of which I had forgotten. Once started I couldn’t put the book down. Many memories flooding back.
Jim Stead (former member John Barry Seven)
Exemplary! That’s the only word for this magnificent book which tells you everything — and more — that you might have ever wanted to know about The John Barry Seven. A fabulous book, brilliantly researched and exceedingly well written — it is, for sure, the definitive last word on The John Barry Seven.
Pipeline Magazine, Winter 2018 (The Rock Instrumental magazine)
My immediate reaction was WOW! A 350-page chronicle, 95% of the tale never before told, about a million rare and incredible photographs… I can’t wait to dive in! Congratulations Geoff Leonard, Peter T Walker, Ruud Rozemeijer. An important new book.
Jon B.
Once again Geoff, Pete and Ruud have surpassed themselves with the creation of this comprehensive life story of the group.It’s amazing value.
Keith Calnan
Thanks Geoff and Peter! Superb work.
Andrew
A great piece of work, beautifully presented.
Ian P.
It’s fabulous – much, MUCH, better than I expected and is a must buy for anyone that was a fan of the JB7 music of the late 50’s early 60’s! It’s a work of art and the quality of the book (paper, binding, print etc) is fantastic. As you might have guessed, I love it!! Thank you Geoff and Pete for all your hard work in its production!
Mike Tingle
Gorgeous book! Thanks Geoff and Pete for putting it together!
Alain
Fabulous book! A work of art
Jeff Bannister
It’s proving to be a fascinating and informative read – am taking my time reading it as I want it to last!
Alistair Kerr
Brilliant read, so much to digest
Iain
The attention to detail is superb with great personal anecdotes, which really brings the era of the ‘end of austerity’ to life. More than just the story of the JB7, this is a history of the British music scene in the late 50s and early 60s. Learning so much. Great writing!
Jon Malone
Hit and Miss: The Story of The John Barry Seven
Thoroughly and painstakingly researched over a number of years, it features contributions from several ex-members of the band and from friends and relatives of John Barry.
Comprising of over 360 pages, it is packed with an array of rare photos of the band, and the singers they often supported, as well as some unique images of memorabilia and documentation from that era; some never previously published, many more seldom seen.
Even if you are not necessarily a devotee of The John Barry Seven per se, the book offers a fascinating historical insight into the British music scene of the period and, more importantly, provides an essential read for anybody remotely interested in discovering more about John Barry’s formative career.
The book’s cover price is £30, but anybody ordering direct from us will receive a 33% discount, reducing the cost to £19.99. We appreciate the postage to destinations outside the UK is somewhat expensive, but unfortunately there is nothing we can do about this. Due to its size and the number of pages, the book is very heavy — 1.4 kilograms — and shipping overseas is expensive. However, we think buyers will appreciate the quality of the book is well worth it!
Alternatively, you can order from us via ebay where credit and debit cards are accepted.
More than 360 pages
2017 saw the 60th anniversary of the formation and launch of The John Barry Seven, one of the UK’s most famous bands.
To celebrate this, albeit slightly later than intended, we have published an in-depth book on its lengthy and remarkable history!
The book, which consists of more than 360 pages, examines the history of the band in minute detail, and includes personal stories of joining and leaving from every musician-member during its eight-year existence.
Tales are told of the often perilous life on the road in the fifties and sixties, working with teenage idols such as Tommy Steele, Jackie Dennis, Marty Wilde and particularly Adam Faith; recording for EMI’s Parlophone and Columbia labels at Abbey Road.
Radio, TV, Film & careers
View details of scores of radio shows such as Saturday Club & Easy Beat, and many TV appearances, including Six-Five Special, Oh Boy!, Sunday Night at the London Palladium, The Royal Variety Show, Thank Your Lucky Stars, and the lengthy BBC TV series, Drumbeat, which was the band’s biggest break and played a huge part in the futures of Adam Faith and Johnny Worth, largely via John Barry, Les Reed and the JB7.
The authors take a look at the JB7’s appearances in the films Six-Five Special, A Matter of WHO, The Cool Mikado and the TV film, Girl on a Roof, aided by comments from those members who took part.
We explain how the success of the band led directly to the international careers of John Barry & Les Reed, as well as a life and career spent playing music enjoyed by several other ex-members.
Photos, posters & more
There is a plethora of photos to illustrate the various line-ups of the band, on-stage concert and tour action, concert programmes, posters, LPs, EPs, singles, and a selection of historic adverts originally placed in the music papers of the day. We have also included several historic documents, including letters written by John Barry himself
We examine the band’s gradual decline after the split from Adam Faith, combined with John Barry‘s entry into composing for films full-time; and the revival under Bobby Graham and Alan Bown.
Finally, there’s be a look at what happened to the various members of The John Barry Seven after they left, and took different musical directions.
Geoff Leonard
Geoff Leonard was born in Bristol. He spent much of his working career in banking but became an independent record producer in the early nineties, specialising in the works of John Barry and British TV theme compilations.
He also wrote liner notes for many soundtrack albums, including those by John Barry, Roy Budd, Ron Grainer, Maurice Jarre and Johnny Harris, plus a particularly excellent one for an Adam Faith double CD, which was praised by The Daily Mail! This book will be the third he has co-written with Pete Walker; their previous efforts being two biographies of John Barry.
He joined the Internet Movie Data-base (www.imdb.com) as a data-manager in 2001 and looked after biographies, composers and the music-department, amongst other tasks. Geoff retired after nine years loyal service in order to continue writing. Geoff has been running the John Barry website since June 18, 2001, and also websites dedicated to Adam Faith, Ron Grainer, Robert Farnon & Matt Monro.
Geoff has never learned to drive but is keen on photography and watching sport, especially Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, where he is a life member. He is fond of wildlife and is a member of the Slimbridge Wetland Centre and Bristol Zoo.
Pete Walker
After having worked over thirty years at Stourbridge Jobcentre for the Department of Work and Pensions as an Employment Adviser, Birmingham born Pete Walker retired during the autumn of 2015 to concentrate his energies on more aesthetic pursuits such as his writing.
From as far back as 1990, he began to balance his day job by writing and co-writing CD and DVD booklet notes for an array of releases issued by the likes of EMI, Sony, Polydor, Castle, Rykodisc, Quartet, Castle, Network and Silva Screen, penning pieces on John Barry, Don Black, Roy Budd, Adam Faith, Vic Flick, Ron Grainer, Maurice Jarre and The Tremeloes amongst others.
Various music-related magazine articles and concert programme notes ensued as a result. His love of John Barry’s music can be traced back to when he was taken as a youngster to see Born Free whilst on holiday during 1966.
In addition to being an ever-suffering West Bromwich Albion supporter since the age of eight, he is also a self-taught guitarist, who has written and recorded well over two hundred songs.
