The legendary Jailhouse John of the Wild Wax Show shares his story of ‘Jungle Rock’, ‘Rent A Ted’ and beyond…

I think I must have had an interest in music from an early age that was no doubt nurtured by mother as it was thanks to her that I first saw the Beatles when I was eight years old. That was at the Finsbury Park Odeon in January 1964. We saw then again, the following year at the Hammersmith Odeon. As I grew older my interests started to focus more on rock and roll. Somebody leant me some Bill Haley 78s, one friend got me into Elvis and another, Pete, had the then reissued, Johnny Burnette Trio LPs. In 1972 I went to the Wembley Rock And Roll concert that included, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Bill Haley. Also in the ealy 70s I was getting more interested in PA systems and electronics in general and I was helping out an Anglo Asian pub band, Black Satin, as an unpaid roadie. Also, in 1972 I passed my driving test and got my first car, a 1963 light blue Ford Poplar.

It must have been in September or October of 1972 that I saw an advert for a rock and roll night at one of my local pubs, The Greenford Hotel. The band was Shakin’ Stevens and The Sunsets who I been told were worth seeing by Pete (the guy who had the Burnette LPs). I think it was 50p to get in and it was definitely worth it! In addition to the band there were two DJs playing great records. These guys were Roy and Stuart who went under the name, The Wild Wax Show.

I still have a very clear recollection of my first conversation with Roy. I had recently been listening to the “Bellyful Of Blue Thunder” LP by Merrill E Moore which I really liked. I asked Roy if he could play “House Of Blue Lights” from that album. His replay was basically, sorry, but the LP has really low volume and he was trying keep up with band’s PA system. Of course, Roy was right although I didn’t realise at the time. Despite that it was a great Sunday night and although I didn’t recognise some of the more obscure tracks I knew I like them and before the night was over I knew I would be back the following week for more. Over the following weeks I attended every gig and got more friendly with Roy and Stuart. I eventually ended up helping them with the equipment which, if nothing else, meant I didn’t have to pay the 50p to get in!

I addition to the gigs at the Greenford Hotel I also went to the Fishmonger’s Arms in Wood Green on Tuesday nights where the Wild Wax Show performed and again, I would help with the gear and get in free. I was learning about DJ equipment, techniques and the music and loving it all. The rock and roll scene in London was really taking off with lots of pubs with either just DJs or DJs and bands. In addition to the Wild Wax Show, there was Tongue Tied Danny, Fifties Flash, Little Brian and others. Both Roy and Stuart had great collections and thanks to shops like Moondogs, Rock On and the Bop Shop there was a good supply of rocking sounds. One night I was with Roy and his wife Linda in their flat in Ealing when Roy had a phone call offering him a gig in a pub. However, it was for a night that he and Stuart were already booked. I took a chance and said that if I could borrow some records and equipment, I could do it. Roy agreed so on the night in question I loaded the spare set of decks, two small red speakers, a fifty-watt valve amplifier and Roy’s records into the back of my trusty Ford Poplar and headed off to the Pembury Tavern in Hackney for my debut gig. It was nerve wracking for me, but it went down well and I went to do more gigs there. A key point to keep in mind is that Roy didn’t drive so he always needed somebody to take care of the transport side of things. Now that I was part of the team we could cover more gigs with either me on my own or with Roy and Stuart, who had his own van, covering two gigs on some nights.

One thing that set us in the Wild Wax Show apart from the other DJs at the time was that we were keen to promote ourselves and the new bands on the scene. For example, we would play “Looking Out My Back Door” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Hearts Of Stone” by John Fogerty and various tracks by Commander Cody and Hi Lost Planet Airmen alongside classic rockabilly from the 50s etc.

Our “big break” for want of a better phrase came in 1974/5 when we got the Lyceum gig. The Lyceum Ballroom in the Strand was the jewel in the crown of the Mecca chain. Although Mecca didn’t like rock and roll in their venues, they were prepared to turn a blind eye so along as there was no trouble and it made money. The gig was once a month on a Thursday; there would be three live bands and us as the DJs. It was a fantastic success! Capacity crowds of about 2,000 were common and those gigs are still remembered fondly by those lucky enough to enjoy them.

Alongside the growth of popularity of rockabilly in the so called “70s Rockabilly Revival” we were keen to publicise ourselves to get more gigs. We engaged the services of the legendary rock and roll character, Max ‘Waxie Maxie’ Needham. Max was a journalist with a love of the music. Indeed it was him who was behind the “Bellyful of Blue Thunder” LP. He had also managed a band, the Rock And Roll All Stars. Like him or loathe him, Max had great imagination and a knack for getting stories about the Wild Wax Show into the news. Letters from Jailhouse John, Rockin’ Roy or Runaround Stu would appear in various publications spreading the word about us and rockabilly in general. Some, possibly most of the stories, had little truth in them. I can confess that we never did do the tour of Japan or buy a small plane to get us to gigs in the UK. In the mid-70s punk was gaining popularity and Max heard that somebody had started a “rent a punk” service where a punk or two would appear at your party to add a bit of colour”. His response was to announce “Rent A Ted” a story that really took off. On one day we were in the Sun, The Daily Mail on local radio in London and on Thames TV evening news. On the TV News I had to serve Andrew Gardner a glass of malt whisky while he read the story sitting in a leather wing back chair. I spotted it was a genuine malt whisky so before pouring a dram into the glass I took a swig from the bottle so that I could assure Andrew it was the good stuff. It was live TV so there was nothing to stop my little improvisation being aired. Rent A Ted was a short-lived success story, but great fun nonetheless.

I was not shy in coming forward when it came to contacting record companies both to get free CAPS1001samples and offer advice on what reissues could work for them. The ground breaking Sun Rockabillys (sic) LP that was released in 1973 quickly made other companies such as RCA, Capitol and MCA (who had the rights to the US Decca catalogue) look at their back catalogues. It wasn’t just reissue LPs but also quite a few singles and EPs which were often down to what I was telling the companies what was going down well at our gigs. I was responsible for a reissue of the legendary ten inch Johnny Burnette’s rock and Roll Trio’s LP (MCA CDLM8054). Sadly not in ten-inch format but the artwork was taken from my copy of the original but with my sleeve notes on the back. I also did two compilations for Capitol “Gene Vincent – Greatest” (CAPS1001) which sold so well they asked me to do a follow up “Gene Vincent – Greatest Vol II” (CAPS 1028). My biggest success was with Charly Records. It was a label formed in France in 1975 with a London based office headed by Joop Visser. Charly had taken over the rights to the Sun label from Phonogram and were issuing Sun compilation LPs at a steady rate. Joop and I got on really well together and one night in a pub in London’s West End he asked me if I could suggest a record to be reissued as a 45. The Sun LPs were doing OK but what he really wanted was a successful single. At this time, 1975, there was only one candidate although it was on the King label, not Sun. I didn’t tell Joop the title I just said he should attend our upcoming gig at Lyceum and watch the reaction when I played the song in question. Within weeks of Joop witnessing the effect of the song on the crowd he had managed get the rights to it and “Jungle Rock” by Hank Mizell was released. It reached number three in the UK Charts and number one in the Netherlands. The Wild Wax Show was presented with an official Silver Disc as a thank you from the record company.

In addition to the Lyceum other notable gigs for Wild Wax were the Fishmongers Arms, Wood Green, the Telegraph, Brixton, the Bobby Sox, Willesden and The George in Hammersmith plus numerous other venues in and around London.

For a few reasons I decided to stop doing live gigs at the start of the 80s, but I never lost interest in the music. In 2023 I was told about a club in Soho, the 2Rs, that could be interested me being a guest DJ. Luckily, I had kept my music collection, albeit digitally on my laptop so I knew I could come out of “retirement” after over forty years. I met with Phil who runs the 2Rs and he remembered me from the Lyceum days and wanted me to play much the same music as I did back then. I am now a regular DJ at the 2Rs which happens on the first Saturday of the month in the basement of the Freedom Bar in Soho’s Wardour Street. I will also be one of the 2Rs DJs that will appearing at Viva Las Vegas in 2026. Before then I will be at the Teddy Boy Tempest at Drayton Manor in Tamworth from November 14^th to 16^th.

Jailhouse John Alexander

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