M4U-(JOHNNY DEVLIN-I’m Gonna Love You)-TEEN slv-RnR-7

	A$		40
	$		26

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DESCRIPTION ITEM: VINYL SINGLE -45rpm 7”
ARTIST: JOHNNY DEVLIN
TRACKS: I’m Gonna Love You/Wicked, Wicked Woman
COUNTRY: OZ
VINYL: (Grade at EXCELLENT+)
LABEL: (Grade at strong VG+ to EXCELLENT-) spindle marks
COMPANY SLLEVE: “TEEN” sleeve (Grade at VG+)
COMMENT: sergent.com.au/johnnydevlin.html

Johnny Devlin was New Zealand's first major rock'n'roll star. He had a major effect on the domestic scene. He was the first musician that parents loved to hate. He was the first performer to be awarded with a gold record. Also the first to go on an extended national tour and the first successful artist to leave the local shores for Australia. Mad hysteria had taken New Zealand by storm in proportions they had never seen before. Johnny Devlin was New Zealand's original king of rock'n'roll.

John Lockett Devlin was born on May 11, 1938, the son of a railway ganger stationed in the small mid-North Island town of Raetihi. The family soon shifted to near-by Ohakune and then Marton before eventually settling in Wanganui, where John spent his formative years. He received a guitar for his eleventh birthday and it never left his side. His parents and three other brothers were all musically minded and when in his early teens, they formed a group called the Devlin Family. They performed country songs at Wanganui talent quests. The family used to listen to the Lever Hit Parade to get new songs to perform. One night they heard "Rock Around The Clock" and were blown away. But the song that really influenced Johnny the most, was Elvis's "Heartbreak Hotel".

The Devlin Family had been performing regularly until 1955, when the parents retired from the entertainment game. The four brothers, plus the odd friend or cousin, continued to perform as the River City Ramblers, playing country and western, skiffle, and later Bill Haley style rock'n'roll. Throughout 1956, enthusiasm began to ebb, and one by one the brothers dropped out, and more frequently weekends would see Johnny performing as a soloist. By the end of the year, the River City Ramblers were no more. It was then that he heard "Heartbreak Hotel" and his life was changed forever.

Devlin entered every amateur talent quest he could find and chasing up every Elvis Presley recording he could lay his hands on, for the next eighteen months he would perform nothing but Presley material. On weekends, Devlin would often go to Palmerston North and whenever he had the chance he would sing his Elvis songs in talent contests run at the youth club there by pioneering New Zealand rock'n'roller Johnny Cooper. The first to recognise a certain something in Devlin, Johnny Cooper took him under his wing, coached him in the art of stagecraft and persuaded him to practice his moves in front of a mirror. He said to Devlin, with a bit of work, you could become New Zealand's Elvis Presley.

So in February 1957, an 18 year old bank clerk from Wanganui, won his first talent quest as a rock'n'roll performer. Over the next four months, he gyrated, jumped, grimaced and growled at quests in the towns near by. He didn't win them all, but the younger members of the audience knew who the night's star was. One weekend in Palmerston North he met Dennis Tristram, a rock'n'roll dancer, who tried to persuade Devlin to move to Auckland. Devlin was happy to stay where he was, but did run into Tristram again, a month or so later, when he was in Auckland. Dennis persuaded Johnny to come down to the Jive Centre and sing with the resident band. The owner, Dave Dunningham, gave him an audition and agreed to let him do a set that night. Johnny Devlin's debut at the Jive Centre featured an all-Presley repertoire and although there was a general buzz in the audience before he commenced, no-one was prepared for what was to follow. By the time he completed his set, girls were screaming and everyone else was in awe and disbelief. Dave Dunningham was impressed and offered him a regular spot. Back in Wanganui he thought it over and a month later, March 1958, he returned to Auckland.

Dave Dunningham became his manager and within a month he had made Johnny Devlin the talk of the town With Auckland conquered, Dunningham realised that the quickest way to break Devlin nationally was with a record release, but all the record companies in the country gave the thumbs down. They were very nervous about this type of music.

Phil Warren, a part-time drummer, began working at Begg's Music Store in 1955, and later formed Prestige Records, primarily to distribute overseas releases from independent labels. Dunningham pressured Warren into recording Devlin, so they came to an agreement and selected a poor-selling Presley release, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" for the debut single. It was recorded at the Jive Centre one Sunday afternoon in May 1958, using the Dixielanders as the backing group, and given the primitive circumstances of the session and surroundings, the quality was awful, but "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" launched Johnny Devlin as New Zealand's first superstar when it was released in June 1958 on the Prestige label. Recorded at the same session was the flipside, "When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again". A romping sax break replaces the guitar on Elvis's version.

Although the single got very little airplay, the broadcast panel thought it was not of sufficient quality, it was snapped up by Auckland's teens in an unprecedented frenzy. Once sales had topped the 2000 mark, the radio stations could no longer ignore it, and within a few weeks the disc was at the top of the Lever Hit Parade. By now the Dixielanders were out of the picture and Johnny was working with the Bob Paris Combo as his back-up band.

Devlin was now in great demand and by August, his record sales had passed the 10,000 mark. Time to record more records. With this he entered Bruce Barton's Wellesley Street studio for his second recording session. Between August and October Devlin recorded a dozen tracks, to be released as Phil Warren saw fit. The Bob Paris Combo were used as backing on all of these tracks. Warren was receiving little-known records from American artists for distribution by his record company, but selected a few to give to Devlin to record.

His second single was a cover of both sides of a Jimmy Lloyd record, "I Got A Rocket In My Pocket"/"You're Gone Baby". An excellent recording, it unfortunately received little airplay and sold only moderately well, but within a fortnight Devlin's third single appeared. "Slipping Around"/"Straight Skirt" sold a lot better and without the Presley influence, it demonstrated that New Zealand could produce credible rock'n'roll. By November 1958, his three singles had sold 50,000 copies. Between November 1958 and May 1959, Prestige released eight further singles, plus three EP's and an album, amassing total sales in excess of 200,000.

VINYL GRADING SYSTEM

MINT:
RECORD: New condition with no surface marks or loss of sound quality.
LABEL: New condition with no surface marks or wear.
NEAR MINT:
RECORD: Barely noticeable surface mark with no loss of sound quality.
LABEL: Barely noticeable surface mark/ wear.
EXCELLENT:
RECORD: Some signs of being played with extremely little if no loss of sound quality.
LABEL: Slight wear.
VERY GOOD:
RECORD: Obviously been played with noticeable surface marks & the occasional light scratches but exhibits no major loss of sound quality.
LABEL: Noticeable wear. Slight writing/ stains.
GOOD:
RECORD: Very obviously been played with very noticeable surface marks & exhibits major loss of sound quality.
LABEL: Noticeable wear. Much writing/ stains.
FAIR:
RECORD: Still just playable & exhibits considerable surface noise.
LABEL: Major tears, wearing, writing & stains.
POOR:
RECORD: Will not play properly due to scratches etc.
LABEL: Very badly damaged.
+(PLUS)/-(MINUS):
Slightly up or down in condition as appears in the comments above.
NOTE:
Gradings are done visually unless there appears to be a questionable surface mark on the vinyl, it is then put on the turntable to check. A comment describing the outcome will appear if this is the case.

POSTAGE COSTS

WITHIN AUSTRALIA
(For 1 or 2) 7” EP/Singles = $3.95 AUD
(For 3 to 6) 7” EP/Singles = add $1.25 AUD to the cost above for each extra item

OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA
SHIPPING is by AIRMAIL.
Shipping to USA, UK, Europe takes about 7-14 days.

(For 1 or 2) 7” EP/Singles
Asia/Pacific= $6.45 AUD
Rest of World= $8.45 AUD

(For 3 to 6) 7” EP/Singles
Add $2.75AUD to the cost above for each extra item

PAYMENT METHOD

WITHIN AUSTRALIA
Preferred method is Direct Bank Deposit
Paypal,
Money Order,
Personal Cheque in $AUD (waiting period 5 days till cleared)

OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA
Preferred method is PayPal in $AUD.


INSURANCE

Insurance is optional but recommended and available at your request.
Items posted without insurance and LOST in the mail are at the buyers risk.

WITHIN AUSTRALIA
Registered post covers insurance up to $100.00 AUD.
If you require insurance above $100.00 AUD please email me and I will provide the latest Australia Post cost. This is because Australia Post change many of their fees every 6 months.

OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA
If you require insurance please email me and I will provide the latest Australia Post cost. This is because Australia Post change many of their fees every 6 months.
Insurance is not available to all countries. USA & Canada are countries that do not allow insured items from Oz in “letter” size.

M4U GUARANTEE

I strive to provide an accurate grading to ensure a quality product.
But sometimes an error is made.
If you consider this is the case, then please contact me for the refund of your purchase.


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This lets me know you have got it and all is OK.
I will then leave positive feedback for you.
If you consider that you are not satisfied, then please contact me for the refund of your purchase.
If there is a problem, it can be resolved.

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