From this you would probably fairly deduce that Mr Webster has been a very busy man with a long recording history (and also that this blog has been going for long enough that we're going to bump into the same characters again occasionally). His professional career began to bloom in 1959 when he was the backing vocalist and rhythm guitarist in his sister Patti Brook's backing group The Diamonds. Having won the Soho Fair Vocal Group contest they were promptly given a management deal and signed to Pye, though none of the records were hits despite prestigious tour support slots with The Shadows and Emile Ford and The Checkmates.
By 1962 he had moved on to become the bass player and vocalist in Jet Black's group The Jetblacks, then after Black moved to the USA and that gig ended, he moved on to Wes Minster Five for a number of London gigs and one very obscure, regional release on the Carnival label.
Arguably one of his most sought-after singles is "Meanie Genie", released under the name Tony Brook and released on Columbia in 1964. An early example of the kind of disc eBayers may now describe as a "pounding mod stormer", copies have become unbelievably hard to obtain.
Webster's career then turned into a dizzying array of light entertainment, jumping all over the place from comedic cabaret performances to stints in the Rockin' Berries then finally, perhaps almost inevitably, to an attempt at a straightforward pop career in the seventies. As just about every accomplished performer from the sixties from David Bowie to Bernard Jewry (Alvin Stardust) and Kiki Dee began to find the tide turning in their favour in the following decade, accomplished performers with age and experience on their side became in demand in ways they perhaps haven't always been since.
He had the songwriting ability, the stage confidence and the charisma to pull off this move, and "Keep Violence Down" is an interesting example of a possible hit which failed to make the commercial grade. The track oozes a disquieting glam thug menace, with its thumping exhortations for us to understand the plight of the frustrated working man, as well as being overloaded with frenzied strings, pleading female backing vocals and some of the most perfectly arranged aggression I've ever heard. In a world of unusual glam rock hits, it could have stood a chance, but clearly it failed to find the necessary audience.
His follow-up singles "Engine Of Love", "I Want To See You Dancing" and "Angela" also flopped - despite some promising airplay and attention given to "Dancing", which was rather more successful elsewhere in Europe - and by 1976 his solo career had reached its natural end, although his experience meant that he has continued to be in demand for live performance and session work right up to the present day.
He has an excellent, enormously detailed website here which drills deep down into his showbiz experience and proves that a lack of hit singles doesn't necessarily equate to a lack of personal or financial success.
If the previews below aren't working properly, please go right to the source.
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