Michael John

Prolific session singer on television, radio and the stage — and the voice of the puppet piglet Perky

MICHAEL JOHN was one of Britain’s most prolific session singers and musicians whose career encompassed theatre, radio, television and records. During the late 1950s and early 1960s he backed such stars as Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson and Gracie Fields and on records he had worked with numerous classical conductors, including Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Thomas Beecham and Stravinsky.
Astute and versatile as a musician and arranger, he formed his own group, the Michael John Singers, who were a popular fixture of many light-entertainment televison shows, but perhaps his most bizarre engagement as a singer was to provide the pop vocals for the puppet piglet Perky, in the hit 1960s children’s series Pinky and Perky.

John Michael Briggs was born in Scarborough and educated at Roundhay Grammar School, Leeds. He studied English at Leeds University but at the same time became heavily involved in singing and performing in local amateur shows.

He became a captain in the Education Corps during his National Service, after which he moved to London where he decided on a career in showbusiness. At the age of 24 he got a job in the chorus of the London production of Ivor Novello’s romantic musical King’s Rhapsody, where he met his future wife, Sheila Sands, a dancer in the show. A variety of theatre jobs followed including compering a nude revue, acting with Dulcie Gray and joining the chorus of the touring production of Irving Berlin’s Call Me Madam.

While on tour he formed a musical act with a fellow singer, and they billed themselves as Kevin and Michael John, the Rhythm Brothers. Spotted by the bandleader Henry Hall, they appeared as weekly guests on his radio show Henry Hall’s Guest Night.

Eventually Michael John branched out on his own, and with his strong bass voice he was soon in demand to work with other sesssion singing groups. In 1958 he sang with the George Mitchell Singers on the BBC’s Black and White Minstrel Show, the hugely popular sing-a-long series that specialised in schmaltzy medleys from America’s deep South.

He also sang with the Mike Sammes Singers, as well as Cliff Adams, backing such stars as Shirley Bassey, Katherine Grayson and Glen Mitchell on record, as well as Judy Garland in concert at the London Palladium. In 1959 he began a long association with the Billy Cotton Band Show, founded the Michael John Singers, and sang on classical recordings such as a Messiah conducted by Sir Adrian Boult.

“It was a golden era for session singers,” he recalled. “It could never be repeated now. We might do as many as four sessions a day — each for a different conductor who liked his own particular style of singing. Each session brought in masses of completely unrehearsed material which we would have to sight read and interpret accurately at first go. We would have to sing everything from grand opera to the pops of the day, adapting our vibratos to each occasion.”

Created by the Czech immigrants Jan and Vlasta Dalibor, Pinky and Perky were Britain’s favourite string puppets in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The twin pigs were identical, except that Pinky wore red and Perky wore blue, and Perky usually donned a beret in front of the cameras. Their repertoire consisted of jokes and song at high-pitch (using fast-forwarded tape), including versions of contemporary pop hits. John and a fellow session singer, Charles Young, were asked to record the voices for a string of hit singles, much to their amusement.

“We often dissolved into giggles in the recording studios,” John said. “It seemed so absurd for two grown men to be taking part in such an expensive operation and yet taking it all so seriously.”

By 1965 the Michael John Singers were making more broadcasts on radio and television than any of their rivals, so much so that Mike Sammes complained to the BBC about the near monopoly. The John Singers had their own nightly BBC radio series, Late Night Music, as well as guest spots on TV shows with Rolf Harris, Vera Lynn and Ted Heath and his Orchestra. As musical tastes changed, the singers moved into films and sang on the soundtracks of Oliver!, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Charade, Seven Days to Peking and The Boyfriend.

In the mid-1970s they disbanded and John formed Music Masters, a company that specialised in recordings of military bands. He continued with occasional session work up until the time of his death, recording several albums of children’s material.

His wife died in 1996. He is survived by his son and daughter.
Michael John, singer and musician, was born on November 16, 1927. He died on November 7, 2003, aged 75.

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