Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs

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Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs was an English novelty band, which issued a few recordings under that name in the early 1970s.

Terry Dactyl, aka Jona Lewie, (born John Lewis, on 14 March 1947 in Southampton) was a UK vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. He started as a session pianist, joining the cult pub-rock band Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts in 1968. They were a popular live act for several years.

Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts were invited to play at London's famous Studio 51 Club by the late British blues singer, Jo Ann Kelly. They soon became the resident band there, and for four years ran a Sunday session as a drop-in spot for blues musicians. Amongst the famous visitors were: Howlin' Wolf, Fred McDowell, Dave Kelly, Medicine Head, Steve Miller Band, Lol Coxhill, Sam Mitchell, Mick Taylor, Larry Johnson, Tony McPhee, The Groundhogs and Long John Baldry.

But their only mainstream hit was with "Seaside Shuffle" (1972), released under the one-off, jokey, "nom de disque" of Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs. Borrowing heavily from Mungo Jerry's 1970 chart-topper "In The Summertime", "Seaside Shuffle" was an unashamedly commercial disc, quite at odds with the Thunderbolts' usual style. Jona Lewie composed the words and music to the song. The track was issued on the UK Records label, and reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in the August of that year. It earned them a coveted silver disc.

But, after the follow-up "On A Saturday Night" only just made the Top 50, Lewie himself quickly left the group. It consigned the outfit to perennial one-hit wonder status.