The New Vaudeville Band
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The New Vaudeville Band was a group created by songwriter Geoff Stephens (born 1 October 1934 in New Southgate, North London) in 1966 to record his novelty composition "Winchester Cathedral", a song inspired by the dance bands of the 1920s. To his surprise, the song became a massive transatlantic hit that fall, reaching the Top 10 in the UK and rising to #1 in the US.
When Stephens received several requests for The New Vaudeville Band to tour he had to put together a group, since the song was recorded by studio musicians hired only for the recording session. He contacted a real group, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, which played similar music at the time. Only Bob Kerr from that group was interested, so he left The Bonzos to help Stephens form a touring version of The New Vaudeville Band which included original session drummer Henri Harrison. The lead singer of the touring version of the group was Alan Klein, who was billed as 'Tristram—Seventh Earl Of Cricklewood'. The group enjoyed success for two years until the novelty wore off.
In 1967, The New Vaudeville Band released the Finchley Central LP, with the single "Peek-A-Boo," which made the Billboard top 40 charts that February .
The New Vaudeville Band was managed by Peter Grant. Kerr left the group following disputes with Grant. He then formed his own group, Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band, which continues to perform with Henri Harrison.
