JERRY THE FERRET, launched in 1972, bridged the UK’s Pub Rock and the Roots ‘n’ Americana scenes.
The British punk rock movement was ignited by the pub rock scene of 1972-1975 and the gigging ‘pub rock’ band’s emphasis on smaller venues (most often in London pubs situated north of Regents Park), affordable independent recordings, and a resourceful ‘make-do-and-mend’ approach to their music-making.
Dr. Feelgood, the movement’s leaders, were known for their deliberately impure, cool, fierce, and post-glam stage presence. While some bands, such as Kilburn and the High Roads and Ducks Deluxe, played simple rhythm and blues, others, such as the Kursaal Flyers, played country rock with a folksy feel.
The ‘indie’ recording revolution began when these pub rock artists released their music via small labels such as Chiswick and Stiff Records.
Jerry the Ferret’s niche emerged as bands such as Brinsley Schwarz combined polished country rock with raw rhythm and blues and played these sounds to their pub audiences.
Jerry the Ferret became a popular band on the pub circuit, and was formed from the ashes of the cult 60s psych rockers Ipsissimus with an original line-up that included Steve Oliver (vocals, bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo), and Tony Sales (vocals, guitar) who were later joined by Terry Horgan (vocals, bass, guitar), Steve Jolly (guitar, mandolin, fiddle) and Graham Jackson (drums) but with Mick Harris and Ray Marquis (drums), Paul Morrison and Chris Holt (guitar), Sean Buckley (vocals, congas) entering the line-up at various junctures.
However, despite their success and frequent recording sessions, Jerry the Ferret only issued one single and an EP before splitting up. During that period, BBC Radio 1 gave generous airplay to their song, “One Step Forward.”
Oliver, Sales, and Horgan were Jerry the Ferret’s three primary singer-songwriters, contributing a variety of high-caliber songs and rotating lead vocals at their shows. Although having multiple lead singers broadened their appeal, some experts suggest that this ultimately brought-about the band’s downfall because there was no focal point for fans, industry, and the music media.
Now, the complete recorded works of Jerry the Ferret are available for the first time and encapsulated in “The Music Goes On and On” to be released by Conquest Music on CD and digitally on 18th April 2025.
RAW RAMP 