Obit: Ted Wood (1939-2003)- New Temperance 7

Subject: RE: Obit: Ted Wood
From: GUEST,Kim
Date: 03 Jan 21 - 04:54 PM

Ted was a darling bloke. Knew him when he ran the George and Devonshire in Chiswick and the Red Lion in Barnes.

Subject: RE: Obit: Ted Wood
From: fat B****rd
Date: 08 Nov 03 - 12:37 PM

I read this in the Guardian this morning. I met Art Wood several times a long tome ago. If Ted was half as friendly he must have been a good bloke. RIP Mr. Wood.

Subject: Obit: Ted Wood
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 08 Nov 03 - 10:03 AM

From the London Times:
Ted Wood, musician, was born on June 24, 1939. He died of liver cancer on September 29, 2003, aged 64.




Ted Wood was, from the late 1960s until mid-1985, the star vocalist of the New Temperance Seven — and, to date, by far the finest singer to grace the 1920s-style jazz lineup. The brother of Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones and of Art Wood of the Artwoods, he also recorded with the two of them for the album Money Due (1998).

Edward Paul Wood began in music in the 1950s on washboard with his own Original London Skiffle Group, before following his brother Art into the Ealing School of Art, where he studied graphic design. David Bowie and Pete Townsend were his contemporaries at the school; Wood's elder brother, Ronnie, was meanwhile playing with the Rolling Stones. During the 1960s, Ted Wood concentrated on graphic design, but in 1969 he joined the New Temperance Seven.

The band had been formed in 1959, and in 1961 it had achieved a No 1 with You're Driving Me Crazy, as well as other top ten records such as Pasadena. Wood joined as the frontman, replacing such luminaries as Alan Moody Mitchell, QC (the "QC" stood for "Quaint Chap"), and the band's founder, Whispering Paul McDowell. Not one to copy, Ted Wood created his own role in the band, yet stylistically he remained true to the 1920s period ethos of the group.

During his time as lead vocalist, the Seven played a year's season in the West End and concerts, cabaret and nightclub dates all over England, as well as touring in Scandinavia and Hong Kong. There were television variety spectaculars too, the Joe Brown television series, and location and studio recordings for BBC Television alongside Petula Clark. In 1976, the band recorded their album 21 Years On aboard the inaugural flight of Concorde, between London and Bahrain.

Over the years Wood was also associated with a variety of London jazz bands, including most prominently Colin Kingwell's Jazz Bandits, Mr Swainston-Cooper's Mayfair Syncopators, The 7 Syncopators of Justies — which included several New Temperance alumni — and Bob Dwyer's Hot Six.

On leaving the New Temperance Seven in 1975, Wood moved to the Isle of Wight. He ran an antiques business in Shanklin before returning to London to open a pub. He did not neglect music, though, reappearing (on drums) through the 1990s with Bob Dwyer, and latterly as part of Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band, playing jazz clubs and cabaret.

Another washboard player goes to the great Skiffle Group in the sky. I remember seeing him many times with the Temperance Seven. In fact, my wife was so taken with his looks and white suit she persuaded me to buy one. It didn't look the same on me, somehow, and cost a fortune in cleaning bills! (Still got the jacket somewhere, can't imagine where I'd wear it these days!)

RtS