Terry
Pascoe joined The Wurzels as keyboard player and
backing vocalist in the mids 1980s, leaving a few years later.
Terry
was born in Totnes, South Devon and educated at Redworth Secondary
Modern School in the 1960s. He left school with a modest 6
GCE '0' levels and embarked on a career in banking. After
three years, at the age 19, he quit to become a rock star
- 40 years later he is still trying!
Terry's first band was the semi-pro outfit The Grit
in the late 1960s. From there, he joined the progressive rock
band Adolphus Rebirth. After his band played
a support gig to pop band Mud at Tavistock
Town Hall in the late 1960s, he was offered a job as keyboard
player with the band. After waiting a couple of weeks with
no contact from them, he decided to sign a contract with local
pop band The Graded Grains (pictured right)
and tour Europe; one week into this job and he received a
telegram from home saying that Mud had called at his family's
house in Totnes to take him to London... Deciding to see out
his contract, he stayed with The Graded Grains for a few years
touring Germany, Italy and France and was even based in Paris
for 6 months. During this time he was also playing with a
heavy rock band called Blue Blood.
In
1974, art-rock band Curved Air were forced
to reform to pay an enormous unpaid VAT bill! Terry was given
an hour-long audition by the band (then consisting of Tony
Reeves, Daryl Way, Mickey Jacques, Sonja Chirstina and Stewart
Copeland - later of The Police) to replace Eddie Jobson as
keyboard/vocalist. Although he was offered the job, he had
to refuse the offer for personal reasons. Curved Air would
continue shedding and replacing band members, splitting and
reforming to this day - so it would never have been a steady
job anyway!
Terry
was however making a name for himself on the nightclub circuit
with various residencies on the English Riviera of Torbay,
before moving up to Exeter where he had a residency at the
Riverside Club. It was during this time that he worked with
Jai Howe, and met
John Morgan.
By
the mid-1970s, Terry's trio had a residency at the influential
Rainbow Variety Club in Swansea, and was playing gigs at nightclubs
and social clubs across South Wales, and moonlighted at Swansea
Sound radio station writing and performing jingles. During
this time, he was approached by the management of Bonnie
Tyler who had just had her first hit single Lost
In France. Terry was offered the job as keyboard player
but again, he declined the offer for personal reasons.
The late 1970s and early 1980s saw Terry with residencies
around the country including The Cadbury Court Country Club
in Congresbury near Bristol, and various seasons in Pontins
Jersey, and St. Peter Port, Guernsey.
During the mid-1980s, Terry joined The Wurzels.
He spent two or three years with the band as keyboard player
and backing vocalist. Dates are hard to come by, but we suspect
that he joined after Jai Howe (1985) and left before Jai quit,
so we're probably talking 1985/86 to 1988/89 (or thereabouts!)
Although he never recorded with the band, he made TV appearances
on Westward Television and HTV, and recorded for BBC Radio
at Bristol - and of course playing numerous gigs with the
band. The picture (right) shows Terry with the rest of the
band (including Jai sporting a beard and looking not unlike
Pete Budd!).
Since
leaving The Wurzels, Terry's career has continued down the
same route. the late 1980s saw summer seasons at Somerwest
World in Minehead, Pontins in Jersey and Sand Bay in Weston-Super-Mare.
In the late 1980s he opened Lanzarote's premier nightclub
Moonlight Bay working at co-manager of the venue.
In
the early 1990's he joined pop band Spangle
as keyboard/vocalist for a three-month residency on board
the QE2. This was followed by a six-month season on the Spanish
Island of Menorca, now as bandleader of Spangle. Terry then
left Spangle to front his own duo Oceanaire
cruising the world on the Royal Cruise Line ship Crown
Oddyssey (and being paid for it!). He also played on
board Cunard's prestigious Sea Goddess II where guests
are charged $1000 per day! Rejoining Spangle, he spent most
of the late 1990s with the American cruise company Holland
America. The early 2000's finds Terry working for Saga, performing
as guitarist / vocalist on Rhine cruises interspersed with
various short contract Caribbean cruises on board Saga
Rose and P&O's Aurora as cocktail pianist.
In 2005, Terry finally went into the studio and recorded and
produced an album of original songs entitled 'Lay Back Easy'
which garners critical acclaim and local radio play. Most
recently he did some musical arrangements and recording for
Dave Prowse MBE, better known as Darth Vader. Although primarily
known for his body building and acting - Dave has a fine singing
voice.
Terry is currently bandleader and musical
director at Lyme Bay Holiday Village, Seaton in South Devon.
Links
Terry
Pascoe's Lay Back Easy
website
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Terry Pascoe, Germany 1969

Terry (right) with The Graded
Grains in 1969
Terry
(far left) with The Wurzels in the mid-1980s
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