John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett

BONKERS IN BARNOLDSWICK

A Brief History of Otway & Barrett

Amazingly it's over 50 years since Otway and Barrett first got together, even more so given that as a live act they split for the first time before even taking to the stage together

Otway & Barrett initially met in Aylesbury as schoolboys when Willy and his brother would regularly beat up the nine-year old Otway. Nine years later Barrett had become Aylesbury's most promising multi-instrumentalist and was running the town's folk club. Otway succeeded in getting an unpaid floor spot and was allowed to return on a semi regular basis.

A fortune teller predicted that John would enjoy 'huge success with a blonde-haired musician'. Contacting the only blonde musician he knew, Otway persuaded Barrett to do some recording and a show together. Almost inevitably they split up before they'd even appeared together. Otway's wild, chaotic solo set emptied the hall, Willy's tuneful and inventive one re-filled it - so he refused to allow Otway back for the scheduled duo set vowing to never work with him again.

However

The recordings found their way to The Who's Pete Townshend who offered to produce the pair. They quickly re-united and headed to Townshend's Eel Pie Studios in Chalk Farm, London to record Murder Man, If I Did, Misty Mountain and Louisa on a Horse. Murder Man was subsequently released as a single in August 1973 on Track Records(home of The Who and Jimi Hendrix). Sadly John's style really didn't appeal to the folk club audiences Willy was playing in and, as the Murder Man single failed to chart, the seemingly mismatched duo again went their own ways.

Fast forward to 1977. With punk in the ascendance, Willy thought Otway's wild performances, elementary guitar skills and terrible voice may now work. He was right! The duo developed a following on the pub rock circuit and they were invited to appear on the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test. John's performance on the show is now legendary:

Five million watched what has since been voted one of the worst ever moments on television. Yet within two weeks of the leaping Otway landing on his testicles astride Barrett's amplifier the duo were in the charts and on Top Of The Pops (introduced by Elton John) with the single Cor Baby That's Really Free.

Of course it couldn't last. Otway insisted the all important follow-up be credited to him alone and replaced Wild Willy with a cheesy hundred piece orchestra. The single flopped and they split up acrimoniously. Since then Otway and Barrett have regrouped, fallen out and split more times than a curdled sauce. One tour was even titled 'The Incompatible Otway and Barrett '.

'I think he's genuinely fascinated by what I do' said Otway of Wild Willy 'but totally horrified at the damage it does to his reputation as a musician'.

Willy countered 'I do rather find that performing alongside his imbecilic antics distracts from the music I'm playing. I'm a little bit more tolerant of him now, but it used to really cut to the quick in the early days'.

Fifty Odd Years Later

Now over 50 years after that first release the mismatched, but dynamic duo, are still trading the boards in venues the length and breadth of the country.

Older but no wiser, the contrast between the dead pan humour of Barrett and mad onstage antics of Otway are hilarious to watch. John's lyrical genius and Willy's outstanding musicianship continue to entertain. Let's hope they don't fall out. On second thoughts let's hope they do, it's far more fun.

Audiences should be prepared for everything from bare-chested theremin playing to wah wah wheelie bin as the duo jump from one hit and 40 near misses to another.