The band that would become JEBO began when Rob Allen
and Jeff France started to feel strongly that the touring
band they were playing in at the time, K-Passa, was
coming to an end. While that group were honouring their
last gigs, Rob and Jeff would get together at Rob's
home studio to write and record new music that would
be different from anything they had done before. Their
objective from the start was to work and perform to
the highest standards.
When K-Passa had finally finished, the two had enough
material to start looking for other musicians. First
they needed to complete the essential backbone of any
band's sound, the rhythm section, with a bass player,
and from the many that applied, Lawrie Jones stood out
from the rest in all respects. After jamming and recording
some parts at Rob's house the three of them shook hands
there and then and went to the pub..
After a few live rehearsals as a three piece, they
were ready to look for a singer. They knew this would
not be easy as they were quite sure of the
qulaity of singer the band needed. After several auditions
that put the X-Factor to shame, the band decided James
Hollingsworth was the man for the job.
Now a four-piece JEBO were joined by Jeff's long time
friend Jon Hollier on keys and the band started to rehearse,
knowing that Jon wasn't to stay long term, as he had
other commitments. Sure enough Jon departed and was
replaced for a while by Phil Dudd on Hammond Organ.
They worked hard on getting the group to a high standard,
and got their first gig supporting renowned Rhythm and
Blues guitarist Wilko Johnson. After the show people
were amazed that this was the band's first gig.
From that moment onward JEBO continued to work, and
had shows in Belgium, Germany and in the UK, including
The Royal Albert Hall in London and The Grand Opera
House in York as the opening act for The Musical Box
and behind the scenes the band began to attract skilled
people in the music industry who offered to help the
band for love not money. By the time the group started
working their way from opening act to top-billing at
London's Borderline, they had invited an ex-band-mate
of James', the classically trained Nick O'Neill, to
play Hammond and Piano and were well into recording
their first album, which Classic Rock magazine would
later call “A Masterpiece”.
Released in March 2006, “Sinking Without You”
is a testament to JEBO's hard work and professionalism,
and has sold across Europe and America.
The band then started work on their 2nd album. During
these sessions there was a bit of an upheaval in so
much that James Hollingsworth and Lawrie Jones left
the band! Kevin J Messenger (vocals) and Gianfredo Konig
(bass) were swiftly recruited and the sessions completed.
With the new line up the band immediately had a more
comptemporay sound. As Nick O'Neill said on hearing
some of the playbacks -
'It sounds like JEBO but now in Widescreen'.
The album is now being mixed and is due for release
in 2010.
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