100 YEARS OF ISLE OF WIGHT MUSICIANS – FROM ORGANIST EDWIN LAMARE TO WET LEG

The Isle of Wight is famed for its music festivals attracting the greatest from across the world, but we have plenty of homegrown talent of our own.

Musicians born, bred or resident on the Island have achieved world recognition in multiple genres, from organ music to early rock ‘n’ roll, punk and ska, heavy metal and jazz funk.

Here are but a few that have achieved worldwide recognition…

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Organist Edwin Lamare – who was born in Ventnor in 1862 – was a world-famous musician of his time. As San Francisco’s city organist between 1917 and 1920, he was the highest paid in the world, earning a then-unprecedented $10,000 dollars (£875,000 in today’s money) for a series of concerts at San Francisco’s World Fair.

Lamare is best known for his musical score for ‘Moonlight and Roses’ sung by (among others) Jim Reeves, which reached Number 1 in the American Country Music chart in 1964.

Sandown-born singer and actress Betty Compton (born Violet Halling Compton, in 1906) also achieved fame and fortune across the pond. She appeared in the star-studded Zeigfried Follies and also co-starred with Fred Astaire in the original stage production of Funny Face in 1927. Her further claim to fame was her marriage to New York Mayor Jimmy Walker in 1933.

Long-term Bembridge resident Terence ‘Jet’ Harris – who sadly passed away in 2011 – was an early pioneer of British rock ‘n’ roll, playing bass guitar in Cliff Richard’s backing group the Shadows.

Singing milkman Craig Douglas (born Terence Perkins in 1941) was the Isle of Wight’s first teenage heartthrob and pop star. He achieved fame and fortune with his 1959 hit Only Sixteen, which sold more copies than Sam Cooke’s original. Such was his fame in the early 60s that he topped the bill at the Beatles’ first major stage show in (of all places) Liverpool.

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Former Upper Chine schoolgirl Jane Birkin – whose family owned a summer residence in West Wight – had a worldwide hit with her French husband Serge Gainsbourg Je t’aime … moi non plus in 1969. The erotic composition – in which Jane simulated orgasm – was the first foreign language song to reach Number 1 in the British charts. Jane sadly passed away in 2023.

Guitarist Terry ‘Snowy’ White was brought up in Freshwater. In the late 60s, he played in local band Perception. He went on to become a member of Phil Lynott’s Thin Lizzy. He has made numerous appearances with Pink Floyd, including the Wall Concert in Berlin in 1990 alongside bassist Roger Walters. His 1983 single Bird of Paradise became a UK top 10 hit.

Original Sex Pistol bass guitarist Glen Matlock has lived in Niton and sent his 2 sons to Ryde School. Glen was credited as songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs of the Sex Pistols’ only album Never Mind the Bollocks. He was replaced by the late Sid Vicious in 1977 but subsequently returned for various Pistols’ reunions.

Bass player David ‘Shuffle’ Steele – 1 of the UK’s best-known ska musicians – was born on the Isle of Wight in 1960 and grew up in East Cowes. He was an original member of the Beat (hit single Mirror in the Bathroom) and then Fine Young Cannibals (She Drives Me Crazy). He also made a famous guest appearance with the Specials on Top of the Pops.

‘Razzle’ (Nicholas Charles Dingley), drummer with legendary Finnish glam rock band Hanoi Rocks, was brought up in Binstead. He started his career with local bands including Thin Red Line. Hanoi Rocks were said to have been on the cusp of worldwide fame in 1984 when Razzle was sadly killed in a drink driving accident, with Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil at the wheel. Razzle is buried at Holy Cross Church in Binstead.

Brothers Mark and Nathan King and Phil and Rowland Gould are all members of jazz-funk band Level 42, which was formed on the Island in 1979. The Kings grew up on a tied cottage on a dairy farm with an outside toilet and a zinc bath in front of the fire, before moving to the prison estates. The Goulds were brought up in Shanklin. Sadly, Rowland ‘Boon’ Gould passed away in 2019.

Level 42 had numerous worldwide hits in the 80s and 90s, including Lessons in Love. Before joining Level 42, Phil Gould had a Number 1 hit single in the United States with M (Pop Muzik) and had also appeared with Roxy Music.

Level 42 are back on tour in 2025, with the closest gig being in Portsmouth.

Rhian Teesdale and Hester Chambers of Wet Leg – our present day pop stars – require little introduction. The pair met at Platform One College of Music in Newport. Their eponymous album Wet Leg hit Number 1 in the charts in both the UK and Australia.

The Isle of Wight frequently appears as a backdrop to the indy rock group’s videos.

This list of Isle of Wight pop stars is far from definitive – let us know who we have missed out…

The life and times of well-known Isle of Wight musicians will feature in detail in a future Island Echo series.