The Renaissance of the Bachelors...

...began towards the end of 1995.
The original group had split up in 1984 with the members going their separate ways experiencing varying degrees of success.
John Stokes went into a number of diverse projects, organizing holidays for the elderly, corporate functions and pro-am golf tournaments.
Although he did this with great success, notably persuading his friend Howard Keel to come to Mere golf club every year and raise thousands ofpounds for charity, he still missed singing those great songs that made the Bachelors world famous in the 60s and 70s.
Over the years John had been inundated with fans asking him to reform the group and although he was sometimes tempted he wasn’t sure he could find the right people to recreate those great harmonies. He wanted a sound that could do all those fabulous hit songs justice, in other words it had to be right or not at all.
John had always believed the songs would stand the test of time and when two television actors called Robson and Jerome recorded “I Believe” and took it to number one he knew he was right.
John then contacted his old friend Kevin Neill, who he had known since the sixties when Kevin played in the Karl Denver Trio, told him of his plans to reform the group and together they set out to look for that third person.
Armed with a list of possible recruits they set out to look for the final link and.
their first port of call was Barns Green Catholic Club in Manchester.
Jonathan Young, the well known Irish singer/ guitarist was on stage going through his act and after watching it Kevin said to John “I don’t think we need look any further”
They didn’t.
The renaissance had begun
What follows is not a complete history, but a collection of memories, both personal and professional, obtained through interviews with John Stokes and Jonathan Young.

1996
The latter months of '95 were spent rehearsing, mostly working on the harmonies and eventually developing an act that would be entertaining as well as musically perfect.
John Kevin and Jonathan hit it of straight away, each knowing what was required and setting about it in a professional way.
Their first show was a charity. It was a favour for Kevin’s friend, singer Pat O’Hare and it took place on the 26th of January.
The venue was The Sacred Heart Catholic Club in Upper Mill near Oldham Lancashire. The fee, a fry-up cooked by the Priest, which was most appreciated.  Their second show - another favour, this time for Jonathan's friend Bill Tarmey (Jack Duckworth in ”Coronation Street”) who he had known since they were both film extras.  The show took place at Christ the King Catholic Club in Newton Heath, Manchester on the 8th of March, the fee this time -nothing, not even a fry-up!March 13th The Parr Hall, Warrington with John's old pal Frank Carson (it’s the way I tell them!). Money at last, thank you Frank!
It was he who had asked for them to do that show and who was also instrumental in arranging their first summer tour.
Frank Carson was to be the first of many of John’s Showbiz friends to help and encourage “The Bachelors with John Stokes”, as they would be known.
Jonathan told me he was surprised by the amount of good will they received from everyone especially members of the Grand Order of Water Rats.
The tour was a great success, visiting places like Cromer, Aberdare,
Porthcawl, Llandudno and Jersey plus concerts in various cities, the most memorable being Norwich where the reviews were highly complimentary.
The boys finished their first terrific year at The Norbreck Castle Hotel Blackpool looking
forward to 1997

1997
The first highlight of the year was working at the Piccadilly hotel, Manchester,
again with our old friend Frank Carson. It was Valentines day, and who are more romantic than the Bachelors?
Shortly after that John had a call from Blackpool promoter Duggie Chapman asking if the lads would like to do the North Pier Theatre Blackpool for five weeks as special guests in a show called It’s a Cracker.
This was to be the start of an association between Duggie and John Stokes Bachelors that was to continue for many years.
The rest of that summer, they starred in a triple bill with Craig Douglas and Jimmy Cricket, appearing in Scarborough, Skegness, and Southport.
This was followed by a tour for Irish promoter Peggy Jones on a double bill with Ireland’s number one country singer, Susan McCann.
It was at this time that Brian Goddard invited The Bachelors to join his show,
A Night at the Music Hall in the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton. This, as they say, was the start of a beautiful friendship.
Once again the year was rounded off at the Norbreck Hotel, Blackpool.

1998
started off with a series of one-nighters. The most memorable being the St. Patrick’s show at the famous Lakeside Country Club.
April was spent touring theatres in the North East of England for impressario Duggie Chapman, who also took care of May to July by bringing them back to the North pier by popular demand. He also took care of the rest of the Summer with dates in Cromer and Great Yarmouth.
October seen them touring Ireland and Jonathan said that all he remembers was the Guinness.
November, London dates for Peggy Jones and December sharing the bill at Rotherham with the hilarious Hinge and Bracket.  The year finished at the Norbreck Hotel, Blackpool, getting to be an annual event!

1999
After a well earned Holiday the year kicked off at the Willows, Salford, followed by the Music Hall in Manchester, and John Stokes says he’ll never forget performing at the famous Galtimore in London where he received a globe award from the “Irish World” newspaper for his services to music.
Other shows that stand out in their minds are:
The Grand Theatre Wolverhampton for the second time appearing in nine shows, followed by a nationwide tour, that included the Empire, Hackney, The Grand, Swansea, The Theatre Royal and the New Theatre Hull.
Particularly enjoyed was a short tour of Yorkshire with their pal Craig Douglas plus Mike Berry and the Vernon Girls.
Probably the most rewarding thing they did was the “Young World Tour” appearing with other great artists like Tony Hadley from Spandau Ballet, Beverly Craven and the compere was Ted Rodgers best remembered for the T.V. show 3,2,1.
John recalls: “We were on stage at the first venue, London's Wembley Arena, singing Diane as a sound check when Ted came walking in and shouted up: “Now THAT'S The Bachelors!”
For Jonathan the things that stand out would be that we followed Cliff Richard who had done it the year before, appearing at the Manchester Evening News Arena in front of 16,000 people - and closing the show at the Point Theatre, Dublin with I Believe. We were joined on stage by eight beautiful young Irish girls supported by over 1,000 children in the choir, the children were the real stars and that applied to the whole tour.

1999 was to see John Stokes Bachelors do their first dates at Warners Holiday Centres, and yes they went back to the North Pier, Blackpool, in a show with Little and Large and up and coming newcomer Lauren Waterworth - this time as top of the bill!

2000
The Bachelors had entered a new Millenium and they were looking forward not back.
The year was filled with more dates for Warners, which must be some of the finest venues in the country. Peggy Jones came up with her usual quota of dates and it was nice for them to be united again with Susan McCann. Peggy even booked them for a week in Spain, with a company called Enjoy Travel which is owned by Gerry Flynn - a real character with tremendous vision in the travel industry.
June 23rd - the Winter Gardens, Blackpool - local agent Norman Teal asked the lads to appaer in his Burma Star Reunion show and they were delighted as it was an honour, and turned out to be a great night.
2000 was becoming a great year for the Bachelors, but the highlight had to be their first tour of Australia.
An English comedian Noel Talbot, home from Oz on holiday, came to see them and was so impressed he recommended them to his friend Geoff Jones, a promoter from Sydney. Geoff booked them for a six week tour, mainly Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast
An appearance on Bert Newton’s nationwide TV show Good Morning Australia was the icing on the cake.
Oh yes, and they finished the year- Guess where? - The Norbreck Hotel, Blackpool!

2001
It was like a repeat of the previous year. There were more dates for Warner’s, another tour of Australia and another season at the North Pier- their fourth.
Then there was Spain for ‘Enjoy Travel’, The Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton where they did nine shows for Brian Goddard.
They had now started cruising for a company called ‘Page and Moy’ on a ship called ‘The  Ocean Majesty’, so all in all it was another busy year for the Bachelors, and no, they didn’t do the Norbreck!

2002
It was to be their busiest year yet. Apart from the usual Warners, Page and Moy cruises, and Australia, they were doing a lot of one-nighters.  Venues like Lancashire Cricket Club, Theatre Royal Buxton and The City Varieties, Leeds, to name but a few.   Still their proudest moment of all was when Duggie Chapman asked them to close a Five Star Show which was to run at the North Pier Theatre for twenty-two weeks.
This was their fifth season and probably the last time anyone would ever close a show in a full summer season at the world famous “North Pier Theatre” Blackpool.  They finished 202, with a Gala Dinner in the Hotel Piccadilly, Manchester on New Years Eve.  The show was organised by top promoter Mickey Martin and was a sell-out.  It was nice to finish the year working with their old friends Stu Francis and Pete Conway (Robbie William’s dad, and a star in his own right).

2003
New Year's Day found John, Kevin and Jonathan in Gunton Hall, one of the fabulous Warners venues in Lowestoft, followed by a series of one-nighters.  The ones that stand out were Bury St. Edmunds, The Norbreck, Blackpool and various Warners Holiday Centres - which are all special in their own way.
Probably the most memorable was when they were asked to appear at Dudley Town Hall where they shared the bill with The Gentlemen Songsters Male Voice Choir, under the direction of Lynn Andrews.
It was quite an experience when the whole choir came on stage and joined the Bachelors for their closing song, I Believe.
They were now working in Butlins Holiday Centres, mostly 60s nights at places like Minehead, Skegness and Bognor. It was nice to meet up with some their old pals - The Hermits, Dave Berry, and the Swinging Blue Jeans, all still going strong.  Come April they started cruising again with ‘Page and Moy’ who were now giving them all the cruises they needed on the Ocean Majesty. This ship was nick-named the friendly ship; in fact it was like a family at sea.  It was a small vessel carrying about 500 passengers and seemed to specialize in cruises to Scandinavia, the cities of the Baltic and the Mediterranean. The whole crew were excellent, from the cabin steward’s right up to Captain Karabagias who would always stop for a chat whenever his duties permitted.
With Christine Butler as Cruise Director you were always assured of first class entertainment, and she had assembled a team around her that was second to none - Mark, Danielle, Ken and Rita - people who knew what the passengers wanted and saw to it that they got it.
Add to this the Boss Tim Barnwell and his Page & Moy Curriers and it all means great cruising.
John, Jonathan and Kevin remember the Ocean Majesty with great affection.

On May 27th, they topped the bill once again at the North Pier Theatre for their sixth season - surely a feat never to be repeated. Thank you Duggie Chapman.
They decided to give Australia a miss and leave it till next year as they had too much work in England plus they were working on their new album.
Duggie had them doing Sundays in Weymouth and they had a long tour lined up for Susan Maughn’s husband Nick, a Derby County supporter, poor soul.
Nick is a great fellow who pulled to-gether most of the acts from the North Pier Show the previous year.
Susan, Stu, Alan and the lads all enjoyed working together so it was a great tour, covering the length and breadth of Britain.
Alan Randall pulled out of the tour in Bournemouth suffering from what we now know to be motor neuron disease and sadly later died.
He was one of the best acts in the business and is greatly missed by all who knew him
However as they say the “show must go on” and it did, as he would have wanted.
The tour finished to a full house in Guilford on the 2nd of November and they all said their goodbyes
Alan was never replaced.
John, Kevin and Jonathan did their final show at The Norbreck Hotel Blackpool on Boxing Day and spent the rest of the holidays with their families.

2004
Straight back to work, New Years Day and the boys were back at the Norbreck.
January and February were taken up with one nighters, mainly Warners plus some lunchtime shows courtesy of their old pal comedian Les Wilson.
It was now time to return to Australia to do a six week tour for Geoff Jones who had by now become a best friend as well as their promoter.
The highlights for John were Saint Patrick's Day at Melbourne Casino, the Town Hall, Sydney - playing two shows to four thousand people and performing at the famous Irish Club in Brisbane.
Jonathan on the other hand seems to remember the social occasions, like meeting up with John and Kevin’s friend Max Bygraves.
Jonathan recalls when they worked “The Twins Towns” in the Gold Coast Max came to see them and afterwards went out with them for dinner.
“It was a great night eating, drinking, and reminiscing with Max telling some terrific stories. We invited him out the next night but I think his lovely wife Blossom put the block on that".
Kevin has always had a great love of Australia but his memory of that tour was the show they did on their way back home, when they stopped of in Kuala Lumpur to do a show for the Irish Ambassador in the fabulous Shangri La Hotel.
It doesn’t come much better than that -even the King enjoyed it, said he’d always been a fan.
Kevin always made us laugh when telling the story about turning down the King's invitation to play golf and calling him by his first name, not knowing who he was.  Typical Kevin.
John, Kevin and Jonathan arrived back in Manchester at six in the morning and drove straight to Wolverhampton to begin nine shows at the Grand theatre and were relieved to have made it on time.
The rest of the year was similar to the last with more cruises, more Warners and a short tour with Stu Francis and Susan Maughan.
On a social level John’s favourite memory would have to be when they all went to the Water Rats Ball on the 29th of November
John recalls ”it was a great night. Britt Ekland came as our guest and Chas McDevitt ended a sensational year as King Rat. One of the best I ever attended.”

2005
The guys kicked of the year performing at Alviston Hall - one of Warners top hotels - followed by more one nighters until February 13th when they left for their yearly trip down under.
Most of the venues were return booking plus a few new ones and their usual TV appearances on Good Morning Australia and Carrie Anne.
On arrival back in England they started work straight away at The Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton in A Night at the Music Hall.  Brian Goddard the manager was retiring, and since it was to be his last show, he wanted his agency Kudos to assemble all his favourite acts.
When you think of all great people who appeared in A Night at the Music Hall it was a supreme compliment, it also made them the show's most featured act in the last ten years.
The rest of the year was taken up with Cruises, and one nighters, mostly at “Warner’s”.
Duggie Chapman filled in most of the summer dates at various seaside theatres -Weymouth, Weston Super-Mare etc. - yes it was business as usual.
What stood out in Jonathan's mind was their trip to Dubai.
"It was tremendous" he recalls. “We did two Shows for the “Duty Free Company” one in The Irish Village the other in a top hotel and we brought our own backing - “The Clive Allan Sound.
It was great to be warm in December, what a great place!

2006
John Stokes Bachelors were now in their 10th year since reforming, proving they were here to stay and enjoying every minute of it.
The year began with a series of one nighters up until April 4th when they performed for the first time at the Brick Lane Music Hall in London, doing six shows.
The venue is the brain-child of one Vincent Hayes who took over an old church near London City Airport and turned it into something truly magical. Vince is one hundred percent hands-on and has surrounded himself with some terrific people -to call them staff would be an insult. This frees him to star inand compere the shows in his own cheeky-chappie style.
www.bricklanemusichall.co.uk

Their old pal Gerry Flynn from Enjoy Travel popped up again taking them for a week in Ibiza.
They had a great time, working with some great Irish singers, people like Johnny Mc Avoy and Sean Wilson plus a host of Irish bands playing all types of Irish music.
John says he would recommend these holidays, especially to anyone who like’s dancing from morning till night.
Getting back to do a show at the Opera House, Blackpool was quite scary as they only just made it and were glad they did as was promoter Warren Tully who was having kittens.  The show was a great success with a standing ovation.
June 17th found the Bachelors in an unusual venue. The show took place in an aircraft hanger with a Lancaster bomber as stage backdrop. They were supported by the Pasadena Roof Orchestra who had everybody dancing.  You don’t forget nights like that.
The Music Hall in Ilkley, Yorkshire was a nice show especially working with a lot of their old friends. There was more Cruising before and after their trip to Australia which was different his year. It was the first time they performed in Western Australia. It involved a lot of travelling but the audiences were fantastic, especially Friends Restraunt, Perth, where they did two shows, both sell-outs.
A memorable social event would have to be the Echidnas monthly dinner. The Echidnas, by the way, being the Australian equivalent of The Water Rats. John, Kevin and Jonathan were made honorary members, which was quite an honour in itself.
John's old friend Frank Ifeild heard him on the Radio saying he’d be there, so Frank turned up for a chat about old times. As soon as he seen The Bachelors he said “I Remember You.”
On the subject of the Water Rats, its worth mentioning that the boys had a great time on the River Cruise in London on the 6th of June. Vince Hayes and John’s brother Brian came as their guests. It’s always good to meet up with old friends in pleasant surroundings.

2007
After their Winter Holiday they did their first show in Bedworth with comedian Les Wilson. This was followed by more Warner’s dates up until the 12th of February when they flew to Athens to begin a cruise on the Artemus. They stayed on the ship until they sailed back to South Hampton. This was their first cruise for P & O and they had an excellent response from the passengers and the cruise director Christine, who made them feel more than welcome.
March saw them back with their good friend Vincent Hayes at Brick Lane Music Hall, this time the show ran into two weeks.
Of the various one-nighters, St. Patrick’s Day at the Hilton Hotel, Manchester with Stu Francis and Dusty Young stands out.  Thank you Mickey Martin for a great night.
More cruises followed for P & O, The Oriana from Mumbai to Muscat then the Aurora from Barbados to Southampton.
The rest of 2007 was filled up with cruises for Page and Moy, then the yearly visit to Australia where promoter Jeff Jones had now teamed up with one of Australia’s most respected agents Brian Foggerty. Thanks to Brian they were now doing more dates than ever, which meant more travelling so Jonathan's back was killing him.
A lot of great memories, but Jonathan says the one that springs to mind was when they were back at Friends Restaurant, this time for three nights. On the third night, Jonathan looked into the audience, and who should be sat there but Hank B Marvin! Immediately they started doing The Shadow’s steps. The audience thought it was hilarious.
After the show, they had a chat and a drink. Hank knew Kevin, going back to the days when Kevin was with The Karl Denver Trio so they had lots to talk about.
If the year had one outstanding honour, it was being asked to be special guests on the 50th Anniversary show of the Gentlemen Songsters Male voice Choir. This took place on the 9th of May at Brierley Hills Civic Hall.
Once again the Choir joined the Bachelors on stage for “I Believe” to bring to an end a great night that raised thousands for children’s charities.
They finished the year by doing the 23rd and 24th of December in the Isle of White for Warners, then spending Christmas Day with their families. The next day they flew to St. Martin to join the Artimus and cruise round the Caribbean before heading down the coast of South America. They then sailed up the Amazon then flew to San Paulo and from there back to England, arriving on the 7th of January.

2008
Their next P & O cruise was the Oriana.
They flew to Hong Kong, stayed in The Royal Garden Hotel, Kowoon and joined the ship the next day. They sailed to Thailand and then on to Singapore. The entertainment staff, indeed, all the staff they encountered were terrific especially the Cruise Director who was excellent.
It’s always sad to leave a ship just when you’re getting to know everyone, but they had to fly from Singapore to pick up the Aurora. Would you believe they were stuck in Perth (Fremantle to be exact) for three days in the sunshine waiting for it to arrive?  Isn’t life tough!
This was an excellent cruise as they had a relaxing time crossing the equator and taking about eight day’s to reach Singapore.
The cruise director was great fun, even took us to dinner, recalls John.
Her name was Sally Sago and she had starred in the early episodes of ‘Eastenders.  A very talented lady
It was now time to go back and see Vince and all their pals at Brick Lane Music Hall.
Vince had been using the same supporting acts all the times they had been there so they had got to know them well. There was Peter John, who did music hall characters like the Barmaid singing “Stout & Bitter” or the "Fairy When She’s Forty". A very funny guy.  Then there was soprano Jane Webster, a girl with a great voice who at the time was also appearing in The Sound of Music at the London Palladium.
April 1st saw the lads reunited with their good friend Jimmy Cricket who they had worked with many times over the years.  The night was a sell-out and a lot of the credit must go to the organiser,  Jim.  
The summer seen them back at the North Pier Theatre, Blackpool for a series of one-nighters sprinkled throughout the season, followed by more shows for Warners.  There were return visits to Scarborough, Bournemouth, and the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, which by now had become a second home.  John’s memory of the year was being asked to appear on the Water Rats show at Blackpool Opera House on June 29th.  This was the third show they would do for The Water Rats and John especially, a long serving Water Rat himself, considered it an honour to work with the great talents in the business and know it was all for charity.
Of all the cruises they did this year the one never to be forgotten was in September when they sailed to America on the Aurora.  Jonathan got to meet up with his sister Ann who lives in New York while Kevin got to see his idol Les Paul who at the time was doing a Monday night only show in a club on Broadway.
It really was a stroke of luck as Kevin had never been to America before, he just happend to be in the Big Apple for one day and he gets to hear the master.
Jonathan recalls they chatted for ages while I took photographs, and when it came time to leave, Les said “Kevin you made my night coming here.”  Kevin replied “Les Paul you made my life”.
Les Paul died shortly after their meeting. He was 93.
The rest of the year was taken up with some fantastic cruises all for P & O, mostly to America and the Caribbean.
The Blackpool illuminations were now in full swing and for the first time John promoted their own late season. A series of shows at the Pavilion theatre in the Winter gardens, featuring themselves supported by Carnaby street, a 60s tribute band and Johnny Corrigan, a great comedy vocalist.  It was a great success.
Their final cruise was on the Oriana which they boarded in New Orleans, and disembarked in Jamaica. This cruise took in some interesting places - Mexico, Tortola and the Camen Islands - and it was great to work again with Elaine Delmar.
It is more than worth mentioning that on the 21st of July an album was released called “I Believe, The Bachelors Greatest Hits”. It contained 23 original recordings, and it climbed to number five in the British album charts, out-selling many of today’s major artists
John had a quiet glass of Champagne, knowing he had at long last been proved right. THE SONGS DID STAND THE TEST OF TIME.

2009
2009 found the lads on another P & O cruise, this time spending New Years Eve in Madeira. You could say they kicked off the year in spectacular fashion, as anyone who has seen the firework display will testify.
This was followed with the usual dates at Warner’s and one-night theatre events in places like Coventry, Blackpool and Manchester.
March 16th seen them working for their old friend, Don in front of 600 people at the Lancashire Cricket club. This was the 6th time in 10 years that they had been booked for this event and was something they always looked forward to.
Two days later they flew to Honolulu to start another P&O cruise. They then sailed to
Sanfrancisco and on to Acapulco. Jonathan’s memories were of working with some great people, i.e, Claire Sweeney, Tom O Conner, Mike Read and Bobby Crush.  As the Irish say, ‘The Craic was great.’
April 20th, they were doing their first show in Shrewsbury for Tony Best, owner of the Lazy Acre.
It took place at the Lord Hill Hotel and was so successful that Tony booked the boys for the next year, saying they were one of the best acts they had ever had.
This was followed by another stint at the Brick Lane Music Hall.  John’s recalls: "Apart from seeing Vincent and the gang, plus the fantastic audiences, what also pleased me were the people I knew who came to our show, Alvin Stardust, Graham Cole (The Bill)and his family, then King Rat, and Derek Martin (Eastenders) who at the time was Prince Rat."
Come May it was back to their second home, Blackpool, for a week at the Metropole Hotel, followed by a charity show in Salford, this time for a children’s hospital.
June 28th, back to Blackpool, this time a charity spectacular for the Water Rats and the one and only Duggie Chapman who had now received an MBE, which everyone in the business thought he thoroughly deserved.
Jonathan says, ‘It’s hard to recall the exact time that Kevin became ill. The first time I noticed something was wrong was in early June when we were doing a charity show in Liverpool for the lovely Gaynor Connor who incidentally at the time was not too well herself.
Kevin was feeling tired and was having difficulty playing the guitar which at the time we thought must be a nervous complaint, which hopefully would soon go away. I started playing the solos and we carried on for a while but was becoming that it was something serious. As it turned out, Kevin was to do two more shows with us at Boddwiden Castle and Woodall Spa and even though both shows went well, we could see his condition was getting worse.
A few days later Kevin informed us he could no longer carry on and we should get someone else.
He had been diagnosed as having Motor Neuron Disease.
Our next show was Nidd Hall for Warners and we didn’t have much time to find a replacement, but we did.
Dave Pearson came in at very short notice and had to learn the act very quickly, which he did.
With some coaching from John, Jonathan and Kevin, who gave him great support and encouragement, he fitted in extremely well.
They then went back to the usual venues and found that everyone accepted Dave in his own right, whilst acknowledging that Kevin would never be forgotten for his tremendous contribution to the Renaissance of the Bachelors.
On a personal Level, Jonathan’s son, got married to his fiancée, Michelle, at the Lowry Hotel, Salford, on the 17th of October. It was a great family occasion and a very happy day. Jonathan was having a late drink when who should he run into, but Hank Marvin! It was while reminiscing about their meeting at “Friends" restaurant in Perth that Hank invited him to Cliff and the Shadows show at the Manchester Arena.
“I went with the Bachelors' MD, Clive Allan” Jonathan recalls, ”who was a big fan, and we really enjoyed the show.” Afterwards it was backstage for a few drinks and a chat. “I had only ever met Hank before, so it was a pleasure to meet for the first time Bruce, Brian and Cliff Richard, who all turned out to be real nice guys.”

The year ended with another week at the Grand Metropole hotel, Blackpool.
Yes, The Bachelors with John Stokes would still go on!

2010
January, cruising again, this time on the Arcada for P & O. They sailed from Southampton to Barbados, stopping at Maderia before flying back.
Various one-nighters followed then it was time to return to Australia for a six week tour covering Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.
This time despite a recession, the attendance was better than ever, with sell-out shows in Albany, Maldura, Free Mantle, and Banks Town to name a few.
On a sad note, it was while they were touring Australia that Jonathan got a phone call from his wife, Margaret, telling him that Kevin had passed away. Jonathan remembers, ‘We had a show to do that afternoon and it wasn’t going to be easy getting through it. What helped was a text I received from Lorraine, Kevin’s daughter, which simply said
“YOU’D BETTER GET ON STAGE AND BELT ONE OUT FOR DAD.” We did.

I think Kevin would have been genuinely surprised at the number of people he touched in his life. We remember him in another section of this web site.
Jonathan further recalls that although they met with kindness everywhere in Australia, they are especially grateful to Clyde and Lesley at Friends’ Restraunt, Perth. and the whole gang of people who run the Bankstown Sports club, in Sydney. This was the first club they worked on their first Australian tour back in 2000 and it will remain forever in their hearts. Thanks to Kevin McCormick, John Murry and all the lads for proving there is such thing as a free lunch.
Back home it was a few one-nighters, i.e., Lichfield for Duggie Chapman, Heigh Hall Country club Shrewsbury for Tony Best, another week of Brick Lane Music Hall, (their fifth year) and a return to the Winter Gardens, Blackpool.

John Stokes would like to thank all the great musicans who accompanied them on their recordings and on their live shows and although they are too numerous to mention individually, their work will forever be appreciated.

Looking back over the last 15 years, what stands out is this-
If you book the Bachelors with John Stokes, you will book an act that you will re-book time and time again.