Jane Kennaway -

Jane Kennaway is an English new wave singer and songwriter who released four shortplayers between 1979 and 1983, starting with a four-song EP on Dinsong, followed by two singles on Deram circa 1980/81, including one with her band Strange Behaviour. Thirty years later, her complete recordings from this era appeared on the CD IOU, courtesy of archivists LTM.

Background

Jane Kennaway was born in 1955, the youngest daughter of Susan (née Edmonds) and James Kennaway (1928 – 1968), a Scottish novelist and screenwriter.

James met Susan in Oxford, where he attended Trinity College after his National Service while she attended the nearby Ruskin School of Art. They had four children, including Guy Kennaway (b. 1957), who became a novelist and memoirist whose books include One People, Bird Brain, and Time to Go.

James drew on his postwar service with the Gordon Highlanders for the 1956 novel Tunes of Glory, which follows a command struggle inside a peacetime Scottish battalion. He adapted the book for Ronald Neame’s 1960 film with Alec Guinness and John Mills, and the screenplay received an Academy Award nomination.

Jane took up songwriting at age fifteen and introduced an early composition at her mother’s Cotswolds restaurant, where an Apple Corps representative saw the performance and offered Kennaway a recording opportunity, which she declined. She attended St Denis in Edinburgh and Cheltenham Ladies’ College, where she continued songwriting through her remaining school years.

Early Activity

At age 17, Jane and her sister Emma sang backing vocals with the Patrick Sansom Band on an engagement in Italy. Kennaway subsequently auditioned for the Thames Television music drama Rock Follies and for an unidentified Bond-girl role. She also recorded session vocals for advertisements and jingles.

Kennaway formed The Sneaks in 1978 with writer Tom Hibbert and served as singer and guitarist. She also sang with the Ken Mackintosh Big Band at northern working-men’s clubs and Mecca ballrooms. The Sneaks reached the Marquee in London for a support appearance before the group split with no recorded output.

Kennaway signed with Deckstar Management in 1979 under Robin Eggar and Buzz Carter, who also managed The Members. Deckstar and Kennaway formed Strange Behaviour around drummer and percussionist Andy Duncan, who selected much of the eventual backing lineup. Bassist Keith Wilkinson and guitarist Tony “Wims” Wimshurst interacted beforehand in Nasty Pop. Wimshurst also worked with The Planets while Guitarist Eugene Organ joined Charlie for their 1978/79 albums Lines and Fight Dirty; Duncan did session work for both bands.

Deckstar placed Kennaway with Dinsong, a Virgin-affiliated publishing company run by Carol Wilson, and sought a recording contract for her songs. In December 1979, Deckstar commissioned 1,000 copies of the four-song promotional EP JKEP-1, with “Celia,” “Radio,” “Hamburger City,” and “Limited Edition.” CBS manufactured the pressing, which Deckstar circulated among record companies and media contacts in search of a label deal.

Discography: