Back with the best one-hit wonder of all time

It was also voted the Best One Hit Wonder of All Time by listeners to Steve Lamacq’s 6 Music Show in 2015.

Jilted John by Jilted John told the story of John, our anorak-wearing hero, being jilted by his girlfriend Julie for a guy called Gordon, who John calls a ‘moron’ (which became the song’s crowd-chant), and the New Musical Express dubbed John ‘The King of Wimp Rock’.

After the hit, no other singles were issued, there were no tours — aside from a handful of gigs around Liverpool and Manchester — but there was an album, True Love Stories, which was released four months after the single hit the charts.

But now, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the single, Jilted John is about to take to the road for his first ever tour.

John is/was the creation of Graham Fellows (better known for the comic creation John Shuttleworth), and he wrote the song during a lunch break on a battered acoustic guitar lying around in the canteen at Manchester Polytechnic, where he was a student.

“Yes, I guess the character was formed after the song was written,” Graham tells me. “I wrote it as a spoof of punk rock in late 1977 and recorded a demo version.”

A second, slightly better, demo was recorded and played to local punk label Rabid Records, who signed Graham and he entered the studio to record the definitive version with the flip side Going Steady.

The record was produced by Martin Zero who, as Martin Hannett, produced the likes of The Buzzcocks, Joy Division and Happy Mondays.

Once released, the record received lots of airplays, especially by John Peel.

When Simon Bates played it on his daytime show, the label realised that they had a hit on their hands and leased the track to EMI International. Of the records’ 12 weeks in the charts, ten of them were spent in the Top Thirty and five in the Top Ten, and Graham appeared on Top Of The Pops three times and promptly forgot the lyrics on his third appearance!

“We had very little time to record the single — about four to six hours,” Graham remembers. “We recorded it in Pennine Studios in Oldham one night using a one-inch, eight track studio.”

The success of the song surprised him. “Yes, I was surprised I guess. The momentum built as I think the song spoke to a lot of kids. There was a massive reaction to it.”

On Top of the Pops the character was dressed in an anorak.

“Yes, it was sourced from a charity shop. Maybe I can find one for the tour,” he laughs.

And does John'have a surname? “Technically it’s ‘Thomas’. John Thomas — it’s a bit of a cheap gag.”

Another side effect of the hit is that he meets a lot of people called Gordon.

“Yes, it’s strange. They don’t punch me on the nose, but they shake my hand and tell me about how the song made their life a misery.

“I had the compliment paid to me by someone recording an ‘answer’ song.” (Gordon’s Not A Moron by Julie and Gordon).

Then there was an album. “Yes, if you have a hit single, they make you come up with an album. I admit it was rushed. I think it was done too quickly — in a week. I based the songs on the 60s kitchen-sink films.

"It was so different from the single that it was almost guaranteed to be a commercial flop. Let’s face it, I was just 19 and trying to write before I could walk.

But in context, I’m pretty proud of it.”

There have been a few Jilted John shows including The Big Chill in 2008, The Rebellion Festival in 2016 and last year at the legendary 100 Club, and now this one and only tour.

“I got a new band together for The Rebellion festival and they’ll be touring with me. One of them (bassist Andy Hobson) was with The Pretenders and Dexy’s Midnight Runners”

For the tour, Graham says he will only be doing Jilted John, no other characters.

And what can we expect to hear? “Well, I think we’ll do about half the album and other songs like Mrs Pickering and Keira Knightly, Eat Your Dinner!

“I'm also delighted to have John Otway as a special guest on the tour — it’ll be fun, but I think after that it’ll be the end of Jilted John.”

Jilted John and his band will be appearing at The O2 Academy, Sheffield, on Friday October 19.

Tickets are available from the box office and all the usual agencies.