JAZZ & MALLETT

James Piper, commonly known as Jazz, was the concert guitarist for Transvision Vamp. Martin Hallett, commonly known as Mallett, was the concert drummer for Transvision Vamp. Jazz and Mallett both hail from London, and were recruited in April 1989 to "flesh out" Transvision Vamp's live sound for the Velveteen tour. Jazz would play guitar in support of Nick Sayer to give a much fuller sound to the concerts. While it was fine for Tex Axile to pose as both the keyboardist and drummer for video and television appearances, Mallett took over drums when playing live, while Tex watched over the complex sequencer set-up and played keyboards.

Jazz, Mallett, Tex and Dave Parsons all got on as good mates. Being friends as well as bandmates was crucial during the sometimes stressful lifestyle of being on the road and on stage. It was important to the Vamp's on tour that everyone fit in and be comfortable with each other in order to put on the best shows possible. Apparently it took a while to come across that combination, but once Transvision Vamp found Jazz and Mallett, it was the right match.

Jazz and Mallett were such an asset to Transvision Vamp's live sound and stage presence, that they both stayed on to tour in support of Little Magnets Verses The Bubble Of Babble.

POL

Pol Burton was born in Great Britain on July 1, 1964. What happened between then and the late 80's is a mystery to me, but I'd love to find out more! He obviously picked up a knack for playing the drums.

Pol Burton was part of the original line-up of Transvision Vamp when their debut album came out in 1988. Pol was considered the "live" drummer during the Pop Art era. You'll see him alongside the rest of the band on the cover of Pop Art, as well as some versions of the singles "Revolution Baby", "Tell That Girl To Shut Up", and "I Want Your Love." Pol played in early concert appearances, and can also be spotted drumming away in the "Revolution Baby" and "Sister Moon" videos. There is some debate over whether Pol was in the video for "I Want Your Love." During the opening sequence, while Wendy runs up the stairs, there is a chap that looks much like Pol sitting on the stairs with a pair of drumsticks. It may be just a model in these shots, but the message sent is clear nevertheless - Pol was left outside of the band from then on. It is said that Pol's gig ended up only lasting two months (though four singles would seem to suggest a longer time span), after which band management felt it was best to keep all video and television appearances to a four-piece.

Pol was in at least one other band fairly recently, or two if you want to get technical. The band started out as "Angora" and seems to have been comprised mainly of Rose Carlotti, Steve Beswick, Farzana Fiaz, and our good ol' Pol Burton on drums. They even released a 7" single! However, the band soon changed their name to "Tom Patrol", taken from the British slang for prostitute hunting. That wasn't the only change either, Pol actually switched from drums to guitar! Tom Patrol gave it their best shot playing gigs around London and attempting to sell thier music online. As with many other local bands, the money soon ran out, the members seemed to lose interest, and that was the end of our Tom Patrol.

In a display of decency, someone has captured some sound bites (which are actually quite good!) and photos (I'm guessing that's Pol with the guitar pictured to the right) from the defunct Tom Patrol website here --> Angora/Tom Patrol

-- Thanks to Bernadette Giacomazzo's In Music We Trust article and our good ol' Vamp conversations for Pol's Tom Patrol info.