As I said before The Temperance Seven were one of my elder brother’s favourites back in the Trad Jazz boom. This week I learned their laid back singer Paul McDowell has passed away. His vocal style led to the nickname Whispering Paul.

I already featured their hits which my brother bought in the post linked to above, so here are the B-sides.

(That Parlophone label really takes me back.)

The Temperance Seven: Charley My Boy (B-side of You’re Driving Me Crazy)

The Temperance Seven: Sugar (B-side of Pasadena)

The Temperance Seven: Chili Bom Bom (B-side of Hard Hearted Hannah)

“Whispering” Paul McDowell: 15/8/ 1931 – 2/5/ 2016. So it goes.

One of the strangest manifestations of the trad jazz boom of the early 1960s was The Temperance Seven. Despite the band’s name it was in fact a nine-piece. It was said at the time that was because only seven of them were teetotal. Wikipedia suggests that actually none of them were; it may be a pun on one under/over the eight.

Most of their tunes, performed in 1920s fashion, featured a long musical introduction before the vocal came in. The vocal also tended not to be sung but rather voiced, Rex-Harrison style.

My eldest brother had a few of their records. The You Tube video for this one has some nice film of trams.

The Temperance Seven: You’re Driving Me Crazy

Another of their hits was Pasadena:

The Temperance Seven: Pasadena (Look out for the (two) false ending(s.)

This last one, Hard hearted Hannah, I include because the good lady’s aunt apparently used to belt out the song at family “do”s.

The Temperance Seven: Hard hearted Hannah