The 82-year-old soul singer certainly come a long way from Florida. These days his group Londonbeat are still filling the dance floors around Europe in a new direction that he could have never foreseen…
By Ian Woolley
Jimmy in 2018 (photo credit Eugène Taran)
The Londonbeat singer’s story begins in his home country of America.
Growing up in Florida, it was a cousin of Jimmy who got him into music in the first place. “I was raised by my grandparents, I was working on their farm and looking around for something to do. We spent most of the week doing church music and one day my cousin Doris came home with a cornet”.
“I asked her what it was as I wanted to play it. The next day she took me into the school band room and that was my formal introduction to music and the technical side of playing a musical instrument”.
In 1963, Helms released his first single “Suzie’s Gone” on Juggy Murray’s Sue Records (Yes, Wikipedia is like a dartboard, full of holes!).
“I was just finding my feet in the studio looking for a record deal at the time. Juggy offered me this song and said let’s record it and see what happens. It was the first roll of the dice for me as a recording artist. I was green, I was anxious and hungry for anything that goes with it when you’re young and you’ve got this thing in your blood that you’ve got to do. So that was my experience and I was happy about it”.
Jimmy’s big break came when he moved to London.
“I was gigging in New York and I was invited to do a song festival and at that festival, one of the judges was Les Reed who wrote all the big hits for Tom Jones. He gave me his card and told me to get a plane ticket over to England as he had some songs for me. It was off the back of that, that I had a lot of encouragement and suggestions from friends who were already living and working in the UK to get over there as there was a lot of opportunity. The UK was a big melting pot of music at the time and that’s what got me there in the first place”.
They were justified in their encouragement when he had a 1973 UK top 8 with “Gonna Make You An Offer You Can’t Refuse” on Fly Records. Jimmy adds “I’ll make the joke now at my own expense that it seems so long ago now that in some ways it should be called “Gonna Make You An Offer You Can’t Recall!” (Jimmy bursts into laughter).
A few years back I witnessed Jimmy perform a few songs at the Radio Reunion in Camden. I asked him if he could still get up there on those high notes. Jimmy laughs, “Some nights I may need a step ladder to reach those notes: but not yet!”
As well as the lucrative opportunities that came Jimmy’s way at that time, it was in Holland where he found a completely new genre of pop success with his group Londonbeat. Along with ex-Olympic Runner George Chandler, Jimmy Chambers, and William Henshall, Helms’s distinctive voice was laid over a high-energy disco riff.
“Holland was the first liftoff for Londonbeat in 1988 and it’s there that we have had our most chart successes. At one point we were there a couple of times a month doing TV and radio and it was endless promotion. It was so good for us because as much as the good that came from exposure, it gave us a chance to get our voices and tunes in harmony with each other. So when we finally moved out to do a tour we were ready for it”.
The Londonbeat’s penned “I’ve Been Thinking About You” almost got to no.1 in the UK in 1990 but more importantly, gave them a no.1 on the US Billboard chart and in 27 countries total.
Londonbeat (photo credit Sergey Peredera)
Londonbeat’s present line-up is with Jimmy Chambers and Charles Pierre and this year saw a new release “The Knock”. “It’s turning a new corner for us and it’s got our creative juices flowing again,” says Jimmy.
“The music we are coming up with, we feel is still Londonbeat. It’s still the harmonies and what brought people to us in the first place but it’s turning corners. A little bit more technology and just a pinch more innovation to keep it interesting for those of us who get bored with music these days”.
“The music we are coming up with, we feel is still Londonbeat. It’s still the harmonies and what brought people to us in the first place but it’s turning corners. A little bit more technology and just a pinch more innovation to keep it interesting for those of us who get bored with music these days”.
“The music we are coming up with is we feel is still Londonbeat. It’s still the harmonies and what brought people to us in the first place but it’s turning corners a little bit more technology maybe and just a pinch more innovation to keep it interesting for those of us who get bored with music these days”.
At 82, does Jimmy Helms feel like hanging up his soul boots?
He laughs “No I don’t. I say, when you are blessed with doing the thing that you love, and when you’ve been fortunate to have earned a living from it 99% of my own adult life, then I say to myself, retire from what? Basically, that’s the way I feel about it. I am loving it and as long as we get a positive reaction from our crowds and the music is flowing and loving what we are doing, I see no need to stop”.
Looking at Jimmy’s upcoming diary, he’s as busy as ever. New songs, several shows in Europe, and a solo tour next year as well as performing at a special Memorial Concert for Mo Foster – ‘One Mo Time’ at 229 Club, London on Monday 27th November.
Read the full exclusive interview in our November issue. Jimmy talks about his special gig memory, appearing in the musical Hair! and his Roger Moore connection. Order your copy today.
More information about Jimmy Helms can be found at www.jimmyhelms.co.uk