Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs

Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs
Origin	England
Genres	Pop, novelty
Years active	1972–1977
Labels	UK Records, Sonet

Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs were an English novelty band that issued a few recordings in the early 1970s. The band was an alias adopted by Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts but signed to a different record label.^[1]

Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs was created to promote the hit single "Seaside Shuffle". The name was not a reference to any particular band member, but was a pun on the name of the Jurassic flying reptile pterodactyl. Notable band members were Jona Lewie (composer/vocals/accordion) and Keef Trouble (percussion).

Recordings

Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs released three singles in 1972 and 1973: "Seaside Shuffle" (1972), "On a Saturday Night" and "She Left; I Died" (both 1973). "Seaside Shuffle and its B-side "Ball and Chain" were both written by John Lewis (aka Jona Lewie).

In 1972, the band released "Seaside Shuffle" with the marketing and distribution aid of Jonathan King's UK Records label. The song reached number two in the UK Singles Chart.^[2] "On a Saturday Night" did not achieve the same popularity, just making the Top 50. The final single, "She Left; I Died" did not chart. The band did not have another top 10 chart single, consigning it to perennial one-hit wonder status. Subsequently, band members returned to performing as Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts, except for Jona Lewie, who pursued a solo career.^[3]

In 1977 the single "Come Away" was released by 'Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs with Jona Lewie'.^[4]

Single discography

Year	Title	Label	Peak positions					Album
			UK [5]	AUS [6]	GER [7][8]	IRE [9]	NLD [10]
1972	"Seaside Shuffle" b/w "Ball and Chain"	UK Records	2	20	22	13	15	Alias Terry Dactyl - Brett Marvin & the Thunderbolts[11]
1973	On a Saturday Night" b/w "Going Round the World"		45	—	45	—	—
	"She Left I Died" b/w "Too Self Centred"		—	—	—	—	—
1977	"Come Away" (with Jona Lewie) b/w "Cherry Ring"	Sonet Records	—	—	—	—	26
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or not released in the territory

References

1. Larkin, Colin (2013). The Virgin Encyclopedia of The Blues. Random House. ISBN 9781448132744 – via Google Books. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 133. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
3. Larkin, Colin (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Guinness Pub. ISBN 9781448132744 – via Google Books. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
4. "Terry Dactyl And The Dinosaurs With Jona Lewie - Come Away (Bate O Pe) / Cherry Ring - Sonet - UK - SON 2115". 45cat. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
5. "Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs". The Official Charts Company.
6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 80. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
7. "On A Saturday Night". Offizielle Deutsche Charts.
8. "Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs: Seaside Shuffle". Offizielle Deutsche Charts.
9. "The Irish Charts".
10. "Terry Dactyl". Dutchcharts.nl.
11. "From the Music Capital of the World". Billboard. 12 August 1972. p. 52.