The group was formed around 1960 by Peter Jay, the son of Jack Jay who owned and managed the Windmill Theatre together with several cinemas and nightclubs in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England. Peter Jay formed the group while studying at Norwich College. He played drums; other band members were Pete "Buzz" Miller, Tony Webster, Mac McIntyre, Lloyd Baker, Geoff Moss and Johnny Larke. The band never contained the unusual set-up of an acoustic and electric bass, just two electric basses. From about 1962, the group were also noted for their use of coordinated Vox Phantom guitars on stage. Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers signed a recording deal with Decca Records in 1962. Their first record, a rocked-up version of the can-can music from Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, produced by Joe Meek at Decca's studios in Hampstead and entitled "Can Can 62", rose to #31 after entering the UK chart in November 1962. The group released several further singles on Decca in 1963 and 1964, but none became hits. The group were a popular live act and were chosen as a support act to the Beatles on their UK tour in November and December 1963. They also appeared on national TV shows including Ready Steady Go! and Thank Your Lucky Stars. The group moved to Piccadilly Records in 1964 and released several further singles, with little commercial success. Miller left in 1965, and was replaced by guitarist Terry Reid. After further personnel changes, and billed as "Peter Jay and the New Jaywalkers", the group continued to appear on bills with leading bands of the time, and were included on a 1966 package tour of the UK with the Rolling Stones, Ike and Tina Turner and the Yardbirds starting at the Royal Albert Hall in September 1966. Following the tour, the group split up.
Later activities
In the late 1970s, Peter Jay, together with his father, purchased the Hippodrome in Great Yarmouth, and gradually restored it as a theatre and circus venue with a circular performing area which could be lowered to reveal a swimming pool. He also took over the lease of the Tower Circus in Blackpool in 1983. Since his father's death in 1985, he has continued to own and manage the Yarmouth Hippodrome. He has also published an autobiography, Jaywalking. Pete Miller became a solo artist, releasing the single "Baby I Got News for You" in 1965, with backing by Peter Frampton and other members of The Herd. He then concentrated on songwriting and worked as a session musician, before re-emerging as "Big Boy Pete" in early 1968 with the single "Cold Turkey", a track which was later anthologised as an example of freakbeat and covered by The Damned. Miller moved to San Francisco in the mid-1970s, and has since recorded with his band, the Wildcats, as well as collaborating with other musicians in ventures such as "Shig & Buzz". Terry Reid continued his solo career, becoming a singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
