The History

Johnny Wheeler, born 21st February 1945 in Hayes End, Middlesex, was a fairly average boy with a secondary school education who, like many of his generation found himself totally consumed by rock ‘n’ roll music. At the age of eleven he was already playing guitar in his older brother Bob’s skiffle group, ‘The Bobcats’. It was in his hometown High Wycombe in 1962 during one of his gigs he met the 15-year-old Shirley Bagnall and the course of their lives was changed forever! Shirley was born in Stokenchurch, Bucks on 10th Feb. 1947. The family pub, The Four Horseshoes was, at the time run by her grandfather. Sometime later the family moved to Tain, Ross and Cromarty to run a post office followed by another move to Nelson in Lancs. before finally moving back to Buckinghamshire. Shirley was working in a solicitor’s office in The High Street, High Wycombe at the time she and Johnny met and started to go out together.

As was customary, John was eventually asked to Shirley’s house to meet the family. Shirley’s father Richard was also very keen on music (he was asked to sing with a dance band in his youth but Mum said NO!) and upon hearing John at a gig with his band at the time ‘Bobby James and the Clippers’, he asked the pair to sing a couple of popular songs of the period. (I seem to remember ‘Hey Paula’ was one of ‘em)! This spurred Richard Bagnall on and within days he’d written his first song for them. Meanwhile S&J had joined another local group 'The Telstars' and proceeded to play venues as far away as Portsmouth during the week. It soon became apparent that doing a ‘day job’ whilst following a professional course in music was not going to work!