Heat 21 of series three saw a panel of Clifford Davis, Martin Jackson, band leader Jack Parnell and comedian Ted Ray judge the following seven acts;

• Yard Of Ale (harmony trio) from East Lothian
• Frank Terenzi (vocalist) from Chatham, Kent
• Janice Hoyte (vocalist) from London
• Dennis D’ell (vocal/guitarist) from Essex
• Kenny Windsor (comedian) from Telford
• Kentucky County (trio) from Bedford
• Brainchild (four-piece group) from Oldham

The controversial winner of this heat was Dennis D’ell.  In the 1960s Dennis was the singer in the group The Honeycombs who in August 1964 topped the UK singles charts with their smash hit Have I The Right. Dennis made lots of TV appearances with the group in the 60s but the producers decided that he was eligible as he had never been on screen before as a solo artist, which bypassed the show’s own rules.  In the early 1990s Dennis was back performing with The Honeycombs as was the original female drummer, Honey Lantree, when they appeared at the Lewisham Theatre in a tribute concert held for Joe Meek.

Dave, Alan, John & Steve, collectively known as Brainchild sang one of their own songs called Going Through.  The judges scored for them varied from 22/30 from Jack Parnell, who ‘thought they were a very good group indeed’ to Ted Ray’s 15/30 who claimed ‘I couldn’t understand a word of the song.’ Overall the group scored 71 points from a possible 120 available.

Early leader in the heat was singer Frank Terenzi, scoring well with the panel. Frank, from Chatham hoped that after his appearance his wife Jackie, herself a guest viewer judge on the show in series four, would help him secure bookings through the new agency she had formed.

Later in his singing career a 1978 review in the Channel Times said, “Frank is a true professional in his appearance and voice and looks a cross between a slim Humperdinck and Henry (The Fonz) Winkler.”

Kenny Windsor was a comedian who specialised in character driven comedy sketches. The material hasn’t aged well and he would now be accused of racial stereotyping with his Scottish, Welsh and Indian accent character jokes, but back in 1974 this was all acceptable it seems. Kenny’s routine from this very heat is available (in audio format) on You Tube and can be listened to by clicking his name above.

Kenny scored quite well with the judges, totalling 80 of the 120 points available. Fellow comedian, Ted Ray commented ‘I thought he was absolutely splendid’ and awarded him 23/30 points but Jack Parnell only gave half marks with a 15/30 claiming ‘I wasn’t tremendously impressed with the material.’

The performance and appearance of Barbados born singer Janice Hoyte was a minor sensation with the judges, when she sang the song The Sun Has Closed The Winter Day. Here’s are some of their comments;

• “A lot of natural talent. We will hear more of Janice” – Jack Parnell
• “I liked her very much and wish her well” – Clifford Davis
• “A super looking girl” – Martin Jackson

Janice Hoyte went on to have a successful singing career, playing shows all over the world and recording with Pete Townshend (The Who) and Bill Wyman (The Rolling Stones) plus many more well know acts.

She also performed backing vocals on the 1985 number one hit 19 by Paul Hardcastle.

Show Footage (Audio Only)

Brianchild – Going Through

Kenny Windsor