John Pickles obituary: The Yorkshire mastermind behind Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers
John Pickles who has died at 84, was a Yorkshire music producer who created the novelty pop act Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers, which had number one hits with the medlies Swing The Mood, That’s What I Like and Let’s Party.
The act was made up of Pickles, his son Andrew, who also worked as a director for his company Mastermix, and the Doncaster DJ and producer Les Hemstock.
Their records typically used synthesisers and sampling to combine contemporary pop music with music from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
Glen Miller and Little Richard were among those sampled by Pickles, whose family had run an electrical shop on the Great North Road in Woodlands, near Doncaster.
The group also had a UK top 10 album in Jive Bunny The Album and scored five UK top 10 hits including their number ones.
They became only the third act to reach number one with their first three singles, after Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1964 and Frankie Goes to Hollywood in 1984.
The album covers and music videos featured a cartoon rabbit, with costumed actors who also made promotional appearances as the character.
The craze was short-lived but in 2024, Mastermix released a new Jive Bunny production called 3, 6, 9, which it said was “celebrating the origins of Jive Bunny while adding a modern twist”.