Jeff Dexter

Jeff Dexter (born Jeffery Dexter Bedwell, 15 August 1946)

He has been interested in clothing and style from a young age, influenced by his mother and brother, and as a boy, joined the Sea Scouts and the Boys' Brigade so that he could wear the uniform. He did dressmaking and tailoring which made him popular with girls, which he enjoyed. Often, he was the only boy at some of the places where he mixed.

The twist In September 1961, Dexter was banned from the Lyceum for dancing the twist, which had just arrived in England. According to Dexter, the management thought the dance obscene. Two weeks later, he managed to get back in by promising not to do the dance, but two weeks later, ironically, the twist was then demonstrated by the Arthur Murray School of Dancing at the Lyceum. Dexter's dancing was filmed and included in the Pathé newsreels shown in cinemas. As a result, he was hired by the Lyceum as a dancer, aged fifteen, even though under sixteens were officially blocked from admission to the club. He dropped his tailoring and music studies to take the job and later said, "The thought of being paid to dance with women was just phenomenal!" where Dexter was also the resident DJ. Dexter also DJ'ed at the 1971 Glastonbury Fair, a precursor to the current Glastonbury Festival.

Career in the music industry In 1970, he became the manager of America, the American folk rock band formed in London earlier that year, consisting of Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek. He also co-produced their first album, America (1972) and got them their first gig. They went on to have number one hits in 1972 including "A Horse with No Name".