About
Telephone Bill and The Smooth Operators

Telephone Bill and the Smooth Operators were formed in the mid-seventies from members of Cambridge's 'singing dole queue', Duke Duke and the Dukes, and various bluegrassy/country/swingy outfits. That early career included tours all over Britain and halfway round the world, a TV series for BBC 2, numerous BBC radio sessions, a number of singles and three albums.

 

They were really well-known...really well-known.
Then they split up in 1981, over musical differences, girls and a lost bicycle.

Now, Telephone Bill and the Smooth Operators are slightly less well-known.

The band re-formed to play at the 2001 Cambridge Folk Festival. Founder members Nick, Chris and Robb had been joined by the alumnus of 1978, Steve.

Lacking wind instruments, very high voices and dresses, the band spotted Paula Welham when her band The Floozies opened for them in Bury St Edmunds. She helped them out on a couple of gigs, then they wouldn't let her go.

Back in the seventies, Telephone Bill and the Smooth Operators were hailed as being thirty years ahead of their time.

That makes them now only a few years out of date.

Nick Barraclough