Johnny Chester

b. 26 December 1941, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Chester learnt the drums and the guitar before deciding to be a singer, organizing his own dances, in Melbourne's northern suburbs in 1959. He soon formed a band, the Chessmen, to back him at these dances. He was noticed by a popular disc jockey who introduced him to the A&R manager of Melbourne's W&G records. The label recorded him with the backing of the rock ‘n' roll combo the Thunderbirds and a series of 10 hit singles followed, establishing him as a teen idol, in Melbourne. By 1964 he had achieved the aim of all the oth...