[1] To his surprise, the song became a transatlantic hit that autumn, reaching the Top 10 in the United Kingdom and rising to No.
The original version of the New Vaudeville Band was an assemblage of studio musicians, specifically gathered by Geoff Stephens to record the song "Winchester Cathedral", which he both wrote and produced.
[2] The record sold over three million copies worldwide, earning the RIAA certification of gold disc status.
[1] Only Bob Kerr from that group was interested, so he left the Bonzos in order to help Stephens form a touring version of the New Vaudeville Band,[2] which included original session drummer Henri Harrison.
An initial long-playing album by this line-up was issued in late 1966 by Fontana Records, also titled Winchester Cathedral.
[2] This album contained the Geoff Stephens/Les Reed composition "There's A Kind Of Hush", which was quickly covered by Herman's Hermits who had a hit with the song in most of the world in early 1967.
However, the New Vaudeville Band version of the tune was issued as a single in Australia and South Africa, and became a significant chart hit in both those territories.
A little later in 1967 the New Vaudeville Band released the Finchley Central album,[2] which was rejigged slightly and retitled On Tour in the US.
Many of the band's recordings now consisted of re-arranging then-contemporary hits (e.g. ABBA's "Thank You For The Music", Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road") into a distinctively 1920s style.
By this time Steve Shaw (trombone, keyboards, congas, backing vocals) had replaced Batchelor.