Jess Conrad (born Gerald James, 24 February 1936, Brixton, London) is an actor and singer from England. He was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s with a number of hits to his credit, "Cherry Pie", "This Pullover", "Mystery Girl" and "Pretty Jenny".He has recorded for Decca,Columbia,Pye,President and EMI record labels. Since then his live performances have continued to be popular, with an ovation in 2005 at the London Palladium when sharing a bill with Eden Kane,John Leyton, Marty Wilde and others. During the late 1950s and in to the mid 1960s Conrad appeared in a number of cult films, namely Serious Charge (uncredited), The Boys, Rag Doll, Kill 1 and Konga. He also featured in a cameo role in the Sex Pistols film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. Odeon recently re-issued one of his 70's films on to DVD "Cool It Carol". He also starred in the 90's film "The Punk And The Princess" directed by sixties pop star Mike Sarne and most recently in Mike Moran's "Telstar-The Movie" playing the part of pop svengali Larry Parnes. Jess is one of few fifties and sixties 'icons' still working today,he continues to record and in more recent times his original Decca recordings were re-issued on a compilation disc by UK label Vocalion Records,the CD "Jess For You" named after his original 1961 Decca album has become a cult classic lounge album. His recordings of Andrew Lloyd Webber songs for the compilations "Andrew Lloyd Webber Songbook" and "Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection" both became top Gold and Platinum sellers. Conrad starred in many musicals throughout the 1970s and 1980s, his acclaimed portrayal of 'Jesus' in Godspell led to his landing the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat when it first ran in the West End, he was the first successful Joseph and toured with the show for nine years. He has also appeared in many rock operas and pantomimes as well as mainstream acting tours. He has also been a member of the Showbiz Football XI and managed the celebrity team for many years. Conrad struck up a working relationship with comic Jim Davidson after appearing in his infamous adult panto Sinderella and featured as 'the voice of viagra' on Davidson's The Generation Game for BBC Television. His most notable recent appearance was in an episode of the BBC daytime show, Escape to the Country. During this programme, Conrad often referred to himself in the third person ("Could Jess Conrad see himself living in a house like this? yes, I believe he could") and likened himself to (tongue-in-cheek) James Bond. In fact he was screen-tested for the role of James Bond in 1968, though the role eventually went to George Lazenby. Today he divides his time between homes in England and Spain where he can often be found playing in celebrity golf matches and appearances in concerts and cabaret. He shows no sign of retiring saying how much he enjoys performing. He has been married to wife Renee for over forty years. On 4 November 2007 Conrad appeared in the Icons of the Sixties show at the Theatre Royal in Windsor with Craig Douglas, John Leyton, plus The Tornados with original member Clem Cattini on drums and singer/writer Graham Hunter hosting and providing backing vocals.This concert was successfully repeated again on 2nd November 2008 with Jess, Billie Davis,Mike Berry and Jet Harris on the bill. In April 2008 Conrad can be seen in the new British film Telstar - The Joe Meek Story, written and directed by Nick Moran and starring Kevin Spacey. Conrad plays the 1960s pop music guru, Larry Parnes and the role of Jess Conrad is played by Eastenders actor Nigel Harman. The film premiere was held on October 25th 2008 at the Odeon West End in Leicester Square as part of the British Film Institute's fifty second London Film Festival. In March 2008 he appeared on BBC2 in Escape To The Country. [edit]