The Jetset Along with teenage friend
Paul Bevoir, Taub formed
the Jetset in July 1981; the band developed their style under the guidance of former Advertising and
Secret Affair drummer
Paul Bultitude, playing their first gig at the
Rock Garden in
Covent Garden, London, in 1981, and gaining valuable live experience as a touring support act to
Secret Affair later the same year and during 1982. The band focused on creating and marketing bubblegum pop music. Their style and merchandise were influenced by the work of
The Monkees and
The Beatles. From the beginning
The Jetset presented themselves as already every bit as famous as their 1960s heroes. The band's marketing sowed the seeds of Jetset myth before they were even well known. An eye-catching
EP sleeve included the band clowning around in stills "from their forthcoming TV series", hanging out of the Monkee-influenced ‘Jetsetmobile’ (a very English Ford Capri with customised ‘JETSET’ number plates). They even had a suitably barmy Jetset cartoon strip that appeared in
Shadows & Reflections, the underground magazine of long-time Jetset champion
Chris Hunt. Taub added the trademark nasal vocals to The Jetset's authentic 1960s pop sound, and the band went on to record five albums before their acrimonious split in 1988. As
Paul Bevoir started to assume more control of the band's direction and sound, and took on more of the singing duties, Bultitude and Taub quit the band, leaving Bevoir to finish the final Jetset album without them. Bevoir had occasionally appeared live as The Jetset without Taub, most notably on a tour of the United States in 1986.
Mari Wilson's Wilsations Through their connection with Bultitude, Bevoir and Taub had temporarily joined
Mari Wilson's
Wilsations as backing vocalists in 1981. Bevoir soon left to focus on his own music, while Taub went on to enjoy chart success with the Wilsations, before returning to work with Bevoir in The Jetset.
Actor As an actor, Taub appeared in ''It's All True
, an Arena'' television film in the early 1980s, starring alongside
Koo Stark and directed by
Julien Temple, as well as in a number of TV commercials worldwide.
Later career Early demos recorded by Taub have subsequently been released under the name of Melvyn And the Smartys, but after the demise of The Jetset, he continued to work in the music industry as an international press and promotions manager for
EastWest Records and
Sony Music. Upon leaving Sony in 2003, he continued to work with
Oasis,
Travis,
Simple Minds,
Big Audio Dynamite,
Craig David,
Taio Cruz,
Bill Wyman,
Orbital and
Simply Red on a freelance basis. He later went on to form The International Department, an international music promotion and marketing company, with
Paul Bultitude and Doe Phillips. Melvyn continues to work closely with
Manic Street Preachers,
Marc Almond,
Mick Hucknall,
Grace Jones, and
Jake Bugg in promotional and tour management roles, as well as currently enjoying huge success with
Isle Of Wight sensations
Wet Leg whom he co-manages with Martin Hall. == Death ==