The little we know about Alan Upton comes from the fact that he gave Alvin Lee, then known as Graham Barnes, his first opportunity to play live in a group. He joined Alan Upton and his Jailbreakers when he was 13. As he turned 13 in December 1957 we can assume he joined in 1958. Alan Upton was described as a Jerry Lee Lewis clone and he sang lead vocals as well as playing piano. Jim Cartwright who later played with “The Silhouettes” was also in the “‘Jail breakers‘ with Alan Upton, Max Barnes, and a young Graham Barnes”. Max Barnes was the cousin of Graham Barnes. They would later play in the very first line up of Ivan Jaye and the Jaye Men in April 1960.

Alvin played lead guitar, a Grimshaw. This rock ‘n’ roll band was inspired by American guitarist Scotty Moore. With this band Lee played his first professional gig – a 10-minute spot between films at a cinema in Nottingham. This band played a lot more gigs including The Palace Theatre in Sandiacre, Derbyshire.

Alvin mentioned Alan Upton twice in interviews he gave to the Nottingham Evening Post in 1990 and 1993. Alvin remembered that he played at the Sandiacre Palace but, with the passage of time, he may have meant the Stapleford Palace as the press cuttings suggest. They played between the films. Alvin wasn’t with Alan Upton long so the press cuttings are probably after Alvin had moved on to Vince Marshall and the Square Cats.

The Jailbreakers line up:
Alan Upton: Piano, Vocals
Graham Barnes: Guitar
Max Barnes: Bass
Jim Cartwright: Drums