After being a member of the amateur group Dramatis Personae while still at school, Jona Lewie (born John Lewis) started in the music business as a session pianist, before joining the cult pub rock band, Brett Marvin & The Thunderbolts, in the late 1960s. The group was a popular live act for several years, but their only mainstream hit single was "Seaside Shuffle" (1972), released under the one-off nom de disque Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs.
