Jeff Wayne opens up about recording David Essex classic 'Rock On'

9 October 2025, 10:17 | Updated: 9 October 2025, 10:21

Jeff Wayne opens up about making ‘Rock On’ with David Essex

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Jeff Wayne is a composer, conductor, musician and lyricist who has worked on hundreds of projects over the years.

He's best known for his masterpiece Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of War of the Worlds, the 15 million selling double album that has since become a video game, arena tour and most recently a Guinness World Record-setting Immersive Experience in London.

But Jeff is also an incredible rock and roll producer, who has worked with some major artists on some of their biggest and best projects.

He produced Roger Daltrey's McVicar album, which was released between The Who's Who Are You album and their first post-Keith Moon record Face Dances and featured contributions from Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Kenney Jones.

Watch the full interview above

He also produced one of the most vital sounding records of the 1970s, David Essex breakthrough 'Rock On'.

Released in 1973, the song went to number 3 in the UK singles chart and number five in the US.

It featured on David's debut album, also called Rock On, and also the soundtrack of that year's That'll Be The Day, the coming-of-age period drama that starred Essex alongside Rosemary Leach and Ringo Starr.

David Essex Rock On (music video)

Speaking in the Red Weed room of the Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds: The Immersive Experience, Jeff Wayne spoke to Gold about just how he and Essex made the record.

"'Rock On' is something special... people refer to it as being a pretty special production," Wayne said.

"What I can tell you is that David used to sing on projects of mine, from commercials to the odd film score and we became friends.

"One day after a commercial session he mentioned that he was now feeling that it was time try a new producer. We were getting on as mates, and he said, 'I've written a new song. I wonder if I could play it for you sometime?'"

"We had finished our session early. My engineer was still sitting there in the control room, we were sharing a cup of tea and I thought, 'Well, what's wrong with right now, Dave? Go on out there, the piano is still set up with the microphone, why don't you go sit down at the piano and play it, and I'll have a listen, I'll give you my honest reaction'.

"So he goes into the studio, sits down on the piano stool but doesn't play the piano. He picks up the trash bin right next to it, turns it over and starts banging away like a set of congas, and that was how he demoed 'Rock On' for me."

Jeff added: "He played it a bit faster than the tempo I recorded it, but by the fact that it was just his voice and a rhythm, a groove, that gave me an idea that less is more.

"My engineer was immediately on to it and I asked him, 'Can you put a sort of '50s echo on to it? 'Cos he mentions in his lyrics the actor James Dean', which he did.

"David came back afterward with, 'What do you think?'.

"'I think you've got something really special there. I'd be willing to put up the dosh, so to speak, for that and a B-side, take it to a full master, and let's see what comes out'. That's how we became an artist with me as his producer, arranger, musical director on a couple of years of his tours."

Jeff Wayne protects his Guinness World Record from a Martian attack. Picture: Jack Hall/PA Media Assignments

Of the sound of the record, Jeff said: "'Rock On' was born with just three musicians as the band. Herbie Flowers on bass and two Barrys. Barry de Souza and Barry Morgan... very sparse parts, because what I wanted was very much for the bass to be in the foreground

"I think it was Herbie who said, 'Jeff, when's the rest of the band arriving?'. And I said, 'Guys, you are the band. This is what I'm hearing from a less is more situation'.

"In fact, the whole orchestration, which eventually had brass and strings on it, backing vocals, etc. didn't play a chord. I didn't want any instrument playing a chord, like keyboards or guitars. Nothing like that."

David Essex - Rock On (Live from David Essex Showcase, 1982)

Wayne added: "My engineer set up a pair of microphones, left and right, because when the song starts after the opening groove, you hear a chshweww. Well, that was me. That's my big appearance on 'Rock On', from left to right, and then off David went with the singing.

I kept it very sparse. As I said, nothing plays a chord, and when it was all over, the initial backing track, Herbie said, 'You know, I think if we recorded my bass part up an octave, it will add an extra wobble, so to speak, to it'. And when Herbie suggested something you listened.

"We did it. We doubled it, up an octave. And int had that wobble, just as he said, and off we went."

Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds: The Immersive Experience opened in London in 2019 and this week it earned a Guinness World Record for the longest theatrical run of a musical immersive theatre production, racking up over 31,000 performances. Tickets are available now.