John Smith and the Common Men

John Smith and the Common Men, originally known as simply the Common Men, was a music group in 1960s England. (TV: An Unearthly Child, AUDIO: 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men)

History

The Common Men originally consisted of three members: Mark Carville, James O'Meara and Korky Goldsmith. The three were actually aliens who did not know they were not human. (AUDIO: 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men)

John Smith and the Common Men was beaten to No. 1 in 1963 by the Beatles. (AUDIO: Hunters of Earth) In an alternate timeline created by Lenny Kruger, the Common Men became the most famous band in the world in place of them. The timeline was repaired by the Fifth Doctor who, in early November 1963, suggested to the Common Men that they become a backing group for "John Smith". (AUDIO: 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men)

John Smith was the stage name of the honourable Aubrey Waites, who started his career as Chris Waites and the Carrollers. One song from Chris Waites and the Carrollers was "Christmas Caroline". (TV: An Unearthly Child, PROSE: Time and Relative)

In November 1963, John Smith and the Common Men went from 19 to 2 in the British charts. Susan Foreman was fond of their music. Her science teacher and future travelling companion Ian Chesterton was quite familiar with them and knew Smith's true identity. (TV: An Unearthly Child)

In 1965, Dodo Chaplet listened to John Smith and the Common Men, but thought that they were "a bit past it". (PROSE: Salvation)

During one UNIT Christmas party, the Third Doctor provided the music, which included John Smith and the Common Men. (PROSE: UNIT Christmas Parties: First Christmas)

In May 1997, while the Eighth Doctor and Bernice Summerfield searched Timothy Todd's flat, Benny discovered a cassette entitled Twang: More Than Thirty Years of John Smith and the Common Men. (PROSE: The Dying Days)

Sam Gold, the DJ of Radio Yesterday, played a cover of one of the band's songs during his ex-wife Iris Wildthyme's visit to the station. (AUDIO: The Sound of Fear)

Behind the scenes

• The song used in An Unearthly Child was called "Three Guitars Mood 2" by Nelson & Raymond/The Arthur Nelson Group, which had been previously heard nearly two years earlier, on 2 January 1962, in the Z-Cars episode, "Four of a Kind". The song was released on the Doctor Who Appreciation Society cassette Space Adventures - Music from Doctor Who 1963-1968 in 1987.