John Pickles, the entrepreneur behind Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers and the Mastermix DJ service, has died aged 84.
by Paul Cashmere
John Pickles, the founder of the Mastermix company and the driving business force behind Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers, has died aged 84. Pickles established the Rotherham-based operation that turned DJ megamixes into mainstream pop hits, with Jive Bunny scoring three consecutive UK number one singles in 1989.
Mastermix confirmed Pickles’ death in a statement paying tribute to a figure it described as “a true pioneer in the music industry”. The company also described him as “a leader, an entrepreneur, a businessman and an incredibly talented songwriter”.
“His creativity, vision and passion for music touched the lives and careers of so many people around the world, and for the most fortunate of us, he was dad,” the statement said.
Pickles’ achievement was not simply the creation of a novelty pop character. His business provided the infrastructure through which a DJ-oriented mixing concept could be developed into a commercially successful recording project, connecting the culture of club megamixes with the mainstream singles market.
Jive Bunny emerged from the Mastermix DJ service in 1989. Doncaster DJ and producer Les Hemstock created the original “Swing The Mood” mix for Mastermix, which was subsequently developed into a commercial single by John Pickles and his son Andrew Pickles. Andrew was also a director of Mastermix.
The resulting Jive Bunny recordings combined synthesised production and sampling with recognisable material from earlier decades. The first three singles, “Swing The Mood”, “That’s What I Like” and “Let’s Party”, all reached number one on the UK Singles Chart during 1989.
“Swing The Mood” was the breakthrough. The recording combined the musical framework of Glenn Miller’s “In The Mood” with excerpts associated with early rock ‘n’ roll, including Bill Haley And His Comets’ “Rock Around The Clock”, Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” and The Everly Brothers’ “Wake Up, Little Susie”. It spent five weeks at number one in Britain and also reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.
“That’s What I Like” followed, incorporating the theme from the television series Hawaii Five-O alongside material including Chubby Checker’s “Let’s Twist Again”. “Let’s Party” completed the extraordinary run, incorporating material associated with the Christmas season in its original UK version.
The success established Jive Bunny as one of the most recognisable novelty acts of the period. The cartoon rabbit became the visual identity of the project, appearing on record covers and in music videos, while costumed performers also appeared publicly as Jive Bunny.
The act’s chart presence extended beyond its three number ones. Jive Bunny recorded 11 UK singles chart entries between 1989 and 1992, with “That Sounds Good To Me” reaching number four and “Can Can You Party” reaching number eight.
The commercial success also extended to albums. Jive Bunny: The Album, released in 1989, reached number two in the UK and was certified triple platinum by the BPI. It also reached number one in Australia and was certified double platinum by ARIA. The album charted in several other territories, underlining the international reach of the project.
Despite the public prominence of Jive Bunny, John Pickles’ role was primarily that of owner, manager and businessman rather than performer. The original project developed from the specialist Mastermix DJ service, with production personnel including Hemstock and other DJs and engineers involved in the early recordings.
Steve White, a DJ who knew Pickles personally, reflected on the unusual nature of the group’s success, describing it as “a people’s success story”. White said the music was something “that the family could enjoy”, pointing to the broad audience that Jive Bunny reached during its peak.
Pickles’ influence continued through Mastermix long after Jive Bunny’s original chart run. The company remained connected to DJ culture and the production of mixes, while the Jive Bunny name continued to be used for new material.
In December 2024, Mastermix released “3, 6, 9”, a new Jive Bunny production described by the company as a contemporary interpretation of the project’s origins. The release demonstrated that the concept remained active more than three decades after its initial breakthrough.
For British pop, Jive Bunny occupies an unusual place in chart history. The project translated the established DJ practice of joining familiar records into a format capable of competing directly with mainstream pop releases. Its 1989 run remains the defining chapter of Pickles’ career and a distinctive example of how sampling, studio production, nostalgia and visual branding converged at the end of the 1980s.
John Pickles’ legacy therefore extends beyond the cartoon rabbit associated with his most famous project. Through Mastermix, he helped establish a business and production model that brought DJ mixing techniques to a mass audience, while Jive Bunny became a lasting part of the British pop culture of its era.
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