John Pickles

John Pickles (April 1942 to 2 September 2026) was a British music industry entrepreneur from South Yorkshire whose companies turned specialist DJ remix culture into mainstream pop success. He founded The Music Factory Entertainment Group in Rotherham in 1985 and built Mastermix into a long-running professional DJ music service. Through that business he and his son Andrew developed the novelty pop act Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers, which scored three consecutive UK number-one singles in 1989.

Pickles' public fame is inseparable from a cartoon rabbit and a string of sample-driven medleys, yet his documented role was primarily that of owner, manager and businessman rather than on-stage performer. Wikipedia notes that John Pickles was never in the band, but was the owner of the label and effectively the manager, while father-and-son team John and Andrew Pickles developed commercial singles from Mastermix DJ material. Press obituaries likewise describe him as founder and creator of Music Factory, Mastermix and Jive Bunny.

The commercial breakthrough began with Doncaster DJ and producer Les Hemstock's original Swing the Mood mix for Mastermix's DJ-only monthly service. John and Andrew Pickles developed that mix as a single release; Andy Pickles devised the name Jive Bunny. Released in summer 1989 on Music Factory Dance, Swing the Mood reached number one on the UK Singles Chart on 5 August 1989 and stayed there for five weeks. Official Charts data show 19 weeks on the chart; contemporary Official Charts commentary has ranked it among 1989's biggest sellers. The medley joined Glenn Miller's In the Mood with rock and roll hits including Bill Haley and His Comets' Rock Around the Clock, Little Richard's Tutti Frutti and the Everly Brothers' Wake Up Little Susie. It also reached number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Two more number ones followed the same year. That's What I Like, built around the Hawaii Five-O theme with rock excerpts such as Chubby Checker's Let's Twist Again, topped the UK chart for three weeks. Let's Party, released 4 December 1989 and featuring Christmas-season samples including Wizzard and Slade material (with later remixes adjusting the Gary Glitter segment for radio), reached number one for one week. Official Charts credits the act with three UK number ones, five UK top 10 singles and nine weeks at number one across those hits. With those first three singles at number one, Jive Bunny became only the third act after Gerry and the Pacemakers and Frankie Goes to Hollywood to top the UK chart with their first three releases.

The debut album Jive Bunny: The Album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart (22 weeks) and was certified 3x platinum by the BPI; it reached number one in Australia and charted internationally, including number 26 on the US Billboard 200. Further UK singles through 1990-1991 included top 10 hits That Sounds Good to Me (peak 4) and Can Can You Party (peak 8), with diminishing chart returns thereafter. Across July 1989 to November 1991 the act logged 11 UK singles-chart entries per Wikipedia/Official Charts discography summaries.

Company reporting later framed the wider Music Factory catalogue as tens of millions of record sales, multiple worldwide number ones, and about 15,000 sound recordings, publishing rights and brands since the mid-1980s foundation. Mastermix continued as a licensed DJ subscription/download service created by DJs for DJs, with the company stating professional DJs had favoured it since 1986. Related brands under the family business have included dance label Tidy Trax, fitness music service Pure Music GO / Pure Energy Music, and youth training programme North Star 360. In July 2023 Music Factory received a 1 million pound Finance Yorkshire growth investment and relocated to Tileyard North in Wakefield while remaining Yorkshire-based. Executive chairman Andy Pickles, joined in management by sisters Alison and Helen, publicly emphasised pride in starting in Rotherham and staying in Yorkshire.

Contemporary reporting on Pickles' death also notes that he and Andrew had run an electrical shop before or alongside the music venture. Wikipedia and chart histories stress collaborative production: Ian Morgan engineered and mixed early releases with Andy Pickles; Mark The Hitman Smith later replaced Morgan; costumed actors and the cartoon rabbit fronted videos and promotions. John Pickles' contribution, as summarised by Noise11 and Wikipedia, was the business and commercialisation path that carried DJ megamix technique to a mass pop audience.

In December 2024 Mastermix released a new Jive Bunny production titled 3, 6, 9, described by the company as celebrating the project's origins with a modern twist, showing the brand remained active more than three decades after the 1989 chart run.

John Pickles died on 2 September 2026 at age 84, according to Express reporting that attributed the date to his loved ones. Mastermix issued a public statement widely carried 3 September 2026 by BBC, Independent, Mirror, The Sun, Daily Mail and Noise11 calling him a true leader, an entrepreneur, a businessman, and an incredibly talented songwriter and a true pioneer in the music industry, adding that 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. Family friend Rupert Lawes remembered him as a true legend of the industry and a lovely, genuine guy who made a huge contribution to the music and DJ industry. BBC Radio Sheffield guest Steve White called the Jive Bunny success a people's success story and something that the family could enjoy. Cause of death and resting place were not made public in major obituaries reviewed.