Interview: Jim Dooley, 70s popstar turned RAF Bomber Command fundraiser

After suffering the heaviest losses of World War II, the men of Bomber Command are finally getting the legacy they deserve – thanks to a former popstar. Emily Horton meets memorial maestro Jim Dooley

Jim Dooley at the Bomber Command Memorial, London

A famous popstar of yesteryear stands quietly among a crowd of people supporting an elderly, yet resolute group of World War II veterans from Bomber Command, gathered to celebrate a new memorial spire established in their honour.

He happily takes their photographs, looking more like the dad next door than a man with 10 hit singles and three albums to his name. He is Jim Dooley; the former lead singer of the hit ’70s pop group, The Dooleys.

However, of greater relevance to the veterans gathered near him is that, together with fellow musician, the late Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees (who died in 2012), Jim persuaded the country’s rich and influential to contribute £8 million to the building of their first national memorial in London.

Robin Gibb and Jim Dooley

Over 55,500 airmen in Bomber Command were killed during the bloody conflict – the highest casualty rate of all the allied armed services and a sacrifice that, until the establishment of the memorial in 2012, had never been publicly honoured.

“It is very sad that all those guys lost their lives and were not ever mentioned or given their own memorial – it was a grave injustice,” Jim says.

For Jim, who grew up on the bombsites of East London, it was personal, too: his uncle had been a bomber boy flying the lesser-known Halifax aeroplane.

“My uncle, Stephen Dooley, was a rear gunner from 1942 to 1945,” he says. “That he survived for three years of operations was remarkable. Sadly, however, the stress of it all had a lasting and profound effect on him, and he died very early.”

Fortunately, Jim has happier times to reflect upon; times that would one day bring him fame and fortune, and place him in a unique position to honour his uncle Stephen and his comrades.

Gareth Jones; sports-alive.com

Jim Dooley and the family of the late Robin Gibb join Bomber Command veterans at RAF Hendon

“I have nine brothers and sisters, and everyone of them is musical,” he tells me. “One day, when I was 17, I heard my younger sister playing the guitar, and singing to two of my brothers. There and then I said, ‘Let’s form a band!’. So we did, along with our elder sister Marie, in 1967.”

The band turned professional when they won The Stage Award for best live group in 1974. They were signed by the BBC, performing in music festivals across Europe, and became the first Western pop band to tour the USSR.

“We played to 30,000 people a night,” recalls Jim. “American Forces Radio came to one of our gigs in Moscow and almost instantly, we had a two-million selling live album.”

It was the beginning of stardom for the Dooley siblings. They signed to GTO Records, joining acts including Donna Summer and Heatwave, and worked with Billy Ocean’s producer Ben Findon. The collaboration produced their first chart hit, ‘I Think I’m Going to Fall in Love’ in 1977 and their first of many Top of the Pops appearances.

Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead Magazine – November 2015

The band were living the dream, but after 25 years on the road, Jim was exhausted, mentally and physically.

RAF Benevolent Fund

Bomber Command Memorial London

“It took me a long, long time to recover,” he says.

After settling down in Berkshire with his wife and two daughters, Jim found fresh purpose helping others.

“In 1997, I formed the Mobility Bureau, providing medical services and equipment to returned servicemen, among others,” he says.

At the same time, Jim quietly developed another interest – photography.

“During the peak of the band’s success in Japan, Akio Morita, the co-founder of Sony, gave me one of the very first digital cameras. My big thing became World War Two aircraft, and I got opportunities to fly with these aircraft and take photos of them in the air.

“I discovered there’s a tremendous market for photos of popular military aircraft such as the Spitfire – particularly when they are signed by veterans. I started selling my signed pictures for between £5,000 and £10,000 at charity auctions. To date, they have raised over £500,000.”

By 2008, news of Jim’s photos had reached the members of the Bomber Command Association. They invited Jim and Robin Gibb, whose family had worked in the factories during the war building the famous Lancaster bomber, to a meeting to discuss building a memorial. The two musicians suggested putting on a big concert to raise an initial £2m. Sadly, it never happened; Robin was diagnosed with cancer and his health rapidly deteriorated.

Yet, thanks to Robin using his public profile to spearhead a media campaign and Jim calling in favours among his many music industry contacts, the pair managed to raise the £8m required to establish the memorial.

Robin and Jim paid a final visit together to see its progress in May 2012.

“To us, building that memorial was better than having a number one album,” he says.

Robin passed away soon after – just one month before the official unveiling.

Meanwhile, Jim’s work is not yet completed.

“The aim now is to raise £3.5m for the new Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln,” he says. “It will house an information centre to educate subsequent generations.”

Jim Dooley

Charlotte Mellor at International Bomber Command Centre

To that end, Jim continues to sell his aviation photography and has written a new song called ‘If You Hadn’t Done What You Did’, performed by Charlotte Mellor, a former singer with the Poppy Girls who recorded the official Poppy Appeal single in 2013.

“The song is about a young person reflecting on the sacrifices that were made during the war,” he explains. “It’s important that we remember that our freedom didn’t come for free.”

Per ardua ad astra goes the RAF motto – ‘Through adversity to the stars’. Hear, hear I say for the veterans and their champion, Jim Dooley.

Support the Bomber Command Memorial Centre by visiting Jimdooleyphotography.co.uk or buying Charlotte Mellor's new EP, 'If You Hadn't Done What You Did'

And why not enter our competition to win a copy of Charlotte's EP here