1929 - 1960

3rd April 1929 - 13th August 2009

Jackie Tracey was was born Florence Mary Buckland in Brixton, South London on 3rd April 1929. Her father, Douglas Richard Buckland, born in nearby Clapham, was a bricklayer and the son of a long line of labourers from East Grinstead, West Sussex. Her mother, Alice Mary Watts, was the daughter of Richard Watts from Brixton, a labourer whose family came from Longparish, Hants. Both had large families (Jackie had 13 uncles and aunts) although she grew up with just 2 brothers, Doug and Tom.

(Back Row: mother Alice , elder brother Doug, the towering Irish Grandma Julia Buckland 

Front Row: Jackie, younger brother Tom)                                 

She described the area she grew up in as "a slum". Her father was on a low wage as a general labourer and drank and gambled regularly, leaving little to go towards the family. Due to lack of space, Jackie had to sleep in the same bed as her parents and often witnessed overspills of drunken brawling as a child.
From an early age she was made to feel that she was unwanted because she was made aware that her father would have preferred another son.  She lived in a very male dominated environment and became a tomboy to blend in.  She was still bullied by her brothers, however, and her father's strict and often inebriated disposition made Jackie's early years mostly a misery.

When she reached 10 years of age, war broke out. Her education was curtailed and she was evacuated. She was away from her family and the hardships of Brixton Hill and discovered outdoor life in the country and, not least, culture. The family she stayed with introduced her, amongst other things, to music and she took singing lessons. Her brothers had joined the war effort. Her brother Tom eventually emigrated to Australia at the end of a South Seas mission, marrying and raising a family.

After the war, back in London she sought to escape the run down lifestyle she'd grown up in. It was at this time that she changed her name to Jackie, in her late teens.  This was partly inspired by her co-workers' opinion that the name 'Florence' did not suit her.  The name stuck.  She was given a job at the prestigious Decca Records, based in Brixton Road, at the age of fourteen, first as a tea girl, later as a switchboard operator.
Apparently her congenial and informed phone manner was noticed by the clients and her bosses were suitably impressed by her growing entrepreneurial acumen.

(Brothers Tom and Doug, unknown, mother Alice and father Douglas)

Finally she became head of A&R, the first woman to occupy that position at Decca. Now she had her own office an expense account and a flat in Chelsea. She was wining and dining with the stars of the day and acquiring liaison skills that would pay off later.

(Jackie with bosses & tv & radio broadcasters including Roy Plomley, David Jacobs, Peter West, Pete Murray, Xmas 1958)

(Unknown, Jackie & Bob Crabbe)

(Release of Belafonte's "Island In The Sun" 1957)

(Jackie also modelled for the company)

(Jackie with Duke Ellington. Eamonn Andrews is in the centre)

While at Decca she got to hear all styles of music ranging from classical to rockabilly to pop and eventually to her great love: jazz. She began to circulate amongst London's pool of jazz musicians. In the following pictures below, she joins Tubby Hayes, his wife Maggie, Annie Ross and others on an away gig in Torquay in July 1954:

(Jackie & Pat Boone)

(Jackie with Mantovani)

(Decca Xmas card with Jackie, Tony Hall, Patrick Campbell and Bob Crabbe)

She was also responsible for the publicity for Decca's biggest selling hit at that time, Bill Haley's "Rock Around The Clock", as well as new British artists Lonnie Donegan, Jimmy Young and Tommy Steele. One of her major coups was when Jerry Lee Lewis arrived with his 13 year old cousin bride, Myra. It was Jackie who informed the London press in 1958 which led to his extradition and the international scandal that ensued.

(Jackie & Jerry Lee Lewis before meeting his wife)

(Jerry Lee Lewis with Myra leaving London Airport 2 days later)

Jackie had married an alto saxophonist, Dennis Ackerman, while in her mid-Twenties. He had a taste for fast cars and regularly petrified her on hair-raising adventures. She didn't learn to drive until she was about 50 and was never a comfortable passenger as a result.

She was eventually drawn to her neighbour, Stan Tracey.

Stan was on his second marriage and gaining a reputation as a composer and arranger for Ted Heath's Orchestra (on Decca Records), as well as a highly individual jazz pianist, and lived in Kilburn High Street in the flat above Jackie and her husband. The flat above Stan was occupied by John Dankworth and Cleo Laine.  Jackie persuaded the executives at Decca to release Stan's debut album as a leader, "Showcase" on their subsidiary label, Vogue in May 1958, produced by no less than Jackie Buckland.  His follow up in May 1959 was "Little Klunk".  In May 1960, both still married but separated and living together 'in sin', Jackie fell pregnant.