All posts by Nick Warburton

Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation

April 20, 2012 Nick Warburton 8 Comments

Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement photo — Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement, clockwise from front: Ron Thomas, Mick Fletcher, Gary Hamilton, Tony Sinclair, Mel Wayne, Dave Mahoney and (sitting down) Phil Wainman. All except Gary Hamilton (and John Droy, not in photo) were in The New Generation (version 2) backing Jimmy Cliff.

Jamaican reggae singer Jimmy Cliff is best known to international audiences for the songs “Sitting in Limbo”, “You Can Get It If You Really Want” and “Many Rivers to Cross”, taken from the 1972 soundtrack album The Harder They Come. One of the first artists to introduce reggae to a wider audience, Cliff started performing in his native Jamaica during the early 1960s where he was spotted by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who brought him to England in October/November 1965.

Over the next four years, Cliff worked the UK club scene with a series of backing groups – The New Generation, The Sound System, Dave Anthony’s Moods, The Soul System (aka The Attack), The Shakedown Sound (December 1966-February 1968) and The Wynder K Frog Band, playing a mixture of soul and R&B.

Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation

(November 1965-February 1966)

Jimmy Cliff – lead vocals
Dave Pegg – lead guitar
Graham Gallery – bass
Dave Brown – organ
Frank Devine – drums
Ayshea Brough – vocals
Pete Hodge(s) – vocals

Cliff’s first band, The New Generation, was a Birmingham group known as Roy Everett’s Blueshounds, whose most notable member was future Fairport Convention bass player Dave Pegg.

The Blueshounds were good mates of The Spencer Davis Group, who put in a good word for the band when Chris Blackwell was looking for musicians to support Cliff on the road. In November 1965, Blackwell released The Spencer Davis Group’s “Keep on Running”, the band’s first number one single.

Around the same time, Blackwell signed The Blueshounds to the agency he co-ran, West End Promotions Ltd, which also represented The Steampacket, Hedgehoppers Anonymous, The Alex Harvey Go Soul Show, Millie Small, Ayshea Brough and the newly arrived Jimmy Cliff.

With Pete Hodge(s) taking over from Roy Everett, The Blueshounds attended an “audition” recording session at Cecil Sharpe House in London on 23 November 1965 with promoter George Webb (The Spencer Davis Group’s agent) and DJ Alan Freeman.

Also in attendance that day were Jimmy Cliff and Ayshea Brough, a young singer that George Webb was trying to launch on the scene, who’d been working with future Hedgehoppers Anonymous drummer Glenn Martin.

Passing the audition, The Blueshounds were renamed The New Generation and Cliff travelled up to Birmingham to stay with Dave Pegg’s family for about two weeks while rehearsals took place to ready the band for the road. Singers Ayshea Brough and Pete Hodge(s) were also added to the touring band and had their own vocal spots in the show.

The (incomplete) gig listing below, which is taken from Dave Pegg’s scrap book unless otherwise noted), shows that the band’s debut took place at the Ritz Ballroom in King’s Heath, West Midlands in mid-December.

For most of these gigs, the band was billed as The New Generation, although the Marquee gigs list them as The Jimmy Cliff Big Sound. The only exception is a show at the Cue Club in Paddington, central London on 28 January where the band was billed as The Sound System, which may originally have been assigned for Cliff’s second support group (see below), although Dave Pegg’s version did honour this gig.

Notable gigs (from Dave Pegg’s diary unless noted)

15 December 1965 – The Ritz Ballroom, King’s Heath, West Midlands

17 December 1965 – The Carlton Ballroom, Erdington, West Midlands with Steampacket and Graham Bond

17 December 1965 – Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham with Steampacket and Graham Bond

23 December 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Steampacket (billed as Jimmy Cliff Big Sound)

24 December 1965 – Jigsaw, Manchester with Jimmy Powell 5 Dimensions (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle) (Billed as Explosive Jimmy Cliff, The New Generation, Ayshea and Pete Hodges)

26 December 1965 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire with Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds and The Tribe (Evening Sentinel) (billed as Jimmy Cliffe, Ayshea, Peter Hodges and The New Generation). This is missing from Dave Pegg’s list

31 December 1965 – Dungeon, Nottingham with Ayshea and Pete Hodges (Nottingham Evening Post)

3 January 1966 – Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London (Tottenham Weekly Herald)

6 January 1966 – The Village, Cleethorpes with Ayshea and Pete Hodges (Grimsby Evening Telegraph)

8 January 1966 – The Village, Cleethorpes with Ayshea and Pete Hodges (Grimsby Evening Telegraph) Says back by demand

14 January 1966 – Il Rondo, Leicester with Ayshea and Pete Hodges (Leicester Mercury)

15 January 1966 – Jigsaw, Manchester (Manchester Evening News) (billed as Jimmy Cliff plus New Generations Plus Ashea Plus Pete Hodges)

16 January 1966 – Black Prince Hotel, Bexley, south east London (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation with Ayshea and Pete Hodges)

22 January 1966 – Mr McCoys, Middlesbrough (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation)

23 January 1966 – Jigsaw, Manchester (Manchester Evening News) (billed as the Explosive Jimmy Cliff with New Generation, Pete Hodges and Ayshea) Replaced Manfred Mann

27 January 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Steampacket

28 January 1966 – The Cue Club, central Paddington (billed as Jimmy Cliff, Owen Gray, Ayshea and The Sound System)

29 January 1966 – The Ricky Tick, Clewer Mead, Windsor, Berkshire

30 January 1966 – The Village, Cleethorpes with Ayshea and Pete Hodges (Grimsby Evening Telegraph)

4 February 1966 – Bluesville R&B Club, Manor House, Finsbury Park, north London (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation featuring Ayesha and Pete Hodge)

5 February 1966 – Chelsea College, south west London with The Spencer Davis Group

It’s not entirely clear why Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation went their separate ways in early February 1966. Dave Pegg’s diary shows that a gig planned for 6 February was cancelled and on 13 February he was back in Birmingham working with a new band – The Uglys.

Aldershot News does list Jimmy Cliff playing at Farnborough Town Hall on 9 February but this may not have happened.

The decision to find a second band to back Cliff on the road was probably made in mid-late January and Chris Blackwell already knew who he wanted for the job.

Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System/New Generation

(February-July 1966)

Jimmy Cliff – lead vocals
Tony Sinclair – lead guitar
Ron Thomas – bass
Mick Fletcher – organ
John Droy – trumpet
Mel Wayne – sax
Dave Mahoney – sax
Pete Hodges – vocals
Ayshea Brough – vocals
Phil Wainman – drums

The next group to back Jimmy Cliff on the road was also, somewhat confusingly, initially billed as The New Generation, although they also used the name The Sound System. Promoters added to the confusion by sometimes billing the band as The Jimmy Cliff Big Sound and The Jimmy Cliff Sound.

The Sound System, as they became around early January, had originally been called The Phil Wainman Band/Set. Phil Wainman, who years later found fame as a noted producer among other things, had first started out as a drummer in the early 1960s, working with The Hi Grades in Sweden and The Paramounts before linking up with the remnants of west London band, The All-Nite Workers around October 1965.

Ron Thomas, Mel Wayne and Dave Mahoney had all been members of this group, which had morphed out of Mike Dee & The Prophets in early-mid 1965. Mick Fletcher joined from The Epitaph Soul Band when it became The Phil Wainman Band/Set around October 1965 after briefly playing in The Herd while Tony Sinclair and John Droy came in soon after, the former from Johnny Halliday’s band in France.

According to David Katz’s excellent book, Jimmy Cliff – An Unauthorised Biography, The Phil Wainman Band/Set secured a residency at Dolly’s Club in Jermyn Street in central London around November of that year. One night Chris Blackwell dropped in and introduced himself.

After be-friending Wainman, he kept the musicians in mind as a support band for the Jamaican acts on Island Records’ roster, including Jackie Edwards, Millie Small and Owen Gray.

Changing name to The Sound System, Wainman’s band started rehearsing with these acts in late January and one early gig, backing Owen Gray, took place at the New All Star Club in Artillery Passage near Liverpool Street station, London on 5 February 1966.

Around this time, it became clear that Cliff and the original New Generation would be separating so Wainman’s band started rehearsing with the singer when he wasn’t gigging with Dave Pegg’s group. After a few weeks’ rehearsals, Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System/New Generation debuted at the Marquee on 10 February, billed as The Jimmy Cliff Big Sound.

Over the next four and half months, Wainman’s band backed Cliff on the road, which included a package tour with The Who and The Spencer Davis Group in April 1966. It was during this time that Keith Moon spotted Wainman’s Red Sparkle Premier drum kit with two bass drums and decided to switch to the same set up two months later.

According to Wainman, Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System/New Generation were particularly popular in Grimsby and played there at least once a month. They also played four nights at the Penthouse.

However, some time in late July 1966, Jimmy Cliff and The Sound System/New Generation went their separate ways.

It’s not clear who backed Jimmy Cliff for a series of gigs that took place at London’s Whisky A Go Go on 9, 16 and 23 August as no support band is listed in Melody Maker, but he was joined by Dave Anthony’s Moods and The Soul System (aka The Attack) at some point during this period.

In December 1966, Jimmy Cliff hooked up with his next group, The Shakedown Sound with whom he worked with until February 1968. He then joined forces with Wynder K Frog.

As for The Sound System, the musicians joined forces with singer Gary Hamilton who was putting together a new version of Hamilton & The Movement (see future entry).

Notable gigs:

10 February 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Steampacket (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff Big Sound)

13 February 1966 – Nottingham Boat Club, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation)

15 February 1966 – Jigsaw, Manchester (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle) (billed as Explosive Jimmy Cliff, The New Generation, Pete Hodges and Ayshea)

19 February 1966 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation, with Ayshea and Pete Hodge)

20 February 1966 – Kirklevington Country Club, Kirklevington, North Yorkshire (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation)

21 February 1966 – Wall City Jazz Club, Quaintways, Chester, Cheshire with Lee, Eddie Showgroup, The Wall City Jazzmen and The Style (Cheshire Observer) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation with Ayshea and Pete Hodges)

24 February 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Steampacket (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff Big Sound)

25 February 1966 – Southall Community Centre, Southall, west London (Hayes Gazette)

3 March 1966 – Blue Moon, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (Gloucester Citizen)

4 March 1966 – Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich, West Midlands with The Ugly and The Craig (Birmingham Evening Mail) Dave Pegg from the first New Generation was on bass with The Uglys

8 March 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Spencer Davis Group (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation)

10 March 1966 – R&B Burton Manor, Stafford, Staffordshire with The Soulmates (Staffordshire Newsletter)

11 March 1966 – Rialto, Derby (Derby Evening Telegraph)

12 March 1966 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear (Newcastle Evening Chronicle) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation with Ayshea)

19 March 1966 – Union Rave, Union Ballroom, Newcastle University, Tyne & Wear with The Guild (Newcastle University’s student paper – The Courier) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation and Ayshea)

19 March 1966 – King Mojo, Sheffield, South Yorkshire (Sheffield Star) (billed as Jimmy Cliff, Aysha and The New Generation)

25 March 1966 – Mr McCoys, Middlesbrough with The Warriors (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation)

26 March 1966 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation and Pete Hodge)

27 March 1966 – Shakespeare Hotel, Woolwich, south east London (South East London Mercury) (billed as Jimmy Cliff)

3 April 1966 – Kirklevington Country Club, Kirklevington, North Yorkshire (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

4 April 1966 – The Village, Cleethorpes with Ayshea and Pete Hodges (Grimsby Evening Telegraph)

8 April 1966 – El Partido, Lewisham, south east London with The Raisons (South East London Mercury)

10 April 1966 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, west London (Pete Watt’s research) (billed as The Jimmy Cliff Show)

11 April 1966 – The Catacombe, Eastbourne, East Sussex (Eastbourne Herald Chronicle) Billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System

14 April 1966 – Gaumont Theatre, Southampton, Hants with The Who, The Spencer Davis Group, The Band of Angels and Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

15 April 1966 – Fairfield Hall, Croydon, south London with The Who, The Spencer Davis Group, The Band of Angels and Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

16 April 1966 – Odeon, Watford, Herts with The Who, The Spencer Davis Group, The Band of Angels and Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

17 April 1966 – Regal Theatre, Edmonton, north London with The Who, The Spencer Davis Group, The Band of Angels and Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

18 April 1966 – Galaxy, Basingstoke, Hants (Hants & Berkshire Gazette)

20 April 1966 – Orford Jazz Cellar, Norwich, Norfolk (Eastern Evening News)

30 April 1966 – Mansfield Club, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire (Nottingham Evening Post)

1 May 1966 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

6 May 1966 – The Catacombe, Eastbourne, East Sussex (Eastbourne Herald Chronicle) (billed as The Explosive Jimmy Cuff)

9 May 1966 – Galaxy, Basingstoke, Hants (Hants & Berkshire Gazette)

10 May 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Spencer Davis Group (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff Sound)

13 May 1966 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear (Newcastle Evening Chronicle)

15 May 1966 – The Village, Cleethorpes (Grimsby Evening Telegraph) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & Package Show)

16 May 1966 – The Beachcomber, Preston, Lancashire (Lancashire Evening Post) Billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound Systems

20 May 1966 – Il Rondo, Leicester (Leicester Mercury)

21 May 1966 – Marcam Hall, March, Cambridgeshire (Cambridgeshire Times) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation and straight from the Flamingo, central London)

22 May 1966 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, west London (Pete Watt’s research) (billed as The Jimmy Cliff Show)

2 June 1966 – Black Horse, Northfield, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail) (Billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

4 June 1966 – Jigsaw, Manchester (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle) (billed as Jimmy Cliff Show)

6 June 1966 – Wall City Jazz Club, Quaintways, Chester, Cheshire with The Max Colley Jazzband, The Wall City Jazzmen and The Connoisseurs (Cheshire Observer) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & Group)

8-11 June 1966 – Penthouse, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail) (billed as Jimmy Cliff Show) Says direct from Tiles

12 June 1966 – Hotel Leofric, Coventry (Coventry Evening Telegraph) (billed as the Explosive Jimmy Cliff)

14 June 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Spencer Davis Group (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff Sound)

18 June 1966 – Stamford Hotel, Stamford, Lincolnshire (Stamford Mercury) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

19 June 1966 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, west London (Pete Watt’s research) (billed as The Jimmy Cliff Show)

25 June 1966 – The Catacombe, Eastbourne, East Sussex (Eastbourne Herald Chronicle) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generations)

26 June 1966 – Le Metro Club, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System with Pete Hodges)

1 July 1966 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with Him & The Others (website: https://www.california-ballroom.info/gigs/) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

2 July 1966 – The Village, Cleethorpes with Pete Hodges (Grimsby Evening Telegraph)

8 July 1966 – Hull College of Technology Students’ Union, Skyline Ballroom, Hull with The Small Faces, The Mike Cotton Sound, Herbie Goins & The Night-Timers, The Mode and Eddie Gray & His Band (Hull Daily Mail) (Billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

16 July 1966 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle)

17 July 1966 – Central R&B Club, Central Hotel, Gillingham, Kent (Chatham, Rochester & Gillingham News) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generations)

22 July 1966 – Royal Oak, Hockley Heath, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

23 July 1966 – Dungeon, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post) Says with New Generation

23 July 1966 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London (Melody Maker)

30 July 1966 – The Beachcomber, Preston, Lancashire (Lancashire Evening Post) Possibly the band’s final gig before split with Cliff and teaming up with Gary Hamilton

To contact the author, email: Warchive@aol.com

I’d like to thank the following for their help in piecing this story together: Dave Pegg, David Katz, Laurie Hornsby, Andy Neill, Ron Thomas, Phil Wainman, Mel Wayne and Brian Hosking.

Categories: England, Fontana, Hampton, London, Polydor

The Others

March 17, 2012 Nick Warburton 27 Comments

The Others, 1963-64

By Rob Tolchard

Formed in the summer of 1963 in the rural riverside south-west London suburb of Hampton, The Others were originally a bunch of rebellious schoolmates. Fired up by the Richmond Sound, spearheaded by the likes of the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds – the south’s answer to the Liverpool Sound – The Others picked up the baton and ran with it, swiftly building a devoted fan-base of their own and a circuit of regular gigs, hot on the heels of the slightly more senior bands who had inspired them before leaving town for international acclaim.

The look was long-haired bohemian, the music was Chicago rhythm’n’blues and the interest from local and national media secured them a London management/agency contract, a record deal and teen-magazine features by the fistfull as they tore up and down the length of Britain in a van covered in adoring messages written in lipstick. They were still not even old enough to drive legally.

In the summer of 1964, they recorded their one and only record, Bo Diddley’s “Oh Yeah”, on Polydor (TF 501) but by the time of its release, parental pressure had forced two of their number, John Standley (lead guitar) and Nigel Baldwin (drums) to quit the band and return to school to study for their “A”-level exams. They were replaced by Peter Hammerton on guitar and Geoff Coxon on drums, who feature in the promotional shots for the record. The band attained a new excellence, “very much in the same class as the Yardbirds” according to Brian May of Queen, a former schoolmate and the record was a turntable hit on the rock radio programmes of the day and was highly praised by Jimmy Saville in his national press pop column.

But it wasn’t to last. Paul Stewart, their charismatic lead singer and mouth-harp player was also under extreme parental pressure to return to academic endeavours and, tired of living in a car in a rented garage, he gave in, cut his hair, was allowed back home and returned to Hampton Grammar School in late October 1964.

That was effectively the end of The Others, who should have achieved so much more. Their record has become a collectors’ item and Brian May’s early band, “1984” (later “Smile”) used to include The Others’ self-penned “B”-side, “I’m Taking Her Home” in their own repertoire. The other two original members of The Others, Bob Freeman (rhythm guitar/harp) and Ian McLintock (bass) remained in the industry and continued to make music, but never again came as close to stardom as did their first band.

Pete Hammerton, Geoff Coxon, Bob Freeman (now re-named Rob Tolchard to avoid confusion with the Beatles’ photographer) and Paul Stewart remained in touch and have reformed The Others, in order to perform heavily re-arranged revisitations of the old classic repertoire. What a vintage.

Categories: England, London, Whitton

Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers

March 1, 2012 Nick Warburton 10 Comments

Mike Dee – lead vocals
Brian Sell – lead guitar
Brian Mansell – rhythm guitar
Dave Tippler –bass
Terry Mabey – drums

Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers was formed in February 1961 but had been active for several years before Dee (real name Mick Wheeler) was invited to join as lead singer. Wheeler had known Brian Sell from his childhood in Twickenham, Middlesex. Around 1957, while in their early teens, they had played skiffle together at Kneller School in Twickenham. Brian Mansell and Terry Mabey had also attended Kneller School and like Brian Sell were in the year below Wheeler. When Kneller shut, all of the musicians went to Whitton Secondary in Whitton, Middlesex.

Brian Sell had come up with the band name after seeing a sign for jaywalking while on the bus in Twickenham. The original band, comprising Brian Sell, Brian Mansell and Terry Mabey, was formed in 1959 and initially also included future Animals guitarist Vic Briggs. The Jaywalkers debuted at Zeeta’s in Putney but soon after Briggs left and the band took on lead singer Denny De Banks, who was two years older than the rest of the group.

According to Brian Mansell’s diary from this period, two of Denny & The Jaywalkers’ earliest gigs were a show at Whitton Secondary School on 16 December 1960 and a wedding at the Railway Tavern in Feltham, Middlesex on 31 December 1960. On 4 February 1961, Denny & The Jaywalkers came second at the Borough of Twickenham Rhythm Group contest, held at St Mary’s Hall, Twickenham. However, well-known DJ Phil Jay, one of the judges on the panel, was impressed and offered to be their manager.

Not long after Dave Tippler from Feltham, Middlesex joined on bass and may have been present when the group played at the Fountain Public House in Twickenham on 8 February 1961. Around this time Denny De Banks, who had a well-paid job and could not commit to going professional, departed leaving a vacant spot for a new lead singer. It was at this point that Brian Mansell ran into Mick Wheeler in Whitton and invited him to audition. Previous to joining Wheeler had played rhythm guitar in Twickenham band The Paragons, who also included singer Jeff Rolfe, lead guitarist Jimmy Johnson and drummer John Seddon.

According to Brian Mansell’s diary, the band attended an audition at the Carlton Ballroom in Slough on the morning of 19 February 1961 before playing a show at the Southall Community Centre in Southall, Middlesex that evening. Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers passed the audition and got a weekly gig at the Carlton, kicking off with a show on 26 February.

Confirmed gigs:

26 February 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
5 March 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
12 March 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
19 March 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
20 March 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
22 March 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
25 March 1961 – Isleworth Polytechnic, Isleworth, Middlesex
3 April 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
5 April 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire with The Dreamers
15 April 1961 – Essoldo, Slough, Berkshire with Sean Dudley & The Wildcats
17 April 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire with The Fleereckers
23 April 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
24 April 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
26 April 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
30 April 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire

Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers underwent a significant personnel change with future Deep Purple axe man Ritchie Blackmore replacing Brian Sell around May 1961. Sell had met Blackmore at Dawe Instruments electronics factory in Brentford, Middlesex around 1959 where the latter worked as a trainee electronic wireman. The pair briefly rehearsed together in a trio with drummer Mick Underwood before Sell formed The Jaywalkers and Blackmore and (later) Underwood joined Bobbie & The Dominators. Sell introduced Blackmore to The Jaywalkers but it cost him his place in the band.

Brian Mansell’s diary notes that Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers were due to record for EMI on 14 April 1961 but the session was postponed. A record test for EMI did take place on 21 April, nearly a week after the show at the Essoldo in Slough with Sean Dudley & The Wildcats. It’s quite possible that the recording session did not go well and the band started to look for a replacement for Brian Sell. According to Jerry Bloom in his excellent book “Ritchie Blackmore – Black Knight”, Phil Jay wanted the band to sign with the George Cooper Agency. The band’s manager compered a lot of the Larry Parnes tours and many of the artists that appeared were booked through the agency, which wanted to sign The Jaywalkers up but not with Brian Sell as the guitarist. As a result, Blackmore was recruited as his replacement.

After leaving The Jaywalkers, Sell joined The Bandits. He then played and recorded with Rey Anton & The Peppermint Men before reuniting with Mick Wheeler in The All Night Workers in 1966. Jerry Bloom’s book on Ritchie Blackmore also notes that the new line up got the opportunity to record two tracks for Decca Records for a proposed single – “Stolen Hours” c/w “My Blue Heaven” at the label’s West Hampstead studios but they were subsequently shelved. Brian Mansell’s diary notes that the band recorded in the morning on 27 September 1961 before playing a show at the Carlton Ballroom in Slough in that evening.

Left to right: Terry Mabey, Billy Fury, Brian Mansell, Mick Wheeler, Ritchie Blackmore and Dave Tippler at Portsmouth Guild Hall, 21 November 1961

Shortly after a gig in Hemel Hempstead on 18 November 1961, Phil Jay got Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers on to a package tour headlined by Billy Fury and also including Eden Kane, Karl Denver and Shirley Douglas. When Douglas fell ill, Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers got the opportunity to fill in until she got better. However, there was some confusion because Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers, who were backing Eden Kane, were also on the tour. Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers’ involvement was cut short after playing two gigs – the first at the Granada in Dartford on 20 November and the second at the Guild Hall in Portsmouth on 21 November (where a photo was taken of the band with Billy Fury) when Douglas returned to the bill. The next day, Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers played in Doncaster supporting Johnny Gentle.

In early 1962, the band dispensed with Phil Jay and signed with the Rudy Stanton Agency. According to Mansell, The Jaywalkers rehearsed with Gene Vincent in a recording studio in London around this time in anticipation for a UK tour. However, the tour was cancelled at the last minute and Vincent returned to the US. During this period, Derek Sirmon, another former Kneller pupil, subbed for Terry Mabey on several occasions when he wasn’t well enough to perform. However, the band’s career was about to come to a halt.

While playing at Southall Community Centre (the most plausible date according to Mansell’s diary is 1 April 1962), Screaming Lord Sutch dropped in and offered Blackmore £40 a week to play with his backing band The Savages. Blackmore jumped at the chance but with a short tour lined up, he asked his friend Dave Wendels to fill in until he could join in mid-May.

A package tour headlined by Gary U.S. Bonds, Johnny Burnette and Gene McDaniel had been booked for April-May 1962. Johnny Milton & The Condors were also lined up to appear with The Condors backing support acts, Rolly Daniels, Danny Rivers and Mark Wynter. However, with all the publicity already made up, Johnny Milton & The Condors split up. With the confusion over the two Jaywalkers, Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers were asked to change name to The Condors and took their place. Mick Wheeler was not invited to participate so he sat out while the others backed the support acts on the 21-date package tour. With the tour winding up on 13 May 1962, Ritchie Blackmore departed for Screaming Lord Sutch’s band and The Jaywalkers disbanded.

In the months that followed, Mick Wheeler abandoned a music career and joined the parachute regiment in the Territorial Army. The singer did his training and gained his wings before returning to the live scene in late 1963 with Mike Dee & The Prophets. In 1966, however, Dee reverted to his real name, Mick Wheeler and formed The All Night Workers before later recording with the UK version of Jo Jo Gunne and fronting a latter day version of The Love Affair.

Brian Mansell and Terry Mabey both worked with Frankie Reid & The Casuals after The Jaywalkers broke up. While Mabey subsequently joined James Royal & The Hawks, Mansell later played with The Missing Links before reuniting with Mick Wheeler in The All Night Workers during spring 1968.

The All Night Workers in late 1966 with Mick Wheeler (aka Mike Dee) centre and Brian Sell (second right). Photo thanks to Mick Wheeler

The following is a list of selected gigs from Mansell’s diary when Ritchie Blackmore was a member:

6 May 1961 – Essoldo, Slough, Berkshire
10 May 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
13 May 1961 – White Hart, Southall, Middlesex
17 May 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
21 May 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
27 May 1961 – Essoldo, Slough, Berkshire
31 May 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
3 June 1961 – Staines Town Hall, Staines, Middlesex
4 June 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
7 June 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
12 June 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
17 June 1961 – Essoldo, Slough, Berkshire
18 June 1961 – Southall Community Centre, Southall, Middlesex
21 June 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
24 June 1961 – Rugby Football Ground, Twickenham (open air concert)
26 June 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
28 June 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
2 July 1961 – Southall Community Centre, Southall, Middlesex
5 July 1961 – High Wycombe Town Hall, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
8 July 1961 – Gaumont Pier, Southampton, Hampshire
19 July 1961 – High Wycombe Town Hall, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
29 July 1961 – Essoldo, Slough, Berkshire
30 July 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
1 August 1961 – Walton Hop, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey
2 August 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
5 August 1961 – Southampton Pier, Southampton, Hampshire
7 August 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
13 August 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
16 August 1961 – High Wycombe Town Hall, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
19 August 1961 – Southampton Gaumont, Southampton, Hampshire (morning)
19 August 1961 – Southampton Pier, Southampton, Hampshire (evening)
2 September 1961 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey
3 September 1961 – Southall Community Centre, Southall, Middlesex
9 September 1961 – Mental hospital in Basingstoke with Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages
13 September 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
23 September 1961 – Essoldo, Slough, Berkshire
27 September 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
30 September 1961 – Staines Town Hall, Staines, Middlesex
1 October 1961 – Southall Community Centre, Southall, Middlesex
4 October 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
5 October 1961 – Crown Ballroom, Banbury, Oxfordshire
14 October 1961 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey
15 October 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
21 October 1961 – Essoldo, Slough, Berkshire
24 October 1961 – Walton Hop, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey
28 October 1961 – Southampton Gaumont, Southampton, Hampshire (morning)
28 October 1961 – Southampton Pier, Southampton, Hampshire (evening)
1 November 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire
4 November 1961 – Park Ballroom, Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire
7 November 1961 – Walton Hop, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey
8 November 1961 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey
17 November 1961 – USAF, Bushy Park, Middlesex
24 November 1961 – Essoldo, Paddington
25 November 1961 – Crawley (possibly Starlight Ballroom), West Sussex
29 November 1961 – Adelphi, Slough, Berkshire
30 November 1961 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey
10 December 1961 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire (last gig of the year)

For The Condors gigs, see Jerry Bloom’s excellent site.

I’d especially like to thank Brian Mansell for sharing his diaries with me and for his hospitality. Thanks also to Mick Wheeler, Brian Sell and Jerry Bloom.

I have tried to ensure the accuracy of this article but I appreciate that there are likely to be errors and omissions. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who can provide any additions or corrections. Email:Warchive@aol.com

Visit: www.nickwarburton.com

Jo Jo Gunne, 1969, Mick Wheeler bottom right. Photo from Alan Barratt

Categories: England

Gethsemane (featuring Martin Barre)

February 8, 2012 Nick Warburton 3 Comments

Martin Barre (lead guitar, flute)
Mick Ketley (keyboards, lead vocals)
Bryan Stevens (bass)
Malcolm Tomlinson (drums, flute, lead vocals)

1968

August After backing visiting US soul acts as The Noblemen (July-November 1966); working as stax/soul band, The Motivation (November 1966-August 1967); and Mod/psych outfit The Penny Peep Show/Penny Peeps (August 1967-August 1968), the group changes its name to Gethsemane to reflect the burgeoning British blues scene. Soon after, the band’s singer Denny Alexander drops out and keyboard player Mike Ketley and drummer Malcolm Tomlinson assume joint lead vocals.

(11) Barre attends the 8th National Jazz and Blues Festival at Kempton Park, Sunbury, Surrey and catches Jethro Tull, who really impress him. He will audition for the band on a couple of occasions later in the year.

(24) Gethsemane Soul Band play at the Royal Lido in Prestatyn, Wales with The Informers.

(25) Working as a quartet, the band plays one of its first shows as Gethsemane at Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, west London. The band gets an early copy of The Band’s Music From The Big Pink, which is a major influence on Gethesmane’s members. Tomlinson will handle lead vocals on covers of “The Weight” and “Chest Fever”.

(28) Gethsemane play at Eel Pie Island with The Nice and this is the most plausible date.

(31) Billed as Gethsemanie, the band opens the Van Dike Club in Plymouth, Devon with Jethro Tull.

September (9) Geth Semane play at the Aurora Hotel in Gillingham, Kent.

(14) Billed as Geth Semane, the band makes an appearance at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London on a star-studded bill that also includes The Scaffold, David Bowie and Junior’s Eyes. DJ John Peel, who is allegedly a huge fan, records the band’s set and plays it on his radio show the following week.

(18) Gethsemane are hired to participate in a studio session with guitarist Jeff Beck (which most likely takes place on this date) but the session does not go well and is aborted.

(22) Billed as Geth And Semane, the quartet play at the Linden Sports Club in Bournemouth, Dorset.

(28) Gethsemane play at the Stage Club in Oxford.

October (5) Gethsemane support Fleetwood Mac at the Links, Boreham Wood, Hertfordshire.

(7) Billed as Gethsemaney, the quartet appear at Samantha’s in the Langland Bay Hotel in Swansea, South Wales with The Liquid Umbrella.

(16) Billed as Geth Semane, they replace The Keef Hartley Band at Rambling Jack’s Blues Club at the Railway Hotel in Bishop’s Stortford, Herts.

(21) They appear at the Blue Horizon club in the Nag’s Head in Battersea, southwest London.

(23) Billed as Geth Semane, they open for Alan Bown at Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, Middlesex.

(28) Malcolm Tomlinson is hired to back Elton John on a BBC radio session at Agolin Hall. Joined by bass player Boots Slade and guitarist Caleb Quaye, the band records “Lady Samantha”, “Across The Havens” and “Skyline Pigeon”. The three songs are played on BBC radio’s Stuart Henry Show the following week.

November Gethsemane pique the interest of Bee Gees producer Robert Stigwood, who signs them to Dick James Music. The plan is to record an album and the band cuts a version of Elton John’s “Lady Samantha”. They also cut a version of Jack McDuff’s “Grease Monkey” but it is shelved after the album sessions are brought to a close following a disagreement over direction with Stigwood. Incidentally, Alan Gorey from flat mates Hopscotch plays bass and sings on one of the recordings.

(6) Billed as Geth Semane, they return to the Railway Hotel in Bishop’s Stortford, Herts for a show supported by White Mule.

(8) Gethsemane appear at the Industrial Club in Norwich. The advert says that the group has played the Marquee and the Middle Earth in Covent Garden

(11) Billed as Geth Semane, the band appear at the Staffordshire Yeoman, Stafford, Staffordshire

(13) The quartet plays at the Thing-A-Me-Jig in Reading, Berkshire.

(14) Billed as Gethsemany, the band appears at the Club Lafayatte in Wolverhampton, West Midlands with Barmy Barry.

(15) Gethsemane support Jethro Tull at the Hornsey Wood Tavern in Finsbury Park, London. Guitarist Martin Barre will audition unsuccessfully for the guitar spot in Jethro Tull shortly afterwards.

(26) Gethsemane appear at the Crown Hotel, Birmingham with The Redhouse Blues Band.

December (12) Gethsemane open for Pink Floyd at the Dundee College of Art in Dundee, Scotland.

(20) Westminster & Pimlico News‘ 20 December issue reports that Gethsemane have played at the Pheasantry on Kings Road recently. Around this time, the band plays its final show at a college in Brook Green, Hammersmith, having already decided to split up. Terry Ellis from Island Records attends the show and tries in vain to sign the band, but no one is interested. Ellis suggests that Barre audition for the lead guitar spot in Jethro Tull. Stevens sells his bass and uses the money to help finance his studies. He returns to college and later becomes a surveyor. Stevens currently lives in Chiswick. Ketley switches from keyboards to bass and reunites with Tomlinson’s predecessor Bernie Smith in the Southcoast band The Concords. He later becomes senior director at Yamaha Kemble Music UK Limited.

(24) Barre joins Jethro Tull after successfully auditioning a second time. His former band mate Malcolm Tomlinson allegedly also tries out on guitar as does his friend Louis McKelvey, who returned from Canada in July 1968 after playing in Influence. Barre and Tomlinson have visited McKelvey at his Colville Square home near Portobello Market.

(30) Barre makes his debut with Jethro Tull at the Winter Gardens in Penzance, Cornwall.

1969

January After reuniting with Louis McKelvey, who had worked with Tomlinson in the early 1960s Ealing band, Jeff Curtis & The Flames, the drummer leaves the UK with McKelvey and moves to Toronto where they form Milkwood. The band appears at the famous Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival show in September 1969 and record an unreleased LP for Polydor with Jerry Ragavoy producing. Tomlinson will go on to appear on recordings by Jay Telfer, Life, JFC Heartbeat, Rick James & The Stone City Band and Bearfoot among others before issuing two solo albums for A&M in 1977 and 1979 – Coming Outta Nowhere and Rock ‘N’ Roll Hermit. He later sings with The Cameo Blues Band but dies in April 2016.

Sources:
The Day Before Yesterday – Rock, Rythmn and Jazz in the Bishop’s Stortford area from 1957-1969 by Steve Ingless, Scila Productions, 1999.
Flying Colours by Greg Russo, Crossfire Publications, 2009.
The South Coast Beat Scene of the 1960s by Mike Read, Woodfield Publishing, 2001.

Many thanks to Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley, Malcolm Tomlinson, Denny Alexander, Louis McKelvey, Greg Russo and Rosemary White.

Disclaimer: Concert adverts have been sourced from a number of music magazines and regional newspapers listed below. They have been reproduced fairly for research purposes and are not to be copied for any other use.

Live dates sourced from a number of sources including: Melody Maker, Western Evening Herald, Oxford Mail, Wrexham Leader. See other newspapers sources in the comments below.

Copyright © Nick Warburton. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author. I have tried to ensure the accuracy of this article but I appreciate that there are likely to be errors and omissions. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who can provide any additions or corrections. Email: Warchive@aol.com

Categories: Bognor Regis, England, West Sussex

The Penny Peepshow (featuring Martin Barre)

February 7, 2012 Nick Warburton 15 Comments

The Penny Peepshow in 1968, clockwise from centre: Martin Barre, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Mike Ketley and Bryan Stevens

Denny Alexander (lead vocals)
Martin Barre (lead guitar)
Mick Ketley (keyboards, vocals)
Bryan Stevens (bass)
Malcolm Tomlinson (drums, vocals)

1967

August Having worked as The Motivation since November 1966, the latest line up returns from London to Bognor Regis to reinvent themselves. Eschewing their stax/soul sound and covers material, the band embraces the burgeoning psychedelic scene while singer Denny Alexander starts to write a batch of strong original material for the band. Initially, The Motivation work under the name The Penny Peepshow.

September (15-16) Having rehearsed the new material at the Shoreline Club in Bognor Regis, The Penny Peep Show begin to gig nationally. One of their first shows takes place at the Gala Ballroom in Norwich, Norfolk with Alex Wilson’s Sect and Chances of Life.

(17) The group travels across to the West Midlands for a concert at the Swan in Yardley with Jigsaw.

(23) The band plays at the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.

(25) The Penny Peep Show appear at the Belfry, Wishaw, West Midlands with Sight and Sound.

(29) The group plays at the Blue Powder Discotheque in Bilston Town Hall, Bilston, West Midlands.

October (7) The band returns to the Birmingham area to play a show at the Penthouse in the city centre with New Zealand band, The Human Instinct.

(14) The Penny Peep Show appears at the Flamingo Ballroom, Penzance in Cornwall with The Circuit Five.

(21) The group appears at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.

(22) The band plays at the Indigo Vat, Southsea, Hampshire.

(26) Billed as The Penny Peeps they play at the Concorde in the Basset Hotel, Southampton, Hampshire.

November (3) Returning to the West Midlands, they play at the Penthouse in Birmingham.

(4) The Penny Peep Show perform at the Ringway Club in Birmingham. Around this time they also play the freshers’ ball at Birmingham University where Bryan Stevens meets his future wife.

(9) The group appears at Carnival Hall, Basingstoke, Hampshire with The Wrong Direction.

(10) Originally booked to play at the Royal Ballrooms in the Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset, The Just Us is listed on the day the Bournemouth Evening Echo is printed. However, they may have played the day before after or before the Basingstoke gig.

(11) The group appears at St Nicholas Chamberlaine School in Bedworth, Warwickshire with The Matadors.

(19) Direct from London The Penny Peep Show appear at the Tudor Club, Mercers Arms in Coventry.

(24) One night at the 76 Club in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

December (1) The Penny Peep Show play at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.

(2) The band appears at Willenhall Baths Assembly Hall, Willenhall, West Midlands with The Bostons.

(3) The musicians return to the south coast and play at the Indigo Vat in Southsea, Hampshire.

(8) The Penny Peep Show play at the Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.

(10) Another show takes place in the West Midlands with the band appearing at the Swan, Yardley with Magazine.

(20) The band performs at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.

(23) The Penny Peep Show play at the Indigo Vat in Southsea, Hampshire.

(25) Through Pete Hockham, formely an agent at Bob Gaitley’s Beat Ballad and Blues Agency in Worthing and now working for the recently deceased Brian Epstein’s North End Music Stores (NEMS) agency, The Penny Peep Show sign to NEMS. They start to perform on the London scene with a show at the popular nightclub, Hatchettes on Piccadilly.

(30) The group appears at the Wellington Club in Dereham, Norfolk with The Special Offer.

1968

January The Penny Peep Show sign a deal with Liberty Records and begin recording over an album’s worth of original material, most of which comprise demos. Alexander has acquired a songwriting contract with Metric Music, which requires him to produce a certain amount of songs in a given period. The band are paid as session musicians to record the demos in a studio behind the Marquee in Wardour Street. A couple of Alexander’s strongest numbers – “Helen Doesn’t Care” and “Into My Life She Came”, the latter featuring Barre on flute, will surface decades later on Rev-Ola’s compilation CD Psychedelic Jumble Volume One in 2007.

(2) Billed as The Penny Peeps, the musicians appear at the Concorde in the Basset Hotel, Southampton, Hampshire.

(5) The band returns to play at the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.

(28) The Penny Peep Show play at the Castaways Discotheque in Birmingham with The Stretch Wilcox Limbo Dancers.

February (2) The Penny Peep Show appear at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset. On the same day, the Bognor Regis Observer reports that the band will back The Scaffold in Brighton on page 5.

(8) Billed as The Penny Peeps, the band makes a notable appearance at the 100 Club on London’s Oxford Street with The Mike Stuart Span.

(9) Reverting back to The Penny Peep Show, they travel to Nottingham to play at the Nottingham Boat Club.

(11) The next day, the band appears at the Blue Ball Hotel in Risley, Derby.

(16) Liberty Records releases The Penny Peeps’ debut single, a cover of Les Reed and Barry Mason’s “Little Man With A Stick” backed by Alexander’s mod rocker “Model Village”, which becomes a cult classic and is picked up for various compilation albums over the years, most notably the Rubble CD Acid Drops, Spacedust and Flying Saucers. The band, however, is not happy about the decision to release “Little Man With A Stick”. The musicians had lobbied for “Model Village” to be the A-side, backed by another one of Alexander’s numbers, “Meet Me At The Fair”. The latter track remains unreleased until being picked up by Rev-Ola for Psychedelic Jumble Volume One. Tony Blackburn opens his Radio 1 show every morning with “Model Village” for a week but the single fails to chart.

(17) The Penny Peep Show appears at Framlingham Assembly Hall, Framlingham in Suffolk.

(22) Having changed name to The Penny Peeps, the band is invited to back The Scaffold and perform in its own right at the Dome in Brighton on a bill that also features The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.

(25) The band (billed as The Penny Peep Show) play at the Cellar Club, the County, in Blaby, Leicestershire.

(28) Returning to London, the band appears at the Speakeasy on Margaret Street.

(29) The Penny Peeps appear at the Concorde in the Basset Hotel, Southampton.

March (1) The Bognor Regis Observer runs a great article and photo on the band in the issue today on page 4.

(8) The Penny Peeps perform at the Nottingham Boat Club.

(16) The group appears at the Pump Rooms in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. They had previously played here before Christmas.

(17) The Penny Peeps perform with the Way of Life at the Crown and Cushion Club in Birmingham.

(22) Billed as The Penny Peep Show, they play at the Fiesta Hall, Andover, Hampshire.

(23) The Penny Peeps return to Nottingham for a show at the Beachcomber Club.

(31) The band plays at the Linden Sports Club, Bournemouth, Dorset.

April (3) The Penny Peep Show appear at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.

(19) The Penny Peeps play at the Parlour at the Oasis Club, North End, Hants.

(20) The Penny Peeps play at the Cobweb, Marine Court, St Leonards, East Sussex, with Tony Rivers & the Castaways.

(21) The Penny Peeps perform at the Grove Club, Portsmouth, Hants with The EXP.

(25) Billed as The Penny Peep Show, the band appears at Hatchetts Playground in Piccadilly, central London.

May (3) Billed as The Penny Peeps, they perform at the Nottingham Boat Club.

(12) Billed as The Penny Peep Show, they appear at the Forty Thieves, Swinging Discotheque in Coventry.

(18) The Penny Peeps perform at the Walton Hop in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey

(31) The Penny Peep Show appear at the 400 Ballroom in Torquay, Devon

June (2) The Penny Peep Show play a series of shows in the West Midlands, starting with Albrighton Working Men’s Club in Albrighton, Shropshire.

(3) The next day they appear at the Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with Lucifer Blue.

(4) The group plays at Edward Street Working Men’s Club, Wolverhampton, West Midlands.

(6) The group appears at the Summer House, the Portway, Kingswinford, West Midlands.

(8) The Penny Peep Show perform at Willenhall St Giles Youth Club, Willenhall Comprehensive Schools, Willenhall, West Midlands with Hari Kari.

(15) The Penny Peeps play at the Beachcomber Club in Nottingham.

(16) The band returns to Linden Sports Club, Bournemouth, Dorset.

(21) Liberty Records releases The Penny Peeps’ second single, coupling Alexander’s “I See The Morning” with “Curly, The Knight of The Road” but it fails to chart.

July (2) The Penny Peeps appear at the Concorde in the Basset Hotel, Southampton, Hampshire.

(13) Another show takes place at the Beachcomber Club.

(18) The Penny Peeps appear at Liberal Hall, Yeovil, Somerset with The Knock-Out.

(25) Billed as The Penny Peep Show, the band returns to London for a show at the Hatchetts Playground.

(27) Billed again as The Penny Peep Show, they appear at Leicester Rowing Club with The Trendmen.

(28) Reverting back to The Penny Peeps, they return to the Linden Sports Club in Bournemouth.

August (2) The group are billed to play at the Bag O’ Nails in Kingley Street, Soho, central London around this time (see below) but it’s not certain they appear.

(3) Billed again as The Penny Peep Show, the band appears at the Swan, Yardley, West Midlands with Gilt Edge. Soon after this gig, The Penny Peep Show are playing at a venue where their current set list meets an icy response. Alexander suggests that they play some blues, which goes down a storm. The band decides to move in a blues rock direction and changes name to Gethsemane. Within a week or so, Alexander opts to leave and Ketley and Tomlinson assume joint lead vocals. Alexander will retire from professional playing and try his hand as a trainee publican. Back in Liverpool, he gathers together some friends and records six tracks during 1972. The songs – “Don’t Let It Rain (Wedding Day)”, “Crossroads of Life”, “My Last Goodbye To You”, “I’d Like To Get To Know You Girl”, “Your Alive” and “Babe I Love You” remain unreleased to this day. He subsequently turns his back on the music industry and works in the financial services industry, retiring in the early 2000s.

(4) The Penny Peep Show play at the Walgrave, Coventry.

September (7) Billed as The Penny Peeps they perform (with St John’s Wood) at the Cobweb, Marine Court, St Leonards, East Sussex.

The Penny Peepshow in 1968, clockwise from bottom left: Martin Barre, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Bryan Stevens and Mike Ketley

Sources:
Flying Colours by Greg Russo, Crossfire Publications, 2009.
The South Coast Beat Scene of the 1960s by Mike Read, Woodfield Publishing, 2001.
The Tapestry of Delights Revisited by Vernon Joynson, Borderline Productions, 2006.

Many thanks to Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson and Mick Capewell.

Live dates sourced from various sources, including: Melody Maker, Nottingham Evening Post, Birmingham Evening Mail, Evening Argus (Brighton), Eastern Evening News (Norwich), Ipswich Evening Star. Other newspapers sources are listed in the comments below.

Penny Peepshow program bio with photo in Isleworth - Martin Barre, Mike Ketley, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson and Bryan Stevens — In Isleworth – Martin Barre, Mike Ketley, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson and Bryan Stevens

Above, in Isleworth, left to right: Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Martin Barre (sitting), Bryan Stevens and Mick Ketley

Categories: Bognor Regis, England, London

(The) Motivation (featuring Martin Barre)

August 5, 2011 Nick Warburton 14 Comments

The Motivation, 1967, left to right: Bryan Stevens, Malcolm Tomlinson, Jimmy Marsh, Mick Ketley, Chris Rodger and Martin Barre All photos of the band courtesy of Bryan Stevens

Jimmy Marsh (lead vocals)
Martin Barre (lead guitar, saxophone)
Mick Ketley (keyboards, backing vocals)
Bryan Stevens (bass)
Chris Rodger (saxophone, trumpet)
Malcolm Tomlinson (drums, backing vocals)

1966

October The group evolves out of Bognor Regis group, The Noblemen, which was formed in late 1964 to back South African singer Beau Brummell (aka Mike Bush). Bass player Bryan Stevens (b. 14 November 1943, Laha Datu, North Borneo) and keyboard player Mick Ketley (b. 1 October 1947, Balham, London) have been with the band from the outset. After splitting from Brummell in April 1966, the Noblemen undergo a significant change in personnel when most of the members leave in June. The following month, Stevens and Ketley reorganise The Noblemen bringing in a new singer, Jimmy Marsh (b. 9 April 1941, Carmarthen, Wales). Marsh first met Stevens and Ketley in mid-1964 at the Top Hat in Littlehampton when they were playing with The Detours and he was fronting The Del Mar Trio.

When The Noblemen’s drummer Bernie Smith opts to take up a more regular job, Marsh suggests his former colleague Malcolm Tomlinson (b. 16 June 1946, Isleworth, Middlesex) as his replacement. Tomlinson has worked with Marsh in The Del Mar Trio and James Deane and The London Cats. Before that, he was a member of Jeff Curtis and The Flames. Stevens advertises for a new sax player in the 23 July issue of Melody Maker, which hits the newsstands on 16 July. Former Moonrakers members, Chris Rodger (b. 16 October 1946, Solihull, Warwickshire) and Martin Barre (b. 17 November 1946, Kings Heath, Birmingham) respond to the advert after missing out on a job with Screaming Lord Sutch. On 22 July, Barre buys a saxophone at Sound City in London’s Shaftsbury Avenue for the audition three days later. Both Rodger and Barre are hired for the new line up as sax players, with Rodger doubling up on trumpet and Barre doubling up on lead guitar. In September, the new Noblemen line up moves up to London and shares a flat in Chelsea (and later Gloucester Road). They sign to the Roy Tempest Agency and start backing up visiting US soul acts.

Motivation on Bognor Regis station, late 1966 – left to right: Bryan Stevens, Martin Barre, Mick Ketley, Malcolm Tomlinson, Chris Rodger and Jimmy Marsh

Bognor Regis station, late 1966, left to right: Jimmy Marsh (white top), Martin Barre, Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley, Chris Rodger and Malcolm Tomlinson

November (1-2) Having supported The Vibrations, The Drifters, Lee Dorsey, Edwin Starr and Alvin Robinson as The Noblemen during September-October, the group adopts the more ‘Mod’ sounding name Motivation (although they are sometimes still billed as The Noblemen, at least until early December). As The Motivations, the band plays with Alvin Robinson at the Club Cedar in Birmingham for two nights. Soon after, The Motivations back Robinson at Newcastle University (quite possibly 3 November).

(4) Billed as The Noblemen, they begin backing The Coasters with a show at the King Mojo Club in Sheffield with Sonny Childe & The TNT. The Coasters will perform at the Starlite Ballroom in Greenford, west London on 11 November with The Mode but no support group is listed (unless it was The Mode).

(12) Having changed their name to (The) Motivation, they perform at the Oasis club in Manchester with The Coasters and Hari Kari.

(13) The Coasters are billed playing at Tiles on Oxford Street in central London (most likely with Motivation in support). Two days later, The Coasters appear at the Whisky A Go Go. It is around this time that Mike Ketley and Malcolm Tomlinson take up The Coasters’ offer to attend a party where Jimi Hendrix (who had previously played with The Coasters’ support band) is in attendance. The Jimi Hendrix Experience are launched to the British press on 25 November.

(20) After playing at the Cavern in Liverpool with The Coasters the previous day (where they are billed as The Noblemen), Motivation join the soul singers for two shows in Greater Manchester, starting with the Domino Club in Openshaw and culminating with a second gig at the Princess Theatre in Chorlton. A riot takes place at the second venue after disturbances between The Coasters and the rowdy crowd.

(25) Billed as The Noblemen, they support The Coasters at the New Yorker Discotheque in Swindon, Wiltshire. The previous day The Coasters performed at the Whisky A Go Go in Wardour Street, Soho, central London but no support band is listed.

(26) Motivation appear at the Starlight Room at the Boston Gliderdrome, Lincolnshire with The Coasters. Also on the bill are Ronnie Jones & The Blue Jays and Heart & Souls. On the same day, the group supports The Coasters at the Burlesque in Leicester.

(27) The Coasters perform at Kirklevington Country Club in Kirklevington, North Yorkshire. The advert doesn’t list Motivation but presumably they were the backing band.

December (4) Having finished supporting soul acts for the Roy Tempest Agency, Motivation begin to work under their own name. On this day, they are advertised to perform at the Hotel Leofric in Coventry but a story in the Coventry Evening Telegraph notes they did not appear as their van broke down. Motivation are also billed to play at the Stoke Hotel in Guildford on this day with Whisker Davies. It’s not clear if this is the same group; it might have been the Norbury version, which split up in late 1966.

(9) The band appears at the New Yorker Discotheque in Swindon, Wiltshire.

(10) Billed as The Motivations, they play at the Gala Ballroom in Norwich.

Thanks to Peter Ellis for the scan and date

(16) Billed as Lee Dorsey’s backing band, the group appears at the Koo-Koo Byrd Discotheque, Cardiff, Wales.

(17) Motivation perform at the Britannia Rowing Club in Nottingham.

(20) The group appears at the Concorde at the Basset Hotel in Southampton, Hampshire.

(22) A band called The Motivation plays at the Co-Operative Hall in Nuneaton, Warwickshire with The Orange Pips. This may have been the same group as Warwickshire was Martin Barre’s home turf.

(24) The Motivation appear at the Lion Hotel in Warrington, Cheshire with The Fix and The Undertones.

(31) The group heads to Ashford, Kent to see how the year at the ‘2 ‘B’s’ Club with The Suspects.

1967

January (1) The Motivation start the new year with an appearance at the Tavern Club in Dereham, Norfolk.

(6) After playing a gig in Acton, west London on 2 January, The Motivation travel to the southwest and appear at the Winter Gardens Ballroom in Penzance, Cornwall with The Modesty Blues.

(7) Billed as Brian Stevens and The Motivation they appear at the Blue Lagoon in Newquay, Cornwall with The Accoustics.

(8) The band performs at the Bure Country Club in Mudeford in Dorset with The Tension and Lavina Lavells. Rodger says that the club closed after this evening’s show.

(9) The Motivation make an appearance at the New Spot in Thorngate Halls, Gosport, Hampshire. The next day, they play a venue in Portsmouth, most likely a naval base.

(14) They were listed as playing in Bradford, West Yorkshire the previous day, after which The Motivation move south to appear at the New Yorker Discotheque in Swindon, Wiltshire with supporting acts.

(20) The group appears at the Bromel Club in Bromley, Kent.

(21) Motivation travel to Norfolk and play a show at the Royal Links Pavilion in Cromer with Soul Concern.

(24) Having played a gig in the Bournemouth area on 22 January, the band performs a show at the Concorde at the Basset Hotel, Southampton, Hampshire. Before the end of the month, they appear at a club in Ashford, Kent.

February (3) Not listed in Bryan Stevens gig diary, The Motivation play at the Kingfisher Hall in Redditch, Worcestershire. This might have been another version of The Motivation but it’s close to Martin Barre’s home town.

(4) Another gig that is not listed in Stevens’ gig diary is a show at Maidstone Corn Exchange in Maidstone, Kent with The Blues System. However, on the same day the band does return to the ‘2 ‘B’s’ Club in Ashford, Kent so perhaps they played both on the same day as the towns are close together.

(5) The group travels back to Norfolk to play the Tavern Club in Dereham on a bill that also features The Barry Lee Show.

(6) The Motivation play their first show at the famous Marquee club, opening for The Herd.

(7) The band appears at Kodak Hall, Harrow, west London with The Beachcombers.

(9) The Motivation play at the New Central Ballroom, Aldershot, Hampshire with Ziggy Turner Combo.

(10) The group travels to the Birmingham area and performs at the Carlton Ballroom in Erdington, billed as The Fantastic Motivations. The next day, they head to the Southwest and play a venue (possibly the town hall) in Exeter, Devon.

(13) The band appears at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset. The next day, The Motivation travel to Portsmouth and make an appearance at a venue in the city (possibly another naval gig).

(16) The Motivation head to Oxfordshire and perform for the Royal Air Force at RAF Benson.

(17) The day after, the band returns to London and appears at the Cooks Ferry Inn in Edmonton with John Evan Smash (who will morph in to Jethro Tull, a band that Barre will join in December 1968). There is a gap in the bookings until 25 February when The Motivation play an Oxford University college. The day after, they perform in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

March (1) Not listed in Bryan Stevens’ gig diary, the group appears at the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset, which is a venue they will return to a lot over the next year.

(4) The musicians return to London and perform at Tiles on Oxford Street with C Jam Blues and Malcolm Magaron. Earlier in the evening they are billed play a gig near York but this must have been cancelled as it would not have been possible to return to London in time for the Tiles gig which definitely happened.

(6) The Motivation head back to the Marquee for a second show supporting The Herd. On 8 March, the band leaves for Rome, Italy to hold down a four-week residency at the Piper Club. After driving for 60 hours, they arrive on 11 March and start that night. Gigs at the Imperial Club, Redditch, Worcestershire (as The Motivations) on 26 March and 9 April would have been cancelled. (Note: The Motivation that supports The Who at Wem Town Hall, Shropshire on 11 March is a different band)

(11) – April (13) The band plays at the Piper Club for four weeks. While playing at the club, Ray Charles’s dancers come in one evening and dance to the band’s set. Some of The Rolling Stones’ entourage visit the club while The Motivation are playing. The Rolling Stones are playing in Rome on 6 April and there is talk about getting the band on the Stones’ tour as a warm up act. No commitment comes from the discussions. Jimmy Marsh punctures his vocal chords and returns home. Marsh drops out of the music business, only resurfacing briefly in the early 1980s with the short-lived west London band, A Touch of Gold. Marsh died on 13 April 2020.

By the river near Syon Park, spring 1967, left to right: Chris Rodger, Martin Barre, Mick Ketley, Jimmy Marsh, Malcolm Tomlinson and Bryan Stevens

(14) With Ketley assuming lead vocals, they head for Livorno to play at the Piper Club there for three consecutive weekends. Various gigs advertised in England this month are cancelled, including the New Yorker Discotheque in Swindon or are performed by another band called (The) Motivation.

(15-16) The Motivation play at the Piper Club in Livorno this weekend.

(22-23) The band performs at the Piper Club in Livorno this weekend.

(29-30) The Motivation play at the Piper Club in Livorno this weekend.

May (1) The musicians return to Rome for further gigs. Numerous English gigs billed to The Motivation are subsequently cancelled while the group remains in Italy, including a show at Guildford Civic Hall on 6 May and gigs in Staffordshire and Cheshire (unless this is by another band with the same name).

(2-14) The Motivation appears at the Cabala Club in Rome. While there Lord Snowdon comes up to the stage one night and requests the band plays Sandie Shaw’s “Puppet on a String”.

(27) Having arrived back in England the previous week and taking a week off, The Motivation appear at the Playboy Club on Park Lane, central London. It is Rodger’s final gig and he leaves the band.

June Stevens and Ketley remember a talented singer from Liverpool band, The Clayton Squares, who had shared the stage with Beau Brummell & The Noblemen in West Germany in March 1966 – Denny Alexander (b. 10 March 1946, Liverpool). The Clayton Squares have recorded two brilliant singles for Decca before splitting in late 1966. Alexander, who has gone on to sing with The Thoughts, is invited to join The Motivation and fulfil outstanding dates. The group rehearses new material at the Shoreline Club in Bognor Regis.

(27) The new line-up appears at the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.

July (1) In what is one of their most high-profile shows, The Motivation support Cream at the Upper Cut in Forest Gate, east London.

(3) The group returns to the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.

(7) The Motivation plays at the Warwick Arms, Redditch, Worcestershire with Hedgehoppers Anonymous.

August (4) The group plays at Caesar’s Place, the Mulberry Tree in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire with The Agency.

(5) The Motivation travel to the Birmingham area and appear at the Carlton Ballroom in Erdington, which is followed by a second show on the same night at the Elbow Room in Aston.

(6) The group appears at the Casablanca Club in the Sportsman’s Arms, Allesley, Coventry.

(11) The band plays at the Beeches Barn Theatre in Cirencester, Gloucestershire.

(19) They return to the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.

(20) The next day, the band plays at the Indigo Vat in Southsea, Hampshire.

(25) The Motivation play at Chateau Ipney in Droitwich, Worcestershire. The band’s stax/soul sound is becoming increasingly outdated as the psychedelic scene blossoms. The Motivation return to Bognor Regis and rehearse a new act, introducing Alexander’s strong original material into the set and changing name to The Penny Peep Show.

Sources:

Flying Colours by Greg Russo, Crossfire Publications, 2009.
The South Coast Beat Scene of the 1960s by Mike Read, Woodfield Publishing, 2001.

Many thanks to Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley, Chris Rodger, Jimmy Marsh, Malcolm Tomlinson, Martin Barre, Denny Alexander, Dave Allen, Nigel Norman, Mick Capewell, Chris Bishop and Sylvia Stephen.

Thank you Bryan for The Motivation gig listing for January/February 1967 and Ian Green for some additional dates.

Additional concert listings sourced from Melody Maker, Nottingham Evening Post, the Liverpool Echo, the Manchester Evening News, Birmingham Evening Mail, Bournemouth Evening Echo, Southern Evening Echo, Portsmouth Evening Argus, Portsmouth News, Sheffield Star, Coventry Evening Telegraph, Harrow Observer, Cornish Guardian, The Cornishman, the Lincolnshire Standard and Eastern Evening News. The comments section below also lists some additional gigs.

Categories: Atco Records, California, Los Angeles, US

Blue Mountain Eagle gigs

June 15, 2011 Nick Warburton 1 Comment

Joey Newman (lead guitar, keyboards, vocals)
Bob ‘B.J’ Jones (lead guitar, vocals)
David Price (rhythm guitar, vocals)
Randy Fuller (bass, guitar, vocals)
Don Poncher (drums, vocals)

1968

September Price (b. September 23, 1944, Ballinger, Texas, US) and Poncher (b. July 29, 1947, Chicago, Illinois, US) are recruited by former Buffalo Springfield drummer/vocalist Dewey Martin for his new group named The New Buffalo Springfield, alongside horn player Jim Price, bass player Bob Apperson and lead guitarist Gary Rowles. Apperson, Poncher, Jim Price and Rowles have been playing together in a club in Arizona, which is where Martin spots them, while David Price has previously worked with Austin blues group, The Chelsea, done TV work with the Monkees and played one gig with the L.A based-band, Armadillo. The band rehearses at a diner in Boulder, Colorado and performs at the club with The Everly Brothers for a week.
November (16) The group makes its official public debut at the HIC, Honolulu, Hawaii with The Turtles. Shortly afterwards, the band returns to the mainland and performs a date at the Exhibit Hall, the Community Concourse in San Diego.
(23) Billed as The Buffalo Springfield, Martin’s group plays at the Sound Factory in Sacramento, California with Mad River and Sanpaku.
(30) Once again billed as The Buffalo Springfield, the band performs at the Terrace Ballroom, Salt Lake City, Utah with The Sir Douglas Quintet. The set list includes a song by Spirit.

Buffalo Springfield, Portland, Dec. 22, 1968 Poster image thanks to Jerry Fuentes

December (6) They play at the Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, California with Eric Burdon & The Animals.
(7) Martin’s new version of The Buffalo Springfield appears at the Earl Warren Showgrounds, Santa Barbara, California with Three Dog Night.
(14) The band travels to Texas for a show at the Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls.
(20) Billed as The Buffalo Springfield they play at the Civic Center in Bakersfield, California with Gary Lewis & The Playboys.
(21) Travelling up to the Northwest, they appear at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with The Chambers Brothers and The Buddy Miles Express.
(22) Billed as The Buffalo Springfield, they play at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon with The Chambers Brothers and The Buddy Miles Express.
(23) Martin’s band is supported by White Hearts at the Evergreen Ballroom in Olympia, Washington, where it is billed as The Buffalo Springfield.
(26) Billed as New Buffalo Springfield, Martin’s band makes its Bay area debut at the Holiday Rock Festival, Cow Palace, San Francisco alongside Canned Heat, Steppenwolf, The Electric Prunes and others.
(27) Martin’s band appears at San Joaquin County Fairgrounds in Stockton, California. Gary Lewis & The Playboys cancel due to illness.

Listing in Billboard for the Buffalo Springfield, November 1968

Now listed in Billboard as the New Buffalo Springfield, December 1968

1969

January (11) Martin’s band appears at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California billed as The Buffalo Springfield.
(31) Billed again as The Buffalo Springfield, the band appears at the Mother Duck in Chicago with Hot Fudge in support.
February (8) Martin’s version of The Buffalo Springfield plays at the Civic Auditorium in Albuquerque, New Mexico with Iron Butterfly and Lincoln Street Exit.
(22) Billboard announces that an album is imminent on Atco but nothing transpires. Rowles leaves soon afterwards and takes some time out of playing before later in the year replacing Jay Donellan in Love, a position he was originally offered in September 1968. Apperson also departs for session work and is replaced by former Bobby Fuller Four member and solo artist Randy Fuller (b. January 29, 1944, Hobbs, New Mexico, US), while Jim Price quits to join Delaney & Bonnie. Don Poncher joins the exodus to do session work and Dewey Martin takes over the drum stool. Martin brings in lead guitarist Bob “B J” Jones (b. November 9, 1942, Woodbury, New Jersey) who has previously worked with Little Richard and the band Danny & The Saints.
March The new line up records some tentative tracks in a Hollywood studio down the hall from Neil Young who is working with Crazy Horse, but they are never released. Producer Tom Dowd oversees one session.
(31) – April (2) Martin returns with The New Buffalo Springfield name, and a line up now comprising Randy Fuller, Dave Price and Bob “B J” Jones is one of the headliners at the Teen Expo, Santa Clare Fairgrounds, San Jose with Santana, Iron Butterfly and others. The group then changes name briefly to Blue Buffalo.
April (31) Martin’s group, billed as New Buffalo Springfield, plays at the Eureka Municipal Auditorium in Eureka, California with Mixed Company Coffee and Devine Madness.
June The band is expanded with the addition of lead guitarist Joey Newman (b. Vern Kjellberg, August 29, 1947, Seattle, Washington), formerly a member of Don & The Goodtimes, The Liberty Party and Touch.
(7) Billed as The Buffalo Springfield, they play at the Dunes in Westport in Washington.
(21) Again billed as The Buffalo Springfield, the band appears at Chehalis Civic Auditorium, Chehalis, Washington with Slugg.
(28) Billed as New Buffalo Springfield, they perform at Casey’s in Lewiston, Idaho.
July (3) Billed as The Buffalo Springfield, they perform at the Armory in Astoria, Oregon.
(5) Martin’s outfit appears at the Evergeen Ballroom, Olympia, Washington.
(8-9) New Buffalo Springfield appear at the Seattle Center Arena with Paul Revere & The Raiders.
(11) The band plays at the Breakthru, Tacoma, Washington.
(19) The New Buffalo Springfield appear at the Happening, Seattle, Washington. While on the Northwest tour, the group drives along Highway 395 and comes across a town in Grant County, Oregon with a newspaper called The Blue Mountain Eagle. The band fires Dewey Martin and returns to Los Angeles to sign a deal with Atlantic Records subsidiary label, Atco Records. Ahmet Ertegun signs the band personally.

Spring 1969 lineup, clockwise from top: Dewey Martin, Bob Jones, Dave Price and Randy Fuller Buffalo Springfield at the Astoria Armory, July 3, 1969 Poster image thanks to Jerry Fuentes — Spring 1969 lineup, clockwise from top: Dewey Martin, Bob Jones, Dave Price and Randy Fuller. Buffalo Springfield at the Astoria Armory, July 3, 1969. Poster image thanks to Jerry Fuentes

Blue Mountain Eagle, late 1969, from left: Dave Price, Randy Fuller, Bob Jones, Joey Newman and Don Poncher

August Back in Los Angeles, the group adds Don Poncher from the original New Buffalo Springfield line up on drums in place of Martin and takes on the name Blue Mountain Eagle after the newspaper the group has seen on the road.
(24) Studio session logs suggest they record some demo tracks at Wally Heider’s studio in Los Angeles. The tracks include “Trivial Sum” (which the band will complete at a later date) and songs which may have been completed and later released under a different name. The tracks are: “Rock & Roll Please”, “Fourth Time Around”, “Road’s End”, “David’s Song”, “B.J. #1”, “¾ Thing” and “Joey’s Song”.
September (13) Having debuted at the HIC in Honolulu (where it is billed by manager Mike Zalk as New Buffalo Springfield), Blue Mountain Eagle support Santana at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California.
December (1) Blue Mountain Eagle record their debut album in one day at Wally Heider’s studio in Los Angeles.
(27-29) The band appears at the Pozo, San Luis Obispo on a bill featuring The Byrds, Eric Mercury, Spirit, Vanilla Fudge and others.

Clockwise from top left: Bob Jones, Dave Johnson, Dave Price, Don Poncher and Joey Newman. Photo courtesy Henry Diltz

1970

February The group supports Love and Eric Burdon & War at the Ice Palace, Las Vegas.
(3-8) Blue Mountain Eagle play at the Brass Ring, Sherman Oaks, California with Blue Rose.
(10-15) They return to the Brass Ring for a second set of shows with Blue Rose.
March (21) The band performs at the Salem Armory Auditorium, Salem, Oregon.
(26-28) The group participates in the Southwest ’70 Peace Festival near Lubbock, Texas, with Vanilla Fudge, Muddy Waters, Canned Heat, The Flock, Truth, Joe Kelley’s Blues Band, Johnny Winter and many others.

At the Salem Armory with Everyday Hudson (formerly the New Yorkers) and Fatt Twice Together

Left to right: Joey Newman, Bob Jones, Don Poncher, Dave Johnson and Dave Price. Photo dated March 4, 1970, but it might be later

with Manfred Mann at the Whisky a Go Go, April, 1970

Atco ad in the LA Free Press, April 1970

April (8-12) Blue Mountain Eagle support Manfred Mann Chapter 3 at West Hollywood’s Whisky A Go Go. Randy Fuller leaves and joins Dewey Martin & Medicine Ball, appearing on its lone album. He is replaced by Dave Johnson (b. October 21, 1945, Burbank, California, US), who has previously worked with Dr John and Alice & The Wonderland Band alongside singer Joanne Vent and future Redbone guitarist Tony Bellamy. The group write and arrange material for a second album over the next few months but none of the tracks are recorded.
(24) The new line up plays at the Pusi-Kat, San Antonio, Texas.
(26) Blue Mountain Eagle support Jimi Hendrix and The Buddy Miles Express at the ‘Cal Expo’, Sacramento, California.

at the Beach House in Santa Monica, May 1970

(28) – May (3) Blue Mountain Eagle plays at the Beach House, Cheetah Pier, Santa Monica.
May Their eponymous debut album is released, highlighting a mixture of acoustic and hard rock styles that is reminiscent of The Buffalo Springfield.
(2) Blue Mountain Eagle support Country Joe & The Fish and Spirit at San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego.
(9) The band opens for Pink Floyd at the Terrace Ballroom, Salt Lake City, Utah.
(15) Blue Mountain Eagle appear at Fresno Convention Hall, California with Canned Heat and Sweetwater.
June (2-7) The group appears at the Beach House, Cheetah Pier, Santa Monica.
(5) Billboard magazine reports that the band appears at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.
(8) Blue Mountain Eagle record a lone track, a cover of Stephen Stills’s “Marianne”.

July (11) The band appears at Bullock’s Department Store in downtown L.A. with Poco, Blues Image and Southwind.
(18) The group replaces Blue Cheer at Terrace Ballroom, Salt Lake City, Utah on a bill that also features Love and Fever Tree.
August The band releases the double A-side single “Marianne”, which is given favourable reviews. Studio logs also suggest the group records a track called “Rest” but it is never released.
October Blue Mountain Eagle’s final gig is at a ballroom in Dave Price’s hometown, San Antonio, Texas.
NovemberPoncher leaves to join Love for live work and the band splinters. Johnson briefly works with Lee Michaels before reuniting with Jones in Sweathog, while Price does sessions for ex-Sir Douglas Quintet keyboard player Augie Meyer.

1972

January Sweathog’s eponymous debut album is released, but is not a success. Having appeared on sessions for a Love album that is eventually released in the 2000s by Sundazed as Love Lost, Poncher stays with Arthur Lee and his next project, Band Aid, helping him record the Vindicator album. Poncher then joins Blue Rose with Terry Furlong (who wrote songs for Blue Mountain Eagle) and ex-Illinois Speed Press member John Uribe.
June Blue Rose’s sole eponymous album appears on Epic Records. Poncher continues to do session work throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, working with people like Augie Meyer, Joe Cocker, Jim Price, Genya Raven and Chris Jagger. He currently plays with Balonius Bunk in the San Fernando Valley.

1975

September Newman emerges with new outfit, Bandit, who release an album for ABC Records. Having recorded a second album with Sweathog without Jones, Johnson puts together a new band with radio legend Jimmy Rabbit called Rabbit and Renegade, which records an album for Capitol Records, produced by Waylon Jennings.

1977

Newman forms Stepson, who release an album for ABC Records, before later recording two gospel albums. Newman later works with Michael Lloyd, the Osmonds, Bryan MacLean, Shaune Cassidy and with Jimmy Johnson on his Sheena Easton tour. Jones meanwhile, surfaces with The Demons, who issue an eponymous album on Mercury.

Sources:

Einarson, John and Furay, Richie. For What It’s Worth – The Story Of Buffalo Springfield, Quarry Press Inc, 1997, pages 279-280.
Hounsome, Terry. Rock Record #6, Record Researchers Publications, 1994.
Housden, David Peter. The Castle – Love #9, 1995, page86.
Housden, David Peter. The Castle – Love #10, 1996, page 27.
Joynson, Vernon. Fuzz, Acid & Flowers, Supplement, September 1997, page 419.
Povey, Glen and Russell, Ian. Pink Floyd In The Flesh – A Complete Performance History, Bloomsbury, 1997, page 94.
Ruppli, Michel. Atlantic Records – A Discgraphy, volume 2, Greenwood Press, 1979, pages 320 and 366 and volume 3, page 53.
Shapiro, Harry and Glebbeek, Caesar. Electric Gypsy, Mandarin, 1995, page 738.
Billboard, November 16, 1968, page 67; December 28, 1968, page 43; February 22, 1969, page 3 and August 15, 1970, page 28.
Los Angeles Free Press, February 6, 1970; May 1, 1970; May 27, 1970 and June 5, 1970.
Variety, August 19, 1970, page 46.

Thanks to Dave Price, Joey Newman, Bob Jones, Randy Fuller, Don Poncher and Dave Johnson for contributing to the band’s story. Thanks to Jerry Fuentes and Neil Skok for help with some of the New Buffalo Springfield dates. Huge thanks to Steve Finger at the LA Free Press for help with concert posters.

I have tried to ensure that this article is as accurate as possible, but some data is difficult to verify. If anyone is able to supply any additional information or correct any errors, please contact me at Warchive@aol.com

Categories: CBS, England, London, MCA, Surrey

The Kool

April 4, 2011 Nick Warburton 11 Comments

The Kool #1 (August-December 1967)

Jeff Curtis – vocals
Dave Carol – lead guitar, vocals
Jet Hodges (aka Richard Hodgins) – keyboards, vocals
Ray Brown – bass, vocals
Pete Burt – drums

Originally known as Jeff Curtis & The Flames, their manager, rock promoter Mervyn Conn changed their name to The Kool around August 1967.

Signing the band to CBS Records, Conn used The Ivy League and session musicians, including drummer Clem Cattini, to record Tony Macauley and John MacLeod’s poppy “Look at Me, Look at Me”, which was backed by the soulful “Room at the Top” (credited to Curtis’s real name: David Myers but actually a co-write with Ray Brown and originally cut as a demo by Jeff Curtis & The Flames around May 1966).

The A-side only features Ray Brown from the band who provides the lead vocal and is surrounded by the massed vocals of The Ivy League. The B-side is notable for its use of horns and cello and has a soulful feel with Jeff Curtis’s gravelly voice to the fore.

Produced by Mervyn Conn and arranged by Keith Mansfield, the single was released on 12 October 1967 but did not chart despite being plugged by DJ Tony Blackburn on Radio 1.

During the same session, Conn used The Ivy League as singers on an excellent version of “Step Out of Your Mind”, previously recorded and released in the United States by The American Breed, and a cover of Ralph Murphy’s “Funny What a Fool Can Be”. Like the previous B-side, Jeff Curtis sang lead vocals on this track and the band members are featured on the recording.

The two tracks were coupled for a second single, issued, and then mysteriously withdrawn, in limited edition, around December 1967.

That same month, the band played at Coronation Hall in Kingston with PP Arnold, after which Ray Brown departed to reunite with Steve Reading and Mickey Baker from his 1950s band, The Sky Blue Skiffle Group, in a new outfit called Champagne. During 1968, Champagne shared the bill with The Kool at Kew Boathouse. In 1969, Brown joined The Magic Roundabout.

With Ray Brown out of the picture, The Kool carried on, bringing in new bass player Brian Hosking.

Notable gigs:

8 September 1967 – Boulevard, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire with Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band (Yorkshire Evening Press)

9 September 1967 – Boogaloo, Castleford, West Yorkshire Billed as The Cool so may be another band but gig above suggests otherwise

15 September 1967 – Cesar’s Club, Bedford with The 100w Carnation

1 December 1967 – Coronation Hall, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey with PP Arnold (may have been later this month or first week in January)

The Kool, late 1967, from left: Ray Brown, Jeff Curtis (aka David Myers), Pete Burt, Dave Carol and Jet Hodges

The Kool #2 (January-August 1968)

Jeff Curtis – vocals
Dave Carol – lead guitar, vocals
Jet Hodges (aka Richard Hodgins) – keyboards, vocals
Brian Hosking – bass
Pete Burt – drums

Originally from Twickenham, Middlesex, Brian Hosking (b. 7 July 1947, Twickenham, Middlesex) was no stranger to the band having known Dave Carol from The Smokestacks in 1964. Hosking had first played bass with The Diplomats while at school and then joined The Feeet with guitarist Doug Ayris. During 1963, Hosking and Ayris formed The Legend with singer Nigel Kingswell and drummer John Sergeant.

In 1964, Hosking left to join The Smokestacks. Two years later, he helped form Twickenham band, The All Night Workers. However, after a few months, he departed to run a bar full-time in Heston and only returned to the live scene in October 1967 with a short-lived band called Deep Purple (no relation to their more famous namesake). When he joined The Kool, Hosking had given up the bar to sell car batteries in Slough and was living in Hounslow.

Kingston & Malden Borough News, 30 August 1968

In early 1968, The Kool appeared at London’s top nightclubs, the Cromwellian and the Pickwick. During the second part 1968, the band increasingly found work in the Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey area.

Notable gigs:

27 January 1968 – Locarno Ballroom, Swindon, Wiltshire with James Stuart Inspiration

4 May 1968 – West Clandon Youth Club, West Clandon Village Hall, Surrey

25 May 1968 – Beauty Queen competition at Hampton Hill Catholic Youth Club, St Francies Sales Church, Hampton Hill, Middlesex

15 June 1968 – West Clandon Youth Club, West Clandon Village, Surrey

22 June 1968 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey

6 July 1968 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey

19 July 1968 – Apple Tree Club, Kingston Hotel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

The Kool #3 (August 1968-January 1969)

Jeff Curtis – vocals
Dave Carol – lead guitar, vocals
Jet Hodges (aka Richard Hodgins) – keyboards, vocals
Brian Hosking – bass
Steve Allen – drums

During late summer Pete Burt departed and joined up with keyboard player Bob Brittain for a tour of Germany. In 1969, Brittain offered Burt the drum position in his new band, Pickettywitch but the drummer declined the offer. The following year, he reunited with his old school friend from Roxeth Manor School – Rod Wharton and they formed the trio, Hogsnort Rupert. Burt subsequently retired from the music business and passed away on 20 March 2013.

Steve Allen, who was originally from Cornwall and had played in several West Country bands for five years before moving to Esher, Surrey, took over from Burt while working for the Inland Revenue in Richmond, Surrey during the day.

According to the Kingston and Malden Borough News, the new line up returned to the studios in early September 1968 to record three more sides, including two band originals, and two of the tracks recorded would be chosen for the band’s next single, due out around Christmas. The promised single never appeared.

The new Kool line-up, however, was short-lived because Allen did not like the band’s music and departed early on to join The Factory, led by singer Jack Brand.

Notable gigs:

16 August 1968 – Apple Tree Club, Kingston Hotel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

24 August 1968 –Staines Town Hall, Staines, Middlesex

25 August 1968 – Apple Tree Club, White Lion, Putney, Southwest London

14 September 1968 – West Clandon Youth Club, West Clandon Village Hall, West Clandon, Surrey

18 November 1968 – Orange Grove, Grove Tavern, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

6 December 1968 – Apple Tree Club, Kingston Hotel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

The Kool #4 (January-May 1969)

Jeff Curtis – vocals
Dave Carol – lead guitar, vocals
Jet Hodges (aka Richard Hodgins) – keyboards, vocals
Brian Hosking – bass
Geoff Coxon – drums

Dave Carol enlisted his old friend from early 1960s band, The Drovers, Geoff Coxon, to replace the outgoing Steve Allen. Since splitting from Carol in 1964, Coxon had joined Hampton, Middlesex band, The Others, just in time to promote their lone single on Fontana, a raucous version of Bo Diddley’s “Oh Yeah”, coupled with the band original “I’m Taking Her Home”.

After The Others fell apart in October of that year, Coxon moved on to work with Colin Shane & The Shannons alongside guitarist Dave Mumford and bass player Dick Merritt. When this group split up in late 1965, the trio formed The Sugar Band with organist Malcolm Wainman, tenor sax player Pete Browning and baritone sax player Les Batt and worked the soul club circuit until late 1967.

The band’s agent then linked the musicians with Jamaican singer Delroy Williams and they became The Delroy Williams Show with The Sugar Band. By late 1968, the group had split from Williams and Coxon gigged around before joining The Kool.

Program for show in Caen, France in Feb. 1969. The photo shows the '67 lineup before Brian Hosking and Geoff Coxon had joined. Program scan courtesy of Brian Hosking — Program for show in Caen, France in Feb. 1969. The photo shows the ’67 lineup before Brian Hosking and Geoff Coxon had joined. Program scan courtesy of Brian Hosking

The new line up travelled to France to play the Grand Ball at Caen University in early February. During that weekend, the new band members did a signing at a record shop for their forthcoming CBS single, which featured a photo of the original line up.

On 18 April 1969, CBS belatedly released The Kool’s second single, “Step Out of Your Mind” c/w “Funny What A Fool Can Be”, over a year after it was originally recorded. Despite a strong performance, the band’s moment had passed and the single failed to chart.

The single was reviewed in the Kingston and Malden Borough News’s 25 April 1969 edition, together with a photo of the original line up.

The current line up, however, signed to MCA and recorded a final single, issued in June 1969, coupling the poppy “Lovin’”, written by the song-writing team Capitanelli and O’Connor, backed by Dave Myers’ original, “Baby’s Out of Reach”. Produced by Phil Swern, arranged by Tom Parker, and with backing vocals by Sue and Sonny, the single had great potential but was another chart failure.

Before it was released both Jet Hodges and newcomer Geoff Coxon departed. Coxon joined Calum Bryce, reuniting with Dave Mumford. Coxon currently performs with a reformed The Others.

Calum Bryce, late 1969. Geoff Coxon at far left Photo courtesy of Geoff Coxon

Notable gigs:

15 January 1969 – Weybridge Hall, Weybridge, Surrey

8 February 1969 – Grand Ball, Caen University, France

5 April 1969 – West Clandon Village Hall, West Clandon, Surrey (Surrey Advertiser)

2 May 1969 – Addlestone Community Centre, Addlestone, Surrey

The Kool #5 (May-August 1969)

Jeff Curtis – vocals
Dave Carol – lead guitar, vocals
Ronnie Clayden – keyboards, vocals
Brian Hosking – bass
Jim Park – drums

Jim Park (b. 21 March 1947, Staines, Middlesex) was recruited via an advert that Hosking put in Melody Maker. The band received over 60 applications for the drum vacancy but Park knew Clive Burrows, who was singing in the latest version of Hosking’s former group The All Night Workers, which still contained Hosking’s former band mate from The Legend, Doug Ayris. Burrows also worked as a store man at a shop Hosking’s girlfriend managed.

Barely 20 years old, Clayden (b. 2 April 1949, Lewisham, Kent) was living in Ascot, Berkshire at the time and had previously worked with Maidenhead band, The John Thomas Blues Band, which included lead guitarist Graham Marshall and drummer Chris Stevens.

The John Thomas Blues Band landed loads of support gigs opening for the likes of The Pretty Things, The Gun and Aynsley Dunbar’s Retaliation and had even spent a brief period backing American blues singer/pianist Champion Jack Dupree. The John Thomas Blues Band appeared at the Crown pub in Twickenham on 11 January 1969. Clayden finds out about the position in The Kool through Jim Park whose parents worked with his.

Sir Robert Peel, photo taken September 2011

The Kool, however, were nearing their end and during a run of shows at the Sir Robert Peel in Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, longstanding front man Jeff Curtis quit the band and was replaced by singer Roger Semon, who’d previously fronted The In-Sekt Ltd and Coconut Ice.

Not long after newcomer Jim Park also departed and subsequently re-joined The All Night Workers. Alan Cottrell took his place on the drum stool.

After leaving the band he had led for nearly a decade, Jeff Curtis reverted to his real name, David Myers, and set up his own restaurant business. He died in tragic circumstances in the late 1990s.

Notable gigs:

12 July 1969 – Maidens’ Ball, Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey

19-20 July 1969 – Sir Robert Peel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

7 August 1969 – Sir Robert Peel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

9 August 1969 – Hog’s Back Hotel, Seale, near Farnham, Surrey

12 August 1969 – Sir Robert Peel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

The Kool, December 1970, from left: Brian Hosking, Alan Cottrell, Roger Semon, Dave Carol and (not pictured) Ronnie Clayden Photo courtesy of Brian Hosking

The Kool #6 (September 1969-December 1970)

Roger Semon – vocals
Dave Carol – lead guitar, vocals
Ronnie Clayden – keyboards, vocals
Brian Hosking – bass
Alan Cottrell – drums

Despite losing their longstanding frontman, The Kool continued into 1970 but did not record any more material. In early 1971, Hosking and Clayden both left.

Hosking later moved to the Guildford area where he worked with the band Bloodhound. Based on Bournemouth, he is currently working with a reformed version of The All Night Workers. Clayden, meanwhile, subsequently moved to the Camberley/Ascot area on the Surrey/Berkshire border and worked with the band, Snow Leopard. He later moved to the United States where he currently resides.

After bringing back Hosking’s predecessor Ray Brown from Magic Roundabout and carrying on without a keyboard player, the final line up continued as Easy Virtue throughout 1971. During that year, John Frost took over the drum stool from Alan Cottrell.

In 1972, Carol left and was replaced by lead guitarist Frank Torpey, who’d been in the original Sweet. The band then changed name to Crackers. However, in 1973, John Frost left to re-join Carol in a new version of Easy Virtue, which lasted into the mid-1970s. Carol subsequently left the music business and currently runs his own restaurant business in Southwest London.

Ray Brown meanwhile stayed in the music business until the mid-1980s. Crackers were studio winners on Opportunity Knocks in 1976 and recorded material at Abbey Road and Surrey Sound Studios. Three tracks featuring Roger Semon, Ray Brown and Frank Torpey were released under the name Horrorcomic on Lighting Records in 1977 and reached #28 in Melody Maker’s punk charts.

Two further singles were released in 1978 and 1979 with Roger Willis from Capability Brown on drums. All of the single releases, plus six previously unreleased recordings were issued in 2006 by Sanctuary Records on the CD England 77’. Brown later worked with comedy show group The Wallies and The Beasty Grandads before retiring from the music business in September 1988. He currently lives in Surrey.

Notable gigs:

10 September 1969 – Sir Robert Peel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

17 September 1969 – Sir Robert Peel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

27 September 1969 – Kingston College of Technology, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey with Bobby Kerr Whoopee Band and The Webb

5 December 1969 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey

22 December 1969 – Chessington Youth Club, Chessington, Surrey

27 December 1969 – Kingston Rowing Club, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

20 February 1970 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey

7 March 1970 – Kingston Rowing Club, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

21 March 1970 – Hook Youth Club, Hook, Surrey

4 April 1970 – Claygate Village Hall, Claygate, Surrey

17 April 1970 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey

24 April 1970 – Hook Youth Club, Hook, Surrey

22 May 1970 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey

17 July 1970 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey

4 September 1970 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey

23 October 1970 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey

A huge thanks goes to Dave Carol, Pete Burt, Brian Hosking, Geoff Coxon, Ronnie Clayden, Ray Brown, Rod Wharton and John Frost. The Kingston and Malden Borough News also proved useful. Many thanks to Brian Hosking, Ray Brown and Ronnie Clayden for providing some of the images. This is dedicated to Pete Burt.

45 releases:

Look at Me, Look at Me/Room at the Top (CBS 203003) 1967
Step Out of Your Mind/Funny (What a Fool a Can Be) (CBS 2865) April 18, 1969
Lovin’/Baby’s Out of Reach (MCA MU 1085) 1969

Categories: Bognor Regis, Columbia, England, Vedette, West Sussex

The Noblemen (featuring Martin Barre)

February 5, 2011 Nick Warburton 46 Comments

The Noblemen, January 1965. Left to right: Mike Turnill, Bernie Smith, Bryan Stevens, Mike Ketley and Chuck Fryers — The Noblemen, January 1965. Left to right: Mike Turnill, Bernie Smith, Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley and Chuck Fryers

Chuck Fryers (guitar, vocals)
Mick Ketley (keyboards, vocals)
Bryan Stevens (bass)
Bob Pettit (sax)
Bernie Smith (drums)

1964

December The group evolves out of Bognor Regis group, The Detours, which was formed in early 1960 by bass player Bryan Stevens (b. 14 November 1943, Laha Datu, North Borneo). The Detours have gone through numerous personnel changes over the years with singer Johnny Devlin (real name: Johnny Hobbs, not the New Zealand singer) joining in early 1962. His arrival prompts a name change to Johnny Devlin & The Detours. Shortly afterwards, Stevens recruits former Soundtracks keyboard player Mick Ketley (b. 1 October 1947, Balham, London). Later that year, he also brings in former Cruisers guitarist Alan Paul “Chuck” Fryers (b. 24 May 1945, Bognor Regis, West Sussex) and adds sax player Bob Pettit from a Chichester abattoir. In 1963, Bernie Smith, another former Soundtracks member, takes over the drum stool. Johnny Devlin & The Detours sign to Pye in November and record two tracks – “Sometimes” and “If You Want Someone”, which are coupled for a single, released in January 1964. Despite a group appearance on TV show Thank Your Lucky Stars, the single fails to chart and Devlin leaves. Pete Townshend and John Entwistle see Devlin’s band on the TV show and decided to change their band’s name from The Detours to The High Numbers, which will subsequently become The Who. The group carries on with singer John Read and plays venues on the south coast like Littlehampton’s Top Hat and Worthing’s Mexican Hat. Bob Gaitley, who runs both clubs, invites The Detours to back a new singer, South African Mike Bush, who is launching himself as Beau Brummell. The group accepts and changes name to The Noblemen. EMI producer Bob Barrett signs Beau Brummell and The Noblemen and takes them into Abbey Road to record a single – Beau Brummell Esquire and His Noblemen’s “I Know, Know, Know” backed by a version of “Shopping Around” from Elvis’ film GI Blues.

1965

January Mike Turnill briefly joins on sax taking over from Pettit, who returns to work in an abattoir and plays with Johnny Devlin in Act IV.

(4) The new line up appears on Granada Television in Manchester. Despite an appearance by Brummell on TV show Ready Steady Go, his debut single, released on Columbia, does not chart.

Brighton Crescent, spring 1965, from left: Bryan Stevens, Chuck Fryers, Mick Ketley, Bob Slomat, Malcolm Randall and Bernie Smith — Brighton Crescent, spring 1965, from left: Bryan Stevens, Chuck Fryers, Mick Ketley, Bob Lomas, Malcolm Randall and Bernie Smith

February Bob Lomas replaces Turnill. The group also takes on a second sax player Malcolm Randall, who has placed an advert in Melody Maker after playing with Jeff Curtis & The Flames, and joins The Noblemen in time for a short trip to West Germany, where they play at the Storyville Jazz Club in Cologne before returning to the UK that spring. The Noblemen are photographed in Brighton wearing regency clothes.

April (10) Beau Brummell & The Noblemen travel up to Scotland and appear at Cragburn Pavilion in Gourock.

(15) On the way back home, they play at the Market Assembly Hall in Carlisle with Them Grimbles.

(25) Beau Brummell & The Noblemen perform at the Whitehall, East Grinstead, West Sussex with The Dagoes.

Bob Slomat and Malcolm Randall, Germany, spring 1965 — Bob Lomas and Malcolm Randall, West Germany, spring 1965

May (1) Beau Brummell and His Noblemen appear at the California Ballroom in Dunstable with The Downsiders and The Richochets.

(9) The band appears at the Majestic Ballroom in Luton, Bedfordshire with Randall’s former group, Jeff Curtis & The Flames.

(14) Beau Brummell is listed appearing at the Carlton Ballroom in Erdington, West Midlands with The Chucks.

(22) Beau Brummell & The Noblemen perform Malborough Hall, in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

(29) The band plays at the Assembly Hall, Mold, Flintshire, Wales with The Denims.

May (16) Billed as Beau Brummell with his Exclusive Noblemen Orchestra, the group appears at Cubiklub in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

(21) The group performs at Hoveton Hall, Wroxham, Norfolk with The Trends.

June (13) Beau Brummell & His Exclusive Noblemen Orchestra appear at the Downs, Hassocks, West Sussex.

(19) The group appears at the New Cornish Riveria Lido in St Austell, Cornwall with The Guild.

July (2) Billed as Beau Brummell & The Nobles, they perform at the Guildhall, Axminster in Devon.

(3) Beau Brummell & His Exclusive Noblemen Orchestra appear at Torquay Town Hall, Torquay, Devon with Johnny Carr and The Cadilacs and The Vicarage Five. This same week, Beau Brummell opens a club in Shoreham, West Sussex, according to the Brighton Evening Argus.

(9-11) With a new sax player called John replacing Bob Lomas, Beau Brummell & The Noblemen play at the Star Club in Hamburg. Immediately afterwards, the band plays at the Storyville Jazz Club in Duisberg (most likely from 12-15 July) and Randall jumps ship to join The Manchester Playboys back in England.

(16) Beau Brummell & The Noblemen play a double-nighter in Greater Manchester, starting off with a show at the Domino Club in Openshaw with Lulu & The Luvvers and then the Princess Club, Chorlton with Julie Grant.

(19) The group plays at the Manor Lounge, Stockport, Greater Manchester. This may have been Randall’s final gig as The Manchester Playboys are performing in nearby Bolton this evening and are based in the Greater Manchester area.

(20) The musicians appear at the Marine Ballroom in Evesham, Worcestershire.

(24) The group, billed as The Beau Brummell Band, appears at Shefford Hardwicke in Bedfordshire.

(30) Billed as Beau Brummell & his exclusive Noblemen Orchestra, the musicians perform at the New Embassy Club, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

August (14) The band appears at the New Cornish Riviera Lido, St Austell, Cornwall with The Road Runners. Immediately afterwards, John, the temporary sax player, also departs. The Noblemen take on new sax players Keith Gemmell (b. 15 February 1948, Hackney, London) and former Gene Vincent sideman, Jeremy “Jem” Field.

(19) The new line-up appears at the Regent Ballroom in Brighton, East Sussex.

(20) Beau Brummell and His Noblemen Orchestra appear at Cheltenham Town Hall in what is one of the first shows by the new formation.

(21) Beau Brummell and The Noble Men play at the Galaxy Club in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

(22) The band appears at the Mexican Hat in Worthing with The Beat Merchants.

(23) The group plays at the Majestic Ballroom, Newport, south Wales with The Cellar Set.

Oslo National Park, Norway, 1965: Chuck Fryers, Mick Ketley, Bryan Stevens, Bernie Smith, Keith Gemmell and Jem Field

September The band travels to Scandinavia to play some gigs in Norway and Sweden.

(18) Beau Brummell & The Noblemen arrive in Oslo. According to Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, the band opens at the city’s Rondo Club, possibly for a week’s residency, with The Dukes, featuring singer Ingerid Marie.

Photo: Aftenposten. Thanks to Christopher Hjort for the photo

(26) Returning from Norway, The Noblemen join The Beat Merchants for another show at the Mexican Hat in Worthing. The Worthing Gazette advert notes that this is the band’s final British appearance for six weeks. Immediately afterwards, the band head to Rome, Italy to play at the Piper Club.

The Noblemen at the Piper Club, Rome in October 1965 Left to right: Chuck Fryers, Mike Ketley, Keith Gemmell and Jem Field — The Noblemen at the Piper Club, Rome in October 1965 Left to right: Chuck Fryers, Mick Ketley, Keith Gemmell and Jem Field

October (1) Beau Brummell and The Noblemen start working at the Piper club for a six-week stand, travelling through the city in an open carriage drawn by four white horses. During their stint at the club, the band meets actor Vincent Price and George Harrison’s parents who have won a holiday to Rome. While playing at the Piper club, the band is invited to play at the coming-out dance of the daughter of the millionaire, Prince Ruspoli. They also meet a female American singer called Kathy, who sets up a gig for the band at the Big Apple Club in Munich (where she lives) for the following May.

November After completing a six-week season, Beau Brummell and The Noblemen perform in Milan for 10 days and record four tracks in a studio that was formerly a church. These include the powerful sax-driven “Jezebel” and the Brummell composed, “I’m In Love”, a slow lilting number, neither of which are released. The group then heads south to Naples to play further dates before returning to Rome where The Noblemen sans Brummell record the tracks “Jump Back Baby” and “Ecstasy” with Chuck Fryers on lead vocals. Columbia releases Brummell’s third single (and second with the band) – “A Better Man Than I”, a spoken number, backed by “Teardrops”, which is credited to Brummell’s “Noblemen Orchestra” but it does not chart.

December Beau Brummell and The Noblemen play in Ostend in Belgium before returning to the UK.

(12) The Noblemen appear at the Mexican Hat in Worthing with The Look.

(17) The group returns to the continent to play in Turin. An engagement in St. Moritz is announced but the band do not play there.

(25-31) Beau Brummell and The Noblemen play at a club in Turin through to the new year and share the bill with Mussolini’s son Romano who plays piano with his jazz group. During January 1966, Brummell briefly splits from The Noblemen to return to Rome and tries to get into the film industry.

1966

January Columbia releases a final Brummell single, a cover of Ray Donner’s “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got” backed by “Take Me Like I Am”, but it fails to chart.

(7) Back in England, The Noblemen appear at the Top Hat in Littlehampton, West Sussex. The advert in the Worthing Gazette notes that they have just returned from Italy.

(8) Beau Brummell & The Noblemen play at the Shoreline Club in Bognor Regis, West Sussex.

February (27) The Noblemen are a late addition to an all-nighter show at the original Cavern in Liverpool, which closes after tonight’s performance. Also included on the bill are Rory Storm and The Hurricanes and The Big Three among many others. The Cavern will officially reopen on 23 July.

March The Noblemen perform at the Storyville Jazz Club in Duisberg before moving on to Cologne.

(7-10) Beau Brummell rejoins The Noblemen briefly to share a week-long residency at the Storyville Jazz Club in Cologne with The Clayton Squares. The Squares’ singer Denny Alexander will reunite with Ketley and Stevens in The Motivation in June 1967. While in Cologne (this may have been spring 1965 trip instead), the group meets English group The Loving Kind featuring guitarist Noel Redding, who will join The Jimi Hendrix Experience in September. After playing at the Storyville Jazz Club in Cologne, the band holds down a residency at Frankfurt’s Storyville Jazz Club with Rory Storm and The Hurricanes and Johnny Guitar Watson.

(19) The Noblemen appear at the Flamingo Ballroom in Redruth, Cornwall with The Misfits.

The Noblemen in Pisa, Italy, April 1966, left to right: Mike Ketley, Bryan Stevens, Jem Field, Keith Gemmell and Chuck Fryers — The Noblemen in Pisa, Italy, April 1966, left to right: Mick Ketley, Bryan Stevens, Jem Field, Keith Gemmell and Chuck Fryers

April The Noblemen split from Brummell who returns to South Africa and records further singles (and later owns a naturist valley in the Northern Transvaal). The Noblemen accept a short residency at the Livorno Club in Pisa, Italy.

May (20) Thanks to the American singer they met in Rome last October, the group opens for The Spencer Davis Group at the Big Apple Club in Munich and both performances are recorded for German TV. Fryers has to borrow Spencer Davis’s guitar as his own was stolen while playing in Italy.

Noblemen with the Spencer Davis Group, Big Apple Club — with the Spencer Davis Group, Big Apple Club

(21) Field leaves the band and returns home by train. Stripped down to a quintet, The Noblemen play some US air bases in West Germany with singing group, The New Faces. Gemmell does not stay long and returns home with The New Faces a few weeks later. Gemmell will find success in the late 1960s/early 1970s with the progressive rock outfit, Audience and also plays with Sammy.

June On the way home, the remaining members back country and western singer/comedian Don Bowman, who invites Fryers to return to Nashville as his guitarist. The Noblemen then play at the Star Club in Hamburg before arriving back in the UK. Fryers, Ketley, Smith and Stevens decide to carry on as The Noblemen and bring in a new singer, Jimmy Marsh (b. 9 April 1941, Carmarthen, Wales). Marsh first met the group members in 1964 at the Top Hat in Littlehampton when they were The Detours and he was fronting The Del Mar Trio. When Bernie Smith opts to take up a more regular job, Marsh suggests his former colleague Malcolm Tomlinson (b. 16 June 1946, Isleworth, Middlesex) as drummer. Tomlinson has worked with Marsh since 1964 in The Del Mar Trio and James Deane and The London Cats. Before that, he was a member of Jeff Curtis and The Flames. Bernie Smith will later reunite with Mick Ketley in Bognor Regis group, The Concords in 1969.

July (3) The Noblemen are billed to play at the Royal Ballrooms in Boscombe, Dorset with Karl & The Rapiers. This might be one of the last gigs with Bernie Smith or one of the first with Jimmy Marsh and Malcolm Tomlinson.

(16) Stevens advertises for a new sax player in the 23 July issue of Melody Maker, which hits the newsstands on this day. Former Moonrakers members, Chris Rodger (b. 16 October 1946, Solihull, Warwickshire) and Martin Barre (b. 17 November 1946, Kings Heath, Birmingham) respond to the advert after Rodger misses out on a job with Screaming Lord Sutch. Rodger has joined Syndicate 1 in 1963 after leaving school in Dorset but meets Barre in Midlands band The Moonrakers in January 1965.

(22) Barre buys a saxophone at Sound City in London’s Shaftsbury Avenue for the audition three days later. On the same day, the band is billed to perform at the Cricketers Inn in Southend, Essex but it’s not clear if the current five-piece (sans saxes) perform.

(23) The Noblemen are advertised to appear at the Waterfront in Southampton, Hampshire for an evening show followed by a second gig at Le Disque A Go Go in Bournemouth, Dorset with a midnight performance leading into the 24th.

(24) Both Rodger and Barre are hired for the new line up as sax players, with Rodger doubling up on trumpet. Rodger recalls that their debut takes place at a US service club (most likely Douglas House) in Lancaster Gate at 4pm this afternoon. After the gig, they all return to Bognor Regis to rehearse at the Shoreline Club but Fryers leaves before the week is out.

After leaving The Noblemen in late July 1966, Fryers joins Bognor Regis group, The Warren J Five with Colin Madeley (trumpet) and Geoff Prior (bass), formerly of The Treatment. The new group is completed with former Untamed/John Lee’s Groundhogs’ drummer Terry Slade and singer John Read from The Hustlers. The Warren J Five travel to Hamburg, Germany and play at the Top Ten Club with singer Tony Sheridan. During 1967, The Warren J. 5 travel to Rome and perform regularly at the Piper club. The band records an album in Italy entitled Rhythm & Blues for the Vedette label and a single, “Sto Con Te (Tell It to the Rain)” c/w “Se Hai Qualcosa Da Dire (Tell Me)” before splitting with Read. After a brief period as The Reflections, Fryers and Prior return to the UK and join Coventry group, The Sorrows.

The Noblemen, Bognor Regis Beach, summer 1966. Left to right: Mike Ketley, Martin Barre, Jimmy Marsh, Chris Rodger, Malcolm Tomlinson, Bryan Stevens — The Noblemen, Bognor Regis Beach, summer 1966. Left to right: Mick Ketley, Martin Barre, Jimmy Marsh, Chris Rodger, Malcolm Tomlinson, Bryan Stevens

(30) Without Fryers, The Noblemen are billed to play at the Lion Hotel in Warrington, Cheshire with The Atlantics and The Atlanta Roots.

August (6) The group travels to the southwest and performs at the Budleigh Salterton Public Hall, Budleigh Salterton, Devon. They may well have played at the 400 Club in Torquay the day before.

(7) The Noblemen appear at the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe, Dorset with Teak & The Smokey.

(13) The Noblemen start a weekly residency at the 400 Ballroom in Torquay, Devon.

(15-19) After taking the Sunday off, The Noblemen continue their weekly residency at the 400 Ballroom in Torquay, Devon.

(20) The group travels back to the southwest for a show at the Flamingo Ballroom, Redruth, Cornwall with The Blaizes.

(21) The next day, they play at the Park Ballroom’s Beat Centre in Plymouth, Devon.

(25) The Noblemen take part in the Big Beat Boat at Bournemouth, Dorset with The Mozzeletoft.

(27) Back in the southwest, they perform at the Blue Lagoon in Newquay, Cornwall with The Nite People.

(28) On the way up to London, The Noblemen perform at the Stoke Hole at the Stoke Hotel in Guidford, Surrey.

(29) The group appears to have seen out the month playing at the 2 ‘B’s’ Club in Ashford, Kent with The End.

September The new Noblemen move up to London and share a flat in Chelsea (and later Gloucester Road).

(2) The band appears at the Fiesta Hall in Andover, Hampshire.

(3) The Noblemen play at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset. They sign to the Roy Tempest Agency and start backing up visiting US soul acts.

(10) The Noblemen back The Vibrations, debuting at the Starlight Room at the Boston Gliderdrome in Lincolnshire on a bill that also includes Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band and The Little People. Later the same evening, The Vibrations play an all-nighter at the King Mojo in Sheffield, South Yorkshire with Johnny O’Hara & The Playboys. Although The Noblemen are not listed, it is likely they were the backing group.

(11) The Vibrations (most likely supported by The Noblemen) appear at Toft’s in Folkestone, Kent.

(13) The Vibrations (most likely with The Noblemen backing) play at the Club Cedar in Birmingham.

(15) The Vibrations are booked to play at the Whisky A Go Go in Wardour Street, Soho, central London. However, it’s not clear whether The Noblemen are the backing band on this gig as Ketley doesn’t recall performing at this venue. It’s possible that another Tempest act provides support.

(16) The Vibrations appear at the Domino club in Openshaw and the Princess Theatre in Chorlton, Greater Manchester with seven other acts (most likely with The Noblemen backing them).

(17) The Vibrations play at the Dungeon, Nottingham. They billed to appear with The Senate, but Rodger has a photo with The Noblemen’s bass player Bryan Stevens, which confirms it was The Noblemen.

(17) The Noblemen back The Vibrations at the new Cavern club in Liverpool. Also on the bill are Sooner or Later, Intent and Purpose, The Klubs, The Signs, The Times, The Tremas, The Dark Ages and Jimmy James and The Vagabonds.

(18) The Vibrations appear at Kirklevington Country Club in Kirklevington, North Yorkshire (most likely with The Noblemen backing them).

(18-19) Around this time, The Vibrations (backed by The Noblemen) appear at the Scotch of St James in Mayfair, central London. American soul legend Otis Redding, who has been touring the UK for the first time, turns up as does Mick Jagger. (On 18 September, Redding played a show at the Ram Jam Club in Brixton, south London. He played at Tiles in Oxford Street on 16 September; his only West End show).

(20-22) The Vibrations are billed to return to the Club Cedar in Birmingham for three nights (most likely with The Noblemen) but the middle date may have been difficult with the Purley gig below.

(21) The Vibrations play at the Orchid Ballroom in Purley, Surrey but the support band is not listed.

(22) The Noblemen back The Vibrations at the Carlton Club in Erdington, West Midlands and also play another set at the Cedar Club. Later that evening, The Vibrations play at the Cue Club in Paddington (presumably with The Noblemen again).

(23) The group backs The Vibrations at Toft’s in Folkestone, Kent. Former Loving Kind guitarist Noel Redding joins the musicians backstage after the show. Little does he know but his future band leader Jimi Hendrix is flying out from the USA tonight on route for London. (Redding will audition unsuccessfully for The Animals on 29 September but is picked up by Chas Chandler for The Jimi Hendrix Experience the same day.)

(24) The Vibrations are booked to appear at the King Mojo in Sheffield for an All-nighter with London’s Ravers (who could well be The Noblemen). Also on the bill are The Amboy Dukes Big Band. The Sheffield Star reports the following week that The Vibrations didn’t appear the club.

(25) The Vibrations are advertised to play at the Club West Indies in Stonebridge Park, northwest London but no backing band is listed. The previous evening the soul singers appeared at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester but the support group wasn’t advertised.

October Around early October The Noblemen back The Drifters (possibly for a one-off gig in London). The most likely date is at Tiles in Oxford Street on 7 October.

(15) Billed as (The) Motivation (a name they will change to next month), The Noblemen are billed to play at the Orford Cellar in Norwich. However, Rodger recalls The Noblemen went to play US air bases in West Germany for a week, travelling on German railway and were away on his birthday on 16 October. This means this gig didn’t happen. It seems most likely they left for West Germany around Sunday, 9 October.

(16) Around this time, the group starts to work with Edwin Starr. They are advertised to back him at the Beachcomber club in Nottingham with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers also on the bill. However, Alan Chamberlain, singer with The Guests, says it was his group that did the honours. Rodger confrims that the group played in West Germany on his birthday which is today.

(17) Rodger says that The Noblemen backed Lee Dorsey at Tiles on Oxford Street, central London. This is the date that Dorsey is advertised for that gig in Melody Maker. The group does work with Lee Dorsey around this time who also plays at the Saddle Room in London on 19 October. However, the advert does not list a support group for the Saddle Room date.

(21) The Noblemen play at De Montfort in Leicester backing Edwin Starr on a bill that also features The Ike & Tina Turner Revue, Alvin Robinson, Family and others. On the same day, Edwin Starr appears at Sleaford Mabern Club, Sleaford, Lincolnshire (backed by The Senate), Midnight City in Birmingham (with The Night People) and the New All-Star Club near Liverpool Street. However, it’s not clear if The Noblemen backed him at either of the latter two shows.

(22) Edwin Starr appears at Reading University but no backing group is listed. It is more likely that the group backs Alvin Robinson at the Blue Moon in Cheltenham as they start working with him around now.

(23) Edwin Starr is billed to play at the Starlite Ballroom in Greenford, west London. However, it’s not clear whether The Noblemen backed the singer. It’s possible they may have backed Lee Dorsey instead at the Club West Indies in northwest London today. Alvin Robinson appears at Kirklevington Country Club in Kirklevington, North Yorkshire on this date but he’s billed to appear with another band (The Ziggy Turner Combo). However, Tomlinson remembers backing Robinson at Newcastle University which is not far away so it’s possible The Noblemen did back him at Kirklevington.

(24) Alvin Robinson appears at the Whisky A Go Go in Wardour Street, Soho, central London but it’s unlikely The Noblemen provided support (see below).

(28) The Noblemen works with Alvin Robinson, performing with the singer at the Dungeon club in Nottingham. A review in the Nottingham Evening Post on 4 November lists the band under its new name The Motivation.
(29) The Noblemen back Alvin Robinson at the Starlight Room at the Boston Gliderdrome in Lincolnshire on a bill that also features The Alan Bown Set, John McCoy’s Crawdaddies and Listen (with a young Robert Plant on vocals). On the same day Alvin Robinson performs at the Burlesque in Leicester (most likely with The Noblemen).

(30) Alvin Robinson plays at the Jigsaw in Manchester (possibly with The Noblemen).

(31) Robinson is billed to appear at the Whisky A Go Go in Wardour Street, Soho, central London. Ketley has no recollections of ever playing at the Whisky A Go Go and Pip Williams, guitarist with The Sovereigns, says his band backed Robinson so it’s most likely it is The Sovereigns who provide support on this date and the other Whisky date on 24 October. After backing Robinson for two nights at the Club Cedar in Birmingham as The Motivations on 1-2 November, the band starts to work with The Coasters. It’s likely that Robinson completes his British tour with another support band, although The Noblemen may have doubled up.

November (3) The Noblemen perform at the Regent Ballroom in Brighton, East Sussex before starting work with The Coasters.

(4) The Noblemen back The Coasters (and appear in their own right) at the King Mojo Club in Sheffield with Sonny Childe & The TNT.

(5) The Coasters (most likely backed by The Noblemen) appear at Rawmarsh Baths in Rawmarsh near Rotherham, West Yorkshire. Also on the bill are Brian Poole & The Tremeloes and The Dawley Crews Amblers. Around this time, they change name to The Motivation but are often billed as The Motivations (and sometimes still The Noblemen).

(9) Advertised as The Noblemen, the group supports The Coasters at the Mecca Ballroom on the Royal Pier, Southampton, Hampshire.

(10) Chris Rodger says the group supported Ben E King at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester, which took place today.

(17) The Coasters perform at the Starlight Ballroom in Crawley, West Sussex and The Noblemen are the most likely backing band.

(19) Billed as The Noblemen, the musicians back The Coasters at the Cavern in Liverpool. Also on the bill are The Hideaways, The Kids, The Love Trade and The Escorts. After an all-nighter show, The Coasters perform (presumably backed by The Noblemen) at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester.

(25) The Noblemen support The (Original) Coasters at the New Yorker Discotheque, Swindon. They continue as (The) Motivation throughout the rest of 1966 and into 1967 before evolving (through various line up changes) into The Penny Peep Show, The Penny Peeps and Gethsemane. Martin Barre will join Jethro Tull in December 1968. Malcolm Tomlinson will move to Canada in January/February 1969 and form Milkwood. Ketley will join The Concords on bass, reuniting with former Noblemen drummer Bernie Smith. Smith later opens a music shop and drum school in Chichester.

1968

Former Noblemen guitarist, Chuck Fryers records an album with The Sorrows in Italy entitled Old Songs New Songs for the Miura label. After a handful of singles on the Pye and Miura label, Fryers joins Electric Heart. In 1969, he marries his girlfriend in Chichester and returns to Italy. Over the next few years, he plays with Treves Blues Band. During the 1970s, Fryers performs with The Baker Street Band and then forms his own group, which records a CD Fryers and Friends First. He currently lives in Milan and has released a solo CD That’s It?

Sources:

Bognor Regis Post, 9 January 1965 and 18 December 1965.
Flying Colours by Greg Russo, Crossfire Publications, 2009.
Music Echo – Liverpool, week ending 12 March 1966.
The Best of Cellars – The Story of The Cavern Club by Phil Thompson, Bluecoat Press, 2007.
The South Coast Beat Scene of the 1960s by Mike Read, Woodfield Publishing, 2001.
The Tapestry of Delights Revisited by Vernon Joynson, Borderline Productions, 2006.

Many thanks to Bryan Stevens, Chuck Fryers, Mick Ketley, Bernie Smith, Jim Marsh, Malcolm Tomlinson, Keith Gemmell, Chris Rodger, Nigel Norman and Sylvia Stephen.

Live dates sourced from Melody Maker, New Musical Express, Nottingham Evening Post, the Liverpool Echo, the Manchester Evening News, Sheffield Star. Other newspaper sources are listed in the comments below.

Categories: England, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent

The Colour Supplement

December 28, 2010 Nick Warburton 16 Comments

Colour Supplement, early 1967, from left: George, Paul, Phil, Ricky and Pete

from left: George, Paul, Mike, Rick and Phil

The Colour Supplement were a Staffordshire, UK band formed around 1965/1966 as The System by keyboard player George Glover and bass player Paul Stevenson with guitarist Gerald Brooks and drummer Ricky Ballan. By early 1967, Pete Wainwright had succeeded Brooks and Phil Tunstall had come in on lead vocals.

In October 1967, Mike Nixon took over from Pete Wainwright on guitar. Nixon had previously been lead singer with The Gospel Truth, which also featured future Climax Blues Band members Colin Cooper, Peter Haycock, Arthur Wood and John Cuffley.

Within days of his joining, The Colour Supplement got the opportunity to tour Sweden on a 14-day tour and shared two shows with Hedgehoppers Anonymous before doing further dates with the Troggs.

Back in England, the band briefly gigged around the Stoke-on-Trent area before landing a three-week stint at the Star Club in Hamburg in November where they met Ritchie Blackmore, who sat in on several occasions.

The Colour Supplement then headed to Cologne for two weeks to play the Storyville Club, followed by another fortnight at the Frankfurt Storyville Club.

A second tour of Sweden in April-May 1968 was a disaster. In December, Tunstall was tempted away with an offer to join a new version of Hedgehoppers Anonymous.

The band continued briefly as a four-piece but then brought in a singer called Hutch (aka Bernard Hutchinson). The group underwent further changes in the 1970s and worked with singer/songwriter David Parton (aka Des Parton), who later achieved songwriting success with Sweet Sensation, penning the UK #1 with ‘Sad Sweet Dreamer’. He also had a UK top 5 hit with a cover of the Stevie Wonder song, ‘Isn’t She Lovely?’

Glover later joined The Climax Blues Band and still plays with them to this day.

Thank you to George Glover, Mike Nixon and Paul Stevenson for passing on details about The Colour Supplement and to Joe Toriati for the photos of this band.

Email: Warchive@aol.com

Early 1967, from left: George, Ricky, Phil, Pete and Paul

Garage Hangover

All posts by Nick Warburton

Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation

The Others

Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers

Gethsemane (featuring Martin Barre)

The Penny Peepshow (featuring Martin Barre)

(The) Motivation (featuring Martin Barre)

Blue Mountain Eagle gigs

The Kool

The Noblemen (featuring Martin Barre)

The Colour Supplement

The site for '60s garage bands since 2004