Category Archives: London

Categories: England, Kingston Upon Thames, London, Surrey

The (Jazz) Cellar Club, Kingston Upon Thames, southwest London

February 20, 2014 Nick Warburton 116 Comments

The (Jazz) Cellar in Kingston Upon Thames was an important music venue in southwest London from 1962-1966. Many notable local bands played there in their formative years, most notably The Yardbirds and The Nashville Teens. The Animals also played there regularly in the early months of 1964 after moving down to London from the northeast.

I have started to compile a gig list and would welcome any additions/corrections in the comments section. I would also welcome any memories and photos/flyers/posters.

1962

I have only a few entries for 1962 and would welcome any additions

14 July – The Nashville Teens (Surrey Comet)

21 July – The Nashville Teens (Surrey Comet)

28 July – The Nashville Teens (Surrey Comet)

6 September – Mike Berry & The Outlaws (Surrey Comet)

Ritchie Blackmore didn’t join The Outlaws on lead guitar until mid-October 1962

1 November – Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages (Surrey Comet)

1963

I have only a few entries for 1963 and would welcome any additions

20 February – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

23 February – Dean Lincoln & The Topics (Surrey Comet)

8 March – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

9 March – The Avengers (Surrey Comet)

10 March – Neil Christian (Surrey Comet)

12 March – The Burnettes (Surrey Comet)

14 March – The Barron Knights and The Nashville Teens (Surrey Comet)

21 March – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

12 April – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

2 May – Johnny Kidd & The Pirates (Surrey Comet)

3 May – Neil Landon & The Burnettes (Surrey Comet)

25 May – Paul Danton & The Deputies (Surrey Comet)

26 May – The Laurie Jay Combo and Barry St John (Surrey Comet)

28 May – The Topics (Surrey Comet)

30 May – Sounds Incorporated (Surrey Comet)

20 June – The Solitairs (Surrey Comet)

21 June – The Jet Blacks (Surrey Comet)

2 July – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

17 July – The Roosters (with Eric Clapton) (Surrey Comet)

24 July – The Roosters (with Eric Clapton) (Surrey Comet)

Confusingly, there were two local bands called The Roosters. The first, led by Ben Palmer, included Eric Clapton and future Manfred Mann guitarist Tom McGuiness between January-August 1963.

The second (less celebrated one) featured Pete Jeffries (lead guitar), Del Turner (rhythm guitar), Ron Jefferies (bass) and Jim Strachan (drums). The other gigs below are by this version.

8 August – The Hi-Fi and Tony Kaye (Surrey Comet)

10 August – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

13 August – Colin Shane & The Shannons (Surrey Comet)

29 August – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

7 September – Alex & The Blues Strangers (John Warburg research – see comments section below)

8 September – Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages (John Warburg research – see comments section below)

12 September – The Rolling Stones (Surrey Comet)

12 October – The Stormville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

21 December – Steve Marriott & The Moonlights (Surrey Comet)

28 December – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

1964

I don’t have a complete listing for 1964 so would welcome any additions

5 January – Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages (Surrey Comet)

11 January – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

15 January – The Shifters (audition) (John Warburg’s research – see comments section below)

28 January – Neil Landon & The Burnettes (Surrey Comet)

3 February – The Yardbirds (Gus Smith recollections from attending – Monday evening – see comments section below)

5 February – The Animals (first regular Wednesday residency) (Kim Chester research – see comments section below)

7 February – The Druids (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

8 February – The Senators (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

9 February – The Fortunes and The Clifton All Stars (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

10 February – The Yardbirds (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

11 February – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

12 February – The Animals (regular Wednesday residency) (Kim Chester research)

14 February – Im & The Uvvers (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

16 February – Gene Vincent & The Shouts (Surrey Comet)

17 February – The Yardbirds (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

18 February – The Presidents (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

19 February – The Animals (regular Wednesday residency) (Kim Chester research)

21 February – The Mastersounds (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

22 February – The Cracksmen (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

23 February – The Nashville Teens (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

24 February – The Yardbirds (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

25 February – Wayne Gibson & The Dynamic Sounds (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

26 February – The Animals (regular Wednesday residency) (Kim Chester research)

28 February – The Zephyrs and Robb Storme & The Whispers (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

29 February – The Presidents (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

Photo: story on Cellar Club, Clapham Advertiser, 6 March 1964, page 4

1 March – Grant Tracey & The Sunsets (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

2 March – The Yardbirds (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

3 March – The Stereos (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

4 March – The Animals (regular Wednesday residency) (Kim Chester research)

6 March – The Moquettes (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

7 March – The Pentagons (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

8 March – The Nashville Teens (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

10 March – The Beat Syndicate (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

11 March – The Animals (regular Wednesday residency) (Kim Chester research)

13 March – Steve Marriott & The Wandering Ones (Surrey Comet)

The Kingston & Malden Borough News says that Steve Marriott’s backing band are called The Frantics. The Clapham Advertiser also has this listing, but with Jimmy Powell & The Dimensions in support.

14 March – The Senators (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

15 March – The Gamblers (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

16 March – The Yardbirds (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

17 March – Ronnie Webb & The Phantoms (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

18 March – The Animals (regular Wednesday residency) (Kim Chester research)

20 March – Bridgette Bond (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

21 March – The Cracksmen (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

22 March – Wayne Gibson & The Dynamic Sounds (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

23 March – The Yardbirds (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

25 March – Unit 5 (Teddington, west London band) (Kingston & Malden Borough News) Kim Chester says The Animals played a regular Wednesday residency

Photo: Norman Sheers. Jerry Lee Lewis, 26 March 1964

26 March – Jerry Lee Lewis (backed by The Nashville Teens) (Norman Sheers’ recollections)

Jerry Leech (see comments section below) confirms that Jerry Lee Lewis played on 26 March

The Kingston & Malden Borough News lists Jerry Lee Lewis for this date with The Nashville Teens and The Original Checkmates

27 March – The Stormsville Shakers with Jerry Lee Lewis (Surrey Comet and website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

28 March – Micky Finn & The Blues Men (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

29 March – The Paramounts (John Warburg’s research – see comments section below)

The Kingston & Malden Borough News lists The Zephyrs for 29 March

30 March – The Yardbirds (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

1 April – The Animals and The Originals (Kingston & Malden Borough News/Harrow Weekly Post)

3 April – The Presidents (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

4 April – The Black Jays (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

5 April – The Druids (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

6 April – The Yardbirds (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

8 April – The Animals (regular Wednesday residency) (Kim Chester research)

10 April – The Cardinals (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

11 April – The Bumblies (Kingston & Malden Borough News) Harrow Weekly Post has Val Foster & The Senators

12 April – Jimmy Stevens & The Exciters (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

13 April – The Yardbirds (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

15 April – The Animals (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

16 April – Tommy Quickly & The Remo Four (Record Mirror)

17 April – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

18 April – Kal Foster & The Senators (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

19 April – The Nashville Teens (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

20 April – The Yardbirds (Surrey Comet)

Record Mirror confirms that The Yardbirds play every Monday

22 April – The Tridents (Surrey Comet and John and Paul Lucas’ diaries)

The Kingston & Malden Borough News lists The Animals for 22 April

27 April – The Yardbirds (Record Mirror)

30 April – The Animals (regular Wednesday residency) (Kim Chester research)

2 May – The Plebs and The Original Topics (Surrey Comet)

3 May – Micky Finn & The Bluesmen (Surrey Comet)

4 May – The Yardbirds (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

6 May – The Nashville Teens (Surrey Comet)

8 May – Steve Marriott & The Frantic Ones (Surrey Comet)

9 May – Micky Finn with The Black Jays (Surrey Comet)

10 May – Micky Finn & The Bluemen (Surrey Comet)

11 May – The Yardbirds (confirmed by Gus Smith who attended)

13 May – Tony Colton & The Crawdaddies (Surrey Comet)

15 May – The Moquettes (Surrey Comet)

16 May – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

18 May – The Plebs (Surrey Comet)

20 May – The Pretty Things (Record Mirror)

23 May – The Micky Finn (Surrey Comet)

24 May – The Plebs (Surrey Comet)

25 May – The Yardbirds and The Grebbels (Surrey Comet)

27 May – The Tridents with The Plebs (Surrey Comet and John and Paul Lucas’ diaries)

29 May – Phil & The Stormsville Shakers (Surrey Comet)

30 May – The Karnells (Surrey Comet)

31 May – The Micky Finn (Surrey Comet)

1 June – The Yarbirds (Surrey Comet)

3 June – The Animals (regular Wednesday residency) (Kim Chester research)

Record Mirror says that John Lee Hooker played on 3 June supported by John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and with The Plebs opening. Surrey Comet confirms

5 June – The Pitmen (Surrey Comet)

6 June – The Road Runners (Surrey Comet)

7 June – The Satins (Record Mirror)

8 June – The Yardbirds (Surrey Comet)

10 June – Group Four + One (Surrey Comet)

12 June – The Plebs (Surrey Comet)

13 June – Group Four + One (Surrey Comet)

14 June – Tony Holland & The Packabeats (Surrey Comet)

15 June – The Plebs (Surrey Comet)

17 June – Group Four + One (Record Mirror)

19 June – The Henchmen (Record Mirror)

20 June – The Plebs (Surrey Comet)

21 June – The Tridents (Record Mirror) replaced by The Vincents (Surrey Comet)

Lindsay Bex, who played drums with the band at the time, notes in his diary the following “Off – A O’Donnel”, which suggests that the gig was cancelled. Surrey Comet confirms as they have The Vincents.

22 June – The Yardbirds (Surrey Comet)

24 June – The Smokey Beats (Record Mirror)

26 June – The Countdowns (Record Mirror)

Surrey Comet has The Plebs instead of The Countdowns

27 June – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

28 June – The Playboys (Record Mirror)

29 June – The Yardbirds and The Grebbels (Surrey Comet)

1 July – Five’s Company (Surrey Comet)

3 July – Group Four + One (Surrey Comet)

4 July – Five’s Company (Surrey Comet)

5 July – Cops & Robbers (Surrey Comet)

8 July – Johnny & The Spirits (Surrey Comet)

10 July – The Echoletts (Surrey Comet)

11 July – The Laurie Jay Combo (Surrey Comet)

12 July – The Stereos (Surrey Comet)

13 July – Group Four + One (Surrey Comet)

17 July – The Plebs (Surrey Comet)

18 July – Earl Sheridan & The Houseshakers (Surrey Comet)

19 July – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

20 July – The Yardbirds (Surrey Comet)

22 July – Group Four + One (Surrey Comet)

24 July – The Presidents (Record Mirror)

25 July – Mickie Finn & The Blue Men (Record Mirror)

26 July – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

27 July – Group Four + One (Record Mirror)

29 July – The Impacts (Surrey Comet)

31 July – The Original Topics (Surrey Comet)

1 August – The Web (Surrey Comet)

2 August – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

3 August – The Yardbirds (Surrey Comet)

5 August – The Animals and The Plebs (club flyer)

7 August – The Plebs and The Denims (club flyer)

Surrey Comet has Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages on 7 August

8 August – Group Four + One (club flyer)

9 August – The Nite Shift (club flyer)

Jeff Beck was the band’s lead guitarist but would join The Tridents in early September.

10 August – The Mike Cotton Sound (club flyer)

12 August – The Nashville Teens and The Beat Syndicate (club flyer/Surrey Comet)

14 August – The Jet Set (Surrey Comet)

15 August – The Playboys (Surrey Comet)

16 August – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

17 August – The Mojos (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

19 August – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

21 August – Wayne Gibson & The Dynamic Sounds (Surrey Comet)

22 August – The Bumblies (Surrey Comet)

23 August – The Cheaters (Surrey Comet)

24 August – Group Four + One (Surrey Comet)

26 August – The Moonrakers (Surrey Comet)

28 August – The Plebs (Surrey Comet)

29 August – The Presidents (Surrey Comet)

30 August – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

31 August – The Mike Cotton Sound (Surrey Comet)

5 September – The Plebs (Surrey Comet)

7 September – The Mojos (Surrey Comet)

9 September – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

11 September – The Druids (Surrey Comet)

12 September – The Bumblies (Surrey Comet)

13 September – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

14 September – The Roosters (Surrey Comet)

This gig (and the remaining ones below) were performed by the second version of The Roosters and not the one that featured Eric Clapton and Tom McGuiness between January-August 1963 (see entries above from July 1963).

16 September – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

18 September – Linda Crane & The Cosmic Sounds (Surrey Comet)

19 September – The Profits (Surrey Comet)

20 September – Guest groups (Surrey Comet)

21 September – Group Four + One (Surrey Comet)

23 September – Two groups (Record Mirror) Surrey Comet has The Cheaters

25 September – The Cosmic Sounds with Linda Crain (aka Crane) (Record Mirror) Surrey Comet has The Wranglers

26 September – The Roosters (Surrey Comet)

27 September – Two groups (Record Mirror)

28 September – Group Four + One (Record Mirror)

30 September – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

2 October – The College Boys (Surrey Comet)

3 October – Little Richard & The Objects (Surrey Comet)

4 October – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

5 October – The Mike Cotton Sound (Surrey Comet)

7 October – Rock ‘n’ Roll competition (Record Mirror/Surrey Comet)

9 October – The Roosters (Record Mirror)

10 October – Im an The Uvvers (Record Mirror)

11 October – The Jaguars (Surrey Comet)

The Orbits, 1964. Photo: Trevor Bennett. Left to right: Todd Tyrell, Ted Cunningham, Brian Edwards and Trevor Bennett.

12 October – The Mojos and The Orbits (Record Mirror)

14 October – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

16 October – The Roosters (Surrey Comet)

17 October – Earl Sheridan & The Houseshakers (Record Mirror)

18 October – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

19 October – The Mike Cotton Sound (Record Mirror)

21 October – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

23 October – Neil Christian & The Crusaders (Surrey Comet)

24 October – The Challengers (Surrey Comet)

25 October – Guest group (Surrey Comet)

26 October – Little Eva, The Stereos, The College Boy, The Rockin’ Welsh Boys and Danny Storm & The Strollers (Surrey Comet)

28 October – Unit 5 (Teddington, west London band) (Surrey Comet)

30 October – The Exciting Stereos (Record Mirror)

31 October – The Roosters (Surrey Comet)

1 November – The Group Survival (Record Mirror)

2 November – Themselves (Record Mirror)

4 November – The Roosters and XL5 (Surrey Comet)

7 November – Cosmic Sounds (Surrey Comet)

13 November – The Impacts (Surrey Comet)

16 November – Jimmy Reed, The Plebs and John Lee Groundhogs (Surrey Comet)

18 November – Carl Perkins and The Cosmic Sounds (Surrey Comet)

21 November – Themselves (Surrey Comet and Gus Smith recollections from attending)

24 November – The Yardbirds (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

27 November – Unit 5 (Teddington, west London band) (Surrey Comet)

28 November – The Jaguars (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

4 December – The Bo-Sneakers (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

12 December – The Roosters (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

18 December – The Roosters (Surrey Comet)

26 December – The Roosters (Surrey Comet)

1965

I don’t have a complete entry for 1965 and would welcome any additions

2 January – The GTs (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

4 January – Alex Harvey & His Soul Band (Melody Maker)

9 January – The John Smith Group (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

15 February – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (Melody Maker)

20 February – John Brown’s Bodies (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

5 March – Alex Harvey & His Soul Band (Melody Maker)

6 March – The Rising Suns (all-nighter session) (Gus Smith recollections from attending)

1 May – The Shondells (Surrey Comet)

8 May – Teddy & The Dymes (Surrey Comet)

15 May – The Shondells (Surrey Comet)

22 May – Davey Sands & The Essex (Surrey Comet)

29 May – The Tribe (Surrey Comet)

3 June – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (Surrey Comet) This may have been 2 June

5 June – The Shondells (Surrey Comet)

12 June – Ancient Britons and Twinkle (Surrey Comet)

19 June – The Just Five and The Exciting Rippers (Surrey Comet)

26 June – The RBQ (Surrey Comet)

3 July – The Stormsville Shakers (website: http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html)

10 July – Davey Sands & The Essex (Surrey Comet)

17 July – The Shanes (Surrey Comet)

24 July – The Dagoes (Surrey Comet)

31 July – The Lonely Ones (Surrey Comet)

4 August – Sugar Pie Desanto, The Shevelles and The Backbeats (Surrey Comet)

7 August – The Small Faces (Surrey Comet)

15 August – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (Surrey Comet) This might be 14 August

20 August – Unit 4 Plus 2 (Surrey Comet)

21 August – Davey Sands & The Essex (Surrey Comet)

25 August – Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band (Surrey Comet)

28 August – The Shondells (Surrey Comet)

3 September – The Small Faces (Surrey Comet)

10 September – The Moody Blues (Surrey Comet)

11 September – Heart and Souls, The Valkeries and The Right Track (Surrey Comet)

15 September – Lou Johnson (Surrey Comet)

24 September – The In Crowd (Surrey Comet)

1 October – The Artwoods (Surrey Comet)

2 October – The Valkeries and The Geordies (Surrey Comet)

9 October – The Lonely Ones, The Shakedowns, The Flashbakks and Kiko 6 (Surrey Comet)

15 October – Steampacket with Long John Baldry, The Brian Auger Trinity, Rod Stewart, Julie Driscoll and Next of Kin (Surrey Comet)

23 October – The Lonely Ones (Surrey Comet)

30 October – The Fetish Crowd (Surrey Comet)

3 November – Hedgehoppers Anonymous and Randy’s Incaras (Surrey Comet)

5 November – The Lonely Ones (Surrey Comet)

19 November – The Phil Wainman Sound (Surrey Comet)

20 November – The Lonely Ones and Junior Ervin and The Midnite Hours (Surrey Comet)

24 November – The Small Faces (Surrey Comet)

26 November – The Clayton Squares (Surrey Comet)

3 December – The Burnettes (Surrey Comet)

10 December – The Clayton Squares (Surrey Comet)

11 December – The New Breed (Surrey Comet)

17 December – Sons of Fred (Surrey Comet)

23 December – The New Jump Band (Bob Hodges’ diary)

1966

This is an incomplete list and I would welcome any additions

7 January – The Lonely Ones (New Musical Express)

8 January – The Anteeks (New Musical Express)

14 January – The Anzacs (New Musical Express)

15 January – Next of Kin (New Musical Express)

22 January – The Flashbacks (New Musical Express)

28 January – Big Jump Band (aka New Jump Band) (Bob Hodges’ diary)

29 January – The Anzacs (New Musical Express)

4 February – The Big Sound (New Musical Express)

5 February – Group Survival (New Musical Express)

11 February – Jimmy Winston & The Rebels (New Musical Express)

12 February – The Lonely Ones (New Musical Express)

16 February – The Small Faces (New Musical Express)

18 February – The Lovin Kind (New Musical Express)

19 February – Rey Anton & The Peppermint Men (New Musical Express)

25 February – Jimmy Winston’s Reflections (New Musical Express)

26 February – The Marvels (New Musical Express) Colin Stoddart says his band The Candles also played on this date

4 March – Pinkerton’s Assorted Colours (New Musical Express)

5 March – The Night Society (New Musical Express)

12 March – The New Jump Band (New Musical Express)

18 March – Jimmy Winston’s Reflections (New Musical Express)

19 March – The John Warner Sound (New Musical Express)

23 March – The Nashville Teens (New Musical Express)

25 March – Jo Jo Gunne (New Musical Express)

26 March – The New Jump Band (New Musical Express)

30 March – The John Warner Sound (New Musical Express)

1 April – The Lonely Ones (New Musical Express)

2 April – Jo Jo Gunne (New Musical Express)

8 April – The Lonely Ones (New Musical Express)

9 April – The Beat Syndicate (New Musical Express)

10 April – The Silence (New Musical Express)

15 April – The Sons of Fred (New Musical Express)

16 April – The Night Society (New Musical Express)

17 April – Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages (New Musical Express)

22 April – The Silence (New Musical Express)

23 April – The New Jump Band (New Musical Express)

29 April – The Protest (New Musical Express)

30 April – The Silence (the group changed name to John’s Children) (New Musical Express)

5 May – The Pages Five (New Musical Express)

6 May – The Troggs (New Musical Express)

8 May – The Jaguars (New Musical Express)

13 May – Jimmy Winston & The Reflections (New Musical Express)

13 May – Jo Jo Gunne (New Musical Express)

20 May – The Voyd (New Musical Express)

21 May – Time-Flys (New Musical Express)

27 May – The Legend (New Musical Express)

28 May – The Void (New Musical Express)

3 June – The Daisys (New Musical Express)

4 June – John Brown’s Bodies and Jesse Hector (New Musical Express)

10 June – John Hilton Starr & The Savages (New Musical Express)

11 June – Jo Jo Gunne (New Musical Express)

12 June – Froy Talbert (New Musical Express)

13 June – The Small Faces (New Musical Express)

17 June – The Voyd (New Musical Express)

18 June – The Anzacs (New Musical Express)

24 June – John Hilton Starr & The Savages (New Musical Express)

25 June – The Rick ‘N’ Beckers (New Musical Express)

1 July – The Lonely Ones (New Musical Express)

2 July – The Anzacs (New Musical Express)

8 July – The Troggs and The Wild Uncertainty (their debut) (New Musical Express)

16 July – The Wild Uncertainty (New Musical Express)

22 July – The Wild Uncertainty (New Musical Express)

23 July – The Flashbacks (New Musical Express)

29 July – The Night Society (New Musical Express)

30 July – The Subjects (New Musical Express)

6 August – Jo Jo Gunne (took part in London Palladium competition around now)

12 August – Jo Jo Gunne (New Musical Express)

13 August – The Missing Links (New Musical Express)

19 August – Cream (New Musical Express)

20 August – The Night Society (New Musical Express)

26 August – The Graham Bond Organisation (New Musical Express)

27 August – Four Plus a Bit (New Musical Express)

The Kingston & Malden Borough News ran an article on the club’s closure which was published in its 9 December 1966 issue on page 4 with the headline: “Cellar club ‘killed by drugs’ is sold to bingo syndicate”.

Categories: England, London, Middlesex

The Army

July 26, 2013 Nick Warburton 45 Comments

Richard Bennett – lead vocals

Tony Tacon – lead guitar

Ian Orton – keyboards

John Barter – tenor sax

George Russell – tenor sax

Ron Lewingdon – trumpet

Steve Priest – bass/vocals

Alan Bennett – drums

West London R&B/soul connoisseurs The Army have the distinction of being the group that spawned future Sweet bass player/singer Steve Priest.

The Army’s roots can be traced as far back as 1962 when cousins Richard Bennett (lead vocals) and Alan Bennett (drums) decided to form their first band, The Satellites in Hayes, west London.

The Satellites in Hillingdon Mirror, 16 November 1965

Joined by Dave Harris (bass) and siblings Ian Orton (lead guitar) and Mick Orton (rhythm guitar), The Satellites had an early brush with fame when they appeared on the set of the James Bond movie Goldfinger in 1964.

The Satellites 1960 — The Army was formed from this band, The Satellites, formed in 1960. Left to right: Richard Bennett, Dave Harris, Alan Bennett, Ian Orton and Mick Orton. This photo was taken at the opening scene of Goldfinger, The James Bond movie with Sean Connery. Photo: Richard Bennett

Around mid-July 1966, however, The Satellites underwent a significant reshuffle, starting with the addition of lead guitarist Tony Tacon, whose main claim to fame is that he had been a member of local rivals, The Javelins with future Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan during 1962-1964.

Gillan left to join Wainwright’s Gentlemen in November 1964 (Ed: future Sweet drummer Mick Tucker joined during late 1965) and Tacon joined Ealing band, Four Jacks and a Joker before hooking up with West Drayton outfit, The Ways & Means for a few months.

“I got a knock on my door from Clem [Clemson] who had been a part-time manager of The Javelins,” remembers Tacon. “He said that The Satellites were looking for a new lead guitarist if I was interested. I went down to Uxbridge for an audition and joined.”

With Tacon’s arrival, Ian Orton moved on to keyboards. At the same time Mick Orton dropped out. The following month, the band decided to remodel itself on Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers by bringing in some horn players.

For the proposed horn section, Tacon recommended his friend, sax player John Barter, who had played alongside the guitarist in Four Jacks and a Joker. Barter in turn introduced his friend, fellow sax player George Russell, a former member of Twickenham-based R&B outfit, Jeff Curtis & The Flames.

Not long after Dave Harris departed and future Sweet bass player Steve Priest took his place.

“Steve Priest joined as our new bass player,” continues Tacon. “I remember us going around to see him at his parents’ house in Hayes. I was familiar with him from his Countdowns days but someone else in the band had made contact with him.”

According to Steve Priest’s book Are you Ready, Steve? it was Richard and Alan Bennett who approached him to join. Priest would later recruit future Army members, guitarist Richard Herring and organist Dennis White from his former group The Countdowns.

Tacon remembers one of his first gigs with the group (still billed as The Satellites) was in south Wales.

“I remember playing Afan Lido (Port Talbot) probably in their gym. It was early on after I joined The Satellites. Straight down the M4 and back the same day. Beautiful sunny day (so not winter) and I remember us relaxing on the nearby beach until the gig started. I reckon it was a regular dance venue as girls told us that they came down each week.” (Ed. The Port Talbot Guardian lists this as 23 July 1966 with Something Else in support)

Renamed The Army, in view of the increased number of personnel in the band, Richard Bennett, who worked as a sign writer, painted the new moniker, surrounded by instruments, on the sextet’s new purchase, an old 30cwt van.

“The van was so big that we used to have to take it in turns to have it for a week and park it outside our homes,” says Tacon.

From the outset, The Army’s repertoire was entirely comprised of cover material, mixing popular US R&B/soul numbers like Lee Dorsey’s “Ride Your Pony”, The Four Tops’ “Reach Out, I’ll Be There”, Larry Williams’s “Slow Down” and Wilson Pickett and Steve Cropper’s “In the Midnight Hour” (which Steve Priest sang) with British classics, such as Zoot Money’s “Big Time Operator”.

At first, the revamped and renamed outfit found gigs at its local haunt – the Grange Club in Hayes. Interestingly, they were also invited to perform at several garden parties for the Tory party.

“I was impressed by the sort of gigs that we did,” recalls Tacon. “The band was well in with the Young Conservative Association, how I don’t know, and played at many of the functions in London and the Home Counties.”

Tacon remembers the band playing at the Bell House Hotel in Gerrards Cross, a venue in Harpenden with a Liverpool band that might have been The Undertakers and also at an RAF base at Dawes Hill near High Wycombe.

During this time, the guitarist also remembers the band landing a gig at the Queen’s Building in the centre of London (Heathrow) Airport and sharing the dressing room with Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen.

In late October, The Army played at a Halloween Party at a hotel opposite the airport, which was put on by a film producer.

More significant, the sextet started performing on London’s busy club scene, including shows at the Starlite Ballroom in Greenford and the 100 Club (Ed: this might have been Tiles) on Oxford Street.

“One night we played a dance hall in the Amersham area… then went straight off to the centre of London where we played [at Tiles] in the early hours of the morning. The Birds may have been on before us,” recalls Tacon.

“I remember that Steve [Priest] had some friends with him at that gig and one of them was robbed on the dance floor. My fiancée (now my wife) saw it happen and says that the gang turned Steve’s friend upside down to empty his pockets.”

Priest’s book doesn’t mention this incident but does note that the venue the group played after the Amersham area gig was Tiles on Oxford Street. Interestingly, The Army did play the Legion Hall in Amersham on 25 February 1967 and later that evening appeared at Tiles on Oxford Street (see selected gig list below).

As the band’s popularity grew, The Army ventured further afield, including shows in Cardiff (3 February 1967), Dunstable, Birmingham and Nottingham among others.

Tacon remembers the sextet playing a converted warehouse in Birmingham and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers were in the dressing room when they arrived [Ed: this was Midnight City on 19 November 1966, although the group is not advertised in Birmingham Evening Mail].

“I remember John Mayall sitting there smoking a spliff. The window at the end of the room looked out on to a large intersection and bang opposite was Digbeth police station,” continues the guitarist.

“We left our gear and all went off to the Bullring for something to eat, missing the Bluesbreakers’ set. I have often wondered if Eric Clapton was in the room that night, but after comparing notes with Steve Priest; he assures me that it was the first gig [sic] for Peter Green, who he saw frantically practising in readiness having just taken over from Clapton.”

Tacon adds that The Army played at the Dungeon Club in Nottingham the next evening, a venue that he recalls playing at least twice during his time with the band. [Ed: this would have been 20 November 1966. Again, the local paper, The Nottingham Evening Post does not list them, but rather The Amboy Dukes]

Another notable gig took place on Christmas Eve when The Army opened for their idols, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers at Burton’s in Uxbridge.

“I must have left in my own van earlier than the others after the gig because the next morning (Christmas Day), two of the band, probably Richard and Alan turned up with my share of the money,” recalls the guitarist.

“They were good lads in that band. I went all over the place with them and do not remember any upsets at all.”

The Army, Dungeon, Nottingham, 5 March 1967

During January 1967, Tacon introduced trumpet player Ron Lewingdon and The Army became a seven-piece act.

“He approached me about joining when he saw me driving the band’s van one day in the company car park,” explains the guitarist. “I was working in the tool room at the same company at the time. I put it to the others and he was in.”

With Lewingdon on-board, The Army played at the Adelphi Ballroom in Slough (18 March 1967) and Tacon’s old mate from The Javelins, Ian Gillan turned up and ended up taking photos of the group performing from the side of the stage.

“Ian came with me in my car to see the band for the first time,” continues the guitarist. “I had been going to see him in Episode Six, so he repaid the compliment. He was best man at my wedding later that year.”

The Army at the Adelphi Club — At The Adelphi Ballroom in Slough, above the cinema. Left to right: Steve Priest, Tony Tacon, Richard Bennett on lead vocals, Ron Lewingdon and George Russell. Photo: Richard Bennett

On this particular night Richard Bennett’s PA played up and the singer remembers borrowing one from Ian Gillan. Tacon adds that the future Deep Purple singer also took the photo.

However, not long after, Tony Tacon handed his notice. The guitarist was indeed engaged and got married soon after; it was time to hang up his rock ‘n’ roll boots. In fact, Tacon didn’t play in a band again until The Javelins reformed in the early 1990s to record a CD. He currently plays with Lincoln band, Something Else.

The guitarist remembers that his last gig with The Army took place at the California Ballroom in Dunstable on 25 March 1967.

“There were three bands on that night,” he says looking back. “The Troggs were top of the bill and we shared the dressing room with them. I remember being impressed that they arrived in an Austin Princess and brought a portable black and white TV with them that was set up in the dressing room.”

The Army at the Adelphi Ballroom, 18 March 1967. Photo: Tony Tacon

With former Countdowns guitarist Richard Herring taking over on lead guitar and ex-Countdown Dennis White subsequently replacing Ian Orton on electric organ, The Army cut two tracks in late 1967 that were shelved until 2014 when this author helped secure the release of the band’s cover of the Joe Tex hit, “Sugar” on Acid Jazz’s Rare Mod Volume 5. The band’s cover of the Sam & Dave hit “You Don’t Know Like I Know” remains unreleased.

On 14 October, The Army returned to the California Ballroom to support Georgie Fame. Two months later, they played two shows at Burton’s in Uxbridge, the latter on New Year’s Eve, opening for Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers.

Sometime around this period, the group turned up at Chelsea Barracks to audition for Opportunity Knocks.

The Army continued to gig during early 1968, playing venues like Walton Hop. However, behind the scenes, Steve Priest began rehearsing with The Sweetshop (aka Sweet) on the side.

“I was a fan of smaller bands like Cream,” says Priest on his decision to explore new avenues. “The Army and Wainwright’s Gentlemen played at Ealing Town Hall on the same night. Mick [Tucker] was fired that night and Brian [Connolly] resigned.”

Left to right: Ron Lewingdon, George Russell, John Barter, Richard Bennett and Steve Priest. Opening for Marmalade (circa late 1967/early 1968). Photo: George Russell

Not long after playing a show at the Grange Club in Hayes in mid-February (see date stamped top picture), Priest announced his decision to leave The Army, playing his debut gig with The Sweetshop (subsequently shortened to The Sweet) on 9 March at Hemel Hempstead Pavilion.

Taking on a new bass player called Chris from Ealing, The Army continued to gig, including a clutch of shows at the New Pink Flamingo in Soho, Cooks Ferry Inn in Edmonton, north London and also opened for The Easybeats at St Albans City Hall.

By this point, Richard Herring had also departed and former Casuals’ lead guitarist Geoff Foster had joined. Not long after Dennis White left to join Merlin Q.

The group continued to pick up gigs, playing venues like Samanthas in New Burlington Street in London

Then, around September 1968, Pete Burt took over the drum stool from Alan Bennett. Burt had worked with George Russell in Jeff Curtis & The Flames during 1965 and had stuck with the group when it became The Kool. Bennett’s departure prompted Ron Lewingdon to also drop out.

Alan Bennett and Ron Lewingdon stuck together. Reunited with former member, the late Ian Orton on rhythm guitar and lead vocals and siblings Ray Spiteri (lead guitar) and Bob Spiteri (bass), they formed The Occasions and landed a prestigious gig at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane the early 1970s.

The remaining members continued into early 1969 before splintering. Pete Burt briefly gigged with Bob Brittain and then formed Hogsnort Rupert, the house band at the Clay Pigeon in Eastcote.

Geoff Foster joined soul band, The Orange Rainbow (John Barter and George Russell both guested). Russell (and later Richard Bennett) emigrated to Australia but Russell subsequently returned to the UK.

Notable gigs:

3 September 1966 – New Central Ballroom, Aldershot, Hampshire with The Simon Dupree Sound (billed as The Satellites)

9 September 1966 – Starlite Ballroom, Greenford, west London with The Jimmy Brown Sound (billed as The Satellites)

27 October 1966 – Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe, Dorset (billed as The Satellites)

19 November 1966 – Midnight City, Digbeth, Birmingham with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (Tony Tacon’s memories: they must have replaced either Wynder K Frog or The Times who were also advertised)

20 November 1966 – The Dungeon, Nottingham (Tony Tacon’s memories: they must have replaced The Amboy Dukes who were advertised in Nottingham Evening Post)

24 November 1966 – Stereo Club, Wycombe, Bucks (billed as The Satellites)

25 November 1966 – Wy-Key Club, Burnham Lane, Slough, Berkshire (billed as The Satellites)

26 November 1966 – New Central Ballroom, Aldershot, Hampshire with The Blackout (billed as The Satellites)

10 December 1966 – Harpenden Public Hall, Harpenden, Herts with The Riot Squad (Tony Tacon confirmed)

24 December 1966 – Burton’s, Uxbridge, northwest London with Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers

Thanks to David Else for providing the scan

4 February 1967 – Thames Hotel, Windsor, Berkshire (replaced The All Night Workers)

11 February 1967 – Kookoo-Byrd Discotheque, Cardiff, Wales

25 February 1967 – Legion Hall, Amersham, Bucks

25 February 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, central London with The Gamblers and The Essex Five

5 March 1967 – Dungeon, Nottingham

18 March 1967 – At the Union, Manchester with St Louis Union and Sound Venture (Tony Tacon doesn’t recall this gig at all, even though it was advertised)

18 March 1967 – Adelphi Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire

25 March 1967 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with The Troggs

1 April 1967 – Walton Hop, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey

23 April – Adelphi Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire

29 April 1967 – Legion Hall, Amersham, Bucks

29 April 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, central London with Lemon Line and The Penny Blacks

11 May 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with The Jokers and The Afex

28 May 1967 – Adelphi Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire

2 July 1967 – Starlite Ballroom, Greenford, west London with The Toys

15 July 1967 – Adelphi Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire

16 July 1967 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire

29 July 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, central London with The Gass and The Fraternity

19 August 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, central London with Coloured Raisins and Tiles Big Band

20 August 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with The Maze and The Art Movement

23 August 1967 – Drayton Hall, West Drayton, west London

23 August 1967 – Town Hall Park, Hayes, west London

3 September 1967 – Adelphi Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire

14 October 1967 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with Georgie Fame & Four Point Five

24 November 1967 – Private engagement (according to Melody Maker)

25 November 1967 – Clay Pigeon, Eastcote, northwest London

26 November 1967 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley, West Sussex with Ronnie Jones & The Q-Set

27 November 1967 – Private engagement (according to Melody Maker)

30 November 1967 – RAF Northwood, Hertfordshire

1 December 1967 – Private engagement (according to Melody Maker)

2 December 1967 – Burton’s, Uxbridge, northwest London

3 December 1967 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley, West Sussex with The Temptations (this was The Fantastics not the Motown group)

31 December 1967 – Burton’s, Uxbridge, northwest London with Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers (this requires confirmation)

5 January 1968 – The Hub, Marlow, Bucks

13 January 1968 – Walton Hop, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey

20 January 1968 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley, West Sussex with Radio Disc Show with Stuart Henry

According to Frank Torpey’s diary, Steve Priest was rehearsing with The Sweetshop (aka The Sweet) by 5 February and would have left a few weeks later.

Frank Torpey’s final gig with Wainwright’s Gentlemen was 20 January and Mick Tucker was fired shortly afterwards so the Ealing Town Hall gig where Wainwright’s Gentlemen and The Army both appeared was probably in the last week of January 1968.

10 February 1968 – The Ritz, Bournemouth, Dorset

Mid (13?) February 1968 – The Grange, Hayes, west London (picture has Steve Priest in it, so one of his final gigs with the band)

3 March 1968 – Slough Adelphi, Slough, Berkshire (Priest may have played this but very unlikely)

10 May 1968 – Dunstable Civic Hall, Dunstable, Beds with Spectrum

25 May 1968 – Nags Head, Motown Club, Wollaston, Northamptonshire with Alfred The Great

26 May 1968 – New Pink Flamingo, Wardour Street, central London

30 May 1968 – St Andrew’s Hall, Uxbridge, northwest London

2 June 1968 – New Pink Flamingo, Wardour Street, central London with The All-Nite Workers (billed as Army Soul Show)

14 June 1968 – Ritz, Bournemouth, Dorset

21 June 1968 – St Albans City Hall, St Albans, Hertfordshire with The Easybeats and The Hello

6 July 1968 – Flamenco Club, Folkestone, Kent

10 August 1968 – Styx Discotheque, Luton, Bedfordshire

23 September 1968 – Penny Farthing Club, Southend-on-Sea, Essex with Kingsize Keen and His Rockin’ Machine

I would like to thank Tony Tacon, Richard Bennett, Alan Bennett, Ron Lewingdon, Steve Priest, John Kerrison, Geoff Foster, George Russell, John Barter and Keith Kendall for providing some information about this band. Thanks to Richard Bennett, George Russell and Tony Tacon for providing images.

Gigs were sourced from various national newspapers and Melody Maker (some sources are noted in the comments below).

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: Fulham, London, Sussex

Jimmy Marsh & The Del Mar Trio (July 1964 – April 1965)

July 19, 2012 Nick Warburton 4 Comments

Jimmy Marsh – lead vocals
Allen Bevan – lead guitar
Tony Rowland – bass
Malcolm Tomlinson – drums

The Motivation, 1967 photo — The Motivation, 1967 with Jimmy Marsh (second left) and Malcolm Tomlinson (far left)

Lead singer Jimmy Marsh (b. 9 April 1941, Salem, Carmarthenshire, Wales; d. 13 April 2020) had started out around 1961 with Fulham band, The Fairlanes, comprising lead guitarist Allen Grey, rhythm guitarist David Beach, bass player Terry Gore and drummer John Warwick. The band played US air bases and sometimes backed cabaret acts like Kathy Kirby and Vince Hill.

During 1962, Marsh formed the first Del Mar Trio with lead guitarist Allen Bevan, who worked at Sound City on Shaftesbury Avenue, rhythm guitarist Terry Toatal, plus a bass player and a drummer. On 1 June 1963, the musicians backed Jimmy Marsh on the “Rock Twist Jive Channel Crossing”, a rock extravaganza that took place on-board the Channel ferry, the M V Royal Daffodil, which sailed from Southend, Essex to Boulogne, and also featured Jeff Curtis & The Flames, whose drummer was Malcolm Tomlinson (b. 16 June 1946, Isleworth, Middlesex; d. 2 April 2016).

Bevan and Tomlinson ran into each other again while working at Sound City and around late June 1964 the drummer left The Flames to join Marsh’s band. Tony Rowland, who hailed from Doncaster, completed the second version of The Del Mar Trio, which was formed around the early summer.

After rehearsing between the occasional gig, the quartet headed to the south coast and found work with Bob Gaitley’s Beat, Ballad and Blues agency, working his clubs, the Top Hat in Littlehampton and the Mexican Hat in Worthing.

In January 1965, the group headed to Cornwall for a short tour, which included St Austell and Penzance.

Part of the same Cornish tour, 15 January 1965

The band also played along the southcoast, including in Brighton, appearing there after the Cornish gigs.

Advert for Brighton gig, 23 January 1965. Photo: Evening Argus

Gaitley was impressed enough with Marsh’s singing to arrange for an audition at Abbey Road, which led to the recording of four tracks – “You Know How”, “Pocket Full of Rainbows”, “Like A Baby” and “Haunting Me”, with producer, the late Bob Barrett in February 1965, and listed under the name James Deene & The Del Mar Trio.

The band continued to gig around the London area, including in Northwood with The Mark Four and a show at the Pilgrim, Haywards Heath, West Sussex.

When nothing happened to the tracks, the band signed up for a tour of West Germany and headed off in late April/early May 1965.

West Sussex gig. Photo: Brighton Evening Argus

Over the next year, the band, working as James Deene & The London Cats, underwent various personnel changes, including seeing another former Jeff Curtis & The Flames member, lead guitarist Louis McKelvey join briefly, and would ultimately see all of the members return home except Jimmy Marsh who found work on a US air force base outside Munich.

Around May/June 1966, Marsh was contacted (via the British Consulate) by bass player Bryan Stevens, a former member of Johnny Devlin & The Detours, which had shared the bill with The Del Mar Trio at one of Gaitley’s clubs on the south coast, to join a new version of Stevens’ latest band, The Noblemen. Marsh accepted and recommended Malcolm Tomlison as a drummer. The pair stuck with The Noblemen from June until November 1966 when the band changed name to The Motivation. Working under the new name, The Motivation headed to Rome in late March 1967 and worked at the famous Piper Club but Marsh became ill and returned home.

Tomlinson remained with The Motivation until August when the revised line up changed name again to The Penny Peep Show/Penny Peeps. The band recorded two singles for Liberty in 1968 – “Little Man With A Stick” c/w “Model Village” and “I See The Morning” c/w “Curly, The Knight of The Road”, before becoming blues band Gethsemane in August of that year. After splitting in December 1968, Tomlinson reunited with Louis McKelvey, who’d returned from Canada in July of that year and the pair relocated to Canada in January 1969 where they formed Milkwood.

In 1973, Tomlinson recorded an unreleased album with Rick James & The Stone City Band and two solo albums, issued on the A&M label in the late 1970s.

Many thanks to Jimmy Marsh and Malcolm Tomlinson for information.

Categories: Ealing, London

Frankie Reid and the Casuals

June 30, 2012 Nick Warburton 42 Comments

Originally published November, 2010, revised June 2012

From Ealing in West London, R&B band Frankie Reid & The Casuals were notable for containing several musicians that went on to fame and fortune in later years.

Frankie Reid & The Casuals #1 (Late 1960)

Frankie Reid – vocals
Mick Cosgrave – lead guitar (replaced before first gig)
John Donald – rhythm guitar
Danny McCulloch – bass
Mick Revelle – drums (replaced by Peter Stretch early on)

Born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Frankie Reid and his brother Ralph started performing in 1957 as the Reid Brothers. In February 1960, they moved to London and in their first week in the capital entered and won a talent contest, held at the Shepherd’s Bush Hotel.

In September, Frankie Reid was introduced to the manager of the Kew Boathouse in Kew, Middlesex, who hired him to sing at the club with the three resident bands – Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, Pat Creswell & The Crescents and Ray & The Riversiders. Signed up for six months, he performed six songs a night, split between each band.

Turning down an offer to play another six months at the Kew Boathouse, Reid chose instead to form his own group. Hearing about The Casuals who needed a new singer after Tony Craven had left; Reid met the musicians – John Donald, Mick Cosgrave, Danny McCullough and Mick Revelle – at a rehearsal hall in Askew Road, Shepherd’s Bush.

Originally known as The Avro Boys, who had won a talent contest at the Gaumont in Shepherd’s Bush, the group appeared in a BBC documentary on how the guitar had taken over from the piano in the home. Produced by Ken Russell, “Guitar Craze – From Spain to Streatham” was screened on BBC TV’s “Monitor”, presented by Huw Weldon. Soon afterwards, the group linked up with singer Tony Craven and became Tony Craven & The Casuals.

Not long after Frankie Reid had joined forces with The Casuals, the band took on Bill Dunton as their manager. Dunton sold his Ford Zodiac/Zephyr to buy a van, which was painted with the band’s name and the individual group members’ names on the side.

Despite rehearsing about 60 songs, Mick Cosgrave left before a single gig and Roger Black (aka Bluck) took over on lead guitar. Soon after, Peter Stretch came in for Mick Revelle.

Frankie Reid & The Casuals #2 (Late 1960-late 1961)

Frankie Reid – vocals
Roger Bluck – lead guitar
John Donald – rhythm guitar
Danny McCulloch – bass
Peter Stretch – drums

One of the group’s earliest gigs was at the Pitshanger Lane Youth Club. The second line up also played at Battersea Town Hall and was regulars at the Brixton Maccabi Jewish club, St Mary’s Hall in Putney, the White Hart in Southall, Middlesex and the Clay Pigeon in Eastcote, Middlesex.

Sometime in late 1961, Peter Stretch left and a very young Mitch Mitchell took over. Originally from Ealing, Mitchell had taken drum lessons at Jim Marshall’s shop and was recommended to Reid by Marshall. Mitchell had briefly worked with The Crescents before joining The Casuals.

Frankie Reid & The Casuals #3 (Late 1961-spring 1962)

Frankie Reid – vocals
Roger Bluck – lead guitar
John Donald – rhythm guitar
Danny McCulloch – bass
Mitch Mitchell – drums

In early 1962, Roger Bluck, who worked at EMI as a record cover designer, got the opportunity to do some session work backing a pianist on an instrumental single and called the other Casuals to see if they could participate. Unfortunately, only Donald could make it and subsequently the session was cancelled.

A few months later both Donald and Bluck departed. While Donald would join Brian Connell & The Countdowns for about six months in 1963, Bluck would go on to become a member of David Bowie’s early group Davey Jones & The King Bees in November 1963. From there, he went on to play with The Spectrum from 1964-1968. Ian Holland came in on lead guitar and the band continued as a four-piece.

Frankie Reid & The Casuals #4 (spring 1962)

Frankie Reid – vocals
Ian Holland – lead guitar
Danny McCulloch – bass
Mitch Mitchell – drums

The new line up played gigs at St Mary’s Hall, Putney, the Ealing Club, Acton Town Hall, Ealing Town Hall, Wembley Town Hall, the White Hart in Southall, Middlesex and Southall Community Centre.

Frankie Reid & The Casuals #5 (May-circa July 1962)

Frankie Reid – vocals
Ian Holland – lead guitar
Brian Mansell – rhythm guitar
Danny McCulloch – bass
Mitch Mitchell – drums

Brian Mansell, a rhythm guitarist from Whitton, Middlesex had been playing with Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers, who changed name to The Condors in April 1962 for one tour. When the band’s guitarist Ritchie Blackmore left to join Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages, The Condors split and Mansell got a job with Frankie Reid & The Casuals. Soon after he joined, Mansell lobbied for his former band mate, Terry Mabey, to take over from Mitch Mitchell.

Mitchell was given his marching orders and joined Peter Nelson & The Travellers with lead singer Pete Nelson, bass player Tony Ross, rhythm guitarist Tony Hall and lead guitarist Vic Briggs (who years later joined Eric Burdon & The New Animals). In subsequent years, Mitchell played with Johnny Harris & The Shades, The Soul Messengers, The Next 5, The Riot Squad and Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames before ultimately finding fame and fortune with The Jimi Hendrix Experience in September 1966.

Notable gigs:

26 May 1962 – White Hart, Southall, Middlesex

27 May 1962 – Clay Pigeon, Eastcote, Middlesex

31 May 1962 – Gifford School, Northolt, Middlesex

2 June 1962 – St Mary’s Hall, Putney, Surrey

9 June 1962 – White Hart, Southall, Middlesex

11 June 1962 – Boathouse, Kew, Surrey

14 June 1962 – Hatfield College (Hatfield, Hertfordshire?)

15 June 1962 – Poplar Town Hall, Poplar, London

16 June 1962 – St Mary’s Hall, Putney, Surrey

17 June 1962 – Invicta Ballroom, Chatham, Kent

18 June 1962 – Howard Hall, Ponders End, Enfield

22 June 1962 – Poplar Town Hall, Poplar, London

23 June 1962 – White Hart, Southall, Middlesex

25 June 1962 – Clay Pigeon, Eastcote, Middlesex

26 June 1962 – Roxeth School, South Harrow, Middlesex

29 June 1962 – Wimbledon Palais, Wimbledon

30 June 1962 – St Mary’s Hall, Putney, Surrey

2 July 1962 – Clay Pigeon, Eastcote, Middlesex

6 July 1962 – White Hart, Southall, Middlesex

7 July 1962 – Atheneon, Muswell Hill, London

8 July 1962 – Irish club, Cricklewood, Middlesex

13 July 1962 – Woking (Atlanta Ballroom?), Surrey

14 July 1962 – Royal Oak, Dagenham, Essex

Frankie Reid & The Casuals #6 (Circa July-September 1962)

Frankie Reid – vocals
Ian Holland – lead guitar
Brian Mansell – rhythm guitar
Danny McCulloch – bass
Terry Mabey – drums

Having only joined the band a few months earlier, Brian Mansell handed in his notice at the end of September and dropped out of the music scene for several years, returning in 1966 with Sunbury, Middlesex band, The Missing Links.

The following year, he joined The All Night Workers and stuck with this group until 1969.

When Mabey wasn’t well enough to perform, Derek Sirmon, who had attended Kneller school in Twickenham, Middlesex with Brian Mansell and Terry Mabey, filled in on drums.

Notable gigs:

19 July 1962 – Hatfield College, (Hatfield, Hertfordshire?)

20 July 1962 – Hendon, Middlesex

21 July 1962 – Stanwell, Middlesex (afternoon)

21 July 1962 – Atheneon, Muswell Hill (afternoon)

22 July 1962 – Irish club, Cricklewood, Middlesex

24 July 1962 – Park Ballroom, Southampton, Hants

25 July 1962 – Hillingdon, Middlesex

27 July 1962 – Crayford Town Hall, Crayford, Kent

28 July 1962 – Tiptree, Essex

29 July 1962 – Invicta Ballroom, Chatham, Kent

1 August 1962 – Hillingdon, Middlesex

3 August 1962 – Hendon, Middlesex

4 August 1962 – Botwell Club, Hayes, Middlesex

9 August 1962 – Hatfield (Hatfield, Hertfordshire?)

10 August 1962 – Woking (Atlanta Ballroom?), Surrey

11 August 1962 – St Mary’s Hall, Putney, Surrey

15 August 1962 – Hillingdon, Middlesex

17 August 1962 – Winchester, Hants

18 August 1962 – St Mary’s Ballroom, Putney, Surrey

19 August 1962 – Southall Community Centre, Southall, Middlesex

22 August 1962 – Clay Pigeon, Eastcote, Middlesex

24 August 1962 – White Hart, Southall, Middlesex

25 August 1962 – White Hart, Southall, Middlesex

31 August 1962 – Park Ballroom, Middlesex

1 September 1962 – Botwell Club, Hayes, Middlesex

5 September 1962 – Hillingdon, Middlesex

7 September 1962 – Finchley, Middlesex

9 September 1962 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berkshire

14 September 1962 – Dormers Pioneer Club, Southall, Middlesex

15 September 1962 – St Mary’s Ballroom, Putney, Surrey

16 September 1962 – Invicta Ballroom, Chatham, Kent

22 September 1962 – White Hart, Southall, Middlesex

28 September 1962 – Crayford Town Hall, Crayford, Kent

Frankie Reid & The Casuals #7 (October 1962)

Frankie Reid – vocals
Ian Holland – lead guitar
Danny McCulloch – bass
Terry Mabey or Derek Sirmon – drums

Reduced to a four-piece, this was another short-lived line up of Frankie Reid & The Casuals.

In October 1962, Derek Sirmon and Danny McCulloch left to join Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages.

Frankie Reid & The Casuals #8 (October 1962-circa February 1963)

Frankie Reid – vocals
Ian Holland – lead guitar
Steve Hargreaves – bass
Terry Mabey – drums (replaced by Bill Dunton)

This was yet another short-lived line up of the band. In early 1963, Terry Mabey left to join Ealing band, James Royal & The Hawks.

Bill Dunton took over the drums for a while but didn’t stay long.

Notable gigs:

21 January 1963 – White Hart, Southall, Middlesex (the band plays every Monday)

28 January 1963 – White Hart, Southall, Middlesex (the band plays every Monday)

2-3 February 1963 – Plaza, Guildford, Surrey (Surrey Advertiser)

Frankie Reid and the Casuals photo at Ealing Town Hall, 1963 — Ealing Town Hall, early 1963, from left: Ian Holland, Frankie Reid and Steve Hargreaves with John Kerrison at back

Frankie Reid & The Casuals #9 (Circa February-April 1963)

Frankie Reid – vocals
Ian Holland – lead guitar
Chris Jackson – rhythm guitar
Steve Hargreaves – bass
John Kerrison – drums

John Kerrison attended Mellow Lane in Hayes in Middlesex where Keith Grant of The Downliners Sect also went to school.

At the age of 14, Kerrison played with The Cossacks from Greenford, Middlesex. The group’s line up also included Keith Lewis (lead guitar/vocals) and Merv Lewis (bass).

From there, he hooked up with Paul & The Alpines, featuring Paul Lonergan (vocals); Ray Kirkham (lead guitar); Dave Dove (bass) and Alf Fripp (rhythm guitar).

Managed by Sid Foreman, the band worked quite a bit for the Roy Tempest Agency. It was while he was drumming with this band that Kerrison got the call to audition for Frankie Reid & The Casuals at the Viaduct Pub in Hanwell, Middlesex after Bill Dunton left.

Soon after he joined, the band reverted to a five-piece by adding Chris Jackson on rhythm guitar.

Ian Holland and Steve Hargreaves both left in spring 1963, although Hargreaves would re-join Frankie Reid in later years in his group, The Powerhouse.

Ian Holland (sometimes known as Hollands) went to record with The Legends and also played with The Magic Roundabout.

Notable gigs:

25 March 1963 – King George’s Hall, Esher, Surrey

Botwell House, Hayes, Middlesex (late 1963), from left: Chris Jackson, Reg Bodman, Frankie Reid, John Kerrison and Mick Liber. Thank you to John Kerrison for the use of the photo.

Frankie Reid & The Casuals #10 (Circa April 1963-December 1964)

Frankie Reid – vocals
Mick Liber – lead guitar
Reg Bodman – bass
Chris Jackson – rhythm guitar
John Kerrison – drums

Scots-born lead guitarist Mick Liber’s first notable band was Ealing group Clay Alison & The Searchers led by guitarist and future lawyer, Andre de Moller.

Liber was also friends with Pete Townshend, who had rented a flat off Liber’s dad in Sunnyside Road in Ealing during his time at Ealing Art College, and taught Liber how to play feedback.

Originally from Peckham in south London, Reg Bodman had started out in 1960 with local band, The Talismen, which included drummer Al Alison from Emile Ford & The Checkmates for a while.

When Frankie Reid & The Casuals broke up in the December 1964, John Kerrison joined The Rocking Eccentrics and then went on to work with The Horizons, The Dae-b-Four, The New Pirates, Episode Six and The Beachcombers.

Reg Bodman filled in for a number of bands around the Ealing area, including The Ealing Redcaps, The Pirates and Morgan James before joining a soul band in Southeast London called The Sassenachs, who played top Soho clubs like the Flamingo and the Marquee.

After playing with this band for over ten years, Bodman relocated to Kent and worked with the blues band TwoSixNine. He then went on to work with a soul band in Dorset (where he currently lives) called Soul Intention.

Mick Liber had guested with Ealing group, The Unit 4 led by his friend Frank Kennington from mid-1964.

The pair reunited in Sydney, Australia in January 1965 and formed a new (Australian) version of Unit 4 (see pic below).

Photo may be subject to copyright: Frank Kennington (second left) and Mick Liber (far right). Unit 4 in Sydney, Australia 1965.

They also worked together in The Denvermen before forming the original Python Lee Jackson in Sydney, Australia in December 1965.

Liber returned to the UK with a new version of Python Lee Jackson in October 1968 and subsequently reunited with Frankie Reid (see below).

Frankie Reid dropped out of the music scene briefly before returning in 1968 with a new band, The Powerhouse, which he led until 1974.

Frankie Reid & The Casuals at Botwell House, 1964. Thank you to Frankie Reid for use of the photo.

Notable gigs:

23 May 1963 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday)

13 June 1963 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex with Jimmy Royal & The Hawks (Thursday)

20 June 1963 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex with Jimmy Royal & The Hawks (Thursday)

30 July 1963 – Top Twenty Nite Club, Swindon, Wiltshire

2 February 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Harrow Observer & Gazette) (Sunday)

9 February 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Sunday)

11 April 1964 – Rock Stars, Adeyfield Hall, Hemel Hempstead, Herts with Sounds Five (Hertfordshire and Hemel Hempstead Gazette and West Herts Advertiser)

20 April 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Monday) (Billed as The Casuals)

27 April 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Monday) (Billed as The Casuals)

18 June 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday)

25 June 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday)

30 June 1964 – Jolly Gardeners, Isleworth, Middlesex with Mark Leemen Five (billed Frankie Reed & The Casuals)

2 July 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday)

9 July 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday)

16 July 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday)

23 July 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday)

25 July 1964 – “The Cavern” at the West Cliff Hall (near Ramsgate), Kent with The Satans

30 July 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday)

10 September 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Harrow Observer & Gazette) (Thursday)

17 September 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday) (special guest Jimmy Royal)

24 September 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex with Jimmy Royal & The Hawks (Thursday)

25 September 1964 – Lynx Club, Borehamwood, Herts with The Fenmen (Simon Gee research – see comments section below)

26 November 1964 – Ealing Town Hall, Ealing, Middlesex with The Second Thoughts

28 November 1964 – Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent with The Applejacks

29 November 1964 – Rocky Rivers Top 20 Club, Conservative Club, Bedford

The original Powerhouse in 1968/1969 from left: Steve Hargreaves, Peter Abbot and Frankie Reid

The original Powerhouse in 1968/1969 from left: Steve Hargreaves (obscured, on bass), Peter Abbot, Frankie Reid and Mick Liber

Frankie Reid & The Powerhouse (1968-1969)

Frankie Reid – lead vocals
Mick Liber – lead guitar
Steve Hargreaves – bass
Peter Abbot – drums

Frankie Reid returned to the West London live scene with The Powerhouse, featuring former Casuals bass player Steve Hargreaves.

After arriving back in England from Australia in late 1968, Liber reunited with his old band leader.

In 1969, the latest version of Python Lee Jackson, which included drummer David Montgomery, recorded the classic “In A Broken Dream” with Rod Stewart.

In 1970, Liber introduced Montgomery, keyboard player David Bentley and former Easybeats drummer Tony Cahill, who was now playing bass, all current members of the UK-based Python Lee Jackson, to the latest line up of Frankie Reid’s Powerhouse. The second incarnation recorded some material that remains unreleased.

The 1970 Powerhouse, photo courtesy of Frankie Reid, From left: Tony Cahill, Dave Montgomery (on drums, obscured), Frankie Reid and Mick Liber

From left: Frankie Reid, Tony Cahill, Dave Montgomery and Mick Liber. Photo courtesy of Frankie Reid

Frankie Reid & The Powerhouse (1970)

Frankie Reid – lead vocals
Mick Liber – lead guitar
David Bentley – organ
Tony Cahill – bass
David Montgomery – drums

(Early-mid 1970s)
John Hawken – piano
Neil Korner – bass

While working with The Powerhouse, Liber also toured and recorded with Ashton, Gardner & Dyke. Together with Bentley, Cahill and Montgomery, he continued to record with Python Lee Jackson, and later did studio work with Third World War and live work with Thunderclap Newman. In 1973, Liber returned to Australia and continued to perform with a number of artists, most notably Dana Gillespie and Blerta.

After The Powerhouse split up in 1974, Frankie Reid formed The Frankie Reid Band. In 1978, he formed Flying Fox with drum legend Carlo Little and bass player Nick Simper, best known for being an original member of Deep Purple. In November 1979, however, he emigrated to Australia and currently lives in Perth.

Many people helped piece this story together. Thanks to Frankie Reid, particularly for the use of photos/images.

Thanks to Brian Mansell for the list of concert dates from May-September 1962, which were taken from his diary.

I’d also like to credit John Kerrison, Mick Liber, John Donald, Colin Reece, Nick Simper, Reg Bodman and Terry Mabey for their invaluable input.

Concert dates were also taken from several newspapers, including the Ampthill News & Weekly Record, East Kent Times & Mail, Harrow Observer, Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette, the Middlesex Chronicle (Hounslow Edition), Surrey Comet and Swindon Evening Advertiser.

Email: Warchive@aol.com

Categories: England, London, Pye Records

The (Rockin’) Eccentrics

June 27, 2012 Nick Warburton 21 Comments

The Eccentrics, 1965 photo — The Eccentrics, 1965, back row, from left: John Kerrison, Bruce Watts (sitting) and Mick Liddell (sunglasses) Front row, left to right: Roy Robinson and Peter Maggs

Mick Liddell – vocals
Peter Maggs – lead guitar
Roy Robinson – bass
Bruce Watts – rhythm guitar
John Kerrison – drums

Middlesex County Times and Gazette, May 1965

Originally called The Henchmen, this Ealing group included lead singer Dave Kaye (real name: Dave Tregwin), bass player Roy Robinson, rhythm guitarist Bruce Watts and drummer Clive Buckie, who had played alongside Ritchie Blackmore in The Dominators.

In 1962, Peter Maggs, who’d been a very early member of The Downliners with Don Craine from 1959-1962, took over lead guitar.

Mick Liddell replaced Dave Kaye on lead vocals in mid-1964 and the group changed name to The Rockin’ Eccentrics. In late November/early December, John Kerrison from Frankie Reid & The Casuals took over from Clive Buckie.

Rockin' Eccentrics Pye promo for "What You Got"

Eccentrics Pye promo for “What You Got”Sometime around April-May 1965, they shortened the name to The Eccentrics and recorded a cover of Gerry Goffin and Carole King’s “What You Got” backed by “Fe Fi Fo Fum” for Pye Records. After playing the UK scene, The Eccentrics were allegedly the first British band to pass an audition for the famous Piper Club in Rome.

Travelling to ‘Italy, The Eccentrics played the Rome club in June 1965 and later returned to Italy.

At the Piper Club, Rome, June 1965. Photo may be subject to copyright

During July Kerrison left to return to the UK and was replaced by John “Speedy” Keen from Ealing band, The Second Thoughts. Keen, of course, later went on to found Thunderclap Newman.

Liddell also left at this point and the remaining members brought in singer Romano Morandi (ex-Equipe Ottanta Quattro) and played gigs in northern Italy before returning to the UK in January 1966 and disbanding. Liddell meanwhile put together a new band called Gli Atomi, who recorded a number of singles in 1965-1966.

Back in England, John Kerrison joined Slough-based band The Horizons with singer Rod Evans, lead guitarist Colin Butt and bass player Len Hawkes.

Evans would later become lead singer with Deep Purple after working with The Maze while Hawkes would join The Tremeloes after playing with Davey Sands & The Essex.

The Horizons had work lined up in Berlin during August-September 1965 and played gigs for a few months after which Kerrison returned to the UK. In October 1965, he joined Hounslow favourites The Dae-b-Four.

Kerrison would later reunite with Mick Liddell in Italy for a one-off recording during 1966.

John Kerrison (far left) reunited with Mick Liddell in Italy in 1966

However, in February 1967, he joined The New Pirates alongside lead guitarist Mick Stewart, bass player Nick Simper and keyboard player Johnny Carroll.

By the summer, however, the band had split and Kerrison worked with Episode Six and then The Beachcombers (Keith Moon’s early 1960s band).

Notable gigs (as The Rockin’ Eccentrics unless noted)

30 November 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Monday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette)

3 December 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)

10 December 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette)

17 December 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette)

19 December 1964 – Witchdoctor, Hastings, East Sussex with Christian’s Crusaders (website: https://dizzytigerstu.proboards.com/thread/880/witch-doctor-1964-1967)

24 December 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex with South West Five (Thursday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette)

31 December 1964 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex with South West Five (Thursday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette)

7 January 1965 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette) (needs confirmation but likely)

14 January 1965 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette)

21 January 1965 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette)

23 January 1965 – Royal Hotel, Lowestoft, Suffolk with The Millionaires (Bo Street Runners cancelled) (Eastern Evening News)

28 January 1965 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette)

4 February 1965 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Thursday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette) (possibly with Jimmy Royal & The Hawks)

15 February 1965 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Monday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette)

22 February 1965 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Monday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette)

6 March 1965 – Carfax Ballroom, Oxford with The Ravons (Oxford Mail)

26-27 March 1965 – Silver Blades, Streatham, southwest London (Streatham News) (as The Eccentrics)

27 March 1965 – Witham Public Hall, Witham, Essex with The Decadents (Essex County Standard)

30 April 1965 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Friday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette) (as The Eccentrics)

21 May 1965 – Ealing Club, Ealing, Middlesex (Friday) (Middlesex County Times & West Middlesex Gazette) (as The Eccentrics)

Many thanks to John Kerrison, Peter Maggs and Mick Liddell for providing information.

To contact the author with further information, please email Warchive@aol.com

Categories: Ealing, England, London

The Unit 4

June 4, 2012 Nick Warburton 13 Comments

The Unit Four, from left: Ian Gomm, Martin Davis and Frank Kennington — The Unit 4, from left: Ian Gomm, Martin Davis and Frank Kennington

Frank Kennington – lead vocals
Ian Gomm – rhythm guitar/lead guitar and vocals
Martin Davis – bass
Simon Behar – drums

+ Mick Liber – lead guitar

The band started around 1962/1963 and was formed by Ian Gomm, Martin Davis and Simon Behar, who were all pupils at Ealing County School for Boys (another student was Lee Brilleaux who later formed Dr Feelgood).

Soon after forming, Frank Kennington, who was older than the others, joined as lead singer and they became Unit 4 (not to be confused with the Unit 4 + 2).

One of the bands Unit 4 opened for around 1963 was Del Angelo & The Detours, which included singer Del Angelo, lead guitarist Roger Daltry, rhythm guitarist Pete Townshend and bass player/horn player John Entwistle. The latter three went on to become The High Numbers and more famously, The Who.

Kennington became a close friend of The Who and would work with that band in later years. Mick Liber, who was playing with Frankie Reid & The Casuals and (and previously) Clay Alison & The Searchers (Ed. Liber had been taught feedback by Pete Townshend), guested with Unit 4 from the summer of 1964.

Around October 1964, Kennington left England and moved to Sydney, Australia, and Unit 4 broke up.

Liber subsequently re-joined Frank Kennington in Sydney on 28 January 1965 after leaving Frankie Reid & The Casuals.

The pair formed a new version of Unit 4 (see pic below), who included (at various times) Australians Lloyd Hardy (bass), Roger Homan (rhythm guitar) and John Webber (drums) plus British expat, Shane Duckham (harmonica). However, the revived band was short-lived.

Photo may be subject to copyright: Unit 4 in Sydney, Australia during early 1965. Frank Kennington (second left) and Mick Liber (far right). Photo also shows John Webber (far left) and Roger Homan (second right).

By mid-1965, Kennington had briefly joined Sydney group, The Missing Links and then reunited with Liber in The Denvermen.

They then left to form the original version of Python Lee Jackson in December 1965, named by Liber’s former band leader from Clay Alison & The Searchers – Andre de Moller, who was living in Sydney at the time.

Kennington was subsequently deported and returned to the UK, where he roadied for The Who and eventually moved into rock management. He was Motorhead’s first road manager and moved out to California in the 1970s. He died in 1998.

Liber kept Python Lee Jackson going with various different line ups and recorded a string of singles for CBS. After working with Australian rock legend, Billy Thorpe, he reformed Python Lee Jackson and returned to the UK around October 1968.

After the London-based Unit 4 broke up in late 1964, Ian Gomm and Martin Davis went on to work with local band, The Unknowns.

Gomm subsequently played with West London bands The Triangle, The Generation and The Daisy Showband before joining Brinsley Schwarz in September 1970.

He co-wrote Nick Lowe’s worldwide hit “Cruel to Be Kind” with Lowe when they were both members of Brinsley Schwarz. He also had his own US top twenty hit “Hold On” in 1979 when the Ian Gomm Band supported Dire Straits on their epic “Sultans of Swing” US tour. “Hold On” was Stiff Records’ only US chart success.

Great thanks to Ian Gomm for supplying the photos (apart from the Australian Unit 4) and background information. Also, thanks to Mick Liber for his contributions and putting me in touch with Ian.

To contact the author email Warchive@aol.com

Categories: England, Hounslow, London

The Dae-b-Four

June 4, 2012 Nick Warburton 12 Comments

The Dae-b-Four, live, early 1966. From left to right: Rex Brayley, Iain Pitwell and Brian Brayley

Rex Brayley – lead guitar/vocals

Brian Brayley – rhythm guitar

Roger Sidey – bass

Kenny Slade – drums

Jimmy Trimmer – lead vocals

Bob Carpenter – drums

Bobby Dean – drums

Iain Pitwell – lead vocals

Malcolm Randall – drums

John Kerrison – drums

Brothers Rex and Brian Brayley had first come to prominence with Tony Liddle & the Lads, a Hounslow band formed in 1962. The band also comprised singer Tony Liddle, bass player Roger Sidey and drummer Yan Kuttlevasher.

In mid-1964, Sheffield drummer Kenny Slade replaced Kuttlevasher after playing with Dave Berry & The Cruisers. When Tony Liddle left soon after, the group became The Dae-b-Four.

Not long after the name change, the musicians were joined by new lead singer Jimmy Trimmer. Then in early 1965, Bob Carpenter took over from Kenny Slade on drums. Slade joined The Sheffields and later worked with Joe Cocker.

Carpenter didn’t stay very long, however, and Bobby Dean from rival Hounslow band, The Stringbeats took over that spring. Dean introduced his friend, singer Iain Pitwell, who took over from Jimmy Trimmer when he departed.

However, Dean left in August 1965 to work with another local group, The Valkeries. Malcolm Randall from Rey Anton & The Peppermint Men took his place briefly. The line-up remained steady until November 1965 when John Kerrison came in on drums after playing in Germany with The Horizons. Kerrison had previously been a member of Frankie Reid & The Casuals and The Rocking Eccentrics.

Malcolm Randall later reunited with Pitwell in The All Night Workers in October 1967 after working as a freelance drummer and The Missing Links in the interim.

The new line up lasted until about August 1966 when Kerrison departed and subsequently joined Mick Liddell & Gli Atomi in Rome, Italy. The band recorded the track “La Mia Inghilterra”, after which Kerrison returned to the UK. By February 1967, Kerrison had linked up with Johnny Kidd’s former band, The Pirates. He then played with Episode Six and The Beachcombers. The Dae-b-Four carried on with another drummer.

In March 1967, Rex Brayley struck gold when he joined The Love Affair.

Iain Pitwell meanwhile reunited with Malcolm Randall in The All Night Workers in October 1967.

Notable gigs:

30 March 1965 – Elms Club, South Harrow, Middlesex with Distortion

20 April 1965 – Elms Club, South Harrow, Middlesex with Bluesology (featuring future Elton John on piano)

2 July 1965 – London Cavern, Holland Park, west London with The Initial Four (Kensington Post)

6 July 1965 1965 – London Cavern, Holland Park, west London with The Tribe (Kensington Post)

24 August 1965 – Jolly Gardeners, Isleworth, west London

Many thanks to Rex Brayley for the photos and input. Thanks also to Iain Pitwell, John Kerrison and Malcolm Randall. Thanks to Don Hughes too for his help in piecing the story together.

Don Hughes is selling a three-track picture sleeve single, with three previously unreleased tracks. For more information, email: donhughes345@btinternet.com

Kenny Slade lineup, 1964. From left to right: Rex Brayley, Roger Sidey, Kenny Slade and Brian Brayley

Categories: Birmingham, England, London

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 (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)

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)

20 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 Soul site) (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 Soul site)

17 July 1966 – Central R&B Club, Central Hotel, Gillingham, Kent (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 19 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.

Visit: www.nickwarburton.com

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

Garage Hangover

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Frankie Reid and the Casuals

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Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers

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