Category Archives: 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.

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: 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 9 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 18 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

Categories: England, London, Twickenham

The Legend (UK)

September 12, 2011 Chris Bishop 3 Comments

The Legend photo — from left: Doug Ayris, John Sergeant (hidden) and Brian Hoskins

The Legend were a Twickenham band that never recorded. Their members were bassist Brian Hoskins, lead guitarist Doug Ayris, Nigel Kingswell on lead vocals and John Sergeant on drums. Hoskins later joined the Kool. John Sergeant sent in the photos here and wrote to me about the band:

As promised here are some photos of myself and the Legend at Firestone’s tyre factory on the Great West Road, at Isleworth, near Heathrow. I look so young I can’t believe that it really is me. Doug Ayris is the one walking off the stage. Brian Hoskins is the one pointing at me! The buggers left me to do a 15 minute drum solo while they went for a pint and to chat up the girls.
We did lots of gigs in and around Twickenham area which took in Isleworth, Feltham R & B Club, Heatham House in Twickenham was one of our regular spots. They still have music and youth work there even now in 2011. Amazing! We must have deafened everybody because we played in a very small room.
All the bands at that time were doing R & B, all Howling Wolf and that sort of thing. We had been doing that stuff too but we discovered Zoot Money, Georgie Fame, plus some soul and out and out rock and roll and that was where we wanted to be. We played a wide range of stuff but NOT the R & B that everybody else was doing. We had Cliff Bennett, Johnny Kidd, the Drifters, the Impressions plus the best stuff of our own groups like the Hollies etc. It was a two guitar, drums and vocals line up and (we were told) was pretty damn good! Loved it anyway.
I am still very friendly with all the other guys in the band and we see each other quite regularly. However, I have lost touch with Brian and have been trying for years to find him. Last time I saw him was at a jam session above his battery business in Slough circa 1970.
John Sergeant

Categories: Bognor Regis, England, London

(The) Motivation (featuring Martin Barre)

August 5, 2011 Nick Warburton 14 Comments

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

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

1966

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks to Peter Ellis for the scan and date

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

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

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

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

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

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

1967

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(4) The musicians return to London and perform at Tiles on Oxford Street with C Jam Blues and Malcolm Magaron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May (1) The musicians return to Rome for further gigs. Numerous English gigs billed to The Motivation are subsequently cancelled while the group remains in Italy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

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

Categories: England, London

The Krisis

April 25, 2011 Chris Bishop 19 Comments

The Krisis photo The Krisis were a mystery when Jean-Pierre Coumans sent in a photo of them, adding “the back of the photo has a stamp of a Dutch promotion bureau with tel. number + a foreign tel. number with at the end handwritten: UK. So an English band but from where? Wonder if these guys released anything on vinyl?”

In early 2014 I heard from Tony Norton, who wrote:

The band were from Harlesden in London and were gigging in 1968.

From left to right they are:

Tony Baggett – bass
Stuart Sanders – guitar
Roger Grey – drums – owned a recording studio in Wales where Oasis made their first album
Baz Knight – vocals – currently a club singer in Teneriffe