Category Archives: Country

Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band 1965-1967

Photo courtesy of Buddy Beadle

When Dexys Midnight Runners’ topped the UK charts in 1981 with their “Geno” tribute, a new generation of fans discovered American soul singer Geno Washington, who had fronted British R&B/soul outfit The Ram Jam Band from 1965-1970 and enjoyed moderate chart success.

Originally the brainchild of lead guitarist Pete Gage, who now lives in Australia, this period covers the original formation before Geno Washington restructured the group in April 1967.

I have tried to list all of the gig sources at the end of this article.

Geno Washington & Les Blues

24 October 1964 – Town Hall, Clacton, Essex with Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames and The Limelighters

Photo courtesy of Buddy Beadle. Left to right: Geoff, Lionel, Herb, Geno, Pete, John and Buddy

Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band #1

(March 1965-July 1966)

 

Geno Washington – lead vocals

Pete Gage – lead guitar, vocals

Geoff Pullum (aka Jeff Wright) – organ, vocals

John Roberts – bass

Lionel ‘Rocky’ Kingham – tenor saxophone

Buddy Beadle – baritone saxophone

Herb Prestidge – drums

Guitarist Pete Gage (b. 31 August 1947, Lewisham) had been playing with Dalston, London group, The Zephyrs in late 1964, and had penned the A-side of their single, “She’s Lost You” (released in February 1965), when he ran into Geno Washington in Southend while moonlighting with R&B outfit, The Fairies.

At the time Geno Washington was fronted Les Blues, a band that he had formed in 1963 while working as a US airman, based at USAF Bentwaters, near Woodbridge, Suffolk. The group comprised pianist Koll Patterson, bass player Tony Coe, guitarist Morton Lewis and drummer Gerry Gillings.

Pete Gage had met Washington at USAF Bentwaters on several occasions over the past year and encouraged the American to become a professional singer.

Together with his school friend Jeff Wright (b. Geoffrey Keith Pullum, 8 March 1945, Irving, Scotland), Gage considered the option of “buying” Washington out of the US Armed Forces and then constructing a backing group around the singer.

In early 1965, Pullum introduced Nuneaton-born drummer Herb Prestidge and his friend, Coventry-born bass player John Roberts, who’d both previously worked with the keyboardist in Germany in Sonny Stewart & The Dynamos.

Prestidge had started out with Nuneaton band, The Barracudas around 1961 before playing with Max Hollyman & The Demons for two years, where he met John Roberts. They both met Geoff Pullum while playing with Sonny Stewart & The Dynamos in 1964.

After extensive auditions, Gage and Pullum recruited tenor sax player, Calcutta, India-born Lionel ‘Rocky’ Kingham and baritone sax player Buddy Beadle (b. 27 March 1947, Clapham, south London) to complete their Ram Jam Band, named after an old coaching inn at Stretton near Oakham on the A1 in Rutland.

The idea was to create a UK-based Stax-style soul outfit (with an African-American singer and a backing group like Booker T & The MGs with an added horn section) that British audiences could experience live.

Geno Washington, however, remained unavailable in early 1965, and so The Ram Jam Band tried out singer Kenny Bernard (whom Gage had previously recorded with) but he was more pop that soul. The musicians next tried singer Kenrick Des Etages (aka Ebony Keyes) whose vocals were a perfect match for the band. However, Keyes was more Caribbean than Stax-soul and so the musicians next performed three gigs with singer John Holder before linking with Jamaican singer Errol Dixon.

Together with Dixon, the band cut a lone single “Shake Shake Senora” c/w “Akinia”. Also, through the Jamaican’s contacts with Rik and John Gunnell and their Soho club, the Flamingo on Wardour Street, the musicians landed their first gigs at the prestigious venue around March 1965.

By this point, Geno Washington had demobbed from the US Armed Forces and was due to return to Indiana in the United States. Gage bought the singer a return ticket to the UK on condition that he would come back and replace Errol Dixon as front man.

In the meantime, Gage approached the Gunnell brothers with the proposition that Washington would take over from Dixon. When the American returned in mid-April, the group auditioned for the siblings and were immediately booked to play at the Flamingo.

Photo courtesy of Buddy Beadle. Clockwise from top: Geno, Pete, Lionel, Buddy, Herb, Geoff and John

The original line up was responsible for recording three singles – “Water” c/w “Understanding” (Piccadilly 7N 35312) in April 1966 (the group’s biggest hit, climbing to #39 in the UK charts); “Hi! Hi! Hazel” c/w “Beach Bash” (Piccadilly 7N 35329) in July 1966 (a UK #45 hit) and “Que Sera Sera” c/w “All I Need” (Piccadilly 7N 35346) in September 1966 (a UK #43 hit).

Two tracks also appeared on an EP, “Hi!” (Piccadilly NEP 34054) released in January 1967 and comprising the A-sides of the first two singles plus later recordings.

Selected gigs:

24 April 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Checkmates (first listing at Soho club)

25 April 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Herbie Goins & The Night Timers

 

4 May 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Shevells

8 May 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Tony Knight’s Chessmen

9 May 1965 – Riverside Club, Cricketers Hotel, Chertsey, Surrey

15 May 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames

16 May 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers

22 May 1965 – Witchdoctor Club, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex

23 May 1965 – Royal Star Ballroom, Maidstone, Kent

28-29 May 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Soul Sisters and Brian Auger Trinity

30 May 1965 – Blue Moon, Hayes, west London

 

7 June 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds

11-12 June 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Doris Troy and Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds

13 June 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London

15 June 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London

18 June 1965 – Ricky Tick, Guildford Civic Hall, Guildford, Surrey (David Else says they replaced Errol Dixon)

18 June 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Solomon Burke and The Mike Cotton Sound

19 June 1965 – Royal Star Ballroom, Maidstone, Kent with The Mark Leeman Five

19 June 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds

20 June 1965 – Witchdoctor Club, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex

23 June 1965 – Le Disque A Go Go, Bournemouth, Dorset

25 June 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Herbie Goins & The Night Timers

27 June 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London

 

3 July 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Herbie Goins & The Night Timers

Photo from Ian Woodward. Source: Surrey Advertiser and County Times

4 July 1965 – ‘Rhapsody at Racks’, Guildford, Surrey with The Graham Bond Organisation and The Herd

6 July 1965 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London with Dedicated Men’s Jug Band

9 July 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Inez & Charlie Foxx and Tony Knight’s Chessmen

12 July 1965 – The Cavern, Liverpool with Richmond Group and Exit

16 July 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Inez & Charlie Foxx and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (billed without Geno)

18 July 1965 – Bromel Club, Bromley Court Hotel, Bromley, southeast London with Inez & Charlie Foxx (billed without Geno)

18 July 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Inez & Charlie Foxx (billed without Geno)

21 July 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London (billed without Geno)

23 July 1965 – Ricky Tick, Guildford Civic Hall, Guildford, Surrey

Photo from Ian Woodward. Source: Port Talbot Guardian

29 July 1965 – Ritz Club, Skewen, Wales with The Eyes of Blue and The Iveys

31 July 1965 – New Georgia, Uxbridge, west London

31 July 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Tony Colton & Big Boss Band

 

1 August 1965 – Blue Moon, Hayes, west London

1 August 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London

6 August 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Byrds

7 August 1965 – Royal Star Ballroom, Maidstone, Kent

8 August 1965 – Witchdoctor Club, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex

11 August 1965 – Manor House, north London

20 August 1965 – Dungeon Club, Nottingham

25 August 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers

26 August 1965 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

27 August 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Shevells

29 August 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London

 

4 September 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds

5 September 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London

8 September 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London

10 September 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Lou Johnson

15 September 1965 – Manor House, north London

18 September 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Peddlers

19 September 1965 – Bromel Club, Bromley, southeast London (billed without Geno)

21 September 1965 – Gala Ballroom, Norwich, Norfolk

22 September 1965 – Manor House, north London

25 September 1965 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Zoot Money Big Roll Band

30 September 1965 – Ritz Club, Skewen, Wales with Cops ‘N’ Robbers and The Kingpins

Photo courtesy of Buddy Beadle

10 October 1965 – Nottingham Boat Club, Nottingham

Photo from Ian Woodward. Source: Aldershot News

17 October 1965 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey

24 October 1965 – Orford Cellar, Norwich, Norfolk

28 October 1965 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

31 October 1965 – Ricky Tick, Plaza, Guildford, Surrey

 

4 November 1965 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

6 November 1965 – Zambesi Club, Hounslow, west London

8 November 1965 – Basingstoke Town Hall, Basingstoke, Hants

12 November 1965 – Orford Cellar, Norwich, Norfolk

18 November 1965 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

21 November 1965 – Sunshine Floor, Tavern Club, Dereham, Norfolk with Beat Ltd

25 November 1965 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

26 November 1965 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle Upon Tyne

28 November 1965 – The Dungeon, Nottingham

29 November 1965 – Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London

 

2 December 1965 – Bird Cage, Eastney, Hants

Photo from Ian Woodward. Source: Nottingham Evening Post and News

12 December 1965 – Beachcomber, Nottingham (cancelled)

16 December 1965 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

18 December 1965 – Orford Cellar, Norwich, Norfolk

23 December 1965 – Ritz Club, Skewen, south Wales with The Eyes of Blue and The Iveys

29 December 1965 – Farnborough Town Hall, Farnborough, Hants with support

Photo courtesy of Buddy Beadle

1966

6 January 1966 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

8 January 1966 – King Mojo, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

9 January 1966 – Tavern Club, Dereham, Norfolk with Little Mick’s Mode

13 January 1966 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

15 January 1966 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester with The Drifters

27 January 1966 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

30 January 1966 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey

 

1 February 1966 – Bird Cage, Eastney, Hants

3 February 1966 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

5 February 1966 – Mr McCoys, Middlesbrough

9 February 1966 – Orford Cellar, Norwich, Norfolk

10 February 1966 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

20 February 1966 – King Mojo, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

26 February 1966 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle Upon Tyne with The Downbeats

 

2 March 1966 – Farnborough Town Hall, Farnborough, Hants with The Emerlads

4 March 1966 – Bluesville, Ipswich, Suffolk

6 March 1966 – Nottingham Boat Club, Nottingham

12 March 1966 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London with The Peter B’s

16 March 1966 – Orford Cellar, Norwich, Norfolk

 

2 April 1966 – Bird Cage, Eastney, Hants

4 April 1966 – Dereham Tavern, Dereham, Norfolk with The Sullivan James Band

7 April 1966 – Ricky Tick, Harvest Moon, Guildford, Surrey with The Mark Barry 5

8 April 1966 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Peter B’s and Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames

8 April 1966 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London

9 April 1966 – Assembly Hall, Barking, east London with Long John Baldry & The Steam Packet and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers

14 April 1966 – Mister McCoys, Middlesbrough

17 April 1966 – Black Prince Hotel, Bexley, southeast London

19 April 1966 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

20 April 1966 – Target Paul’s Row, High Wycombe, Bucks

21 April 1966 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley, West Sussex with The Fleur De Lys

23 April 1966 – King Mojo, Sheffield, South Yorkshire with The Vibrations and Jackie Williams & The Excitements

27 April 1966 – Orford Cellar, Norwich, Norfolk

The band in 1965. Photo courtesy of Buddy Beadle

1 May 1966 – Bluesville, Ipswich, Suffolk

5 May 1966 – Ricky Tick, Southampton Guildhall, Hampshire

6 May 1966 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London

8 May 1966 – Carousel Club, 1 Camp Road, Farnborough, Hants

11 May 1966 – Tower Ballroom, (Great Yarmouth?) with Ye Highwaymen

16 May 1966 – Atlanta Ballroom, Woking, Surrey with support

17 May 1966 – Gala Ballroom, Norwich, Norfolk

21 May 1966 – Ricky Tick, Newbury Plaza, Berkshire (They may have played at Toft’s in Folkestone on this day)

22 May 1966 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey

29 May 1966 – Central R&B Club, Central Hotel, Gillingham, Kent

29 May 1966 – Mister McCoys, Middlesbrough

30 May 1966 – Blues Festival, Quebec Park, East Dereham, Norfolk with Zoot Money & The Big Roll Band, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, The Sullivan James Band and Sounds Reformed

6 June 1966 – Beachcomber, Preston, Lancashire

7 June 1966 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

15 June 1966 – Farnborough Town Hall, Farnborough, Hampshire

16 June 1966 – The Beachcomber, Preston, Lancashire

20 June 1966 – Atlanta Ballroom, Woking, Surrey

21 June 1966 – Balliol Commem, Balliol College, Oxford University with The Kinks, The Fortunes, The Alan Price Set, Them, Caribbean All-Steer Band and Bunny Thompson

25 June 1966 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London

26 June 1966 – Beachcomber, Nottingham

27 June 1966 – The Hop, Woodhall Community Centre, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire

28 June 1966 – Civic Hall, Grays, Essex

29 June 1966 – Orford Cellar, Norwich, Norfolk

30 June 1966 – Club a Go Go, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear

Photo courtesy of Buddy Beadle

1 July 1966 – Corn Exchange, Newbury, Berkshire

2 July 1966 – Marcam Hall, March, Cambridgeshire

3 July 1966 – Black Prince Hotel, Bexley, southeast London

5 July 1966 – Odeon Ballroom, Holywell Cross, Chesterfield

6 July 1966 – Corn Exchange, King’s Lynn, Norfolk

7 July 1966 – Civic Hall, Guildford, Surrey

8 July 1966 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London and Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London

9 July 1966 – Burton’s, Uxbridge, west London

10 July 1966 – Iron Curtain, St Mary’s Cray, southeast London

11 July 1966 – Court Youth Centre, South Ockendon

12 July 1966 – Bristol University, Bristol

14 July 1966 – Ricky Tick, Windsor, Berkshire

15 July 1966 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with The Mark Barry Group

16 July 1966 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with 5 Proud Walkers

17 July 1966 – Dereham Tavern Club, Dereham, Norfolk with The Style

 

Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band #2

(July 1966-August 1966)

 

Geno Washington – lead vocals

Peter Gage – lead guitar, vocals

Geoff Pullum (aka Jeff Wright) – organ, vocals

Rick Parsons – bass

Lionel ‘Rocky’ Kingham – tenor saxophone

Buddy Beadle – baritone saxophone

Herb Prestidge – drums

The short-lived line-up with Rick Parsons (striped shirt), Fabulous 208, 20 August 1966 issue

John Roberts (aka Robbo to the group) had contracted TB earlier in the year and had spent six months in a clinic in Warwick. During his absence, Gage asked his friend John Baldwin (aka John Paul Jones) to cover initially on condition that Roberts would regain his place when he was better.

Rick Parsons, who had previously played with The Noise, was announced as the new bass player in the music press on 16 July but did not stay long. He joined after seeing an advert in Melody Maker and had also been a member of The Pitmen from West London.

When Parsons’s replacement Peter Carney (see later entry) proved to be an excellent bass player, it became clear that John Roberts would not re-join and he went on to play with Jimmy James & The Vagabonds where he reunited with Herb Prestidge and Lionel Kingham.

Selected gigs:

18 July 1966 – Atlanta Ballroom, Woking, Surrey (billed as Ram Jam Band)

19 July 1966 – Town Hall, High Wycombe, Bucks

21 July 1966 – Ricky Tick, Stoke Hotel, Guildford, Surrey

22 July 1966 – Youth Centre, Stanford-Le-Hope, Essex

23 July 1966 – Toft’s, Folkestone, Kent

24 July 1966 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey (billed as Ram Jam Band)

26 July 1966 – Civic Hall, Grays, Essex

25 July 1966 – Majestic Ballroom, Reading, Berkshire

26 July 1966 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

28 July 1966 – Ricky Tick, Harpenden Town Hall, Herts

29 July 1966 – Blues Festival, Windsor, Berkshire

30 July 1966 – Burton’s, Uxbridge, west London

31 July 1966 – Ricky Tick, Hounslow, west London

 

3 August 1966 – Orford Cellar, Norwich, Norfolk

4 August 1966 – Ricky Tick, Bedford Corn Exchange, Bedford, Bedfordshire

5 August 1966 – Starlite, Greenford, west London

 

Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band #3

(August 1966-February 1967)

 

Geno Washington – lead vocals

Peter Gage – lead guitar, vocals

Geoff Pullum (aka Jeff Wright) – organ, vocals

Peter Carney – bass, vocals

Lionel ‘Rocky’ Kingham – tenor saxophone

Buddy Beadle – baritone saxophone

Herb Prestidge – drums

 

West Londoner Peter Carney had a long pedigree, having started out with Ealing band, The Krewsaders in 1962. After played with The Flexmen and touring Poland with The London Beats, he joined Tony Knight’s Chessmen in late 1965.

The new bass player remembers that his first outing with the band was a live radio session at BBC Radio 1 with Herman’s Hermits at the Playhouse Theatre in central London.

This line up was responsible for recording (albeit it with a studio bass player) a lone single, “Michael (The Lover)” backed by arguably the group’s best outing, the Pete Gage/Geno Washington co-write “(I Gotta) Hold On To My Love” (Piccadilly 7N 35359) in January 1967 (a UK #39 hit).

Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band also cut two tracks – “Always” and Pete Gage’s “If I Knew”, which appeared on the EP “Hi!” (Piccadilly NEP 34054), also released in January 1967.

For the “If I Knew” session, Geno Washington learnt the song from a demo sung by Ebony Keyes (aka Kenrick Des Etages). Gage says that the group may have also cut “Never Like This Before” at the same session and that they definitely recorded two songs – “Tell It Like It Is” and “Girl I Want To Marry You”, which were held back and later released as a single (Piccadilly 7N 35403) during September 1967.

While producer John Schroeder preferred to use a session bass player for the studio sessions, Peter Carney did feature on the band’s live recordings and he appears on the debut LP Hand Clappin’, Foot Stompin’, Funky Butt…Live! recorded live at Pye’s Marble Arch Studios with an invited studio audience. The LP broke the UK Top 5 and stayed on the charts for 38 weeks.

Photo courtesy of Buddy Beadle

Selected gigs:

6 August 1966 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London with The Gass

7 August 1966 – Winter Gardens, Bournemouth, Dorset with Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band, The Alan Price Set and The Train (Moon’s Train?)

8 August 1966 – The Hop, Woodhall Community Centre, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire

12 August 1966 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle Upon Tyne

13 August 1966 – Elizabeth Club, Glasgow, Scotland

14 August 1966 – Carousel Club, 1 Camp Road, Farnborough, Hants. Beat Instrumental has the band in Scotland on this date

16 August 1966 – Blue Lagoon, Newquay, Cornwall

17 August 1966 – Falcon Hotel, Eltham, Kent

18 August 1966 – Ricky Tick, Stoke Hotel, Guildford, Surrey

19 August 1966 – Ricky Tick, Newbury Corn Exchange, Newbury, Berkshire

20 August 1966 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester

21 August 1966 – Mojo Club, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

24 August 1966 – Carousel Club, Farnborough, Hants

25 August 1966 – Ricky Tick, Harpenden Town Hall, Harpenden, Hertfordshire

26 August 1966 – Ricky Tick, Hounslow, west London

26 August 1966 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London (needs confirmation)

27 August 1966 – Ricky Tick, Windsor, Berkshire

28 August 1966 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London

29 August 1966 – ABC Promotions, Heacham Festival, Norfolk with The Birds, The Small Faces, The Herd, The Versions and The Breed

29 August 1966 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London (needs confirmation)

30 August 1966 – Burton’s, Uxbridge, west London

 

2 September 1966 – Il Rondo, Leicester

3 September 1966 – Sunshine Floor, Dereham Tavern, East Dereham, Norfolk

4 September 1966 – Country Club, Kirklevington, North Yorkshire

5 September 1966 – Majestic Ballroom, Reading, Berkshire

6 September 1966 – Civic Hall, Grays, Essex

7 September 1966 – Bromel Club, Bromley Court Hotel, Bromley, southeast London

8 September 1966 – Public Hall, Epping, Essex

9 September 1966 – Beat Festival, Scunthorpe United Football Ground, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire with Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas, The Troggs, The Creation, The Mindbenders and The Fenmen

9 September 1966 – Tiles, Oxford Street, central London with The Equals

25 September 1966 – Carousel Club, 1 Camp Road, Farnborough, Hants

27 September 1966 – Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, north London

28 September 1966 – Orford Cellar, Norwich, Norfolk

29 September 1966 – Public Hall, Harpenden, Hertfordshire

30 September 1966 – Ricky Tick, Newbury Corn Exchange, Newbury, Berkshire

Photo courtesy of Buddy Beadle. The band onstage late 1966 with new bass player Peter Carney

1 October 1966 – Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, Essex

2 October 1966 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London

5 October 1966 – Ricky Tick, Hounslow, west London (Fabulous 208 says Bedford)

6 October 1966 – Dorothy Ballroom, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

7 October 1966 – Chelmsford Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, Essex

7 October 1966 – Freshers Dance, Stratford Town Hall, Stratford, east London with Zoot Money and His Big Roll Band

8 October 1966 – Grantham Drill Hall, Grantham, Lincolnshire with Broodly Hoo and Le-gay

9 October 1966 – Burlesque Club, Leicester

9 October 1966 – Starlite, Greenford, west London

10 October 1966 – Majestic Ballroom, Reading, Berkshire

12 October 1966 – Bromley Court Hotel, Bromley, London

13 October 1966 – Ricky Tick, Stoke Hotel, Guildford, Surrey

14 October 1966 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire

16 October 1966 – Black Prince Hotel, Bexley, southeast London

17 October 1966 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey

18 October 1966 – Ricky Tick, Aylesbury Borough Assembly Hall, Aylesbury, Bucks

18 October 1966 – Public Hall, Harpenden, Hertfordshire

Image may be subject to copyright

20 October 1966 – Finsbury Park, north London with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

21 October 1966 – Odeon, Birmingham with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

22 October 1966 – Odeon, Leeds, West Yorkshire with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

23 October 1966 – Gaumont, Doncaster, South Yorkshire with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

25 October 1966 – Odeon, Manchester with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

26 October 1966 – Odeon, Liverpool with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

27 October 1966 – Gaumont, Sheffield, South Yorkshire with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

28 October 1966 – Colston Hall, Bristol with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

29 October 1966 – Odeon, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

31 October 1966 – Gaumont, Southampton, Hants with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

1 November 1966 – Odeon, Bolton, Greater Manchester with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

2 November 1966 – ABC, Carlisle, Cumbria with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

3 November 1966 – Odeon, Glasgow, Scotland with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

4 November 1966 – Odeon, Newcastle upon Tyne with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

5 November 1966 – Gaumont, Hanley, Staffordshire with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

6 November 1966 – Odeon, Leicester with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Eyes of Blue

10 November 1966 – New Yorker Discotheque, Swindon, Wiltshire

11 November 1966 – Ricky Tick, Windsor, Berkshire

12 November 1966 – Toft’s, Folkestone, Kent

13 November 1966 – Starlite, Greenford, west London

18 November 1966 – Ricky Tick, Hounslow, west London

22 November 1966 – Ricky Tick, Bedford Corn Exchange, Bedford, Bedfordshire

23 November 1966 – Carousel Club, 1 Camp Road, Farnborough, Hants

24 November 1966 – Bowes Lyon House, Stevenage, Herts with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Mood Indigo

25 November 1966 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London

26 November 1966 – Personal appearance by the band at Record Wise, Windsor, Berkshire

26 November 1966 – College of Technology, Loughborough

26-27 November 1966 – King Mojo, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

30 November 1966 – Orford Cellar, Norwich, Norfolk

 

1 December 1966 – Links International Club, Maxwell Park Youth Centre, Borehamwood, Herts (Simon Gee research)

2 December 1966 – Clouds, Derby with Cassie, Sandy & Sindy and The Makin’ Sounds

4 December 1966 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London

6 December 1966 – College of Technology, Headington, Oxfordshire

7 December 1966 – ABC Promotions, Public Hall, Heacham, Norfolk with The Versions

8 December 1966 – Club A-Go-Go, Newcastle Upon Tyne

9 December 1966 – Durham University, Durham with Jimmy James & The Vagabonds (also billed to play Chelmsford this day)

9 December 1966 – Chelmsford Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, Essex with The Mooch

10 December 1966 – Ricky Tick, Windsor, Berkshire

12 December 1966 – Majestic Ballroom, Reading, Berkshire

13 December 1966 – Top Rank, Watford, Hertfordshire

14 December 1966 – Farnborough Town Hall, Farnborough, Hants

15 December 1966 – Reading University, Reading, Berkshire with Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band

16 December 1966 – Tiles, Oxford Street, central London

17 December 1966 – Ricky Tick, Hounslow, west London

Image may be subject to copyright

18 December 1966 – Saville Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue, central London with Creation and Sounds Incorporated

20 December 1966 – Burton’s, Uxbridge, west London

21 December 1966 – Town Hall, High Wycombe, Bucks

22 December 1966 – Ricky Tick, Guildhall, Southampton, Hants with Jimmy James & The Vagabonds

23 December 1966 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London

24 December 1966 – Ricky Tick, Newbury Plaza, Berkshire

26 December 1966 – Tavern Club, Dereham, Norfolk with The Summer Set and The Eyes of Blonde

30 December 1966 – Ricky Rick, Windsor, Berkshire

30 December 1966 – Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, north London with Cream and The Alan Bown Set

31 December 1966 – Glenlyn Ballroom, Forest Hill, southeast London

 

1 January 1967 – Ritz, Bournemouth, Dorset

2 January 1967 – Bluesville, Ipswich, Suffolk

3 January 1967 – Ricky Tick, Bedford, Bedfordshire

4 January 1967 – Club Cedar, Birmingham

6 January 1967 – Bluesville ’67, Manor House, north London

7 January 1967 – Burton’s, Uxbridge, west London

14 January 1967 – Starlight Ballroom, Boston Gliderdrome, Boston, Lincolnshire with The Symbols, The Nightbeats, Ray Bones and Frank & Keith

17 January 1967 – Winter Gardens, Malvern, Worcestershire

19 January 1967 – Bird Cage, Eastney, Hants

20 January 1967 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with Force Four

21 January 1967 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester

24 January 1967 – Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Wales

25 January 1967 – Ricky Tick, Newbury, Berks (also have Borough Assembly Hall, Aylesbury, Bucks today)

26 January 1967 – Ricky Tick, Guildhall, Southampton, Hants

27 January 1967 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London

28 January 1967 – Gaeity, Ramsey, Cambridgeshire

29 January 1967 – Ricky Tick, Hounslow, west London

 

3 February 1967 – Leicester University, Leicester

4 February 1967 – Winter Gardens, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset

5 February 1967 – Starlite Ballroom, Greenford, west London

5 February 1967 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London

6 February 1967 – St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, Norfolk

7 February 1967 – Town Hall, High Wycombe, Bucks

10 February 1967 – Dancing Slipper, Nottingham

10 February 1967 – Orford Cellar, Norwich, Norfolk

11 February 1967 – Ricky Tick, Thames Hotel, Windsor, Berkshire

12 February 1967 – Blue Moon, Hayes, west London

14 February 1967 – Ritz Ballroom, Bournemouth, Dorset with The Living Trust

16 February 1967 – Ricky Tick, Newbury Plaza, Berkshire

17 February 1967 – Crystal Bowl Ballroom, Castleford, West Yorkshire with Root & Jenny Jackson & The High Timers and The Screen

17 February 1967 – Boulevard, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire with Ellisons Hog Line and The Screen

18 February 1967 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester

19 February 1967 – Clouds, Derby, Derbyshire

20 February 1967 – New Cellar Club, South Shields, Tyne & Wear

23 February 1967 – New Yorker Discotheque, Swindon, Wiltshire

24 February 1967 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London

25 February 1967 – University College, Gower Street, central London

26 February 1967 – Dereham Tavern, Dereham, Norfolk with The Rubber Band

 

1 March 1967 – Blue Moon, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

3 March 1967 – Bluesville ’67, Manor House, north London

4 March 1967 – Ricky Tick, Hounslow, west London

5 March 1967 – Starlite Ballroom, Greenford, west London

 

Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band #4

(March 1967-April 1967)

 

Geno Washington – lead vocals

Peter Gage – lead guitar, vocals

Geoff Pullum (aka Jeff Wright) – organ, vocals

Peter Carney – bass, vocals

Lionel ‘Rocky’ Kingham – tenor saxophone

Clive Burrows – baritone saxophone

Herb Prestidge – drums

Pete Gage had been looking to improve the band and had started discussions with Eddie Thornton from Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames about getting a really punchy brass section together. He also planned to use Clive Burrows from The Alan Price Set to arrange the songs instead of writing all of the arrangements himself.

Unhappy about the current situation, Buddy Beadle left to join The Amboy Dukes but would return in June 1968.

Clive Burrows (b. 14 July 1939; d. 7 January 2005), who’d started out with The Wes Minister Five, and had gone to work with Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band before joining The Alan Price Set in 1965, came on-board after a show at Klooks Kleek on 7 March.

The new line up started to cut some live recordings, which appeared on the band’s second LP, Hipsters, Flipsters, Finger-Poppin’ Daddies! (Piccadilly NPL/NSPL 38032). Released in September 1967, the album also featured live tracks by the next version of The Ram Jam Band, and peaked at #8 on the UK charts.

Selected gigs:

9 March 1967 – Winter Gardens, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset

10 March 1967 – Albany Institute, Deptford, Kent with The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and The Lee Hawkins Group

10 March 1967 – Goldsmith College, New Cross, south east London

11 March 1967 – Toft’s, Folkestone, Kent

 

11 March 1967 – ‘Beat Club’ German TV with The Smoke, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who and Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers. This must have been recorded earlier than this date

 

12 March 1967 – Ricky Tick, Hounslow, west London

14 March 1967 – Burton’s, Uxbridge, west London

Photo: Hillingdon Mirror

The Hillingdon Mirror ran a pull out spread with photos in its 14 March 1967 issue

16 March 1967 – Community Centre, Southall, west London

16 March 1967 – Ealing Tech at Seymour Hall, Marble Arch, central London

17 March 1967 – Ricky Tick, Newbury, Berks

21 March 1967 – Burton’s, Uxbridge, west London

21 March 1967 – Goldsmiths College, New Cross, southeast London with The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and The Drovers (possibly the Tuesday evening)

22 March 1967 – Bromel Club, Downham, southeast London

23 March 1967 – Sutton Baths, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire

23 March 1967 – Chelmsford Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, Essex and The Coletrane Union

24 March 1967 – Night Owl, Leicestershire

25 March 1967 – Chelmsford Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, Essex

26 March 1967 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London

27 March 1967 – Baths Hall, Ipswich, Suffolk

28 March 1967 – The Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Amboy Dukes

31 March 1967 – Gaeity Ballroom, Grimsby

 

1 April 1967 – Dreamland, Margate, Kent with Waygood Ellis Zone

3 April 1967 – Majestic Ballroom, Reading, Berkshire (According to Reading Evening Post, this was cancelled as Geno collapsed on stage at the Dreamland)

5 April 1967 – Locarno, Stevenage, Hertfordshire

6 April 1967 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle Upon Tyne

7 April 1967 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with Stacey’s Circle

8 April 1967 – Bird Cage, Eastney, Hants

11 April 1967 – Town Hall, High Wycombe, Bucks (billed to be in Paris this same day)

11 April 1967 – Paris Olympia, Paris, France with The Rolling Stones, The Move and The Clan

13 April 1967 – Ricky Tick, Windsor, Berkshire

14 April 1967 – Brighton Arts Festival, Brighton, West Sussex with Paul Jones, The Move, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Mike Stuart Span and others

15 April 1967 – King Mojo, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

16 April 1967 – Daily Express Record Star Show, Empire Pool, Wembley, west London with Cream, The Move, The Alan Price Set, The Kinks, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, The Troggs, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers and many others

Unhappy about the way the Gunnell brothers were treating the band, Pete Gage challenged the group’s management.

Rik Gunnell took Geno Washington to Paris (most likely on the weekend of 15-16 April) where he encouraged the singer to recruit new musicians to replace the guitarist, Geoff Pullum and Herb Prestidge.

The 16 April gig was most likely Gage, Pullum and Prestidge’s final show (although Disc & Music Echo’s 22 April issue does talk about the band being in France and Georgie Fame coming out to watch).

Gage and Pullum saw a lawyer to see how they could keep The Ram Jam Band name that they had created. However, they soon realised that they could not afford legal representation, especially one that could hope to match the Gunnells’ financial clout.

Herb Prestidge reunited with John Roberts in Jimmy James & The Vagabonds. Geoff Pullum moved into academia and is currently professor of general linguistics and head of linguistics and English language at Edinburgh University.

Pete Gage did production work (including Joe E Young & The Tonicks) initially before playing with Jimmy James & The Vagabonds in 1969. The following year, he formed and ran Dada and then formed and ran Vinegar Joe, recording with both acts.

After doing sessions for artists as diverse as Joan Armatrading, Elkie Brooks and Keef Hartley, he put another version of The Ram Jam Band together in the 1980s before moving into production. He currently resides in Australia.

Sources:

South East London Mercury, Bucks Free Press, Eastern Evening News, Evening Star (Ipswich), Guildford Advertiser, Hayes Gazette, Kent Messenger, Melody Maker, NME, Middlesbrough Evening Gazette, Newcastle Evening Chronicle, Nottingham Evening Post, Dave Allen (Bird Cage gigs), Spencer Leigh (The Cavern, Liverpool), Fabulous 208, Wood Green and Southgate Weekly Herald, Lincolnshire Standard, Essex Chronicle, Crawley Advertiser and Newham, West Ham & East Ham, Barking and Stratford Express, Lynn News, Windsor, Slough & Eton Express.

Huge thanks to Pete Gage, Geoff Pullum, Peter Carney and Tony Coe for helping with the band history. Thanks to Buddy Beadle for the amazing photos.

These websites were also useful for gig info:

www.rockpopmem.com

www.swindonmusicscene.co.uk

www.california-ballroom.info/gigs/

http://manchestersoul.co.uk/TWheel/1966.html

http://dizzytigerstu.proboards.com/thread/880/witch-doctor-1964-1967

http://www.readysteadygone.co.uk/

http://chelmsfordrocks.com/cornexchange.html

Copyright © Nick Warburton. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author. To contact the author, email: Warchive@aol.com

This is a much updated version of the original article which appeared on Strange Brew. Thank you so much Jason for first publishing the article on your site.

 

The Carousel “Girl Maybe You” on It’s a Lemon

Carousel It's a Lemon 45 Girl Maybe YouThe Carousel recorded in Birmingham, Alabama in 1969. Members were:

Carl Williams – lead vocals
Richard Studdard – vocals, keyboards
Ronald Naramore – vocals, guitar
Donny Grace – vocals, bass
Mike Patton – vocals, drums

“Girl Maybe You” and “Gonna Hide My Face” are fast-paced pop originals by Donny Grace. Bob Grove and Unity produced for It’s a Lemon 1002.

Bob Grove ran Prestige Recording Studio in Birmingham, where he had recorded artists for his own Unity Record Company label with its beautiful logo of black and white fists with a dove.

Carousel It's a Lemon 45 Gonna Hide My FaceI know of two releases on Unity, Candy Stanton’s “Now You’ve Got the Upper Hand” / “You Can’t Stop Me” (both written by Bo Fowler and produced by Bob Grove and Richard Dingler), and Underground Euphoria featuring Keisa Brown “What Can I Do About You” / “Let’s Go Back (To Our Little World)”.

The Carousel single came a couple years after these. I assume it was also recorded at Prestige. The Carousel 45 was preceded on the It’s a Lemon label by a hard rock single by The Brood “Virginia Neal” / “The Roach”. The Brood was Dale Aston of the Torquays along with Steve Salord, George Landman and Bobby Marlin.

I suppose there’s another release on It’s a Lemon between the Brood and the Carousel, but so far I haven’t found it.

Anyone have a copy of the It’s a Lemon singles, or a photo of The Brood?

The Deuces Wild from Amarillo “Come Easy Go”

Dueces Wild featured in the Amarillo Sunday News-Globe on May 28, 1967

The Deuces Wild formed in high school in Amarillo, Texas in 1965. They continued at least through 1967 and cut one 45 on their own Deuce Records label, “Hey Little One” / “Come Easy Go”.

Members were:

Mark Fenlaw – lead vocals
Freddy Johnson – bass and vocals
Donnie Rae – lead guitar
Mark Hart – rhythm guitar
Tommy Pena – organ
Bill Hegedus – drums

AY a Go Go: DJ Rick West emceed, and local youngsters were featured in fashion photos by Lonnie Sutherland. Models included Malee Miller, Sally Lewis, Suzanne Thompson, Dennis Coyne, Jane Pangburn, Lynn Hagemeier, David Spooner, Melissa Cox and Susan Elliott.

First mention I can find for the band comes from August 12, 1965, announcing their participation in the Allied Youth’s AY a Go Go at the Amarillo Little Theatre, along with the Illusions, the Windthieves, the Others and the Echoes. I haven’t heard of these other bands.

The group’s ages ranged from 16 to 20 at the time of their 45 release. “Hey Little One” is the Dorsey Burnette song. Freddy Johnson wrote and sang the B-side, “Come Easy Go”. The songs were recorded at Larry Cox Studio on N.E. 24th Street, formerly Ray Ruff’s Checkmate Studio.

On May 28, 1967, the Amarillo Sunday News-Globe ran a feature on the band by Gloria Denko:

Rock ‘n’ Roll Band Cuts First Record

The Deuces Wild started about 2 1/2 years ago …

This week the group joined the ranks of performers on record. Their first release, “Hey, Little One,” on Era, with Mark Hart on the vocal, was produced and reocrded by Larry Cox Recorders, 3412 NE 24th, and hit the airways at KGNC, KPUR, KIXZ and other Panhandle radio stations.

“Come, Easy Go” on the flip side, with Freddie Johnson on the vocal, is an original by Johnson. He wrote the ballad, his first, about two years ago and since has written about 15 others. Johnson said about a third of his songs are ballads and the rest are rock ‘n’ roll.

Deuces Wild Deuce 45 Come Easy Go

The Deuces Wild count their appearance following Paul Revere and the Raiders at an all-city dance last fall as the high point of their career to date…

Bobby Harper, the buyer at Cooper & Melin, has been their manager for the past year …

They have performed … at Amarillo Air Force Base, for groups in Hereford, Spearman, Dumas and Vega, as well as in Amarillo.

The Dueces Wild had a stage show that included black light, a siren-whistle, flashing lights in time with music and a strobe.

This Amarillo group should not be confused with the Deuces Wild from Houston.

continuation of article

John Thomas Blues Band

This short-lived band was formed in Lewisham, southeast London around 1967 and featured:

Ray Marshall (guitar/vocals)

Ronnie Clayden (keyboards/harmonica)

Graham Marshall (bass)

Chris Stevens (drums)

Sax player

The group played regularly on the club scene throughout 1968 and 1969 before Clayden left to join The Kool.

I’d welcome any more information on the group.

Thanks to Ronnie Clayden for band line-up. 

Notable gigs:

27 July 1968 – Blues Scene, Crown, Twickenham, west London

 

30 August 1968 – Maidenhead Rugby Football Ground, Maidenhead, Berks with Pegasus

31 August 1968 – Blues Scene, Crown, Twickenham, west London

 

6 October 1968 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, west London

29 October 1968 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London with Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation

 

2 November 1968 – Chiltern Youth Club, Amersham, Bucks

 

8 December 1968 – Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, north London with Gun, Barclay James Harvest, Arcadium and Marie Rice

 

11 January 1969 – Blues Scene, Crown, Twickenham, west London

21 January 1969 – Boiler House Blues Club, Village Hall, Amersham, Bucks

 

21 February 1969 – Village Hall, Amersham, Bucks

 

29 March 1969 – Carlton Ballroom, Slough, Berks with The New Barons Show Band

15 April 1969 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London with Blossom Toes

 

31 July 1969 – Chiltern Youth Club, Amersham, Bucks

Blodwyn Pig gigs 1969

Photo may be subject to copyright

Guitarist Mick Abrahams formed Blodwyn Pig in his home town Luton, Bedfordshire in the first few weeks of January 1969 after leaving Jethro Tull in early December 1968.

Bass player Andy Pyle had previously been a member of Abrahams’ pre-Jethro Tull group, McGregor’s Engine while sax/flute player Jack Lancaster was from Manchester and was working with the group Sponge when he got the call.

The trio advertised for a drummer and Ron Berg who’d been working with White Rabbit (singer Linda Lewis fronted them at one point) answered and got the job.

In his autobiography, What is a Wommett?, Mick Abrahams says that Blodwyn Pig rehearsed for a week before making their debut at the Cooks Ferry Inn in Edmonton, north London.

Melody Maker lists this as 27 January and notes that the quartet was billed as The Mick Abrahams Blues Band. In fact, Abrahams’ new group was billed under his own name rather than Blodwyn Pig for its first few gigs.

The following is an incomplete gig list of Blodwyn Pig 1969 gigs which are all listed in Melody Maker unless otherwise noted.

I’d welcome any additions. The band is billed as Blodwyn Pig unless noted.

Notable gigs:

27 January 1969 – Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London (debut) Billed as Mick Abrahams Blues Band

Melody Maker’s 1 February issue, page 4, reports the new band and name under its news extra section

1 February 1969 – Van Dike, Plymouth, Devon (Jonathan Hill’s book, Van Dike – The Life & Times of a Plymouth Club 1968-1972). Billed as Mick Abrahams Band

7 February 1969 – Bedford College, Regent’s Park, central London with Chicken Shack. Billed as Mick Abrahams Band

9 February 1969 – Kimbells, Southsea, Hants (Blodwyn Pig concert Wiki site)

11 February 1969 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London (Blodwyn Pig concert Wiki site)

13 February 1969 – Red Lion, Leytonstone, east London. Billed as Mick Abrahams

Image may be subject to copyright

21 February 1969 – Blues Loft, Nag’s Head, High Wycombe, Bucks (Bucks Free Press)

Melody Maker’s 22 February issue, page 6, says the band made its Marquee debut last week but I have not found a listing elsewhere. Monday night (17 February) was audition night so this is the possible date

22 February 1969 – Mothers, Erdington, West Midlands with Keef Hartley

 

3 March 1969 – Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London. Billed as Mick Abrahams

Image may be subject to copyright

15 March 1969 – London College of Printing, Elephant & Castle, south London with Chicken Shack and Jellybread. Billed as Mick Abrahams Band

18 March 1969 – Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield, South Yorkshire with Fleetwood Mac (Blodwyn Pig concert Wiki site)

Image may be subject to copyright

22 March 1969 – Mothers, Erdginton, West Midlands with Led Zeppelin

28 March 1969 – Hornsey Wood Tavern, Hornsey Wood, north London. Billed as Mick Abrahams Blodwyn Pigg

29 March 1969 – The Village, Dagenham, east London with Killing Floor and Yellow Dog. Billed as Mick Abrahams

 

2 April 1969 – Rambling Jack’s Blues Club, the Railway Hotel, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts (Steve Ingless’ book The Day Before Yesterday – Rock, Rhythm and Jazz in the Bishop’s Stortford area from 1957 to 1969)

15 April 1969 – Fishmonger’s Arms, Wood Green, north London. Billed as Mick Abrahams Blodwyn Pig

18 April 1969 – The Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Circus (Tony Bacon’s book, London Live/Melody Maker)

19 April 1969 – London College of Printing, Elephant & Castle, south London with Climax Chicago Blues Band and Smiley

20 April 1969 – Mothers, Erdington, West Midlands with Dr K’s Blues Band

21 April 1969 – King’s Hall, Romford, east London (Blodwyn Pig concert Wiki site)

22 April 1969 – Bluesville ’69 Club’s Cherry Tree, Welwyn Garden City, Herts

23 April 1969 – Blues Loft, Nag’s Head, High Wycombe, Bucks (Bucks Free Press)

25 April 1969 – Northern Poly, Holloway Road, north London with Elmer Gantry

28 April 1969 – Wall City Jazz Club, Quaintways, Chester, Cheshire with Frankie & The Countdowns and Shady Lane (Liverpool Echo) Billed as Mick Abrahams Blues Band

29 April 1969 – The Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London (Tony Bacon’s book, London Live/Melody Maker)

Image may be subject to copyright

9 May 1969 – Bedford College, Regent’s Park, central London with Free

10 May 1969 – Luton College of Technology Students’ Union, Luton, Beds with The Spirit of John Morgan and Mechanical Bird (Blodwyn Pig concert Wiki site)

20 May 1969 – The Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Grail (Tony Bacon’s book, London Live/Melody Maker)

Image may be subject to copyright

30 May 1969 – The Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Sam Apple Pie (Tony Bacon’s book, London Live/Melody Maker)

 

2 June 1969 – Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London

4 June 1969 – Railway Hotel, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts (Blodwyn Pig concert Wiki site)

11 June 1969 – Blues Loft, Nag’s Head, High Wycombe, Bucks

13 June 1969 – Town Hall, Birmingham, West Midlands with Led Zeppelin and Liverpool Scene (Blodwyn Pig concert Wiki site)

15 June 1969 – Free Trade Hall, Manchester with Led Zeppelin and Liverpool Scene (Blodwyn Pig concert Wiki site)

16 June 1969 – The Pavilion, Bath (Poster) Billed as Mick Abraham’s Blodwyn Pig

20 June 1969 – City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear with Led Zeppelin and Liverpool Scene (Blodwyn Pig concert Wiki site)

22 June 1969 – Mothers, Erdington, West Midlands with The Taste

25 June 1969 – Derwent College, York, North Yorkshire with Bonzo Dog Band, John Mayall, Ronnie Scott & His Band, Eclection and Alexis Korner & Invaders Steel Band (Blodwyn Pig concert Wiki site)

26 June 1969– Guildhall, Portsmouth, Hants with Led Zeppelin and The Liverpool Scene (Blodwyn Pig concert Wiki site)

27 June 1969 – The Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Groundhogs (Tony Bacon’s book, London Live/Melody Maker)

28 June 1969 – Bath Festival of Blues, Recreation Ground, Bath with Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, John Mayall, Chicken Shack, Nice, Ten Years After and many, many others. Billed as Mick Abraham’s Blodwyn Pig

29 June 1969 – Albert Hall, Knightsbridge, central London with Led Zeppelin and The Liverpool Scene. Billed as Mick Abraham’s Blodwyn Pig

30 June 1969 – Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London

 

6 July 1969 – Farx, the Northcote Arms, Southall, west London. Billed as Mick Abraham’s Blodwyn Pig

11 July 1969 – The Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Andromeda (Tony Bacon’s book, London Live/Melody Maker)

Image may be subject to copyright

11 July 1969 – Brunel University Students’ Union, Brunel University, London with The Soft Machine, Aaardvark and Good Earth. Billed as Mick Abraham’s Blodwyn Pig

14 July 1969 – Friars, Aylesbury, Bucks (Bucks Free Press)

25 July 1969 – The Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Circus (Tony Bacon’s book, London Live/Melody Maker)

 

2 August 1969 – Torquay Town Hall, Torquay, Devon (Torbay Express and South Devon Echo) Billed as Mick Abraham’s Blodwyn Pig

5 August 1969 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London with Wine

Melody Maker’s 9 August issue, p12, has a good write up entitled ‘Blodwyn Pig continue with the heavy sound’.

Photo: Possibly Gloucester Citizen. Image may be subject to copyright

9 August 1969 – Malvern Winter Gardens, Malvern, Worcestershire with Clouds (Poster)

10 August 1969 – 9th National Jazz, Pop, Ballads & Blues Festival, West Drayton, west London with The Nice, Family, Keef Hartley, Steamhammer and many others. Billed as Mick Abraham’s Blodwyn Pig

15 August 1969 – The Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Grail (Tony Bacon’s book, London Live/Melody Maker)

20 August 1969 – Rambling Jack’s Blues Club, the Railway Hotel, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts (Steve Ingless’ book The Day Before Yesterday – Rock, Rhythm and Jazz in the Bishop’s Stortford area from 1957 to 1969) Concert was cancelled due to summer recess

22 August 1969 – Blues Loft, Nag’s Head, High Wycombe, Bucks (Bucks Free Press)

25 August 1969 – King’s Hall, Romford Market, Romford, east London

29 August 1969 – The Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Samson (Tony Bacon’s book, London Live/Melody Maker)

Melody Maker’s 30 August issue, page 24 notes that the band missed some dates because Ron Berg was ill

 

16 September 1969 – Mothers, Erdington, West Midlands with King Crimson

18 September 1969 – Social Club, Aylesbury, Bucks

21 September 1969 – Farx, the Northcote Arms, Southall, west London. Billed as Mick Abrahams Blodwyn Pig

22 September 1969 – The Village of the Damned Blues Club, Aurora Ballroom, Brompton, Gillingham, Kent with support (Poster)

26 September 1969 – King’s Hall, Romford, east London with Stone The Crows

Image may be subject to copyright

29 September 1969 – Dunstable Civic Hall, Dunstable, Beds with Jesse Harper

30 September 1969 – The Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Ground (Tony Bacon’s book, London Live/Melody Maker)

 

The Wild Prophets from Ames, Iowa

Wild Prophets Kustom 45 Can't Stop Loving YouThe Wild Prophets came from Ames, Iowa, about 35 miles north of Des Moines. They recorded one single on Kustom Records, Ltd ARS-1001, an energetic version of the Last Word’s “Can’t Stop Loving You” backed with “Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It”, a Neil Young original with the Buffalo Springfield.

The lineup at the time of the record was:

Ted Nunemaker – vocals
Keane Bonath – sax
Ken Wood – guitar
Roy Aasen – keyboard
Larry Kelley – bass and vocals
Andy Gielbelstein – drums

Mark Miller signed the label of the record, but he replaced Ken Wood on guitar after the record was made.

Earlier members included Jacque Furman and Ralph Stevens on drums, Ray West on keys.

Later members included Ron Arends on keys and Scott Erickson.

Larry Kelly wrote to me:

I had a few groups in high school. My first band I joined was the Mystics – the first combo at Boone High School. I left that group and started my own band called the Tel-Stars. In ’65 I left that band and got married.

In ’66 I started organizing a new band and we came up with the name The Wild Prophets – Ken Wood, Ray West, Jacque Furman and I. We did things like play guitar/bass behind our heads, lay down on the floor playing, etc. That’s where the ‘wild’ came from in the name. We went thru various other musicians when Ray left. Jacque left and Ralph Stevens played drums. He left in time and Andy took over. When Andy left, Randy Stultz took over on drums.

The recording came about with Ken, Keane Bonath, Ted Nunemaker (both Keane and Ted were ISU students at the time), Andy on drums, and Roy Aaesen played keys. We found the two songs we wanted to do and Ted sang lead on the slow song, me on “Can’t Stop Loving You” which was a Buffalo Springfield flip-side song from their hit, “For What It’s Worth”. But “Can’t Stop” was too slow so we sped it up a bit!

We had a school bus we fixed up to travel in along with the name of the band on each side in big letters. In ’69, we bought over $10,000 worth of new band equipment which today would be more like $80-100k. So many stories, too numerous to tell.

The Wild Prophets recorded at Audiosonic Recording Studio in Ames, and the record saw release in 1969.

Wild Prophets Kustom 45 Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It

According to the informative Boone Rock website, the band played “in Mason City. The Cellar in Ames was a favorite with a good crowd in attendance every time. Other venues they performed at include the Starlite in Carroll, the Pla-Mor in Fort Dodge, the Dance-Mor in Swisher, RJ’s Lounge in Marion.”

The Wild Prophets broke up in 1973. Jacque Furman continued in music, but I have few details other than playing with Cris Williamson and Glen Yarborough.

Ted Nunemaker died on Dec. 14, 2008.

Thank you to Larry Kelley for correcting the spelling of names.

Some information from http://members.iowatelecom.net/thx1136/pages/prophets.html (currently offline).

I can find a few other Audiosonic Recording Studio credits, such as:

Ted Hart – “Down in the Mine” / “I Don’t Need You Anymore” (both by Don Taft and J.T. Schreiner), produced by J.T. Schreiner on Leslie LR 72068 from 1968.

Syndrum of Soul ‎- “Lost and Found” (Gary French, Floyd Brown) / “Do You Care” on SOS 100, produced by M. Harper, from 1970.

The Coachmen from Memphis, Tennessee

The Coachmen, from left: Sam Brough, Glen Cammack, Tommy Burnett (sitting) and Rick Allen, “backstage at the Mid-South Coliseum after a Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs gig.”
Photo from Ron Hall’s essential “The Memphis Garage Rock Yearbook 1960-1975”

Coachmen Gold Standard 45 I'll Never Leave You

The Coachmen are not well-remembered now, but were a significant band in Memphis in 1965. They played at the premier of Help at the Loews Palace Theatre with the WMPS Good Guys. They had one single on Gold Standard 155, “I’ll Never Leave You” / “Possibility”.

Members were:

Tommy Burnett – vocals
Sam Brough
Glen Cammack
Rick Allen

“I’ll Never Leave You” is good upbeat pop. Copyright registration from August, 1965 shows Larry Hill and Rusty Taylor (as Roland Parker Taylor) as co-writers. Rusty Taylor was vocalist with the Yo-Yo’s (the Swingin’ Yo-Yo’s) and later had two solo singles on the M.O.C. label. The Coachmen single preceded the Yo-Yo’s singles on Goldwax.

“Possibility” is a Stan Vincent composition which had been done by the Crowns on Old Town Records in 1964.

Gold Standard owner Zeke Clements produced, and the labels credit “The Coachmen (from Memphis, Tenn)” and “vocal by Tommy Burnett”.

Rusty Taylor and Larry Hill registered another composition “I Know”, in October, 1965, also with Blazon Music.

The Combustibles “Watch Her” from Bombay, India

Combustibles Polydor 45 Watch HerThe Combustibles came from Bombay, India, and recorded “Watch Her” / “Some Peace of Mind” in 1970. Vocalist Everett Perry wrote both songs. “Watch Her” has vocals and rhythm that reminds me somewhat of the Velvet Underground. The songs saw release as Polydor 2067 020 in 1971.

Members on the single were Everett Perry on lead vocals, brothers George Taylor on bass and Lionel Taylor on lead guitar, Nissim Ezekiel on rhythm, and Bobby Furtado on drums.

The group participated in the Simla Beat contests in 1968 and 1969 and did well, but unfortunately those years did not see LP releases like the ’70 and ’71 contests. I would like to have heard that band at that stage, as the group had a partly different lineup, which included Christopher Valles on lead guitar and Croyden Maben on drums.

The Combustibles have a great website, www.thecombustiblesband.com with lots of photos and information on the band and the Bombay music scene. I highly recommend taking a look.

Thank you to Jörgen Johansson for providing this copy of the single.

Combustibles Polydor 45 Some Peace of Mind

Betty Simpson “Weeping Willow” and “What Is Love” on Zundak

Betty Simpson and the Argos news clipping

Betty Simpson Zundak 45 What Is Love

Betty Simpson wrote both songs on this teen record on the Zundak label out of Alexandria, Louisiana, northwest of Baton Rouge. “What Is Love” is upbeat, while “Weeping Willow” is a ballad, as you’d expect from the title.

Betty was a teenager when she cut this in 1965. She worked with a band called the Argos, who were Billy Spillman (bass), Steve Smith (drums), Robert Rachel and Stan Rachel (both on guitar). They performed at the La Paloma Lounge south of Alexandria, and Betty also appeared at the Louisiana Bandstand TV show.

Photos and info come from the youtube video below, which has a few more news clippings of Betty:

They recorded the single at La Louisianne studios in Lafayette. Zundak was the label for one of my all-time favorite Louisiana garage 45s, “Baby Get Lost” by the Barracudas.

Milkwood

Milkwood, summer 1969. Left to right: Ron Frankel, Jack Geisinger, Louis McKelvey, Mary Lou Gauthier and Malcolm Tomlinson. Photo: Rosemary White

 

Mary Lou Gauthier (Lead vocals) 

Louis McKelvey (Guitar, Vocals) 

Malcolm Tomlinson (Guitar, Flute, Drums, Lead vocals) 

Ron Frankel (Drums) 

Ronnie Blackwell (Bass) 

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Jack Geisinger (Bass, Vocals) 

This fascinating Anglo-Canadian group was put together by former Influence and Our Generation member Louis McKelvey (b. 31 October 1943, Killorglin, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland) with ex-King Curtis sideman Ron Frankel (b. April 1947, Montreal, Canada).

Frankel had previously played in The Soul Mates (and with his wife Mary Lou Gauthier) in the lounge band, Five of a Kind, who also featured Brian Wray, Brian Edwards and Freddie Gilbert. According to the Montreal Star‘s 7 November 1967 issue, page 4, Five of a Kind played at the King’s Inn in Freeport, the Bahamas that week.

They then joined King Curtis & The King Pins in 1968. (Ed: McKelvey may have met Frankel at the Hawk’s Nest on 23 July 1968 when King Curtis & The King Pins played there).

McKelvey approached Frankel and Gauthier about putting a new band together in September 1968 after leaving Influence, but the group didn’t form properly until early March 1969.

During the interim, McKelvey returned to England for around five months and reunited with his old friend Malcolm Tomlinson (b. 16 June 1946, Isleworth, Middlesex, England), from the early 1960s west London band Jeff Curtis & The Flames.

Jeff Curtis & The Flames, London, 1963. Louis McKelvey (far left) and Malcolm Tomlinson (drums). Photo: Dave Wigginton

Tomlinson was currently playing with Gethsemane (featuring future Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre), and had done a BBC radio session with Elton John in October 1968.

McKelvey and Tomlinson both auditioned for the guitar position in Jethro Tull, but when Barre was offered the place and Gethsemane split up, Tomlinson returned to Toronto with McKelvey around March 1969 to put together Milkwood.

Adding ex-Five Bells bass player Ron Blackwell (b. 27 July 1948, Montreal, Canada), the band played at the Penny Farthing in Toronto in early May. They also played regularly at the Electric Circus.

The band sent a four-track demo to Polydor Records around this time and, according to Billboard, the label signed the band before it had played a single show.

Left to right: Ron Frankel, Jack Geisinger, Louis McKelvey, Mary Lou Gauthier and Malcolm Tomlinson

In mid-June 1969, former Influence member Jack Geisinger (b. March 1945, Czech Republic) joined replacing Ronnie Blackwell in time for sessions at the Hit Factory in New York.

Kicking off on 20 June, the week-long sessions were overseen by famous producer and song-writer Jerry Ragavoy who produced the LP and also played piano on some tracks.

Cashbox, 28 June 1969

While in New York, the band took part in the Polydor Benefit gig at the Village Gate with Dutch band, The Golden Earring on 23 June.

Sessions were completed in July. Members of The Band were at the Hit Factory when the group cut “There’s A Man” and complimented Mary Lou Gauthier on her vocals.

RPM Weekly, 28 July 1969

Back in Toronto, the band signed to the Frederick Lewis booking agency and embarked on Canadian dates.

Meanwhile, the LP was slated for release in September to coincide with an American tour, which never happened.

A disagreement between Milkwood’s manager and Polydor resulted in the LP being shelved. In November 1969 the group split up.

The band’s greatest claim to fame is that it appeared at Toronto’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival concert on 13 September. Although the group wasn’t billed, they performed just before John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band, according to roadie Dave Mandel.

McKelvey and Tomlinson (and later Geisinger) stuck together to work in Damage during 1969-1970.

McKelvey also briefly worked with Powerhouse in late 1970, before retiring from the music business.

Tomlinson later recorded with Rick James and Bearfoot and issued two solo LPs. Geisinger played with Charlee and Moonquake among others.

Frankel later did sessions for Jesse Winchester while Mary Lou Gauthier recorded a solo single, “In The Summertime” c/w “Come Run” for Polydor and later sang with Celine Dion at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Blackwell is a computer consultant and lives in Las Vegas.

Thanks to Carny Corbett for the supplying the image

Malcolm Tomlinson died in April 2016. Louis McKelvey died in November 2017 and Jack Geisinger has also passed away.

Advertised gigs

3 May 1969 – Penny Farthing, Toronto (possibly when Jimi Hendrix dropped in to listen)

25 May 1969 – Rock Pile, Toronto with Kensington Market, Grand Funk Railroad and Leather

 

June 1969 – Electric Circus, Toronto (this is where Rubbott Management spotted them)

21 June 1969 – Rock Pile, Toronto with Brother Brent

Record World, 28 June 1969

23 June 1969 – Village Gate, New York with The Golden Earring

 

18 August 1969 – Penny Farthing, Toronto (Led Zeppelin played this night at the Rock Pile and Robert Plant and John Bonham dropped in at the club afterwards)

 

13 September 1969 – Toronto Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival, Varsity Stadium with John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band, Gene Vincent, Alice Cooper and many others

19 September 1969 – York University, Toronto with Teegarden and Vanwinkle

11 October 1969 – Electric Circus, Toronto

17 October 1969 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto

21 October 1969 – Van Morrison at Le Hibou This may be evening that Mary Lou and Malcolm jumped up on stage

 

14-29 November 1969 – Laugh-In, Montreal, Canada

Many thanks to Louis McKelvey, Mary Lou Gauthier, Ron Frankel, Ronnie Blackwell, David Mandel, Malcolm Tomlinson and Jack Geisinger for information. 

Toronto gigs were taken from the After Four section of the Toronto Telegram. Also Ottawa Citizen and Montreal Star

Copyright © Nick Warburton. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author