The second version of the Blue Crystals, with vocalist Baron Thomas from left: Douglas Maas, George Anderson, Baron Thomas (front center), Don Harris and Don Hite
Baron Thomas & the Blue Crystal’s “Tension” is a song that I never get tired of. The bass gives the song a great propulsion, the drumming sounds fantastic with all the reverb on it, and Baron Thomas’ vocals cut through the hiss of the ride cymbal and the compression of the recording. The two guitars have distinct sounds and roles in the song, and everything comes together so nicely on the chorus, as the finger-picked rhythm switches to slashing chords.
I started looking into the story of the band and found band leader George Anderson’s website, which features a history of the group written by George Gell, which I’ll summarize here.
The Blue Crystals came from Bowling Green, Ohio. They had been the Citations until a new manager, James Farringer had the idea to spray their hair blue and change their name to the Blue Crystals in 1964. The blue hair didn’t last, but the name stuck and they would remain the Blue Crystals for the next four years.
The band at this time were Joe Dill (lead vocals), George Anderson (lead guitar), Don Hite (rhythm guitar), Roger Rauch (bass) and Don Harris (drums). They cut their first record in 1965, “Be Bop a Lula” / ” Hey Baby” at Courier Studios in Fremont, owned by Bob Brown.
By 1966 Joe Dill and Roger Rauch had left, to be replaced by Doug Mass on bass and Byron Thomas, from Toledo, as new lead vocalist.
They went back to Courier in late ’66, recording two originals by George Anderson, a ballad “We’ll Be Thru For Ever” b/w “Tension,” “inspired by a certain girl friend from that time” says George. The band pressed 1,000 copies in January, 1967, selling most of them.
Later that year Don Hite switched to bass after Doug Mass left the band and Dave Brown came in on keyboards and sax. The group continued until the draft broke them up in 1968.
George Anderson continued in music, playing part-time in bands, giving lessons on guitar and performing solo with MIDI backing.
Thank you to Mark Taylor for the great transfer and scan of his autographed copy of the 45. Special thanks to George Anderson for the scans of the clippings and photo.
The original lineup of the Blue Crystals at the Metropole, with vocalist Joe Dill and bassist Roger Rauchleft to right, top: Don Harris, Roger Rauch and Joe Dill; bottom: Don Hite and George Anderson
The What’s New have always fascinated record collectors: mistakenly listed as a Florida band, they released two EPs in France but nothing in the U.S.
Spike Priggen found some great videos of the What’s New performing on French TV and suggested we collaborate on a post, which I put up at Bedazzled last month.
Their story starts with the Yachtsmen, a folk group founded by students at Long Beach City College in 1959. The Yachtsmen became regulars at Disneyland in Anaheim, releasing an LP on Disney’s Buena Vista label (BV-3310), High and Dry with The Yachtsmen in 1961.
On the LP the group were Carl Berg (vocals, guitar), Ray Jordan (vocals, banjo, string bass), Jay Huling (aka Jay Hulingpart, vocals, guitar, bongos), and Bill Reed (vocals, bass). Other members included Kevin Shipman and Mickey Elley.
The Yachtsmen continued performing at Disneyland for the next several years, appearing on another LP, Jack Linkeletter Presents a Folk Festival.
Bud Hedrick and Colin Scot at Coke Corner, photo courtesy Bud Hedrick.
Meanwhile Scot Thistlewaite (stage name Colin Scot) had been playing banjo and guitar with a ragtime duo called Bud and Scotty at Coke Corner in Disneyland, with Bud Hedrick on piano.
Scot was born in the UK, moved to Canada in the late ’50s where he went to Sir Adam Beck Collegiate High School in London, Ontario, then moved to California where he attended Cal State University at Long Beach.
In October, 1965, French chanteuse Line Renaud and her husband Louis “Loulou” Gasté saw the Yatchsmen at Disneyland and brought the group over to Paris in January, 1966.
Kevin Shipman wrote to me about how Scot joined the group:
Scotty was a friend of our folk group The Yachtsmen when we were all at Disneyland. As you have noted in your piece, he and Bud Hedrick played ragtime at Coke Corner.
Some time in December 1965, Line Renaud, the star of the Casino de Paris in Las Vegas, toured Disneyland and saw us performing. Shortly after that we received a call from her representative saying that she wanted us to come to Paris to be second billing in her new show at the original Casino de Paris. We talked about it and decided it would be a great opportunity to live in an amazing place and to re-charge our creative batteries.
One of our guys was finishing up his master’s degree and had just been engaged to be married and he declined to make the trip. We immediately went to Scotty to see if he might be interested. He jumped a foot off the ground and yelled “YES”. Scot had just been called up by the draft board and there was no way he could have been a soldier. He was barely an American having arrived from Canada only a few years earlier and he was a committed pacifist. This would be his way out of that and into a new and exciting chapter.
Scotty was the perfect addition to our group. He spoke French with near fluency – something we were not aware of when we approached him – and he brought a lot of energy and heart to what was to become a folk-rock band. We wanted to break out of the folk music constraints and do original music with power and finesse. All the members were strong musicians with great harmony sensibilities and we could all sing solo. I like to think that we were predecessors of bands like Crosby, Stills and Nash and the Eagles.
The band changed their name to the What’s New though they still look very collegiate performing “Des mots d’amor” with Line Renaud on French TV. [Unfortunately all the excellent videos of the band on French TV have been taken down from Youtube since I first posted this article.]
The What’s New: from left: Jay Huling, Colin Scot, Kevin Shipman and Carl Berg
They recorded their first EP in July, ’66 at Gasté’s own studio in Paris, scoring a French hit with a single version of Gordon Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain”. Their first EP also has their version of Tom Paxton’s “The Last Thing on My Mind” and two songs by Randy Sparks of the New Christy Minstrels, “Huckleberry Finn” and “Driving Wheels”.
Kevin Shipman told me:
We had a hit in France (number one or two depending on who you talk to) with “Early Morning Rain” but we did not have the management we needed. Line Renaud’s husband Lou Lou Gaste liked to think that he was performing those tasks and fended off other true management people who approached him.
One of our best moments was one of our last. We played the premiere music venue in Paris – the Olympia – opening for Michel Polnareff and the Beach Boys [October 25, 1966]. Everyone one who saw the show said that we blew the Beach Boys off the stage. They had great hits but they were weak in live performance.
Their second EP
Their second EP showcases four original songs by Colin Scot, putting a sharp folk-rock sound behind Scot’s plaintive lead vocal and the group’s harmonies. It includes the now-famous “Up So High” (“Got no use for LSD, every time you look at me I’m up so high”) and the excellent “Get Away” which moves from dreamy verse to tough chorus.
The What’s New disbanded in early 1967.
Kevin Shipman explains:
I had decided that I needed to go back and finish my college studies. I was one year away from graduation and I felt that goal slipping away after a year and a half in Paris. Another member was having marital troubles and his wife insisted on returning to the US and her church group. So, we reluctantly parted ways as friends having come very close to the prize but not at the right time.
Scot could not go back to the US having eluded the military and chose to go to England where the music scene was far more vibrant than in France.
Colin Scot became part owner of a nightclub called Kahuna’s Cave in Cala Mayor, Palma de Majorca, and toured the folk circuit in the UK in the late ’60s. In the 1970s he released LPs on United Artists and Warner Bros, with a final single “Mandolin Man” / “Boris” on RCA in 1977. He died in Amsterdam in 1999.
Kevin Shipman:
My wife and I remained close to Scotty over the years and visited him twice in Amsterdam. He came twice to our home at Lake Tahoe and we found all our visits to be both rich in friendship and yet agonizing witnessing his descent in ever-deeper and more virulent alcoholism. I never saw him pass out which was amazing considering how much he drank.
Our last visit from him was in winter of 1999 and he would die a few months later. During that last visit he was not drinking for the first time in his adult life but he was having liver failure. He resumed drinking when he returned home.
Scotty was a beacon and a natural Pied Piper. Everyone loved him and he seemed to love everyone. I can tell you from reading his poetry that he came to view life in a fundamentally dark way. He trusted everyone and was taken advantage of by many. He had no concept of money management and it vaporized in his possession.
Ultimately, his life was very difficult with bright chapters – Disneyland and Paris in particular – and many dark ones. In reflection, it could not have gone any other way. This was Scotty and there was no other life option for him. Music and entertaining was his passion and alcohol was a demon none of us could exorcise from him. Interventions were planned but failed.
Scot’s writing was always a reflection of his life circumstances. The music he wrote during the What’s New period was mostly upbeat. He intensely disliked the dreariness of London and addressed that directly in one of his solo songs. His writing became darker as his circumstances deteriorated and that diminished the appeal of his music for many. I repeatedly encouraged him to lighten up and inject some humor or irony, as he used to do, into his writing rather than hitting us on the nose with what he didn’t like. He preferred the direct approach. Regardless, he was a great talent and a wonderful, sensitive person.
In the end, he should be remembered as a loving, caring, zany bundle of gifts and excesses. His was the life of the clown. Happy on the outside and often tortured within. The day his father Cy called to inform me of his passing I cried. I knew Cy would call with that message before too long so I was prepared for it. But it pained me greatly and it still does. He was one of a kind and he is missed.
Martin Barre (lead guitar, flute) Mick Ketley (keyboards, lead vocals) Bryan Stevens (bass) Malcolm Tomlinson (drums, flute, lead vocals)
1968
August After backing visiting US soul acts as The Noblemen (July-November 1966); working as stax/soul band, The Motivation (November 1966-August 1967); and Mod/psych outfit The Penny Peep Show/Penny Peeps (August 1967-August 1968), the group changes its name to Gethsemane to reflect the burgeoning British blues scene. Soon after, the band’s singer Denny Alexander drops out and keyboard player Mike Ketley and drummer Malcolm Tomlinson assume joint lead vocals.
(11) Barre attends the 8th National Jazz and Blues Festival at Kempton Park, Sunbury, Surrey and catches Jethro Tull, who really impress him. He will audition for the band on a couple of occasions later in the year.
(24) Gethsemane Soul Band play at the Royal Lido in Prestatyn, Wales with The Informers.
(25) Working as a quartet, the band plays one of its first shows as Gethsemane at Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, west London. The band gets an early copy of The Band’s Music From The Big Pink, which is a major influence on Gethesmane’s members. Tomlinson will handle lead vocals on covers of “The Weight” and “Chest Fever”.
(28) Gethsemane play at Eel Pie Island with The Nice and this is the most plausible date.
(31) Billed as Gethsemanie, the band opens the Van Dike Club in Plymouth, Devon with Jethro Tull.
September (9) Geth Semane play at the Aurora Hotel in Gillingham, Kent.
(14) Billed as Geth Semane, the band makes an appearance at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London on a star-studded bill that also includes The Scaffold, David Bowie and Junior’s Eyes. DJ John Peel, who is allegedly a huge fan, records the band’s set and plays it on his radio show the following week.
(18) Gethsemane are hired to participate in a studio session with guitarist Jeff Beck (which most likely takes place on this date) but the session does not go well and is aborted.
(22) Billed as Geth And Semane, the quartet play at the Linden Sports Club in Bournemouth, Dorset.
(28) Gethsemane play at the Stage Club in Oxford.
October (5) Gethsemane support Fleetwood Mac at the Links, Boreham Wood, Hertfordshire.
(7) Billed as Gethsemaney, the quartet appear at Samantha’s in the Langland Bay Hotel in Swansea, South Wales with The Liquid Umbrella.
(16) Billed as Geth Semane, they replace The Keef Hartley Band at Rambling Jack’s Blues Club at the Railway Hotel in Bishop’s Stortford, Herts.
(21) They appear at the Blue Horizon club in the Nag’s Head in Battersea, southwest London.
(23) Billed as Geth Semane, they open for Alan Bown at Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, Middlesex.
(28) Malcolm Tomlinson is hired to back Elton John on a BBC radio session at Agolin Hall. Joined by bass player Boots Slade and guitarist Caleb Quaye, the band records “Lady Samantha”, “Across The Havens” and “Skyline Pigeon”. The three songs are played on BBC radio’s Stuart Henry Show the following week.
November Gethsemane pique the interest of Bee Gees producer Robert Stigwood, who signs them to Dick James Music. The plan is to record an album and the band cuts a version of Elton John’s “Lady Samantha”. They also cut a version of Jack McDuff’s “Grease Monkey” but it is shelved after the album sessions are brought to a close following a disagreement over direction with Stigwood. Incidentally, Alan Gorey from flat mates Hopscotch plays bass and sings on one of the recordings.
(6) Billed as Geth Semane, they return to the Railway Hotel in Bishop’s Stortford, Herts for a show supported by White Mule.
(8) Gethsemane appear at the Industrial Club in Norwich. The advert says that the group has played the Marquee and the Middle Earth in Covent Garden
(11) Billed as Geth Semane, the band appear at the Staffordshire Yeoman, Stafford, Staffordshire
(13) The quartet plays at the Thing-A-Me-Jig in Reading, Berkshire.
(14) Billed as Gethsemany, the band appears at the Club Lafayatte in Wolverhampton, West Midlands with Barmy Barry.
(15) Gethsemane support Jethro Tull at the Hornsey Wood Tavern in Finsbury Park, London. Guitarist Martin Barre will audition unsuccessfully for the guitar spot in Jethro Tull shortly afterwards.
(26) Gethsemane appear at the Crown Hotel, Birmingham with The Redhouse Blues Band.
December (12) Gethsemane open for Pink Floyd at the Dundee College of Art in Dundee, Scotland.
(20) Westminster & Pimlico News‘ 20 December issue reports that Gethsemane have played at the Pheasantry on Kings Road recently. Around this time, the band plays its final show at a college in Brook Green, Hammersmith, having already decided to split up. Terry Ellis from Island Records attends the show and tries in vain to sign the band, but no one is interested. Ellis suggests that Barre audition for the lead guitar spot in Jethro Tull. Stevens sells his bass and uses the money to help finance his studies. He returns to college and later becomes a surveyor. Stevens currently lives in Chiswick. Ketley switches from keyboards to bass and reunites with Tomlinson’s predecessor Bernie Smith in the Southcoast band The Concords. He later becomes senior director at Yamaha Kemble Music UK Limited.
(24) Barre joins Jethro Tull after successfully auditioning a second time. His former band mate Malcolm Tomlinson allegedly also tries out on guitar as does his friend Louis McKelvey, who returned from Canada in July 1968 after playing in Influence. Barre and Tomlinson have visited McKelvey at his Colville Square home near Portobello Market.
(30) Barre makes his debut with Jethro Tull at the Winter Gardens in Penzance, Cornwall.
1969
January After reuniting with Louis McKelvey, who had worked with Tomlinson in the early 1960s Ealing band, Jeff Curtis & The Flames, the drummer leaves the UK with McKelvey and moves to Toronto where they form Milkwood. The band appears at the famous Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival show in September 1969 and record an unreleased LP for Polydor with Jerry Ragavoy producing. Tomlinson will go on to appear on recordings by Jay Telfer, Life, JFC Heartbeat, Rick James & The Stone City Band and Bearfoot among others before issuing two solo albums for A&M in 1977 and 1979 – Coming Outta Nowhere and Rock ‘N’ Roll Hermit. He later sings with The Cameo Blues Band but dies in April 2016.
Sources: The Day Before Yesterday – Rock, Rythmn and Jazz in the Bishop’s Stortford area from 1957-1969 by Steve Ingless, Scila Productions, 1999. Flying Colours by Greg Russo, Crossfire Publications, 2009. The South Coast Beat Scene of the 1960s by Mike Read, Woodfield Publishing, 2001.
Many thanks to Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley, Malcolm Tomlinson, Denny Alexander, Louis McKelvey, Greg Russo and Rosemary White.
Disclaimer: Concert adverts have been sourced from a number of music magazines and regional newspapers listed below. They have been reproduced fairly for research purposes and are not to be copied for any other use.
Live dates sourced from a number of sources including: Melody Maker, Western Evening Herald, Oxford Mail, Wrexham Leader. See other newspapers sources in the comments below.
The Penny Peepshow in 1968, clockwise from centre: Martin Barre, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Mike Ketley and Bryan Stevens
Denny Alexander (lead vocals) Martin Barre (lead guitar) Mick Ketley (keyboards, vocals) Bryan Stevens (bass) Malcolm Tomlinson (drums, vocals)
1967
August Having worked as The Motivation since November 1966, the latest line up returns from London to Bognor Regis to reinvent themselves. Eschewing their stax/soul sound and covers material, the band embraces the burgeoning psychedelic scene while singer Denny Alexander starts to write a batch of strong original material for the band. Initially, The Motivation work under the name The Penny Peepshow.
September (15-16) Having rehearsed the new material at the Shoreline Club in Bognor Regis, The Penny Peep Show begin to gig nationally. One of their first shows takes place at the Gala Ballroom in Norwich, Norfolk with Alex Wilson’s Sect and Chances of Life.
(17) The group travels across to the West Midlands for a concert at the Swan in Yardley with Jigsaw.
(23) The band plays at the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.
(25) The Penny Peep Show appear at the Belfry, Wishaw, West Midlands with Sight and Sound.
(29) The group plays at the Blue Powder Discotheque in Bilston Town Hall, Bilston, West Midlands.
October (7) The band returns to the Birmingham area to play a show at the Penthouse in the city centre with New Zealand band, The Human Instinct.
(14) The Penny Peep Show appears at the Flamingo Ballroom, Penzance in Cornwall with The Circuit Five.
(21) The group appears at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.
(22) The band plays at the Indigo Vat, Southsea, Hampshire.
(26) Billed as The Penny Peeps they play at the Concorde in the Basset Hotel, Southampton, Hampshire.
November (3) Returning to the West Midlands, they play at the Penthouse in Birmingham.
(4) The Penny Peep Show perform at the Ringway Club in Birmingham. Around this time they also play the freshers’ ball at Birmingham University where Bryan Stevens meets his future wife.
(9) The group appears at Carnival Hall, Basingstoke, Hampshire with The Wrong Direction.
(10) Originally booked to play at the Royal Ballrooms in the Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset, The Just Us is listed on the day the Bournemouth Evening Echo is printed. However, they may have played the day before after or before the Basingstoke gig.
(11) The group appears at St Nicholas Chamberlaine School in Bedworth, Warwickshire with The Matadors.
(19) Direct from London The Penny Peep Show appear at the Tudor Club, Mercers Arms in Coventry.
(24) One night at the 76 Club in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
December (1) The Penny Peep Show play at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.
(2) The band appears at Willenhall Baths Assembly Hall, Willenhall, West Midlands with The Bostons.
(3) The musicians return to the south coast and play at the Indigo Vat in Southsea, Hampshire.
(8) The Penny Peep Show play at the Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.
(10) Another show takes place in the West Midlands with the band appearing at the Swan, Yardley with Magazine.
(20) The band performs at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.
(23) The Penny Peep Show play at the Indigo Vat in Southsea, Hampshire.
(25) Through Pete Hockham, formely an agent at Bob Gaitley’s Beat Ballad and Blues Agency in Worthing and now working for the recently deceased Brian Epstein’s North End Music Stores (NEMS) agency, The Penny Peep Show sign to NEMS. They start to perform on the London scene with a show at the popular nightclub, Hatchettes on Piccadilly.
(30) The group appears at the Wellington Club in Dereham, Norfolk with The Special Offer.
1968
January The Penny Peep Show sign a deal with Liberty Records and begin recording over an album’s worth of original material, most of which comprise demos. Alexander has acquired a songwriting contract with Metric Music, which requires him to produce a certain amount of songs in a given period. The band are paid as session musicians to record the demos in a studio behind the Marquee in Wardour Street. A couple of Alexander’s strongest numbers – “Helen Doesn’t Care” and “Into My Life She Came”, the latter featuring Barre on flute, will surface decades later on Rev-Ola’s compilation CD Psychedelic Jumble Volume One in 2007.
(2) Billed as The Penny Peeps, the musicians appear at the Concorde in the Basset Hotel, Southampton, Hampshire.
(5) The band returns to play at the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.
(28) The Penny Peep Show play at the Castaways Discotheque in Birmingham with The Stretch Wilcox Limbo Dancers.
February (2) The Penny Peep Show appear at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.
(8) Billed as The Penny Peeps, the band makes a notable appearance at the 100 Club on London’s Oxford Street with The Mike Stuart Span.
(9) Reverting back to The Penny Peep Show, they travel to Nottingham to play at the Nottingham Boat Club.
(11) The next day, the band appears at the Blue Ball Hotel in Risley, Derby.
(16) Liberty Records releases The Penny Peeps’ debut single, a cover of Les Reed and Barry Mason’s “Little Man With A Stick” backed by Alexander’s mod rocker “Model Village”, which becomes a cult classic and is picked up for various compilation albums over the years, most notably the Rubble CD Acid Drops, Spacedust and Flying Saucers. The band, however, is not happy about the decision to release “Little Man With A Stick”. The musicians had lobbied for “Model Village” to be the A-side, backed by another one of Alexander’s numbers, “Meet Me At The Fair”. The latter track remains unreleased until being picked up by Rev-Ola for Psychedelic Jumble Volume One. Tony Blackburn opens his Radio 1 show every morning with “Model Village” for a week but the single fails to chart.
(17) The Penny Peep Show appears at Framlingham Assembly Hall, Framlingham in Suffolk.
(22) Having changed name to The Penny Peeps, the band is invited to back The Scaffold and perform in its own right at the Dome in Brighton on a bill that also features The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
(25) The band (billed as The Penny Peep Show) play at the Cellar Club, the County, in Blaby, Leicestershire.
(28) Returning to London, the band appears at the Speakeasy on Margaret Street.
(29) The Penny Peeps appear at the Concorde in the Basset Hotel, Southampton.
March(8) The Penny Peeps perform at the Nottingham Boat Club.
(17) The Penny Peeps perform with the Way of Life at the Crown and Cushion Club in Birmingham.
(22) Billed as The Penny Peep Show, they play at the Fiesta Hall, Andover, Hampshire.
(23) The Penny Peeps return to Nottingham for a show at the Beachcomber Club.
(31) The band plays at the Linden Sports Club, Bournemouth, Dorset.
April (3) The Penny Peep Show appear at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.
(20) The Penny Peeps play at the Cobweb, Marine Court, St Leonards, East Sussex, with Tony Rivers & the Castaways.
(25) Billed as The Penny Peep Show, the band appears at Hatchetts Playground in Piccadilly, central London.
May (3) Billed as The Penny Peeps, they perform at the Nottingham Boat Club.
(12) Billed as The Penny Peep Show, they appear at the Forty Thieves, Swinging Discotheque in Coventry.
(18) The Penny Peeps perform at the Walton Hop in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey
(31) The Penny Peep Show appear at the 400 Ballroom in Torquay, Devon
June(6) The group appears at the Summer House, the Portway, Kingswinford, West Midlands.
(15) The Penny Peeps play at the Beachcomber Club in Nottingham.
(16) The band returns to Linden Sports Club, Bournemouth, Dorset.
(21) Liberty Records releases The Penny Peeps’ second single, coupling Alexander’s “I See The Morning” with “Curly, The Knight of The Road” but it fails to chart.
July(2) The Penny Peeps appear at the Concorde in the Basset Hotel, Southampton, Hampshire.
(13) Another show takes place at the Beachcomber Club.
(18) The Penny Peeps appear at Liberal Hall, Yeovil, Somerset with The Knock-Out.
(25) Billed as The Penny Peep Show, the band returns to London for a show at the Hatchetts Playground.
(27) Billed again as The Penny Peep Show, they appear at Leicester Rowing Club with The Trendmen.
(28) Reverting back to The Penny Peeps, they return to the Linden Sports Club in Bournemouth.
August (2) The group are billed to play at the Bag O’ Nails in Kingley Street, Soho, central London around this time (see below) but it’s not certain they appear.
(3) Billed again as The Penny Peep Show, the band appears at the Swan, Yardley, West Midlands with Gilt Edge. Soon after this gig, The Penny Peep Show are playing at a venue where their current set list meets an icy response. Alexander suggests that they play some blues, which goes down a storm. The band decides to move in a blues rock direction and changes name to Gethsemane. Within a week or so, Alexander opts to leave and Ketley and Tomlinson assume joint lead vocals. Alexander will retire from professional playing and try his hand as a trainee publican. Back in Liverpool, he gathers together some friends and records six tracks during 1972. The songs – “Don’t Let It Rain (Wedding Day)”, “Crossroads of Life”, “My Last Goodbye To You”, “I’d Like To Get To Know You Girl”, “Your Alive” and “Babe I Love You” remain unreleased to this day. He subsequently turns his back on the music industry and works in the financial services industry, retiring in the early 2000s.
(4) The Penny Peep Show play at the Walgrave, Coventry.
September (7) Billed as The Penny Peeps they perform (with St John’s Wood) at the Cobweb, Marine Court, St Leonards, East Sussex.
The Penny Peepshow in 1968, clockwise from bottom left: Martin Barre, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Bryan Stevens and Mike Ketley
Sources: Flying Colours by Greg Russo, Crossfire Publications, 2009. The South Coast Beat Scene of the 1960s by Mike Read, Woodfield Publishing, 2001. The Tapestry of Delights Revisited by Vernon Joynson, Borderline Productions, 2006.
Many thanks to Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson and Mick Capewell.
Disclaimer: Concert adverts have been sourced from a number of music magazines and regional newspapers listed below. They have been reproduced fairly for research purposes and are not to be copied for any other use.
Live dates sourced from various sources, including: Melody Maker, Nottingham Evening Post, Birmingham Evening Mail, Evening Argus (Brighton), Eastern Evening News (Norwich), Ipswich Evening Star. Other newspapers sources are listed in the comments below.
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
In Isleworth – Martin Barre, Mike Ketley, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson and Bryan StevensAbove, in Isleworth, left to right: Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Martin Barre (sitting), Bryan Stevens and Mick Ketley
My friend Derek Taylor sent me this batch of photos of a band that he found last year in San Francisco. Written on the back of the two larger photos is “Vandals – Jan 1966” in neat handwriting, plus the band’s name is shown behind the bassist in one shot.
A photo of the bass guitarist similar to the one below was reproduced in a newsletter or yearbook for the St. Ignatius High School (now St. Ignatius College Prepatory) at 37th Ave and Quintara in the Outer Sunset district of San Francisco.
On the back of this clipping is a list of names sporting and events that took place during the four years of that class of ’66 or ’67 with some names (though not of the band) – Vince Spohn, Jim Nevin, Rich Wilpitz, and Den Carter.
Mike Dugo pointed out this was the same group that recorded for Joe Brattesani’s Golden Gate Records – “I Really Want to Want You” b/w “A Reason” and “It’s Like Now Baby” b/w “Wet & Wild” & “Mustang Georgie”
Cosmo Violante – vocals Joe Tarantino – guitar and vocals Nick Paolini – bass and vocals Ned Bawden – keyboards Curt Mellegni – drums
Nick Paolini passed away in 1970.
Bassist Nick PaoliniClipping featuring Nick Paolini from similar photo to the one above
Billboard, November 13, 1965Ivan Amirault sent in these two great ads for Patrician-Anne, who had a single featuring a P.F. Sloan original “Blue Lipstick” b/w “What About Me” on Arc 1113 from late ’65.She also has the great “Changin’ Time” on the CTV After Four LP that is best known for the song “Four in the Morning” by the Quiet Jungle (as the Scarlet Ribbon).
Patrician-Anne was the stage name of Patrician Anne McKinnon, sister of singer and actress Catherine McKinnon, and wife of Brian Ahern, a long-time producer and musician.
Brian had his own groups, the Offbeats and the Badd Cedes, whose song “Dolly Magic” was released on two singles as the Chapter V: Verve Forecast KF5046 with “The Sun Is Green” and again on Verve Forecast KF5057 with “Headshrinker”, all three songs Ahern originals. Brian also played with 3’s a Crowd. More on the Badd Cedes at Nova Scotia Classic Rock.
Patricia often appeared on Frank Cameron’s TV show, Frank’s Bandstand. An Arc LP Do You “Wanna” Dance (The Best of Frank’s Bandstand) has covers of “I Only Want to Be With You” and “As Tears Go By”, credited to Patricia McKinnon, along with a couple songs by the Offbeats, “Wild Weekend” and “Swingin’ Shepherd Blues”.
Patrician-Anne is also featured on various volumes of CBC-TV’s Singalong Jubilee, which I haven’t heard.
Marc Winokur – anyone know him? God Fearin’ Man, recorded at Jack’s Window Studios in West Wardsboro, Vermont
I’ll be selling records this Saturday and Sunday, October 29 & 30 at the WFMU Record Fairin Manhattan. I’ll be at table C-22, towards the back of the room. I’ll be peddling a few rare garage 45s, plenty of LPs, and even some 78s.Please come by and say hello, I’d like to meet any regular readers of the site. If you haven’t been before, please be advised it’s insanely crowded until late in the day.
Chan Romero’s Warrior label from Montana“Jane” by Kostas LazaridesPueblo, Colorado group on a small Montana label!
I’m trying to clear up some of the confusion about the various Warrior labels that existed in Texas, Montana, Louisiana and California.
Let’s start with Chan Romero’s Warrior label from Billings, Montana:
I’ve read that Chan, a one-time Pueblo, Colorado resident best known for writing and recording “Hippy Hippy Shake” owned the Warrior label that released the great single “I Don’t Recall” by the Trolls (also from Pueblo). I was uncertain of this, as a notice in Billboard announcing the formation of Romero’s Warrior label in Billings, Montana came much later – 1971. However, Lisa Wheeler of Pueblo City Limits related that Chan told her he was indeed the owner of Warrior, starting it in Billings as early as 1962.
Stan Campbell on WarriorChan’s Warrior label with horseman logo
Billings, Montana. Chan Romero, owner, circa 1962-1966:
likely incomplete – any help with this would be appreciated Warrior L-128 – Kostas – “Something We Call Love” (C. Romero) / “Jane” (Kostas Lazarides) ( Crooked Rock Music, BMI, 1962 or later) Warrior L-140-1- The Wanderers – “Don’t Pity Me” / “Give Me All You Got” Warrior L-173 – Trolls – “I Don’t Recall” (Richard Gonzales, Warrior Tunes BMI) / “Stupid Girl” (November 1966) Warrior L-219 – Chan Romero – “Lost In Love” / “Billie” (can anyone provide a label scan?) Warrior OV-105 – Stan Campbell – “Any Time” (Happy Lawson) / “Just One More Dance” (Stan Campbell) (date?) Warrior WS-106 – Faith, Hope & Charity – “That’s What the People Said” / “Hey, Hey World” (1971), Warrior WS-114 – Lonnie Bell and the Yellowstone Dudes “The Last Mile” / “Montana Song” Warrior NRF-542 – Chan Romero – “The Best Thing I Ever Had” / “The Fire in My Light” (“recorded in Canada”)
Other Warrior discographies: Any help with these would be appreciated:
Pleasanton, Texas labelsame Texas company as the Dayton Smith 45, but moved 30 miles north to San Antonio with different label design
Pleasanton, Texas and San Antonio. E.J. Henke, owner, 1957-1959. Emil J. Henke would go on to own the Satin label also covered on this site.
Warrior WA 501 – Dayton Smith & the Roving Warriors – “What Will the Answer Be” / “Standing by a Seashore” Warrior WA 502 – Red Hilburn – “Three Words” / “The Rambling Blues” Warrior WA 503 – Opal Jean – “I’ll Never Forget My Kind of Boy” / “I Heard His Heart Break Last Night” (reviewed in Billboard Sept. 30, 1957) Warrior WA 504 – Franklin Smith with Roving Warriors Band – “No Wonder I Wonder” / “A Golden Dream of You” (1957, blue ‘Chief’ label with Pleasanton address) Warrior WA 505 – Jerry Smith – “I Don’t Care What They Say” / “I Couldn’t Win Your Love” (1958) Warrior WA 506 – Al Dean & His All Stars – “Fragile Heart” / “Blue Sky Waltz” Warrior WA 507 – Doug Sahm & the Pharoahs – “Crazy Daisy” / “If I Ever Need You” Warrior WA 508 – Al Dean – “I Shot Billy” / ? (1959)
Hollywood rockabilly label from late ’50s
Hollywood, California, 1959:
Warrior W-1554 – Bobby Lee Trammell – “Open Up Your Heart” / “Woe Is Me” (May 1959) Warrior W-1555 – Curtis Lee – “Pure Love” / “With All My Heart (I Love You)” (1959) Warrior W-1556 – Joey Norman – “King of Fools” / “Heart of Mine” Warrior W-1557 – ? Warrior W-1558 – ? Warrior W-1559 – ? Warrior W-1560 – Frankie Knight – “Unchained Melody” / “Call Me”
Warrior label from North Hollywood
North Hollywood, owned by Tom Sawyer, 1966
Only one release I know of: Warrior W-166 – Our Gang – “Careless Love” (D. Duvall, Huckleberry Music, BMI) / Heartbeat (1966, prod. by Tom Sawyer)
Doesn’t seem to be connected to the earlier Warrior label from Hollywood. Tom Sawyer also had the Trident label. Our Gang were from Buena Park by Los Angeles (info from Mike Markesich). This band Our Gang is not the Colorado Springs group who cut “Rapunzel” / “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”.
Another Warrior label from California
Warrior SM-1007/SM-1008 – Simon T. Stokes “Big City Blues” (Clifton) / “Pow! Zap! (I’m the Bat)” (Murray-Clifton) January 1966, produced by John Herring, Sawtell & Herring Music, ASCAP
Simon Stokes would record several different versions of “Big City Blues”. After the Warrior release, he would cut it for the HBR label (HBR 487) in July of ’66, with new flip “Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction” (Simon Stokes) and arrangement credited to Harold R. Battiste, Jr., and A&R by Larry Goldberg. He made a third version b/w “Cobwebs” on the In-Sound label in 1967, and also released it on MGM K14135 as by Simon Stokes and the Night Hawks, prod. by Michael Lloyd for Voodoo Prod. Stokes was also a member of the Perpetual Motion Workshop (“Infiltrate Your Mind” / “Won’t Come Down” on Rally), the Flower Children (“Mini Skirt Blues” on Castil and Allied) and recorded as Simon T. Stokes & the Nite Hawks on Elektra.
Louisiana: 1001 – Guy Spitale – “Who’s That Woman” (W-101) / “It’s Over Forever” (W-102)
1002 – Guy Spitale – “Returning Your Letters” (W-103 )/ “Scroungy” (W-104) (white label w/ red printing)
Unknown locations: RFF 777 – Ivan X – “Edge of Night” / “Tell Tale Heart”
Special thanks to Westex of Lone Star Stomp, Drunkenhobo, Bob of Dead Wax, Collin Pruit of Inkmathematics, Dave Martens, Kurt Rokitta and Andy for their contributions to these discographies. Thank you to Dominic Welhouse for the Simon T. Stokes scans.
The Kavemen, Dallas 1965 from left to right: Roland Allen, Jimmy Allen, Rodney Vinyard, Tommy Fonseca, Bill Walden & Jerry Colwell
Roland Allen – vocals Jimmy Allen – vocals Rodney Vineyard – lead guitar Tommy Fonseca – rhythm guitar Jerry Colwell – bass Bill Walden – drums
The Kavemen came from the southeastern section of Dallas, Texas. Jerry Colwell had discussed the Kavemen in a longer interview about his career with Kit and the Outlaws and other bands:
Later joined the #1 Dallas band The Cavemen [sic] and played battle of the bands against Jimmy Vaughan and his band, and the Royals and others. In 1965 the Cavemen was the home band for a Night club “Surfers A Go Go” in Dallas, where we played with Chuck Berry, Roy Head, the original Drifters, Jimmy Velvet and Johnny Green and the Greenmen. We played at clubs all over Texas, my favorites were the “Bamboo Hut” in Galveston, and “Panther Hall” in Fort Worth, a televised event every week. We also played at Louanns many times.
As it turns out, they recorded four songs at Sumet Sound Studios which were never released. Carlene Fonseca sent me the songs from their unreleased acetate and passed along this info from her ex-husband Tommy Fonseca:
The band got together first as an instrumental group playing at Twilight Time Skating Rink, in Dallas, TX and playing for high school dances at H. Grady Spruce High School and E. B. Comstock Junior High. Jimmy and Roland Allen were singers and they went to Spruce Hi and heard the band and offered to sing for them.
The recording was done at Summit [Sumet] in Dallas. The recordings were not released. The jumps & skips are because of a defect in the master dub. Tommy said somebody dropped it and it was chipped at the spot where the 1st song was on the 1st side and the 1st song on the flip side.
Rodney Vineyard, the lead guitar, left the group to play with Sunny Satin and the Mysterians. The Kavemen couldn’t find another lead guitar so they broke up. When the studio was ready to release it they declined since the group was no longer together.
Tommy recently spoke to Roland Allen. He lives in Gun Barrel City and he told Tommy that Jimmy had passed away the just the week before. We cannot locate Bill. He was the drummer. Rodney lives in Balch Springs, TX and he still plays for VFW Posts occasionally.
Because of the chip in the lacquer, my favorite song “Can’t You See” suffers from skips and drop-outs for the first thirty seconds. Same with the first song on the second side, “Why”. The other two, “Without You”, and “I Feel the Same” are fine. I’m hoping to get a photo or scan of the acetate labels. Despite the flaws, these are fantastic examples of mid-60s Texas rock ‘n roll!
When updating the page on the State of Mind, I started compiling a list of Chavis releases, looking for more garage type singles.
As it turns out, the State of Mind’s two 45s and the Tree’s “No Good Woman” may have been the only rock singles put out by James Chavis on his Candi, Chavis and Barvis labels out of Wilmington, Delaware. The others listed here are gospel, r&b, doo wop or soul.
Since I haven’t seen a complete discography anywhere else, I’m including what I’ve compiled here:
Candi:
1020: Grand Prees – Jungle Fever (featuring Douglass Pettijohn) / Sit and Cry (featuring Bernice Marsh)
1021: Christian Harmonizers – The Day Has Passed and Gone / The Lord Will Make a Way
1022: Mighty Wonders – God Called Moses / All My Troubles Will Be Over
1023: Silas Phifer & the Mellow Fellows* – Gotta Find My Baby / Edwin Johnson & the Mellow Fellows – You Gave Me Love
1024: Santio’s Premiers and Nat. Miller – She’s Still My Baby / Doggin’ the Twine
1025: Vibra-Tones and George Johnson – I’m Begging You Baby / Willie’s Dream
1026: Empires – Love You So Bad / Come Home Girl (Candi)
1027: Evangelist Mattie Lewis & Travelling Gospelettes – The Lord Is My Shepherd / The Rest of My Days
1028: Eddie Johnson – Mis-Ter Night / I Lost My Linda
1029: Ruth White & the Continentals – Give Us Your Blessings / Dog Time
1030: Humble Gospel Singers – Long Way to the City / The Rest of My Days
1031: Maurice Williams & the Inspirations – The Day Has Come / Never Leave You Again
1032: ?
1033: Empires – You’re On Top Girl
* Mellow Fellows – I’ve read some speculation that this is the same group known as the Mello Souls behind the soul classic “We Can Make It” on the Mello label. Anyone have a scan of that?
Chavis:
1034: Matadors – Say Yes Baby / Carmen I Wish You Were Here
1035: Spidels – Like a Bee / You Know I Need You (1965)
1036: ?
1037: Mighty Wonders – Good News / He Heard Me Cry
1038: State of Mind – Move / If He Comes Back (1966) (CH-2076/7)
1039: ?
1040: ?
1041: State of Mind – Make You Cry / Goin’ Away (1967) (CH-2083)
709: Southern Gate Singers – Somebody’s Always Talking About Me / Laugh Laugh Laugh
710: Miller Family – He Cares for You / I Believe in Jesus (arr. Lee Miller) (CH-1420/1)
730: Mighty Kings of Harmony – I Know a Man / Better World (CH 1460)
7011: Rising Stars – You Need This
7012: Sensational Mighty Wonders – Live On High / A Friend in Jesus (CH 3506/7)
7013: Specializers – Rock of Ages / Oh How I Love Jesus
Barvis:
7010: The Tree – No Good Woman / Man From Nowhere (1967)
125: The Superiors Band and Their Soul Singers – Darling I Love You / Amateur Love
319: The Superiors Band and Their Soul Singers – The Lady Part 1 / The Lady Part 2
Most of the gospel releases were produced by Lee Skinner. James Chavis’ publishing was usually listed with Vandever Music, BMI. Though located in Delaware, Chavis seems to have had some connections in North Carolina, the home of some of his gospel acts, like the Mighty Wonders.
This site is a work in progress on 1960s garage rock bands. All entries can be updated, corrected and expanded. If you have information on a band featured here, please let me know and I will update the site and credit you accordingly.
I am dedicated to making this site a center for research about '60s music scenes. Please consider donating archival materials such as photos, records, news clippings, scrapbooks or other material from the '60s. Please contact me at rchrisbishop@gmail.com if you can loan or donate original materials
Baron Thomas & the Blue Crystal’s “Tension” is a song that I never get tired of. The bass gives the song a great propulsion, the drumming sounds fantastic with all the reverb on it, and Baron Thomas’ vocals cut through the hiss of the ride cymbal and the compression of the recording. The two guitars have distinct sounds and roles in the song, and everything comes together so nicely on the chorus, as the finger-picked rhythm switches to slashing chords.
The What’s New have always fascinated record collectors: mistakenly listed as a Florida band, they released two EPs in France but nothing in the U.S.
(26) Gethsemane appear at the Crown Hotel, Birmingham with The Redhouse Blues Band.
When updating the page on the 