The Piper Club in Via Tagliamento, Rome was arguably Italy’s most famous rock music venue during the Sixties, with headlining acts like The Who (26 February 1967), The Spencer Davis Group (24-25 January 1968), The Small Faces (6-7 March 1968), Pink Floyd (18-19 April 1968) and The Byrds (2 May 1968) performing on its stage.

However, for all its significance in rock music history, there is surprisingly very little detail about the club on the internet and very little in-depth information about the many fascinating groups that performed on its stage between the years 1965-1969. The club grew in popularity in the Seventies and is still going strong today!

Drawing on a large number of sources, I’ve tried to provide a bit more of a timeline below for the Sixties period, but would welcome any information in the comments section at the end from musicians who played or attended the club during those golden years. This is very much a work in progress.

Giancarlo J Flores, an Italian graphic artist, designer and illustrator, has put together a superb webpage on the Piper Club, which provides a wealth of information and is definitely worth exploring. He also notes that during the Sixties, top British acts like The Merseybeats and Procol Harum also played at the club.

According to Flores, the Piper Club was opened by owners Albergio Crocetta (a lawyer) and entrepreneur Giancarlo Bornigia on 17 February 1965.

Bass player Bryan Stevens, who played the Piper Club twice, the first time in October 1965 with Beau Brummell & The Noblemen and the second time in March/April 1967 with Motivation, remembers that the club was an abandoned cinema that had been converted into a high-vaulted, large auditorium. He recalls that the two stages were set high up at one end and the under-floor lit dance floor was surrounded by tables with a full width bar at the other end.

This excellent CD lists some of the bands that played at the Piper Club. This website also has some great material on the club.

Giancarlo J Flores notes that the first two house bands were British expats The Rokes (formerly The Shel Carson Combo) and Italian outfit Equipe 84.

The Rokes’ leader Norman Shapiro had previously worked with Rob Storme & The Whispers before playing with Gene Vincent’s Blue Caps. Shapiro says that The Rokes opened the club and played the entire month but never performed at the Piper Club again.

If you can get hold of it, there’s a great article on The Rokes by Francesco Ficco in Misty Lane magazine (issue 19) from 1989.

The Rokes (February 1965)

Norman David “Shel” Shapiro (guitar/vocals); Johnny Carlton (guitar/vocals); Bobby Posner (bass/vocals); and Mike Shepstone (drums/vocals)

Equipe 84 (February 1965)

Romano Morandi (guitar/vocals); Victor Sogliani (bass); Franco Ceccarelli (rhythm guitar); and Alfio Cantarella (drums)

Drummer John Kerrison who later played with future Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan in Episode Six, wrote about his band, The [Rocking] Eccentrics, who played at the Piper Club in June 1965, in his book It Ain’t Rock & Roll. They were the first English band to play after The Rokes and the first who weren’t based in Italy.

Kerrison notes that the Ealing group’s agency The Ashley Sinclair Enterprises Ltd had arranged for The Eccentrics to participate in a competition at the Ad Lib Club in Leicester Square with about 20 bands competing for the prize – a month-long residency at the Piper Club. The Eccentrics won and The Bad Boys from nearby Northholt came second (see this excellent website).

The drummer adds that while The Eccentrics were playing at the Piper Club, the other group sharing the month-long residency was Italian group Equipe Ottanta Quattro (aka Equipe 84). They would become regulars at the venue.

Kerrison also recalls that another Italian group, IL TIGRE played while they were there plus a South African outfit who played for only a few nights.

The drummer says that The Bad Boys took over from The Eccentrics at the Piper Club after they had finished in July.

Kerrison adds in his book that as The Eccentrics were about to finish their contract at the Piper Club in late June, they were offered a gig at the sister Piper Club in Viareggio in northern Italy. However, the club’s owner turned them down and the drummer returned to England. Singer Mick Liddell also departed and formed Gli Atomi, who also became regulars at the Piper Club.

Maggs and Robinson also headed back to England but soon returned to Italy with former Second Thoughts and Tomcats drummer Speedy Keen (later famous in Thunderclap Newman) and toured Italy over the next few months with singer Romano Morandi from Equipe 84 as “Romano & The Eccentrics”. Morandi was replaced by Maurizio Vandelli.

The Eccentrics (June 1965)

Mick Liddell (lead vocals); Peter Maggs (lead guitar); Bruce Watts (rhythm guitar); Roy Robinson (bass); and John Kerrison (drums)

Equipe 84 (June 1965)

Romano Morandi (guitar/vocals); Victor Sogliani (bass); Franco Ceccarelli (rhythm guitar); and Alfio Cantarella (drums)

As noted earlier when The Eccentrics finished at the Piper Club, The Bad Boys, featuring future Quiet Five and White Plains drummer Roger “Tex” Marsh took their place.  The group would remain in Italy but Marsh would return to England in late 1965.

The Bad Boys (July 1965)

Wally Scott (guitar/vocals); Ron Hanson (guitar); Tom Jordan (bass); and Roger “Tex” Marsh (drums)

On 1 October 1965, South African singer Beau Brummell and his backing band, The Noblemen from Bognor Regis, West Sussex started a month-long residency at the Piper Club.

Bass player Bryan Stevens remembers that the band arrived in two open coaches with Beau, Miss Italy, Giancarlo Bornigia and one of the Noblemen in one coach and the remaining Noblemen in the other coach.

The entire group wore its stage gear, including scarlet lined capes. He remembers that a lot of press and TV cameras were there to capture the event and that there were invited celebrities from Cincinatti Film Studios.

One of the band’s sax players, Keith Gemmell, later went on to play with Audience and Sammy.

Beau Brummell & The Noblemen (October 1965)

Beau Brummell (lead vocals); Chuck Fryers (lead guitar/vocals); Mick Ketley (keyboards/vocals); Bryan Stevens (bass); Keith Gemmell (saxophone); Jem Field (saxophone); and Bernie Smith (drums)

On 25 November 1965, Italian singer Rita Pavone played at the club backed by The Talismen who, according to this website were from Portsmouth (although other sources say Cheltenham).

Rita Pavone & The Talismen (25 November 1965)

Rita Pavone (lead vocals); Steve Outwaite (guitar/vocals); George Rainsford (guitar/harmonica/vocals); Clive Devine (bass/vocals); and Trevor Cook (drums)

Formed in Bognor Regis, Dave & The Diamonds travelled to Italy in spring 1966 according to drummer Chris Hunt and played at the Piper Club during April. You can read more about this interesting group in Mike Read’s excellent book The South Coast Beat Scene of the 1960s

Dave & The Diamonds (April 1966)

Dave Hooper (lead vocals); Ray Flacke (lead guitar); Ron Fudge (bass); Peter Green (sax); Mick Brookes (sax); and Chris Hunt (drums)

Giancarlo J Flores notes on his superb website that the Piper Club was featured in British publication Town and Country magazine in June 1966.

The article entitled “Where to Howl in Rome” by Ted Burke lists the following bands who would have played between February 1965 and May 1966: The Rokes, The Eccentrics, The Echoes, The Bushmen, The Missiles, The Primitives, The Honey-combs, The Meteors, The Bad Boys and The African Beavers.

This superb website suggests that Thane Russal & The Three played at the Piper Club around June/July 1966. They played at the other sister Piper clubs during this period.

Thane Russal & The Three (circa June/July 1966)

Thane Russal (lead vocals); Martin Fisher (lead guitar); Mick Brill (bass); Allan Collins (Hammond organ); and Peter Huish (drums)

According to this brilliant site, Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages toured Italy in July 1966, performing on the Piper Club circuit (Rome, Milan and Viareggio). They took part in the opening night of the Viareggio Piper Club on 17 July 1966 with Patty Bravo and The Patrick Samson Set. The group were playing the Rome Piper Club when England won the World Cup on 30 July 1966.

Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages (July 1966)

Dave “Screaming Lord” Sutch (lead vocals); George Smelly (lead guitar); Ronnie Harwood (bass); Pete Philipps (drums); Pete Newman aka Mundy (saxophone); and Pete Green (saxophone)

According to this superb website on The Primitives, the band played at the Piper Club in Viareggio during the summer of 1966 before moving on the Rome club and later became regulars. They backed some headlining British acts in the late Sixties.

Mal Ryder & The Primitives (circa August/September 1966)

Paul “Mal” Bradley Couling (lead vocals); Dave Sumner (lead guitar); Jeffrey Robert “Jay” Farthing (bass); and David “Pique” Withers (drums)

According to Mike Read’s superb book The South Coast Beat Scene of the 1960s, Bognor Regis band The Warren J Five played at the Piper Club after working at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg in late 1966, performing alongside Tony Sheridan.

Chuck Fryers convinced the group to take the Piper Club gig having previously played there in October 1965 with Beau Brummell & The Noblemen.

The Warren J Five (circa December 1966/January 1967)

John Read (lead vocals); Chuck Fryers (lead guitar); Geoff Prior (bass); Colin Madeley (trumpet); and Terry Slade (drums)

Motivation’s bass player Bryan Stevens and keyboard player Mick Ketley had already played at the Piper Club in October 1965 with Beau Brummell & The Noblemen.

Sax player Chris Rodger wrote letters back to his future wife and says the band left England on Wednesday, 8 March. After driving for 60 hours, they arrived in Rome on Saturday, 11 March. The group checked into a flat in Via Tevere and went on stage that evening after a quick sound check.

Singer Jimmy Marsh recalls Ray Charles’ dancers came in when they were performing and danced to their music. He also recalls some of The Rolling Stones’ entourage being in the club while Motivation played. The Stones did play in Rome on 6 April.

Marsh damaged his vocal chords and left the group to return to England before the residency finished. On 14 April, the group (with Ketley handling lead vocals) headed for Livorno to play its Piper Club for three weekends, returning to Rome on 1 May.

Guitarist Martin Barre, who went on to fame with Jethro Tull, remembers Motivation visiting the Piper Club in Viareggio and saw Dave Anthony’s Moods while in Livorno.

Back in Rome, Motivation played at the Cabala Club from 2-14 May before returning home on 19 May.

Motivation (11 March-13 April 1967)

Jimmy Marsh (lead vocals); Martin Barre (lead guitar); Mick Ketley (keyboards/vocals); Bryan Stevens (bass); Chris Rodger (sax); and Malcolm Tomlinson (drums)

Apparently, Herbie Goins & The Night-Timers played in Italy (between June and August 1967) but it’s not clear what the dates are (and whether they played the Piper Club) and who the musicians were at the time that backed Herbie Goins.

However, longstanding sax player Mick Eve, bass player Dave Price and conga player Speedy Acquaye would have been there. It also seems likely that backing singers and dancers Cassie & Candy (aka The Satin Dolls) were too. The most likely remaining members on this tour are Junior Kerr (keyboards); Alan Rickell (lead guitar); and Terry Stannard (drums).

Apart from the specific gig dates listed below for 1968, I have virtually nothing for this year.

Scottish band Friendship played the Piper Club sometime in 1968/1969. according to this excellent website.

Friendship (1968/1969)

Dave Waugh (lead vocals); Billy Hastings (lead guitar); Frank Ferrari (keyboards); Charlie Dye (bass); and Hamish Millar (drums)

This superb site on Sopworth Camel notes that the band debuted at the Piper Club in spring 1969.  All of the musicians had previously played in bands that worked at the Piper Club; Ligertwood had been with Scottish soul legends The Senate; Sumner with The Primitives and Fisher and Huish with Thane Russal.

Sopworth Camel (spring 1969)

Alex Ligertwood (vocals); Dave Sumner (lead guitar); Martin Fisher (bass); and Pete Huish (drums).

According to Alan Reeves excellent book, Sex, Booze and Blues, The Clinic played at the Piper Club after moving to Rome from Japan.

The Clinic (circa June 1969)

Alan Reeves (keyboards/vocals); Phil Trainer (bass/vocals); and Derek Wilson (drums) replaced by Freddie Smith

In the summer of 1969, Herbie Goins moved his band to Italy after playing a tour here.

Herbie Goins & The Night-Timers (circa July 1969)

Herbie Goins (lead vocals); Kelvin Bullen (lead guitar); Hugh Bullen (bass); Mick Eve (saxophone); Eddie Thornton (trumpet); Speedy Acquaye (congas).

Below I’ve started to put together some specific concert dates but would welcome more from readers: 

17 February 1965 – The Rokes and Equipe 84 (opening night)

25 November 1965 – Rita Pavone backed by The Talismen (website source: http://ritapavoneinterview.blogspot.com/2015/09/at-piper-in-rome-1965.html)

26 February 1967 – The Who (improvised a concert at the venue but didn’t play)(website source: https://www.roma2pass.it/piper-club/)

18 April 1967 – Dave Anthony’s Moods (research by Luca Mathmos)

24-25 January 1968 – The Spencer Davis Group, Mal Ryder & The Primitives, The Senate, The Noise, Boom 67, Le Orme and The Four Kents  (website source: http://www.beatsessanta.it/Primitives.htm)

6-7 March 1968 – The Small Faces with Mal Ryder & The Primitives, Boom 67, Calipop, The Noise, Nevil Cameron and Wess & The Airedales (website source: http://www.beatsessanta.it/Primitives.htm)

18-19 April 1968 – Pink Floyd with Thane Russal, Mike Liodell’s Creation, The Noise, Studio 6, Boom 67 and Fholks (website source: http://www.beatsessanta.it/Thane%20Russal.htm)

2 May 1968 – The Byrds (concert poster)

10-11 May 1968 – Dave Anthony’s Moods with Maurizio Arcieri (research by Luca Mathmos)

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