Pete Jeffries (lead guitar)
Del Turner (rhythm guitar)
John Lee (sax)
Ron Jeffries (bass)
Jim Strachan (drums)
Not to be confused with another southwest London band of the same name, which at one point featured both Eric Clapton and future Manfred Mann guitarist Tom McGuiness, this early 1960s band comprised the above line up.
This version of The Roosters were profiled in both Jackie magazine (see above) and Surrey Comet newspaper in its 7 March 1964 issue (page 7).
According to Nigel Lees, who has included one of the band’s tracks on the new LP 17 from Morden, this version of The Roosters recorded three tracks for BBC’s Beat Room in October 1964. They also recorded five acetates for Oak at R G Jones in Morden.
The Roosters also played regularly at the Cellar Club in Kingston upon Thames, the Attic in Hounslow and other venues in the area.
However, there is very little information about the musicians so please get in touch if you can provide more details.
Big thanks to Nigel Lees for providing some info on the band.
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Three gigs in Record Mirror all at the 100 Club, Oxford Street, central London opening for The Graham Bond Organisation
18 June 64
25 June 64
30 July 64
We played an interval set for The Roosters at what I believe was just known as the Richmond Community Centre (The Quadrant, Richmond) in the autumn of 1964 … our vocalist knew Del Turner. My memory dims, but I’m sure that, when I first saw them, they were a four piece and that the sax was added later. I do recall (I think) that Pete Jeffries tended to start the set on guitar and switch to bass, with his brother moving from bass to keyboard. Oh, yes … and Jim the drummer always kept his flat hat on.
I think that they played at RCC regularly – I remember seeing them on Saturday nights in 1964 at this venue now the site of Waitrose in Richmond. Sunday nights was the Athletic Ground for the Yardbirds!
Hi David. I’m Del Turner of The Roosters. What was your band called and who was the singer?
We’d only recently changed to that line up and I can’t remember what we were calling ourselves at the time … our vocalist was Martin Cooper. I do seem to recall that we had finished our rehearsed set before The Roosters were ready to resume … and had to do a couple more off the cuff. That might suggest that things hadn’t gone too badly, as you didn’t seem in a hurry to kick us off. I saw The Roosters play a number of times and remember those performances fondly.
They band played regularly at the Attic in Hounslow (see entry on this site).
Also, this gig:
10 November 1964 1964 – Nurses Club, Jolly Gardners, Isleworth, Middlesex with The Coveners (Middlesex Chronicle)