This historically important Birmingham group is best known for featuring future Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and bass player Dave Pegg, who went onto Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull among others.

The Way of Life #1 (June 1966-September 1966)

Reg Jones – lead vocals, harmonica
Chris Jones – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals
Mick ‘Sprike’ Hopkins – lead guitar, vocals
Tony Clarkson – bass, vocals
John Bonham – drums, vocals

Singer Reg Jones had started out as front man with local outfit, The Counts while his younger sibling Chris played guitar with The Chantelles in the early 1960s. Reg Jones later joined his brother in The Chantelles.

In 1963, Chris Jones joined future The Way of Life member Danny King’s band, Danny King & The Jesters, which also featured bass player Chris ‘Ace’ Kefford, who went on to The Move and drummer Barry Smith (aka Barry St John), who joined The Way of Life in 1968.

In 1965, the Jones siblings reunited in The Chucks. However, after nearly 18 months together, The Chucks split up after returning from West Germany in April 1966.

The siblings next decided to form a new band. They had already asked lead guitarist Mick ‘Sprike’ Hopkins and bass player Tony Clarkson to join.

Hopkins was something of a local legend, having previously worked with Gerry Levene & The Avengers (with Roy Wood and Graeme Edge), The Diplomats and The Nicky James Movement among others.

Clarkson also had an impressive, local pedigree; he’d worked with Guitars Incorporated, The Wild Cherries and The Nicky James Movement (where he met Hopkins). He’d also briefly played with drummer Bugsy Eastwood in a short-lived outfit called The Hooties that became The Exception in late 1966.

One Sunday (either 12 or 19 June but the latter is more likely), the quartet auditioned about 20 drummers at the Club Cedar where the new outfit had a gig that night.

John Bonham, who’d worked with Clarkson and Hopkins in The Nicky James Movement, turned up and landed the job.

Bonham had worked with a number of West Midlands bands during the early-mid 1960s, including Terry Webb & The Spiders, The Blue Star Trio, The Senators and Steve Brett & The Mavericks before signing up with The Nicky James Movement in late 1965 (where he met Clarkson and Hopkins). Bonham then briefly gigged with Pat Wayne & The Beachcombers before turning up at the Club Cedar for the audition.

The Way of Life was augmented for its first few gigs by Nicky James on second lead vocals but he did not stay long.

Notable gigs

19 June 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham, West Midlands (debut)

21 June 1966 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands

24 June 1966 – Sydenham Pub, Sydenham, West Midlands

25 June 1966 – Hereford Lounge, Bull’s Head, Yardley, West Midlands

1 July 1966 – Hereford Lounge, Bull’s Head, Yardley, West Midlands

8 July 1966 – Hereford Lounge, Bull’s Head, Yardley, West Midlands

9 July 1966 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands with The Falling Leaves

14 July 1966 – Station Inn, Selly Oak, West Midlands

15 July 1966 – Sydenham Pub, Sydenham, West Midlands

16 July 1966 – Hereford Lounge, Bull’s Head, Yardley, West Midlands

23 July 1966 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands with The Times

28 July 1966 – Bel Air Club, Castle Bromwich, West Midlands

29 July 1966 – Sydenham, West Midlands

30 July 1966 – Station Inn, Selly Oak, West Midlands

2 August 1966 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands

5 August 1966 – Carlton Ballroom, Erdington, West Midlands with Little People

12 August 1966 – Hereford Lounge, Bull’s Head, Yardley, West Midlands

20 August 1966 – Carlton Ballroom, Erdington, West Midlands with Long Stack Humphries

22 August 1966 – Hereford Lounge, Bull’s Head, Yardley, West Midlands

10 September 1966 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands with The Outer Limits

17 September 1966 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands with The Uglys

21 September 1966 – Mackadown, Kitts Green, West Midlands with The Modernairs

23 September 1966 – Bolero Club, Wednesbury, West Midlands

24 September 1966 – Station Inn, Selly Oak, West Midlands

The Way of Life #2 (September 1966-January 1967)

Reg Jones – lead vocals, harmonica
Chris Jones – lead guitar
Mick ‘Sprike’ Hopkins – lead guitar, vocals
Tony Clarkson – bass, vocals
Malc Poole – drums

John Bonham was sacked for playing too loudly and his friend Malc Poole, who’d worked with the Jones brothers in The Chucks from January-April 1966, took his place behind the drum kit. Poole has also played with The Incas and The Seed during 1966.

In December 1966, The Way of Life signed with the Rik Gunnell Agency and recorded some tracks in London.

However, the following month John Bonham convinced the Jones brothers to re-employ him.

Poole subsequently joined The Hush (who shared the bill with The Way of Life at Tiles in London in mid-February 1967). Later, in 1968, the drummer replaced Cozy Powell in Youngblood.

The drummer moved down to London in 1969 and worked with a succession of outfits, including Warhorse and The Foundations. He later played with Rick Wakeman but died on 21 May 2015.

Notable gigs

30 September 1966 – Bell Hotel, Northfield, West Midlands (Poole’s debut)

4 November 1966 – County Arms, Blaby, Leicestershire with The Justin Brothers

5 November 1966 – Mews, Moseley, West Midlands with Locomotive

9 November 1966 – Parkstone Club, Foleshill, Coventry (Kevin Reynolds’ recollections)

18 November 1966 – Walsgrave Hotel, Coventry

25 November 1966 – Midnight City, Digbeth, West Midlands with Elkie Brooks and The End

27 November 1966 – Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with New Station Road

2 December 1966 – Mad House, Friendship Hall, Erdington, West Midlands

3 December 1966 – Civic Hall, Nantwich, Cheshire with The Times

4 December 1966 – The County Arms, Blaby, Leicestershire

9 December 1966 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands

10 December 1966 – Hereford Lounge, Bull’s Head, Yardley, West Midlands

11 December 1966 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands

Mid December 1966 – the band opened a new club in Liege, Belgium (most likely the New Inn Club)

24 December 1966 – Bolero, Wednesbury, West Midlands with Thernays Fugitives

31 December 1966 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with The Quiet Five

4 January 1967 – Hereford Lounge, Bull’s Head, Yardley, West Midlands

5 January 1967 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands

7 January 1967 – Winter Gardens, Banbury, Warwickshire with The Methods

9 January 1967 – The Belfry, Wishaw, West Midlands with The Lemon Line

11 January 1967 – Heartbeat, Birmingham, West Midlands (possibly Mac Poole’s final gig)

There is a good article on The Way of Life in the Bedworth & Foleshill News, 13/1/1967, page 2

The Way of Life #3 (January-February 1967)

Reg Jones – lead vocals, harmonica
Chris Jones – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals
Mick ‘Sprike’ Hopkins – lead guitar, vocals
Tony Clarkson – bass, vocals
John Bonham – drums, vocals

Tony Clarkson’s younger brother had gone to school with Birmingham-born, Canadian-raised siblings, Ed and Brian Pilling, who had returned to the West Midlands from Toronto to form a group. Introduced to Clarkson, the trio decided to put together The Wages of Sin and lined up gigs in West Germany.

Clarkson enticed Mick Hopkins away from The Way of Life. John Bonham was also invited but decided to stay with the Jones brothers.

The Wages of Sin would become Yellow Rainbow and then Zeus, becoming Cat Stevens’s backing band. Clarkson would subsequently play with The World of Oz among others, while Hopkins would play with The Lemon Tree, Copperfield, The Idle Race, Fludd and Quartz among others.

Notable gigs

12 January 1967 – London gig (according to Birmingham Evening Mail)

13 January 1967 – Penthouse, Birmingham, West Midlands

16 January 1967 – Caravelle Club, Observation Lounge, Birmingham Airport, Birmingham, West Midlands

20 January 1967 – Royal Oak, Hockley Heath, West Midlands

21 January 1967 – Elbow Room, Aston, West Midlands

21 January 1967 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands with The Nobles

26 January 1967 – Station Inn, Selly Oak, West Midlands

28 January 1967 – Penthouse, Birmingham, West Midlands with The Eight Feet 4

28 January 1967 – Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with The Confederates

29 January 1967 – Gotham City, Birmingham, West Midlands

30 January 1967 – Heartbeat, Birmingham, West Midlands

31 January 1967 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands

4 February 1967 – Le Carnaby Club, Leicester, Leicestershire

The Way of Life #4 (February-September 1967)

Reg Jones – lead vocals, harmonica
Chris Jones – lead guitar
Danny King – bass, lead vocals
John Bonham – drums, vocals

Chris Jones assumed the lead guitar role and Danny King was brought in on bass and second lead vocals.

Danny King was a respected singer on the local scene and had led a succession of groups since the early 1960s starting with Danny King & The Dukes. After fronting Danny King & The Royals and Danny King & The Jesters (with Chris Jones), he formed Danny King & The Mayfair Set. During 1966, King left to sing with Locomotive.

Shortly after joining The Way of Life, the quartet traveled down to London and played the Bag O’Nails in Soho.

During the summer of 1967, The Way of Life, added Bugsy Eastwood from The Exception as a second drummer, but he did not stay long.

Notable gigs

18 February 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street central London with The Hush and The Question

25 February 1967 – The White Bicycle, Maple Ballroom, Northampton with Premier Slam Band

11 March 1967 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with The Quiet Five and The Essex Five

13 March 1967 – The Belfry, Wishaw, West Midlands with Manchester’s Playboys (billed as The New Way of Life)

17 March 1967 – Graven Hill Theatre, Bicester with The Methods

25 March 1967 – The Mews, Moseley, West Midlands

5 April 1967 – Mackadown, Kitts Green, West Midlands with The Exception (billed as The New Way of Life with Danny King)

8 April 1967 – Ettingham Park Hotel, Alderminster, Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire

The Express & Star advertised a gig with Idle Race, Sight and Sound and Chicago Hush, which related to Monday 17/4/67

25 April 1967 – Watersplash Night Club, Walsall Wood, West Midlands

20 May 1967 – Station Inn, Selly Oak, West Midlands

21 May 1967 – Plaza Ballroom, Bearwood, West Midlands with The Gravy Train and The Fugitives

16 June 1967 – Carlton Ballroom, Erdington, West Midlands

17 June 1967 – Handsworth Plaza, Handsworth, West Midlands with The Kinks

19 June 1967 – Plaza Ballroom, Bearwood, West Midlands

21 June 1967 – Hen & Chickens, Langley, West Midlands with The ‘N’ Betweens and Priority

5 July 1967 – Industrial Club, Norwich, Norfolk

22 July 1967 – Sydenham Discotheque Club, Small Heath, West Midlands

31 July 1967 – Holly Bush, Quinton, West Midlands

1 August 1967 – Bolero Club, Wednesbury, West Midlands

4 August 1967 – Ringway Club, Birmingham

4 August 1967 – Old Crown & Cushion, Perry Barr, West Midlands

5 August 1967 – Station Inn, Selly Oak, West Midlands

7 August 1967 – Queen’s Beat Club, Erdington, West Midlands

18 August 1967 – Caesar’s Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire with The Idle Race

19 August 1967 – Penthouse, Birmingham with Finders Keepers

21 August 1967 – Holly Bush, Quinton, West Midlands

26 August 1967 – Elbow Room, Aston, West Midlands

30 August 1967 – Tyburn House, Erdington, West Midlands

2 September 1967 – Ringway Club, Birmingham

2 September 1967 – Queen’s Beat Club, Erdington, West Midlands

3 September 1967 – Frank Freeman Dancing Club, Kidderminster, Worcestershire with Small Change

5 September 1967 – Bolero Club, Wednesbury, West Midlands

9 September 1967 – Carlton Ballroom, Erdington, West Midlands

The Way of Life #5 (September-October 1967)

Reg Jones – lead vocals, harmonica
Chris Jones – lead guitar
Dave Pegg – bass, vocals
John Bonham – drums, vocals (replaced briefly by Phil Brittle)

After Danny King left, Dave Pegg came in from The Exception, a band that had shared the stage with The Way of Life at least once earlier in the year.

Pegg had an impressive pedigree, having previously worked with The Trespassers, Dave & The Emeralds, The Crawdaddies and Roy Everett & The Blueshounds before backing Jimmy Cliff for a few months from November 1965-February 1966.

He then hooked up with The Uglys in mid-February 1966 before joining The Exception later that year.

Laurie Hornsby’s book Brum Rocked On!, notes that the new line up rehearsed at the Warstock pub.

Dave Pegg’s diary notes that the line-up’s first gig took place at the Swadley Youth Club. The bass player recalls that he played about 20 gigs with Bonham before the drummer left.

According Harry Barber’s book on The Band of Joy, drummer Phil Brittle took over briefly before leaving to join the fourth line up of The Band of Joy in late September. He only stayed a very short while however, before John Bonham took his place and met his future Led Zeppelin colleague, Robert Plant.

Notable gigs

15 September 1967 – Swadley Youth Club, Swadley, West Midlands (Dave Pegg’s debut)

17 September 1967 – Crown & Cushion, Perry Barr, West Midlands

18 September 1967 – Holly Bush, Quinton, West Midlands

23 September 1967 – Station Inn, Selly Oak, West Midlands

24 September 1967 – Ritz Ballroom, King’s Heath, West Midlands

25 September 1967 – Queen’s Beat Club, Erdington, West Midlands

28 September 1967 – Cofton Country Club, Rednal, West Midlands with The Rest

29 September 1967 – Bolero Club, Wednesbury, West Midlands

1 October 1967 – The Belfry, Wishaw, near Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands with The Light

5 October 1967 – Ringway, Birmingham

8 October 1967 – Ritz Ballroom, King’s Heath, West Midlands

9 October 1967 – Holly Bush, Quinton, West Midlands

14 October 1967 – Queen’s Beat Club, Erdington, West Midlands

16 October 1967 – Holly Bush, Quinton, West Midlands

18 October 1967 – BRS, Charles Russell Square, Erdington, West Midlands with Jo Jo Cook & The Rackets

21 October 1967 – Caesar’s Place, Mulberry Tree, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire

23 October 1967 – Queen’s Head, Erdington, West Midlands (Dave Pegg’s final gig)

The Way of Life #6 (October 1967-circa January 1968)

Reg Jones – lead vocals, harmonica
Chris Jones – lead guitar
Jon Fox – lead guitar, vocals
Danny King – bass, vocals
John Panteney – (Pank) drums

Dave Pegg left in late October 1967 to join The Ian Campbell Folk Group and later found fame with Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull.

The Jones siblings brought back Danny King to replace Dave Pegg on bass and recruited Jon Fox on second lead guitar and vocals.

Fox had started out with his own outfit, Jon Fox & The Hunters in the early 1960s. He subsequently became a member of Johnny Neal & The Starliners before forming The Varsity Rag in 1967.

The Way of Life also found a new drummer, John Panteney, who had worked with The Chantelles (after the Jones siblings had moved on) in the mid-1960s. He then played with several other local acts before agreeing to join The Way of Life.

However, it was yet another short-lived version. By early 1968, Fox had moved on to form Cathedral while Panteney joined Paradox with future Magnum singer Bob Catley.

Notable gigs

28 October 1967 – The Woolpack, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with The Crew

7 November 1967 – Industrial Club, Norwich, Norfolk

21 November 1967 – Bolero, Wednesbury, West Midlands

27 November 1967 – Plaza Ballroom, Bearwood, West Midlands with Lynda and The Blend

1 December 1967 – Bull’s Head, Yardley, West Midlands

2 December 1967 – Station Inn, Selly Oak, West Midlands

11 December 1967 – Holly Bush, Quinton, West Midlands

16 December 1967 – Carlton Ballroom, Erdington, West Midlands with The Fading Colours

21 December 1967 – Station Inn, Selly Oak, West Midlands with The Idle Race and The Fading Colours

4 January 1968 – Birdland, The Raven, Castle Bromwich, West Midlands with The Idle Race (Birmingham Evening Mail)

6 January 1968 – Station Inn, Selly Oak, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

12 January 1968 – Carlton Ballroom, Erdington, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

19 January 1968 – Bull’s Head, Yardley, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

28 January 1968 – Bolero, Wednesbury, West Midlands

29 January 1968 – Bull’s Head, Yardley, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

The Way of Life #7 (January-November 1968)

Reg Jones – lead vocals, harmonica
Chris Jones – lead guitar
Danny King – bass, lead vocals
Barry Smith – drums

The Jones brothers rebuilt the group by bringing in drummer Barry Smith, who’d worked with them previously in The Chucks during 1965.

Smith had started out with former The Way of Life bass player/singer Danny King in his early 1960s band, Danny King & The Royals. Later on, he worked with Danny Burns & The Phantoms.

The final incarnation recorded some material for Polydor Records before splitting up in late 1968.

The Jones brothers continued to play live on the local scene. Reg Jones died in 2004 and Chris Jones passed away in March 2014.

Notable gigs

1 February 1968 – Queen’s Beat Club, Erdington, West Midlands with Danny King and The Jones Boys (Birmingham Evening Mail)

3 February 1968 – Casino, Leicester

3 February 1968 – Industrial Club, Norwich, Norfolk

17 February 1968 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands with Traffic (Birmingham Evening Mail)

23 February 1968 – Chesterfield Club, Castle Bromwich, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

24 February 1968 – Staffs Volunteer, Bushbury, Wolverhampton, West Midlands

2 March 1968 – Bull’s Head, Yardley, West Midlands

3 March 1968 – Queen’s Beat Club, Erdington, West Midlands

9 March 1968 – Crown and Cushion, Perry Barr, West Midlands with Capital Systems

17 March 1968 – Crown & Cushion, Birmingham with The Peeps

21 March 1968 – Queen’s Beat Club, Erdington, West Midlands

23 March 1968 – Station Inn, Selly Oak, West Midlands

25 March 1968 – Holly Bush, Quinton, West Midlands

27 March 1968 – Chesterfield Club, Castle Bromwich, West Midlands

31 March 1968 – Station Inn, Selly Oak, West Midlands

1 April 1968 – Bulls Head, Yardley, West Midlands

9 April 1968 – Chalet Country Club, Rednal, West Midlands with Fanny Flickers

13 April 1968 – Willenhall Baths Assembly Hall, Willenhall, West Midlands with Lovin’ Kind

18 April 1968 – Station Inn, Selly Oak, West Midlands

Sources:  most of the West Midlands gigs were sourced from the Birmingham Evening Mail, which is an amazing resource for music journalists. Other magazine/newspaper sources included Melody Maker, Eastern Evening News, Express & Star, Coventry Evening Telegraph, Banbury Guardian, Stratford upon Avon Herald and Leicester Mercury.

Thanks to Dave Pegg and Mac Poole (who both shared dates from their diaries), Mick Hopkins, Tony Clarkson, Jon Fox, Harry Barber, Laurie Hornsby and John R Woodhouse, who runs the Brumbeat website.

Mick Bonham’s book John Bonham: The Powerhouse behind Led Zeppelin was another great resource.

Huge thanks to Jason Barnard who originally posted this article on the Strange Brew website. This is a significantly updated version.

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