Zebra, from left to right: Jerry Beasly, Noe Cruz, Bob Silvert, Timo Laine and Bruce Bordon
10″ acetate from Gold Star Studios with both songs from the 45One of the final releases on the Miramar label was Zebra’s “Helter-Skelter” released in 1969. The b-side was an original by Bruce Bordon and Timo Laine titled “Wasted” that in my opinion is the better side.
Zebra’s guitarist Timo Laine sent me the photos above and told me about the group.
Zebra members were:
Timo Laine: lead guitar Noe Cruz: bass Bruce Bordon: vocals Jerry Beasley: drums Bob Silvert: keyboards
Zebra was together for about 5 years. Everywhere we played there would be a line around the building to get in. We were loved by the dance crowd, and the club owners kept us busy.
Zebra opened for the Rolling Stones and the Byrds in the late ’60s in Fresno. We also played with B.B. King, Ballin’jack, Zephyr, Ike and Tina Turner and many other name acts, but I don’t remember them all. We were a full time club band, 5 nights a week.
Our main clubs were Pier 11 (Newport Beach), Finnegan’s Rainbow (Newport Beach), The Interlude (Santa Cruz), Odyssey Theatre (Phoenix, AZ), Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Ichabods (Fullerton), Saint George and the Dragon (Tustin), and the Forum in Fresno.
We met Tony Cary at the Forum, where he first saw the act. He kept coming in every night and buying us drinks. Finally he said he was a record producer, and wanted to produce Zebra. Tony had a lot of industry contacts, and radio station friends like the Drake-Chenault radio station owners.
He moved the band to the Marriott in Studio City, and started recording the act at Pat Boone’s Lion and the Lamb Studio. We were almost finished recording the album when we got a telegram that Tony had died. We were told he had overdosed. This was a huge loss for us.
The album was never mixed or mastered, except the single “Helter Skelter” and “Wasted”, that was done first. I don’t know whatever happened to the masters.
After his death, I was offered a recording contract to record an album I wrote called Space Rangers with Neil Merryweather. It was recorded in Capital Records studio, and released by Mercury Records out of Chicago. After Space Rangers, I signed to A&M Records and released Symphonic Slam.
I had a new release this year, and another in 2011. I’m currently working on a new production: Jimmy Haslip (Yellow Jackets, Alan Holdsworth, Robin Ford) will be on bass, Mark Stevens on drums, me on guitars and guitar synths. Talks are in the works that Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge) may do the keys.
Q. Was your band the same Zebra who released “Christmas Morning Parts I & II” on Blue Thumb in Nov. 1969, written, produced and arranged by Sean Bonniwell of the Music Machine.
Timo Laine: No, we were before they came out.
Thanks to Timo for his help with this post. See the page on Just Us for info on Neil Merryweather’s first bands in Ontario.
Here’s a real oddity, two anonymous and unrelated cuts packaged on one 45. For Miramar label completionists only!
The A-side has the Miramar Soul Band doing a bossa-nova. sax-led instrumental version of “Mr. Tambourine Man”. Somehow I couldn’t get a very good transfer out of this side, but it could be ’cause the cartridge I use for transferring needs to be balanced, and my old Thorens is picking up all kinds of hum in my new house.
I did better on the flip, “Party a Go Go”, labeled as by Friends of the Miramar Soul Band. It’s not bad listening, a fair instrumental along the lines of “Off the Hook” overdubbed with fake party goers cackling and pretending to be hip. Publishing on this one is by Carjone, BMI, which appears on other Miramar releases produced by Tony Cary (real name Tony Luton).
Though given a release number of Miramar 127, “Party a Go Go” has master number 111-B, suggesting it was mastered much earlier, likely meant for release just prior to Tony Cary’s one-sided 45 of “She Belongs to Me”.
It turns out “Party a Go Go” also appears on Miramar 110 by Glenn & the Good Guys, with master number 111. Perhaps it’s not the same take, as I haven’t heard it yet. The writing credit on that label reads Burton, Jones, Osborn, so it’s likely James Burton was playing on this 45.
“Party a Go Go” also appears on Nick Hoffman’s 45 for Roman Records, this time titled “Christmas Party”, backing “Santa Claus Is Back in Town”.
I wonder if the version of Mr. Tambourine Man here is the same as the flip to Sonny Firmature’s single “Love Lost” (Miramar 128)?
If anyone has good transfers of some of the early Miramar releases by Jimmy Burton, the Memphis Men and Tony Cary, please contact me. Also please take a look at the list of Miramar releases I’ve posted and see if there are any gaps to be filled.
Someone I know is looking for this 45 by the Grains of Time on the Chyme label (if anyone has a copy for sale please get in touch). I realized I haven’t seen any detailed info on the band, so I’m posting here looking for their story.
TeenBeat Mayhem gives the release date as May of 1968, and the band coming from Albertville, Alabama, a small city near Guntersville Lake, northeast of Birmingham.Johnny Striplin (J. M. Striplin) wrote the fine “No Matter What They Say”.The flip, “This Little Girl” is equally good and has a great overdriven solo. It was written by Johnny Striplin and Cecil Matthews. Both songs were published by Mrs. F. Matthews, BMI.
Kevin Longendyke sent in scans and transfers of a demo cut by Sound Incorporated at Broadway Recording Studios, 1697 Broadway, NY. Kevin wrote, “I found it in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The owner of the store used to have a shop in Georgia somewhere. So they could from anywhere I guess.”I have no info on the band, other than that someone has written on the labels the names Chris, Bob, Dave, John and Joe. The overall sound is poppy, commercial and well-produced. Both songs are good and either could have had some success as a single.”I Love That Girl” starts off fast and upbeat, but has a slow middle passage.
“Love Is a Gamble” has a good, if familiar hook and interesting bridge.
A reader sent in scans of the ticket and photos from a benefit dance at the El Monte Legion Stadium at 11151 Monte Vista, on July 30, 1964. The dance was hosted by Arlan Sanders, DJ with KRLA, and featured the Safaris, the Rivingtons, the Coasters, Jody Miller, The Blendells, Johnny Burnette, Ray Peterson, Bobby Sox & the Blue Jeans, The Olympics and Lucille Starr, among others.
My Mother Velma Pulbrook was once the President of a Pony/Colt Baseball League in So Cal (I might add the first woman in the country to be one). In 1964 she organized a fund raiser that played at the El Monte Legion Hall in El Monte, CA. Unfortunately she passed away about 5 years ago but as I was going through some of her pictures and stuff I ran across a ticket to the event.
There were some tremendous performers that showed up. She asked Little Richard to make it that night. He said he couldn’t but he had a couple of friends that would come by and those friends were Ike and Tina Turner. They aren’t billed because they were last minute add ons.
She always told me that a group called Jack and the Rippers played that night (although they are not listed on the attached ticket). I did find a photo though that I believe is them: it’s blurry and not fully in the picture but the bass drum appears to have the band’s name on it.
I sent the photo of a girl singing [to] Jody Miller; she was nice enough to reply that it was her. Jody Miller and Lucille Starr went on to become more famous with recordings shortly after this appearance. “The French Song” by Lucille Starr was released in early 1965 and Jody’s “Queen of the House” released in May of 1965. One of the fascinating things is that Johnny Burnette played that night and that was [possibly] his last event since he died in a boating accident on August 14, 1964.
I am still trying to determine who a few acts are, especially the black performer with the two guitar players (I am thinking it might be Bobby Sheen of the Bobby Sox and the Blue Jeans fame).
The dance was a flop if you can believe it even with all these performers. The attendance was only about 50-60 couples in total.
Steve Pulbrook
If anyone can help identify the performers in these photos please get in contact!
Unknown group (Bobby Sox & the Blue Jeans?)Jody Miller on stageDisk Jockey Arlen Sanders signing autograph, according to comment (see below) by Leo OlmosJack & the Rippers (?)
The Manchester Playboys, Hamburg, 1967. Photo from Graham Sclater. Left to right: Malcolm Tag-Randall, Stuart Fahey, Graham Sclater, Peter Simensky, Alan Watkinson and Kerry Burke
The Manchester Playboys (line up from July/August 1965)
Kerry Burke – vocals
John Denson – organ/lead guitar/vocals (left mid-1966)
Stuart Fahey – rhythm guitar/trumpet
Malcolm Tag-Randall – saxophone
Alan Watkinson – bass
Mel Preston – drums (left May 1967)
Jim Warhurst – lead guitar (joined mid-1966, left June 1967)
Peter Simensky – drums (joined May 1967)
Graham Sclater – organ (joined June 1967)
Kenny Anders – lead guitar (joined early 1969)
This tragically overlooked British soul/R&B outfit were authors of the infectious, horn driven soul classic, “I Feel So Good” c/w “I Close My Eyes”, which was released on Fontana Records in September 1966.
The group’s roots can be found in St Helens, Lancashire band, [Mike] Cadillac & The Playboys, who included Stuart Fahey and Alan Watkinson from around 1963. Both hailed from nearby Newton-le-Willows in Lancashire.
Former Classics’ drummer Mel Preston had joined during 1964 and when singer Mike Cadillac departed, another former Classics member John Denson came in on keyboards and vocals. They also added singer/guitarist Les Stocks.
In spring 1965, the band briefly backed singer Lorraine Gray but the partnership was short-lived. Soon after Gray and Stocks (who later got married) emigrated to Australia. By this point, they had adopted the name The Manchester Playboys as the city had become their base and that’s where their management was based.
During July 1965 while playing in Duisberg, West Germany, The Manchester Playboys crossed paths with Beau Brummell & The Noblemen and their sax player Malcolm Randall (aka Tag-Randall), who was originally from Harrow-on-the-Hill, Middlesex, jumped ship. Tag-Randall had started out with Twickenham band, Jeff Curtis & The Flames in early 1963.
Later that month (back in England), they finally persuaded Kerry Burke to join as lead singer, within days of a return trip to West Germany. Like drummer Mel Preston, Burke was originally from St Helens. Burke had started out as singer/harmonica player with St Helens band The Denims and had been earmarked for the group several months before.
“I was an apprentice electrician,” remembers the singer. “The Playboys were out looking for a lead singer and approached me after watching me at a local gig. I turned them down as I already had a good band and apprenticeship. They wouldn’t let go and in the end I joined up. In no time at all, I had a passport, no work permit and we were off to Frankfurt for a month at the Storyville Club.”
As Burke recalls, the band made a number of trips to Germany over the next few years, appearing at Hamburg’s Star Club and Top Ten Club, the Savoy Club in Hanover and the Liverpool Hoop in Berlin to name just a few (see gig list below for more details).
At the end of October 1965, The Manchester Playboys became the second British band to tour Romania after The Federals and spent six weeks there. While in Romania, the band recorded an ultra-rare 10″ album with Carol Kay (aka Karol Keyes) and Bobby Shaftoe, which was released as The Playboys on the Electrecord label.
“Romania was a hard place to live in those times,” says Burke. “Although we were being employed by the Government, they would try and undermine us at any opportunity via photos and articles in the press. We were deemed to be a bad example from the West. They would jam Radio Luxembourg on a regular basis and would greatly restrict the amount of tickets made available to the young people. I didn’t witness much joy there at all.”
Back in England in mid-December, the group met session drummer Bobby Graham who took over the band’s management. Graham was also a producer for the French Barclay recording company.
Sometime in early 1966 the band recorded a four-track EP at Pye Studios near Marble Arch with Bobby Graham at the helm. The EP featured covers of “Woolly Bully”, “Lipstick Traces” and two James Brown covers – “And I Do Just What I Want” and “Tell Me What You’re Gonna Do”. The EP allegedly topped the French charts.
From February 1966, the band started playing regularly in Belgium, particularly at the Shark Club in Ghent.
“We played [the Shark Club] numerous times along with Tony Blackburn as guest DJ,” says Burke. “Dave Berry was huge in Belgium due to a performance in the Eurovision song contest. He turned up at the Shark and he did get up and do a set with us.”
Sometime in mid-1966, The Manchester Playboys played on the same bill as Manchester band, The Meteors in Oldham and asked their guitarist Jim Warhurst (Hyde) to replace John Denson who was leaving.
The new line-up recorded the group’s lone UK single, an excellent blue-eyed soul number, which was released on Fontana Records that autumn.
At the end of May 1967, Mel Preston also left to concentrate on the family business and Jim Warhurst asked his former band mate from The Meteors, Peter Simensky to join.
Simensky had reformed The Meteors with new members as The Hobo Flats in the interim.
“I did my first gig at the Belle Vue in Manchester on 3 June 1967,” says Simensky.
“We left for Hamburg on the 4 June. I remember the day. It was a Sunday morning and as we drove through Stockport, we heard the news that a British Midland flight had just crashed in the centre of Stockport.”
Later that month, The Manchester Playboys saw Graham (Sandy) Sclater playing Hammond organ with The Birds and The Bees at the Star Club. The two bands frequently met in the Bier Shoppe along with other musicians and it was at that time that Jim Warhurst’s father was taken ill and Sclater, who’d been playing in Germany since 1964 with a number of bands, took his place and returned to England with them.
Back in England, The Manchester Playboys rehearsed for a few days in Manchester before travelling down to London to play at Tiles in Oxford Street and the Scotch of St James in Mayfair. They then returned north to play gigs at venues like the Bolton Nevada, the Bolton Palais and The Place in Hanley plus several airforce bases around the UK.
A show from late April 1967 at the Place, Hanley, Staffordshire
Joined by Tag-Randall’s former band mate from Jeff Curtis & The Flames Jeff Lake (who was acting as road manager) the group then traveled to Sweden in mid-August (via Belgium and Denmark) for a tour, and for most shows they backed the female “hit” duo The Caravelles.
Thanks to Mats Jarl for supplying the clipping
“In Sweden we played mainly open air gigs in volk parks,” says Burke.
“Two notable events while we were there. The Swedes were in the state of changing which side of the road they drive on. At that time they used the left hand side. We went out in the van… I believe 3am… and if I remember correctly we just drove to the other side of the road. It all passed very easily without any problems.”
Thanks to Mats Jarl for supplying the clipping. Pop Inn Gothenburg (see gig list below)
Burke also remembers The Manchester Playboys jamming with some special guests at the Cue Club in Gothenburg.
“The owner of the club asked us to take our kit to the lift to the basement club for a party,” says the singer.
Thanks to Mats Jarl for supplying the clipping. This gig may be from 2 September 1967 (see gig listing below)
“The party turned out to be for Jimi Hendrix and his entourage. We already knew Noel Redding from Germany when he was lead guitarist with Neil Landon & The Burnetts. Noel didn’t show up but Jimi, Mitch [Mitchell], the drummer, Chas Chandler and a large group arrived at the party. We were providing the live music. Graham asked Jimi and Mitch up for a jam. They agreed and Jimi took Stuart Fahey’s Baldwin Burns guitar, turned it around as it was strung for a right hander and just played along with the rest of the band, no showmanship, just jamming.”
Back in the UK, Simensky remembers the band doing some further recordings. “We did some recordings for Les Reed; cover versions of current hit records,” he recalls. “Someone said the label eventually became K-Tel.”
These tracks, which included a cover of “Knock on Wood” and “You Got What It Takes” appeared on an EP for Avenue Records in late 1967.
The Manchester Playboys also cut some tracks in West Germany during early 1968.
“When we were playing in Berlin, we were approached by Hansa and asked if we would like to go in the studio and record something,” continues Simensky.
“It would have to be original and the studio was booked two days hence. Alan and I wrote a couple of not very good songs which we recorded and promptly sank without trace, only to surface several years later alongside Georgio Moroder on a compilation album!”
By May 1968, however, Stuart Fahey, Malcolm Tag-Randall and Graham Sclater had all left and the remaining trio carried on briefly with guitarist Kenny Anders from The Chosen Few and Hush. Fahey died in the mid-2000s.
After leaving the band, Malcolm Tag-Randall moved to Cambridgeshire and ended up working with Red Express during the 1970s (who featured several future Shakatak members). However, he is currently suffering from poor health.
Graham Sclater played on sessions for James Taylor’s Apple recordings.
Of the other band members, Kerry Burke currently lives on the Isle of Wight, Alan Watkinson lives in the Manchester area and Pete Simensky lives in Duckingfield.
Watkinson later played with Petrus Boonkamp and The Kaystones. Simensky meanwhile played played with Treetown.
Simensky is also a songwriter and has signed a lot of his songs to Tabitha Music Limited, which is run by Graham Sclater, who lives in Exeter and has his own website: http://tabithabooks.webs.com/authorgrahamsclater.htm.
Selected gigs
15 November 1964 – Royal Star Ballroom, Maidstone, Kent (Kent Messenger)
4 July 1965 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
(Most likely 12-16) July 1965 – The Storyville Jazz Club, Duisberg, West Germany (Kerry Burke recollections)
While The Manchester Playboys are performing at the club in Duisberg, they share the bill with Beau Brummell & The Noblemen. Sax player Malcolm Randall (aka Malcolm Tag-Randall) is blown away by the group and jumps ship
19 July 1965 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News) Beau Brummell & The Noblemen play in Stockport this evening and it’s possible Malcolm Randall played this date and then joined Manchester Playboys
26 July 1965 – The Cavern, Liverpool (Benefit Show, 12 hour session) with The Five Aces, The Boomerangs, The Cresters, The Clayton Squares, The Dimensions, Earl Preston’s Realms, The Escorts, The Lancastrians, Lorraine Grey, The Merseybeats, The Powerhouse Six and The Richmond Group (Phil Thompson’s Story of the Cavern book/Liverpool Echo)
The group asks Denims singer Kerry Burke to join them for their residency in Frankfurt. The group leaves England in the last week of July, within days of the Cavern benefit show
July/August 1965 – The Storyville Jazz Club, Frankfurt, West Germany with The Chants (Kerry Burke recollections)
1 September 1965 – Group arrives in Belgium (Kerry Burke’s passport) Unless this is exit stamp for return to England from Frankfurt
4 September 1965 – Union Rowing Club, Trent Bridge, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post) Advert says they are back from Germany
5 September 1965 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire with The Presidents (Evening Sentinel)
6 September 1965 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
14 September 1965 – Gay Tower Ballroom, Edgbaston, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)
17 September 1965 – The Cavern, Liverpool with The Verbs and Richmond Group (John Warburg research/Liverpool Echo)
20 September 1965 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
21 September 1965 – Oasis, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle) Billed as The Playboys
24 September 1965 – Mecca, Ashton Palais, Ashton under Lyne, Greater Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)
26 September 1965 – The Cavern, Liverpool with Earl Preston’s Realms (Phil Thompson’s Story of the Cavern book)
26 September 1965 – Jungfrau, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)
30 September 1965 – Locarno Ballroom, Swindon, Wiltshire with The Yardbirds (Swindon Evening Advertiser)
5 October 1965 – Peppermint Lounge, Liverpool with Dave the Rave (Liverpool Echo)
9 October 1965 – Union Rowing Club, Trent Bridge, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
18 October 1965 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
22 October 1965 – Grand Naval Dance, Royal College of Advanced Technology, Salford, Greater Manchester with The Original Checkmates, The Meteors and The Fat Sound (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)
23 October 1965 – Oasis, Manchester with The Graham Bond Organisation (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)
26 October 1965 – The Cavern, Liverpool with Earl Preston’s Realms (John Warburg research/Liverpool Echo)
30 October-14 December 1965 – Romanian tour (Kerry Burke’s passport). The band recorded as The Playboys while there and a ‘10 was issued in 1966
15 December 1965 – Bulls Head Hotel, Hanford, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
16 December 1965 – Ashton Palais, Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle)
17 December 1965 – Domino Club, Openshaw, Greater Manchester and Princess Theatre, Chorlton, Greater Manchester with Major Lance and Bluesology Incorporated and Jonathan Good Tweed (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle)
24 December 1965 – Top Twenty Club, Droylsden, Greater Manchester with The Power House Six and Johnny Peters Set (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle)
24 December 1965 – Jungfrau Dance Club, Manchester with Power House Six and Frankenstein’s Monsters (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle)
26 December 1965 – Jungfrau Dance Club, Manchester with Richard Kent Style (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle)
26 December 1965 – Mr Smith’s, Manchester with The Fugitives (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle)
27 December 1965 – Club Creole, Wilmslow, Greater Manchester (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle) Advert says direct from Rumania and billed as The Playboys
30 December 1965 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
1 January 1966 – Union Rowing Club, Trent Bridge, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post) Advert says they are direct from a continental tour (Romania)
2 January 1966 –Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire with Group One (Evening Sentinel)
6 January 1966 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
7 January 1966 – Greenways, Baddeley Green, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
8 January 1966 – Queen’s Hall, Burslem, Staffordshire with Group One (Evening Sentinel)
17 January 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
21 January 1966 – Faculty of Building, Trentham Gardens, Stoke Staffordshire with Jack Kirkland’s BBC Broadcasting Band (Evening Sentinel)
24 January 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
30 January 1966 – 76 Club, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire (Burton Evening Mail)
31 January 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
5 February 1966 – 400 Ballroom, Torquay, Devon (Torbay Express and South Devon Echo)
12 February 1966 – Oasis, Manchester (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle)
19-20 February 1966 – Union Rowing Club, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
24 February 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
25 February 1966 – Club Creole, Wilmslow, Cheshire (Alderley & Wilmslow & Knutsford Advertiser) Says direct from the Scotch of St James
28 February 1966 – Entry date into Belgium, possibly to play the Shark Club, Ghent (Kerry Burke’s passport)
Record Mirror reports in its issue, week ending 16 April that Dave Berry had a TV show in Belgium so this period seems highly plausible. Looks like they may also have played some German dates
3 April 1966 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire with The Sounds of Three (Evening Sentinel)
4 April 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News) Says back from German tour
9 April 1966 – Union Rowing Club, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post) Says back from tour of Germany
11 April 1966 – New Elizabethan, Belle Vue, Manchester (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle)
12 April 1966 – Top Twenty Club, Droylsden, Greater Manchester (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle)
16 April 1966 – King’s Hall, Stoke, Staffordshire with The Small Faces, Roy Grant & The Kingpins and Barmy Barry (Evening Sentinel)
23 April 1966 – Mersey View Ballroom, Frodsham, Cheshire with The Optimists (Cheshire Observer)
24 April 1966 – Mecca Dancing, Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire with The Blue Thunderbirds and The Rocking Vicars (Evening Sentinel)
28 April 1966 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire with The Sounds of Three (Evening Sentinel)
30 April 1966 – Locarno Ballroom, Swindon, Wiltshire with Yes and No (Swindon Evening Advertiser)
2 May 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
6 May 1966 – Crystal Ballroom, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire with Jimmy Powell & The Dimensions, Kris Ryan & The Questions and Wednesday’s Child (Evening Sentinel)
9 May 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
14 May 1966 – The Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire with The Kinks and Tony Terrett (Evening Sentinel)
15 May 1966 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley, West Sussex (Caterham Weekly Press)
22 May 1966 – Tower Ballroom, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk with Barry Lee & The Planets (Eastern Evening News/Yarmouth Mercury)
26 May 1966 – Crystal Ballroom, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
27 May 1966 – Club Creole, Wilmslow, Cheshire (Alderley & Wilmslow & Knutsford Advertiser)
28 May 1966 – Mersey View Ballroom, Frodsham, Cheshire with The Dodoes (Runcorn Weekly News)
4 June 1966 – Starlight Ballroom, Boston Gliderdrome, Boston, Lincolnshire with Keith Powell and Billie Davis, The End, The Humperdinks and The Ferryboys (Lincolnshire Standard)
6 June 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
7 June 1966 – Crystal Ballroom, Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
10 June 1966 – Worsley Civic Hall, Walkden, Worsley, Lancashire with This Generation (Bolton Evening News)
13 June 1966 – Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with The Ambassadors (Express & Star)
16 June 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
20 June 1966 – Casino Club, Bolton, Greater Manchester with The Crestas (Bolton Evening News)
25 June 1966 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire with support (Evening Sentinel)
27 June 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
Jim Warhurst has joined in time (replacing John Denson) to appear on the group’s lone 45 for Fontana “I Feel So Good” c/w “I Close My Eyes”, which is released in September 1966
7 July 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
9 July 1966 – Union Rowing Club, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post) Says back again from Germany
12 July 1966 – Crystal Ballroom, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire with Dene Wayne & The Exiles (Evening Sentinel)
14 July 1966 – Locarno, Derby (Derby Evening Telegraph)
16 July 1966 – Locarno Ballroom, Swindon, Wiltshire with Dynamos (Swindon Evening Advertiser)
18 July 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
23 July 1966 – Navada, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
28 July 1966 – Entry date into Belgium on way to Storyville Jazz Club, Cologne, West Germany (Kerry Burke’s passport) The group most likely played at the club for one month
3 September 1966 – Oasis, Manchester with The Wheels and Frankenstein (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle)
3 September 1966 – The Cavern, Liverpool with The Times, The Hideaways, The Mixture, The Dollies, The Dark Ages and The Prowlers (John Warburg research/Liverpool Echo)
4 September 1966 – Burnley Locarno, Burnley, Lancashire (Burnley Express and News)
8 September 1966 – Bradmore WMC, Bradmore, West Midlands (Express & Star)
12 September 1966 – Atlanta Ballroom, Woking, Surrey (Aldershot News/Camberley News)
15 September 1966 – Barrow Public Hall, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria with The Warriors (North Western Mail)
16 September 1966 – Paradise Club, Wigan, Greater Manchester (Liverpool Echo)
17 September 1966 – Union Rowing Club, Trent Bridge, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
19 September 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
20 September 1966 – Crystal Ballroom, Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
23 September 1966 – Hull College of Technology’s Fresher’s Dance with Birds Groove (Hull Daily Mail)
29 September 1966 – The Cavern, Liverpool with Georgia Germs (John Warburg research/Liverpool Echo)
1 October 1966 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
3 October 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
4 October 1966 – Oasis, Manchester (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle)
7 October 1966 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with The James Royal Set (Luton News)
9 October 1966 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey with support (Aldershot News/Camberley News)
10 October 1966 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
10 October 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News) Looks like they cancelled or the gig was pushed back three days
13 October 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
16 October 1966 – Beachcomber, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
18 October 1966 – Crystal Ballroom, Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
27 October 1966 – Entry date into Belgium, possibly to play Shark Club, Ghent (Kerry Burke’s passport)
4 November 1966 – Oasis, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)
5 November 1966 – The Thing, Oldham, Greater Manchester (Oldham Evening Chronicle)
6 November 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
7 November 1966 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
11 November 1966 – Crystal Club, Glossop, Greater Manchester (Manchester Evening New and Chronicle)
11 November 1966 – Student Union, Manchester with Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Big City Sound Manchester (Manchester Evening New and Chronicle)
13 November 1966 – Swinging Sinking Ship, Stockport, Greater Manchester (Manchester Evening New and Chronicle)
14 November 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
17 November 1966 – Tiles, Oxford Street, London with Wishful Thinking (Melody Maker)
18 November 1966 – Entry date into Belgium, possibly to play the Shark Club, Ghent (Kerry Burke’s passport)
25 November 1966 – 7 Club, Shrewsbury, Shropshire with The Silvers (Express & Star)
26 November 1966 – Flamingo, Redruth, Cornwall with Circuit 5 (West Briton & The Royal Cornwall Gazette)
27 November 1966 – Flamingo, Redruth, Cornwall (West Briton & The Royal Cornwall Gazette)
3 December 1966 – Locarno Ballroom, Swindon, Wiltshire with Unchained (Swindon Evening Advertiser)
6 December 1966 – The Place Hanley, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
7 December 1966 – Elbow Room, Aston, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)
10 December 1966 – Oasis, Manchester (Manchester Evening New and Chronicle)
11 December 1966 – Burnley Locarno, Burnley, Lancashire (Burnley Express and News)
12 December 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
14 December 1966 – Tiles, Oxford Street, central London (Melody Maker)
21 December 1966 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire with The Factotums (Evening Sentinel)
23 December 1966 – St Bernadette’s, Withington, Greater Manchester with The Children (Manchester Evening New and Chronicle)
24 December 1966 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire with The Children (Evening Sentinel)
25 December 1966 – Top Ten Club, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)
26 December 1966 – Oasis, Manchester with The Chuckles and Some Other Guys (Manchester Evening New and Chronicle)
26 December 1966 – Stockport Town Hall Ballroom, Stockport, Greater Manchester with St Louis Union and Cock-a-Hoops (Manchester Evening New and Chronicle)
27 December 1966 – Peppermint Lounge, Liverpool with Nog (Liverpool Echo)
29 December 1966 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
31 December 1966 – Union Rowing Club, Trent Bridge, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
1 January 1967 – Jung Frau, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)
4 January 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, central London (Melody Maker)
6 January 1967 – Entry date into Belgium on the way to play Hans der Musik, Wuppertal, West Germany for one month (Kerry Burke’s passport)
24 February 1967 – Blackpool Tower, Blackpool, Lancashire with The Graham Bond Organisation, The Easybeats, The Iveys and The Cryin Shames (Kerry Burke’s recollections) This was the band’s first gig back in the UK after the Wuppertal residency
25 February 1967 – Navada, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
4 March 1967 – White Bicycle, Maple Ballroom, Northampton, Northamptonshire with The Legal Matter (Northampton Chronicle)
10 March 1967 – SBYC, St Bernadette’s, Withington, Greater Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)
11 March 1967 – Oasis, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)
13 March 1967 – Belfry, Wishaw, West Midlands with New Way of Life (Birmingham Evening Post)
14 March 1967 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
19 March 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, London (Melody Maker)
26 March 1967 – Entry date into Belgium (Kerry Burke’s passport)
6 April 1967 – Crystal Ballroom, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
7 April 1967 – Tabernacle, Stockport, Greater Manchester with The Iveys (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)
13 April 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Coventry, West Midlands with PP Arnold and The Nice (Coventry Evening Telegraph)
15 April 1967 – Union Rowing Club, Trent Bridge, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post) Back from a European tour (see Belgium entry date above)
22 April 1967 – Blue Lagoon, Newquay, Cornwall with The Jaguars (West Briton & Royal Cornish Gazette/Cornish Guardian)
26 April 1967 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire with The Cheetahs (Evening Sentinel)
29 April 1967 – New Century Hall, Manchester with The Silverstone Set (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)
3 May 1967 – Entry date into Belgium (Kerry Burke’s passport)
12 May 1967 – Carlton Club, Warrington, Cheshire (Warrington Guardian)
19 May 1967 – Boulevard, Tadcaster, West Yorkshire with The Screen (Yorkshire Evening Post)
27 May 1967 – Staffs Volunteer, Bushbury, Wolverhampton, West Midlands (Express & Star)
30 May 1967 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire with The Shell Shock Show (Evening Sentinel)
Mel Preston left at this point and Peter Simensky joined, playing his first show on 3 June at the Belle Vue
3 June 1967 – Belle Vue, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)
3 June 1967 – Top Ten Club, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle) They left for Hamburg next day
6 June 1967 – Entry date into West Germany (Kerry Burke’s passport)
6 June-2 July 1967 – The Star Club, St Pauli, Hamburg, West Germany (Ian Hamilton contract) Shared with various acts including The Equals, The Hi-Fis and The Birds and The Bees from 30 June to 1 July
Jim Warhurst leaves during late June/early July and Graham Sclater joins from The Birds and The Bees
3 July 1967 – Entry date into the Netherlands (Kerry Burke’s passport)
7 July 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, London (Graham Sclater’s diary)
8 July 1967 – Scotch of St James, Mayfair, London (Graham Sclater’s diary)
10 July 1967 – Bolton Nevada, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Graham Sclater’s diary)
12 July 1967 – RAF Bentwaters, near Woodbridge, Suffolk (Graham Sclater’s diary)
13 July 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, London with Chas Stevens (Melody Maker) The group was advertised playing in Melody Maker but this gig did not happen
14 July 1967 – Gig in Huddersfield (Graham Sclater’s diary)
15 July 1967 – Ritz Manchester (Graham Sclater’s diary)
16-17 July 1967 – Bolton Mecca, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Graham Sclater’s diary)
18-20 July – Mr Smith’s, Manchester (Graham Sclater’s diary)
21 July 1967 – Gig in Freshwater (Graham Sclater’s diary)
22 July 1967 – Gig in Swansea, south Wales (Graham Sclater’s diary) Port Talbot Guardian has the group appearing at Ritz, Skewen, Wales on this date with The King B’s
23 July 1967 – Gig in Blackburn, Lancashire (Graham Sclater’s diary)
26 July 1967 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire with Milton James (Evening Sentinel)
27 July 1967 – Gig in Sheffield, South Yorkshire (Graham Sclater’s diary)
28 July 1967 – Gig in Prescott (Graham Sclater’s diary)
29 July 1967 – RAF Bentwaters, near Woodbridge, Suffolk (Graham Sclater’s diary)
1 August 1967 – Scotch of St James, Mayfair, London (Graham Sclater’s diary)
2 August 1967 – Gig in Preston, Lancashire (Graham Sclater’s diary)
3 August 1967 – Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)
4 August 1967 – RAF High Wycombe, High Wycombe, Bucks (Graham Sclater’s diary)
5 August 1967 – Gig in Mildenhall (Graham Sclater’s diary)
10 August 1967 – YMCA Ipswich, Suffolk (Graham Sclater’s diary)
11 August 1967 – Entry date into Belgium, possibly to play the Shark Club, Ghent (Kerry Burke’s passport)
Graham Sclater’s diary has The Shark Club listed for 11-16 August but he’s not sure they did play. However, the dates do tally with Kerry’s passport stamp above, although it is unlikely they played 16th July if this did happen as they arrived in Denmark that day.
Malcolm Tag-Randall’s old friend and former band mate from Jeff Curtis & The Flames, Jeff Lake was road manager on the Swedish tour and recalls the band playing a club just outside Ghent
18 August 1967 – Entry date into Sweden via Denmark (Kerry Burke’s passport)
Thanks to Mats Jarl for supplying the clipping
18 August 1967 – Pop Inn, Gothenburg, Sweden backing The Caravelles (Graham Sclater’s diary)
19 August 1967 – Gig in Virestom, Sweden backing The Caravelles (Graham Sclater’s diary)
20-21 August 1967 – Gig in Gaule, Sweden backing The Caravelles (Graham Sclater’s diary)
Thanks to Mats Jarl for supplying the clipping
22 August 1967 – Gig in Stockholm, Sweden backing The Caravelles (Graham Sclater’s diary)
23 August 1967 – Globe Club, Gothenburg, Sweden backing The Caravelles (Graham Sclater’s diary)
25 August 1967 – Saffle, Gothenburg, Sweden backing The Caravelles (Graham Sclater’s diary)
Thanks to Mats Jarl for supplying the clipping
26 August 1967 – Ellos-Hunnebo, Sweden backing The Caravelles (Graham Sclater’s diary)
Thanks to Mats Jarl for supplying the clipping
27 August 1967 – Uddevalla-Trollhatt, Sweden backing The Caravelles (Graham Sclater’s diary)
28-31 August 1967 – Gigs in Gothenburg, Sweden backing The Caravelles (Graham Sclater’s diary)
2 September 1967 – Cue Club, Gothenburg, Sweden with The Rebels and The Shamrocks (Mats Jarl clipping) Exact date needs confirmation
Thanks to Mats Jarl for supplying the clipping
2 September 1967 – Globe Club, Gothenburg, Sweden with The Patch (Mats Jarl clipping) Exact date needs confirmation
Thanks to Mats Jarl for supplying the clipping
3 September 1967 – Hoffrekullen, Romelanda, Gothenburg, Sweden with The Hill Billy Five (Mats Jarl clipping)
3 September 1967 – Cue Club, Gothenburg, Sweden (Kerry Burke recollections) Jammed with Jimi Hendrix
7 September 1967 – Left Sweden to return to UK via Denmark (Kerry Burke’s passport)
8-9 September 1967 – RAF Bentwaters, near Woodbridge, Suffolk (Graham Sclater’s diary)
10-11 September 1967 – Hatchetts Playground, Piccadilly, central London (Graham Sclater’s diary)
15-16 September 1967 – RAF Bentwaters, near Woodbridge, Suffolk (Graham Sclater’s diary)
17 September 1967 – College Club, Manchester (Graham Sclater’s diary)
21 September 1967 – Imperial, Darlington (Graham Sclater’s diary)
22 September 1967 – Carlton Club, Warrington, Cheshire with The Do-Does (Warrington Guardian)
23 September 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Swindon, Wiltshire with The Avalons (Swindon Evening Advertiser)
24 September 1967 – Plaza Huddersfield (Graham Sclater’s diary)
27 September 1967 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire with The Drifters (Evening Sentinel)
28 September 1967 – Cinysey, north Wales (Graham Sclater’s diary)
29 September 1967 – SBYC, St Bernadette’s, Withington, south Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)
30 September 1967 – Menwith Club, Yorkshire (Graham Sclater’s diary)
1 October 1967 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
5 October 1967 – Entry date into Belgium (Kerry Burke’s passport)
9-14 October 1967 – Hatchetts Playground, Piccadilly, central London (Graham Sclater’s diary) Graham isn’t totally sure about this one
19 October 1967 – Beachcomber, Luton, Bedfordshire (John Warburg research)
Graham Sclater has Dunstable not Luton
22 October 1967 – Birdcage, Harlow (Graham Sclater’s diary)
25 October 1967 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire with The Waterboard (Evening Sentinel)
26 October 1967 – Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Graham Sclater’s diary)
27 October 1967 – RAF Bentwaters, near Woodbridge, Suffolk (Graham Sclater’s diary)
28 October 1967 – NCO gig in Crighton (Graham Sclater’s diary)
This is probably RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire. The Coventry Evening Telegraph also lists the band playing at the Flower Pot Club in Digbeth, Birmingham on this date with The Junction. The Flower Pot Club gig is also confirmed by the Birmingham Evening Mail (see picture below)
30 October 1967 – Town Hall, Spennymoor (Graham Sclater’s diary)
5 November 1967 – Two Bar Egremont (Graham Sclater’s diary)
8 November 1967 – Penny Farthing, Hanley, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
10 November 1967 – Entry date into Belgium, possibly on the way to West Germany for gigs. This must be a mistake as the band played UK dates around this period unless the UK gigs were cancelled?
10 November 1967 – Caesar’s Club, Bedford (Graham Sclater’s diary)
11 November 1967 – Navada Bolton, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Graham Sclater’s diary)
12 November 1967 – Sloopy’s, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle) This gig was advertised in Manchester Evening News so perhaps the UK dates did happen?
24 January 1968 – New Century Hall, Manchester (Graham Sclater’s diary) This date needs confirmation. Sclater recalls that the group played two Manchester gigs on the same night at short notice backing singer Madelaine Bell. Status Quo were supposed to do the honours but were appearing on Top of the Pops.
26 January 1968 – Queens Rink Ballroom, Hartlepool with Mark Aynsley Big Beat Band (Graham Sclater’s diary/Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)
27 January 1968 – Il Rondo Ballroom, Leicester (Leicester Mercury)
28 January 1968 – Clayton Lodge Hotel, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire (Graham Sclater’s diary)
28 January 1968 – Bamboo Club, Wilmslow, Cheshire (Alderley & Wilmslow Advertiser) Missing from Graham Sclater’s diary
1 February 1968 – Drokiweeny, Manchester (Manchester Evening News) Missing from Graham Sclater’s diary
7 February 1968 – RAF Bentwaters, near Woodbridge, Suffolk or Casino, Leigh (Graham Sclater’s diary)
8 February 1968 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Graham Sclater’s diary)
9 February 1968 – Gig in Woodbridge, Suffolk (Graham Sclater’s diary) Could possibly be Drill Hall, Woodbridge
10 February 1968 – RAF Bentwaters, near Woodbridge, Suffolk (Graham Sclater’s diary)
14 February 1968 – Entry date into the Netherlands on the way to West Germany (Kerry Burke’s passport)
15 February 1968 – Entry into East Germany on the way to West Berlin to play the Liverpool Hoop for one month (Kerry Burke’s recollections/passport)
March 1968 – Top Ten Club, Hamburg, West Germany with Floribunda Rose and then Bluesology (Graham Sclater’s recollections)
9 April 1968 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire (Graham Sclater’s diary)
13 April 1968 – Lion Hotel, Warrington, Cheshire with Gospel Garden (Warrington Guardian)
Malcolm Tag-Randall remembers that he left after this gig or shortly after and briefly reunited with Jeff Lake in Tommy Bishop’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival Show for a gig in Barry, south Wales. Tag-Randall later played with The Red Express and Sindy & The Action Men among others.
14 April 1968 – Lower Chambers Town Hall, Rochdale (Graham Sclater’s diary)
22 April 1968 – Bolton Palais, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Graham Sclater’s diary)
24 April 1968 – RAF Bentwaters, near Woodbridge, Suffolk (Graham Sclater’s diary)
27 April 1968 – Gig in Woodbridge, Suffolk (Graham Sclater’s diary) Could possibly be Drill Hall, Woodbridge
27 April 1968 – Rainbow Suite Co-op, Birmingham with Ultra Sound (Birmingham Evening Mail)
Graham Sclater doesn’t have the Birmingham gig in his diary and says he left after the Woodbridge date. He thinks Malcolm Tag-Randall left at the same time as did Stuart Fahey. Kenny Anders joined on lead guitar
11 May 1968 – Windsor Ballroom, Redcar, North Yorkshire with The Skyliners (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)
12 May 1968 – Clayton Lodge Hotel, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
2 September 1968 – Penny Farthing, Southend, Essex (Southend Standard)
3 October 1968 – Penny Farthing, Southend, Essex (Southend Standard)
17 October 1968 – Penny Farthing, Southend, Essex (Southend Standard)
26 October 1968 – Ritz, Bournemouth, Dorset (Bournemouth Evening Echo)
31 October 1968 – Penny Farthing, Southend, Essex (Southend Standard)
2 November 1968 – Wellington Manor Country Club, Crowthorne, Berkshire (Reading Evening Post)
Many thanks to the following for their generous input: Kerry Burke, Peter Simensky, Graham Sclater and Malcolm Randall. To add further information, please email the author at Warchive@aol.com.
The Mind’s Eye at the Action Spot, October 1967 From right to left: James Morris, Mark Finley, Gary O’Neal, Carroll Fuller, with drumsticks in back pocket. In the background is Karen Nunneley, and Larry Lemons
A couple years ago I posted list of bands playing the 1967 Texas State Fair. Many of the groups named are still a mystery to me. There were other bands who played who weren’t even on the list, including this group from a small town near the Oklahoma border.
Carroll Fuller sent in the photos and wrote to me about the Mind’s Eye, and in 2016 Larry G. Lemons gave this history:
Although not listed on your clipping, The Mind’s Eye, from Nocona, Texas, also played in the Battle of the Bands on the Action Spot Stage at the 1967 Texas State Fair. Pictured here are the original members from right to left are James Morris (bass guitar), Marcus Finley (rhythm guitar), Gary O’Neal (lead guitar), Carroll Fuller (drums). In the background are Karen Nunneley (organ and vocal), and Larry G. Lemons (organ).
The band played together at youth centers, dances, and parties in and around Montague County (north of Fort Worth near the Red River) from 1966 to 1968. Marcus was later killed in a tragic motorcycle accident. After a time, James and Karen left the group to pursue other interests. Gary, Carroll, and Larry continued on and added Glen Idell to the lineup on bass.
After disbanding in 1968, Gary and Karen went on to play professionally for several years as each explored other styles of music including gospel and bluegrass. All members went on to pursue successful careers outside of the music industry.
Almost fifty years later, because of their life-long friendships and a love for 60’s rock and roll, the band has reunited to play a one-off concert at their local Nocona High School Triennial Homecoming as they reprise many of their favorite songs. Added to the line-up for the concert will be bass guitarist extraordinaire and master sound engineer, George Geurin, another Nocona 60’s garage band musician who played with Concrete Flower.
Larry G. Lemons
Carroll Fuller adds:
Following us was a band from Denton called The G’s [one single “There’s a Time” / “‘Cause She’s My Girl” on the Young Generation label]. The G’s were a very talented bunch, or at least they were to us, coming from a small town and all! I just remember them playing “Things I Should have Said” by the Grassroots that really blew us away!
Gary, our guitarist and vocalist went on to play with a band out of Bowie, TX called Horsefly.
Carroll Fuller
The Mind’s Eye at the Action Spot, Texas State Fair, 1967The Mind’s Eye, Texas State Fair, 1967 from left: Marcus Finley, Carroll Fuller, Karen Nunneley, Gary O’Neal, James Morris, & Larry G. LemonsThe Mind’s Eye at the Action Spot, Texas State Fair, 1967
The reformed version of the Skaliwags, from left: Pete Christensen, Gerry Foster, Eddy Mitchell, Ralph Leroux and Chris Saunders
Turn Him Down 1st issueThe Skaliwags (sometimes misspelled Skalliwags) came from Ottawa, Canada like a band I profiled last month, the Raphaels. The Skaliwags had been around since 1961, based in Gatineau. Lead singer Eddy Mitchell remembered Big 12 shows at the old Coliseum from noon to midnight, where each of the 12 bands would play two short sets and as many as 8,000 kids would attend during the day. Those shows gave the band many contacts, including John Brower (who would later produce the Rock and Roll Revival festival where the Plastic Ono Band would record Live Peace in Toronto) and local DJs including Al Pascal of CFRA.
365 Days a Year 1st issueAlex Sherman of Sherman’s Music was owner of Excellent label and put up the money for the singles. The Skaliwags went to RCA studios in Montreal to record their first single in February of 1966. “Turn Him Down” reached #1 on CFRE. The flip, “365 Days a Year” is equally excellent.After this single, the band splintered. Lead guitarist John Bacho left to join the Townsmen, and bassist Andy Cody left the band to get married. Ed Mitchell recalled the Skaliwags recruiting Chris Saunders and Ralph Leroux from The Slaves of Time. Ralph Leroux is the brother of David Leroux of the Raphaels. Pete Christensen of the Raphaels joined on bass.
Turn Him Down 2nd issueI’ll reproduce Eddy Mitchell’s comment below:
I was the singer for the Skaliwags. The version of the group that recorded “Turn Him Down” consisted of Ed Mitchell singer, John Bacho lead guitar, Gerry Foster (real name Gerry Fortier) rhythm guitar, Andy Cody (real name Andre Cote) bass guitar and Gil Brooks (real name Jules Leclair) drums. The names were changed so as not to appear to come from Gatineau, since we thought that it make a difference to Ottawa kids.
365 Days a Year 2nd issueThe second record, “Me Minus More” was recorded by Ed Mitchell, Gerry Fortier, Ralph Leroux, Peter Christianson, and Chris Saunders. I left the Skaliwags in October of 1967 and joined another Gatineau called Musical Fantasy who went nowhere, and I quit music altogether on December 15, 1967 when my lung collapsed on stage at what was then called Immaculata High School on Bronson Ave.
Paul Warman (spelled Paull Warman on the green label releases) wrote all four songs the Skaliwags released, including their second release, “Me Minus More” / “Broken Man Am I” from 1967. Eddy Mitchell said in an interview on Brian Murphy’s Capitol Roots radio show on CHEZ 106.1 FM in Ottawa in the early ’80s that the band was trying to find a song as catchy as “Raindrops keep Falling on My Head”. The band broke up after the second single.
Eddy wrote to me about Paul Warman:
Paul Warman who passed away in January of 2011, was our manager. He never played in the group and as you know he wrote all four songs. He also wrote another song titled “You Ain’t Pulling the Wool Over My Eyes Babe”. We actually recorded the song and one of the guys in the group kept the acetate. It was destroyed in a house fire several years later. As to photos, you have everything that I have, except some that go further back to the really early days.
Paul Warman passed away on Jan 23rd, 2011 at the age of 67.
Skaliwags releases: Excellent E-5001 (1st issue, gold label) – 365 Days a Year / Turn Him Down Excellent E-5001 (2nd issue, green label) – 365 Days a Year / Turn Him Down Excellent E-5001 (green label) – Me Minus More / Broken Man Am I
Thank you to Alex for the promotional photo seen at top, and to Ivan Amirault for the scans of the Skaliwags 45s, the additional photos, and the clip of the Capitol Roots show.
Does anyone have better quality scans of these photos and promo pics?
Jimmy Marsh – lead vocals Allen Bevan – lead guitar Tony Rowland – bass Malcolm Tomlinson – drums
The Motivation, 1967 with Jimmy Marsh (second left) and Malcolm Tomlinson (far left)
Lead singer Jimmy Marsh (b. 9 April 1941, Salem, Carmarthenshire, Wales; d. 13 April 2020) had started out around 1961 with Fulham band, The Fairlanes, comprising lead guitarist Allen Grey, rhythm guitarist David Beach, bass player Terry Gore and drummer John Warwick. The band played US air bases and sometimes backed cabaret acts like Kathy Kirby and Vince Hill.
During 1962, Marsh formed the first Del Mar Trio with lead guitarist Allen Bevan, who worked at Sound City on Shaftesbury Avenue, rhythm guitarist Terry Toatal, plus a bass player and a drummer. On 1 June 1963, the musicians backed Jimmy Marsh on the “Rock Twist Jive Channel Crossing”, a rock extravaganza that took place on-board the Channel ferry, the M V Royal Daffodil, which sailed from Southend, Essex to Boulogne, and also featured Jeff Curtis & The Flames, whose drummer was Malcolm Tomlinson (b. 16 June 1946, Isleworth, Middlesex; d. 2 April 2016).
Photo: Worthing Gazette, December 1964
Bevan and Tomlinson ran into each other again while working at Sound City and around late June 1964 the drummer left The Flames to join Marsh’s band. Tony Rowland, who hailed from Doncaster, completed the second version of The Del Mar Trio, which was formed around the early summer.
After rehearsing between the occasional gig, the quartet headed to the south coast and found work with Bob Gaitley’s Beat, Ballad and Blues agency, working his clubs, the Top Hat in Littlehampton and the Mexican Hat in Worthing.
Cornish gig, January 1965
In January 1965, the group headed to Cornwall for a short tour, which included St Austell and Penzance.
Part of the same Cornish tour, 15 January 1965
The band also played along the southcoast, including in Brighton, appearing there after the Cornish gigs.
Advert for Brighton gig, 23 January 1965. Photo: Evening Argus
Gaitley was impressed enough with Marsh’s singing to arrange for an audition at Abbey Road, which led to the recording of four tracks – “You Know How”, “Pocket Full of Rainbows”, “Like A Baby” and “Haunting Me”, with producer, the late Bob Barrett in February 1965, and listed under the name James Deene & The Del Mar Trio.
Just before the German tour
The band continued to gig around the London area, including in Northwood with The Mark Four and a show at the Pilgrim, Haywards Heath, West Sussex.
When nothing happened to the tracks, the band signed up for a tour of West Germany and headed off in late April/early May 1965.
West Sussex gig. Photo: Brighton Evening Argus
Over the next year, the band, working as James Deene & The London Cats, underwent various personnel changes, including seeing another former Jeff Curtis & The Flames member, lead guitarist Louis McKelvey join briefly, and would ultimately see all of the members return home except Jimmy Marsh who found work on a US air force base outside Munich.
Around May/June 1966, Marsh was contacted (via the British Consulate) by bass player Bryan Stevens, a former member of Johnny Devlin & The Detours, which had shared the bill with The Del Mar Trio at one of Gaitley’s clubs on the south coast, to join a new version of Stevens’ latest band, The Noblemen. Marsh accepted and recommended Malcolm Tomlison as a drummer. The pair stuck with The Noblemen from June until November 1966 when the band changed name to The Motivation. Working under the new name, The Motivation headed to Rome in late March 1967 and worked at the famous Piper Club but Marsh became ill and returned home.
Tomlinson remained with The Motivation until August when the revised line up changed name again to The Penny Peep Show/Penny Peeps. The band recorded two singles for Liberty in 1968 – “Little Man With A Stick” c/w “Model Village” and “I See The Morning” c/w “Curly, The Knight of The Road”, before becoming blues band Gethsemane in August of that year. After splitting in December 1968, Tomlinson reunited with Louis McKelvey, who’d returned from Canada in July of that year and the pair relocated to Canada in January 1969 where they formed Milkwood.
In 1973, Tomlinson recorded an unreleased album with Rick James & The Stone City Band and two solo albums, issued on the A&M label in the late 1970s.
Many thanks to Jimmy Marsh and Malcolm Tomlinson for information.
Dave & the Detomics pose in front of their Cadillac Superior, 1966 from left: Vince Slagel, Jeanne Eickhoff, Bill Sheedy, Dave Bethard, Steve Westhoff and Monte McDermith
Dave Bethard – lead guitar/vocals Jeanne Eickhoff – lead vocals Galen Johnson – rhythm guitar Steve Westhoff – rhythm guitar, back-up vocals Vince Slagel — organ and vocals Terry (Fuzzy) Johnson – bass, vocals Monte McDermith – bass, lead guitar, vocals Bill Sheedy – drums and vocals
Dave and the Detomics came from the same southern-central area of Illinois, like Oglethorp and Othelow who I profiled last year. Both groups also had record releases on a southeast Texas label named Van, thanks to the connections of local radio show host Oscar Wells. Wells also recorded additional songs by each group that went unreleased at the time.
In the article below, Dave Bethard tells the band’s story in his own words, with some additional input from band mate Galen Johnson where noted. Dave has been very patient with my questions, and also provided all the incredible photos seen here.
Dave’s pre-Detomics band, the Stardusters, Illiopolis, 1963 from left: Joe Hischer (sax), Mark Myers (trumpet), Dave Bethard (vocal and rhythm guitar), Paul Cooler (lead guitar) and Terry Buff (drums)
My name is Dave Bethard — formerly of Dave & The Detomics of Morrisonville, Illinois, and the surrounding area.
The whole history of Dave & the Detomics included cousins Galen and Terry Johnson (both from Palmer, Illinois—attending Morrisonville High School) on rhythm and bass guitar prior to the band’s later personnel grouping in 1965/66. Dates are hard to fix, but Galen, Bill, Terry (Fuzzy) and I were at it in 1963 and 1964 as the Majestics too, before changing our name. We added Vince Slagel first. Then, later, Monte to replace Terry, and Steve to replace Galen, and then Jeanne was added, but those dates are hazy to me. Vince and Jeanne went to Hillsboro High School (Jeanne lived in Butler), and Steve went to Litchfield High, Monte to Nokomis, so we had a wide following because of the spread-out geography of our members.
Richard Dean’s article [on Oglethorp and Othelow] is pretty accurate—except for the part that we were a rockabilly band. We never thought of ourselves that way, and certainly didn’t work to sound that way or to learn or perform country and western songs, unless they were on the charts and requested. Admittedly, we all had a Midwest twang, which probably sounded country….but that was not our musical intent. We always thought that we were better on instrumentals, compared to vocals, and we worked hard to do numerous Ventures (and other instrumental) songs—indeed, using a version of one of their songs for our theme and break song for years.
Q. How did the band get the name Detomics?
There used to be a gas station in Springfield (between 5th and 6th streets on the South end of town) where the two streets split from divided back to a four lane heading South. That street was only 1 block long, and on the South side, there was a Detomic Gas station. That’s where the name came from.
We all came up with the name together, democratically. I was the leader, but took equal share with everyone else, and didn’t throw my weight around.
Original lineup of the band, winter of 1964, from left: Bill Sheedy, Galen Johnson, Dave Bethard, and Terry Johnson. Taken in Bill Sheedy’s basement by his brother, Richard.Dave Bethard and Galen Johnson
Jeanne was (is) an accomplished vocalist, and her addition certainly made our overall sound better, and our song choices then expanded, allowing us to do more ballads and harmony to accompany her. Along with Jeanne and me, Bill, Vince and Monte all sang individual songs, with Steve doing backup vocals—so we all had mics. Monte’s addition was a great benefit for me, as he could sing and had a higher pitched voice than me—and, he could play lead on some songs, giving me a break on both fronts. We thought it made us look more professional to switch instruments occasionally during the evening for a song or two.Richard is correct that we didn’t draw big crowds in Pana—or in Irving, for that matter–and our enthusiasm to work there shrank after several tries. I’d have loved to hit it off with the Pana, Illiopolis area kids, but multiple trips there for us, at least, were frustrating. We just didn’t click with them, at least, that was our take on it. Too bad.
But, to balance his point, we drew large crowds in Nokomis, Palmer and Morrisonville locations over several years at numerous venues, including the Nokomis Park House, a frequent favorite of ours. Certainly, hailing from the Central Illinois area, we got around as much as we could, and enjoyed nearly every location. The open air Morrisonville Park pavilion was a favorite of ours too, and we used to do Thursday night dances every week during the summer months. It was normal to have between 200 and 300 kids attending—we were subject to the whims of Mother Nature, but rain-outs were rare. The overhead was minimal, so the money take for band members was sometimes better than ‘scale’.
Dave and Detomics on the Johnny Rabbitt show, November 29, 1964Johnny Rabbitt and Kay
The band provided music for the Johnny Rabbitt show – the Rabbitt and Kay signed autographs & did some ticket magic – door prices, chances to another appearance of his, etc. Mainly, it was a venue for him to give away stuff and to mingle with his listeners. To my recollection, he and Kay came alone, I don’t remember any handlers or entourage.The business address for KXOK was was a small one-story house or building as I recall – you could easily drive by it, and we did! I don’t think that our records made it to KXOK—by the time we did them the Rabbit was gone, I think.
Galen Johnson: “One thing I remember from the Johnny Rabbit show was him picking up a phrase we told him while visiting his show, and then using it on his show. That was ‘Hang it on your ear.’ I don’t even know now what that means, but he used it anyway.”
Johnny Rabbitt’s KXOK show, Nov. 29, 1964Bill Sheedy after setting record for 40 hours of non-stop drumming
Probably the pinnacles of our band efforts would have been two major events—Bill Sheedy became the World’s Marathon Drummer in 1964 (I think). This gave him and us front page coverage on most media in the vicinity, and some world wide coverage as well. He played his drums for 40 solid hours in my dad’s garage (our practice spot) and had hundreds and hundreds of people come through during the event. It was over a weekend, so we all got to skip school on Monday—pretty much excused, as it was a big local event.
Dave Bethard of Dave & the Detomics and Dave Davies of the Kinks, 1965, “taken during our 3 day tour of Central Illinois”The Rivieras, on the Kinks tour, 1965
The band did a three day tour (Peoria, Springfield and Decatur, dates uncertain) with The Kinks, Paul Petersen, The Rivieras, and the Hollywood Argyles. Dick and Dee Dee must have been scheduled to appear, but didn’t. Along with another popular local group from Springfield (Randy and the Ramblers) we got to spend a few minutes with the ‘big boys’, while they filled in between bigger audiences in Chicago and St. Louis. That week, all told, with the other ‘normal’ bookings, we appeared in front of about 10,000 people—certainly a huge increase from our norms. And the best part of it all was that they paid us to do what we would have volunteered to do for free!Pretty heady stuff for high school kids!
Galen Johnson writes: “I was in the Illinois State Police and my office was in the Armory Building in Springfield during the last part of my career. One of the people I worked with, Larry Ball, discovered Ray Davies from the Kinks had scratched his name in the marble wall in one of the bathroom stalls in the basement. They used that area as a dressing room during the concert in Springfield. It remains there today. Larry is from Springfield and remembers being at that concert. Mr. John Wayne Gacy was President of the Springfield J.C.’s at the time and that club had sponsored the show in Springfield. That is why he was there. During his murder trial episode there was an article in the Springfield paper about his life in Springfield and it mentioned his involvement with this concert. I wish I had kept that article now.
The Hollywood Argyles on the Kinks tour, 1965 (a rare photo of the touring group – may include Ted Marsh, Deary Weaver, Marshall Leib, Gary “Spider” Webb, Bobby Rey and/or Ted Winters. Can anyone ID the female vocalist? -“all we knew was that she was part of the group!” – Dave
Dave & the Detomics on the Kinks tour, Decatur, Illinois, 1965The original Detomics plus new organ player Vince Slagel in the 1965 Picnic Book
The 1965 Picnic Book was a black and white advertising publication for the Morrisonville Picnic and Homecoming (published by the same folks who published the local weekly paper, the Morrisonville Times) that came out each year, and contained numerous advertisements as well as photos and schedules for the upcoming events. The Homecoming was always THE big event in the year, and I’d bet they still have the books in another form, perhaps. They still have a big crowd for the annual event every July! I believe they also still have dances during the evenings too.Fuzzy and Galen were older, Fuzzy by several years, and Galen by one year. Fuzzy really left the group not too long before he went to the Army, and while there were some hurt feelings on both sides for a while, we were able to get past it, and continue our friendship. Galen’s departure was much more planned, but ultimately he went in the Army also. During the transition between Galen and Steve, we played with 3 guitars and a bass for a while.
Nokomis Sadie Hawkins Dance, November 1965
Monte McDermith has replaced Terry Johnson on bass
Revised lineup, early 1966, from left: Bill Sheedy, Dave Bethard, Monte McDermith, Steve Westhoff and Vince Slagel. This group recorded the first Detomics single
Valentines Day dance at Litchfield, February 1966
At right is Dave’s father
Stage setup in Litchfield, notice light show below organ
Our [first] 45 was an instrumental, side A being “Detomic Orbit”, and side B being “Shatter”. By way of example about how songs and groups superimposed on one another in those days, a version of that song was the theme song for a group we idolized early in our careers, called the Shattertones. We ‘borrowed it’ for our own—the sincerest form of flattery!
Q. After I wrote about Van Records, someone from Holland wrote to me to say his copy of Dave & the Detomics’ second 45 “Why Can’t I” / “Soft White Gloves” came from a Dutch publishing company called Belinda Records that had taken out an option on this 45 to release it in the Netherlands in the ’60s, but for some reason it didn’t materialize. The Detomics came close to having a release in Europe! Amazing if true.
The news about someone else releasing it is new to me, at least, and amusing at this stage of my life.
Lillie [who wrote “Soft White Gloves”] was my mom. Both parents were into and involved with the band—my mom actually had a dream, and the lyrics came to her in the dream. When she got up, she wrote them down and gave them to me with the story. I worked only a short time before putting the music to Johnny B Goode behind the lyrics—and with an uptempo beat, it sounded pretty good. My mom gave it her stamp of approval, and Jeanne was enthusiastic about it too. A song is born!
I did find the 4 Audiodiscs (soft copy records with a metal middle layer) that Oscar Wells made for us. I ended up with more than a double CD full of songs—more than I thought we had.
None of the tracks was recorded in a studio. The 45 records were the best quality, and Oscar did those with his portable equipment in my dad’s garage (the band did adjust our volume and tone accordingly) right where we practiced every week!
The radio station tracks came from three audiodiscs that Oscar gave to us from three radio shows we did in 1966. Sort of like payment…but not exactly. Getting our butts up and on the radio at 09:30 am on a Sunday was tough—especially when we played jobs the night before, which was almost always the case.
The rest were from a session Oscar did for our use only, not for sale (to see what we really sounded like), in 1964 when Monte first joined the group — a full 33 1/3 lp of our early days, recorded (the same way) in the Morrisonville (Illinois) American Legion Home, which we rented for $50 just to do that for an evening. I still have the soft discs, and that’s where all of the CD music came from— none of it is even in stereo. At least it’s durable…has survived all these years—and now, it will live forever in the digital world!
Oscar Wells was a country boy trying to navigate in a city world, and he was somewhat out of place. He was a wonderful person, and was honest, very patient, and helpful in all of our dealings with him. That area of Central Illinois, and his show in particular were more country than rock on most days, if my memory is accurate. Any place where the ‘Swap Shop’ is a hit local radio program for years running, isn’t exactly deep in the heart of the city! Oscar did only good for us, and may he rest in peace.
The lineup that recorded “Why Can’t I” / “Soft White Gloves”, with Jeanne Eickoff
Richard Hall, a guitar student of Dave’s, with Dave’s mother Lillie and his father Clete in the back1966 show
Dave’s red ’65 GTO with the Cadillac
Detomics’ final show, December 31, 1966 from left: Jeanne Eickhoff, Bill Sheedy (on drums), Dave Bethard, Vince Slagel (on organ in back), Monte McDermith and Steve Westhoff
Vince and Jeanne were the seniors of the group when we broke up at the end of 1966—they were both in college. I had just graduated from high school, and the rest were at least a year behind me, I think—my point being—we were just kids doing pretty good work for our ages. We did several high school proms, which were just making the transition from ‘all slow songs’ to ‘a mix of slow and rock songs’, and we always were nervous about them, as we preferred rocking, to playing endless slow songs….plus we didn’t know all that many slow tunes.Dave & the Detomics disbanded after playing our final job on New Years Eve 1966. We were hired by a younger faction of the Auburn Country Club who wanted a rock band for New Years—so they got an upstairs place in downtown Auburn, and we did that job as my last one, and I still remember it like it was yesterday.
Dave Bethard at the Detomics’ final show, December 31, 1966
“During my pre-Japan Air Force leave,” 1967The Detomics jamming during Dave’s leave, 1967
After that, I went off to the Air Force in February of 1967, and the remaining band members, Monte McDermith, Steve Westoff, Vince Slagel, Jeanne Eichoff and Bill Sheedy went in other directions. All but Bill and Jeanne went to the Reactions[see clipping at bottom of that page], and, so far as I know, neither Bill or Jeanne joined any band on a full time basis after that.Those times were tough on 18 year old males not in college. There was a military draft and we all knew we would end up in the military in some manner. I just scheduled mine by enlisting, which was a very pivotal time of my life.
Galen, Terry and Dave in front of Fuzzy Johnson’s CorvetteGalen Johnson, Fuzzy Johnson and Dave Bethard
Vince and Jeanne Slagel are married, and live in Georgia after both having very successful careers outside of music. Steve Westoff still lives in Litchfield, Illinois, and is married. Bill Sheedy is married, and still living in Morrisonville, Illinois. Terry Johnson is married, still plays bass and lives in Missouri. Galen Johnson is married, still plays guitar, is a retired State Policeman, and has a successful real estate business in Pawnee, Illinois. Monte McDermith is deceased.About 4 years ago I found and reestablished contact with all of our band members that are still living, and with Monte’s dad and family. I was also able to locate and make contact with Jeanne Weber, our band manager from the earlier days, who is also now deceased.
I live in Florida, I’m married to a woman I met in my Air Force tour in Japan in 1970, and I’m retired after an aerospace career, and still own, but rarely play guitar. We are all still friends, and communicate on occasion.
Dave Bethard, 2012
Terry ‘Fuzzy’ Johnson in front of his Corvette, 1967
Bill Sheedy, 1967
Two views of the original Detomics: Galen Johnson, Dave Bethard, Bill Sheedy and Terry Johnson. Above, 1964: “I was still using a Spiegel catalog guitar–before upgrading to Fender equipment.” Below: “from a jam session we had when I was on leave in 1967 before going to Japan – October time frame.”
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
Someone I know is looking for this 45 by the Grains of Time on the Chyme label (if anyone has a copy for sale please get in touch). I realized I haven’t seen any detailed info on the band, so I’m posting here looking for their story.
