Category Archives: Birmingham

Categories: Birmingham, England

The Spencer Davis Group’s gigs 1963-1969

13 Comments

Welcome to another posting of a series of gig listings for 1960s bands. None of these lists is exhaustive and my idea is to add to them in the comments section below over time. They are here for future researchers to draw on.  I have also added a few interesting bits of information and will add images in time.

I’d like to encourage band members to get in touch to share memories, or for anyone to send corrections/clarifications to my email: Warchive@aol.com 

Equally important, if you attended any of the gigs below or played in the support band, please do leave your memories below in the comments section for future historians to use. If you know of any missing gigs, please add them too, if possible, with the sources.

The Spencer Davis Group, late 1966. Left to right: Pete York, Muff Winwood, Stevie Winwood and Spencer Davis. Photo may be subject to copyright

THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP:

Stevie Winwood (guitar/keyboards/vocals)

Spencer Davis (guitar/vocals

Muff Winwood (bass/vocals)

Pete York (drums)

1964

28 June 1964 – Beat City, central London with The Clayton Squares (Melody Maker)

 

7 July 1964 – Attic Club, 1a High Street, Hounslow, Middlesex with Charlie & Inez Foxx and Them (aka Themselves) (Kingston & Malden Borough News/Gray Newell)

Photo may be subject to copyright

25 July 1964 – Corn Exchange, Cambridge with The Prestons (Cambridge News)

 

17 August 1964 – Clacton Town Hall, Clacton, Essex with The Animals (Essex County Stanard)

 

12 September 1964 – Attic Club, 1a High Street, Hounslow, Middlesex with The Pitmen (Kingston & Malden Borough News)

 

13 October 1964 – Aylesbury Bluesville, Borough Assembly Hall, Market Square, Aylesbury, Bucks with Inez and Charlie Foxx (Bucks Advertiser)

Photo may be subject to copyright

6 November 1964 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear with The Falling Leaves (Newcastle Evening Echo)

19 November 1964 – Granada, Aylesbury, Bucks with Manfred Mann, The Soul Sisters, Wayne (Kellie) Gibson and The Dynamic Sounds, Bern Elliott & His Klan, The Mark Leeman Five, The Downliners Sect, Blues By Five and Dave Kaffey (Bucks Advertiser)

 

4 December 1964 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear (http://www.readysteadygone.co.uk/club-agogo-newcastle-2/)

5 December 1964 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear with The Keys (http://www.readysteadygone.co.uk/club-agogo-newcastle-2/)

Photo may be subject to copyright

29 December 1964 – Aylesbury Bluesville, Borough Assembly Hall, Market Square, Aylesbury, Bucks (Bucks Advertiser)

1965

2 January 1965 – Chelmsford Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, Essex (Essex Chronicle)

Photo may be subject to copyright

17 January 1965 – Bromley Court Hotel, Bromley, Kent (Melody Maker)

19 January 1965 – Aylesbury Bluesville, Market Square, Aylesbury, Bucks (http://aylesburymusictown.co.uk/)

Photo: Richard Gleave

23 January 1965 – Clacton Town Hall, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex with Mark IV and The Blue Berries (Essex County Standard/Poster)

31 January 1965 – Black Prince Hotel, Bexley, Kent (Melody Maker)

 

13 February 1965 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear with The VIPs (http://www.readysteadygone.co.uk/club-agogo-newcastle-2/)

16 February 1965 – Bluesville, Aylesbury, Bucks (http://aylesburymusictown.co.uk/)

17 February 1965 – Farnborough Town Hall, Farnborough, Hampshire with support (Camberley News)

 

1 March 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Mark Leeman Five (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

Photo may be subject to copyright

3 March 1965 – Bromley Court Hotel, Bromley, Kent (Melody Maker)

4 March 1965 – Smethwick Baths, Smethwick, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

7 March 1965 – Blue Moon, Hayes, Middlesex (Harrow Weekly Post/Greenford Weekly Post)

11 March 1965 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands with The Sombreros (Birmingham Evening Mail)

15 March 1965 – Crazy E, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)

17 March 1965 – Mackadown, Kitts Green, West Midlands with The Mike Sheridan Show (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

21 March 1965 – Le Metro, Birmingham with The Hookey Walkers (Birmingham Evening Mail)

22 March 1965 – ‘Bluesville’, Manor House Ballroom, Ipswich, Suffolk (Essex County Standard)

23 March 1965 – Midland Institute, Birmingham with The Johnny Patrick Big Band (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

28 March 1965 – Plaza Ballroom, Handsworth, West Midlands with The Moody Blues and The King Bees (Birmingham Evening Mail)

 

1 April 1965 – Crazy E, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)

8 April 1965 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands with The Uglys (Birmingham Evening Mail)

10 April 1965 – Chelmsford Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, Essex with support (Essex Chronicle)

11 April 1965 – Bromley Court Hotel, Bromley, Kent (Melody Maker)

17 April 1965 – Marqee Dance Club, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)

18 April 1965 – Dungeon Club, Nottingham (https://dungeonmods.wordpress.com/)

29 April 1965 – Carlton Ballroom, Erdington, West Midlands with Lee Stevens & The Satellites (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

30 April 1965 – Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham with The Sheffields, Hogs Snort Rupert and His Good Good Band and Roy Everitt’s Blues Hounds (Birmingham Evening Mail)

 

3 May 1965 – Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

4 May 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Julian Covey & The Machine (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

7 May 1965 – Ricky Tick, Guildford Civic Hall, Guildford, Surrey (David Else’s research)

9 May 1965 – Blue Moon, Hayes, west London with The Vagabonds (Harrow Weekly Post/Greenford Weekly Post)

10 May 1965 – Beachcomber, Bolton, Greater Manchester (Bolton Evening News)

13 May 1965 – Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent (East Kent Times & Mail)

16 May 1965 – Blue Moon, Hayes, west London (Harrow Weekly Post/Greenford Weekly Post)

19 May 1965 – Bromley Court Hotel, Bromley, southeast London (Melody Maker)

30 May 1965 – Silver Beat Club, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)

31 May 1965 – Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

 

2 June 1965 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey (Camberley News)

2 June 1965 – Farnborough Town Hall, Farnborough, Hampshire (Aldershot News)

14 June 1965 – Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

15 June 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Mark Leeman Five (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

Photo may be subject to copyright

17 June 1965 – Le Metro, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

19 June 1965 – Jazz & Blues Festival, Black Prince Hotel, Bexley, southeast London with The Dutch Swing College, Solomon Burke, Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band, Unit 4 Plus 2, The Loose Ends, The Downliners Sect, Alan Elsdon’s Jazzband, Brian Green New-O-Stompers and The Epitaph Soul Band (Bexley Heath & Welling Observer and Kentish Times)

Photo may be subject to copyright

19 June 1965 – Uxbridge Blues Festival, Uxbridge, northwest London with Marianne Faithfull, The Who, Solomon Burke, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, Long John Baldry, Zoot Money, The Birds, John Mayall, Ray Martin Group and Dave Whittling (Ruislip & Northwood Gazette)

20 June 1965 – Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent with Brothers Julius (East Kent Times & Mail)

26 June 1965 – Bure Club, Mudeford, Dorset (website: https://bournemouthbeatboom.wordpress.com/)

27 June 1965 – Blue Moon Hayes, west London (Hayes Gazette)

29 June 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Mark Leeman Five (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

 

7 July 1965 – High Wycombe Town Hall, High Wycombe, Bucks (Bucks Free Press)

12 July 1965 – Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

15 July 1965 – Carlton Ballroom, Erdington, West Midlands with Roy Everett’s Blues Hounds (Birmingham Evening Mail)

20 July 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Mark Leeman Five (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

21 July 1965 – Bristol Corn Exchange, Bristol (Western Scene)

25 July 1965 – Black Prince Hotel, Bexley, southeast London with The Epitaphs Soul Band (Melody Maker)

26 July 1965 – Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London (Wood Green & Southgate Weekly Herald)

Photo may be subject to copyright

28 July 1965 – Bromley Court Hotel, Bromley, southeast London (Melody Maker)

 

3 August 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Mark Leeman Five (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

Photo may be subject to copyright

6 August 1965 – Droitwich Winter Gardens, Droitwich, Worcestershire with The Ravons (Worcester Evening News)

27 August 1965 – Galaxy Club, Town Hall, Basingstoke, Hampshire (Hampshire & Berkshire Gazette)

28 August 1965 – Dreamland, Margate, Kent with The Subjects (East Kent Times)

31 August 1965 – High Wycombe Town Hall, High Wycombe, Bucks (Bucks Free Press)

 

4 September 1965 – Georgian Club, Uxbridge, west London (Hayes Gazette)

5 September 1965 – Blue Moon, Hayes, west London (Harrow Weekly Post/Greenford Weekly Post)

7 September 1965 – High Wycombe Town Hall, High Wycombe, Bucks (Bucks Free Press)

Photo may be subject to copyright

9 September 1965 – Gay Tower Ballroom, Edgbaston, West Midlands with Brian Pearshall Showband (Birmingham Evening Mail)

10 September 1965 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with The Soundtrekkers and Blues By Five (website: www.california-ballroom.info/gigs/)

Photo may be subject to copyright

12 September 1965 – Beachcomber, Preston, Lancashire with The Warriors (Lancashire Evening Post)

16 September 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Bo Street Runners (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

20 September 1965 – Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London (Walthamstow Guardian)

21 September 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Mark Leeman Five (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

22 September 1965 – Bromley Court Hotel, Bromley, southeast London (Melody Maker)

24 September 1965 – Astoria, Finsbury Park, north London with The Rolling Stones, The Checkmates, Unit 4 Plus 2, Ray Cameron, Charles Dickens & The Habits and The End (Tottenham Weekly Herald)

 

15 October 1965 – Regal Cambridge, Cambridge with The Rolling Stones, Unit 4 Plus 2, The Checkmates, Charles Dickens & The Habits, The End and Ray Cameron (Cambridge News)

19 October 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Mark Leeman Five (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

22 October 1965 – Ricky Tick, Staines Town Hall, Staines, Middlesex (David Else’s research)

24 October 1965 – Black Prince Hotel, Bexley, southeast London (Melody Maker)

 

3 November 1965 – Bromley Court Hotel, Bromley, southeast London (Melody Maker)

9 November 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Mark Leeman Five (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

Photo may be subject to copyright

12 November 1965 – Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham with Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, The King Bees and The Cock O Hoops (Birmingham Evening Mail)

15 November 1965 – ‘Bluesville’, Manor House Ballroom, Ipswich, Suffolk (Essex County Standard)

16 November 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Mark Leeman Five (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

20 November 1965 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear with Junco Partners (http://www.readysteadygone.co.uk/club-agogo-newcastle-2/)

22 November 1965 – Parr Hall, Warrington, Cheshire with The Times (Warrington Guardian)

25 November 1965 – Smethwick Baths, Smethwick, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

27 November 1965 – Marcam Hall, March, Cambridgeshire (Lynn News)

Photo may be subject to copyright

5 December 1965 – Plaza Ballroom, Handsworth, West Midlands with The Alex Harvey Soul Band (Birmingham Evening Mail)

6 December 1965 – Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London (Walthamstow Guardian)

7 December 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Alex Harvey Group (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

16 December 1965 – Smethwick Baths, Smethwick, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

17 December 1965 – Mr McCoys, Middlesbrough with The Crawdaddies (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)

19 December 1965 – Blue Moon, Hayes, west London (Hayes Gazette)

20 December 1965 – Bath Pavilion, Bath (Western Scene) Rescheduled for 14 February 1966 (and then 7 February)

Photo may be subject to copyright

 

Photo may be subject to copyright

31 December 1965 – Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham with Johnny Neal & Co, The Little People and The Chucks (Birmingham Evening Mail)

1966

2 January 1966 – Chelmsford Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, Essex (Essex Chronicle)

8 January 1966 – Dreamland, Margate, Kent with The Berkeley Squares (East Kent Times)

11 January 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Alex Harvey Group (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

15 January 1966 – Market Hall, Carlisle, Cumbria (Dumfries and Galloway Standard)

20 January 1966 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear (http://www.readysteadygone.co.uk/club-agogo-newcastle-2/)

21 January 1966 – Redcar Jazz Club, Coatham Hotel, Redcar, North Yorkshire with The Rockhouse Band and The Skyliners (Dennis Weller, Chris Scott Wilson and Graham Lowe’s book/Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)

Photo may be subject to copyright

22 January 1966 – Astoria Ballroom, Rawtenstall, Lancashire with The Estelles and The Eddie G Martin Combo (Burnley Express and News)

23 January 1966 – King Mojo, Sheffield, South Yorkshire (The Star)

26 January 1966 – University of Warwick, Coventry (Beat Instrumental)

28 January 1966 – Bluesville, Manor House, north London (Beat Instrumental)

29 January 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire with The Motovations (David Allen research)

30 January 1966 – Black Prince, Bexley, southeast London (Fabulous 208/South East London Mercury/Mick Capewell’s Marmalade Skies)

31 January 1966 – Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London (Beat Instrumental)

 

1 February 1966 – High Wycombe Town Hall, High Wycombe, Bucks (Bucks Free Press)

3 February 1966 – Willenhall Baths, Willenhall (Beat Instrumental)

5 February 1966 – Chelsea College, Chelsea, southwest London (Beat Instrumental)

Photo may be subject to copyright

6 February 1966 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey with The Alley Cats (Aldershot News/Camberley News)

7 February 1966 – Bath Pavilion, Bath (Beat Instrumental/Western Scene)

10 February 1966 – Smethwick Baths, Smethwick, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

11 February 1966 – Nottingham University, Nottingham (Beat Instrumental)

12 February 1966 – Jigsaw, Manchester (Beat Instrumental)

15 February 1966 – Walsall Town Hall, Walsall, West Midlands (Beat Instrumental)

16 February 1966 – Mecca Ballroom, Royal Pier, Southampton, Hants (Beat Instrumental)

17 February 1966 – Rhodes Centre, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts (Beat Instrumental)

19 February 1966 – Pavilion Ballroom, Buxton, Derbyshire (Alderley & Wilmslow & Knutsford Advertiser) Either this or the date below is incorrect

Photo may be subject to copyright

19 February 1966 – Pier Ballroom, Worthing, West Sussex (Boyfriend magazine)

22 February 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Bluesology (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

23 February 1966 – Stevenage Mecca, Locarno, Stevenage, Hertfordshire (http://www.coda-uk.co.uk/60’s_music_scene.htm)

24 February 1966 – Pier Pavilion, Worthing, West Sussex (Worthing Herald)

25 February 1966 – Iron Curtain Club, St Mary’s Cray, Kent (Beat Instrumental) Looks like this was moved to 4 March

25-27 February 1966 – Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Hamburg, West Germany (Beat Instrumental)

 

3 March 1966 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London with Paul Fenton & The Crowd (Melody Maker)

4 March 1966 – Iron Curtain Club, St Mary’s Cray, Kent (Beat Instrumental)

5 March 1966 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester (Beat Instrumental)

7 March 1966 – Bluesville, St Matthew’s Baths Hall, Ipswich, Suffolk (Evening Star, Ipswich)

8 March 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

11 March 1966 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear (http://www.readysteadygone.co.uk/club-agogo-newcastle-2/)

12 March 1966 – Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire (Steve Chapples research: www.lankybeat.com)

18 March 1966 – Bluesville, Manor House, north London (Beat Instrumental)

19 March 1966 – Rhodes Centre, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts with The Soundtrack (Steve Ingless book: The Day Before Yesterday)

20 March 1966 – Plaza Ballroom, Handsworth, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

20 March 1966 – Ritz and Palais, Nottingham (Beat Instrumental)

22 March 1966 – Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne &Wear (Beat Instrumental)

23 March 1966 – Parr Hall, Warrington, Cheshire with Ivan Meads and Mark Peters Method (Warrington Guardian) Beat Instrumental has this on 28th March

25 March 1966 – Gig in Harrogate, Yorkshire (Beat Instrumental)

26 March 1966 – Floral Hall, Southport, Lancashire (Lancashire Evening Post)

29 March 1966 – Hippodrome, Dudley, West Midlands (Beat Instrumental)

31 March 1966 – Gig in Swansea, Wales (Beat Instrumental)

 

2 April 1966 – Smethwick Baths, Smethwick, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

6 April 1966 – Orchid Ballroom, Purley, Surrey (Coulson & Purley Advertiser)

7 April 1966 – Carousel Club, Camp Road, Farnbrough, Hampshire with support (Aldershot News)

10 April 1966 – Chelmsford Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, Essex (Essex Chronicle)

Photo may be subject to copyright

14 April 1966 – Gaumont, Southampton, Hampshire with The Who, The Merseys, Mike Sarne and The Band of Angels (Western Gazette)

15 April 1966 – Fairfield Hall, Croydon, south London with The Who, The Merseys and The Band of Angels (Chris Broom book: Rockin’ and Around Croydon)

16 April 1966 – Odeon, Watford, Herts with The Who, The Merseys, Mike Sarne and The Band of Angles (Welwyn Advertiser)

17 April 1966 – The Regal, Edmonton, north London with The Rolling Stones, The New Merseys, Mike Sarne & The Band of Angels (Tottenham Weekly Herald)

22 April 1966 – Odeon, Derby with The Who (Disc & Music Echo)

23 April 1966 – Hippodrome, Birmingham with The Who (Disc & Music Echo)

Photo may be subject to copyright

23 April 1966 – Odeon, Rochester, Kent with The Who, The Merseys, Mike Sarne and The Band of Angels (Kent Messenger)

26-30 April 1966 – Gigs in Paris, France (Beat Instrumental)

 

1 May 1966 – NME Poll Concert, Wembley, west London (Beat Instrumental)

2-7 May 1966 – Gigs in West Germany (Beat Instrumental)

10 May 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Jimmy Cliff Sound (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

11 May 1966 – Wimbledon Palais, Wimbledon, southwest London (Balham & Tooting News and Mercury)

13 May 1966 – Kirkcaldy, Raith and Whitburn Ballrooms, Scotland (Disc & Music Echo)

14 May 1966 – City Hall, Perth, Scotland (Disc & Music Echo)

15 May 1966 – Lido, Lennox Bank, Scotland (Disc & Music Echo)

16 May 1966 – Mr McGoos, Edinburgh, Scotland (Disc & Music Echo)

19-22 May 1966 – Big Apple, Munich, West Germany and then Star Club, Hamburg, West Germany (Beat Instrumental)

25-26 May 1966 – Gigs in West Germany (Beat Instrumental)

Photo may be subject to copyright

28 May 1966 – Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire with The Outsiders and The Dean Collins Sound (Burnley Express & News)

28 May 1966 – Richmond Athletic Ground, Richmond upon Thames, southwest London (Beat Instrumental)

29 May 1966 – Britannia Theatre, Britannia Pier, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk with Pinkerton’s Colours, Barry Fontoni, Ray Cameron and The Driftwood (Eastern Evening News) Beat Instrumental has North Pier, Blackpool, Lancashire

 

1-5 June 1966 – Gigs in Ireland (Beat Instrumental)

Photo may be subject to copyright

1 June 1966 – Arcadia, Cork, Republic of Ireland with Dinosaurs Showband (Cork Evening Echo/Cork Examiner)

10 June 1966 – Bluesville, Manor House, north London (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

11 June 1966 – Pavilion Ballroom, Buxton, Derbyshire with The Blueberries (Alderley & Wilmslow & Knutsford Advertiser)

13 June 1966 – Bluesville, St Matthew’s Baths Hall, Ipswich (Evening Star, Ipswich)

14 June 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with the Jimmy Cliff Sound (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

16 June 1966 – Isle of Man (probably Palace Ballroom, Douglas) (Beat Instrumental) Worthing Gazette lists the band at the Assembly Hall, Worthing replacing The Moody Blues

Photo may be subject to copyright

18 June 1966 – Starlite Ballroom, Greenford, west London (Fabulous 208/Melody Maker)

20 June 1966 – Supreme Ballroom, Ramsgate, Kent (Fabulous 208)

21 June 1966 – Merton College, Oxford (Fabulous 208)

24 June 1966 – Leicester College of Tech, Scraptoft, Leicester (Fabulous 208)

24 June 1966 – Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich, West Midlands with The Uglys (Express & Star)

25 June 1966 – Floral Hall, Southport, Lancashire (Fabulous 208)

 

3 July 1966 – Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire (Steve Chapples research: www.lankybeat.com)

16 July 1966 – Ritz Ballroom, King’s Heath and Plaza Ballroom, Handsworth, West Midlands (Fabulous 208/Birmingham Evening Mail) World Cup Special

16 July 1966 – Plaza Ballroom, Old Hill, West Midlands (Express & Star)

17 July 1966 – North Pier, Blackpool, Lancashire (Fabulous 208)

19 July 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Habits (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

23 July 1966 – The New Scene, Corn Exchange, Leicester (club’s opening night) (Leicester Mercury)

24 July 1966 – North Pier, Blackpool, Lancashire with Dave Berry and Manfred Mann (Fabulous 208)

29 July 1966 – Blues Festival, Windsor, Berkshire (Beat Instrumental)

30 July 1966 – Spa Royal Ballroom, Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire (Fabulous 208)

 

19 August 1966 – Race Ballroom, Kirkcaldy, Scotland (Beat Instrumental)

20 August 1966 – Caird Hall, Dundee, Scotland with The Searchers, The Settlers and Eden Kane (Fabulous 208)

21-23 August 1966 – Magoo’s Club, Edinburgh (Fabulous 208)

25 August 1966 – Palace Ballroom, Douglas, Isle of Man (Fabulous 208)

27 August 1966 – St George’s Ballroom, Guernsey, Channel Islands (Fabulous 208)

 

1 September 1966 – Ram Jam, Brixton, south London (Melody Maker)

2 September 1966 – Starlite, Greenford, west London (Melody Maker)

3 September 1966 – Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire (Fabulous 208)

4 September 1966 – North Pier, Blackpool, Lancashire (Fabulous 208)

8 September 1966 – Locarno Ballroom, Burnley, Lancashire (Beat Instrumental)

8 September 1966 – Winter Gardens Pavilion, Weston Super Mare, Somerset with The Ken Birch Band and The Raiders (Weston Mercury)

10 September 1966 – Floral Hall, Southport, Lancashire (Beat Instrumental)

15 September 1966 – Dorothy Ballroom, Cambridge (Beat Instrumental)

16 September 1966 – Bluesville, Manor House, north London (Beat Instrumental)

Photo may be subject to copyright

19 September 1966 – Queen’s Ballroom, Wolverhampton, West Midlands (Beat Instrumental/Birmingham Evening Mail/Express & Star)

20 September 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Wynder K Frog (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

22 September 1966 – Locarno, Streatham, southwest London (Fabulous 208)

 

6 October 1966 – Locarno Ballroom, Burnley, Lancashire (Fabulous 208)

10 October 1966 – Locarno Ballroom, Bristol (Evening Post, Bristol/Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

21 October 1966 – The Marquee Show, Fairfield Hall, south Croydon, London with The Move, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Wynder K Frog, The Herd and The VIPs (Chris Broom book: Rockin’ and Around Croydon)

24 October 1966 – Pavilion, Bath (Fabulous 208)

25 October 1966 – Winter Gardens, Malvern, Worcestershire (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

28 October 1966 – ‘The Manor’, Newington Public Hall, Walworth Road, Southwark, London with The Only Ones (South East London Mercury)

Photo may be subject to copyright

29 October 1966 – Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich, West Midlands (Fabulous 208)

 

1 November 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Episode Six (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

5 November 1966 – Leeds University, Leeds, West Yorkshire (Fabulous 208)

11 November 1966 – Metropole, Brighton, Sussex with Zoot Money & The Big Roll Band (Fabulous 208)

12 November 1966 – University College, London (Fabulous 208)

22-25 November 1966 – Gigs in Geneva, Switzerland (Disc & Music Echo)

 

1-17 December 1966 – Gigs in West Germany (Disc & Music Echo)

19 December 1966 – Sliver Blades, Streatham, southwest London (Coulson & Purley Advertiser)

20 December 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Syn (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

30 December 1966 – R&B Club, Forest Gate, Essex (Fabulous 208) This was probably the Upper Cut as they played with The Mack Sound on this same date

31 December 1966 – Annabel’s, Berkeley Square, central London (Fabulous 208)

1967

6 January 1967 – Matrix Hall, Coventry, West Midlands with Tony Rivers & The Castaways, Jigsaw and Lovers Lot (Coventry Evening Telegraph)

7 January 1967 – Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire (Steve Chapples research: www.lankybeat.com)

8 January 1967 – Redcar Jazz Club, Coatham Hotel, Redcar, North Yorkshire with The Johnny Rogers Band (Dennis Weller, Chris Scott Wilson and Graham Lowe’s book)

13 January 1967 – Birmingham University, Birmingham (Disc & Music Echo)

14 January 1967 – Floral Hall, Southport, Lancashire (Lancashire Evening Post)

16 January 1967 – Bluesville, Ipswich, Suffolk (Evening Star)

21 January 1967 – Gaiety Ballroom, Grimsby, Humberside (Grimsby Evening Telegraph)

21 January 1967 – Queen Mary’s College, London University (Fabulous 208)

22 January 1967 – Toft’s, Folkestone, Kent (Melody Maker)

28 January 1967 – St George’s Ballroom, Hinckley, Leicestershire (Nuneaton Evening Tribune)

31 January 1967 – Town Hall, High Wycombe, Bucks (Fabulous 208)

 

3 February 1967 – ICI, Pontypool, Wales (Fabulous 208)

4 February 1967 – Liverpool University, Liverpool (Record Mirror)

7 February 1967 – Manchester University, Manchester (Record Mirror)

7 February 1967 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Syn (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

8 February 1967 – Kingsway Theatre, Hadleigh, Essex with Sounds Incorporated, The Fourmost, The Human Instinct and The James Royal Set (Essex Chronicle/Southend Standard)

9 February 1967 – Top Deck, Purfleet, Essex (Record Mirror)

Photo may be subject to copyright

11 February 1967 – Boston Gliderdrome, Boston, Lincolnshire with Wynder K Frog, The Equals and Ray Bones (Lincolnshire Standard)

13 Februay 1967 – Birmingham University, Birmingham (Fabulous 208)

14 February 1967 – Sherwood Rooms, Nottingham (Record Mirror)

17 February 1967 – Sheffield University, Sheffield (Record Mirror)

18 February 1967 – Dudley Technical College, Dudley, West Midlands (Record Mirror)

21 February 1967 – King’s Hall, Aberystwyth, Wales (Record Mirror)

24 February-2 March 1967 – Scandinavian tour (Disc & Music Echo)

Disc & Music Echo’s 4 March issue, page 6, notes that Stevie and Muff Winwood are leaving. The magazine’s 11 March issue adds that Stevie will depart on 2 April.

11 March 1967 – Granada, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire with Paul Jones, The Hollies, The Tremeloes and The Young Idea (Fabulous 208)

12 March 1967 – City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear with Paul Jones, The Hollies, The Tremeloes and The Young Idea (Fabulous 208)

13 March 1967 – Odeon, Glasgow, Scotland with Paul Jones, The Hollies, The Tremeloes and The Young Idea (Fabulous 208)

14 March 1967 – Gaumont, Doncaster, South Yorkshire with Paul Jones, The Hollies, The Tremeloes and The Young Idea (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

15 March 1967 – Odeon Leeds, West Yorkshire with The Hollies, The Tremeloes, The Richard Kent Style, The Young Idea and Paul Jones (Yorkshire Evening Post)

16 March 1967 – Granada, Bedford, Bedfordshire with Paul Jones, The Hollies, The Tremeloes and The Young Idea (Fabulous 208)

17 March 1967 – Granada, Maidstone, Kent with Paul Jones, The Hollies, The Tremeloes and The Young Idea (Fabulous 208)

18 March 1967 – Granada, Kingston upon Thames, southwest London with Paul Jones, The Hollies, The Tremeloes and The Young Idea (Fabulous 208)

19 March 1967 – De Montfort, Leicester with Paul Jones, The Hollies, The Tremeloes and The Young Idea (Fabulous 208)

22 March 1967 – Granada, Kettering, Northamptonshire with Paul Jones, The Hollies, The Tremeloes, The Young Idea and Richard Kent Style (Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph)

Photo may be subject to copyright

23 March 1967 – Astoria, Finsbury Park, north London with The Hollies, The Tremeloes and Paul Jones (Hackney Gazette)

28 March 1967 – Gaumont, Southampton, Hampshire with Paul Jones, The Hollies, The Tremeloes (Southern Evening Echo)

24-28 March 1967 – Scandinavian tour

The Eastern Evening News (27 February 1967, page 12): Steve Winwood announces he’s leaving. He parts company on 2 April at the end of the Hollies tour. Five strong new SDG due to appear at St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich on 16 May 1967. The current line up is currently in Scandinavia.

Disc & Music Echo’s 15 April issue notes that Spencer Davis has already signed one new band member. He’s looking to sign two more and debut new formation on 7 May.

Disc & Music Echo’s 29 April issue reports Phil Sawyer and Eddie Hardin as new members. It also says there will be four members not five. A later issue notes that Terry Reid from Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers was invited to join but turned the offer down.

Left to right: Eddie Hardin, Phil Sawyer and Pete York. Spencer Davis (front). Photo: Disc & Music Echo. Photo may be subject to copyright

7 May 1967 – New line up debut at Wembley, west London (venue?) (Disc & Music Echo)

May 1967 – Albert Hall, central London (Disc & Music Echo)

May – The band flies to Paris shortly after this debut and plays at Akou Akou Club, Cannes, France (Disc & Music Echo)

19 May 1967 – Marine Ballroom, Morecambe, Lancashire (Fabulous 208)

19 May 1967 – Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire (Steve Chapples research: www.lankybeat.com)

Disc & Music Echo’s 20 May issue notes that Eddie Hardin collapsed at the band’s Albert Hall gig before they flew to Paris.

21 May 1967 – Fiesta Club, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham (Fabulous 208)

22 May 1967 – Top Hat, Spennymoor, County Durham (Fabulous 208)

23-27 May 1967 – Fiesta Club, Stockton-on-Tees and Top Hat, Spennymoor, Durham (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

South East London Mercury (25 May 1967, page 2) contains a great article on Eddie Hardin (see above). 

30 May 1967 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Wynder K Frog (Disc & Music Echo says this is debut of new line up)

Disc & Music Echo’s 15 July issue notes that the group returns from Hungary on 13 July.

Photo: Mirabelle, 15 July 1967. Photo may be subject to copyright

The Kingston and Malden Borough News (28 July 1967, page 7) has a fantastic photo of the new line-up.

Disc & Music Echo’s 5 August issue notes that the band are on a US tour. On the first night at the Cheetah Club below, Spencer Davis had an accident. The magazine says they return to the UK on 4 September.

30 July 1967 – Cheetah Club, NYC, US (Disc & Music Echo)

Photo may be subject to copyright

Portsmouth News has a photo of the band in its 17 August 1967 issue, page 10 (above)

Photo: Mirabelle, 16 September 1967. Photo may be subject to copyright

7 November 1967 – Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire (Steve Chapples research: www.lankybeat.com)

17-18 November 1967 – Palais Des Sports, Paris, France with others (Melody Maker)

26 Novembr 1967 – Southampton University, Southampton, Hampshire (Melody Maker) Disc & Music Echo reports that this was Phil Sawyer’s final gig

Ray Fenwick replaced Phil Sawyer on lead guitar.

According to Melody Maker, The Spencer Davis Group went to Madrid, Spain for cabaret for 3-4 December 1967.

1968

Photo may be subject to copyright

13 February 1968 – Glen Ballroom, Llanelli, Wales with Simon Dupree & The Big Sound, Tony Rivers & The Castaways, Fleetwood Mac and The Dream (Herald of Wales)

17 February 1968 – St George’s Ballroom, Hinckley, Leicestershire with The Trendmen (Nuneaton Evening Tribune)

 

2 March 1968 – Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire (Steve Chapples research: www.lankybeat.com)

7 March 1968 – City of Coventry Confederation of Colleges, Locarno Ballroom, Coventry, West Midlands with Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, St Louis Union and Piccadilly Line (Coventry Evening Telegraph)

Photo may be subject to copyright

10 March 1968 – Excel Bowl, Middlesbrough with The Zephrons (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)

Photo may be subject to copyright

13 March 1968 – Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham with Manfred Mann, The Moody Blues, Don Partridge and The Piccadilly Line (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

16 March 1968 – Civic Hall, Nantwich, Cheshire with Jason T Alexandra & The Soulettes (Evening Sentinel/Nantwich Chronicle/Crewe Chronicle)

Photo may be subject to copyright

23 March 1968 – Spa Royal Hall, Bridlington, North Yorkshire with The Sons of Witch and The ABC (Scarborough News)

According to Melody Maker, The Spencer Davis Group return from their debut US tour on 6 May 1968. Later this month, they play shows in Sweden, according to the music paper.

11 June 1968 – Jesus College, Cambridge (Melody Maker)

12 June 1968 – Locarno, Hull (Melody Maker)

Photo may be subject to copyright

14 June 1968 – Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead with Mud (Melody Maker/Welwyn & Hatfield Advertiser)

22 June 1968 – Oxford University gig, Oxford with Traffic (Melody Maker)

According to Melody Maker says Spencer Davis Group flies out to Yugoslavia on 24 June.

Photo may be subject to copyright

28 June 1968 – The Factory, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)

 

7 August 1968 – Ritz, Bournemouth, Dorset (Bournemouth Evening Echo)

16 August 1968 – Hemel Hempstead Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead, Herts (Welwyn & Hatfield Advertiser)

20 August 1968 – Middle Earth, Torquay Town Hall, Torquay, Devon with The Fire, Indiana Highway and Phaze (Herald Express)

Photo may be subject to copyright

14 September 1968 – Spa Royal Hall, Hull with The Matchbox and The Coastal Erosion (Hull Daily Mail)

20 September 1968 – 400 Ballroom, Torquay, Devon (Torquay Times)

21 September 1968 – Gaiety Ballroom, Ramsey, Cambridgeshire with Chicago Line (Cambridgeshire Times)

23 September 1968 – Bluesville, Manor House, Ipswich, Suffolk (Ipswich Evening Star)

Photo may be subject to copyright

4 October 1968 – Swansea University, Swansea, south Wales with The Californians and The Pyramids (South Wales Evening Post)

12 October 1968 – UEA Students’ Union, Norwich, Norfolk with The Technique (Eastern Evening News)

Photo may be subject to copyright

19 October 1968 – Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone, Kent (Kentish Express)

Melody Maker’s 26 October issue notes that Eddie Hardin and Pete York left the previous week and Dee Murray (bass) and David Hynes (drums) from Mirage had joined. The group flies to Munich the following Thursday followed by Bremen.

New Musical Express, however, notes that Hardin and York left on 26 October and the new line up flies to West Germany on the same day.

19 December 1968 – Grafton Club, RAF Marham with The Individual Set (Lynn News)

27 December 1968 – Bridge Place Country Club, Canterbury, Kent (Canterbury Advertiser)

1969

Photo may be subject to copyright

15 February 1969 – Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent with The Candy Choir (Folkestone & Hythe District Herald)

20 February 1969 – Imperial College, Charity Concert, Royal Albert Hall with The Move, Status Quo, East of Eden and The Nashville Teens (Melody Maker)

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

Categories: Birmingham, England

The Way of Life (featuring John Bonham)

Leave a comment

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.

Nicky James Movement with Tony Clarkson (left), John Bonham (second left) and Mick Hopkins (right)

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)

Photo from Leicester Mercury

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

Bedworth & Foleshill News

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.

Mick Hopkins (left) and Tony Clarkson (second left) with The Wages of Sin, February 1967.

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.

Categories: Birmingham, England

The Wages of Sin, Yellow Rainbow and Zeus

5 Comments

Ed Pilling (vocals)

Brian Pilling (guitar, vocals)

Mick Hopkins (guitar, vocals)

Tony Clarkson (bass, vocals)

Jimmy Skidmore (drums)

The Wages of Sin, early 1967. Left to right: Mick Hopkins, Tony Clarkson, Ed Pilling, Brian Pilling and Jimmy Skidmore

1966

December English-born, Canadian raised brothers, singer Ed Pilling (b. 13 January 1948, Kingstanding, Birmingham, England) and guitarist Brian Pilling (b. 26 December 1949, Kingstanding, Birmingham, England) return to their place of birth to form a rock group. Having first emigrated in 1957, the Pillings have moved back and forth between Birmingham and Toronto several times as the family finds it hard to settle.

Eldest brother, Ed Pilling, who returns to Kingstanding, Birmingham on his own in 1964 and stays with an aunt, witnesses the exploding rock scene in the Midlands and decides to take up drums.

Ed Pilling, early 1967

Returning to Toronto in mid-1965, he spends a year playing in high school band, The Pretty Ones with brother Brian Pilling and bass player Greg Godovitz.

Determined to make it in their country of birth, the brothers return to England but Ed is forced to leave his drums behind due to the transportation costs.

Brian Pilling, early 1967

Back in Birmingham, Ed Pilling reunites with an old school friend from Kingstanding, Ted Clarkson, whose older brother is rhythm guitarist Tony Clarkson (b. 15 July 1945, Kingstanding, Birmingham, England).

Tony Clarkson, early 1967

Clarkson has been active on the local scene since 1962 when he started playing rhythm guitar with Guitars Incorporated (aka The GIs). The following year he joins The Wild Cherries, whose singer is the late Nicky James.

After playing in several local groups, Clarkson joins James’s new group, The Nicky James Movement in January 1965 where he meets former Diplomats guitarist Mick “Sprike” Hopkins (b. 3 January 1946, Great Barr, Birmingham, England).

Mick Hopkins, early 1967

Hopkins’s first notable group is Gerry Levene & The Avengers, which features future Move guitarist Roy Wood and future Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge, and is signed to Decca Records. While Hopkins is a member, the group records enough material for an album (but it is never released) although Decca does issue a lone single, Dr Feelgood, backed by It’s Driving Me Wild (featuring only Levene).

In May 1964, however, Hopkins replaces Denny Laine in his group, The Diplomats when Laine forms The Moody Blues and they record some demos. As members of The Nicky James Movement, Clarkson and Hopkins appear on a lone single for Columbia Records – Stagger Lee backed by I’m Hurtin’ Inside, released in November 1965.

Clarkson leaves to play bass guitar in several local bands, including The Hooties, but reunites with Hopkins in June 1966 when the pair form a new group, The Way of Life with brothers, singer Reg Jones and guitarist Chris Jones, former members of The Chucks.

Another Nicky James Movement member, future Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham completes the line up and The Way of Life become a popular live attraction in Birmingham.

Around December 1966 Ted Clarkson brings the Pilling brothers round to the family home and, impressed by their charisma and musical abilities, Clarkson agrees to form a new band with them called The Wages of Sin.

1967

January Clarkson recommends his The Way of Life cohort Mick Hopkins as a lead guitarist. When Ed Pilling is unable to get hire purchase to buy a drum kit and decides to concentrate on lead vocals, Clarkson and Hopkins try and entice John Bonham to join the fledgling group but he prefers to stay with The Way of Life and will subsequently join Robert Plant in The Band of Joy in 1967.

Clarkson contacts drummer Jimmy Skidmore, who has been playing in local group, The Delmore Lee Sound with keyboard player Norman Haines. Skidmore agrees to join on drums when Haines leaves to take up an offer with Locomotive, whose line up, at one point, includes future Traffic member, Chris Wood.

February The Wages of Sin sign to John Singer’s Agency and he lines the band up with a month’s worth of work in West Germany, playing at the Palleten club in Fulda, which is near an American army base. While there, the group records for the local Palleten label and cuts a version of Hey Joe (recently made famous by The Jimi Hendrix Experience) backed by a cover of Cream’s N.S.U. The single becomes a rare collector’s item and is only released in West Germany.

March Back in the West Midlands at the start of the month, The Wages of Sin begin to work around the local area, appearing regularly at top venues like the Morgue, the Carlton Club (aka Carlton Ballroom) and the Cedar Club.

(13) The group appears at the Hereford Lounge in the Bull’s Head in Yardley.

(16) The Wages of Sin perform at the Station Inn in Selly Oak.

(21) They play at the Carlton Club, Erdington.

(22) The Wages of Sin support John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers with The Finders Keepers at Queen’s Ballroom, Wolverhampton

(24) The band makes an appearance at the Selly Park Tavern in Selly Park.

(27-28) The Wages of Sin play two nights at the Hereford Lounge in the Bull’s Head, Yardley.

April (1) They open for London band, The Neat Change at the Carlton Club, Erdington.

(2) Travelling to nearby Coventry, they perform at the Sportsman’s Arms, Allesley.

(3) The Wages of Sin play at the Hereford Lounge in the Bull’s Head, Yardley.

(6) The group appears at the Station Inn, Selly Oak.

(11) They open for The Montanas at the Cedar Club, Birmingham.

(14) The musicians appear at the Bolero Club, Wednesbury, West Midlands

(17) The Wages of Sin open for Lulu and The Luvvers at the Cedar Club.

(24) The band appears at the Hereford Lounge in the Bull’s Head, Yardley.

(29) The group performs at the Bulls Head, Hanford, Staffordshire.

May (1) The Wages of Sin appear at the Bull’s Head in Hay Mills.

(4) The band plays at Station Inn in Selly Oak.

(7) The musicians appear the Carnaby Club in Coventry, West Midlands.

(12) The Wages of Sin perform at the Hereford Lounge at the Bull’s Head in Yardley.

(15) The group makes an appearance at the Holly Bush pub in Quinton. The same night singer/songwriter Cat Stevens performs at Birmingham’s Cedar Club and this may be the evening that he first hears about the group with whom he works with later in the year.

(20) The band appear at the Black Horse in Kidderminster, Worcestershire.

(24) The Wages of Sin play at the Hen and Chickens in Langley, West Midlands with The Ugly’s.

(25) The next night, the band plays at the Station Inn in Selly Oak.

(27) The musicians appear at the Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire with The Powerhouse.

(30) The Wages of Sin perform at the Bolero Club, Wednesbury, West Midlands.

June (3) They return for another show at the Station Inn in Selly Oak. The group is also billed to perform at the Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire with The Powerhouse.

(5) The Wages of Sin perform at the Holly Bush pub in Quinton. Soon afterwards, The Wages of Sin return to Germany to play a second residency at the Palleten club in Fulda. The group begins to introduce more psychedelic material, including a cover of The Beatles’ Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.

July (1) The band returns to the West Midlands and plays at the Station Inn in Selly Oak.

(5) The Wages of Sin appear at the Mackdown in Kitts Green with The Modernaires.

(7) They perform at the Hereford Lounge in the Bull’s Head, Yardley.

(10) The group appears at the Holly Bush pub in Quinton. Soon afterwards they start using the name Yellow Rainbow for some gigs because there is another band from Cambridge called The Wages of Sin.

(15) Billed as The Yellow Rainbow, the musicians appear at the Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich, West Midlands with The Uglys.

(16) Billed again as Yellow Rainbow, the band performs at the Beloro Club, Wednesbury, West Midlands.

(17) The Wages of Sin perform at the Regent Club in Langley Green with The Ugly’s and The Stax Movement.

(21) The musicians appear at the Hen and Chickens in Langley Green with The Wellington Kitch Jump Band.

(22) The Wages of Sin perform at Gotham City in the Crown and Cushion in Perry Barr with The Second Thoughts. On the same evening, they appear at the Elbow Room in Aston, West Midlands.

(25) The Wages of Sin play at the Bolero Club, Wednesbury, West Midlands.

(28) The group plays at the Bull’s Head in Yardley. Aware of the more progressive musical scene emerging and to avoid confusion with the other group called The Wages of Sin, they change their name Yellow Rainbow, which inspires Hopkins’s former Gerry Levene & The Avengers band mate, Roy Wood to write a song for The Move using the same title.

August (7) Yellow Rainbow play at the Holly Bush pub in Quinton, West Midlands.

(10) The band performs at the Queen’s Beat Club, Erdington, West Midlands.

(12) They appear at the Queen’s Beat Club in Erdington.

(14) The band plays at the Regent Club in Langley Green with The Montanas.

(18) Yellow Rainbow (still billed as The Wages of Sin) appear at the Penthouse in Birmingham with Strictly for The Birds.

(26) Billed as The Wages of Sin, they play at the the Co-op in the Rainbow Suite, Birmingham with The Age.

(28) Billed once again as Yellow Rainbow, they appear at the Boar’s Head in Perry Barr, West Midlands.

(30) Yellow Rainbow perform at the Hen and Chickens in Langley Green.

September (2) The Wages of Sin play at the Blackhorse, Kidderminster, Worcestershire (but not clear if it’s the same band).

(4) The band appears at the Holly Bush in Quinton.

(14) Yellow Rainbow make an appearance at the Queen’s Beat Club in Erdington.

(16) The group plays at the Station Inn in Selly Oak, West Midlands.

(25) Yellow Rainbow appear at the Boar’s Head in Birmingham.

(30) They play at the Bull’s Head in Yardley, West Midlands.

October (2) Yellow Rainbow play at the Holly Bush pub in Quinton. This may be the evening that Cat Stevens’s brother and manager David Gordon approaches the musicians and invites them to London to record and work as Cat Stevens’s backing band. Despite having a year’s worth of bookings in Birmingham, the group accepts and is put on a retainer. Before moving to London, Yellow Rainbow fufil a number of local bookings.

Melody Maker, 18 November 1967

(3) The musicians perform at the Bolero in Wednesbury, West Midlands.

(7) They appear at the Swan in Yardley Green with Chances Avenue.

(8) One of the band’s final gigs in the West Midlands is at the Crown and Cushion in Perry Barr. Soon afterwards, Yellow Rainbow relocate to London where Cat Stevens renames them Zeus.

November (10) Zeus plays a solo set at Middle Earth with The Soft Machine and Sensory Armada. They spend the next few days rehearsing at the Marquee with Stevens in preparation for a forthcoming show in France.

(17-18) Backing Cat Stevens, Zeus performs at the Palais des Sports in Paris on a show that also features The Spencer Davis Group, The Soft Machine, Dantalion’s Chariot, Keith West and Tomorrow. The show is recorded and broadcast on French TV.

December Back in the UK, Stevens records and produces Zeus covering two of his compositions at Pye Studios, which are subsequently shelved.

(18) Zeus appears at the Marquee in London, opening for The Nice.

(31) Zeus sees in 1968 with a show at the New Bagatelle Club, Ettington Park Hotel, Alderminster, near Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.

1968

January (20) Cat Stevens and Zeus appear at the Winter Gardens Weston-Super-Mare.

Within weeks, Stevens contracts TB and is forced to lay low while he recuperates.

Although the band is on a retainer, there is little work and in February the Pilling brothers decide to return to Toronto where they will subsequently form Fludd with former Pretty Ones bass player Greg Godovitz. Fludd record their debut album for Warner Brothers in August 1971 and will have several notable Canadian hits in the early 1970s, including Turned 21.

The Pilling brothers’ departure scuppers the band. Skidmore subsequently joins The Norman Haines Band while Clarkson responds to an advert in NME and becomes a member of The World of Oz, whose debut single is released on 14 August 1968.

The band records three popsike singles for Deram between 1968-1969, including the catchy The Muffin Man and an eponymous lone album. A fourth single appears in the Netherlands where The World of Oz is a popular attraction. When the group breaks up, Clarkson briefly becomes a roadie for The Moody Blues, working part of their 1971 world tour.

Hopkins, meanwhile, joins Birmingham group, The Lemon Tree in June 1968 and appears on their second Parlophone single It’s So Nice To Come Home, which is produced by Andy Fairweather-Low.

He then forms Copperfield who record two singles in 1969-1970. The first, Any Old Time, is for the Instant label and is produced by Andrew Loog Oldham, while the second, I’ll Hold Out My Hand, is for Parlophone. Kenny Jones of The Small Faces plays drums on Any Old Time.

 

In January 1971, Hopkins replaces Jeff Lynne in The Idle Race and appears on the group’s final single for Regal Zonophone, Dancing Flower, and a lone album, Time Is.

1971

December Hopkins answers a call from the Pilling brothers to fly to Toronto and join Fludd. He appears on one single, Get Up, Get Out and Move On, which reaches #34 on the Canadian charts, before returning home to Birmingham after six months to put together Barefoot, resident band at the Rum Runner in Birmingham.

Hopkins later finds a degree of fame with heavy rock band, Quartz. Hopkins later records in his own studio in Birmingham with friends from his 1960s group, Copperfield.

Fludd, meanwhile, enjoyed further Canadian hits with Cousin Mary and What An Animal among others before Brian Pilling succumbs to cancer on 28 June 1978, aged just 29.

The group later evolves into Saga. Ed appears with a new version of Fludd in Toronto on 30 April 2009 with Foot In Cold Water.

My personal thanks go to Ed Pilling, Mick Hopkins and Tony Clarkson for helping to pull the story together.

The live dates were taken from many different sources, including Melody Maker and The Birmingham Evening Mail, the Express & Star, the Evening Sentinel, Kidderminster Times and Stourport News and Coventry Evening Telegraph.

Thank you also to Vernon Joynson and his excellent book, The Tapestry of Delights and Laurie Hornsby’s Brum Rocked On!

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

 

 

Categories: Birmingham, England

The Move gigs 1966-1970

13 Comments

Welcome to another posting of a series of gig listings for 1960s bands. None of these lists is exhaustive and my idea is to add to them in the comments section below over time. They are here for future researchers to draw on.  I have also added a few interesting bits of information and will add images in time.

I’d like to encourage band members to get in touch to share memories, or for anyone to send corrections/clarifications to my email: Warchive@aol.com 

Equally important, if you attended any of the gigs below or played in the support band, please do leave your memories below in the comments section for future historians to use. If you know of any missing gigs, please add them too, if possible, with the sources.

The Move, late 1966. Left to right: Carl Wayne, Ace Kefford, Bev Bevan, Trevor Burton and Roy Wood. From Fabulous 208 Magazine. Photo may be subject to copyright

THE MOVE:

 Carl Wayne – lead vocals

Roy Wood – guitar/vocals

Trevor Burton – guitar/vocals

Ace Kefford – bass/vocals

Bev Bevan – drums

 1966

22 January 1966 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands with The Hellions (Birmingham Evening Mail)

 

1 February 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as Carl Wayne & The Move

1 February 1966 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as Carl Wayne & The Move

3 February 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham with Little Stevie Wonder (replaced P J Proby), The Sidewinders, The Sombreros and The Matadors (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as featuring Carl Wayne

3 February 1966 – Elbow Room, Aston, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as featuring Carl Wayne

5 February 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham with Doris Troy and Fantastic Bluesology Incorporated (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as featuring Carl Wayne

10 February 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as Carl Wayne & The Move

10 February 1966 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as featuring Carl Wayne

12 February 1966 – Marquee Club and Whisky A Go Go, Navigation Street, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)

13 February 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham with Jeremy & The Heartbeats (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as featuring Carl Wayne

15 February 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham with Inez and Charlie Foxx and Jeremy & The Heartbeats (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as featuring Carl Wayne

16 February 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as Carl Wayne & The Move

19 February 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham with Monopoly (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as featuring Carl Wayne

20-21 February 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham with Doris Troy and Bluesology Incorporated (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as Carl Wayne & The Move

22 February 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham with Deke Arlon (Birmingham Evening Mail) Backed Deke Arlon for a week and billed as The Move featuring Carl Wayne

24 February 1966 – Hereford Lounge, Yardley, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as featuring Carl Wayne

 

5 March 1966 – Marquee Club, Birmingham with The Shakedown Sound (Birmingham Evening Mail)

5 March 1966 – Plaza Ballroom, Handsworth, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

7 March 1966 – The Belfry, Wishaw, West Midlands with John Bull Breed and The Sombreros (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as featuring Carl Wayne

16 March 1966 – Plaza Ballroom, Handsworth, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

24 March 1966 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

26 March 1966 – Le Metro Club, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)

29 March 1966 – Carlton Club, Erdington, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

 

1 April 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, London with Gary Farr & The T-Bones (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live) London debut

2 April 1966 – Plaza Ballroom, Handsworth, West Midlands with William’s Conquers (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as Carl Wayne & The Move

5 April 1966 – Chalet Country Club, Rednal, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

7 April 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, London with The Mark Leeman Five (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

9 April 1966 – Le Metro Club, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)

18 April 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham with Cleo Laine and Danny King (Birmingham Evening Mail)

19 April 1966 – Tito’s Club, Handsworth, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

20 April 1966 – Lyndon, Sheldon, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail) Billed as Carl Wayne & The Move

23 April 1966 – Ritz Ballroom, King’s Heath, West Midlands with The Steampacket Show (Birmingham Evening Mail)

26-27 April 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham with D D Warwick (Birmingham Evening Mail) DD Warwick may have been replaced by Dakota Station and The Johnny Patrick Trio

28 April 1966 – Hereford Lounge, Yardley, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

 

1 May 1966 – Plaza Ballroom, Handsworth, West Midlands with The Craig (Birmingham Evening Mail)

1 May 1966 – Ritz Ballroom, King’s Heath, West Midlands with The Craig (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

2-3 May 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham with Julie Grant, Danny King and Deep Feeling (Birmingham Evening Mail)

6 May 1966 – West End Club, Coalville, Leicestershire with Listen (Leicester Mercury) Billed as Carl Wayne & The Move

Photo may be subject to copyright

8 May 1966 – Kavern, Small Heath, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

13 May 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Sands (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

Photo may be subject to copyright

21 May 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)

27 May 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Sands (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

 

2 June 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Triad (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

Photo may be subject to copyright

5 June 1966 – The Ultra Club, Downs, Hassocks, West Sussex with The Henry (Mid Sussex Times)

Photo may be subject to copyright

9 June 1966 – Bradmore WMC, Bradmore, West Midlands (Express & Star)

14 June 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham with Jimmy Witherspoon (Birmingham Evening News)

23 June 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Rift (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

Photo may be subject to copyright

28 June 1966 – Wednesbury Youth Centre, Wednesbury, West Midlands (Express & Star)

 

3 July 1966 – Tavern Club, East Dereham, Norfolk (Fabulous 208)

6 July 1966 – Club Cedar, Birmingham with The Stringbeats and The Nightriders (Birmingham Evening Mail)

7 July 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Sands (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

8 July 1966 – Coronation Inn, Ramsgate, Kent (Fabulous 208)

9 July 1966 – Dungeon Club, Nottingham (website: https://dungeonmods.wordpress.com/)

10 July 1966 – Tavern Club, Dereham, Norfolk with Ian & Danny Eves with Sounds Reformed (Eastern Evening News/Lynn News)

Photo may be subject to copyright

12 July 1966 – Adam & Eve, Southampton, Hants (Southern Evening Echo)

13 July 1966 – Disco Blue Club, Ryde, Isle of Wight (Fabulous 208)

14 July 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Bluesology (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

Photo may be subject to copyright

15 July 1966 – Civic and Wulfrun Halls, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with The New Merseys, Dave Berry, Tony Rivers & The Castaways, The Montanas and The Californians (Express & Star)

16 July 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

17 July 1966 – The Downs, Hassocks, West Sussex (Fabulous 208)

21 July 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Ultimate (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

22 July 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

26 July 1966 – Chalet Country Club, Rednal, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

28 July 1966 – Tettenhall Club and Institute, Tettenhall, West Midlands (Express & Star)

28 July 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Herd (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

 

2 August 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire with Jimmy James & The Vagabonds (Dave Allen research)

4 August 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Sands (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

Photo may be subject to copyright

5 August1966 – Mr McCoys, Middlesbrough (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)

11 August 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Bluesology (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

12 August 1966 – Starlite, Greenford, northwest London (Melody Maker)

13 August 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

14 August 1966 – Central R&B Club, Central Hotel, Gillingham, Kent (Chatham, Rochester & Gillingham News)

14 August 1966 – Starlight Ballroom, Wembley, northwest London (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

18 August 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Sands (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

Photo may be subject to copyright

19 August 1966 – Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with The Montanas, Finders Keepers, The Californians and The Crying Shames (Express & Star)

20 August 1966 – Co-op, Rainbow Suite, Birmingham with Bent Society (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

21 August 1966 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)

25 August 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

Photo may be subject to copyright

3 September 1966 – Starlight Ballroom, Boston Gliderdrome, Boston, Lincolnshire with Zuider Lee and Ray King Soul Band (Lincolnshire Standard)

4 September 1966 – Downs Hotel, Hassocks, West Sussex (Fabulous 208)

8 September 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with MI5 (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

9 September 1966 – Rialto Ballroom, Derby (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

10 September 1966 – Burlesque, Leicester (Leicester Mercury)

11 September 1966 – Nottingham Boat Club, Nottingham (Down at the Boat book)

15 September 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Bo Street Runners (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

16 September 1966 – Jigsaw, Manchester (Manchester Evening Mail)

17 September 1966 – Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent (Melody Maker)

19 September 1966 – Ricky Tick, Hounslow, west London (Melody Maker)

22 September 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Julian Covey & The Machine (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

23 September 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

24 September 1966 – Dreamland, Margate, Kent with The Epics (East Kent Times)

25 September 1966 – Ricky Tick, Hounslow, west London (Fabulous 208)

29 September 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Syn (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

30 September 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

Photo may be subject to copyright

2 October 1966 – St George’s Ballroom, Hinckley, Leicestershire (Nuneaton Evening Tribune)

6 October 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Embers (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

7 October 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

13 October 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Sands (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

14 October 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

15 October 1966 – Leeds University, Leeds, West Yorkshire (Fabulous 208)

20 October 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Bluesology (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

21 October 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire with The Action (Dave Allen research)

Photo may be subject to copyright

21 October 1966 – The Marquee Show, Fairfield Hall, Croydon, south London with The Spencer Davis Group, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Wynder K Frog, The Herd and The VIPs (Chris Broom book: Rockin’ and Around Croydon)

22 October 1966 – Chelmsford Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, Essex with support (Southend Standard)

23 October 1966 – Technical College, Brighton, West Sussex (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

27 October 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Good-Goods (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

28 October 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

29 October 1966 – College of Technology, Brighton, West Sussex (Fabulous 208)

 

4 November 1966 – Walsall Town Hall, Walsall, West Midlands with New Vaudeville Band, The Staffords and The Ambassadors (Express & Star)

5 November 1966 – Hull University, Hull (Fabulous 208)

6 November 1966 – Jigsaw, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)

9 November 1966 – Orford Cellar, Norwich (Eastern Evening News)

17 November 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Dave Antony’s Moods (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

19 November 1966 – Technical College, Harlow, Essex (Fabulous 208)

19 November 1966 – King Mojo, Sheffield, South Yorkshire with Ben E King (The Star) Fabulous 208 says 20 November

24 November 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Roscoe Brown Combo (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

According to Disc & Music Echo they were banned from playing the Marquee in November for eight months. First gig back is 4 July.

25 November 1966 – The Thing, Oldham, Lancashire (Oldham Evening Chronicle)

26 November 1966 – Durham University, Durham (Fabulous 208)

27 November 1966 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire (Fabulous 208)

29 November 1966 – Town Hall, Aylesbury, Bucks (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

30 November 1966 – Adam & Eve, Southampton, Hants (Southern Echo)

 

3 December 1966 – Smethwick Baths, Smethwick, West Midlands with Heat Wave (Birmingham Evening Mail)

4 December 1966 – Belle Vue, New Elizabethan, Manchester with The Klyx (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)

10 December 1966 – St George’s Ballroom, Hinckley, Leicestershire (Nuneaton Evening Tribune)

11 December 1966 – Dungeon Club, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)

13 December 1966 – Chinese R&B Jazz Club, Bristol Corn Exchange, Bristol (Bristol Evening Post)

15 December 1966 – Civic Hall, Guildford, Surrey (Fabulous 208)

15 December 1966 – Speakeasy, W1, central London (Fabulous 208/Mick Capewell’s Marmalade Skies website) Opening night

Photo from Richard Goddard

17 December 1966 – Blue Moon, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (courtesy of Richard Goddard)

Photo may be subject to copyright

20 December 1966 – Civic Hall, Grays, Essex (Fabulous 208)

22 December 1966 – Top Rank Suite, Chesterfield, Derbyshire (Fabulous 208)

23 December 1966 – Il Rondo, Leicester, Leicestershire (Fabulous 208)

26 December 1966 – Locarno Ballroom, Bristol (Fabulous 208)

28 December 1966 – Locarno, Stevenage, Hertfordshire (Fabulous 208)

29 December 1966 – Locarno, Streatham, southwest London (Fabulous 208)

30 December 1966 – Carousel Club, Farnborough, Hampshire (Fabulous 208)

31 December 1966 – Trade Hall, Watford, Hertfordshire (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

31 December 1966 – Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, north London with The Who and Pink Floyd (Melody Maker)

1967

1 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate with The Mack Sound (Melody Maker)

6 January 1967 – Civic and Wulfrun Halls, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with The ‘N’ Betweens, The Soul Seekers, Parchment People and Prim ‘N’ Proper (Express & Star)

7 January 1967 – Cliffs Pavilion, Southend, Essex with The Fingers and The Tender Trap (Southend Standard)

7 January 1967 – Club Nevada, Market Hall, Redhill, Surrey (Caterham Weekly Press/Surrey Mirror)

8 January 1967 – Starlite Ballroom, Greenford, London with The Roscoe Brown Combo (Melody Maker)

10 January 1967 – Winter Gardens, Malvern, Worcestershire (Fabulous 208)

12 January 1967 – Technical College Waltham Forest, London (Disc & Music Echo)

13 January 1967 – Corn Exchange, Leicester, Leicestershire (Fabulous 208)

14 January 1967 – Worcester College of Further Education, Worcester, Worcestershire (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

15 January 1967 – Black Cat, Gravesend, Kent (Fabulous 208) The South London paper PACE lists the band at the Psychedelic Sounds, General Gordon Hotel, Kings Farm Estate, Gravesend on this date

18 January 1967 – Stevenage Mecca, Locarno, Stevenage, Hertfordshire (website: http://www.coda-uk.co.uk/60’s_music_scene.htm)

20 January 1967 – Aberdeen University, Aberdeen, Scotland (Fabulous 208)

21-22 January 1967 – Maryland Ballroom, Glasgow, Scotland (Fabulous 208)

23 January 1967 – Queen’s Ballroom, Wolverhampton, West Midlands (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

25 January 1967 – Dorothy Ballroom, Cambridge with The Breed (Cambridge News)

Photo may be subject to copyright

26 January 1967 – City Hall, Salisbury, Wiltshire with The Soul Foundations (Western Gazette)

27 January 1967 – Dungeon Club, Nottingham (website: https://dungeonmods.wordpress.com/)

28 January 1967 – Bristol University, Bristol (Disc & Music Echo)

29 January 1967 – Plaza Teen Club, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire (Disc & Music Echo)

 

2 February 1967 – Worthing Pavilion, Worthing, West Sussex (Record Mirror)

Photo may be subject to copyright

3 February 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, central London with The Gods (Melody Maker)

4 February 1967 – Watford Trade Hall, Watford, Hertfordshire (Record Mirror)

Photo may be subject to copyright

5 February 1967 – Iron Curtain Club, St Mary’s Cray, southeast London (Fabulous 208/PACE)

5 February 1967 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London (Record Mirror)

6 February 1967 – Bath Pavilion, Bath (Record Mirror)

9 February 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Coventry, West Midlands (Record Mirror)

Photo may be subject to copyright

10 February 1967 – Top Spot Ballroom, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire with The Chances Are (Gloucester Citizen)

11 February 1967 – Manchester University, Manchester (Record Mirror)

12 February 1967 – 2X2 Club, Halifax, West Yorkshire (Record Mirror)

12 February 1967 – King Mojo, Sheffield, South Yorkshire with The Amboy Dukes (The Star)

13 February 1967 – Town Hall, High Wycombe, Bucks (Record Mirror)

14 February 1967 – Lotus Ballroom, Forest Gate, London (Record Mirror)

15 February 1967 – Town Hall, Battersea, London (Fabulous 208)

16 February 1967 – Skyline Ballroom, Hull with The Mandrakes, The Dawn Breakers and Birds Groove (Hull Daily Mail)

17 February 1967 – Nottingham University, Nottingham (Fabulous 208)

19 February 1967 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey (Aldershot News) The club reopened on 12 February

23 February 1967 – Co-op Hall, Gravesend, Kent (Fabulous 208)

24 February 1967 – Coventry University, Coventry, West Midlands (Fabulous 208)

25 February 1967 – Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire (Fabulous 208)

26 February 1967 – The Thing, Oldham, Lancashire (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

27 February 1967 – Top Rank Suite, Cardiff, Wales (South Wales Echo)

 

2 March 1967 – Locarno, Derby (Derby Evening Telegraph)

3 March 1967 – Tabernacle, Stockport, Greater Manchester (Fabulous 208)

4 March 1967 – Rhodes Centre, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts with Tracy’s Circles (Steve Ingless book: The Day Before Yesterday)

5 March 1967 – Saville Theatre, London (withdrew) (Record Mirror)

9 March 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Bristol (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

10 March 1967 – Queen’s College, Oxford with The Zombies (Cherwell)

11 March 1967 – Floral Hall, Southport, Lancashire (Fabulous 208)

12 March 1967 – Speakeasy, London (Disc & Music Echo)

13 March 1967 – Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

17 March 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, London with Tiles Big Band and the Knack (Melody Maker) Club’s first birthday party

18 March 1967 – Town Hall, Ealing, London (Fabulous 208)

20 March 1967 – Civic Hall, Dunstable, Bedfordshire (Fabulous 208)

22 March 1967 – Locarno, Stevenage, Herts (Fabulous 208)

23 March 1967 – Crystal Ballroom, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel/Fabulous 208)

24 March 1967 – Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland with The Merseybeats (Fabulous 208)

26 March 1967 – Oasis, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)

26 March 1967 – Drokiweeny, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)

27 March 1967 – Public Hall, Heacham, Norfolk (Fabulous 208)

30 March 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Streatham, London (Fabulous 208)

 

1 April 1967 – Pearce Hall, Maidenhead, Berkshire (Fabulous 208)

3 April 1967 – Tabernacle, Southport, Greater Manchester (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle)

6 April 1967 – King’s Hall, Belle Vue, Greater Manchester with The Tremeloes, Sounds Incorporated, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers and The Mirage (Fabulous 208)

7 April 1967 – Grand Ballroom, Coalville, Leicestershire (Disc & Music Echo)

8 April 1967 – Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone with The Couriers (Folkestone & Hythe Gazette)

8 April 1967 – Video-London, Wolverhampton, West Midlands (Express and Star) This might just be autograph signing

9 April 1967 – Cadillac Club, Brighton, West Sussex (Melody Maker)

14 April 1967 – Brighton Arts Festival, Brighton, West Sussex with Paul Jones, Mike Stuart Span, Geno Washington, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers and others (Melody Maker)

15 April 1967 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire with The Academy (Dave Allen research)

21 April 1967 – Top Rank Suite, Swansea, Wales (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

21 April 1967 – Guildhall, Southampton, Hampshire with The Soul Trinity (Southern Evening Echo) David Else also has them playing at Aylesbury Borough Assembly Hall today

22 April 1967 – Shoreline Ballroom, Bognor Regis, West Sussex (Disc & Music Echo)

24 April 1967 – Belfry, Wishaw, West Midlands with Monopoly and Orange Pips (Birmingham Evening Mail)

27 April 1967 – Locarno, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear (Fabulous 208)

28 April 1967 – Liverpool Pier Head, Liverpool (Disc & Music Echo)

Photo may be subject to copyright

29 April 1967 – Wellington Club, Dereham, Norfolk with Rubber Band and Deep Purple (Eastern Evening News/North Norfolk News) Band opens the club

 

3 May 1967 – Bromel Club, Bromley Court Hotel, Bromley, London (Melody Maker)

5 May 1967 – Assembly Hall, Tunbridge Wells, Kent (Disc & Music Echo)

6 May 1967 – Civic Hall, Nantwich, Cheshire with The Denims (Crewe Chronicle)

Photo may be subject to copyright

8 May 1967 – Silver Blades, Streatham (Sutton & Cheam Advertiser/Croydon Advertiser)

11 May 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Coventry, West Midlands (Fabulous 208)

12 May 1967 – Cheltenham Town Hall, Cheltenham with Gopler and Mark Raymond Sound (Gloucestershire Echo)

Disc and Music Echo says they travel to the Netherlands for three days from 12 May (possibly cancelled?)

Photo may be subject to copyright

13 May 1967 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with The Winds of Change and The Associates (website: www.california-ballroom.info/gigs/)

15 May 1967 – Bath Pavilion, Bath (Disc & Music Echo)

23 May 1967 – Disc and Music Echo says they are in West Germany today

25 May 1967 – Disc and Music Echo says they are in Paris, France today

Photo may be subject to copyright

27 May 1967 – Hastings Pier, Hastings, East Sussex with The Flashbaks (Roger Bistow’s research at Dizzy Tiger Music website)

Photo may be subject to copyright

29 May 1967 – Barbeque 67, Tulip Bulb Auction Hall, Spalding, Lincolnshire with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band, Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band and Pink Floyd (Spalding Guardian)

31 May 1967 – Top Rank Suite, Swansea, Wales (Fabulous 208)

 

1 June 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Bristol (Fabulous 208)

3 June 1967 – Winter Gardens, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset (Fabulous 208)

7 June 1967 – Silver Blades, Sheffield, South Yorkshire (Fabulous 208)

10 June 1967 – Corn Exchange, Kelso, Scotland (Fabulous 208)

11 June 1967 – Top Ten Club, Dundee Palais, Dundee, Scotland (Fabulous 208)

11 June 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Montrose, Scotland (Fabulous 208)

12 June 1967 – Kinema Ballroom, Dunfermline, Scotland (Fabulous 208)

13 June 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Glasgow, Scotland (Fabulous 208)

14 June 1967 – Douglas Hotel, Aberdeen, Scotland (Fabulous 208)

15 June 1967 – Caledonian Hotel, Inverness, Scotland (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

16 June 1967 – Beachcomber Discotheque Club, Irvine, Scotland (Kilmarnock Standard)

17 June 1967 – Tofts, Folkestone, Kent (Melody Maker)

17 June 1967 – Swan, Yardley, West Midlands with The Pips (Birmingham Evening Mail) Could this have been later in the same evening as the Tofts gig?

17 June 1967 – Pier, Colwyn Bay, Wales (Fabulous 208) Seems unlikely with gig above

18 June 1967 – Sunday Club, Swan, Yardley, West Midlands (Coventry Evening Telegraph)

Photo may be subject to copyright

19 June 1967 – Trinity and St John’s Oxford with Manfred Mann, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, John Barnett & His Band and West Indian Steel Band (Cherwell)

23 June 1967 – Starlite, Greenford, London with The Gods (Melody Maker)

24 June 1967 – Dreamland, Margate, Kent with Just Too Much (East Kent Times & Mail)

25 June 1967 – Great Yarmouth Aquarium, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk (Disc & Music Echo) This was supposed to be every Sunday for ten weeks until 27 August but only fulfilled several weeks before cancelling (last one mid-July)

 

7 July 1967 – Central Pier, Morecambe, Lancashire (Disc & Music Echo)

8 July 1967 – The Hub, Barnsley, West Yorkshire with Hepworths Good Impression (Barnsley Chronicle & South Yorkshire News) The Move open the venue

11 July 1967 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, London with Winston’s Fumbs (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live) This may be first gig back at Marquee since November when they were banned from the venue

13 July 1967 – Densbury College, Birmingham (Fabulous 208)

15 July 1967 – Cesar’s, Bedford, Bedfordshire (Bedfordshire Times)

15 July 1967 – Shoreline Club, Bognor Regis, West Sussex (Fabulous 208) This date seems unlikely

17 July 1967 – Great Yarmouth Aquarium, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk (Disc & Music Echo) Final one before Amen Corner take it on

21 July 1967 – Corn Exchange, Kings Lynn, Norfolk (Fabulous 208)

22 July 1967 – Cadillac Club, Brighton, West Sussex (Fabulous 208)

24 July 1967 – Stevenage Mecca, Locarno, Stevenage, Hertfordshire with The Cortinas (website: http://www.coda-uk.co.uk/60’s_music_scene.htm)

28 July 1967 – New Century Hall, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)

28 July 1967 – UFO, Tottenham Court Road, central London (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

1 August 1967 – Torquay Beat & Blues Festival, Torquay Town Hall, Devon (Herald Express)

Photo may be subject to copyright

2 August 1967 – Flamingo, Redruth, Cornwall with The Onyx (West Briton & Royal Cornish Gazette)

5 August 1967 – Imperial, Nelson, Lancashire with The Atlantics and The Cavedwellers (Burnley Express & Burnley News)

Photo may be subject to copyright

8 August 1967 – Lotus Ballroom, Forest Gate, London (Newham & Stratford Express)

Photo may be subject to copyright

11 August 1967 – Seventh National Jazz & Blues Festival, Windsor Racecourse, Windsor, Berkshire with The Small Faces, Marmalade, Tomorrow, Syn and The Nite People (Melody Maker)

The Move, Windsor Festival, August 1967. Photo © Odile Noël (www.odilenoel.com)

15 August 1967 – Palace Ballroom, Isle of Man (Disc & Music Echo)

21 August 1967 – Queen’s Ballroom, Wolverhampton, West Midlands (Express & Star)

Photo may be subject to copyright

25 August 1967 – Boogaloo, Castleford, West Yorkshire with Hedgehoppers Anonyous featuring Mick Tinsley (The Star/Wakefield Express)

Photo may be subject to copyright

26 August 1967 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with The Hand and The Extreme (website: www.california-ballroom.info/gigs/)

28 August 1967 – Pynkney Hall Blues Festival, Fakenham, Norfolk with Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, Alan Bown, Family and The Workshop

Photo: Mirabelle, 16 September 1967

1 September 1967 – Locarno, Basildon, Essex (Disc & Music Echo)

Photo may be subject to copyright

2 September 1967 – UFO Festival, Roundhouse, north London with Pink Floyd, Soft Machine and Denny Laine (Melody Maker).

4 September 1967 – Silver Blades, Streatham, southwest London (Mick Capewell’s Marmalade Skies)

Photo may be subject to copyright

10 September 1967 – Club Rado, Belfast, Northern Ireland with Taste (Cityweek) Advert says grand re-opening of the club

13 September 1967 – Locarno, Stevenage, Herts (Fabulous 208)

16 September 1967 – Spa Royal Hall, Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire with Tall Storey and Colours Purple (Hull Daily Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

19 September 1967 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, London with Timebox (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

29 September 1967 – ICI Fibres Club, Pontypool, Wales (Disc & Music Echo)

30 September 1967 – Plaza Ballroom, Handsworth, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

30 September 1967 – Plaza Ballroom, Bearwood, West Midlands (Express & Star)

 

1 October 1967 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley, West Sussex with Jo Jo Gunne (Crawley Advertiser)

5 October 1967 – Bradford College of Further Education, Bradford, West Yorkshire (Fabulous 208)

7 October 1967 – St George’s Ballroom, Hinckley, Leicestershire (Fabulous 208)

7 October 1967 – Plaza Ballroom, Bearwood, West Midlands (Express & Star)

9 October 1967 – Queen’s Ballroom, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with Out of The Blue (Express & Star)

11 October 1967 – Sheffield University, Sheffield, South Yorkshire (Fabulous 208)

12 October 1967 – Ritz, Bournemouth, Dorset (Bournemouth Evening Echo)

Photo may be subject to copyright

13 October 1967 – Lewes Town Hall, Lewes, West Sussex (Sussex Express and County Herald)

14 October 1967 – Nottingham University, Nottingham (Fabulous 208)

15 October 1967 – Drokiweeny, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)

15 October 1967 – Mr Smith’s, Manchester (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)

16 October 1967 – Bath Pavilion, Bath (Disc & Music Echo)

17 October 1967 – Starlite Casino, Southport, Lancashire (Fabulous 208)

19 October 1967 – Worthing Pavilion, Worthing, West Sussex (Disc & Music Echo)

20 October 1967 – Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl, Wales (Disc & Music Echo)

21 October 1967 – Gaiety Ballroom, Ramsey, Cambridgeshire with The Trax and Soul Security Corporation (website: http://peterboroughimages.co.uk/music/?p=8130)

24 October 1967 – High Wycombe Town Hall, High Wycombe, Bucks (Bucks Free Press)

Photo may be subject to copyright

27 October 1967 – Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich, West Midlands (Express & Star)

Photo may be subject to copyright

28 October 1967 – Imperial, Nelson, Lancashire with The Atlantics and Michael’s Angels (Burnley Express & Burnley News)

 

1 November 1967 – Tinned Chicken Club, York, North Yorkshire (Fabulous 208) Disc & Music Echo has 31 October

3 November 1967 – Royal Tottenham, Tottenham, London (Disc & Music Echo)

Photo may be subject to copyright

4 November 1967 – Tinned Chicken, Railway Institute, York, North Yorkshire with The Rats (Yorkshire Evening Post)

Photo may be subject to copyright

9 November 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Portsmouth, Hampshire with Jack & The Jacobites (Portsmouth News)

Photo may be subject to copyright

10 November 1967 – Royal Hall, Harrogate, North Yorkshire with Do-Dahs and Sacred Mushrooms (Tadcaster News)

14 November 1967 – Royal Albert Hall, London with Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Nice (Disc & Music Echo)

15 November 1967 – Bluesville, Ipswich, Suffolk (Fabulous 208)

17 November 1967 – City Hall, Sheffield, South Yorkshire (Fabulous 208)

18 November 1967 – Empire Theatre, Liverpool (Fabulous 208)

19 November 1967 – Coventry Theatre, Coventry, West Midlands (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

22 November 1967 – Guildhall, Portsmouth, Hampshire with Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Amen Corner, The Nice and Eire Apparent (Portsmouth News)

23 November 1967 – Sophia Gardens Pavilion, Cardiff, Wales with Amen Corner, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, The Nice, Eire Apparent (South Wales Echo)

24 November 1967 – Colston Hall, Bristol (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

25 November 1967 – Blackpool Opera House, Blackpool, Lancashire with Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, Amen Corner, The Nice and Eire Apparent (Lancashire Evening Post)

26 November 1967 – Palais Theatre, Manchester (Fabulous 208)

27 November 1967 – Belfast Festival of Arts, Belfast, Northern Ireland with Jimi Hendrix Experience (and others) (Disc & Music Echo)

 

1 December 1967 – Central Hall, Chatham, Kent with Jimi Hendrix Experience and others (Fabulous 208)

2 December 1967 – Dome Theatre, Brighton, West Sussex (Fabulous 208)

3 December 1967 – Theatre Royal, Nottingham (Fabulous 208)

4 December 1967 – City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear (Fabulous 208)

5 December 1967 – Green’s Playhouse, Glasgow, Scotland (Fabulous 208)

6 December 1967 – Douglas Hotel, Aberdeen, Scotland (Fabulous 208)

7 December 1967 – Caledonian Hotel, Inverness, Scotland (Fabulous 208)

8 December 1967 – Regal Ballroom, Bonnyrigg, Scotland (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

9 December 1967 – Auchinleck Community Association, Auchinleck, Scotland with The Merry Macs (Kilmarnock Standard)

21 December 1967 – Palais, Nottingham (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

22 December 1967 – Christmas on Earth, Olympia, Kensington, west London with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who, Eric Burdon & The Animals, Pink Floyd, Keith West & Tomorrow, Soft Machine and many others (Melody Maker)

Photo may be subject to copyright

23 December 1967 – Axminster Guildhall, Axminster, Devon (Lyme Regis News)

23 December 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, London (Fabulous 208)

26 December 1967 – Civic Hall, Nantwich, Cheshire with The B-Jays and Frankie & The Countdowns (Crewe Chronicle)

28 December 1967 – Locarno Ballroom, Bristol (Fabulous 208)

1968

Photo may be subject to copyright

20 January 1968 – Brunel at the “New” Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, north London with Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Fleetwood Mac, Fairport Convention, Geranium Pond and Paper Blitz Tissue (Melody Maker)

22 January 1968 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland with The Jury, This and That, Ice Blue – Mason Webb, Pineapple Truck and The Purple Eyes Jazz Noise (South Midlothian Advertiser)

Photo may be subject to copyright

26 January 1968 – Coleville Grand Ballroom, Leicester with The Decoys (Fabulous 208/Leicester Mercury)

27 January 1968 – Hastings Pier, Hastings, East Sussex with Shades of Black (Roger Bistow’s research at Dizzy Tiger Music website)

Photo may be subject to copyright

2 February 1968 – Queen’s Hall, Leeds, West Yorkshire with Chuck Berry, The Herd, Jimmy Savile, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Edwin Starr, Brian Auger Trinity, Julie Driscoll, Sammy Small, The Union Blues Rave Band, Th Accent (Yorkshire Evening Post)

3 February 1968 – Plaza Ballroom, Bearwood, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

3 February 1968 – Plaza Ballroom, Handsworth, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

8 February 1968 – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales with St Valentine’s Massacre and Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (Ron Goodway)

17 February 1968 – Kent University, Canterbury, Kent (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

23 February 1968 – Granby Halls, Leicester with Traffic, The Kinks, Plastic Penny, Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and The Eyes of Blue (Melody Maker)

27 February 1968 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, London with The Attack (Tony Bacon’s book: London Live)

 

5 March 1968 – High Wycombe Town Hall, High Wycombe, Bucks (Bucks Free Press)

7 March 1968 – Liberal Hall, Yeovil, Somerset (Western Gazette)

Photo may be subject to copyright

11 March 1968 – Bluesville ’68 Club, St Matthew’s Baths, Ipswich, Suffolk (Essex County Standard/Ipswich Evening Star)

The Ipswich Evening Star has a great spread on the band in its 13 March 1968 issue, page 16

23 March 1968 – Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich, West Midlands (Express & Star)

Photo may be subject to copyright

26 March 1968 – Bournmouth Students’ Union, Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe, Dorset with Fleetwood Mac, Delroy Williams and Chris Shakespere & The Globe (Bournemouth Evening Echo)

 

1 April 1968 – Belfry, Wishaw, West Midlands with The Idle Race and The Exchequers (Birmingham Evening Mail)

3 April 1968 – Hemel Hempstead Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead, Herts with The Maze (Welwyn and Hatfield Advertiser)

8 April 1968 – Silver Blades, Streatham, London (Coulson & Purley Advertiser)

12 April 1968 – Carlton Club, Warrington, Cheshire with Bits (Warrington Guardian)

Photo may be subject to copyright

13 April 1968 – Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone, Kent (Folkestone & Hythe Gazette)

Photo may be subject to copyright

21 April 1968 – Mecca Dancing, Locarno, Wakefield, West Yorkshire (Wakefield Express)

30 April 1968 – 101 Club Scene, Carlisle, Cumbria with The Mythology (Cumberland News)

Ace Kefford left around this time and Trevor Burton moved to bass

4 May 1968 – Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire (Steve Chapples research: website: www.lankybeat.com)

4 May 1968 – City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear (Fabulous 208)

11 May 1968 – Students’ Union, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk (Eastern Evening News)

17 May 1968 – Clockwork Orange, Chester, Cheshire with The Magic Box (Crewe Chronicle)

Photo may be subject to copyright

18 May 1968 – Elms Court Ballroom, Botley, Oxford (Oxford Mail)

25 May 1968 – Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent with Lee Harmer’s Popcorn (East Kent Times & Mail)

25 May 1968 – Kursaal Ballroom, Southend, Essex with Crocheted Doughnut Ring (Southend Standard)

 

Photo may be subject to copyright

3 June 1968 – Barn Barbecue Concert & Dance, Whittlesey, near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire with Fleetwood Mac, James & Bobby Purify, Amen Corner and Pesky Gee (Cambridge News)

10 June 1968 – Civic Hall, Guildford, Surrey with Episode Six and Circus (Surrey Advertiser)

14 June 1968 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with supporting groups (website: www.california-ballroom.info/gigs/)

Photo may be subject to copyright

21 June 1968 – Midsummer Nights Dream, Burton Constable, near Hull with Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band, Marmalade, Family, Spooky Tooth, Tramline, Savoy Brown Blues Band, Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera, Baron Richtofen’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Circus, CJ Morris and The Reaction (Hull Daily Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

30 June 1968 – Kirklevington Country Club, Kirklevington, North Yorkshire (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)

 

5 July 1968 – Bournemouth Pavilion, Bournemouth, Dorset (Bournemouth Evening Echo)

 

10 August 1968 – Ryde Pier, Ryde, Isle of Wight with Opal Butterfly (John Harriss’ recollections)

13 August 1968 – Middle Earth, Torquay Town Hall, Torquay, Devon with The Package Deal, Graded Grains and Fire (Herald Express)

Photo may be subject to copyright

20 August 1968 – Palais, Ilford, east London (Redbridge & Ilford Recorder)

 

2 September 1968 – Bluesology Festival, Chateau Impney, Droitwich, Worcestershire with  Fleetwood Mac, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, The Freddy Mack Show and Family (John Combe book)

Photo may be subject to copyright

6 September 1968 – Kinema Ballroom, Stranraer, Scotland with The Kleen Machine (Wigtownshire Free Press & Galloway Advertiser)

7 September 1968 – Dobbie Hall, Larbert, Scotland with Blues Authority (Grangemouth Advertiser)

14 September 1968 – Hyde Park open air concert, Hyde Park, London (Fabulous 208)

20 September 1968 – Century Hall, Manchester (Fabulous 208)

20 September 1968 – St Albans City Hall, St Albans, Herts with Jon James & The Swamp and Peyton Band (Welwyn and Hatfield Advertiser)

21 September 1968 – Starlight Room, Boston Gliderdrome, Boston, Lincolnshire with Yes and Forever Changes (Lincolnshire Standard)

21 September 1968 – New Centre Hall, Manchester with The Impact (Manchester Evening News and Chronicle)

25 September 1968 – Tavistock Town Hall, Tavistock, Devon (Western Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

28 September 1968 – Links International Club, Maxwell Park Youth Centre, Borehamwood, Herts with Chain Gang (Simon Gee research) Melody Maker says support is Strawberry Jam

29 September 1968 – The Crown, Birmingham (Fabulous 208)

 

4 October 1968 – Southampton University, Southampton, Hampshire (Fabulous 208)

8-10 October 1968 – Market Hall, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales (Fabulous 208)

11 October 1968 – Kew Boat House, Kew, London (Richmond & Twickenham Times)

Photo may be subject to copyright

12 October 1968 – Coronation Hall, Kingston upon Thames, London (Kingston and Malden Borough News)

Photo may be subject to copyright

17 October 1968 – Mayfair Ballroom, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear with Family, The Nashville Teens, Dollyrocker Band and Peter’s People (Newcastle Evening Chronicle)

Photo may be subject to copyright

21 October 1968 – St Matthew’s Baths, Ipswich, Suffolk with supporting groups (Essex County Standard)

26 October 1968 – Plymouth Guildhall, Plymouth, Devon with Frozen Tear (Western Evening Mail)

The Move, late November 1968. Photo may be subject to copyright

1 November 1968 – King’s College, Strand, central London with Lemon Tree and Heart ‘N’ Souls (Melody Maker)

8 November 1968 – Rag Charities Ball, Hotel Metropole, Brighton, West Sussex with Spooky Tooth, Wynder K Frog, Honeybus and Chicken Shack

Photo may be subject to copyright

9 November 1968 – Marine Ballroom, Lyme Regis, Dorset (Bridport News/Dorset Evening Echo)

20 November 1968 – Century Hall, St Albans, Herts (Fabulous 208)

21 November 1968 – Century Hall, Manchester (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

4 December 1968 – Hemel Hempstead Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead, Herts with Katch 22 (Welwyn and Hatfield Advertiser)

Photo may be subject to copyright

6 December 1968 – Borough Assembly Hall, Aylesbury, Bucks with The U-N-Who (website: http://aylesburymusictown.co.uk/)

13 December 1968 – County Hall, Westminster, London (Fabulous 208)

15 December 1968 – Civic Hall, Corby, Northamptonshire (Fabulous 208)

21 December 1968 – Pavilion, Handsworth, West Midlands (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

27 December 1968 – Bridge Place Country Club, Bridge near Canterbury, Kent (Canterbury Advertiser/Kent Herald)

1969

10 January 1969 – Sharberry Hall, Ilminster, Somerset (Fabulous 208)

25 January 1969 – Gala Ballroom, Norwich, Norfolk (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

26 January 1969 – Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London (Fabulous 208)

 

2 February 1969 – Britannia Rowing Club, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)

Photo may be subject to copyright

3 February 1969 – Silver Blades, Streatham, southwest London (Beckenham & Penge Advertiser)

According to Melody Maker Rick Price makes his debut (replacing Trevor Burton) in Belfast on Friday, 9 February

20 February 1969 – Imperial College, Charity Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London with The Spencer Davis Group, Status Quo, East of Eden and The Nashville Teens (Melody Maker)

26 February 1969 – Fiesta Club, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham (Fabulous 208)

28 February 1969 – Woolwich Polytechnic, Woolwich, London (Fabulous 208)

 

1 March 1969 – Corn Exchange, Cambridge (Fabulous 208)

Photo may be subject to copyright

19 March 1969 – Lyceum, London (Fabulous 208)

20 March 1969 – Town Hall, Reading, Berkshire (Fabulous 208)

22 March 1969 – Bradford University, Bradford, West Yorkshire (Fabulous 208)

23 March 1969 – Redcar Jazz Club, Redcar, North Yorkshire with Ruby James & The Sound Seekers (Dennis Weller, Chris Scott Wilson and Graham Lowe’s book)

Photo may be subject to copyright

10 May 1969 – Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent with The Smoke (Folkestone & Hythe District Herald)

24 May 1969 – Royal Links Pavilion, Cromer, Norfolk with Eyes of Blond and Uncle Rufls Band (Julie Fielder book: What Flo Said Next)

Photo may be subject to copyright

7 August 1969 – Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent with The Mud (Folkestone & Hythe District Herald)

Photo may be subject to copyright

10 August 1969 – Alton Towers, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire with The Montanas (Melody Maker)

24 August 1969 – Hastings Pier, Hastings, East Sussex (Roger Bistow’s research at Dizzy Tiger Music website)

 

1 September 1969 – Pop and Blues Festival, Pennycross Sports Stadium, Plymouth, Devon with Fleetwood Mac, Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band, The Nashville Teens, Dave Amboy, Rod Mason Jass Band (Melody Maker)

Photo may be subject to copyright

4 September 1969 – Rebecca’s, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)

6 September 1969 – Starlight Room, Boston Gliderdrome, Boston, Lincolnshire with The Applejacks (Lincolnshire Standard)

 

16 November 1969 – Lyceum, Strand, London with Keith Relf’s Renaissance and Juicy Lucy (Melody Maker)

 

20 December 1969 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with two supporting groups (website: www.california-ballroom.info/gigs/)

1970

28 February 1970 – Belfry, Wishaw, West Midlands with Heaven (Birmingham Evening Mail)

Photo may be subject to copyright

28 March 1970 – New Corn Exchange, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk with Armageddon and Soul Expression (Melody Maker)

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

The Move, Windsor Festival, August 1967. Photo © Odile Noël (www.odilenoel.com)
The Move, Windsor Festival, August 1967. Photo © Odile Noël (www.odilenoel.com)
Categories: Birmingham, England, London

Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation

8 Comments
Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement photo
Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement, clockwise from front: Ron Thomas, Mick Fletcher, Gary Hamilton, Tony Sinclair, Mel Wayne, Dave Mahoney and (sitting down) Phil Wainman. All except Gary Hamilton (and John Droy, not in photo) were in The New Generation (version 2) backing Jimmy Cliff.

Jamaican reggae singer Jimmy Cliff is best known to international audiences for the songs “Sitting in Limbo”, “You Can Get It If You Really Want” and “Many Rivers to Cross”, taken from the 1972 soundtrack album The Harder They Come. One of the first artists to introduce reggae to a wider audience, Cliff started performing in his native Jamaica during the early 1960s where he was spotted by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who brought him to England in October/November 1965.

Over the next four years, Cliff worked the UK club scene with a series of backing groups – The New Generation, The Sound System, Dave Anthony’s Moods, The Soul System (aka The Attack), The Shakedown Sound (December 1966-February 1968) and The Wynder K Frog Band, playing a mixture of soul and R&B.

Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation

(November 1965-February 1966)

Jimmy Cliff – lead vocals
Dave Pegg – lead guitar
Graham Gallery – bass
Dave Brown – organ
Frank Devine – drums
Ayshea Brough – vocals
Pete Hodge(s) – vocals

Cliff’s first band, The New Generation, was a Birmingham group known as Roy Everett’s Blueshounds, whose most notable member was future Fairport Convention bass player Dave Pegg.

Photo: Blueshounds

The Blueshounds were good mates of The Spencer Davis Group, who put in a good word for the band when Chris Blackwell was looking for musicians to support Cliff on the road. In November 1965, Blackwell released The Spencer Davis Group’s “Keep on Running”, the band’s first number one single.

Photo: Melody Maker, April 1966

Around the same time, Blackwell signed The Blueshounds to the agency he co-ran, West End Promotions Ltd, which also represented The Steampacket, Hedgehoppers Anonymous, The Alex Harvey Go Soul Show, Millie Small, Ayshea Brough and the newly arrived Jimmy Cliff.

With Pete Hodge(s) taking over from Roy Everett, The Blueshounds attended an “audition” recording session at Cecil Sharpe House in London on 23 November 1965 with promoter George Webb (The Spencer Davis Group’s agent) and DJ Alan Freeman.

Also in attendance that day were Jimmy Cliff and Ayshea Brough, a young singer that George Webb was trying to launch on the scene, who’d been working with future Hedgehoppers Anonymous drummer Glenn Martin.

Passing the audition, The Blueshounds were renamed The New Generation and Cliff travelled up to Birmingham to stay with Dave Pegg’s family for about two weeks while rehearsals took place to ready the band for the road. Singers Ayshea Brough and Pete Hodge(s) were also added to the touring band and had their own vocal spots in the show.

The (incomplete) gig listing below, which is taken from Dave Pegg’s scrap book unless otherwise noted), shows that the band’s debut took place at the Ritz Ballroom in King’s Heath, West Midlands in mid-December.

For most of these gigs, the band was billed as The New Generation, although the Marquee gigs list them as The Jimmy Cliff Big Sound. The only exception is a show at the Cue Club in Paddington, central London on 28 January where the band was billed as The Sound System, which may originally have been assigned for Cliff’s second support group (see below), although Dave Pegg’s version did honour this gig.

Notable gigs (from Dave Pegg’s diary unless noted)

15 December 1965 – The Ritz Ballroom, King’s Heath, West Midlands

17 December 1965 – The Carlton Ballroom, Erdington, West Midlands with Steampacket and Graham Bond

17 December 1965 – Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham with Steampacket and Graham Bond

23 December 1965 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Steampacket (billed as Jimmy Cliff Big Sound)

24 December 1965 – Jigsaw, Manchester with Jimmy Powell 5 Dimensions (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle) (Billed as Explosive Jimmy Cliff, The New Generation, Ayshea and Pete Hodges)

26 December 1965 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire with Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds and The Tribe (Evening Sentinel) (billed as Jimmy  Cliffe, Ayshea, Peter Hodges and The New Generation). This is missing from Dave Pegg’s list

31 December 1965 – Dungeon, Nottingham with Ayshea and Pete Hodges (Nottingham Evening Post)

 

3 January 1966 – Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London (Tottenham Weekly Herald)

6 January 1966 – The Village, Cleethorpes with Ayshea and Pete Hodges (Grimsby Evening Telegraph)

8 January 1966 – The Village, Cleethorpes with Ayshea and Pete Hodges (Grimsby Evening Telegraph) Says back by demand

14 January 1966 – Il Rondo, Leicester (Leicester Mercury)

15 January 1966 – Jigsaw, Manchester (Manchester Evening News) (billed as Jimmy Cliff plus New Generations Plus Ashea Plus Pete Hodges)

16 January 1966 – Black Prince Hotel, Bexley, south east London (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation with Ayshea and Pete Hodges)

22 January 1966 – Mr McCoys, Middlesbrough (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation)

23 January 1966 – Jigsaw, Manchester (Manchester Evening News) (billed as the Explosive Jimmy Cliff with New Generation, Pete Hodges and Ayshea) Replaced Manfred Mann

27 January 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Steampacket

28 January 1966 – The Cue Club, central Paddington (billed as Jimmy Cliff, Owen Gray, Ayshea and The Sound System)

29 January 1966 – The Ricky Tick, Clewer Mead, Windsor, Berkshire

30 January 1966 – The Village, Cleethorpes with Ayshea and Pete Hodges (Grimsby Evening Telegraph)

 

4 February 1966 – Bluesville R&B Club, Manor House, Finsbury Park, north London (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation featuring Ayesha and Pete Hodge)

5 February 1966 – Chelsea College, south west London with The Spencer Davis Group

It’s not entirely clear why Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation went their separate ways in early February 1966. Dave Pegg’s diary shows that a gig planned for 6 February was cancelled and on 13 February he was back in Birmingham working with a new band – The Uglys.

Aldershot News does list Jimmy Cliff playing at Farnborough Town Hall on 9 February but this may not have happened.

The decision to find a second band to back Cliff on the road was probably made in mid-late January and Chris Blackwell already knew who he wanted for the job.

Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System/New Generation

(February-July 1966)

Jimmy Cliff – lead vocals
Tony Sinclair – lead guitar
Ron Thomas – bass
Mick Fletcher – organ
John Droy – trumpet
Mel Wayne – sax
Dave Mahoney – sax
Pete Hodges – vocals
Ayshea Brough – vocals
Phil Wainman – drums

The next group to back Jimmy Cliff on the road was also, somewhat confusingly, initially billed as The New Generation, although they also used the name The Sound System. Promoters added to the confusion by sometimes billing the band as The Jimmy Cliff Big Sound and The Jimmy Cliff Sound.

The Sound System, as they became around early January, had originally been called The Phil Wainman Band/Set. Phil Wainman, who years later found fame as a noted producer among other things, had first started out as a drummer in the early 1960s, working with The Hi Grades in Sweden and The Paramounts before linking up with the remnants of west London band, The All-Nite Workers around October 1965.

Ron Thomas, Mel Wayne and Dave Mahoney had all been members of this group, which had morphed out of Mike Dee & The Prophets in early-mid 1965. Mick Fletcher joined from The Epitaph Soul Band when it became The Phil Wainman Band/Set around October 1965 after briefly playing in The Herd while Tony Sinclair and John Droy came in soon after, the former from Johnny Halliday’s band in France.

According to David Katz’s excellent book, Jimmy Cliff – An Unauthorised Biography, The Phil Wainman Band/Set secured a residency at Dolly’s Club in Jermyn Street in central London around November of that year. One night Chris Blackwell dropped in and introduced himself.

After be-friending Wainman, he kept the musicians in mind as a support band for the Jamaican acts on Island Records’ roster, including Jackie Edwards, Millie Small and Owen Gray.

Changing name to The Sound System, Wainman’s band started rehearsing with these acts in late January and one early gig, backing Owen Gray, took place at the New All Star Club in Artillery Passage near Liverpool Street station, London on 5 February 1966.

Around this time, it became clear that Cliff and the original New Generation would be separating so Wainman’s band started rehearsing with the singer when he wasn’t gigging with Dave Pegg’s group. After a few weeks’ rehearsals, Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System/New Generation debuted at the Marquee on 10 February, billed as The Jimmy Cliff Big Sound.

Over the next four and half months, Wainman’s band backed Cliff on the road, which included a package tour with The Who and The Spencer Davis Group in April 1966. It was during this time that Keith Moon spotted Wainman’s Red Sparkle Premier drum kit with two bass drums and decided to switch to the same set up two months later.

According to Wainman, Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System/New Generation were particularly popular in Grimsby and played there at least once a month. They also played four nights at the Penthouse.

However, some time in late July 1966, Jimmy Cliff and The Sound System/New Generation went their separate ways.

It’s not clear who backed Jimmy Cliff for a series of gigs that took place at London’s Whisky A Go Go on 9, 16 and 23 August as no support band is listed in Melody Maker, but he was joined by Dave Anthony’s Moods and The Soul System (aka The Attack) at some point during this period.

In December 1966, Jimmy Cliff hooked up with his next group, The Shakedown Sound with whom he worked with until February 1968. He then joined forces with Wynder K Frog.

As for The Sound System, the musicians joined forces with singer Gary Hamilton who was putting together a new version of Hamilton & The Movement (see future entry).

Notable gigs:

10 February 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Steampacket (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff Big Sound)

13 February 1966 – Nottingham Boat Club, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation)

15 February 1966 – Jigsaw, Manchester (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle) (billed as Explosive Jimmy Cliff, The New Generation, Pete Hodges and Ayshea)

19 February 1966 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation, with Ayshea and Pete Hodge)

20 February 1966 – Kirklevington Country Club, Kirklevington, North Yorkshire (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation)

21 February 1966 – Wall City Jazz Club, Quaintways, Chester, Cheshire with Lee, Eddie Showgroup, The Wall City Jazzmen and The Style (Cheshire Observer) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation with Ayshea and Pete Hodges)

24 February 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Steampacket (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff Big Sound)

25 February 1966 – Southall Community Centre, Southall, west London (Hayes Gazette)

 

3 March 1966 – Blue Moon, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (Gloucester Citizen)

4 March 1966 – Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich, West Midlands with The Ugly and The Craig (Birmingham Evening Mail) Dave Pegg from the first New Generation was on bass with The Uglys

8 March 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Spencer Davis Group (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation)

11 March 1966 – Rialto, Derby (Derby Evening Telegraph)

12 March 1966 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear (Newcastle Evening Chronicle) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation with Ayshea)

20 March 1966 – King Mojo, Sheffield, South Yorkshire (Sheffield Star) (billed as Jimmy Cliff, Aysha and The New Generation)

25 March 1966 – Mr McCoys, Middlesbrough with The Warriors (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation)

26 March 1966 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation and Pete Hodge)

27 March 1966 – Shakespeare Hotel, Woolwich, south east London (South East London Mercury) (billed as Jimmy Cliff)

3 April 1966 – Kirklevington Country Club, Kirklevington, North Yorkshire (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

4 April 1966 – The Village, Cleethorpes with Ayshea and Pete Hodges (Grimsby Evening Telegraph)

8 April 1966 – El Partido, Lewisham, south east London with The Raisons (South East London Mercury)

10 April 1966 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, west London (Pete Watt’s research) (billed as The Jimmy Cliff Show)

11 April 1966 – The Catacombe, Eastbourne, East Sussex (Eastbourne Herald Chronicle) Billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System

14 April 1966 –  Gaumont Theatre, Southampton, Hants with The Who, The Spencer Davis Group, The Band of Angels and Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

15 April 1966 – Fairfield Hall, Croydon, south London with The Who, The Spencer Davis Group, The Band of Angels and Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

16 April 1966 – Odeon, Watford, Herts with The Who, The Spencer Davis Group, The Band of Angels and Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

17 April 1966 – Regal Theatre, Edmonton, north London with The Who, The Spencer Davis Group, The Band of Angels and Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

18 April 1966 – Galaxy, Basingstoke, Hants (Hants & Berkshire Gazette)

20 April 1966 – Orford Jazz Cellar, Norwich, Norfolk (Eastern Evening News)

30 April 1966 – Mansfield Club, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire (Nottingham Evening Post)

 

1 May 1966 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester (Manchester Soul site) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

6 May 1966 – The Catacombe, Eastbourne, East Sussex (Eastbourne Herald Chronicle) (billed as The Explosive Jimmy Cuff)

9 May 1966 – Galaxy, Basingstoke, Hants (Hants & Berkshire Gazette)

10 May 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Spencer Davis Group (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff Sound)

13 May 1966 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear (Newcastle Evening Chronicle)

15 May 1966 – The Village, Cleethorpes (Grimsby Evening Telegraph) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & Package Show)

16 May 1966 – The Beachcomber, Preston, Lancashire (Lancashire Evening Post) Billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound Systems

20 May 1966 – Il Rondo, Leicester (Leicester Mercury)

21 May 1966 – Marcam Hall, March, Cambridgeshire (Cambridgeshire Times) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generation and straight from the Flamingo, central London)

22 May 1966 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, west London (Pete Watt’s research) (billed as The Jimmy Cliff Show)

 

2 June 1966 – Black Horse, Northfield, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail) (Billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

4 June 1966 – Jigsaw, Manchester (Manchester Evening News & Chronicle) (billed as Jimmy Cliff Show)

6 June 1966 – Wall City Jazz Club, Quaintways, Chester, Cheshire with The Max Colley Jazzband, The Wall City Jazzmen and The Connoisseurs (Cheshire Observer) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & Group)

8-11 June 1966 – Penthouse, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail) (billed as Jimmy Cliff Show) Says direct from Tiles

12 June 1966 – Hotel Leofric, Coventry (Coventry Evening Telegraph) (billed as the Explosive Jimmy Cliff)

14 June 1966 – Marquee, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with Spencer Davis Group (Melody Maker) (billed as Jimmy Cliff Sound)

18 June 1966 – Stamford Hotel, Stamford, Lincolnshire (Stamford Mercury) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

19 June 1966 – Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, west London (Pete Watt’s research) (billed as The Jimmy Cliff Show)

25 June 1966 – The Catacombe, Eastbourne, East Sussex (Eastbourne Herald Chronicle) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generations)

26 June 1966 – Le Metro Club, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System with Pete Hodges)

 

1 July 1966 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with Him & The Others (website: https://www.california-ballroom.info/gigs/) (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

2 July 1966 – The Village, Cleethorpes with Pete Hodges (Grimsby Evening Telegraph)

8 July 1966 – Hull College of Technology Students’ Union, Skyline Ballroom, Hull with The Small Faces, The Mike Cotton Sound, Herbie Goins & The Night-Timers, The Mode and Eddie Gray & His Band (Hull Daily Mail) (Billed as Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System)

16 July 1966 – Twisted Wheel, Manchester (Manchester Soul site)

17 July 1966 – Central R&B Club, Central Hotel, Gillingham, Kent (billed as Jimmy Cliff & The New Generations)

22 July 1966 – Royal Oak, Hockley Heath, West Midlands (Birmingham Evening Mail)

23 July 1966 – Dungeon, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post) Says with New Generation

23 July 1966 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London (Melody Maker)

30 July 1966 – The Beachcomber, Preston, Lancashire (Lancashire Evening Post) Possibly the band’s final gig before split with Cliff and teaming up with Gary Hamilton

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.

To contact the author, email: Warchive@aol.com

I’d like to thank the following for their help in piecing this story together: Dave Pegg, David Katz, Laurie Hornsby, Andy Neill, Ron Thomas, Phil Wainman, Mel Wayne and Brian Hosking.

 

Categories: Birmingham, Decca, England

The Moody Blues

1 Comment

Moody Blues Decca

Denny Laine (guitar, vocals)
Michael Pinder (keyboards, vocals)
Ray Thomas (harmonica, saxophone, flute, vocals)
Clint Warwick (bass, vocals)
Graeme Edge (drums)

1964

April The nucleus of the band is formed by Laine (b. Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944, Tyseley, Birmingham, W. Midlands, UK), who has just disbanded his group Denny And The Diplomats, with Thomas (b. 29 December 1942, Stourport-on-Severn, Hereford & Worcs, UK.) and Pinder (b. 27 December 1941, Birmingham, W. Midlands, UK), who have both been playing in local outfits El Riot & The Rebels and The Krewcats, and have just returned from a year’s residence at Hamburg’s Top Ten club.

May (4) Rehearsals begin with the addition of drummer Edge (b. 30 March 1942, Rochester, Staffs, UK), who has previously been a member of Gerry Levene & The Avengers and bass player Clint Warwick (b. Albert Eccles, 25 June 1940, Birmingham, W. Midlands, UK), formerly a member of The Rainbows. The group quickly gains a residency at the Carlton Ballroom in Erdington, West Midlands, initially billed as The M&B Five, apparently in the hope of gaining sponsorship from local brewers Mitchell and Butler. Laine, who has pushed the band’s sound towards the blues and jazz of London based groups, decides soon afterwards to re-name the band after a Slim Harpo song titled “Moody Blue” and The M&B Five becomes The Moody Blues Five.

August The band attracts the attention of London manager Tony Secunda, who secures The Moody Blues (as they now call themselves), a residency at London’s Marquee club on Monday nights, where they replace Manfred Mann. Through their prestigious “live” work at the club, the band quickly attracts the attention of Decca Records which signs the group. Shortly afterwards The Moody Blues record their debut single, the Pinder-Laine composition “Lose Your Money” which the band performs on ITV’s Ready Steady Go!.

September (3) The group plays its first show at the Marquee in London.

(11) The Moody Blues appear at Birmingham’s Town Hall alongside The Spencer Davis Group and headliners Alexis Korner Incorporated.

Photo: Woking Herald

(14) The Moody Blues open the Moonlighter Club, held at Weybridge Hall in Weybridge, Surrey.

(28) The band returns for another show at the Moonlighter Club, Weybridge Hall in Weybridge, Surrey.

October (4) The band plays at the Marquee in London.

(30) The Moody Blues appear at the Crawdaddy club in Richmond, Surrey.

November After “Lose Your Money” fails to chart, the group records a cover of Bessie Banks’s US R&B hit, “Go Now”, which has been given to the band by New York disc-jockey B. Mitchell Reed during a visit to the UK.

(2) The Moody Blues perform again at the Moonlighter Club, held at Weybridge Hall in Weybridge, Surrey.

December (7) The group appears at the Marquee in London.

1965

January (8) The group begins a 24-date, twice-nightly tour with Chuck Berry at the Odeon Theatre, London, which will end 31 January at the Regal Theatre, Edmonton, London.

(28) “Go Now”, produced by Alex Murray, tops the UK chart.

February The band quickly releases “I Don’t Want To Go On Without You”, a revival of a Drifters’ b-side as a follow up single, but it only reaches UK #33. Part of the single’s failure can be attributed to the simultaneous release of identical covers by The Searchers and The Escorts. (The group is unhappy with the recording because Thomas’s flute solo has been inexplicably erased from the final pressing.)

March (8) The Moody Blues make their first live broadcast on BBC Radio’s Joe Loss Pop Show.

April “Go Now” holds down anchor position in a unique US Top 10 in which 9 of the singles are from the UK.

(11) The group takes part in the annual New Musical Express poll winners concert at the Empire Pool, London, with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Animals among others.

May The band releases an EP, which features both sides of the group’s debut single plus the a-sides of the previous two releases.

(24) The Moody Blues take part in the British Song Festival at the Dome, Brighton, East Sussex.

June (5) The band guests on ITV’s Thank Your Lucky Stars, where it introduces its new single, the Pinder-Laine collaboration “From The Bottom Of My Heart”.

(15) The Moody Blues join The Rolling Stones for a 4-date tour of Scotland alongside The Hollies, The Cannon Brothers and The Checkmates. The tour begins at the Odean Theatre, Glasgow.

(16) The group performs at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh.

(17) The Moody Blues appear at the Caird Hall, Dundee.

(18) The final date takes place at the Capitol Theatre, Aberdeen. (While the Stones prepare for a short tour of Scandinavia, The Moody Blues return to London in order to fly to New York for their debut US appearance.)

(19) The group makes its US debut with The Kinks at the Academy of Music in New York.

July “From The Bottom Of My Heart” is released and climbs to UK #22 and US #93. The Moody Blues’ debut album Magnificent Moodies, which has been produced by Denny Cordell is released to coincide with the single but fails to chart. In the US the album is released as Go Now and features a different track listing.

(24) The band performs at the Birdcage in Portsmouth, Hants.

August (1) The Moody Blues perform at the London Palladium with The Rolling Stones, The Fourmost, Steampacket and others.

(6) The group plays on the opening day of the fifth annual National Jazz & Blues Festival at the Richmond Athletic Ground, Richmond, Surrey.

(29) The Moody Blues play at the Downs, Hassocks, West Sussex.

September (6) The band signs a management contract with NEMS.

(21) The Moody Blues participate in Pop From Britain concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, with Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames and The Fourmost.

(25) The group appears at the Birdcage in Portsmouth, Hants with St Louis Checks.

(30) The Moody Blues replace Unit 4 Plus 2 for 3 dates on The Rolling Stones UK tour. The first date takes place at the Gaumont Theatre, Hanley, Staffs. Also on the tour are The Spencer Davis Group, The End and The Habits.

October (1) The band appears at the ABC Theatre, Chester, Cheshire.

(2) The group’s final appearance takes place at the ABC Theatre, Wigan, Lancashire. Unit 4 Plus 2 return to the tour immediately afterwards.

November The Laine-Pinder composition “Everyday” only reaches UK #44, despite becoming a turntable hit on pirate radio.

December (3) The group supports The Beatles on their final UK tour, a 9-date twice-nightly package, which opens at Glasgow’s Odeon cinema and ends on December 12 at the Capitol Cinema, Cardiff, Wales.

(19) The Moody Blues appear on CBS TV’s Ed Sullivan Show.

1966

March (8) The group appears at the Montreux Golden Rose TV festival.

April Another Laine-Pinder track “Stop!” is lifted from the UK album and released as a US single, where it spends a week on the Hot 100 at #98. (The song incidentally, is later covered by singer Julie Grant but is not a success). Secunda leaves at this point to work with The Move and is replaced by The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein. However, he fails to lift the group’s flagging career and as a result The Moody Blues are forced to “drastically reduce their engagement fees.”


(2) The Moody Blues appear at the Club Continental, Eastbourne, East Sussex.

May (1) The band performs at the Oasis in Manchester.

(28) The Moody Blues appear at Hertford Ball, Hertford College, Oxford University with Kenny Ball’s Jazzmen, Alexis Korner, Scott, Gould & Wood, Clem and John.

(30) The group plays at the Pavilion in Bath, Avon.

June (4) Melody Maker announces that the group has undertaken a short tour of Belgium, including a TV appearance from the Casino at Knokke. The magazine also reports that the band is due to appear at the Paris Olympia on 12 June.

(15) The Moody Blues perform at the Bromel club, the Bromley Court Hotel, Kent.

(24) The group plays at the Ram Jam club in Brixton in south London. Warwick, who is disillusioned by the band’s drop in fortunes, leaves the group and quits the music business.

(29) The Moody Blues appear at the Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead, Herts.

The Moody Blues with Rod Clark (far right)

July (9) Pinder and Laine’s “This Is My House (But Nobody Calls)” (the intended b-side of the band’s forthcoming UK single) is issued in the US hitting #119.

(14) After Klaus Voorman decides not to join, Rod Clark, a bass player from Great Yarmouth, who has played with Les Garcons takes Warwick’s place, although Pinder and Thomas’s former El Riot & The Rebels cohort John Lodge (b. 20 July 1943, Birmingham, W. Midlands, UK) is rumoured to have been offered the original slot. Clark debuts at the Villa Marina in Coventry.

(30) The group appears at the Riverside Dance Club in Douglas, the Isle of Man.

August (6) The Moody Blues begin a 9-day tour of Denmark.

(20) The group appears at Town Hall, Clacton, Essex with Dave & The Strollers.

September (3) The band appears at the Black Prince in Tenbury Wells.

(10) Melody Maker reports that The Moody Blues fly to Holland for a TV show and then the next day perform in Brussels.

(15) The band plays at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, Holland.

(16) The Moody Blues perform at Midnight City in Birmingham with Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers.

(23) The group appears at Cardiff Capitol Theatre on a bill that includes Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, The Scaffold and The Fourmost.

(28) The Moody Blues appear at the Flamingo in London in what is probably Denny Laine’s final show.

October Rod Clark leaves to join The Rockin’ Berries and John Lodge joins. Lodge, who has remained in higher education since the band’s split in February 1963, has subsequently played in local bands The Carpetbaggers and The John Bull Breed. Laine, meanwhile, anticipating Brian Wilson’s role in The Beach Boys decides to concentrate on writing and studio work.

Justin Hayward, Swindon Advertiser, September 1966

(8) Record Mirror reports that Laine has officially left The Moody Blues. He will quickly emerge with an amplified backing group The Electric String Band – a predecessor and major influence on The Electric Light Orchestra.

(12) Decca releases the group’s first single in over a year, the French-flavoured “Boulevard De La Madelaine”, written by Pinder and Laine but it isn’t a hit. On the same day, Melody Maker reports that the band appears at the Flamingo in London. To fill Laine’s position in the band, the group turns to Justin Hayward (b. David Justin Hayward, 14 October 1946, Swindon, Wilts, UK), who has played in a number of Swindon bands – The Riversiders, The Rebels, The Whispers, The Shots and All Things Bright before joining Marty Wilde’s Wildcats for two days. He then joins Marty Wilde and his wife in The Marty Wilde Three, who record the singles “Since You’ve Gone” and “I Cried” for Decca Records and on 8 April 1966 plays alongside Wilde at a charity show at the London Palladium. Hayward leaves to sign a solo deal with Pye A&R chief Alan Freeman and manager Lonnie Donegan. This results in a one-off single “London Is Behind Me”, before Hayward signs to Parlophone, which releases a second single “I Can’t Face The World Without You”. When both singles fail, Hayward writes to Eric Burdon to inquire about a position in his New Animals. Burdon, with his band already signed-up, passes Hayward’s name onto Mike Pinder. The Moody Blues move to Belgium in November to perform some gigs and to avoid the UK taxman. The band continues to perform its old R&B repertoire despite Laine’s departure and the recent changes in the UK “music scene”.

Possibly Justin Hayward and John Lodge’s debut show, 21 October 1966

December The group performs in France, where it’s still very popular.

1967

January (14) Decca releases another Pinder-Laine collaboration “Life’s Not Life”, which is withdrawn shortly afterwards.

Moody Blues Decca 45 Life's Not Life

February (18) The group appears at the Plaza Ballroom in Handsworth, West Midlands with The Traction and The Attack.

March (7) The Moody Blues play at Birmingham’s Ringway Club.

(20) The band appears at the Broadway Club, Dudley Zoo.

(22) The Moody Blues play at Middle Earth in London.

(27) The band plays two shows in the West Midlands. The first is at the Mackadown, Kitts Green with The Monopoly. The second is at the Belfry, Wishaw with The Gods and Exception.

(30) The group drops the old repertoire (and suits) in favour of a new musical style. The band records Hayward’s “Fly Me High” and Pinder’s “Really Haven’t Got The Time” with new producer Tony Clarke as a prospective single.

April The band signs up (along with The Supremes and Ray Charles) to promote Coca-Cola in the teen market. The company’s $10 million campaign requires each artist to record a radio jingle in their own style but featuring the slogan Things Go Better With Coke. The band embarks on a gruelling tour of the Northern club circuit, including a spot at Newcastle’s Cavendish club.

(2) The Moody Blues play at the Cosmo in Carlisle, Cumbria with The Fix.

(14) Denny Laine releases his debut single with The Electric String Band “Say You Don’t Mind” which fails to chart; although ex-Zombies singer Colin Blunstone will later score a top 20 hit with it in 1972.

May (5) The Moody Blues release their first single with the new line-up, “Fly Me High” which is not a success despite being a popular radio hit. The band embarks on a brief tour of Scandinavia.

(19) The band shares a double bill with former group leader Denny Laine at London club, Tiles.

(27) Plans are unveiled for the group to appear on a US colour TV special as “Fly Me High” is given an American release.

June (10) They play the Fete and Donkey Derby in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands with The Ugly’s and The Bobcats.

(12) The Moody Blues appear at Christ College, Cambridge with The Who and The Herd.

(22) The band appears at Middle Earth with Pink Floyd.

(29) The group records Hayward’s “Leave This Man Alone”.

July (9) The band plays at the Roundhouse with Pink Floyd and The Outer Limits.

(17) The Moody Blues record Pinder’s ambitious “Love & Beauty”, which is the first track to feature the band’s characteristic symphonic sound, created with the use of the mellotron. Shortly afterwards the band introduces its new style at the Glastonbury Festival and is an immediate success.

(28) The Moody Blues appear at the Clay Pigeon in Eastcote, northwest London.

(29) The group performs at the London club, the Upper Cut with The Maze.

August The Moody Blues embark on a “summer” tour of France. The group appears at the Midem Music Festival in Cannes performing most of the songs that will subsequently appear on its forthcoming album.

September (7) The group opens for The Pink Floyd at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London.

(13) The band appears at the Catacombe in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

Moody Blues Decca 45 Love and Beauty

(22) The Moody Blues release Pinder’s “Love & Beauty” as a single, but it isn’t a hit.

October (8) Signed to Decca’s new progressive label, Deram, the band begins work on its first album in over two years, recording Hayward’s epic “Nights In White Satin”. The group were originally invited to record a stereo version of Dvorak’s New World Symphony with classical backing from The London Festival Orchestra, conducted by Peter Knight, but is allowed to record its stage show, loosely based around a day in the life of a fictional character, instead.

Moody Blues Antar PS Tuesday Afternoon

1968

January Extracted from the album, Hayward’s “Nights In White Satin” climbs to UK #19 as parent album reaches #27.

(12) Laine meanwhile, disbands The Electric String Band after his second solo single “Too Much In Love” and moves to Spain to study flamenco guitar.

(19) The Moody Blues play at the Punch Bowl, Lapworth, West Midlands.

(20) The group travels to France to appear at the Midem Music Festival in Cannes, later that week.

February (3) The Moody Blues begin a UK tour at the Nelson Imperial, Lancashire. The tour will conclude at Reading University on March 15.

(10) In the US “Nights In White Satin” only reaches #103.

March (13) The group appears at Birmingham Town Hall with The Spencer Davis Group, Manfred Mann, Don Partridge and Piccadilly Line.

(22) The Moody Blues perform at Middle Earth, Covent Garden, London.

May (4) Days Of Future Past enters the US chart at #3 and earns the group its first gold disk, during a chart run of 102 weeks.

June Hayward’s “Voices In The Sky” is lifted from the band’s forthcoming album and reaches UK #27.

(29) The Moody Blues make a rare concert appearance at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.

The Moody Blues appear near Canterbury on 1 August 1968

August The group’s third album, In Search Of The Lost Chord, another concept album, climbs to UK #5. (The band is performing in the former Czechoslovakia at the time and when the Russian army moves in are quickly asked to leave the country by the British Consulate.)

September Hayward’s “Tuesday Afternoon” is taken from Days Of Future Past and belatedly released as a US single, where it hits #24. In Search Of A Lost Chord, rises to US #23 and earns a second gold disk.

October (4) The Moody Blues play at the Corn Exchange, Braintree, Essex.

(11) The group records non-album track “A Simple Game”, written by Mike Pinder.

(21-24) The band is supported by Chicago at the Fillmore West, San Francisco.

(25-26) The group flies to New York City to appear at the Fillmore East with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Rhinoceros.

November (1) Having supported Cream during their final US tour, the group appears at Madison Square Gardens, New York, for Cream’s final US date. “Ride My See Saw”, written by Lodge, is extracted from the new album and makes US #61.

December “Ride My See Saw” hits UK #42. The single’s b-side “A Simple Game” is later a UK #3 for The Four Tops with Clarke producing. (The Four Tops will also cover another Mike Pinder song, “So Deep Within You” from The Moody Blues’ next album). The band performs its last US dates in Vancouver, Canada.

1969

March (11) The group appears at the Grand Gala Du Disque, Amsterdam, Holland on a bill including Gladys Knight & The Pips.

April Hayward’s “Never Comes The Day” is released as a single but fails to chart.

May On The Threshold Of A Dream tops the UK chart for 2 weeks and climbs to US #20 during a 136-week chart run, the Moody Blues’ third gold disk.

(2) The band appears at Bridge Place Country Club, at Bridge near Canterbury, Kent.

July “Never Comes The Day” reaches US #91. Denny Laine meanwhile returns from Spain and joins ex-Move member Trevor Burton in Balls.

August (1) The band appears at Bridge Place Country Club, at Bridge near Canterbury, Kent.

(30) The Moody Blues play on the opening day of the Isle Of Wight Festival.

October Hayward and Thomas’s “Watching And Waiting” is the first single to be released on the group’s own Threshold label.

December The Moody Blues’ new album To Our Children’s Children’s Children hits UK #2 as the band moves to Cobham, Surrey to open the first Threshold record store.

(12) The band performs at the Royal Albert Hall, London, during a UK tour. The concert is recorded (and released as part of Caught Live Plus 5 in June 1977).

1970

January The group’s new album is released in the US and makes #14 becoming the band’s fourth gold disk

March (20-21) The band is supported by Argent and Lee Michaels at New York’s Fillmore East.

April (2/11)The Moody Blues are supported by Richie Havens at the Berkeley Community Theatre, California.

May Hayward’s dramatic “Question” hits UK #2, held from the top by the England World Cup Squad’s “Back Home”. Laine, who has recently joined Ginger Baker’s Airforce sings lead vocal on their cover of Bob Dylan’s “Man Of Constant Sorrow” which hits US #85 on 30 May.

June “Question” reaches US #21.

August The Moody Blues’ new album A Question Of Balance, written and recorded in 5 weeks, hits UK #1 for 3 weeks.
(30) The group plays on the final day of the second Isle Of Wight Festival.

September A Question Of Balance makes US #3 and earns the band its fifth gold disk.

October (30) The band performs at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

December (3) The Moody Blues embark on a US tour making their Carnegie Hall, New York debut on 14 December.

1971

August Laine joins Paul McCartney’s Wings.

1974

February After two further albums, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971) and Seventh Sojourn (1972), which both earn a gold disk, and a 9-month world tour, The Moody Blues decide to split for the time being to concentrate on solo projects. (Hayward’s solo career will be the most enduring and successful).

1978

June The band re-unites for a new album, Octave which hits UK #6 and US #13, and becomes the Moody Blues’ first platinum disk. However, during the recording of the album, producer Tony Clarke leaves followed soon afterwards by Mike Pinder; both have been closely identified with the development of the band’s symphonic sound. Pinder is replaced by ex-Refugee member Patrick Moraz, who remains with The Moody Blues into the 1980s, and helps them to become one of the top selling bands of the decade. Pinder meanwhile, remains in the US and emerges in 1995 with second solo effort Among The Stars.

Sources:

Portsmouth’s Birdcage dates by Dave Allen.

Time Machine, August 1965, by Johnny Black, Mojo Magazine, August 1995.

Call Up The Groups – The Golden Age Of British Beat (1962-1967), by Alan Clayson, Blandford Press, 1985.

Denny Laine, by Alan Clayson, Record Collector, #191, July 1995.

Time Machine, October 1966, by Fred Dellar, Mojo Magazine October 1996.

Collectable 45s of the Swinging ‘60s, by Pete Dickerson and Mike Gordon, The Vintage Record Centre, 1984.

Art Of Rock – Posters From Presley To Punk, by Paul D Grushkin, Artabras, Cross River Press Ltd, 1987.

The Castle – Love #2, by David Peter Housden, 1993.

The Castle – Love #9, by David Peter Housden, 1995.

The Moody Blues UK Singles & UK Albums, by Tim Joseph, Record Collector, #81 & 82, April & May 1986.

Karnbach, James and Bernson, Carol. The Complete Recording Guide To The Rolling Stones. Aurum Press, 1997, pages 111, 112 and 115.
Pink Floyd In The Flesh book, page 43.

The Moody Blues, by John Reed, Record Collector, November 1996, #207, pages 64-71.

Book Of Rock Stars, 2nd Edition, by Dafydd Rees and Luke Crampton, Guinness Publishing Ltd, 1991.

Sleeve notes to album This Is The Moody Blues, by John Tracy, 1989.

Joel Whitburn’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 1959-1985, by Joel Whitburn, Billboard Record Research Inc, 1985.

Joel Whitburn’s Pop Annual 1955-1994, by Joel Whitburn, Billboard Record Research Inc, 1995.

Birmingham Evening Mail 1967-1968.
Disc, May 27, 1967, page 4.
Melody Maker, March 5, 1966, pages 5; April 2, 1966, page 13; June 4, 1966, page 5; June 11, 1966, page 13; June 25, 1966, page 13; May 20, 1967, page 5; July 29, 1967, page 12; January 6, 1968, page 3 and March 23, 1968, page 14.
NME, week ending January 20, 1968.

Thanks to Tony Brown for corrections.

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

Email: Warchive@aol.com

 

Categories: Birmingham, Deram, England

Denny Laine’s Electric String Band

22 Comments
Denny Laine with the Moody Blues photo
Denny Laine with the Moody Blues

Denny Laine (lead guitar, vocals)
Binky McKenzie (bass)
Wilhelm Martin (violin)
John Stein (violin)
Clive Gillinson (cello)
Chris Van Campen (cello)
Viv Prince (drums)

1966

October (8) After recording the single Life’s Not Life, Laine (b. Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944, Tyseley, Birmingham, England) leaves The Moody Blues to pursue a new musical project. He briefly forms a trio but the project fails to gel as the others don’t share his new musical ideas.

December Laine forms an amplified string quartet with classical musicians Gillinson, Martin, Stein and Van Campen (who are all ex-Royal Academy), and a backing band featuring ex-Pretty Things and Bunch Of Fives drummer Prince (b. 9 August 1944, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England) and bass player Binky McKenzie, who has worked with future Crazy World of Arthur Brown keyboard player Vincent Crane and blues legend, Alexis Korner.

Denny Laine early 1967
Denny Laine,  1967

1967

January (21) Melody Maker announces that Laine is recording for Decca’s new ‘progressive’ label Deram. Laine will continue to work under the guidance of producer Denny Cordell, who oversaw The Moody Blues’ recordings.

April (14) His debut single Say You Don’t Mind is released but fails to chart despite being aired on John Peel’s popular independent radio show Top Gear. The song’s advanced nature is confirmed when ex-Zombies lead vocalist Colin Blunstone takes a similar version to UK #15 in 1972. Disc magazine states that Laine has been commissioned to write an Italian film score and is expected in Milan in July for 10 days to supervise the recording. The project, however, is later shelved.

(29) Laine is a compere at the 14-hour Technicolour Dream concert at London’s Alexandra Palace.

Denny Laine Deram PS Say You Don't Mind
Dutch sleeve with b-side title missing the definite article.

May (3) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band is supported by Robert Plant’s Band of Joy at Cedar Club, Birmingham.

Photo: Birmingham Evening Mail

(6) The band plays two gigs in Nottingham at the Beachcomber Club and the Britannia Rowing Club.

(7) The group’s debut performance at London’s Saville Theatre (which was originally scheduled for 3 May) is cancelled when Laine pulls out one hour before the show. According to Melody Maker, bass player Binky McKenzie leaves three days before the show and Laine is unable to get a replacement fully rehearsed in time. Shortly afterwards, Laine reorganises the group, bringing in new bass player Cliff Barton, and Angus Anderson (violin) and Haflidi Halynisson (cello), who replace Martin and Van Campen.

(10) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band return to the Cedar Club for another show supported by Robert Plant’s Band of Joy

Photo: Melody Maker

(19) His new group makes its debut at London’s Tiles Club on a double bill with his former band, The Moody Blues. (Disc magazine announces that Laine is due to do a six-day promo tour of the US from 24-30 May, but it is subsequently cancelled.)

(26) Say You Don’t Mind is given an American release.

Photo: Mirabelle, 24 June 1967 issue

June (4) The band finally plays at London’s Saville Theatre alongside Procol Harum, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and others. (According to Melody Maker, the group performs in Paris on 7-8 June and then travels to Brussels for three days of concerts and TV performances. However, this seems unlikely as a later issue claims that the group begins work on a new single and a debut album on 7 June.)

Photo: Melody Maker

(8) The group plays at the Marquee with The Pyramid (featuring future Fairport Convention singer Ian Matthews and several soon-to-be Denny Laine collaborators).

(10) Laine’s band is booked to play at the Birdcage in Portsmouth, Hants but doesn’t show up.

Denny Laine in Mirabelle, June 1967

(19) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band makes its debut BBC radio appearance on the Light Programme.

Photo: Melody Maker

(23) The band appears the Electric Garden in Covent Garden, central London with Apostolic Intervention.

(24) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band appear at the Swan, Yardley with The Maddening Crowd

Photo: Birmingham Evening Mail

July Laine cuts the ambitious track Why Did You Come? with new bass player Andy Leigh, which producer Denny Cordell subsequently holds back because he feels that it is “too subtle”. (A Melody Maker article from this time, however, claims that the master tape goes missing.) Leigh has previously worked with Denny Cordell’s “Studio G” project, which has recorded two tracks for a promotional EP circulated in tiny quantities to British television and film production companies. The project also features organist/pianist Mike Lease who is brought in by Cordell to arrange strings for one of Laine’s tracks and drummer Peter Trout, who joins the Electric String Band later in the year.

Denny Laine's Electric String Band
Denny Laine rehearsing the string band

(13) The new line up with Leigh performs at Blaises, Kensington.

(14) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band make an appearance at London’s UFO club, where they perform Say You Don’t Mind, Ask The People, Why Did You Come?, Catherine’s Wheel and The Machine Song, which is never released.

(29) Laine’s group finally appears at the Birdcage in Portsmouth, Hants.

August (5) The outfit performs at Matlock Bath Pavilion, Matlock, Derbyshire with Soul Concern.

(13) The band plays at the Windsor Blues and Jazz Festival, held at Windsor racecourse alongside Cream, Pentangle, Blossom Toes, Jeff Beck and many others.

Photo: Mirabelle, 12 August 1967 issue

(26) Laine arrives at his manager Brian Epstein’s Belgravia home hoping to arrange further work; little does he know that Epstein is dead inside from a drug overdose.

(26-28) The group takes part in a three-day rock festival held at Woburn Abbey with Eric Burdon & The Animals, The Jeff Beck Group, The Small Faces and others.

(27) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band appears at Saville Theatre with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Tomorrow, Georgie Fame, Eric Burdon & The Animals, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Dantalion’s Chariot and others.

Denny Laine, summer 1967, Fabulous 208

September (8) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band perform at the Marquee with The Gods.

(9) The band performs at the UFO at the Roundhouse, London alongside The Soft Machine, The Pink Floyd, Tomorrow and The Move.

(23) Laine’s group appear at the Middle Earth club, King Street, Covent Garden alongside T-Rex and Picadilly Line. Shortly afterwards, Viv Prince departs and forms the short-lived VAMP. Laine recruits new drummer Peter Trout, who has previously worked with Andy Leigh in the “Studio G” band and appeared on sessions for Pyramid’s single Summer of Last Year. The new line up rehearses but the string quartet (with the exception of John Stein) leaves for a tour of Russia. Laine adds new cello player Nigel Pinkett alongside Leigh, Proud and Stein.

October (4) Laine’s band records its debut John Peel radio session, recording Say You Don’t Mind, Why Did You Come?, Catherine’s Wheel, Ask The People, a cover of Tim Hardin’s Reason To Believe and a recent composition. The session is broadcast on 8 October. Peter Trout leaves and reunites with Denny Laine in 1971.

(6) The band, with a new drummer, performs at the UFO, the Roundhouse, London with Tim Rose.

Photo: Melody Maker

(15) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band return to the Middle Earth.

November Melody Maker announces that a Denny Laine album, containing three Laine compositions and a new single are scheduled for a Christmas release. (The former is subsequently cancelled.)

(17) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band appears at Nottingham Technical College, Nottingham with Deuce Coup.


(18) The group performs at the Middle Earth with Alexis Korner and Pegasus.

December (6) The band joins Fleetwood Mac and Warren Davies for a show at the Royal Hotel, Woburn Place, London.

(16) Laine’s band plays at the Britannia Boat Club, Nottingham.

Denny Laine Deram 45 Too Much in Love1968

January (12) Laine releases his second single, the equally adventurous Too Much In Love which also fails to chart. (Melody Maker states that an album featuring nine Laine compositions is scheduled for release in early February and that a 10-day tour of Sweden commencing on 25 January is imminent. However, neither transpires).

(24) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band make a second Peel session appearance, recording Catherine’s Wheel, The Machine Song, Too Much In Love, and two new songs, Masks and the folk standard, Sally Free and Easy. The session is broadcast on 28 January.

February Laine disbands the group and concentrates on solo work on London’s folk circuit. After a few months, he moves to Spain and lives a gypsy lifestyle. Leigh briefly joins Spooky Tooth (appearing on their Ceremony album), before releasing a solo album on Polydor in early 1970. He will then become an integral part of Ian Matthews’s Southern Comfort.

May Moving to Spain, Laine stops first in the Canary Islands where he meets American draft dodger, Charlie Jackson, a flute player who has come to Spain to learn flamenco guitar. The pair become friends and busk for six months before moving to Moron de La Frontera, a small town near Seville. While there, Laine learns flamenco guitar phrases from players from all over the world and is influenced by local star, Diego del Eastor.

October Returning to Britain, Laine jams with the ad-hoc outfit Balls, which features John Lennon and Rolling Stone Brian Jones. The band reportedly records a song titled Go To The Mountains for Apple but it is never released. Around this time, he reunites with Mike Lease, who is working with John Martyn’s wife, singer/songwriter, Beverly Kutner. Lease agrees to help Laine audition bass players and drummers for a new version of Balls but despite finding suitable musicians, including drummer Peter Phillips, the line up never settles.

1969

February Laine participates in an early Blind Faith session. He is, however, in the process of forming a new line-up of Balls with Trevor Burton of The Move and decides not to join the outfit. He will later join Ginger Baker in Airforce in the spring of the following year on an ad-hoc basis.

1970

August (5-6) Having contributed to Ginger Baker’s Airforce album and spent the last 18 months rehearsing material with Trevor Burton and ex-Plastic Ono drummer Alan White at a country house in Cholesbury, Bucks, Balls are scheduled to make their live debut at the ‘Popanalia’ festival in Nice, France. The group misses the concert, although their lone single, Burton’s Fight For My Country backed by Laine and White’s Janie Slow Down is rush released in France by Byg Records. (The group is rumoured to have recorded 12 tracks for an album, although they are currently without a record contract. The sessions include contributions from ex-Family member Ric Grech.)

October (18) Balls’ debut UK live performance at the Lyceum in London fails to materialise. (The group was planning to record the show for a possible live album, but internal problems result in a cancellation of the show.) White subsequently leaves and Laine and Burton perform an acoustic set at their next show, held at Trent Poly, Nottingham. Shortly afterwards ex-Spooky Tooth drummer Mike Kellie agrees to join while singer Steve Gibbons is also added. The new line-up vows to undertake a UK tour in January 1971, but by then the group has broken up. Fight For My Country is released by Wizzard Records but fails to chart.

1971

July Laine forms a new group with bass player Steve Thompson, guitarist John Moorshead and drummer Peter Trout, who worked with The Electric String Band and rehearses material. However, Laine abandons the project when Paul McCartney invites the singer to join Wings in August.

Sources:

Bacon, Tony. ‘London Live’, Balafon Books, 1999.
Black, Johnny. ‘Blind Faith’. Mojo Magazine, July 1996.
Clayson, Alan. ‘Denny Laine’. Record Collector, #191, July 1995.
Clayson, Alan. Call Up The Groups – The Golden Age Of British Beat 1962-67. Blandford Press, 1985.
Dellar, Fred. ‘Time Machine’. Mojo Magazine, August 1997.
Doggett, Peter and Reed, John. ‘Looking Back at June 1968’. Record Collector #166, June 1993.
Gardner, Ken. Peel Sessions. BBC Books, 2007.
Hounsome, Terry. Rock Record #6. Record Researcher Publications, 1994.
King, Michael. Wrong Movements – The Robert Wyatt Story. SAF Publishing, 1994.
Laine, Denny. Denny Laine’s Guitar Book, Whizzard Press, 1979.
Paytress, Mark. ‘Reading Festival’. Record Collector, #216, August 1997.
Reed, John and Pelletier, Paul. ‘Middle Earth’. Record Collector, April 1996.
Rees, Dafydd and Crampton, Luke. Guinness Book Of Rock Stars, 2nd Edition. Guinness Publishing Ltd, 1989.
Wells, David. ‘Going Underground’. Record Collector, #216, August 1997.

Disc, April 15, 1967, page 4, May 6, 1967, page 6 and June 17, 1967, page 13.

Melody Maker, January 21, 1967, page 5; April 22, 1967, page 5; April 29, 1967, page 4; May 13, 1967, page 4; May 20, 1967, page 5; July 1, 1967, page 7; July 8, 1967, page 4; July 15, 1967, page 4; September 23, 1967, page 28; October 7, 1967, page 6; November 4, 1967, page 4; November 18, 1967, page 20; December 2, 1967, page 24; January 6, 1968, page 3; August 1, 1970, page 4; August 8, 1970, page 29; September 26, 1970, page 5; October 24, 1970, page 4 and November 14, 1970, page 14.

The Birmingham Evening Mail.

Many thanks to Peter Trout and Mike Lease for their memories of working with Denny Laine. Thanks also to Dave Allen.

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

To contact the author, email: Warchive@aol.com

Special thanks to Jim Wynand for the scan of the Dutch sleeve and to MC for the rare Top Gear recordings.