Category Archives: Bognor Regis

The Penny Peeps

The Penny Peeps 1968. Clockwise from front: Martin Barre, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Mick Ketley and Bryan Stevens

Aficionados of UK freakbeat will be familiar with The Penny Peeps’ Who-inspired rocker “Model Village”, which graced the ‘B’ side of the band’s debut single “Little Man with a Stick” for Liberty Records in February 1968.

With its swirling organ, driving guitar and powerful lead vocal, the track is justifiably revered as a minor ’60s classic and has turned up over the years on a number of compilations, most notably the Rubble series and the box set Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers.

Little is known about the Penny Peeps, aside from the fact that they recorded two hopelessly obscure, yet highly collectable singles for Liberty Records, which today can fetch astronomical sums of money.

Collectors may be surprised to learn, however, that The Penny Peeps’ guitarist was none other than future Jethro Tull axe man Martin Barre (b. 17 November 1946, King’s Heath, Birmingham).

Perhaps more surprising is news that The Penny Peeps recorded around 15 demos for the label in early 1968, including the marvellous “Meet Me at the Fair”, the band’s preferred choice as ‘B’ side for “Model Village”. The infectious soul-tinged rocker was subsequently dropped in favour of the more commercial “Little Man with a Stick”.

Photo may be subject to copyright

As fate would have it both “Little Man with a Stick” and its follow up single, “I See the Morning” sank without a trace and the group’s lead singer and song-writer, Denny Alexander, departed during August 1968. The group briefly continued as a quartet under the name Gethsemane before the musicians went their separate ways that December.

While Barre subsequently “landed on his feet” joining highly respected blues band, Jethro Tull, the music he recorded with his pre-Tull bands has often been overlooked.

Martin Barre, who’d previously played with Midlands bands The Dwellers and The Moonrakers, had joined the group that would become The Penny Peeps in July 1966.

Known as The Noblemen at the time, the group also comprised singer Jimmy Marsh; guitarist Chuck Fryers; bass player Bryan Stevens (b. 13 November 1941, Lha Datu, North Borneo); keyboard player Mike Ketley (b. 1 October 1947, Balham, London); sax player Chris Rodger; and drummer Malcolm Tomlinson (b. 16 June 1946, Isleworth, Middlesex; d. 2 April 2016).

However, Fryers dropped out soon afterwards (later to join The Sorrows) and after a few months, the band changed name to Motivation (sometimes billed as The Motivation – see earlier entry).

Motivation, spring 1967

During a trip to Italy in March-May 1967 singer Jimmy Marsh departed followed soon after by sax player Chris Rodger when the group returned home. With Ketley handling lead vocals in the short-term, the band started to look for a new front man.

Former Clayton Squares and Thoughts singer Denny Thomas Alexander (b. 10 March 1946, Liverpool, Lancashire, d. 6 December 2018) answered the call and joined in early June 1967.

With a Cheshire version of The Motivation increasingly active (they opened for The Jeff Beck Group at Nantwich Civic Hall on 24 June 1967) and yet another group billed as The Motivation signing and later recording with Direction Records, the musicians decided to become The Penny Peep Show in August 1967.

One of the first advertised shows under this name was at the Gala Ballroom in Norwich on 15 and 16 September (Friday and Saturday). On the Sunday, they travelled over to Birmingham to appear at the Swan in Yardley.

Other dates that month included a return to the Royal Ballrooms in Boscombe on Saturday, 23 September and an appearance at the Belfry in Wishaw,  near Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands two days later, with The Sight & Sound.

The Penny Peep Show were back in the Birmingham area early the next month for a show at the Penthouse in the city centre with New Zealand group The Human Instinct on Saturday, 7 October (they would return here on Friday, 3 November).

It was possibly this same weekend that Stevens met his future wife Beth.

“We played at Birmingham University for the Fresher’s Dance, which is where I met Beth. I definitely remember that gig. Beth lived in Hersham, near Walton-on-Thames and she used to go to Walton Hop where we played some months later [in May 1968]”.

The following weekend, the musicians headed down to the southwest for a show at the Flamingo Ballroom in Penzance on Saturday, 14 October and headed home via Dorset to appear the Weymouth’s Steering Wheel on the following Saturday evening (21 October).

Throughout the next month, the band continued to crisscross the country, playing at venues like Birmingham’s Ringway Club on Saturday, 4 November; the Carnival Hall in Basingstoke, Hampshire on Thursday, 9 November; Coventry’s Tudor Club at the Mercers Arms on Sunday, 19 November; and the 76 Club in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire on 24 November.

Newspaper adverts reveal that during December, The Penny Peep Show returned to play shows at Weymouth’s Steering Wheel, the Royal Ballrooms in Boscombe (returning in early January) and the Swan in Yardley, closing the year with a show at the Wellington Club in Dereham, Norfolk on Saturday, 30 December.

Through Pete Hockham, formerly one of Bob Gaitley’s agents at the Beat Ballad and Blues agency and now working for Brian Epstein’s NEMS agency, the band signed up with NEMS around January 1968 and gained regular work in the London area.

One of the group’s first London dates took place on Thursday, 8 February, opening for Brighton band The Mike Stuart Span (who shared the same agency) at the famous 100 Club in Oxford Street.

The next day, the group played at the Nottingham Boat Club. Over the next year, the musicians would regularly perform in the city and its surrounding area.

That same month, the group signed a deal with Liberty Records and got to work recording over an album’s worth of material, most of which comprised demos.

Photo may be subject to copyright

Interested listeners can hear early demos of the four tracks that made up The Penny Peeps’ two singles plus unreleased tracks online. Acetates of “Model Village”, “I See the Morning”, “Curly, The Knight of The Road” and “Meet Me at the Fair” reveal just how powerful these demo versions were.

Photo may be subject to copyright

“When The Penny Peeps got the Liberty contract, I also got a song writing contract with them from Metric Music, which was on Albermarle Street at the time,” says Alexander.

“When I went to sign my contract there was also a duo who were part of band called the Idle Race. One turned out to be Jeff Lynne later of ELO fame and fortune. A third person sitting in the corner very quietly and looking very shy and school boyish turned out be Mike Batt!”

“The contract required a certain amount of songs in a certain period,” continues Alexander “and the band used to act as session men – and therefore got paid which helped when gigs were scarce. Most songs were recorded at the Marquee studio at the back of the old Marquee club in Wardour Street. I probably wrote about 15 or 16 songs.”

Photo may be subject to copyright

Some of these songs, such as “Helen Doesn’t Care” and “Into My Life She Came”, which features Martin Barre on flute, are gems. So is “Meet Me at The Fair”, which the group had envisaged would be coupled with Alexander’s organ and guitar driven rocker “Model Village” for the band’s debut single. Instead, Liberty chose to go with the poppy Les Reed-Barry Mason collaboration, “Little Man with a Stick”.

“I remember how pissed off we all were when Liberty insisted that ‘Little Man with a Stick’ should be the ‘A’ side as it was not us and none of us liked it,” says Stevens. “I suppose it was the usual case of the record company wanting to use their in-house song writers.”

Photo may be subject to copyright

Released on 16 February, under the new name, The Penny Peeps, “Little Man with a Stick” c/w “Model Village” failed to chart, although it did gain some radio exposure. (Ed – mint copies of this single will set you back a hefty price.)

11 February 1968 gig

“Little Man with a Stick” received a lukewarm welcome in the music press, with NME reporting: “A new British number by Les Reed and Barry Mason. It’s good fun with a strong novelty content, but not one of the duo’s most memorable compositions. Competent performance.”

The single’s release coincided with a memorable show at the Brighton Dome Theatre on Thursday, 22 February where The Penny Peeps backed The Scaffold on a bill that also included The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and also played their own set. Back in London, the group appeared at London’s Speakeasy six days later.

Throughout this period, the group toured extensively, and even made a brief trip to Belgium to play some dates.

“We played in Belgium for an Embassy party on-board a ship tied up at the docks,” says Stevens.

Sean Connery and Bridget Bardot were in the audience that night and Ketley thinks they may have been celebrating after wrapping up filming on the movie they were in together called Shalako.

Penny Peeps, spring 1968. Clockwise from bottom left: Martin Barre, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Bryan Stevens and Mick Ketley

On Friday, 8 March, The Penny Peeps returned to play a show at the Nottingham Boat Club.

A few weeks later, on Saturday, 23 March, they were back in the city to appear at the Beachcomber Club. The previous evening (billed as The Penny Peep Show), the musicians performed at the Fiesta Hall in Andover, Hampshire.

Closing the month, The Penny Peeps returned to Bournemouth for a show at the Linden Sports Club, a venue they would perform at regularly throughout the year.

31 March 1968 gig

Newspaper adverts for April reveal that The Penny Peeps performed regularly along the south coast.

Besides the usual trek to Weymouth to play the Steering Wheel (Wednesday, 3 April), the band also played at the Cobweb, situated at the Marine Court in St Leonards, East Sussex. The show (on Saturday, 20 April) found the band playing on the same bill as Tony Rivers & The Castaways, soon to morph into Harmony Grass.

On Thursday, 25 April (again billed as The Penny Peep Show), the musicians played at Hatchetts Playground, a flash club on Piccadilly Circus.

With the band’s original material going down a storm on the road, the group returned to Nottingham on Friday, 3 May for another show at the Nottingham Boat Club.

Later that month (Saturday, 18 May), The Penny Peeps played at the Walton Hop, situated in the Playhouse at Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, the UK’s first discotheque.

On Saturday, 15 June, The Penny Peeps returned to Nottingham for a show at the Beachcomber Club, returning home to Bognor Regis that evening to perform at the Linden Sports Club in Bournemouth the next day.

Six days later, the band’s second release Alexander’s “I See the Morning” c/w “Curly, The Knight of The Road” also failed to chart despite Tony Blackburn using the song to open his Radio 1 Breakfast show every morning for a week.

Beachcomber gig July 1968

Despite plenty of work, including a return to Nottingham’s Beachcomber Club on Saturday, 13 July; Leicester Rowing Club, two Saturday’s later; and the Swan in Yardley, the West Midlands on Saturday, 3 August, the emerging blues explosion headed up by Fleetwood Mac was starting to make psychedelic rock bands redundant.

25 July 1968 gig

That July, Canadian group The Band’s Music from Big Pink had been given a UK release and had turned musicians’ heads, The Penny Peeps included.

During a gig that month, possibly at the Walgrave in Coventry on Sunday, 4 August (see above) The Penny Peep Show/Penny Peeps’ current repertoire was met with an icy response and Alexander realised that drastic measures were needed.

In the interval, he suggested that the band play some blues numbers in the second set and with Ketley and Tomlinson also helping out with lead vocals, the fresh approach went down a storm.

Taking on a new name, In the Garden of Gethsemane, which was soon shortened to Gethsemane, the group began to plough a more blues-based direction.

The Penny Peeps before Denny Alexander left. Left to right: Martin Barre, Mick Ketley, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson and Bryan Stevens

The decision to adopt a new style may also have been prompted by the Eighth National Jazz and Blues Festival held at Kempton Park racecourse in Sunbury-on-Thames on Sunday, 11 August.

Malcolm Tomlinson had attended and was blown away by Jethro Tull and its enigmatic front-man Ian Anderson whose mastery of the flute made an impression on the drummer. Both he and Martin Barre had recently started to play flute and Tomlinson came back raving about the group to Barre, urging the guitarist to check out Anderson’s inspirational group.

Around this time Denny Alexander dropped out to pursue a non-musical career.

Retiring from professional playing, he tried his hand as a trainee publican for a while but the venture didn’t last long. Back in Liverpool, he gathered together some friends who had a musical cabaret act and the sax player from The Undertakers and recorded six tracks in late 1972.

The songs: “Don’t Let It Rain (Wedding Day)”, “Crossroads of Life”, “My Last Goodbye to You”, “I’d Like to Get to Know You Girl”, “Your Alive” and “Babe I Love You” remain unreleased to this day.

The songs vary in style although some show touches of a country-rock influence. Like all of Alexander’s songs, the tracks are extremely melodic and a couple could have been huge hits in the hands of a more established artist.

With the recordings complete, Alexander turned his back on music and went into the financial services industry, retiring in the early 2000s. However, he did reunite with Bryan Stevens and Mick Ketley in the late 2000s.

Reduced to a quartet, the new musical direction that Gethsemane took gave the band an opportunity to be more creative and to stretch out during live performances.

To be continued:

Thanks to Bryan Stevens, Mike Ketley, Martin Barre, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Mike Paxman, Vernon Joynson and Hugh MacLean. Thank you to Bryan Stevens and Mike Ketley for the band photos.

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.

The Noblemen

The Noblemen, early 1966. Clockwise from bottom centre: Bryan Stevens, Bernie Smith, Keith Gemmell, Jem Field, Chuck Fryers and Mick Ketley

South coast R&B band The Noblemen are notable for containing musicians who went on to success with a number of mid-late 1960s rock bands, notably Audience, The Manchester Playboys and The Sorrows.

Helmed by longstanding bass player Bryan Stevens (b. 13 November 1941, Lha Datu, North Borneo) and keyboard player/singer Mick Ketley (b. 1 October 1947, Balham, south London), The Noblemen changed name to Motivation in November 1966.

Then, in August 1967, the musicians reinvented themselves as The Penny Peep Show (aka Penny Peeps) and recorded two rare 45s for Liberty Records during 1968.

Later that year, they changed name and style again to Gethsemane before splitting in December 1968 whereupon their guitarist Martin Barre (b. 17 November 1946, King’s Heath, Birmingham) joined Jethro Tull.

The Noblemen’s roots can be traced back to Bognor Regis group Johnny Devlin & The Detours, who also featured longstanding guitarist Alan Paul “Chuck” Fryers (b. 24 May 1945, Bognor Regis, West Sussex) and drummer Bernie Smith.

Stevens’ first recording was with a skiffle group The Shootin’ Stars that he’d formed while at King’s School in Chester during 1956/1957.

“We took part in a Skiffle contest at the Gaumont Cinema in Chester – it was my first taste of playing to an audience,” remembers the bass player.

“The Shootin’ Stars also recorded an EP at a small terraced house in Liverpool, same place as The Beatles recorded their first record – the sleeve shows PF Philips, 38 Kensington, Liverpool 7.

“We recorded in the front room, the windows had heavy drapes against them to deaden sounds. We recorded around a central mic, ran through the four numbers we were to record once, then Mr Philips peered through a small serving hatch from where he was in the rear room with his recording machine. He said: ‘OK boys are you ready to record?’ Once we recorded the numbers he played them back to us and asked if that was OK, and asked how many copies we wanted. Within half an hour we were out clutching our very first record!”

Moving south to Bognor Regis, Stevens formed The Detours in February 1960, who were joined by singer Johnny Devlin in early 1962, prompting a name change to Johnny Devlin & The Detours.

Shortly afterwards, Stevens recruited Ketley from another local group, The Soundtracks. Before the year was out Fryers had been added from The Cruisers plus sax player Bob Pettit. Finally Smith, who’d worked in The Soundtracks alongside Ketley, came on-board in early 1963.

From the Chichester Observer

With the line-up settled, Johnny Devlin & The Detours recorded a one-off single, “Sometimes” c/w “If You Want Someone”, for Pye Records, which was released in January 1964.

To promote the single, the band appeared as newcomers on Granada TV’s Thank Your Lucky Stars alongside Adam Faith, Manfred Man, Dickie Valentine and Jackie Trent that February. However, when “Sometimes” flopped, Johnny Devlin departed and John Read briefly took over the lead vocals.

Around this time, a west London group called The Detours spotted them performing on TV and decided to change their name to The High Numbers (and subsequently The Who!).

The Detours meanwhile soon went through their own transformation after Bob Gaitley, who ran Littlehampton’s Top Hat and Worthing’s Mexican Hat where they regularly played, invited the musicians to link up with South African singer Mike Bush (aka Beau Brummell).

Brummell, who went on to own a naturist valley in Northern Transvaal, had arrived in England in 1961 and worked under various pseudonyms before adopting the title, “Beau Brummell”, named after the British dandy of the 19th century, in late 1963.

Photo: Littlehampton Post, 9 January 1965

Recruiting The Detours (now renamed The Noblemen) as his support group, Brummell and the musicians got the opportunity to record two tracks at Abbey Road in December 1964 with EMI producer Bob Barratt – “I Know, Know, Know” and “Shopping Around”.

Left to right: Mike Turnill, Bernie Smith, Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley and Chuck Fryers

By the time the pairing was released as a single on Columbia Records in January 1965, Mike Turnill had briefly taken over from Pettit.

Photo: Worthing Herald, 1 January 1965
Photo: Worthing Gazette, 6 January 1965

However, the new sax player was only passing through. Within a matter of weeks, the band had placed an advert in Melody Maker’s 13 February issue, looking for a replacement. Bob Lomas answered and took the job but the changes didn’t end there.

In the last week of February the group expanded the horn section by bringing in tenor sax player – Malcolm Randall, who had placed an advert in Melody Maker’s 27 February issue looking for a group.

Hailing from west London, Randall had joined his first group, Twickenham R&B band Jeff Curtis & The Flames, in spring 1963.

Regulars at the Ealing Jazz Club, the sax player would remain with Jeff Curtis & The Flames until early February 1965. Interestingly, he would not be the only ex-Flame to join The Noblemen.

Jeff Curtis & The Flames late 1964 with Malcolm Randall top left with saxophone

Although Randall missed out on Jeff Curtis & The Flames’ first recording session at Lansdowne Road Studios in Holland Park in October 1963 (see later), he did participate in their second visit, around the same time the following year, to record two tracks – Solomon Burke and Bert Berns’ “Down in the Valley” and a cover of The Showman’s “Rock ‘N’ Roll Will Stand”, both of which remained in the can.

Just before Randall’s arrival, the Evening Standard reports that the group appears on ITV’s Ollie & Fred’s Five O’ clock Club TV show with The Barron Knights and The Dougie Squires Three on 26 February.

 

The Noblemen in Brighton, spring 1965

A photo session to capture the revamped Noblemen decked out in its regency clothes was held in Brighton in early March before the band set off for some gigs in West Germany.

Photo: Dumfries and Galloway Standard

Back in England, the band embarked on a nationwide tour which took them as far north as Carlisle in Cumbria and a gig at the Market Assembly Hall on Thursday, 15 April.

Photo: Worthing Gazette, 7 April 1965

A few weeks later Beau Brummell & The Noblemen appeared at the California Ballroom in Dunstable on Saturday, 1 May.

Just over a week later, on Sunday, 9 May, the group shared the bill with Randall’s former group Jeff Curtis & The Flames at the Majestic Ballroom in Luton.

The following week (14 May), Beau Brummell was listed appearing at the Carlton Ballroom in Erdington, West Midlands with The Chucks. Two days later, and billed as the Exclusive Noblemen Orchestra, the group plays at the Cubiklub in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

The group continued to gig around England in May, playing frequently at the Top Hat in Littlehampton and the Mexican Hat in Worthing. They also played at Malborough Hall, Halifax, West Yorkshire on 22 May.

Photo: Dumfries and Galloway Standard

Later that month, the band headed up to Scotland for a short tour, which included Dumfries Drill Hall on Saturday, 5 June.

Photo: Mid Sussex Times

On Sunday, 13 June 1965, the band performed at the Downs, Hassocks, West Sussex

Left to right: Chuck Fryers, Mick Ketley, Bernie Smith, Bryan Stevens, Bob Lomas and Malcolm Randall

From there, the band headed to West Germany to perform at the Storyville Jazz Clubs in Duisberg, Frankfurt and Cologne. At the latter, the musicians met Folkestone band Neil Landon & The Burnettes whose lead guitarist Noel Redding later became bass player for Jimi Hendrix while Neil Landon went on to form The Flower Pot Men, authors of the hit “Let’s go to San Francisco”.

Bob Lomas and Malcolm Randall

Returning home, the group played at Torquay Town Hall on Saturday, 3 July, before heading back to West Germany to perform for three nights at the legendary Star Club in Hamburg from Friday, 9 July through to Sunday, 11 July. The group was widely photographed inside both and outside the club as well as in a park with a new sax player called John replacing Bob Lomas.

Next up, Beau Brummell & The Noblemen returned to the Storyville Jazz Club in Duisberg where they shared the bill with The Manchester Playboys (most likely from Monday, 12 July to Thursday, 15 July).

The Noblemen with Malcolm Randall top left in Cologne

Randall was so impressed with the Mod/soul band that he handed in his notice, moving up to Manchester to join them soon after. The sax player would later work with Red Express, who morphed into Shakatak, and Sindy & The Action Men among others.

Beau Brummell & The Noblemen returned to England and performed at double-night show in Greater Manchester on Friday, 16 July. The first show was at the Domino Club in Openshaw with Lulu & The Luvvers, which was followed by a second at the Princess club, Chorlton with Julie Grant.

They then appeared at the Manor Lounge, Stockport, Greater Manchester on Monday, 19 July, which may have been Randall’s final gig as The Manchester Playboys’ home base was nearby.

The band also played at the Mid-Beds Conservative Association in Shefford Hardwicke on Saturday, 24 July. The following weekend, on Friday, 30 July, the band, billed as Beau Brummell & his exclusive Noblemen Orchestra performed at the New Embassy Club at Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

A few weeks later, they advertised for a replacement tenor sax player in Melody Maker’s 14 August issue. Jeremy “Jem” Field, who’d previously been a member of Gene Vincent’s backing group, The Shouts answered and was taken on.

On the same day, the band were billed to play at the New Cornish Riviera Lido, St Austell, Cornwall with The Road Runners.

Not long after, Keith Gemmell (b. 15 February 1948, Hackney, north London) took over from the sax player known as John.

Billed as Beau Brummell & His Noblemen Orchestra, one of the new line-up’s first gigs was Cheltenham Town Hall on Friday, 20 August, followed by a show at the Galaxy Club in Basingstoke the next day.

Then on Sunday, 22 August, the group shared the bill with The Beat Merchants at the Mexican Hat in Worthing.

The Noblemen in Oslo. Left to right: Chuck Fryers, Mick Ketley, Bryan Stevens, Bernie Smith, Keith Gemmell and Jem Field

During September, the musicians travelled to Scandinavia to play dates in Norway and Sweden before heading back to Britain briefly.

One of the band’s first gigs back home was at the Mexican Hat in Worthing on Sunday, 26 September with The Beat Merchants. The advert in the Worthing Gazette notes that the gig was The Noblemen’s final appearance in Britain for six weeks.

Photo: Worthing Gazette

With a string of dates lined up in Italy, the band headed back to the continent, travelling in a converted London St John’s ambulance, equipped with a wardrobe for stage clothes, a cocktail cabinet and other accessories.

While in Rome, the group performed at the famous Piper Club on Friday, 1 October 1965 playing in front of film stars and even the Aga Khan, as well as playing Jane Fonda’s 18th birthday party in a sumptuous villa just outside the capital – no wonder Brummell’s exploits gained him front-page headlines where ever he went!

“The club owner had converted what was an abandoned cinema into a high-vaulted, large auditorium,” remembers Stevens.

“The two stages were set high up at one end, the under-floor lit dance floor was surrounded by tables with a full a width bar at the other end.

“We arrived in two open coaches – Beau, Miss Italy, the club’s owner and one Nobleman in one coach and the rest of the band in the other coach – all of us wearing our stage gear, including scarlet lined capes. There was a lot of press and TV cameras and, apparently, invited celebrities from Rome’s Cincinatti Film Studios.”

The Noblemen, Piper Club, Rome, October 1965

Brummell, however, saw many opportunities opening up for him while in Italy’s capital and, although the singer would continue to perform with The Noblemen intermittently up to spring 1966, he gradually backed out.

During November 1965, for instance, Brummell joined the group for a ten-day stand at a club in Milan. While there, Beau Brummell & The Noblemen recorded four tracks in a studio that was a former church, including the powerful sax-driven “Jezebel” and the Brummell composition, “I’m In Love”, both of which were shelved.

The Noblemen sans Brummell then headed south to Naples to play further dates before returning to Rome where the musicians recorded the tracks “Jump Back Baby” and “Ecstasy” with Chuck Fryers providing the lead vocals.

While in Italy, Columbia released Beau Brummell’s third UK single (and second featuring The Noblemen) – the spoken number, “A Better Man than I” backed by “Teardrops”. Credited to Brummell’s Noblemen Orchestra, the single failed to chart.

Photo: Worthing Gazette

During December 1965, Beau Brummell & The Noblemen performed in Ostend in Belgium before returning to Britain briefly to fit in a show at the Mexican Hat in Worthing on Sunday, 12 December with The Look before returning to the continent and travelling to Turin where the band performed at a club in the run up to the new year.

With Brummell remaining in Italy, The Noblemen returned home to Britain and undertook a mini tour of Scotland in early January 1966.

Bognor Regis, January 1966. Photo may be subject to copyright

They also played at the Top Hat in Littlehampton on Friday, 7 January and the Shoreline in Bognor Regis on Saturday, 8 January, both in West Sussex.

The Noblemen, early 1966, without Beau Brummell

Significantly, they were a late addition to an all-nighter show held at the original Cavern club in Liverpool on Sunday, 27 February, the final show at the legendary venue before it was temporarily closed (reopening on 23 July). Also on the bill were Rory Storm & The Hurricanes and The Big Three, among others.

Heading back to West Germany, The Noblemen reunited with Beau Brummell at the Storyville Jazz Club in Frankfurt where the band shared the billing with Liverpool-based group The Clayton Squares from 7-10 March. Their singer Denny Alexander would join forces with Stevens and Ketley in June 1967.

Returning to Italy in April, The Noblemen finally parted with Beau Brummell, who would later return to his native South Africa and passed away in June 2020. The musicians held down a short residency at the Livorno Club in Pisa before heading back home via West Germany.

The Noblemen in Pisa, Italy, 1966

Thanks to a contact they had made while at the Piper Club in Rome during October 1965, The Noblemen landed an opening gig for The Spencer Davis Group on Friday, 20 May 1966, with Fryers having to borrow Davis’ guitar as his own had been stolen while in Pisa. The next day Jem Field handed in his notice and head back home by train.

Stripped down to a quintet, The Noblemen next played some US air bases with The New Faces but within a matter of weeks Keith Gemmell had also departed, heading home with this group.

Back in Hackney, he joined The Lloyd Alexander Blues Band (later Lloyd Alexander Real Estate), who released a rare 45 before several members, including Gemmell, formed the highly respected rock band, Audience. In later years, the sax player worked with the group Sammy and died on 24 July 2016.

For a short while, the remaining Noblemen hooked up with country and western singer/comedian Don Bowman but after performing at the Star Club in Hamburg under their own name, the quartet returned home in mid-June.

Arriving back in Bognor Regis towards the end of June, Bernie Smith decided to hang up his drum sticks, leaving Fryers, Ketley and Stevens with the name.

Determined to press on with new members, Stevens quickly recruited London singer Jimmy Marsh (b. 9 April 1941, Salem, Carmarthenshire, Wales) who in turn recommended a new drummer Malcolm Tomlinson (b. 16 June 1946, Isleworth, Middlesex; d. 2 April 2016) to replace outgoing Bernie Smith.

“We had met both Jim and Malcolm when we were still Johnny Devlin & The Detours preparing to become The Noblemen,” remembers Ketley.

“They played at a local gig in Littlehampton called the Top Hat club, which was owned by Bob Gaitley who managed Brummell and us and ran the Beat Ballard and Blues Agency, which was famous in the south in those days.”

Bryan Stevens continues the story: “Bob Gaitley gave me Jimmy’s number when we needed a singer after we left Beau Brummell. Jimmy came down to Bognor and we got working with him shortly afterwards as he was a good ‘soul’ singer doing cover versions of Otis Redding hits.”

The singer had a long musical pedigree. His first band, The Fairlanes, formed in 1961, gigged largely on American airbases but also got the opportunity to back cabaret acts Kathy Kirby and Vince Hill. The Fairlanes’ bass player Terry Gore and drummer John Warwick both went on to play with The Trekkers, The Cast and finally Tangerine Peel.

Towards the end of 1962, Marsh formed the original Del Mar Trio, and on 1 June 1963 they participated in the “Rock across the Channel ferry” gig on the MV Royal Daffodil from Southend to Boulogne and back with numerous artists and headlined by Jerry Lee Lewis.

Sometime in 1963, Marsh also played an impromptu jam session at Sound City on Shaftsbury Avenue, the top music store in the country, backed by none other than Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. The Del Mar Trio’s guitarist Allen Bevan worked at the music shop and later that same year introduced Malcolm Tomlinson, who worked at nearby Drum City.

Tomlinson was a talented musician, who, while primarily a drummer, was also a decent guitar player (and later mastered the flute). Attending Spring Grove Grammar School where drummer Mick Underwood was a class mate, his first musical outing had been the west London band The Panthers. However, this was short-lived, and in early 1963 he joined Jeff Curtis & The Flames alongside former Noblemen sax player Malcolm Randall.

Jeff Curtis & The Flames, 1963. Malcolm Tomlinson (third right) and former member Malcolm Randall (far right)

While playing with The Flames, Tomlinson participated in the Jerry Lee Lewis ferry gig in June 1963, which is probably where he became friends with Jimmy Marsh.

On 4 October 1963, Jeff Curtis & The Flames recorded a four track demo at Landsdowne Studios in Holland Park comprising “Bye Bye Johnny”, “Everybody Needs a Lover”, “Route 66” and “It Don’t Take But a Few Minutes” (the latter with Lenny Hastings behind the kit), but Tomlinson moved on in June 1964 to join the second version of The Del Mar Trio.

The new line up decided to try its luck on the south coast that summer and thanks to Bob Gaitley got the opportunity to play at his venues, the Top Hat and the Mexican Hat in nearby Worthing. They also undertook a short tour of Cornwall in January 1965. It was Gaitley who arranged an audition for EMI at Abbey Road under the direction of Bob Barratt that February.

Four tracks have been logged under the name “James Deene & The Del Mar Trio” – “You Know How”, “Pocket Full of Rainbows”, “Like a Baby” and “Haunting Me”.

 

The group then changed its name to James Deane & The London Cats and around May 1965 headed for Bavaria, West Germany to play the club scene around Furth, Munich and Nuremburg.

Over the next 12 months or so, the group members drifted back home. When Tomlinson split to work with a German group for about three months in early 1966, Marsh found himself on his own.

“Bryan found out where I was [in West Germany] through the consulate and would I be interested in fronting the band,” explains Marsh. “I got a plane home and I went straight to the south coast and the Shoreline club.”

Being away so long, Marsh didn’t know “the scene” or the “mode of dress” required for the new group.

“There’s me, I turned up at the Shoreline, my hair’s all swept back, American button down shirt, Levis and a pair of boots. I remember Bryan saying something to me, ‘It’s not your singing Jimmy; it’s your clothes and your hair’.” Stevens took Marsh to Carnaby Street and kitted him out in the latest attire.

With Marsh and Tomlinson onboard, The Noblemen were billed to play at the Royal Ballrooms in Boscombe, Dorset on Sunday, 3 July 1966 with Karl & The Rapiers (although this might have been one of Bernie Smith’s final shows).

Shortly after Marsh and Tomlinson had joined forces with Fryers, Ketley and Stevens, the bass player placed an advert in Melody Maker’s 23 July issue asking for a trumpeter or sax player (tenor or baritone) (Ed: the issue hit newsstands on 16 July).

Two musicians who responded were Chris Rodger (b. 16 October 1946, Solihull, Warwickshire) and his mate Martin Barre, who had recently split from their former band, Midlands outfit, The Moonrakers.

Moonrakers’ gig February 1966

According to Barre, both musicians had been promised work with Screaming Lord Sutch’s Savages but on their arrival in London found the guitar and horn positions had already been taken up by other musicians.

“The Moonrakers stopped when Chris and I went to London to join Screaming Lord Sutch on a promise from Tony Dangerfield,” remembers Barre. “He nearly dropped dead when we turned up! No gig there.”

Rodger, however, has a different recollection. He remembers attending an audition in Harrow without Barre and would have joined The Savages (who no longer featured Dangerfield) for a trip to the Piper Club in Rome but the offer was withdrawn when the Italian gig was moved forward and he and Barre had commitments with The Moonrakers.

Although the guitar was always his preferred choice of instrument, Barre had also learnt saxophone and flute at an early age and around 1963 joined his first serious group, the Midlands beat combo, The Dwellers, who, according to author Greg Russo, recorded a demo that year, Barre’s “I Can’t Get over You”.

Photo: Chris Rodger. The Moonrakers, 1965. Chris Rodger (far left back row). Martin Barre (far right, front row).

Living in Solihull, Barre’s next group was The Moonrakers, who were led by former Dwellers’ singer John Carter and also featured rhythm guitarist Tony Painter, a bass player called Alan and drummer Paul Willets who subsequently went on to The Applejacks.

While playing with band, Barre also studied architecture at Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University).

Rodger, who was educated at Herne Court School in Bournemouth, had first played with keyboard player Bramwell Beer in Syndicate 1 after leaving boarding school in 1963.  In January 1965, both musicians joined The Moonrakers where they met Barre.

Photo: Chris Rodger. Martin bottom left and Chris far right

“We became a very popular Midlands band working every weekend over a period of 18 months and winning Brumbeat top band for 1965,” he recalls.

“In the summer of 1965, the band did a short tour of the south coast, including the Bure Country Club, supporting Unit 4 Plus 2, the Boscombe Beat Ballroom and the White Hart, Burley. In October we recorded a demo at a studio in Nottingham but no copies exist to my knowledge.”

After The Savages’ gig had fallen through, Rodger spotted Stevens’ advert and applied for the spot and, although only one horn player was required, Barre accompanied his friend to the initial meeting to chance his luck, hoping he might be taken on as second sax player while angling for the guitar position.

“I remember we met outside Sound City in Shaftesbury Avenue and it was touch and go whether or not I took him on,” remembers Stevens.

The date in question was most likely Friday, 22 July as that was the day Barre purchased a saxophone from Sound City, so he could practise incessantly in preparation for the audition three days later on Monday, 25 July at the Red Lion pub in Battersea. (Ed. Rodger says this never happened as they debuted on Sunday, 24 July without an audition).

According to Ketley, Barre’s sound and technique was not particularly good at this point and from the outset Rodger assumed the more prominent role, playing solos and supporting Barre until he got up to speed.

“It wasn’t until months and months later that we would go to bed after a gig to the sound of Martin practising on his 335, and wake up in the late afternoon and Martin was still playing that we realised that he was a much better guitarist than he was a sax player,” says Ketley.

In fact, Barre later admitted to taking the job, so that he could get into the band and play guitar.

“It wasn’t until we had formed The Penny Peeps and especially Gethsemane that Martin owned up to getting the sax job under false pretences,” says Ketley. “Clever really and by then we had other plans so it was fine.”

The same day that Stevens met with Barre and Rodger outside Sound City , The Noblemen were billed to perform at the Cricketers Inn in Southend-on-Sea in Essex. However, it’s not clear if the current five-piece (with Fryers) honoured this gig later that evening.

On the following day, Saturday, 23 July, the band were also billed to play at the Le Disque A Go Go in Bournemouth with a midnight performance into Sunday morning. The fact that they were based in Bognor Regis at the time suggests this second gig did take place.

As noted above, Rodger recalls that Barre and his debut took place on Sunday, 24 July with a gig at a US service club in Lancaster Gate at 4pm.

“At the end of the gig, we were asked to follow the band back to Bognor Regis to rehearse at the Shoreline Club,” he says.

“Chuck left that week and Martin, to his delight, was asked to double on sax and guitar.”

With Fryers gone, the revamped Noblemen formation didn’t waste any time and soon hit the road. On Saturday, 30 July, they were billed to perform at the Lion Hotel in Warrington, Cheshire with The Atlantics and The Atlanta Roots. Whether this gig took place is not clear.

A very early publicity photo taken on Bognor Regis beach that summer depicts a six-piece (with Barre holding the guitar) confirming that Fryers had moved on in late July 1966.

The Noblemen, summer 1966. Left to right: Mick Ketley, Martin Barre, Jimmy Marsh, Chris Rodger, Malcolm Tomlinson and Bryan Stevens

On departing The Noblemen, Fryers joined Bognor Regis band The Warren J Five who travelled to Hamburg in late 1966/early 1967 and performed at the Top Ten Club with singer Tony Sheridan.

The Warren J Five subsequently moved on to Italy where they recorded an LP for the Vedette label.

The Warren J Five in late 1966 with Chuck Fryers (third right). Photo may be subject to copyright

After a brief spell performing as The Reflections, Fryers returned to the UK with bass player Geoff Prior and joined Coventry band, The Sorrows who also recorded an LP in Italy.

Later on he worked with Thane Russal in The Electric Heart and has gone on to record solo material, including a CD called That’s It?. His departure freed up the lead guitar spot for Martin Barre.

The Noblemen spent the August month fulfilling bookings along the length of the south coast of England. They also made several trips down to the far reaches of the south west, judging by adverts in local newspapers.

 

On Saturday, 6 August, the group was billed to play Budleigh Salterton Public Hall in Devon before returning to the Bournemouth area the next day to appear at the Royal Ballrooms in Boscombe.

The band would play regularly at this venue (and in the Bournemouth area) over the next two years.

On Saturday, 13 August, The Noblemen started a week-long residency at the 400 Ballroom in Torquay, Devon, which ran until Friday, 19 August (with the exception of playing the Sunday).

Photo: Chris Rodger. The Noblemen at the 400 Ballroom in Torquay, August 1966

A few weeks later, on Saturday, 20 August, The Noblemen were billed to perform at the Flamingo Ballroom in Redruth, Cornwall followed by a show the next day at the Park Ballroom in Plymouth, Devon. The following Thursday, 25 August, they were advertised participating in the Big Beat Boat, held in Bournemouth.

Then it was back down to Cornwall for the weekend for a show at the Blue Lagoon in Newquay on 27 August with The Nite People.

The following day, The Noblemen were billed to play at the Stoke Hotel in Guildford, Surrey, which may have been a gig they played on the way up to London to audition for the Roy Tempest Agency, a notorious British agent who brought US soul acts over and was always on the lookout for local bands to support these artists on the road.

The group appears to have seen out the month playing at the 2 ‘B’s’ Club in Ashford, Kent with The End.

The Noblemen were billed to perform at the Fiesta Hall in Andover, Hampshire on Friday, 2 September and, the following day, an appearance at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset. This latter venue would become another regular on the group’s club circuit.

Successfully landing work with Roy Tempest, the infamous promoter arranged for the band to stay in a flat on the Kings Road above The Chelsea Cobblers, and the sextet moved in early that month.

Photo: Chris Rodger

Judging by newspaper advertisements and weekly adverts in Melody Maker the first US soul act The Noblemen supported was The Vibrations, who arrived in England in mid-September. Ketley thinks the musicians may have used Rik and Johnny Gunnell’s club, the famous Flamingo in Wardour Street to rehearse with the American group.

Judging by Rodger’s poster of The Vibrations’ tour (see above), The Noblemen were the backing band for the entire tour, although there may have been the odd show when another group stepped in.

Often The Noblemen weren’t listed on the billing. However, they are definitely named as one of the acts, along with Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, to appear with The Vibrations at the recently re-opened Cavern in Liverpool on 17 September.

Photo: Chris Rodger. One of The Vibrations at the Dungeon, Nottingham, September 1966.

It was around this time that Malcolm Tomlinson recalls meeting his idol Otis Redding, who was on his debut UK tour, at London club the Scotch of St James and shaking his hand.

On Friday, 23 September, The Noblemen did back The Vibrations at Toft’s in Folkestone, where Ketley and Stevens reunited with bass player Noel Redding, who only a few weeks later would be playing with Jimi Hendrix (Ed: They had also appeared at this venue with The Vibrations on 11 September).

Then, sometime in early October, The Noblemen provided backing for one of the countless versions of The Original Drifters that Roy Tempest imported. It sounds like the musicians only played one show with the soul singers and the most likely date is at Tiles on Oxford Street on 7 October.

Although the band was advertised, this gig probably didn’t take place as this period is when they were most likely to have been in West Germany

Interestingly, on Saturday, 15 October, the band was billed to play  one of its first gigs under a new name – [The] Motivation – at the Orford Cellar in Norwich, Norfolk, although the musicians would continue to use The Noblemen name for another month. Intriguingly, the advert notes that they had recently backed The Drifters. However, this gig probably didn’t take place because the musicians were most likely in West Germany at the time.

The next soul act that the group supported was Edwin Starr, kicking off with a series of dates in mid-October. The Noblemen are listed as Starr’s backing band at the Beachcomber Club in Nottingham on Sunday, 16 October. The bill also featured John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers with Peter Green on lead guitar.

However, singer Alan Chamberlain from The Guests insists that it was his group that backed Starr as he recalls getting into a fight with Mayall at the venue and Green had to break it up!

It’s worth pointing out that Roy Tempest had multiple bands on his books to provide support for visiting US acts, so it’s quite possible he chopped and changed the backing groups at short notice (Ed. The Senate also backed Starr on this tour.)

Whatever the truth, The Noblemen were certainly on hand to back Edwin Starr at Granby Hall in Leicester on Friday, 21 October for a stellar show headlined by Ike & Tina Turner and also featuring soul singer Alvin Robinson, who the band would also back shortly afterwards.

During this hazy period, The Noblemen also worked very briefly with Lee Dorsey and, according to Martin Barre, Ben E King. By now, they had a new rehearsal room to work through material with the US acts.

“Roy Tempest booked the soul artists to come over,” recalls Stevens. “We met them at a first floor practice room (possibly the Roebuck) in Tottenham Court Road and had about three hours with them before going out on the road. Usually, we started at the US base in Bayswater Road (7pm) then onto [Starlight Ballroom at the] Boston Gliderdrome in Lincolnshire by midnight and sometimes then to a place in Leicester for a 6am show!”

Next up in the revolving roster of artists that The Noblemen backed was Alvin Robinson, possibly kicking off with a show at the Dungeon Club in Nottingham on Friday, 28 October.

Over the next week, the singer performed at the Starlight Ballroom at the Boston Gliderdrome in Lincolnshire, the Burlesque in Leicester, the Jigsaw in Manchester and the Whisky A Go Go in Wardour Street, but the support bands are not named in the advertisements.

“Alvin Robinson stayed at our [second] flat in Gloucester Road,” remembers Stevens.

“Roy Tempest had just given us that flat when Alvin stayed. He stayed with us for quite some time, so I think the gigs dates [were us]. He always made a stew of meat and veg and would leave it simmering on the cooker for hours and tuck into it when he returned from a gig.”

What is clear is that on Tuesday, 1 November and Wednesday, 2 November, The Motivations (as they were billed for these dates) did support Robinson at the Club Cedar in Birmingham for two nights. Tomlinson also remembers the group backing the singer at Newcastle University and briefly losing him at the venue!

Then, on Friday, 4 November, the musicians (billed as The Noblemen) starting working with another soul legend, The Coasters, backing the group at the King Mojo Club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire on a bill that also featured Sonny Childe & The TNT.

Marsh remembers Rod Stewart & The Steampacket – it would have been The Shotgun Express by this point – and Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band also performing that night but this was most likely a different occasion.

Still using The Noblemen name, the band joined The Coasters for a show at the Mecca Ballroom on the Royal Pier in Southampton, Hampshire on Wednesday, 9 November.

Interestingly, promoters continued to use The Noblemen name to advertise the group during November. This included a return to Liverpool’s Cavern on Saturday, 19 November, on a bill that also featured local band, The Escorts. [Ed. Former sax player Malcolm Randall, who’d played with Tomlinson in The Flames remembers seeing the group at the Cavern when he was gigging with his next group, The Manchester Playboys, but it’s not clear when this was.]

One of the final ones gigs as The Noblemen, again backing The Coasters, took place at the New Yorker Discotheque in Swindon, Wiltshire on Friday, 25 November.

As November closed, the band stopped using The Noblemen as a name, adopted the more Mod sounding Motivation (sometimes billed as The Motivation by promoters).

A Norbury, south London group called The Motivation had been active throughout 1965 and 1966 but it appears that by November of that year, the group was on its last legs and split around this time.

Motivation, Syon Park, spring 1967

Unaware that a Cheshire band was also using The Motivation name, the musicians embraced Motivation and moved into a new chapter of their career.

To be continued…

Thanks to Bryan Stevens, Mike Ketley, Martin Barre, Jimmy Marsh, Denny Alexander, Chris Rodger, Malcolm Randall, Chuck Fryers, Malcolm Tomlinson, Mike Paxman, Vernon Joynson, Hugh MacLean, Pete Frame and Greg Russo.

Thank you to Bryan Stevens and Mike Ketley for the photos of The Noblemen.

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.

 

The Penny Peepshow (featuring Martin Barre)

The Penny Peepshow in 1968, clockwise from centre: Martin Barre, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Mike Ketley and Bryan Stevens
The Penny Peepshow in 1968, clockwise from centre: Martin Barre, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Mike Ketley and Bryan Stevens

Denny Alexander (lead vocals)
Martin Barre (lead guitar)
Mick Ketley (keyboards, vocals)
Bryan Stevens (bass)
Malcolm Tomlinson (drums, vocals)

1967

August Having worked as The Motivation since November 1966, the latest line up returns from London to Bognor Regis to reinvent themselves. Eschewing their stax/soul sound and covers material, the band embraces the burgeoning psychedelic scene while singer Denny Alexander starts to write a batch of strong original material for the band. Initially, The Motivation work under the name The Penny Peepshow.

September (15-16) Having rehearsed the new material at the Shoreline Club in Bognor Regis, The Penny Peep Show begin to gig nationally. One of their first shows takes place at the Gala Ballroom in Norwich, Norfolk with Alex Wilson’s Sect and Chances of Life.

Penny Peep Show with Jigsaw at the Swan in Yardley

(17) The group travels across to the West Midlands for a concert at the Swan in Yardley with Jigsaw.

(23) The band plays at the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.

(25) The Penny Peep Show appear at the Belfry, Wishaw, West Midlands with Sight and Sound.

(29) The group plays at the Blue Powder Discotheque in Bilston Town Hall, Bilston, West Midlands.

October (7) The band returns to the Birmingham area to play a show at the Penthouse in the city centre with New Zealand band, The Human Instinct.

(14) The Penny Peep Show appears at the Flamingo Ballroom, Penzance in Cornwall with The Circuit Five.

(21) The group appears at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.

(22)  The band plays at the Indigo Vat, Southsea, Hampshire.

(26) Billed as The Penny Peeps they play at the Concorde in the Basset Hotel, Southampton, Hampshire.

November (3) Returning to the West Midlands, they play at the Penthouse in Birmingham.

(4) The Penny Peep Show perform at the Ringway Club in Birmingham. Around this time they also play the freshers’ ball at Birmingham University where Bryan Stevens meets his future wife.

(9) The group appears at Carnival Hall, Basingstoke, Hampshire with The Wrong Direction.

(10) Originally booked to play at the Royal Ballrooms in the Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset, The Just Us is listed on the day the Bournemouth Evening Echo is printed.  However, they may have played the day before after or before the Basingstoke gig.

(11) The group appears at St Nicholas Chamberlaine School in Bedworth, Warwickshire with The Matadors.

Penny Peepshow notice for the Tudor Club, November 1967

(19) Direct from London The Penny Peep Show appear at the Tudor Club, Mercers Arms in Coventry.

(24) One night at the 76 Club in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

December (1) The Penny Peep Show play at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.

(2) The band appears at Willenhall Baths Assembly Hall, Willenhall, West Midlands with The Bostons.

(3) The musicians return to the south coast and play at the Indigo Vat in Southsea, Hampshire.

(8) The Penny Peep Show play at the Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.

(10) Another show takes place in the West Midlands with the band appearing at the Swan, Yardley with Magazine.

(20) The band performs at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.

(23) The Penny Peep Show play at the Indigo Vat in Southsea, Hampshire.

(25) Through Pete Hockham, formely an agent at Bob Gaitley’s Beat Ballad and Blues Agency in Worthing and now working for the recently deceased Brian Epstein’s North End Music Stores (NEMS) agency, The Penny Peep Show sign to NEMS. They start to perform on the London scene with a show at the popular nightclub, Hatchettes on Piccadilly.

(30) The group appears at the Wellington Club in Dereham, Norfolk with The Special Offer.

1968

January The Penny Peep Show sign a deal with Liberty Records and begin recording over an album’s worth of original material, most of which comprise demos. Alexander has acquired a songwriting contract with Metric Music, which requires him to produce a certain amount of songs in a given period. The band are paid as session musicians to record the demos in a studio behind the Marquee in Wardour Street. A couple of Alexander’s strongest numbers – “Helen Doesn’t Care” and “Into My Life She Came”, the latter featuring Barre on flute, will surface decades later on Rev-Ola’s compilation CD Psychedelic Jumble Volume One in 2007.

(2) Billed as The Penny Peeps, the musicians appear at the Concorde in the Basset Hotel, Southampton, Hampshire.

(5) The band returns to play at the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.

(28) The Penny Peep Show play at the Castaways Discotheque in Birmingham with The Stretch Wilcox Limbo Dancers.

February (2) The Penny Peep Show appear at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.

Penny Peeps with the Mike Stuart Span at the 100 Club, February 1968

(8) Billed as The Penny Peeps, the band makes a notable appearance at the 100 Club on London’s Oxford Street with The Mike Stuart Span.

(9) Reverting back to The Penny Peep Show, they travel to Nottingham to play at the Nottingham Boat Club.

(11) The next day, the band appears at the Blue Ball Hotel in Risley, Derby.

(16) Liberty Records releases The Penny Peeps’ debut single, a cover of Les Reed and Barry Mason’s “Little Man With A Stick” backed by Alexander’s mod rocker “Model Village”, which becomes a cult classic and is picked up for various compilation albums over the years, most notably the Rubble CD Acid Drops, Spacedust and Flying Saucers. The band, however, is not happy about the decision to release “Little Man With A Stick”. The musicians had lobbied for “Model Village” to be the A-side, backed by another one of Alexander’s numbers, “Meet Me At The Fair”. The latter track remains unreleased until being picked up by Rev-Ola for Psychedelic Jumble Volume One. Tony Blackburn opens his Radio 1 show every morning with “Model Village” for a week but the single fails to chart.

(17) The Penny Peep Show appears at Framlingham Assembly Hall, Framlingham in Suffolk.

(22) Having changed name to The Penny Peeps, the band is invited to back The Scaffold and perform in its own right at the Dome in Brighton on a bill that also features The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.

(25) The band (billed as The Penny Peep Show) play at the Cellar Club, the County, in Blaby, Leicestershire.

(28) Returning to London, the band appears at the Speakeasy on Margaret Street.

(29) The Penny Peeps appear at the Concorde in the Basset Hotel, Southampton.

March (8) The Penny Peeps perform at the Nottingham Boat Club.

(17) The Penny Peeps perform with the Way of Life at the Crown and Cushion Club in Birmingham.

(22) Billed as The Penny Peep Show, they play at the Fiesta Hall, Andover, Hampshire.

(23) The Penny Peeps return to Nottingham for a show at the Beachcomber Club.

(31) The band plays at the Linden Sports Club, Bournemouth, Dorset.

April  (3) The Penny Peep Show appear at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset.

(20) The Penny Peeps play at the Cobweb, Marine Court, St Leonards, East Sussex, with Tony Rivers & the Castaways.

(25) Billed as The Penny Peep Show, the band appears at Hatchetts Playground in Piccadilly, central London.

May (3) Billed as The Penny Peeps, they perform at the Nottingham Boat Club.

(12) Billed as The Penny Peep Show, they appear at the Forty Thieves, Swinging Discotheque in Coventry.

(18) The Penny Peeps perform at the Walton Hop in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey

(31) The Penny Peep Show appear at the 400 Ballroom in Torquay, Devon

June  (6) The group appears at the Summer House, the Portway, Kingswinford, West Midlands.

(15) The Penny Peeps play at the Beachcomber Club in Nottingham.

(16) The band returns to Linden Sports Club, Bournemouth, Dorset.

(21) Liberty Records releases The Penny Peeps’ second single, coupling Alexander’s “I See The Morning” with “Curly, The Knight of The Road” but it fails to chart.

July (2) The Penny Peeps appear at the Concorde in the Basset Hotel, Southampton, Hampshire.

(13) Another show takes place at the Beachcomber Club.

(18) The Penny Peeps appear at Liberal Hall, Yeovil, Somerset with The Knock-Out.

(25) Billed as The Penny Peep Show, the band returns to London for a show at the Hatchetts Playground.

(27) Billed again as The Penny Peep Show, they appear at Leicester Rowing Club with The Trendmen.

(28) Reverting back to The Penny Peeps, they return to the Linden Sports Club in Bournemouth.

August (2) The group are billed to play at the Bag O’ Nails in Kingley Street, Soho, central London around this time (see below) but it’s not certain they appear.

(3) Billed again as The Penny Peep Show, the band appears at the Swan, Yardley, West Midlands with Gilt Edge. Soon after this gig, The Penny Peep Show are playing at a venue where their current set list meets an icy response. Alexander suggests that they play some blues, which goes down a storm. The band decides to move in a blues rock direction and changes name to Gethsemane. Within a week or so, Alexander opts to leave and Ketley and Tomlinson assume joint lead vocals. Alexander will retire from professional playing and try his hand as a trainee publican. Back in Liverpool, he gathers together some friends and records six tracks during 1972. The songs – “Don’t Let It Rain (Wedding Day)”, “Crossroads of Life”, “My Last Goodbye To You”, “I’d Like To Get To Know You Girl”, “Your Alive” and “Babe I Love You” remain unreleased to this day. He subsequently turns his back on the music industry and works in the financial services industry, retiring in the early 2000s.

(4) The Penny Peep Show play at the Walgrave, Coventry.

September (7) Billed as The Penny Peeps they perform (with St John’s Wood) at the Cobweb, Marine Court, St Leonards, East Sussex.

The Penny Peepshow in 1968, clockwise from bottom left: Martin Barre, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Bryan Stevens and Mike Ketley
The Penny Peepshow in 1968, clockwise from bottom left: Martin Barre, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Bryan Stevens and Mike Ketley

Sources:
Flying Colours by Greg Russo, Crossfire Publications, 2009.
The South Coast Beat Scene of the 1960s by Mike Read, Woodfield Publishing, 2001.
The Tapestry of Delights Revisited by Vernon Joynson, Borderline Productions, 2006.

Many thanks to Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson and Mick Capewell.

Disclaimer: Concert adverts have been sourced from a number of music magazines and regional newspapers listed below. They have been reproduced fairly for research purposes and are not to be copied for any other use.

Live dates sourced from various sources, including: Melody Maker, Nottingham Evening Post, Birmingham Evening Mail, Evening Argus (Brighton), Eastern Evening News (Norwich), Ipswich Evening StarOther newspapers sources are listed in the comments below.

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.

I have tried to ensure the accuracy of this article but I appreciate that there are likely to be errors and omissions. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who can provide any additions or corrections. Email: Warchive@aol.com

Penny Peepshow program cover

Penny Peepshow program bio with photo in Isleworth - Martin Barre, Mike Ketley, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson and Bryan Stevens
In Isleworth – Martin Barre, Mike Ketley, Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson and Bryan Stevens
Above, in Isleworth, left to right: Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Martin Barre (sitting), Bryan Stevens and Mick Ketley
Above, in Isleworth, left to right: Denny Alexander, Malcolm Tomlinson, Martin Barre (sitting), Bryan Stevens and Mick Ketley

Penny Peepshow program contact information

(The) Motivation (featuring Martin Barre)

The Motivation, 1967, left to right: Bryan Stevens, Malcolm Tomlinson, Jimmy Marsh, Mick Ketley, Chris Rodger and Martin Barre All photos of the band courtesy of Bryan Stevens

Jimmy Marsh (lead vocals)
Martin Barre (lead guitar, saxophone)
Mick Ketley (keyboards, backing vocals)
Bryan Stevens (bass)
Chris Rodger (saxophone, trumpet)
Malcolm Tomlinson (drums, backing vocals)

1966

October The group evolves out of Bognor Regis group, The Noblemen, which was formed in late 1964 to back South African singer Beau Brummell (aka Mike Bush). Bass player Bryan Stevens (b. 14 November 1943, Laha Datu, North Borneo) and keyboard player Mick Ketley (b. 1 October 1947, Balham, London) have been with the band from the outset. After splitting from Brummell in April 1966, the Noblemen undergo a significant change in personnel when most of the members leave in June. The following month, Stevens and Ketley reorganise The Noblemen bringing in a new singer, Jimmy Marsh (b. 9 April 1941, Carmarthen, Wales). Marsh first met Stevens and Ketley in mid-1964 at the Top Hat in Littlehampton when they were playing with The Detours and he was fronting The Del Mar Trio.

When The Noblemen’s drummer Bernie Smith opts to take up a more regular job, Marsh suggests his former colleague Malcolm Tomlinson (b. 16 June 1946, Isleworth, Middlesex) as his replacement. Tomlinson has worked with Marsh in The Del Mar Trio and James Deane and The London Cats. Before that, he was a member of Jeff Curtis and The Flames. Stevens advertises for a new sax player in the 23 July issue of Melody Maker, which hits the newsstands on 16 July. Former Moonrakers members, Chris Rodger (b. 16 October 1946, Solihull, Warwickshire) and Martin Barre (b. 17 November 1946, Kings Heath, Birmingham) respond to the advert after missing out on a job with Screaming Lord Sutch. On 22 July, Barre buys a saxophone at Sound City in London’s Shaftsbury Avenue for the audition three days later. Both Rodger and Barre are hired for the new line up as sax players, with Rodger doubling up on trumpet and Barre doubling up on lead guitar. In September, the new Noblemen line up moves up to London and shares a flat in Chelsea (and later Gloucester Road). They sign to the Roy Tempest Agency and start backing up visiting US soul acts.

Motivation on Bognor Regis station, late 1966 – left to right: Bryan Stevens, Martin Barre, Mick Ketley, Malcolm Tomlinson, Chris Rodger and Jimmy Marsh
Bognor Regis station, late 1966, left to right: Jimmy Marsh (white top), Martin Barre, Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley, Chris Rodger and Malcolm Tomlinson

November  (1-2) Having supported The Vibrations, The Drifters, Lee Dorsey, Edwin Starr and Alvin Robinson as The Noblemen during September-October, the group adopts the more ‘Mod’ sounding name Motivation (although they are sometimes still billed as The Noblemen, at least until early December). As The Motivations, the band plays with Alvin Robinson at the Club Cedar in Birmingham for two nights. Soon after, The Motivations back Robinson at Newcastle University (quite possibly 3 November).

Motivation, Hyde Park, late 1966

(4) Billed as The Noblemen, they begin backing The Coasters with a show at the King Mojo Club in Sheffield with Sonny Childe & The TNT.  The Coasters will perform at the Starlite Ballroom in Greenford, west London on 11 November with  The Mode but no support group is listed (unless it was The Mode).

(12) Having changed their name to (The) Motivation, they perform at the Oasis club in Manchester with The Coasters and Hari Kari.

(13) The Coasters are billed playing at Tiles on Oxford Street in central London (most likely with Motivation in support). Two days later, The Coasters appear at the Whisky A Go Go. It is around this time that Mike Ketley and Malcolm Tomlinson take up The Coasters’ offer to attend a party where Jimi Hendrix (who had previously played with The Coasters’ support band) is in attendance. The Jimi Hendrix Experience are launched to the British press on 25 November.

(20) After playing at the Cavern in Liverpool with The Coasters the previous day (where they are billed as The Noblemen), Motivation join the soul singers for two shows in Greater Manchester, starting with the Domino Club in Openshaw and culminating with a second gig at the Princess Theatre in Chorlton. A riot takes place at the second venue after disturbances between The Coasters and the rowdy crowd.

(25) Billed as The Noblemen, they support The Coasters at the New Yorker Discotheque in Swindon, Wiltshire. The previous day The Coasters performed at the Whisky A Go Go in Wardour Street, Soho, central London but no support band is listed.

(26) Motivation appear at the Starlight Room at the Boston Gliderdrome, Lincolnshire with The Coasters. Also on the bill are Ronnie Jones & The Blue Jays and Heart & Souls. On the same day, the group supports The Coasters at the Burlesque in Leicester.

(27) The Coasters perform at Kirklevington Country Club in Kirklevington, North Yorkshire. The advert doesn’t list Motivation but presumably they were the backing band.

Syon Park, early 1967

December (4) Having finished supporting soul acts for the Roy Tempest Agency, Motivation begin to work under their own name. On this day, they perform at the Hotel Leofric in Coventry.  Motivation are also billed to play at the Stoke Hotel in Guildford on this day with Whisker Davies. It’s not clear if this is the same group; it might have been the Norbury version, which split up in late 1966.

(9) The band appears at the New Yorker Discotheque in Swindon, Wiltshire.

(10) Billed as The Motivations, they play at the Gala Ballroom in Norwich.

Thanks to Peter Ellis for the scan and date

(16) Billed as Lee Dorsey’s backing band, the group appears at the Koo-Koo Byrd Discotheque, Cardiff, Wales.

(17) Motivation perform at the Britannia Rowing Club in Nottingham.

(20) The group appears at the Concorde at the Basset Hotel in Southampton, Hampshire.

(22) A band called The Motivation plays at the Co-Operative Hall in Nuneaton, Warwickshire with The Orange Pips. This may have been the same group as Warwickshire was Martin Barre’s home turf.

(24) The Motivation appear at the Lion Hotel in Warrington, Cheshire with The Fix and The Undertones.

(31) The group heads to Ashford, Kent to see how the year at the ‘2 ‘B’s’ Club with The Suspects.

1967

January (1) The Motivation start the new year with an appearance at the Tavern Club in Dereham, Norfolk.

(6) After playing a gig in Acton, west London on 2 January, The Motivation travel to the southwest and appear at the Winter Gardens Ballroom in Penzance, Cornwall with The Modesty Blues.

(7) Billed as Brian Stevens and The Motivation they appear at the Blue Lagoon in Newquay, Cornwall with The Accoustics.

 

(8) The band performs at the Bure Country Club in Mudeford in Dorset with The Tension and Lavina Lavells. Rodger says that the club closed after this evening’s show.

(9) The Motivation make an appearance at the New Spot in Thorngate Halls, Gosport, Hampshire. The next day, they play a venue in Portsmouth, most likely a naval base.

(14) They were listed as playing in Bradford, West Yorkshire the previous day, after which The Motivation move south to appear at the New Yorker Discotheque in Swindon, Wiltshire with supporting acts.

(20) The group appears at the Bromel Club in Bromley, Kent.

Royal Links Pavilion, January 21, 1967

(21) Motivation travel to Norfolk and play a show at the Royal Links Pavilion in Cromer with Soul Concern.

(24) Having played a gig in the Bournemouth area on 22 January, the band performs a show at the Concorde at the Basset Hotel, Southampton, Hampshire. Before the end of the month, they appear at a club in Ashford, Kent.

February  (3) Not listed in Bryan Stevens gig diary, The Motivation play at the Kingfisher Hall in Redditch, Worcestershire. This might have been another version of The Motivation but it’s close to Martin Barre’s home town.

(4) Another gig that is not listed in Stevens’ gig diary is a show at Maidstone Corn Exchange in Maidstone, Kent with The Blues System. However, on the same day the band does return to the ‘2 ‘B’s’ Club in Ashford, Kent so perhaps they played both on the same day as the towns are close together.

(5) The group travels back to Norfolk to play the Tavern Club in Dereham on a bill that also features The Barry Lee Show.

with the Herd at the Marquee, February 6, 1967

(6) The Motivation play their first show at the famous Marquee club, opening for The Herd.

(7) The band appears at Kodak Hall, Harrow, west London with The Beachcombers.

(9) The Motivation play at the New Central Ballroom, Aldershot, Hampshire with Ziggy Turner Combo.

(10) The group travels to the Birmingham area and performs at the Carlton Ballroom in Erdington, billed as The Fantastic Motivations. The next day, they head to the Southwest and play a venue (possibly the town hall) in Exeter, Devon.

(13) The band appears at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset. The next day, The Motivation travel to Portsmouth and make an appearance at a venue in the city (possibly another naval gig).

(16) The Motivation head to Oxfordshire and perform for the Royal Air Force at RAF Benson.

(17) The day after, the band returns to London and appears at the Cooks Ferry Inn in Edmonton with John Evan Smash (who will morph in to Jethro Tull, a band that Barre will join in December 1968). There is a gap in the bookings until 25 February when The Motivation play an Oxford University college.  The day after, they perform in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

March  (1) Not listed in Bryan Stevens’ gig diary, the group appears at the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset, which is a venue they will return to a lot over the next year.

(4) The musicians return to London and perform at Tiles on Oxford Street with C Jam Blues and Malcolm Magaron.

(6) The Motivation head back to the Marquee for a second show supporting The Herd. On 8 March, the band leaves for Rome, Italy to hold down a four-week residency at the Piper Club. After driving for 60 hours, they arrive on 11 March and start that night. Gigs at the Imperial Club, Redditch, Worcestershire (as The Motivations) on 26 March and 9 April would have been cancelled.

(11) – April (13) The band plays at the Piper Club for four weeks. While playing at the club, Ray Charles’s dancers come in one evening and dance to the band’s set. Some of The Rolling Stones’ entourage visit the club while The Motivation are playing. The Rolling Stones are playing in Rome on 6 April and there is talk about getting the band on the Stones’ tour as a warm up act. No commitment comes from the discussions. Jimmy Marsh punctures his vocal chords and returns home. Marsh drops out of the music business, only resurfacing briefly in the early 1980s with the short-lived west London band, A Touch of Gold. Marsh died on 13 April 2020.

By the river near Syon Park, spring 1967, left to right: Chris Rodger, Martin Barre, Mick Ketley, Jimmy Marsh, Malcolm Tomlinson and Bryan Stevens

(14) With Ketley assuming lead vocals, they head for Livorno to play at the Piper Club there for three consecutive weekends. Various gigs advertised in England this month are cancelled, including the New Yorker Discotheque in Swindon.

(15-16) The Motivation play at the Piper Club in Livorno this weekend.

(22-23) The band performs at the Piper Club in Livorno this weekend.

(29-30) The Motivation play at the Piper Club in Livorno this weekend.

May (1) The musicians return to Rome for further gigs. Numerous English gigs billed to The Motivation are subsequently cancelled while the group remains in Italy.

(2-14) The Motivation appears at the Cabala Club in Rome. While there Lord Snowdon comes up to the stage one night and requests the band plays Sandie Shaw’s “Puppet on a String”.

(27) Having arrived back in England the previous week and taking a week off, The Motivation appear at the Playboy Club on Park Lane, central London. It is Rodger’s final gig and he leaves the band.

June Stevens and Ketley remember a talented singer from Liverpool band, The Clayton Squares, who had shared the stage with Beau Brummell & The Noblemen in West Germany in March 1966 – Denny Alexander (b. 10 March 1946, Liverpool). The Clayton Squares have recorded two brilliant singles for Decca before splitting in late 1966. Alexander, who has gone on to sing with The Thoughts, is invited to join The Motivation and fulfil outstanding dates. The group rehearses new material at the Shoreline Club in Bognor Regis.

(27) The new line-up appears at the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.

July (1) In what is one of their most high-profile shows, The Motivation support Cream at the Upper Cut in Forest Gate, east London.

(3) The group returns to the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.

(7) The Motivation plays at the Warwick Arms, Redditch, Worcestershire with Hedgehoppers Anonymous.

August (4) The group plays at Caesar’s Place, the Mulberry Tree in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire with The Agency.

(5) The Motivation travel to the Birmingham area and appear at the Carlton Ballroom in Erdington, which is followed by a second show on the same night at the Elbow Room in Aston.

(6) The group appears at the Casablanca Club in the Sportsman’s Arms, Allesley, Coventry.

(11) The band plays at the Beeches Barn Theatre in Cirencester, Gloucestershire.

(19) They return to the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe Royal Arcade, Boscombe, Dorset.

(20) The next day, the band plays at the Indigo Vat in Southsea, Hampshire.

(25) The Motivation play at Chateau Ipney in Droitwich, Worcestershire. The band’s stax/soul sound is becoming increasingly outdated as the psychedelic scene blossoms. The Motivation return to Bognor Regis and rehearse a new act, introducing Alexander’s strong original material into the set and changing name to The Penny Peep Show.

Sources:

Flying Colours by Greg Russo, Crossfire Publications, 2009.
The South Coast Beat Scene of the 1960s by Mike Read, Woodfield Publishing, 2001.

Many thanks to Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley, Chris Rodger, Jimmy Marsh, Malcolm Tomlinson, Martin Barre, Denny Alexander, Dave Allen, Nigel Norman, Mick Capewell, Chris Bishop and Sylvia Stephen.

Thank you Bryan for The Motivation gig listing for January/February 1967 and Ian Green for some additional dates.

Disclaimer: Concert adverts have been sourced from a number of music magazines and regional newspapers listed below. They have been reproduced fairly for research purposes and are not to be copied for any other use.

Additional concert listings sourced from Melody Maker, Nottingham Evening Post, the Liverpool Echo, the Manchester Evening News, Birmingham Evening Mail, Bournemouth Evening Echo, Southern Evening Echo, Portsmouth Evening Argus, Portsmouth News, Sheffield Star, Coventry Evening Telegraph, Harrow Observer, Cornish Guardian, The Cornishman, the Lincolnshire Standard and Eastern Evening News. The comments section below also lists some additional gigs.

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

I have tried to ensure the accuracy of this article but I appreciate that there are likely to be errors and omissions. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who can provide any additions or corrections. Email: Warchive@aol.com

Lee Tracy & the Tributes, circa 1963

Lee Tracy & the Tributes photo, circa 1963

Mick Pye sent in these great photos of of an unidentified band possibly from the coastal area south of London. Though nearly identical, there are small differences between the two. Mick tells me these are from glass negatives.

Any help with identifying these musicians would be appreciated. Mick also sent photos of Johnny Devlin and the Detours taken in 1962 or 1963, likely the same time period when these were taken.

Update, November 2012:

Luckily bassist John Garrett saw these photos and wrote to me with some information:

The band in the graveyard were Lee Tracy & The Tributes. Lineup: Lee Tracy (Graham Smithen) lead guitar; Martyn Pearse later to be replaced by Ray Flacke, rhythm guitar; Nick O’Brian; me, John Garrett on bass and Chris Hunt drums. The band members were from Arundel & Bognor.

The photo was taken in 1963. We played at most of the local venues: Top Hat, Mexican Hat, Rex Ballroom, The Green Topper, plus all the surrounding village halls. More information can be found in Mike Read’s book, The South Coast Beat Scene of the 1960′s.

Lee Tracy & the Tributes photo, circa 1963

Johnny Devlin and the Detours

Johnny Devlin & the Detours, 1962 or 1963, from left: Arthur Biggs, Bob Pettit, Bernie Smith, Johnny Devlin, Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley, and Chuck Fryers
1962 or 1963, from left: Arthur Biggs, Bob Pettit, Bernie Smith, Johnny Devlin, Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley, and Chuck Fryers

Mick Pye sent in these great photos of Johnny Devlin & the Detours, who later evolved into the Noblemen. Mick tells me these are from glass negatives, which I would think was an antiquated format for 1962 or 1963.

Notice retouching to remove the background on the promo shot, above.

Bryan Stevens wrote in a comment below with identifying info for the photos. He gives the lineup above as:

Arthur Biggs – rhythm guitar – Burns Black Bison 3 pick up 6 string guitar
Bob Pettit – alto/tenor/baritone sax
Bernie Smith – drums (replaced Roger Yardley)
Johny Devlin – vocals
Bryan Stevens – Burns Black Bison bass guitar
Mick Ketley – Vox Continental keyboard
Chuck Fryers – Lead guitar – Burns Black Bison 4 pick up 6 string guitar

Thank you to Bryan for identifying all the musicians and for sending in the poster below for their upcoming reunion show.

 1961 or 1962, clockwise from top left: Roger Yardley, Mick Ketley, Bob Pettit, Johnny Devlin, Bryan Stevens, Arthur Biggs and Chuck Fryers.
1961 or 1962, clockwise from top left: Roger Yardley, Mick Ketley, Bob Pettit, Johnny Devlin, Bryan Stevens, Arthur Biggs and Chuck Fryers.

Back to the 60’s – Revival
Featuring The Detours, Johnny Devlin, The Diamonds, Dave Hooper, The Southbeats, Roy Haines of the Fenmen, The Concords, Colin Madeley and Cosy.
Riverside, February 18, 2012
Johnny Devlin & the Detours, The Post, January 25, 1964
Johnny Devlin & the Detours, The Post, January 25, 1964, submitted by Nick Warburton

The Noblemen (featuring Martin Barre)

The Noblemen, January 1965. Left to right: Mike Turnill, Bernie Smith, Bryan Stevens, Mike Ketley and Chuck Fryers
The Noblemen, January 1965. Left to right: Mike Turnill, Bernie Smith, Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley and Chuck Fryers

Chuck Fryers (guitar, vocals)
Mick Ketley (keyboards, vocals)
Bryan Stevens (bass)
Bob Pettit (sax)
Bernie Smith (drums)

1964

December The group evolves out of Bognor Regis group, The Detours, which was formed in early 1960 by bass player Bryan Stevens (b. 14 November 1943, Laha Datu, North Borneo). The Detours have gone through numerous personnel changes over the years with singer Johnny Devlin (real name: Johnny Hobbs, not the New Zealand singer) joining in early 1962. His arrival prompts a name change to Johnny Devlin & The Detours. Shortly afterwards, Stevens recruits former Soundtracks keyboard player Mick Ketley (b. 1 October 1947, Balham, London). Later that year, he also brings in former Cruisers guitarist Alan Paul “Chuck” Fryers (b. 24 May 1945, Bognor Regis, West Sussex) and adds sax player Bob Pettit from a Chichester abattoir. In 1963, Bernie Smith, another former Soundtracks member, takes over the drum stool. Johnny Devlin & The Detours sign to Pye in November and record two tracks – “Sometimes” and “If You Want Someone”, which are coupled for a single, released in January 1964. Despite a group appearance on TV show Thank Your Lucky Stars, the single fails to chart and Devlin leaves. Pete Townshend and John Entwistle see Devlin’s band on the TV show and decided to change their band’s name from The Detours to The High Numbers, which will subsequently become The Who. The group carries on with singer John Read and plays venues on the south coast like Littlehampton’s Top Hat and Worthing’s Mexican Hat. Bob Gaitley, who runs both clubs, invites The Detours to back a new singer, South African Mike Bush, who is launching himself as Beau Brummell. The group accepts and changes name to The Noblemen. EMI producer Bob Barrett signs Beau Brummell and The Noblemen and takes them into Abbey Road to record a single – Beau Brummell Esquire and His Noblemen’s “I Know, Know, Know” backed by a version of “Shopping Around” from Elvis’ film GI Blues.

1965

January Mike Turnill briefly joins on sax taking over from Pettit, who returns to work in an abattoir and plays with Johnny Devlin in Act IV.

Photo: Evening Argus, 9 January 1965

(4) The new line up appears on Granada Television in Manchester. Despite an appearance by Brummell on TV show Ready Steady Go, his debut single, released on Columbia, does not chart.

Brighton Crescent, spring 1965, from left: Bryan Stevens, Chuck Fryers, Mick Ketley, Bob Slomat, Malcolm Randall and Bernie Smith
Brighton Crescent, spring 1965, from left: Bryan Stevens, Chuck Fryers, Mick Ketley, Bob Lomas, Malcolm Randall and Bernie Smith

February Bob Lomas replaces Turnill. The group also takes on a second sax player Malcolm Randall, who has placed an advert in Melody Maker after playing with Jeff Curtis & The Flames, and joins The Noblemen in time for a short trip to West Germany, where they play at the Storyville Jazz Club in Cologne before returning to the UK that spring. The Noblemen are photographed in Brighton wearing regency clothes.

April (25) Beau Brummell & The Noblemen perform at the Whitehall, East Grinstead, West Sussex with The Dagoes.

Bob Slomat and Malcolm Randall, Germany, spring 1965
Bob Lomas and Malcolm Randall, West Germany, spring 1965

May (1) Beau Brummell and His Noblemen appear at the California Ballroom in Dunstable with The Downsiders and The Richochets.

(9) The band appears at the Majestic Ballroom in Luton, Bedfordshire with Randall’s former group, Jeff Curtis & The Flames.

(14) Beau Brummell is listed appearing at the Carlton Ballroom in Erdington, West Midlands with The Chucks.

(22) Beau Brummell & The Noblemen perform Malborough Hall, in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

(29) The band plays at the Assembly Hall, Mold, Flintshire, Wales with The Denims.

May  (16) Billed as Beau Brummell with his Exclusive Noblemen Orchestra, the group appears at Cubiklub in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

June  (13) The Noblemen plays at the Downs, Hassocks, West Sussex.

(19) The group appears at the New Cornish Riveria Lido in St Austell, Cornwall with The Guild.

July (2) Billed as Beau Brummell & The Nobles, they perform at the Guildhall, Axminster in Devon.

(3) The Noblemen appear at Torquay Town Hall, Torquay, Devon with Johnny Carr and The Cadilacs and The Vicarage Five.

(9-11) With a new sax player called John replacing Bob Lomas, Beau Brummell & The Noblemen play at the Star Club in Hamburg.  Immediately afterwards, the band plays at the Storyville Jazz Club in Duisberg (most likely from 12-15 July) and Randall jumps ship to join The Manchester Playboys back in England.

(16) Beau Brummell & The Noblemen play a double-nighter in Greater Manchester, starting off with a show at the Domino Club in Openshaw with Lulu & The Luvvers and then the Princess Club, Chorlton with Julie Grant.

(19) The group plays at the Manor Lounge, Stockport, Greater Manchester. This may have been Randall’s final gig as The Manchester Playboys are performing in nearby Bolton this evening and are based in the Greater Manchester area.

(24) The group, billed as The Beau Brummell Band, appears at Shefford Hardwicke in Bedfordshire.

(30) Billed as Beau Brummell & his exclusive Noblemen Orchestra, the musicians perform at the New Embassy Club, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

August (14) The band appears at the New Cornish Riviera Lido, St Austell, Cornwall with The Road Runners. Immediately afterwards, John, the temporary sax player, also departs.  Back in England, The Noblemen take on new sax players Keith Gemmell (b. 15 February 1948, Hackney, London) and former Gene Vincent sideman, Jeremy “Jem” Field.

(20) Beau Brummell and His Noblemen Orchestra appear at Cheltenham Town Hall in what is one of the first shows by the new formation.

(21) Beau Brummell and The Noble Men play at the Galaxy Club in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

(22) The band appears at the Mexican Hat in Worthing with The Beat Merchants.

(23) The group plays at the Majestic Ballroom, Newport, south Wales with The Cellar Set.

Oslo National Park, Norway, 1965: Chuck Fryers, Mick Ketley, Bryan Stevens, Bernie Smith, Keith Gemmell and Jem Field
Oslo National Park, Norway, 1965: Chuck Fryers, Mick Ketley, Bryan Stevens, Bernie Smith, Keith Gemmell and Jem Field

September The band travels to Scandinavia to play some gigs in Norway and Sweden.

(18) Beau Brummell & The Noblemen arrive in Oslo. According to Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, the band opens at the city’s Rondo Club, possibly for a week’s residency, with The Dukes, featuring singer Ingerid Marie.

Photo: Aftenposten. Thanks to Christopher Hjort for the photo

(26) Returning from Norway, The Noblemen join The Beat Merchants for another show at the Mexican Hat in Worthing. The Worthing Gazette advert notes that this is the band’s final British appearance for six weeks. Immediately afterwards, the band head to Rome, Italy to play at the Piper Club.

The Noblemen at the Piper Club, Rome in October 1965 Left to right: Chuck Fryers, Mike Ketley, Keith Gemmell and Jem Field
The Noblemen at the Piper Club, Rome in October 1965 Left to right: Chuck Fryers, Mick Ketley, Keith Gemmell and Jem Field

October (1) Beau Brummell and The Noblemen start working at the Piper club for a six-week stand, travelling through the city in an open carriage drawn by four white horses. During their stint at the club, the band meets actor Vincent Price and George Harrison’s parents who have won a holiday to Rome. While playing at the Piper club, the band is invited to play at the coming-out dance of the daughter of the millionaire, Prince Ruspoli. They also meet a female American singer called Kathy, who sets up a gig for the band at the Big Apple Club in Munich (where she lives) for the following May.

November After completing a six-week season, Beau Brummell and The Noblemen perform in Milan for 10 days and record four tracks in a studio that was formerly a church. These include the powerful sax-driven “Jezebel” and the Brummell composed, “I’m In Love”, a slow lilting number, neither of which are released. The group then heads south to Naples to play further dates before returning to Rome where The Noblemen sans Brummell record the tracks “Jump Back Baby” and “Ecstasy” with Chuck Fryers on lead vocals. Columbia releases Brummell’s third single (and second with the band) – “A Better Man Than I”, a spoken number, backed by “Teardrops”, which is credited to Brummell’s “Noblemen Orchestra” but it does not chart.

December Beau Brummell and The Noblemen play in Ostend in Belgium before returning to the UK.

(12) The Noblemen appear at the Mexican Hat in Worthing with The Look.

(17) The group returns to the continent to play in Turin. An engagement in St. Moritz is announced but the band do not play there.

(25-31) Beau Brummell and The Noblemen play at a club in Turin through to the new year and share the bill with Mussolini’s son Romano who plays piano with his jazz group. During January 1966, Brummell briefly splits from The Noblemen to return to Rome and tries to get into the film industry.

The Noblemen, early 1966. Clockwise from centre: Bryan Stevens, Bernie Smith, Keith Gemmell, Jem Field, Chuck Fryers and Mike Ketley
The Noblemen, early 1966. Clockwise from centre: Bryan Stevens, Bernie Smith, Keith Gemmell, Jem Field, Chuck Fryers and Mick Ketley

1966

January Columbia releases a final Brummell single, a cover of Ray Donner’s “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got” backed by “Take Me Like I Am”, but it fails to chart.

Photo: Worthing Gazette

(7) Back in England, The Noblemen appear at the Top Hat in Littlehampton, West Sussex. The advert in the Worthing Gazette notes that they have just returned from Italy.

(8) Beau Brummell & The Noblemen play at the Shoreline Club in Bognor Regis, West Sussex.

February (27) The Noblemen are a late addition to an all-nighter show at the original Cavern in Liverpool, which closes after tonight’s performance. Also included on the bill are Rory Storm and The Hurricanes and The Big Three among many others. The Cavern will officially reopen on 23 July.

March The Noblemen perform at the Storyville Jazz Club in Duisberg before moving on to Cologne.

(7-10) Beau Brummell rejoins The Noblemen briefly to share a week-long residency at the Storyville Jazz Club in Cologne with The Clayton Squares. The Squares’ singer Denny Alexander will reunite with Ketley and Stevens in The Motivation in June 1967. While in Cologne (this may have been spring 1965 trip instead), the group meets English group The Loving Kind featuring guitarist Noel Redding, who will join The Jimi Hendrix Experience in September. After playing at the Storyville Jazz Club in Cologne, the band holds down a residency at Frankfurt’s Storyville Jazz Club with Rory Storm and The Hurricanes and Johnny Guitar Watson.

(19) The Noblemen appear at the Flamingo Ballroom in Redruth, Cornwall with The Misfits.

The Noblemen in Pisa, Italy, April 1966, left to right: Mike Ketley, Bryan Stevens, Jem Field, Keith Gemmell and Chuck Fryers
The Noblemen in Pisa, Italy, April 1966, left to right: Mick Ketley, Bryan Stevens, Jem Field, Keith Gemmell and Chuck Fryers

April The Noblemen split from Brummell who returns to South Africa and records further singles (and later owns a naturist valley in the Northern Transvaal). The Noblemen accept a short residency at the Livorno Club in Pisa, Italy.

May (20) Thanks to the American singer they met in Rome last October, the group opens for The Spencer Davis Group at the Big Apple Club in Munich and both performances are recorded for German TV. Fryers has to borrow Spencer Davis’s guitar as his own was stolen while playing in Italy.

Noblemen with the Spencer Davis Group, Big Apple Club
with the Spencer Davis Group, Big Apple Club

(21) Field leaves the band and returns home by train. Stripped down to a quintet, The Noblemen play some US air bases in West Germany with singing group, The New Faces. Gemmell does not stay long and returns home with The New Faces a few weeks later. Gemmell will find success in the late 1960s/early 1970s with the progressive rock outfit, Audience and also plays with Sammy.

June On the way home, the remaining members back country and western singer/comedian Don Bowman, who invites Fryers to return to Nashville as his guitarist. The Noblemen then play at the Star Club in Hamburg before arriving back in the UK. Fryers, Ketley, Smith and Stevens decide to carry on as The Noblemen and bring in a new singer, Jimmy Marsh (b. 9 April 1941, Carmarthen, Wales). Marsh first met the group members in 1964 at the Top Hat in Littlehampton when they were The Detours and he was fronting The Del Mar Trio. When Bernie Smith opts to take up a more regular job, Marsh suggests his former colleague Malcolm Tomlinson (b. 16 June 1946, Isleworth, Middlesex) as drummer. Tomlinson has worked with Marsh since 1964 in The Del Mar Trio and James Deane and The London Cats. Before that, he was a member of Jeff Curtis and The Flames. Bernie Smith will later reunite with Mick Ketley in Bognor Regis group, The Concords in 1969.

July (3) The Noblemen are billed to play at the Royal Ballrooms in Boscombe, Dorset with Karl & The Rapiers. This might be one of the last gigs with Bernie Smith or one of the first with Jimmy Marsh and Malcolm Tomlinson.

(16) Stevens advertises for a new sax player in the 23 July issue of Melody Maker, which hits the newsstands on this day. Former Moonrakers members, Chris Rodger (b. 16 October 1946, Solihull, Warwickshire) and Martin Barre (b. 17 November 1946, Kings Heath, Birmingham) respond to the advert after Rodger misses out on a job with Screaming Lord Sutch. Rodger has joined Syndicate 1 in 1963 after leaving school in Dorset but meets Barre in Midlands band The Moonrakers in January 1965.

(22) Barre buys a saxophone at Sound City in London’s Shaftsbury Avenue for the audition three days later. On the same day, the band is billed to perform at the Cricketers Inn in Southend, Essex but it’s not clear if the current five-piece (sans saxes) perform.

(23) The Noblemen are advertised to appear at the Waterfront in Southampton, Hampshire for an evening show followed by a second gig at Le Disque A Go Go in Bournemouth, Dorset with a midnight performance leading into the 24th.

(24) Both Rodger and Barre are hired for the new line up as sax players, with Rodger doubling up on trumpet. Rodger recalls that their debut takes place at a US service club (most likely Douglas House) in Lancaster Gate at 4pm this afternoon. After the gig, they all return to Bognor Regis to rehearse at the Shoreline Club but Fryers leaves before the week is out.

Warren J. 5 Italian PS

After leaving The Noblemen in late July 1966, Fryers joins Bognor Regis group, The Warren J Five with Colin Madeley (trumpet) and Geoff Prior (bass), formerly of The Treatment. The new group is completed with former Untamed/John Lee’s Groundhogs’ drummer Terry Slade and singer John Read from The Hustlers. The Warren J Five travel to Hamburg, Germany and play at the Top Ten Club with singer Tony Sheridan. During 1967, The Warren J. 5 travel to Rome and perform regularly at the Piper club. The band records an album in Italy entitled Rhythm & Blues for the Vedette label and a single, “Sto Con Te (Tell It to the Rain)” c/w “Se Hai Qualcosa Da Dire (Tell Me)” before splitting with Read. After a brief period as The Reflections, Fryers and Prior return to the UK and join Coventry group, The Sorrows.

The Noblemen, Bognor Regis Beach, summer 1966. Left to right: Mike Ketley, Martin Barre, Jimmy Marsh, Chris Rodger, Malcolm Tomlinson, Bryan Stevens
The Noblemen, Bognor Regis Beach, summer 1966. Left to right: Mick Ketley, Martin Barre, Jimmy Marsh, Chris Rodger, Malcolm Tomlinson, Bryan Stevens

(30) Without Fryers, The Noblemen are billed to play at the Lion Hotel in Warrington, Cheshire with The Atlantics and The Atlanta Roots.

August (6) The group travels to the southwest and performs at the Budleigh Salterton Public Hall, Budleigh Salterton, Devon. They may well have played at the 400 Club in Torquay the day before.

(7) The Noblemen appear at the Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe, Dorset with Teak & The Smokey.

(13) The Noblemen start a weekly residency at the 400 Ballroom in Torquay, Devon.

(15-19) After taking the Sunday off, The Noblemen continue their weekly residency at the 400 Ballroom in Torquay, Devon.

(20) The group travels back to the southwest for a show at the Flamingo Ballroom, Redruth, Cornwall with The Blaizes.

(21) The next day, they play at the Park Ballroom’s Beat Centre in Plymouth, Devon.

(25) The Noblemen take part in the Big Beat Boat at Bournemouth, Dorset with The Mozzeletoft.

(27) Back in the southwest, they perform at the Blue Lagoon in Newquay, Cornwall with The Nite People.

(28) On the way up to London, The Noblemen perform at the Stoke Hole at the Stoke Hotel in Guidford, Surrey.

(29) The group appears to have seen out the month playing at the 2 ‘B’s’ Club in Ashford, Kent with The End.

September The new Noblemen move up to London and share a flat in Chelsea (and later Gloucester Road).

(2) The band appears at the Fiesta Hall in Andover, Hampshire.

(3) The Noblemen play at the Steering Wheel in Weymouth, Dorset. They sign to the Roy Tempest Agency and start backing up visiting US soul acts.

with Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, the Vibrations, The Little People and the Ferryboys September 10, 1966. The following week: Otis Redding, Chris Farlowe, Gates of Eden, and Rising Sons

(10) The Noblemen back The Vibrations at the Starlight Room at the Boston Gliderdrome in Lincolnshire on a bill that also includes Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band and The Little People.

(11) The Vibrations (most likely supported by The Noblemen) appear at Toft’s in Folkestone, Kent.

(13) The Vibrations (most likely with The Noblemen backing) play at the Club Cedar in Birmingham.

(16) The Vibrations appear at the Domino club in Openshaw and the Princess Theatre in Chorlton, Greater Manchester with seven other acts (most likely with The Noblemen backing them).

(17) The Noblemen back The Vibrations at the new Cavern club in Liverpool. Also on the bill are Sooner or Later, Intent and Purpose, The Klubs, The Signs, The Times, The Tremas, The Dark Ages and Jimmy James and The Vagabonds.

(18) The Vibrations appear at Kirklevington Country Club in Kirklevington, North Yorkshire (most likely with The Noblemen backing them).

(18-19) Around this time, The Vibrations (backed by The Noblemen) appear at the Scotch of St James in Mayfair, central London. American soul legend Otis Redding, who has been touring the UK for the first time, turns up as does Mick Jagger. (On 18 September, Redding played a show at the Ram Jam Club in Brixton, south London. He played at Tiles in Oxford Street on 16 September; his only West End show).

(21) The Vibrations play at the Orchid Ballroom in Purley, Surrey but the support band is not listed.

(22) The Noblemen back The Vibrations at the Carlton Club in Erdington, West Midlands and also play another set at the Cedar Club. Later that evening, they play at the Cue Club in Paddington.

The Noblemen at Tofts, September 23, 1966 next evening: The Rick 'n' Beckers?!

(23) The group backs The Vibrations at Toft’s in Folkestone, Kent. Former Loving Kind guitarist Noel Redding joins the musicians backstage after the show. Little does he know but his future band leader Jimi Hendrix is flying out from the USA tonight on route for London. (Redding will audition unsuccessfully for The Animals on 29 September but is picked up by Chas Chandler for The Jimi Hendrix Experience the same day.)

(25) The Vibrations are advertised to play at the Club West Indies in Stonebridge Park, northwest London but no backing band is listed. The previous evening the soul singers appeared at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester but the support group weren’t advertised.

(29) The Vibrations are booked to appear at the King Mojo Club in Sheffield for an All-nighter with London’s Ravers (who could well be The Noblemen). Also on the bill are The Amboy Dukes Big Band.

October Around early October The Noblemen back The Drifters (possibly for a one-off gig in London). The most likely date is at Tiles in Oxford Street on 7 October.

(15) Billed as (The) Motivation (a name they will change to next month), The Noblemen are billed to play at the Orford Cellar in Norwich. However, Rodger recalls The Noblemen went to play US air bases in West Germany for a week, travelling on German railway and were away on his birthday on 16 October. This means this gig didn’t happen. It seems most likely they left for West Germany around Sunday, 9 October.

(16)  Around this time, the group starts to work with Edwin Starr. They are advertised to back him at the Beachcomber club in Nottingham with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers also on the bill. However, Alan Chamberlain, singer with The Guests, says it was his group that did the honours. Rodger confrims that the group played in West Germany on his birthday which is today.

(17) Rodger says that The Noblemen backed Lee Dorsey at Tiles on Oxford Street, central London. This is the date that Dorsey is advertised for that gig in Melody Maker. The group does work with Lee Dorsey around this time who also plays at the Saddle Room in London on 19 October. However, the advert does not list a support group for the Saddle Room date.

(21) The Noblemen play at De Montfort in Leicester backing Edwin Starr on a bill that also features The Ike & Tina Turner Revue, Alvin Robinson, Family and others. On the same day, Edwin Starr appears at Sleaford Mabern Club, Sleaford, Lincolnshire (backed by The Senate), Midnight City in Birmingham (with The Night People) and the New All-Star Club near Liverpool Street. However, it’s not clear if The Noblemen backed him at either of the latter two shows.

(22) Edwin Starr appears at Reading University but no backing group is listed. It is more likely that the group backs Alvin Robinson at the Blue Moon in Cheltenham as they start working with him around now.

(23) Edwin Starr is billed to play at the Starlite Ballroom in Greenford, west London. However, it’s not clear whether The Noblemen backed the singer. It’s possible they may have backed Lee Dorsey instead at the Club West Indies in northwest London today. Alvin Robinson appears at Kirklevington Country Club in Kirklevington, North Yorkshire on this date but he’s backed by another band (The Ziggy Turner Combo). However, Tomlinson remembers backing Robinson at Newcastle University which is not far away so it’s possible this gig is in a few days’ time.
Noblemen with Alvin Robinson, Alan Bown Set, Crawdaddies, and Listen Starlight Room Boston
(28) The Noblemen works with Alvin Robinson, performing with the singer at the Dungeon club in Nottingham.

(29) The Noblemen back Alvin Robinson at the Starlight Room at the Boston Gliderdrome in Lincolnshire on a bill that also features The Alan Bown Set, John McCoy’s Crawdaddies and Listen (with a young Robert Plant on vocals). On the same day Alvin Robinson performs at the Burlesque in Leicester (most likely with The Noblemen).

(30) Alvin Robinson plays at the Jigsaw in Manchester.

(31) Robinson is billed to appear at the Whisky A Go Go in Wardour Street, Soho, central London. While it cannot be confirmed with any certainty that The Noblemen are the backing band for the 29-31 October dates, it is likely as they support Alvin Robinson for two shows in Birmingham on 1-2 November billed as The Motivations. However, Ketley has no recollections of ever playing at the Whisky A Go Go.

November (4) The Noblemen back The Coasters (and appear in their own right) at the King Mojo Club in Sheffield with Sonny Childe & The TNT.

(5) The Coasters (most likely backed by The Noblemen) appear at Rawmarsh Baths in Rawmarsh near Rotherham, West Yorkshire. Also on the bill are Brian Poole & The Tremeloes and The Dawley Crews Amblers. Around this time, they change name to The Motivation but are often billed as The Motivations (and sometimes still The Noblemen).

(9) Advertised as The Noblemen, the group supports The Coasters at the Mecca Ballroom on the Royal Pier, Southampton, Hampshire.

(10) Chris Rodger says the group supported Ben E King at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester, which took place today.

(19) Billed as The Noblemen, the musicians back The Coasters at the Cavern in Liverpool. Also on the bill are The Hideaways, The Kids, The Love Trade and The Escorts. After an all-nighter show, The Coasters perform (presumably backed by The Noblemen) at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester.

(25) The Noblemen support The (Original) Coasters at the New Yorker Discotheque, Swindon. They continue as (The) Motivation throughout the rest of 1966 and into 1967 before evolving (through various line up changes) into The Penny Peep Show, The Penny Peeps and Gethsemane. Martin Barre will join Jethro Tull in December 1968. Malcolm Tomlinson will move to Canada in January/February 1969 and form Milkwood. Ketley will join The Concords on bass, reuniting with former Noblemen drummer Bernie Smith. Smith later opens a music shop and drum school in Chichester.

1968

Former Noblemen guitarist, Chuck Fryers records an album with The Sorrows in Italy entitled Old Songs New Songs for the Miura label. After a handful of singles on the Pye and Miura label, Fryers joins Electric Heart. In 1969, he marries his girlfriend in Chichester and returns to Italy. Over the next few years, he plays with Treves Blues Band. During the 1970s, Fryers performs with The Baker Street Band and then forms his own group, which records a CD Fryers and Friends First. He currently lives in Milan and has released a solo CD That’s It?

Sources:

Bognor Regis Post, 9 January 1965 and 18 December 1965.
Flying Colours by Greg Russo, Crossfire Publications, 2009.
Music Echo – Liverpool, week ending 12 March 1966.
The Best of Cellars – The Story of The Cavern Club by Phil Thompson, Bluecoat Press, 2007.
The South Coast Beat Scene of the 1960s by Mike Read, Woodfield Publishing, 2001.
The Tapestry of Delights Revisited by Vernon Joynson, Borderline Productions, 2006.

Many thanks to Bryan Stevens, Chuck Fryers, Mick Ketley, Bernie Smith, Jim Marsh, Malcolm Tomlinson, Keith Gemmell, Chris Rodger, Nigel Norman and Sylvia Stephen.

Live dates sourced from Melody Maker, New Musical Express, Nottingham Evening Post, the Liverpool Echo, the Manchester Evening News, Sheffield Star. Other newspaper sources are listed in the comments below.

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.

I have tried to ensure the accuracy of this article but I appreciate that there are likely to be errors and omissions. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who can provide any additions or corrections. Email: Warchive@aol.com