DEALER

BAND INDEX

 THE DEBONAIRES

BAND INDEX

THE DEBONAIRES circa 1965 – R&B/Beat group. (Source – Broadgate Gnome)

Line up: Frank Bunker (vocals), Ray Wale (guitar), Graham Wale (organ), Billy Harman (drums).

Cut demo at Panthos Studios in Balsall Common in November 1965. Bunker was also in The Smokestacks .Ray (Roy?) Wale possibly joined The Image. 

THE DAVY
JONES CREW

BAND INDEX

See entry for The Angstroms who preceded them. https://coventrybands.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-angstroms.html

1968

Dave Jones
– Drums  Gordon
Kelly – Bass   Ted Kay –
Lead

Garry ? –
Rhythm,  Martin Jenkins 

Martin and Ted formed Dando Shaft.

The Davy
Jones Crew – photo take outside the pub at the bottom of Spon Street – Spon St
Bridge in the Background – below

The
Darkness

BAND INDEX

1965 – 1968

Above Roger Williamson

The great
days of The Plough, London Road

 Dave Jones
– Drums Pete Bowron
– Lead Roger
Williamson – Bass Later
– Graham? – Organ.

 Dark Actors

BAND INDEX

“Our
music is energy! Think Californian west-coast washed over with a suave English
breeze… musically we freed ourselves to enjoy playing and make tracks that
just feel good” says Beglin front man of the Dark Actors.

Their
honest sound-scape acknowledges the roots revival of the last few years &
yet refuses to be boxed into it. The Dark Actors play in glorious technicolor.

Beglin’s
soulful vocals deliver enchanting melodies, backed with intelligent harmonies
and full-blooded guitars.

Influences
vary widely from legends like David Bowie, Pink Floyd & Supergrass as well
as embracing the energy of the Americana scene led by bands such as Tom Petty,
The Eagles & My Morning Jacket.

Dark Actors
were formed in 2012 to much anticipation in their hometown of Coventry; opening
for bands like Echo & the Bunnymen at the City’s Godiva Festival. Dark
Actors are winning fans one gig at a time.  4-piece, made up of Andrew Beglin (Lead vocals), David Needle (Guitars, effects & vocals), Paul Hartry (Bass & vocals), and Nick Jones (Drums, percussion & effects).

http://soundcloud.com/darkactors Listen to their tracks.

thedarkactors@gmail.com

Dark Actors on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/darkactors/?ref=page_internal

Dangerous
Liaisons

BAND INDEX

Dangerous
Liaisons

Coventry
Heavy Metal outfit c 1992.

Line up

Sean Walker
– Vocals, Guitar  Zen Lan –
Guitar  Phil Drew –
Drums

Alan Varney
– Bass (ex Fission / Blue Jays)

 Dangerous
Liaison – No More Lonely Nights is a 3 track EP

recorded in
1992 at Planet Studios in Coventry.

Two pics of bass player Al Varney – top from Dangerous Liaisons 1992 above 1973 – Fission

Eyes of
Blue

BAND INDEX

Became Smackee – see here 

Source –
Rex Brough

Kevin Connolly – Brian
Whittle – Lead Guitar  Barry
Walker – Keyboards

 Trevor
Hilton –

 Eyes of
Blue, with a changed lineup became Smackee in 1977.

BAND INDEX

Eyeless in Gaza http://www.eyelessingaza.com/eigbio.html

From Pete Chambers – Godiva Rocks

“When Martyn Bates and Peter Becker came together they created something unique.

Martyn had been the vocalist in mark 1 of the Reluctant Stereotypes. When their quirky jazzy sound began to be replaced by with the Coventry ska sound, a rather unchuffed Martyn left and a rather happy Paul King joined (later of the chart topping band King).

Martyn who had been experimenting with industrial sounds teamed up with the like-minded Peter in 1980. Eyeless in Gaza were named after a novel by Aldous Huxley, and were to make many an inroad into the indie charts. Their coming together was a dynamic that would create a range of breathtakingly original music. Always with one foot in the ambient bucket but never afraid to test the water of other genres. What set them apart was Martyn’s unique voice, used as an instrument rather than just a vocal, it melded perfectly with the searing atmospheric keyboards and Becker’s pumping bass lines.”

Their first single was Kodak Ghosts run Amok and their classic album was Photographs as Memories on Cherry Red which Pete Chambers feels is one of the finest debut albums ever!

Songs include From A to B / Seven Years / Speech Rapid Fire .

Second album Caught in Flux 1981 / Pale hands I Loved So Well 1982 / Drumming the Beating Heart 1982. Back from the Rains 1986.

They disbanded 1987.

Becker joined In Embrace with drummer Joby Palmer and Bates went solo – quite prolifically.

COMMENT – from Rupert Lloydell of Stride Publications ” I worked in Coventry in 1980 and used to be up there for a couple more years visiting a girlfriend in Leamington most weekends. I’m still in touch with Martyn from Eyeless in Gaza [i published a lyric book of his, and of Eyeless through my Stride imprint], Martin Bowes from Attrition and Alan Rider from Stress. I was big on zines and gigs at the General Wolfe and Lanchester Poly. Stride tapes are long gone, as indeed is Stride books. i just keep the online magazine going at the moment, and my own work [mainly published by Shearsman] + some anthologies edited. [both Martin Bowes /Attrition and Alan Rider from Stress have reissued the tracks the put on stride tapes BTW – Alan got in touch a couple years back to see if i still had the original booklet artwork. & i did!]. I saw Eyeless’ second gig at the Wolfe, as well as lots of awful heavy metal bands!”

Alan Rider‘s new site for Adventures in Reality Zine etc is http://adventuresinreality.co.uk/

Comment from Trev Teasdel ” Although i left Coventry in October 1980 about the time Rupert Loydell, i came across Rupert and his work with Stride magazine from my new base in Teesside. In fact i booked Rupert and a contingent of poets from Stride magazine for the New Poetry Scene, Dovecot Arts Centre in Stockton Tees which I co ran with Ann Wainwright – editor of Poetic Licence, in 1984. One of the Stride flyers Rupert sent me has adverts for Attrition and Stress cassettes.

Much more info on their site here http://www.eyelessingaza.com/eigbio.html

Evil Wind

BAND INDEX

Source –
Rex Brough

 Jonny
Harper – Vocals   Alf Hardy –
Guitar/ mono synth SH09  Brian Rust
– Bass

 Phil Byrne
– Drums.  Alex Easton
– Guitar and Hat.  Maureen
Leahy – Backing Vocals.

 Caroline
Jewkes – Backing Vocals.

 From Rex
Brough –

 “A
dadaesque krautrock/ forced audience participation comedy band. Evil Wind
played The Hope and Anchor week after week in 1982, to growing acclaim, with a
show that was part BONZO DOG BAND, part “Vic Reeves Big Night Out”.
Also played the Belgrade Big Show (1983), supported the fabulous, forgotten
TRIMMER and JENKINS at General Wolfe. Was possibly the first band to “mike
up” a felt tip pen in order to demonstrate the futility of war (during the
Falklands conflict). Last band in Coventry known to use custard pies. Recorded
demo in 1982. (Demo available on CD from Cabin Studios, Coventry for the true
masochist).

Jonny
Harper cycled around the planet 1984-86 and now lives in Bristol.Alf Hardy went
on to work with Doc Mustard/Tubilah Dog/Hawkwind/The Pilgrims/Sonic Boom EAR
and Spectrum. He now engineers at Cabin Studios in Coventry.) Brian Rust is a
Marine Biologist leading a ‘really hard life’ aboard a research vessel in the
Med. Alex Easton went “Missing in Action” during attempt to drink all
the alcohol in Newcastle (got married and moved to Geordieland). Caroline
Jewkes now is working with drummer/guitarist/singer Steve Hands (veteran of
many Cov bands, recently in Peter Perrets The One)”