INZANE DICE
Andy Rothwell – Guttercat says
After I left Firefly, I was on the rocks for a while, with idea’s for a new band, with a new glam direction. So after some advertising I hooked up with a guy called Dave, oh! and his drum machine. There was a Asian guitarist called Martin that was into the New York Dolls and Alice Cooper He became part of this practicing band. Although practicing was a loose term as I don’t think it ever got further than rehearsing in Dave’s bedsit or my bedroom.
Meeting up with Martin again in 2020 and I was reminded that a guitarist called Richard had introduced me to him. I was reminded also that we had a rehearsal or two at the church hall in Acacia Avenue. During rehearsals we also had a drummer who unfortunately didn’t stay around for long as he’d gotten into some sort of trouble that prevented him from continuing to play drums with us. The band split when the guitarist left and Dave tried getting off with my then, girlfriend, but that’s another story and another topic.
So after some advertising in local music shops and an ad in the local paper, band number four emerged, arising from a guy called Fred contacting me. An ex-member of Coventry Oi band Criminal Class. He’d had some connections with Roddy Radiation (from The Specials) and played in some bands with him. So anyway it was around 1984 now and we formed a band called INZANE DICE, * influenced by New York Dolls, Thunders, Hanoi Rocks and The Babysitters that we were all into. No idea how we came up with the strange name. We found a drummer called George and a young kid, 16/18 years old (by our standards anyway) to play bass. And for me at this point the hair became bigger and the eyeliner began to appear. See pics*. We rehearsed harder than I’d done with any other band previously. Fred was a great songwriter/arranger and had a bunch of songs ready to go. He pushed us hard with getting the songs right at rehearsals. But we called it a day after several gigs and a last minute change of name (Fridays Angels from the Generation X song), possibly the night before we split. The reason for the split escapes me now? Possibly it wasn’t quite the band we all wanted as musical tastes changed.”
THE IN – FINITY 1965-67 – a group of 4, later managed by Pete Fox. Philip Lea [bass/vocals] and Alan Cook [left-handed lead guitar/vocals] (Manor Park Grammar School, Nuneaton), Bob Briggs [drummer] who worked full time. John Allen [rhythm guitar/vocals] from King Edward VI Grammar School who later left. Did over 20 gigs / bookings in North Warwickshire area. Mixture of chart & LP records (Beatles, Kinks, Chuck Berry, Spencer Davies, Dave Dee & co, Merseybeats, The Who, Rolling Stones, Small Faces, Tamla Motown, Soul, R&B).
Information received from Alan Cook who also supplied information a few Nuneaton bands including The Growth, Paper Lantern, NME, Sheccles. Thank you Alan.
Alan says ” There was life after the group. We are all retired now! I went on to become a geological engineer, John a water treatment chemist, Phil – a teacher, now lives in France in a “castle”, Bob worked in many of the local engineering factories.”
Jim Pryal‘s covers band c 2007. Inferno Party Band Warwickshire
Eamon Kerr guitar vocals, Julian Bell (ex Hot Snacks) keyboards, Dave Kingston bass, Jim Pryal (Ex Hot Snacks / Wandering John and many more) drums.
Photo supplied by bassist Graeme Dewis via Jim Pryal.
Just Before Dawn advertised in Hobo magazine in 1974, care of Peter Morris and played at the Hobo Workshop either at the the Holyhead Youth Centre, or Golden Cross.
Jim Pryal (Drummer with the band) says of the band –
“I joined ‘Just before Dawn’ in 1974. We were managed by Norman Dewis, chief test driver for Jaguar. He was the first person to drive from Coventry to London on the new M1 in an E type Jag in 1959. Norman’s son Graeme Dewis played bass. It was a club covers band and had regular work and we played rock whenever we could. We used to practice at Normans farm near Packington. You always got tea and biscuits off Nan, Normans wife. Other guys in the band were Martin Banner on keys, Pete Morris on Guitar and Paul Chadband on vocals RIP..”
