From Pete Chambers – Backbeat column – Coventry Telegraph.
FORMED in Nuneaton in 1960 The Chuckles were one of many rock bands playing the local circuit….The band had begun in the 1960s as a straight rock band, but by the mid-60s they had reinvented themselves as an R&B band…….
Former bass player Len Bayly takes up the story: “It was during a gig in Cheltenham Cellar Club that our manager, Alan Hale, received a call from a Birmingham agent we had just started working for and, typical of Alan, when he was asked if we were still a rock ‘n’ roll group, he replied with a positive ‘yes’.
“This seemed at odds with the direction we were taking at the time since our aim was an R&B band and we had just secured the Cheltenham gig on the basis of being a top R&B group.
“However, being quite a versatile set-up and having been on the road for two years we could play just about anything.
“Our line-up had changed over that time, from the start with shiny suits with black velvet collars (Beatles-style) to the more trendy gear of the late 60s (Rolling Stone-style). I remember wearing a black leather waistcoat and jeans that evening (funny how some things stick in your mind).
“Our Birmingham agent was seeking a typical rock group to back none other than the legendary Gene Vincent who was on a UK tour at the time. (He was having problems with his standard backing group for the northern part of the tour) so our manager Alan said we were the guys that could make up the shortfall and consequently were asked to appear at the Midland Hotel in Birmingham the next day for an interview.”
They met the legendary Gene Vincent at the Midlands Hotel and all hit it off. The day finished with The Chuckles going through the set with Gene in the basement of Brum’s Rotunda Hotel. Such was their musicianship it wasn’t long before a rather happy Vincent declared they were spot on and immediately booked the band for the final part of his tour.
“Our first date was at Birmingham University,” reveals Len. “We played to a packed house. Being the only group booked we did the first warm-up hour before Gene came on. I’ll never forget Dave (Dyde) our drummer doing his drum solo, he brought the house down and when we introduced Gene Vincent the place was in uproar.
“After the Birmingham spots we were off to Manchester (at the time we could only describe our bookings as large social clubs), but we had seen nothing like these in the Midlands.
“The clubs were huge. They had a full cabaret listing with a DJ, a variety act, a comedian, and sometime more than one group.
“Obviously we took star turn but because the way the agents handled things in the north we found we were usually doing more than one spot a night. Needless to say we had all developed our own Yankee drawl by the end of the tour.
“I’ll never forget how Gene would prepare to go on stage, first wetting his hair down with water then discarding his crutches, his only support being his leg irons. That’s why on stage Gene never moved from one position and always held on to the microphone for extra support, and had that forward stance to the audience while singing.”
The next week they were to come back down to earth with a bump, and were back playing at The Pilot in Radford, Coventry.
Gene had promised more dates in the future, but in the meantime Len and Dave had become apprentices at the then Rootes Motor Company and had committed 100 per cent to their work careers.
“To this end,” says Len, “I finished my engineering training and went off to live in Canada for about four years. I lost touch with the group and since returning have only seen Dave Dyde who now sings with a Nuneaton group.
The rest have gone their own way and it seems that Barry Spruce our keyboard player went on to play on cruise liners.”
