The Mix (formerly The Rest)

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The Mix (formerly The Rest)

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The Rest

From Alternative Sounds 1979

The REST

Dave Gedney – Guitar (Formerly with The End)

Ady Dix – Guitar
Mark Harold – Bass
Rob Hill – drums

All members played in other bands such as Squad; Targets, The End etc.


Songs (Dave’s)
Terminal Reality / Taxi / Insect Life / 1909 / Dead Boy / I’ll be your Ghost again tonight /

The Rest


Reggae based c 1979

Dave Gedney – Guitar Vocals

Rob Hill – Drums

Mark Harold – Bass

Barry Jones – Bass

Caron – Vocals


Dennis Burns in 1981 on keyboards /backing Vocals)

Cutting from Alternative Sounds

“Pub band that entertained beer swiggers at the Whitley Abbey Public House” Pete Chambers

Horace Panter and Dennis Burns (Link to his music blog) played with this band at some stage.


Tracks by The Mix 1981 from Dennis Burns


The Mix back in 1981. The line up at the time was: Dave Gedney – guitar/ vocals; Barry Jones – bass, Robin Hill – drums, and myself Dennis Burns on keyboards/guitar/vocals.

Johnny Surf (1981) Listen to the track here
Boy with a Knife (1981) Listen to the track here.

Taxi by the Mix 1981 – Listen to the track here
Dennis Burns says “This is a old audio cassette recording of a live track by The Mix, playing at the Hope and Anchor, Islington in 1981 when were supporting The Reluctant Stereotypes.”

Hate by the Mix 1981 Listen to the track here 
The demo was recorded at (Yes’s) Chris Squire’s studio, at his house in Virginia Waters. The demo was produced by a colleague of Chris’s brother (the names of both escape me….); but was co-produced by Kevin Harrison.

Track on Sent From Coventry Album 1979 – With You.



From this site http://thisthen.co.uk/ by Mark Osborn with many photos of Cov bands in action. More photos if you take a look.



The MIDNIGHTS

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The MIDNIGHTS


circa 1963 – 1965

Beat Group

Line up: Paul ‘Mitch’ Mitchell (guitar), Rick Robbins, Peter Sykes, Keith Sandall.



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Warwick based band, played at the Coventry Theatre December 1963. Released debut single on Ember in August 1965, but were ‘unhappy about the promotion of it’ .

Appeared on ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’ in June 1965 as well as at Coventry Carnival the same month.

Single:


A: Show Me Around /B: Only Two Can Play (Ember EMBS 220), Mar 1965)


Show me Around…




Only two can play the Midnights



Midnight Circus / The Flys

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Midnight Circus / The Flys



Became the Flys (See the Flys entry)
Neil O’Connor – Guitar, Vocal
Dave Freeman – Guitar
Joe Hughes – Bass
Paul Angelopoulis – Drums replaced by
Pete King – Drums




Check out The Flys Post here https://coventrybands.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-flys.html



Played at the carnival in the memorial park in 1976 (see the photos). Neil O’Connor (brother of Hazel) was the lead singer. Their image was slightly hippy. The next year they played the memorial park again as the Flys.

Early gigs were at the HOBO WORKSHOP – Holyhead Rd, Coventry in Monday July 22nd & 14th October 1974 –


Memories from Neil O’Connor (Via Rex Brough)


“…Paul Angelopoulis was from Florida. With us he was a really great guy but unfortunately he could get a little too wild for some others. He had a bit of a drug problem, not that we were or still are angels in that respect, unfortunately for Paul it led to his untimely death at the age of 24 from a barbituate overdose. By the time of his death he had been out of the band for at least 6 months, we’d had to ask him to leave as he had started to become unreliable and less than concentrated in his playing though we remained friends, it was a very tragic conclusion to anybody’s life.”

“…there were a number of things that spurred us into changing and seeing The Clash playing in Birmingham was indeed one of these turning points. One of the other main reasons was a friendship that we developed with a young punk kid (at the time) called Adrian who just happened to hear us rehearsing in a pub back room and regularly sat in with us. He would bring some of his records and notably the first Damned album and the first Buzzcocks EP stand out in my mind as being influential in our change from “Midnight Circus” to “the Flys”. Eventually Adrian introduced us to Pete Shelley (they were friends) from the Buzzcocks, we opened for them in Coventry and ended up opening on most of their Midlands shows. This was a big turning point for us as it cemented our deal with EMI which had been in negotiation for a couple of weeks. As soon as the record company saw us opening for one of the names (at that time) they put their offer to us on the table. Ah the myriad connections in life.”

Memories from Trev Teasdel

The Hobo Workshop Band Schedule here shows a second gig for Midnight Circus on 14th October 1974. I was introduced to the band led by Neil O’Connor by Phil Knapper, a musician friend and older brother of Stu Knapper who later formed the punk band Riot Act. Phil and I were good friends and often played music together. Phil knew Neil O’ Connor from the very early 70’s when he went on a jaunt through Finland with Wandering John lead singer – John Gravenor, Alex Murphy (their roadie) and Neil.
Midnight Circus first played for the Hobo Workshop in July 1974 – shortly after it was set up by myself and the other co-editors of Hobo magazine, with support from Bob Rhodes of Coventry Voluntary Council Service Council. Downstairs in the cellar of the Holyhead Youth Centre, a then unknown Charley Anderson (later of the Selecter) was a youth leader and leading a great set of reggae musicians whom we tried to involve in the Hobo Workshop (upstairs in the Theatre). For the first session, I invited Neol Davies to organise a jam session, similar to the one he’d organised for the Coventry Arts Umbrella in 1970, for the Hobo Workshop. Charley said the musicians were a bit shy to get involved at that time so Neol Davies went down and jammed with them in the cellar. Although no one would know it at the time, some of the roots of what would become Two Tone were taking place at the Holyhead Youth Centre. A number of early bands emerged from those sessions with Charley and Neol – notably Chapter 5 and Hard Top 22 over the next four years and eventually, through various formations, led to the classic Two Tone line ups. Above in the Hobo Workshop, Jazz rock bands like Trigon and Analog would later merge, through a number of transitions, to another Two Tone band – The Reluctant Stereotypes and later King. A young Dave Pepper (later to form The X Certs,) had his first gig with the band Phoenix. 

So Midnight Circus were clearly part of a new seed bed of young unknown musicians who were later to put the Coventry Music Scene on the map some 5 years down the road c 1979 / 80. It has to be remembered that c 1974 / 5 it was very hard for new bands and musicians to get started – the music scene had taken a dip and the Hobo Workshop was one of the few places to get started and so was quite important and rare at the time. After Punk the scene changed dramatically and new venues opened and new bands formed. Indeed, Phil Knapper and I next saw Neil O’Connor on a bus at Warwick University c 1979, after the Warwick University Rock Band Final which launched Stu Knapper’s Riot Act. Neil had played with the Flys (as Midnight Circus were now called) and told us that they were to appear on Old Grey Whistle Test with a new single – Molotov Cocktail. More info on the Flys under that heading. The Flys success may have been short lived owing to various circumstances but Neil’s Sister – Hazel O’Connor would be soon to make a break through with Breaking Glass and Neil would become part of her Megahype band. Neil O Connor is still making great music over in Canada with plenty of track on You Tube and My Space.”



The MICK GREEN BLUES BAND

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 The MICK GREEN BLUES BAND (1970)


Mick Green – Lead / Rhythm Guit / Vocals

Tony Mojo Morgan – Bass / vocals

Steve Harrison – Drums

(at various times..Johnny Adams – Vocals / Guitar and Paul Samson? Guitar)



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Tony Morgan’s memories (Pic was taken by Mick Green (not in pic) with Steve Harrison drummer on left and Johnny Adams on right and Graham in middle – not exactly of the Mick green Band but with some of the members).


” I met Steve Harrison (Drummer) through a friend Alan Jones in Willenhall, Coventry. Steve lived up the road from me, and we became best friends. I’d played with Steve in an earlier band Orange. The last time I heard about Steve, he was living in France. It would be great to find where he is now, and to get back in touch. I met Mick Green through a guy called Tony who lived in the Stoke area in Coventry, and Mick became a good friend! We played together in Mick Greens Blues Band, and a few other bits and bobs, but nothing came to fruit! Steve Harrison, Mick Green and myself moved to Ealing, London, and formed a band with John Laverick and started jamming together, after a couple of weeks, we were gigging around London, We were young and foolish! and it was crazy times. “
Trev Teasdel’s memories

” It was about May 1970 that I met drummer Steve Harrison at the Coventry Arts Umbrella Club. I was doing the door for the Friday band nights and Steve recognised me. We hadn’t been great friends but he lived in the street opposite my parents and I had played with him on occasions at primary school age. I went to the City of Coventry Boarding school, Cleobury Mortimer after that and had lost touch. I had no idea Steve was in a band until then or played drums and he gave me a lift home. Along the way we swopped notes. Steve was in a band called The Mick Green Blues Band and asked me to write some lyrics for the band to try out. I wrote a couple and showed them my songbook and met the band. The bassplayer – Tony Morgan also recognised me, this time from the boarding school. He’d been there for a year or two in the mid 60’s. Again I had had no idea of his interest in music at school. I remember we went to the Sportsman’s Arms for a drink – Allesley way and Free had just broken through with Alright Now, which was just up their street musically. When the DJ put the record on they just flipped!

Mick Green was a nice guy, quite and a good blues guitarist really into the music. We all became friends. I only remember those three being in the band but I read somewhere that Paul Sampson, who I later got to know through Hobo Workshop in 1974, played in the band at some stage. Paul went on to play Jazz rock in Trigon and then through ENS, Bung formed Reluctant Stereotypes who in 1980 swopped jazz rock for jazz ska and became a Two Tone band. The chart topping band King came out the Reluctants and Paul went on to produce the Primitives.

The Mick Green Blues Band rehearsed either in Mick’s or sometimes at the Umbrella. They did standard rock and blues Nos popular at the time. The band in itself was short lived and they were forever breaking up and reforming under a new name or with slightly different line ups.

Nothing came of the lyrics I wrote for them although Tony Morgan did put music to one of my lyrics called The Elusive Metallic Idol – about money and the rat race which had been inspired by a TV programme and some of the early Cat Stevens work like Mathew and Sons. He played it to me, changing the word order here and there to fit the song. However it was never used with a band.

Not long after I met them, the band split for the first time and Steve Harrison asked me to bring some of my lyrics down the the Queens near what is now the Cashbah in Coventry one Sunday for his new band Nack Ed En. When I got there, the band were rehearsing but there was no sign of Steve! I told them why I had come and that Steve had told me to come down. However they explained that Steve had been replaced by John Bradbury (who ten years later would be in the Specials!). He was a great drummer even then and I stayed to watch the band. The guitarist, Loz Netto became a good friend and later played in Sniff and the Tears (he’s on the single – Driver). The bass player was Neil Richardson who played with Ted Duggan afterwards in Drops of Brandy.

After the gig we went to the Dive bar (Lady Godiva) a cellar bar in Cov where students and musos hung out. John Bradbury had a look through the lyrics and so did Chris Jones ( a Cov blues guitarist who went on to play at Ronnie Scotts and the Speakeasy with Khayyam). They told me the Queens charged a lot for them to rehearse, so I suggested they join the Umbrella and then they could rehearse there for free, which they did. Because of that, John Bradbury and Loz took part in a jam session organised by Neol Davies and this was the first time Neol and John Bradbury played together bearing in mind that together they would record the Selecter in 1977 – the track that was featured on the B side of Gangsters by the Specials.

Meanwhile the members of the Mick Green Blues band reformed under different names sometimes with different members added in – in 1971 it was Railroad – I tried vocals for this one and wrote some progressive lyrics. Later versions were Eli, Rein Chantrey, Concert – all with their own posts on here. Along the way they involved Johnny Adams (later with Fission and Squad) and Simon Lovegrove. By 1973 I was playing acoustic and writing my own music to my lyrics and often played solo or backed by some of the band in between their sets at venues like the Navigation, Hand in Heart.

Mick Green, Johnny Adams and myself often used to jam around town with our Eko Jumbo guitars and Mick’s harmonica, informally playing Johnny’s or my songs or blue or rock hits. Jean Jeanie was a favourite, with Mick Green giving it some harmonica. One occasion was on the steps of the Climax – near Virgin records on one of the heavy disco nights c 1973. I was just learning guitar at the time and they taught me loads.

Tony Morgan went on to form the Ska band EMF in 1980 and then the Travelling Riverside band – Tony’s musical history is outlined in an interview here http://coventrymusichistory.typepad.com/blog/2009/03/interview-with-mojo-tony-morgan-coventry-blues-ska-man.html”

Here’s some of the lyrics I wrote back in 1970 for the band

The Elusive Metallic Idol (Written 1968 when I was 17 – set to music by Tony Morgan 1970)

There’s a maze of minds

Designing all kinds of cars.

There’s a surfeit of time to kill

So the people do what they will

Living in flats, so very high

Working so hard till they finally die.

Cogwheels are spinning

And people are sinning.

Papa’s won the pools

Look at all the fools

Smoking and drinking

No time for thinking.

(Bridge)

I don’t know what to do for the best

I’m counting the hairs on my hairless chest

Times are so hard

Think I’ll send them a Christmas card.

Money becomes their life

The object of their strife

The elusive metallic idol

Can make you suicidal

So get outta bed

Screw on your head

It’s full speed ahead

Grab what you can while you may

No time for pleasure and play!

…………………………..

BACK IN WINTER TOWN by Trev Teasdel 1970
I persevered through persistent rain

Believing that the sun must shine.

Through the thunder clouds,

I kept my head

Wishing that the sun would shine.

I was isolated

by deep frozen snow

Believing that the sun would shine.

And the sun did shine,

and it shone so bright

that it dazzled me.

Chorus

And the rain came down

Now I’m back in Winter Town

And the rain came down

Now I’m back in Winter Town

(Bridge)

I’m a child of the snow. I’m a child of the snow. I’m a child of the snow

I dug my way through fields of hurt

Believing I would find the key.

Through the gates of pain,

I kept my head

Believing I would find the key.

I was left alone,

In that nowhere zone

Believing that the key I’d find

And the key did shine

and it shone so bright

that it dazzled me.

Chorus

And the rain came down

Now I’m back in Winter Town

And the rain came down

Now I’m back in Winter Town.

(Bridge repeat)

REALITY (Lyric by Trev Teasdel March 1970)

Got no pretensions

‘Bout a love that is smooth

No candy floss trees,

No lemonade lakes.

No semi-detached

Or a shop-on-a-lease.

We’ll just make the most

Of what is least.

(Refrain)
Reality…

Is what I offer you….

Broken dreams –

will only make you blue.

It’s you that I crave,

So let it be

The isle is waiting

For you and for me.

(Refrain)
Reality…

Is what I offer you….

Broken dreams –

will only make you blue.
Guitar solo…..etc…

Messiah Trip

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Messiah Trip


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Had a request from Paul Purchase for info on his uncle’s band Messiah Trip. If anyone has further information, please get in contact.

The information we have is limited and uncertain but we believe the band

Operated in the Coventry area mid to late 90’s
Played the Tic Tac / Colloseum
There was a tape of their songs
Possibly from Nuneaton and the guitarist was possibly a gent named Matt Flood
they released 3 songs in total
they were an indie type band,
One of the songs was a soft rock ballad, i know the first part of the lyrics if that is helpful to you !!!
“birds sing in a night dream
past the porecious of a tree sing
stroke the wind, hold it back
as the night draws oh so blind
only she knows how to be free
i cant tell by the way she breaths
she walks to me with her slow stepping”
The uncle’s name is Simon Purchase and i believe he was singer / guitarist but not lead singer, he only sung on one track i thinki ‘each step a thousand dreams pass in my mind “

UPDATE

Paul has had some more feedback today –

“I knew them all well and played with Joe Wilkes in a couple of bands, “Loki (Pre Messiah trip (With Eddie the Viking 😀 ), and Messiah trip when it first started.

I still have cassettes around somewhere and other cassettes from pre/post Messiah trip. In fact I probably still have set lists, etc,

Memories

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 Memories


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Ray Borkowski ” The Memories played a lot on Monday nights at the Smithfield Arms, Hales Street, Coventry. I would sometimes get up on stage and play bass along with John Hughes – Vocals, Paul Ashfield (lead guitar) and Tom Ryan on drums, Mick Cashin – bass (Later, in the 80’s with Firefly) .Eventually the Memories had 2 drummers on stage, the extra one being Tom. It was only a small room and 2 drummers pounding away made a really big sound. The Smithfield Hotel no longer exists along with many pubs and clubs I played in. Is that sad, or is it progress?

Memories – first left Paul Ashfield – lead guitar,
second left Tom Ryan drummer
third back row Peter Hewins [ passed away peacefully at Derriford Hospital on August 19th 2010, aged 56 years. fourth back row Ray Borkowski bass [Ray Barry]
front row Peter Hughes vocals .

From Paul Kennelly – Peppermint Kreem That is so cool Ray , that you played with Tom Ryan… another link between Peppermint Kreem and Journey of a Lifetime.

Ray Borkowski
I played with the Memories on a freelance basis during much of 1975. I never attended a single practice session, I’m not even sure the band ever practiced! I remember John the vocalist, I can’t think of his sir name. Paul Ashfield played lead guitar he also had his own band called Riff Raff.

I enjoyed my freelance status for a couple of years being available to help bands out at a moments notice.”

Trev Teasdel

“Autumn 1974 I was running the Hobo Workshop gigs on Monday nights at the Holyhead Youth Centre in Coventry. Along with youth worker Bob Rhodes we scheduled Coventry Precinct concert one Saturday morning to publicise the work of the Hobo Workshop. One of the bands we booked was Memories. Another was Phoenix (Dave Pepper’s first band).

As it happened Memories were the only band to play that day. Their mix of pop songs went down well with the crowd and through the 50 watt PA helped to relocate a child separated from its parents. All was going well and people were enjoying when the police closed it down. Bob Rhodes had secured all the permissions necessary but the police alleged that there had been complaints and that the sound (through 50 watt amps!) could be heard as far away as Little Park Police Station!

We had no option but to wrap it up but in terms of publicity for the Hobo Workshop, we got more attention than could otherwise have been hoped for! The Coventry Evening Telegraph reported the shut down concert on the front page of their paper, hitting the stands by lunch time. We were still packing away when somebody turned up with a newspaper.

We rallied the troops and got every one to write into to the paper to complain about the shut down and explain the good work we were trying to do for the youth and musicians of the city. We kept the publicity going for the next seven days!

Saturday we were on the front page
Monday Bob Rhodes was interviewed about it
Tuesday – there was a letter about it in the paper
Wednesday the editor dedicated the editorial to us given the volume of responses he received.
Thurdays – Trev Teasdel was interviewed for the Coventry Journal
Friday Coventry Evening Telegraph printed an abridged letter from myself – Trev Teasdel.

Memories were an unlikely band to be featured in such a protest being a pop band. Some of the other bands might have been more anarchistic but they were the right band to open the show, engage with a wide ranging audience and held the crowd.

Here are the cuttings –

From Saturday 14th September 1974 Front Page Coventry Evening Telegraph

Monday 16th September 1974- Bob Rhode’s article in Coventry Evening Telegraph

Tuesday 17th September 1974 Liz Scott’s letter to Coventry Evening Telegraph.


Wednesday September 18th 1974 – Editorial in Coventry Evening Telegraph

Thursday September 19th 1974 – Article in Coventry Journal based at the time across the road from the Coventry Evening Telegraph. Trev Teasdel and Bob Rhodes were interviewed for this. Memories are mentioned in this article!


Friday 20th September 1974 – Trev Teasdel (Coordinator of the Hobo Workshop) had an abridged letter in the Coventry Evening Telegraph. The letter was very long – in fact there was more than one – so the editor wrote to me and asked permission to abridge to a length he could print and promised to maintain the gist of what I was trying to say.



Mead

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 Mead


Circa 1970 Included Neol Davies and Dave Moss. Chris Smith bass (ex Sorrows). Davies later formed The Selecter.

Rock / Blues – Picture from The Broadgate Gnome 1970

Trev Teasdel remembers ” Neol had a blues band called Cat’s Grave early 1970 but formed Mead mid 1970 and they split up in 1971. I saw them at the Lanchester Poly in Coventry 10th October 1970 supporting Stone the Crows, and Gentle Giant and I think at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry and at the Village – Colin Campbell Saturday 23rd January 1971.





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From this site. http://www.45worlds.com/live/artist/mead


Brian’s Band / Medicine Shack

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Brian’s Band / Medicine Shack


Leigh Malin writes – “Regrettably, I don’t have any photos of my time in this band but I’m sure I have a stack of flyers & stuff. Great memories, though. This was a great band & I think it ran from 1992-95 ish. Initially, we were known as “Brian’s Band” & eventually became “The Medicine Shack”. We used to rehearse upstairs in the Silver Sword on Wednesday nights & did regular gigs there to pay for the use of the room. We had some really good original songs & as it was popular at that time, were sort of acid jazz styled. we did covers as well. We used to play the Golden Cross often, & the Dog & Trumpet even more so. We actually played my 21st birthday at the Dog & Trumpet. Again, we played a run of uni gigs.”

Line up  –
Anthony “Spring” Haynes – vocals
Grace Haynes – vocals
Brian Clarke – vocals / alto sax
Matt Edwards – bass
Jay Langdell – guitar
Chris Pemberton – keyboards
Karl Stevens – alto sax
Paul “Scobie” Jenkins – tenor sax
Leigh Malin – baritone sax
James Connolly – drums
Mark O’Docherty – trumpet



MAX HOLLIMAN BAND

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 MAX HOLLIMAN BAND


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Nuneaton band c 1966. Tim James recalls ” Another gig with the Max Holliman band, and on my own at The Hilltop & Cadwell Social Club, Nuneaton, Friday 20th June 2003

… a sad affair in that this once bursting club was very quiet – due to a murder on the premises earlier in the year. Sad because this event happened by chance and was absolutely nothing to do with the normal crowd. Anyway, the small audience were appreciative, knowledgeable and well worth playing to.” They played the Co-op hall in Nuneaton as Max Holliman and the Demons. Also a reference to Max Holliman and the Guitarnos