The New modern Idiot Grunt Band was formed Coventry in 1967 by Rod Felton and Rob Armstrong. Both of them are Coventry folk legends and further information will be on this site. By 1968 the new Modern Idiot Grunt band had turned professional. Their lighthearted and fun jug band style and zany humour ignited folks and over the next three years they performed at hundreds of clubs, pubs, colleges, universities and private functions all over the country. “Their seemingly spontaneous mayhem created an act unique in content and presentation.” The did their last gig on April 30th 1971. Although they played on a number of radio and TV shows they never did any formal recording. However their act has been preserved in the form of a live album recorded at the Three Crowns, Barwell on the wobbly Duck label. twelve live tracks available for download at 55p each! Download’s available for Dando Shaft’s Raremusez basement site (along with tracks by Dando Shaft and Rob Armstrong). The grunt band also played in Germany as can be seen in the cutting below.
http://www.raremusez.co.uk/musez/index.php?option=com_maian15&view=album&album=3&Itemid=9

To make something special out of the Monday night at Ye Olde Red Lion, I managed to get an extension to 11.30 (which was late in those days) and permission for the show to go on until midnight. In addition to Alex I also billed The New Modern Idiot Grunt Band, Ernie Hudson and Geoff Smedley. The Coventry Evening Telegraph and Rugby Advertiser did us proud with brilliant pre-show write-ups and john Phillpot used the headline ‘A Folk Bonanza’ – in truth it was more of a Comedy Bonanza. 

My contemporary diary indicates that I paid out £35 to the performers and probably bought them drinks on top of that – admission was 7/6 (£0.375 in today’s money) and the room was packed. Nevertheless, for an all acoustic show with no microphones or amps, it was brilliant and the audience were incredibly quiet exept when laughing or applauding. Alex Cmpbell had never seen Rob and Rod perform before and during the ‘interval’ he told me that he thought their act was ‘amazing’ – praise indeed from the great man. 

During Alex’s second half he made several references to the duo and the art of ‘Grunting’ he also mentioned them from the stage at the Town Arms when he told the audience that they should make a point of getting over to the Coventry area to see them. Toni Savage was with also us in Rugby on the Monday night and brought along a number of his new protegies as floor singers with the intention of show-casing them to the other club organisors that would have been with us. I think in this instance it worked the other way round because, thereafter, Toni became a great fan and promoter of Rob and Rod . . .” http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=96651

Trev Teasdel recalls ” during the summer 1970, Pete Waterman introduced me to Rod Felton at Pete’s tuesday progressive music night at the Walsgrave. I’m sure I saw i’d seen both Rod and the Grunt band play previously but not met either of them. Pete booked both Rod Felton and New Modern Idiot Grunt Band on different occasional. I used to be there early to help set up and do the door for Pete and he introduced Rod Felton to me as ‘the only star Coventry had produced‘. Pete played flute had lent it Rod and the next week we went to the Earlsdon Cottage before the Walsgrave session to retrieve it. Rod was sitting on the lawn behind the pub with his crowd playing and Pete Waterman joined in on flute. Shame it wasn’t recorded! The Grunt played alongside Coventry folk rock outfit April (Ron Lawrence, Bill Jackson etc), Roger Williamson’s East Light and Rod Felton himself. Altogether a themed folk progressive night!”

Pete Waterman’s Walsgrave Gig 1970 Coventry