APRIL were Coventry’s answer to Fairport Convention c 1969 / 71. I got to know them and their music well as they practiced at the Coventry Arts Umbrella club and open up the Umbrella for some of their practice sessions. They did a range of material which included some of their own compositions, James Taylor’s Carolina On My Mind, Fairport’s Who Knows Where the Time Goes.

The band consisted of –
Bill Jackson (vocals/guitar/recorder/piano),
Mick Thompson (12 & 6 string guitars/steel guitar/vocals),
Ron Lawrence (8 string bass/guitar/vocals),
Gray Richardson (assorted percussion including congas/bongos/claves/drums),
Pat Lawrence (sound balancer extraordinaire).
The band played both rock and folk venues and the Warwick University Arts festival. Their manager was Stuart Urquhart of Warwick.Their blurb sheet read –

A COMPLETE NEW CONCEPT IN MUSIC TODAY

“We really like what APRIL are doing. Their approach to music is really original and their sound is a full and complete one.” Magna Carta

What is so different about APRIL’s approach to music? Basically the way they get such a beautiful mellow sound with an unusual electric line up.

“April are an ultra-contemporary group turning in their ideas and music towards a folk influence. 80% of their material is original and so is their approach to material written by others. As can be seen from their line up, the group comprises a great variety of instruments (& effects) which go together to form a very interesting show, with good music the aim in mind.”

April were the hosts every Tuesday at the Swan Folk & Kontemporary Klub, Yardley Birmingham and supported acts such as Cliff Aungier & Gerry Lockran.

Ron Lawrence lived out at Shilton on the Leicester road at the time and later formed another band with Roy Butterfield and Al Hatton (both ex Indian Summer), Al Docker (Ex Tsar), Ron Lawrence and Bill Jackson (Ex April) and called themselves Runestaff after the Michael Moorcock trilogy. I was living there at the time and watched them rehearse in the dining room. It was an attempt at a kind of Coventry Supergroup and it was sounding pretty good. Sadly the band split up before they had got to the gigging stage. I count myself lucky to have been one of the few to have heard them. Ron and Bill went on to play with another Coventry supergroup Monster Magnet and Moon In 1971 Ron Lawrence also played in another outfit based at the Umbrella club – Love Zeus with Loz Netto, Al Docker, Tony Cross. Ron Lawrence and Gray Richardson

By 1979 Ron Lawrence was playing along side another Coventry musician – Loz Netto in Sniff and the Tears who had a hit with Drivers Seat. Over the years Ron has sessioned for a lot of bands including the Kinks.  http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ron-lawrence-mn0000743323 Ron lawrence was featured on some tracks from the Kinks 1978 album Misfits –  A Rock n Roll Fantasy, Live life, Get Up  and on Come Dancing.

The band played all the usual venues and folk clubs in the Coventry and Midlands area including –

They also supported Birmingham band Tea & Symphony at the Coventry Arts Umbrella Friday 21st August 1970. Also down to play Club Caroline – Walsgrave (Pete Waterman’s venue) March 1971. although this was cancelled along with the Umbrella gig owing to the split. They also played the Walsgrave June 2nd 1970 with East Light. 1971 Warwick University Arts Festival saw them playing a folk concert (Saturday March 6th) with Jeremy Taylor and Jo-Anne-Kelly. They played The Village (Colin Campbell) sat 26th Dec 1970.

The band split up in autumn 1971, cancelling the gig I’d booked with them for the Coventry Arts Umbrella. It’s a great pity we have no audio or videos for this band although i suspect some exists with band members.

New Addition – Brian Fawcus sent in this earlier photo of April with a slightly different line up which i think may have been from 1969.

In the above photo, left to right Unknown (Brian thought it was Roy Butterfield but it doesn’t look like him – anyone know?), Bill Jackson – vocals, Ron Lawrence (holding the door open) bass, Mick Thompson (on the floor) guitar, Barry Fawcus (Brian’s brother) drums and Grey Richardson percussion. So it looks like they had a drummer originally. The unknown person could have been part of the road team even.

April at Warwick University Arts Festival 1971

Comments from the Hobo Vox blog

[this is good]

Hi there , not quite sure what to say but my Dad is Michael Thompson From the group April.

I would be gratefull if you could let me know where you keep all this wonderful stuff as Id like to see it in the flesh. Dad found this website and I was so amazed to read it all. Is there any chance I could have a copy of anything as he has nothing from his band days and I would love to surprise him with somthing. Thanx.

Posted by: tracey cairns | 07/14/2008 at 11:41 AM

These are the Whatz on Guides from Folks magazine 1978 – 80 regarding Coventry’s folk clubs at the time – edited by Pete Willow.

Pete Willow in the 70’s

This is part two of  Pete Willow‘s article on Coventry Folk clubs of the 60’s and 70’s from his Coventry Folk music magazine ‘Folks‘, published in 1978 to 1980.

In this part, Pete deals with some of the feedback to the first part before moving on with the article..

I have been inundated with comments, some helpful, some critical, some complimentary and some not. So as a result of the ‘Fifteen Folkin’ Years’  feature (part one on here), I undertook a fairly detailed look at Coventry’s folk heritage. I can only surmise from this reaction that the article has been a total success in what I was attempting to do. For the most part people who have been closely involved with the development of folk music in the city have have been extremely forthcoming with info and offers of assistance for future articles in the series, which means of course the task of building up a complete picture will be even more complicated than I first imagined. History is being made all the time so I don’t imagine the series will ever be fully complete.

Another point unresolved is exact beginning of the Tavern Folk Club. I said that it was open in June 1964 at the Swanswell Tavern and that the venue was ‘short-lived’ as the club transferred to the Wine Lodge to become the Cofa’s Tree Folk Club. Some readers recall that in fact the tavern went on for quite a time after, at least a couple of years and I’d be grateful for any more information to throw light on this. For example, did the club at the Tavern continue under the same name or did someone else take it over when the Cofa’s tree was formed?

I do have access to an article that appeared in the local press in 1964, stating that the club had been going successfully for about 6 months. A few quotations from that article should be of interest to those who remember the club:

“….In these commercial days, the venture is non-profitmaking, and the admission charge – two shillings for members and three shillings for visitors – goes towards paying for visits every month or six weeks by nationally famous singers like the Ian Campbell Folk Group, featured at the club on Nov 22nd. I asked Ben Arnold and Bernard Overton, two of the club’s organisers, what they thought they had brought their members, now well over three hundred in all, and the answer seems undoubtedly to be the variety and the quality of the entertainment offered….I heard English and American ballads from Ben, Scotch and Irish songs from the Kerry singers, modern ballads, English, French and German from Bernard and Lesley, American ballads from the brothers and American blues from Rod Felton.”

I would like especially thank the last person mentioned (Rod Felton) for his help with this issue’s article. My original intention this issue has been to look at Coventry clubs in the early 70’s, but I would like to postpone that for another issue or so. Roddy has very kindly lent me his famous scrapbooks, which contain a wealth of information on the local folk scene during the mid to late 60’s, and more specifically on what rod himself was doing musically during this time, which is what I’d like to concentrate on for the main part of this article. Hopefully in future articles, I shall cover the same period of time as seen through the eyes of other local musicians who played different styles of music at different venues.

Rod Felton by Rod Felton 65 – 69

Above is an attempted reproduction of of a photo of Rod that appeared in the Coventry Standard in July 22nd 1965, accompanied by an article headed “Rod Felton – a newcomer in the Bob Dylan folk tradition.” It went on:

“The name Rod Felton, a Coventry folk singer, could soon become a household word like Donovan or Bob Dylan – and all because of a Government decision not to go ahead with plans for the HS 681 military freight aircraft….Rod, a former commercial artist at Whitworth-Gloster Aircraft Ltd.’ Bagington, was made redundant some 18 months….He had been folk singing in his spare time for two years. As he left the aircraft factory for the last time, thoughts of professional folk singing were already uppermost in his mind.

“Sipping coffee in the Sombrero, Coventry’s currently fashionable coffee house with the ‘in-crowd’, he told be: ‘I was at Whitworth-Gloster for five years and making some pocket money doing a bit of folk in the evenings. then when I was made redundant I decided to turn professional as soon as I could…..Recently he appeared at folk clubs in Coventry, Rugby, Leamington, Birmingham and London- and everywhere he goes he is approached with pleas for a return performance.

Diz Disley by Rod Felton

“Diz Disley, the well known jazz guitarist and vocalist, has been one of many to voice openly their approval of Rod’s musical abilities. In fact he became such a popular fellow in Coventry that he recently shaved off his beard top escape recognition…..Rod’s immediate plans include a summer season at a seaside holiday camp –  and then he is all set for the big time and a recording contract!”

Not a journalistic masterpiece, but at least the local press was showing more interest in local folk acts than they have of late.

Digressing if I may for a while, I referred in the last issue to the change of venue in 1965 of the Coventry Folk Club, from Binley Oak to the Craven Arms (now The Bear), High street. There is more detail of that in another cutting from the scrapbooks, headed “Folk Wave Hits City Scene“. It describes a particular evening at the Coventry Folk Club and then runs through other folk events in the same area and mentions Rod’s popularity as a popular singer. Articles like this appearing in the local press did much to bring the local folk scene to everyone’s notice. Not only did the people of Coventry know that there was a growing movement of folk enthusiasm in the city, but they knew where to go to see it on stage. Local acts, like Rod, were given particular encouragement.

I hope journalists reading this take note.

Here are a few quotes from that article –
“The fact that the Coventry Folk Club at the Craven Arms was packed by 7.50 on Thursday night makes its own comment on the subtle change coming over the folk scene in this country.”

“Sure enough the visitor was American, Tom Paxton. Sure enough he does sing a few protest songs. But Paxton is a vastly different kettle of fish to Bob Dylan….Donovan and their subsequent cult of demi-clad, hirsute ‘folk poets’ and revolutionaries“

The article describes Paxton as ‘a  real professional‘ and implies he is not a weirdo like the others, then goes on:
“meanwhile folk music sessions are taking place in the city most nights of the week, including Sundays“
(and here is a list I could have done with when compiling the article last issue!).

“When fans congregate at the Weaver’s Arms Hotel in Bell Green Road, the Cofa’s Tree Folk….The Heart of England Folk Club at the Fox and Vivian, Leamington.”

Then back tot he original theme when the article quotes The Heart of England F.C. chairman, Peter Farley: “…One of our most popular resident singers is a Coventrian. He is Rod Felton, the blues artist, who has shown interest in the club since our formation 18 months ago.” The article also makes reference to a club Roddy ran at the Market Tavern in Coventry on Wednesday evenings.

Whether it is journalistic flair or whatever, constant mention is made in these articles about the enthusiasm and the packed audiences at these clubs. 1965 seems to have been the year when folk was ‘new wave’ although the impression seems to be (from the newspapers’ viewpoint at least) that this was due to the cult heroes Dylan and Donovan. American influence, including country music, and of course Irish traditional music appeared to be two main factors in the folk scene, skiffle becoming a thing of the past by this time. I mentioned last issue that anthologies of English traditional material were not so abundant in the early to mid 60’s as they are today; publications such as Karl Dallas were still being prepared. It could be that the so called ‘Traditional’ folk Clubs, such as we know them today are, strangely  enough, a more recent innovation than clubs where more so-called ‘contemporary’ music is played. Please write in your thousands if  I’m wrong!

Roddy and Rob Armstrong formed the New Modern Idiot Grunt Band in the mid sixties and quickly achieved fame throughout Britain and Germany. A selection of quotes from various newspapers reveals a little of their past:

“Three Coventry folk singers plan to spend a fortnight in Germany, catering for this Teutonic taste in British folk music.” 1968 “Two of the trio, Geoff Smedley and Rod Felton were with the Mummers in Keil last year. Third member of the group is Rob Armstrong….They plan to present German folk fans with just about every type of folk music – blues, English contemporary, traditional and so forth. Primarily the three are going as individualists, but will occasionally play together – Rod and Rob as ‘The New Modern Idiot Grunt Band’ and the three of them as ‘Gentle Idea’.” “Rob Armstrong and Rod Felton play a kind of ‘new’ modern folk music with a ‘beat’, which involves sustained grunting. And they call themselves ‘idiots’. Which all adds up to their curious name….“

These Rod Felton cuttings from The Broadgate Gnome Lots of good Cov material on that site.

More extracts from the Felton scrapbooks are included here (although there wasn’t space in the magazine for all the material). Suffice to say hey are packed full of letters, cuttings, photos and posters relating to people involved with the local and national folk scene from the mid 60’s to the early 70’s. They also contain many details of Rod’s own career as a folk singer, including tickets, ads, posters and other publicity of concerts he has performed along with Savoy Brown, 10cc, Bronx Cheer and Julie Felix. A brief rundown of rod’s career up to the age of 25 appears in the programme of the concert at the Playhouse, Harlow, one of the venues where he appeared with Julie Felix:

“He has played guitar since the age of twelve and started playing in clubs at the age of fifteen. he teamed up with Beverley Kuter (Martyn) who later married and partnered John Martyn.”

“He then formed the New Modern Idiot Grunt band which was a great success in Northern England and Germany. When they stopped disbanded, Rod decided to build a solo career and recently signed management and recording contracts with with Barry Murray and Harry Simmonds – managers and producers of  Mungo Jerry, Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack etc… who in turn signed him with the newly formed British Talent International Agency who handled Mungo Jerry, Savoy Brown, Prelude, Peter Skellern, Weather Report and Herbie Hancock. Rod is currently working on his first album and single.”


More on Rod Felton on this site – here – http://coventryfolkclubs.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/rod-felton.html

More on The New Modern Idiot Grunt Band on this site here
http://coventryfolkclubs.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/new-modern-idiot-grunt-band.html

Another local artist who received much attention in the local and national press was Beverley Kutner (later Martyn), or just plain Beverley. The Daily Sketch (Aug 23rd 1966) ran an article headed ‘Now Beverley has the key to the top’ which read:

Beverley Kutner (Martyn)  cuttings sources from The Broadgate Gnome 

” If there was an award for sheer will to win in the pop business it would this year to an 18 year old singer billed simply as Beverley. Just a year ago she came to London and Demmy Cordell, who makes discs for Georgie Fame and the Moody Blues, heard her sing in a club. Cordell told me: “I offered her a recording contract. She is the only person, other than Georgie and the Moodies, I’ve wanted to record. “But Beverley told him: ‘I’m going away – i’ll see you when i think I’m ready’..Beverley went back to her home in Coventry with a guitar – which Denny Laine of the Moody Blues had given her – and learned to play. Now she is rated by Jimmy Page of the Yardbirds, as ‘ the best girl guitarist’ he’s heard.“

Here is a typical selection of other cuttings about the lady, proving the press moves in mysterious way:

“She’s an 18 year old Chelsea-looking brunette from Coventry who has just cut her first record. The title is ‘Happy new year’ (Deram).” ” Beverley……wore a cool black satin pajama suit – with enormous flapping trousers – at London airport yesterday. To keep away the chill winter breezes she wore a snug fox fur on top. Beverley was flying to Munich to make a broadcast and make promote her new record….””She admires Donovan’s interpretations and was particularly thrilled when, in a London club recently, he stepped from the audience and offered to accompany her on guitar.” “Beverley…claims that at 20 she has at last found her real self thanks to the Love Thy neighbour hippies of San Francisco. Beverley has just returned from Hippie-land after taking part in the Monteray pop Festival.”

It seemed for a while that Beverley was in the limelight of press attention and attracting a lot of interest in the national folk/rock scene. When she married and worked with John Martyn, interest in her from the music media fell lost much of  its previous intensity. The sleeve notes on John and Beverley’s album Stormbringer simply refer to the fact that she once worked for a jug band in Coventry. Mentioning no names.

The following excellent article was researched and written by Pete Willow in 1978 for his Coventry Folk Magazine – “Folks” and covers the history of the Coventry folk Scene from 1963 to 1978 – 15 years of which this is Part 1.

Coventry’s first Folk Club – The Binley Oak

“Folk Crying Out Loud” – First Coventry Folk Magazine Published 1967

Ben Arnold

This is the first of a series of articles that will look back in detail over the past fifteen years (from 1978) of Coventry Folk Music (the only one of the articles that Hobo has incidentally!). Hopefully it will bring back a few memories for those dedicated local folkies who have attended every Coventry club’s rise and demise, and provide some interesting facts for those more recently involved in local music. To glean as much information as possible I would obviously like to hear from anyone who was involved with any of the clubs that appeared in Coventry over the years and I would like to thank Dave Coburn for helping to set wheels in motion by providing many facts of interest and lending me copies of the first two issues of a short lived but excellent local folk music magazine Folk Crying Out Loud which was published in 1967.

An article by Ben Arnold in that publication pinpoints the exact beginnings of the present day format of folk clubs in the city. Of course, singing in pubs is a tradition that dates back tot he opening of the very first pub, although not everybody appreciated the vocal talents of these songwriters. It wasn’t until 1962 that moves were made to organise a folk music venue where people who did want to hear folk singing could go in peace.

This was the Coventry Arts Umbrella Club, which existed for the benefit of those who enjoyed art and music in general. It provided an opportunity for the pioneers of Coventry Folk including Ron Shutttleworth (more recently a regular at the Colin Campbell’s Monday night sessions) and Barry Skinner to generate an interest in folk music.

The regular get together’s at the Umbrella Club only catered for a minority interest but it did serve as a starting point for dedicated individuals to plan Coventry’s very first folk club. This was opened one Thursday in May 1963 at the Binley Oak, Paynes Lane and was called, suitably enough, the Coventry Folk Club. To quote Ben Arnold, “Coventry’s first folk club was formed out of a common love of what at that time was an esoteric form of expression and desire to bring to the public at large something which had been theirs for hundreds of years.

The hosts were the Troubadours, a group formed by Barry Skinner and consisting of John Allen, Lee Soloman, Pete and Marlene Roberts, Terry Illingworth, Brian Sutton and Bob Bruce, although not all at the same time. Also involved with the band were Brian Curtiss and Dick Newton who later joined the Down Country Boys.

Barry Skinner however was the main driving force behind the formation of the Coventry Folk Club. Floor singers became a regular feature of the club, partly because the residents didn’t have enough material to cover the whole evening every week without repeating themselves too often. Most of the music played was either traditional folk or skiffle. At the time there was a limited choice of traditional songs easily obtainable as few had been ‘collected’ and published in books or anthologies.

For well over a year, the Binley Oak was the only place in the city where one could go and listen to live folk music on a regular basis, although interest in folk music gradually spread as more and more enthusiasts and musicians visited the club. An attempt was made in August 1963 to start another club at the Cheylesmore Community Centre but this proved to be nowhere near as successful as the Coventry Folk Club. It met for a short while on Friday nights but lacked support due to its out of the way location, lck of beer and the fact visitors to the club had to become Community Centre Members. Nevertheless it helped to spread the word of folk in Coventry. (I was involved with a one-off concert at the centre in 1975 and we managed to sneak some beer in. The highspot of that evening was when the centre’s drama club pulled off a “This is your life” stunt on the guest, Dave Bennett, whilst he was on stge. But that’s another story!

Pete Willow

Continuing the article on the History of Coventry Folk Clubs in 1960’s / 70’s by Pete Willow, from in Coventry folk magazine – Folks – 1978 – 80, this Part 3 and focuses on the folk club scene of the early to mid 1970’s.

By the early 70’s, the folk revival had turned into a way of life for the many thousands of followers in the country, and it seemed that in Coventry a thriving folk club could be found in every other street corner pub.

We may have moaned about the cost of living then, but the fact was that many brilliant artists would come and do guest spots for a fee that didn’t break the pockets of club organisers, who in turn were able to charge admissions that didn’t break the pockets of audiences. And audiences were large. Ex-devotees of the mid 60’s cultural revolution, fans of Dylan and Paxton, new enthusiasts of the renovated traditional cultures, contemporary music lovers hanging on every word of the many singer songwriters who were around, poets and philosophers a like, could now choose and visit many clubs to suit all tastes. The number of ‘Singers‘ clubs and sessions, though high, were by today’s standards overshadowed by the thousands of clubs in Britain, that could provide a name act almost every week, complete with host, floor singers and raffle in the interval.

It will be impossible to cover the early 70’s in one article with any depth, so many omissions now should should hopefully be dealt with in issue 7. I started getting involved in the Coventry folk scene myself, late in 1973, so I’ll be able to rely a little on my own precarious memory. However i am indebted  yet again to Dave Coburn for his invaluable help. (Dave was at this time more involved than ever in the running of key clubs in the city.), and also to somebody who, to my knowledge, contributed more than anyone towards the local folk scene and the bringing together of of artists at the excellent venues he organised –

John, for those who are wondering, is alive and well and still occasionally pops his head round the door at the Pitts folk club. A brief run-down of his folk career will give an idea of the variety of clubs that existed in and around the city, for John organised or helped to organise, no less than seven folk clubs. Before any of those, however, he first got involved by becoming a regular singer at
Napton Folk Club
and he is featured on the limited edition (100 copies) LP Napton Folk, http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/various_artists_f2/napton_folk_club/ on which he played the classic version of 900 Miles. Also on the record were Dave Bennett, to whom the sleeve notes attributes what must be 27 fingers, playing the Men of Harlech, Sean Cannon, singing Lark in the Clear Air, and Dainty Davy, Margaret Harvey, Dave Norton, and club host Tony Johnson (nick-named ‘The Mouth‘) because of his ability to stun a rowdy audience with soundwaves when requesting them to keep quiet! The cover in fact features a cartoon of the same mouth with the entire club ensconced within!
http://www.popsike.com/NAPTON-FOLK-CLUB-VA-1971-EDEN-LP-PRIVATE-PRESSING-100-COPIES-ONLY/200715957831.html
SIDE ONE

EARLY MORNING RAIN – TONY (JOHNSON?)
MEN OF HARLECH (TRAD) – DAVE BENNETT
900 MILES (TRAD) – JOHN DRITTLER
LARK IN THE CLEAR AIR (TRAD) – SEAN CANNON
CIRCLE GAME – REG BIRKIN
SIDE TWO

THE FIRST TIME – TONY (JOHNSON?)
THE OLD MAN’S TALE – DAVE NORTON
QUEEN OF HEARTS – MARGARET HARVEY
DAINTY DAVY – SEAN CANNON
DARK AS A DUNGEON – REG BIRKIN

John, who styled himself after Malcolm Price and Doc Watson, became a popular figure in the local folk scene with his versions of Alberta, Goodnight Irene, It’s Childing Cooking Time in Childing Country and many other unforgettable songs (except that in John’s case when he occasionally fluffed the lyrics, and who could blame him). The first club he ran was at The Golden Cup in far Gosford street, which he started in the late sixties, although he was also involved in re-establishing it more recently (1979). From there he moved on to the Boatyard (Hand in Heart), almost across the road, where, like the Golden Cup, the evenings were usually local singers nights with occasional guests booked. Dave Coburn took over the running of this club in 1972 but in the meantime John had moved further afield to start a Thursday night club at the Newlands Hotel, Tile Hill Lane, “featured weekly a local singer or group in the guest spot”, thus enabling us to hear an overall performance rather than the usual couple of songs” (Coventry Evening Telegraph).

By 1973, John, with neighbour Dave Bennett, had got another club going for a few months at the Rose and Woodbine in North Street, a venue to be used later by Dave Cooper. The following year, John first introduced folk to the local biking community by helping to start a club at the Antelope Motor Cycle Club near the Butts.

A feature on this club by the Evening Telegraph reporter, John Lake, ran “The Antelope Club, Coventry, exists primarily for motor bike enthusiasts. But members are rapidly becoming hooked on a secondary interest – folk music. “Their Wednesday folk nights were inaugurated several months ago by Dave Higgins and Alan Burnham…with the help of another member – John Drittler, a leading local figure in local folk circles, the weekly session has become a permanent fixture. John has proved invaluable both as co-compare with Dave Higgins and as a resident singer….

Sean Cannon, Dave Bennett, Malcolm Neal, Mick Stuart, Pete Rigg and Rod Felton are all regular performers and very often the organisers are faced with too many floor singers and too little time – a very healthy sign.”

The article refers to guests booked at the club, including Diz Dizley, The Ian Campbell Folk Group, Barry Skinner, Andy and Janet and One Day Thomas. The club also featured the first local performance of ‘Up and coming singer- guitarist” Chris Newman, now working with Fred Wedlock.

The Grange Folk Club (GEC Stoke)

In around 1974, John became one of the many hosts involved at the Grange, a club now sadly missed by many people, and probably at its peak of popularity at the tiem that John was running it. I shall go into the history of this club in greater detail next issue, for reasons that should be hopefully clear by then.

Simutaneously with the Grange, John started his seventh venue at the Golden Cross in the City centre, a club where I appeared on one occasion along with Folks cartoonist Den Clarke, in the days when we performed our ‘piss take’ routine and narrowly avoided a good lynching from the artists that featured in that set! Despite that, the club was highly successful and popular with many students from the Lanchester Polytechnic who, on more than one occasion, booked John to do a guest spot there. The Cross folk club was taken over eventually by the Other Rob Armstrong.

For a quick run down of what else was happening in the Coventry folk scene, the following list of clubs may bring back some interesting recollections from readers;

The Three Tons Folk Club – started in 1970 and was organised by Dave Coburn, Paul Burdon and Rod Felton, with assistance from Lol Pavey. This venue lasted two years and then Dave took over the running from John at the Boatyard., which featured local singers on Tuesday or Thursday nights and lasted another two years.

At the same pub on Fridays, but called the Owl Folk, was the club hosted by Clem McHale. This club tried to feature as many areas of folk music as possible and booked occasional guests.

Monday, still a popular night at the Village Pump, a long running club mentioned in the first part of this series, which featured dancing and was hosted by Magic Rantabout.

Dave Sampson

The Denbigh Arms folk club in Monks Kirby met on Saturday nights, hosted at first by the Gaels and later Dave Sampson, who then moved nearer to town when he started the Fletch folk club of Fletchamstead Highway. At the same time, Dave ran a Birmingham club at Roebuck in Erdington. In 1974 Dave had also started a club at the Pilot in Radford, where appeared, among others, Joe Brown of the Bruvvers fame. These were Dave’s four main ventures, all of which were very successful and well attended clubs.

From Broadgate Gnome

As well as the Owl Folk Club and Napton, Friday was the night for the Kenilworth Folk club at the Virgin and Castle, predecessor to the present Sunday night club at the Burnt Post, hosted by John Macintosh, bassist for the resident band, Sneak’s Noise. The Coventry folk Club met fortnightly on Fridays at the New Inn, long Lawford, and the residents were Silver Myter. in 1976 the Magic Lamp also opened on a Friday night at the Hope and Anchor, White Friars street, hosted by Bob Powell and Pete Willow, with the assistance on Nick Hill.

Another long running club was the Rocky Road folk club which met at the Bear Inn, High Street on Sundays and featured mainly Irish and Scots music. The resident singer, Billy Davoren.

The Bedworth Folk Club used to meet on Tuesday nights at the Woolpack Inn, hosted by Pete and Malc. The club now meets at the corner house, Bulkington on Thursdays.

Early pic of Down Country Boys

Another busy night was Wednesdays when you could visit one of many clubs including Folk Centre at the The Globe Hotel, Warwick, which had various residents, Bluegrass, held at that well known folk venue – the Bull’s Head, Brinklow, hosted then by the Down Country Boys, Cedars Folk at the Cedars Hotel in Coundon, hosted by Pat Cooksey and Tom Collins and the Henley College Club hosted by Folklore, then at the New Inn, Longford although they have since moved to the new Phoenix in Broad Lane. Two more clubs that opened on Wednesdays in 1975 were the Grapes hosted by, among others, Julie Duckworth and Nellos, a popular venue for a club that stayed open until the wee small hours, organised by Dave Higgins, and featuring some superb guests.

Folklore

By the mid 70’s clubs had opened also at the Climax, the Forty Thieves, Hertford Arms, Gosford Park Hotel, Navigation Inn, the Cheylesmore and a whole host of other places.

Many of these clubs were able to book guests and still survive, at least for a while. Apart from the many local acts who received bookings and return bookings, such as the Grunt Band, Mick Stuart, Sean Cannon, Pete and Sheila Rigg, all of whom are featured just as much in local clubs today, were often treated to appearances of Diz Dizney, Derek Brimstone, Ian Campbell, Gerry Lockran, Cliff Augier and the like, who sadly do not play in the area so frequently, as there are decidedly less clubs which could afford top run regular folk nights of that nature.

So to conclude, here is an appeal. If there is anybody who would like to risk his resources to open, say, a Friday or Saturday night club in the Centre of Coventry, booking such guests to appear, and if there is any pub landlord who would offer the venue, without charging the organiser for the privilege, there would be a lot of people, I’m sure, who would make a point of supporting that club, thus bringing back the spirit of folk that existed in the late 60’s and early 70’s.

Next issue, I hope to go into more detail of some of the clubs mentioned above. Any helpful information is most welcomed.

From Folks magazine – Coventry c 1979

These are the covers of the Folks – the Coventry folk magazine edited by Pete Willow and co c 1978 – 80.

Here are a selection of graphics and adverts etc from Pete Willow’s Folks Magazine – Coventry 1978 – 80

According to an article in FOLKS magazine (edited by Pete Willow c 1979) and written by Ben Arnold, the Coventry Arts Umbrella Club hosted Coventry’s very first folk club.

Ben Arnold

Ben Arnold

” It wasn’t until 1962 that moves were made to organise a folk music venue where people who did want to hear folk singing could go in peace. The venue was the Coventry Arts Umbrella Club, which existed for the benefit of those who enjoyed art and music in general. It provided an opportunity for the pioneers of Coventry Folk including Ron Shutttleworth ( http://www.folkplay.info/Ron/Biography.htm) and Barry Skinner to generate an interest in folk music.

The regular get together’s at the Umbrella Club only catered for a minority interest but it did serve as a starting point for dedicated individuals to plan Coventry’s very first folk club. This was opened one Thursday in May 1963 at the Binley Oak, Paynes Lane and was called, suitably enough, the Coventry Folk Club.

Ron Shuttleworth

To quote Ben Arnold, “Coventry’s first folk club was formed out of a common love of what at that time was an esoteric form of expression and desire to bring to the public at large something which had been theirs for hundreds of years.” The hosts were the Troubadours, a group formed by Barry Skinner and consisting of John Allen, Lee Soloman, Pete and Marlene Roberts, Terry Illingworth, Brian Sutton and Bob Bruce, although not all at the same time. Also involved with the band were Brian Curtiss and Dick Newton who later joined the Down Country Boys.”

Although the folk club went on to develop further at the Binley Oak in 1963, followed on by a range of clubs in the city in the 60’s and 70’s and beyond, a tradition Saturday club was still active at the Umbrella until 1970.

Of course up until the Umbrella closed at Queen Victoria Road back end of 1972, there were various combinations of folk and poetry sessions at the Umbrella blogged about in the post entitled Humpoesic Happening on this site.

Read more about the Coventry Arts Umbrella Club here http://coventryartsumbrella.blogspot.co.uk/

Poems from Folks Magazine
Coventry folk magazine edited by Pete Willow 78 / 79

Q OF Q’S by Pete Rigg

The Qizzard of Quixel has mislaid his quill
In a delinquent moment of thought!
He suspect that he left it just here on the sill
but he isn’t as young as he ought.

Profounding the purpose he ponders his choice:
To confess himself victim of fate?
Or retreat to a corner and practice his voice –
And hope he’s not left it too late!

……………………

Preparation for Progress – by Pete Willow

See the waterfall give way
hear the sudden cease of sound
feel the humid beast of day
pray upon the crumbling ground.

Smell the roses taste the fungus
don’t stop there – there’s more to come
use the senses dropped among us
cosmic anatomic bomb

there’s more to this than meets the eye
the nose the tongue the nerve the ear
we’ve many more in store set by
for revelation when it’s near

for evolution now its here.

…………………….

HYPOTHESIS – by Pete Willow

the telephone voice is in the mind
the speaker is not really there
the misty source you cannot find
between your ears beneath the hair

A personality to sell
without the visual technique
commended by a ringing bell
you sit and listen to him speak

he imitates your every friend
beyond perception of the eye
and also strangers with no end
of proposition’s to imply

a telephone is tangible
obtained by those who wish to show
that though life is material
they do believe in GPO
……………………..

OFFSEASON by Nick Lawrence

The last crisp packet flutters slowly to the ground,
The streets all lie deserted, devoid of human sounds;
Soon the winter winds come rushing through
all these untidy tired ports we knew;
summer months of wear and tear
Leave paths for only sheep to stand and stare;
Rocks crumbled by the dust of hurried feet
are washed down again by driving sleet
chilled by the icy northern blasts
tearing down man’s futile summer tasks;
I see the land that used to be
washed down again by rain and sea.

I breath sharp air with salty tang
as all around me blow lazy summer sands
soon jagged cliffs and sheltered caves
are set free in autumnal green and mauve;
once again the fulmar flies
on stiff-winged swoops and lofty glides;
cliff-tops bare and gullies harsh
sweep rain from moorland into marsh

And suddenly I know I’ve been shown
all such beauty is not for my eyes alone;
If like me you’d stayed and seen
The winter moon on wet sands gleam
and heard the thundering of the waves
whistling with the wind through Merlin’s cave,
You’d see that man is just a passing phase
that time and patience will erase
for the wave that sweeps the human race
out of time and out of place
will leave the rocky cliffs and sandy bays
for only the eyes of sheep to gaze;

Forever with the changing tides…..