How Rock ‘n’ Roll Grew in Coventry During 1950s

by Pete Clemons

We all know that Rock ‘n’ Roll had its beginnings in America. But its impact in the UK was equally as profound. So much so that BBC radio would not initially play rock n roll. Instead you had to go searching around stations like Radio Luxembourg to hear it.

Artists such as Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and many others all came to prominence during this period and had a tremendous influence over here in the UK.

So much so that this influence inspired home grown acts such as The Shadows, Tommy Steele, Lonnie Donegan, Billy Fury and Cliff Richard and a whole host of others who produced their own versions of this new music.

It all began in the UK, I guess, with the Bill Haley and the Comets single ‘Shake Rattle and Roll’ which hit the top 10 during January 1955. The follow up, ‘ Rock Around the Clock’, failed to impress initially but after it was featured on the Blackboard Jungle film on release that all changed as the song hit No1 during December 1955.

Elvis Presley, who had been releasing records in America since 1954, first came to prominence in the UK with ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ released during Jan/Feb 1956 on the previously ‘respectable’ HMV record label.

As for Coventry, the earliest reference that I can find for any rock n roll references, dates back to mid to late 1956. The cutting I found advertised the film ‘Rock Around the Clock’ that was being shown at the now demolished Plaza cinema in Spon End. And this featured the music of Bill Haley and the Comets.

Around the same time a double bill of James Dean films was being shown at The Empire in Hertford Street. These events may well have possibly given rise to the birth of the teenager as we know them today.

It is also worth noting that at Coventry Theatre a yearly variety show, also known as the birthday show, tipped it’s hat toward rock ‘n’ roll in October 1956. The opening number of the show, which normally had a topical theme, involved a group of youngsters dancing to ‘Rock Around the Clock’. Topping the bill on that particular birthday show was Jimmy Jewel and Tommy Cooper.

Next up came the film ‘Shake Rattle and Roll’. This first appeared in Coventry cinema’s during January 1957. Ironically the storyline for this film is around the banning of rock ‘n’ roll. January 1957 also saw the UK release of the follow up film to ‘Shake Rattle and Roll’. And this was titled ‘Don’t Knock the Rock’. Again it featured the music of Bill Haley.

These films led to teenage commotion in the cinemas up and down the country. A prediction was that the forthcoming visit to the UK by Bill Haley and the Comets could provoke even more rock ‘n’ roll related trouble.

Bill Haley and the Comets were actually formed during the early 1950s as a country band. As time passed and influences grew they developed the rock ‘n’ roll sound. And Bill Haley would tour the UK during February 1957. And that tour would take in Coventry with 2 shows sold out shows at the Gaumont in Jordan Well later known as the Odeon. And judging by the thousands who were outside the Gaumont at the time of the concerts, could have sold out many times over.

Such was the anticipation around Bill Haley’s visit that a week before the concerts at the Gaumont a band called the Sid Phillips Orchestra had played at Coventry Theatre. Trumpeter Kenny Ball, who was at that time a member of the band before finding fame with his own band, broke into a rendition of ‘Rock Around The Clock’ to frenzied applause from the audience. This kind of thing was, by all accounts, unheard of at concerts of this nature.

A year after the Bill Haley visit media reports suggested that rock ‘n’ roll was on it’s way out. However I did find a report in a Coventry newspaper that very much disputed this claim

1956 had also the year that coffee bars began to spring up in abundance. Initially, they had opened in London some years earlier, but this new phenomena was also spreading nationally to city’s such as Coventry.

Coffee Bars were mainly independent which gave them that individual and unique touch. They were furnished with the cheapest Formica or plastic products available. And these coffee bars began to give the teenagers of that time, who had grown out of youth clubs, an outlet and a meeting place. They had exotic names like The Sorrento, El Cabarna and La Tropicale.

Some of these coffee bars like The Milano on Radford road, The Domino on Gosford Street and The Drumbeat on Holbrook Lane were also doubling up as music venues playing a mix of recorded music on the juke box and live music in the coffee bar itself.

And it was at the Drumbeat Club on Lockhurst Lane railway bridge that one of the earliest rock n roll bands formed in Coventry. They were called The Zodiacs and they first came together during 1959. They were formed by drummer Nigel Lomas and singer Maurice Redhead. The pair had first met at the Drumbeat in 1958.

The Drumbeat was actually a cellar club beneath the coffee bar, Nigel used to get up and sing there and have an occasional go on the drums. Also in the Zodiacs in those early days were Terry Wyatt and Graham Peace. Other people Nigel remembers from that time, and who were associated with the Zodiacs, were singer Mick Van de Stay and guitarist Jim Smith.

1959 also saw the formation of another Coventry rock n roll group. Called The Vampires they were fronted by none other than the legendary Vince Martin who later moved to Friars Promotions in Whitefriars Street and formed his own VM rock bands company from Earlsdon.

NME commentary on Bill Haley January 1955

NME Chart November 1955 as Rock Around the Clock is featured in the film Blackboard Jungle and hits the top of the chart.

 Post lock-down Coventry

by Pete Clemons

The easing of lockdown restrictions has seen the very welcome return of live music to the city. And gigs have returned to Coventry incredibly rapidly and with quite a bang. After such a long time away it has felt really good to be able to get out and about once more.

The last time I was in the building, now known as The Empire in Hertford Street, was when it was the ABC theatre back in the late 1970s. Amongst other films I remember seeing the Led Zeppelin documentary ‘The Song Remains the Same’ and ‘Saturday Night Fever’ in there. To gain entrance you climbed an outdoor staircase up to where the balcony is now.

Today however, you gain entry via an escalator. Entering the venue you are faced with two stages. Which is quite impressive because, if you have several bands on, it makes changeover between bands a lot slicker and quicker.

Then we have the pop up Assembly Gardens venue. A multi purpose area for socialising and entertainment. The Gardens also boasts a couple of stages. One undercover within a tent and another outdoors.

The magnificent settings of Coventry Cathedral, within both the new and the old ruins, have played host to live music and chat. Being mindful of those who feel that entertainment should not be within these settings it is still a spectacular place to hold such events.

The bands themselves seem to be on fire as well. Rather than sometimes feel as though they are simply going through the motions they do appear to be genuinely enjoying the new found freedom of being able to perform again. It is like they have been straining at the leash and have finally been set free.

Each of the bands I have seen play have come across of really enjoying the experience again. For the musicians involved, at times you could almost feel their joy at being able to do what they love once again.

As appreciative it was for the venues to organise seated and socially distanced gigs in between lock-downs. Special mention must go to places like The Arches Club in Spon End, The Gatehouse Tavern and The Queens Hall in Nuneaton.

Each of those places, along with a few others, managed to keep live music going when they were allowed to between restrictions. Overcoming every obstacle thrown at them. It will be a long time before, those that attended any of the gigs, forget the distantly spaced tables and temperature guns. That said, and despite their valiant efforts in keeping things going, I really hope that all of that is finally behind us.

Finally, CV folk club at the Albany Theatre and both Nuneaton and Bedworth folk clubs are now up and running again after the long lay off.

 Tarragon

by Pete Clemons

The last time I saw Callum Pickard play live was at the Old Grammer School. It was during 2018 and he was fronting his band The Third Look. It was a really excellent gig and if a band was ever on its way, it was them. I really thought they were on the cusp of something special. They were tight, they were inventive and they just seemed to bring something different.

Then to my complete and utter surprise The Third Look split. Despite the reasons being very understandable it was still a shock.

Since then Callum has been working on a project he has called Tarragon. And Callum has put every ounce of his being into this venture. From working all the hours he can get to fund it, to the writing of the songs and playing all the instruments on it.

‘I’ve been working on new music for the past four years, funded myself through being a Deliveroo cyclist in my home town. I’ve ended up working with some of my heroes in the process and I’m so proud and excited for people to hear it!’ mentioned Callum on a social media post.

March 25 2021 saw the release of his first single, ‘Follow the Sign’. It has since been added to the ‘Fresh Finds’ indie playlist.

About the single Callum mentioned: ‘I’m over the moon to share my debut single, ‘Follow the Sign’.

Thanks a million to all the people that were a part of this and all those that were involved. Thanks so much to my hero and now friend, John Helliwell from the band Supertramp who laid down some gorgeous Saxophones for the track’.

He continued ‘It’s an incredibly sensitive song about my sister and her physical illness and how she’s overcome the obstacles in her life since her diagnosis and shown so much determination to never give up, she’s an absolute trooper and inspiration to me and many others. I can’t wait to see what the future holds with this project. Take a listen and follow your heart to the finish line’.

A second Tarragon single ‘Our Meaning’, a song that Callum began writing in his teens, was released 29 July. An album has also been completed and is now awaiting release.

On the live front Callum, along with Loz Pettite, have been busy preparing for them. In fact Tarragon made an impressive debut recently at the Jephson Gardens in Leamington Spa. Tunes aired included: Barkey, Follow the Sign, Our Meaning, Autumnal Natalia, Catching Full On (solo), Sudden Whispers, Time Lies, Hail Hollow (solo), Hoard the Pieces (solo).

Callum and Loz complimented each other wonderfully. On a rain threatened afternoon, which thankfully held off, it was a satisfying kind of gig where you are convinced that the band is going to take off and you are getting the privilege of seeing them at close quarters. A decent crowd had gathered who appeared to really appreciate what was happening on stage. Further gigs for Tarragon are booked for Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester. Check out their facebook page for details and news.

https://www.facebook.com/Tarragonuk

Spandau Ballet –
Coventry Theatre

By Pete Clemons

With 2020 and now 2021 being a bit of a rollercoaster amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and we still continue to navigate the country’s situation. It has not been ideal, it has been unsettling for many. But however you have approached it, for many it has been a productive time as they have strived to keep boredom at bay.

I personally have completed several of those projects I had been putting off. And with more time on my hands from being unable to go out and hear live music I have listened to a substantial amount of music I had not heard for years. And that has re-introduced me to several bands I had long forgotten about.

And one of those bands was the Kidda Band or The Incredible Kidda Band as they were also known. The re-introduction with them came after a listening to a couple of box sets titled ‘Power Pop’ and ‘1978’, both released by Cherry Red Records, and a chance conversation with someone who had reminded me about them.

The Kidda Band were from the Nuneaton / Tamworth area and I remember seeing them play a couple of times, around 1978, at the long gone Ryton Bridge Hotel. They also played a lot around Nuneaton and clubs like Mr Georges in Coventry City centre. They were a very exciting band but never seemed to get anywhere apart from one time when they were advertising a ‘fans’ coach down to London where they were playing a prestigious gig.

New Wave was a term I began to hear in 1977 to describe a clutch of new artists whose music shared much of the energy of punk, but boasted a more sophisticated level of musicianship and a heavier reliance on traditional pop melodies. And, despite the Kidda Band being around slightly earlier, for me, that was where they sat. in fact, Nick Lowe used the phrase ‘pure pop for now people’ to describe his approach to the music at that time.

That chance conversation led to a quick search of the internet and the purchase of two CD’s by the band. ‘Too Much, Too Little, Too Late’ a double CD release and ‘Made in England’. It is worth noting that, as far as I can make out, none of the original singles the band released are on these discs. They are made up of demo’s of those singles and other out takes. That said they are still incredibly good releases full of the energy that the band displayed on stage.

I always remember a review of their debut single, Everybody Knows on the Psycho label, that appeared in one of the music magazines. It read ‘Their optimism is unfounded, this single is horrible. Record producer Tony Visconti, famous for working with David Bowie, T-Rex as well as Thin Lizzy had different ideas. He wrote: ‘Great !!. A good record at last. Good solid beat and the group actually sings in tune. This could chart (as they say in the biz). They sound young but aren’t quite punk or new wave. I commend them for keeping their sound strong, simple and uncluttered.’

The Incredible Kidda Band (aka The Kidda Band) were a British power pop band formed in Nuneaton on 10 February 1976 –

Alan Hammonds (guitar/) vocals),
Graham “Kidder” Hammonds (percussion/ backing vocals),
John Rollason (guitar/ backing vocals),
Les Rollason (bass),
Graham “Dick” Millington (drums).

Later members of the band were
Mark “Tarky” Bates (drums/ backing vocals),
Keith Taylor (bass),
Mick Rollason (guitar/ backing vocals) and
Paul Gardener (drums).

 Frankie Lymon 1957

by Pete Clemons

During July 1956 a singing group from New York, The Teenagers featuring Frankie Lymon, were riding high at number 1 on the UK singles chart with their hit single ‘Why Do Fools Fall In Love’. The song also became a No.6 hit in the US. At 13, Lymon became the youngest performer to hit the top.

Less than a year later The Teenagers, namely Herman Santiago, Joe Negroni, Jimmy Merchant and Sherman Garnes began a tour of the UK. The tour was a mix of one nighters, that involved two performances per evening, and week long residencies with one of those being held at Coventry Theatre.

Despite the obvious commercial success the music press were not quite so impressed. It seems, that the Teenagers didn’t really have a stage act. And things just didn’t go right for them during their tour. At times the group were simply bundled onto the stage to an ecstatic reception from their teenage fans.

One report mentioned that Frankie Lymon did most of the on stage announcing and, almost without fail, this went ‘Now we would like to do a tune which we had the pleasure of doing in the States’. More than once Frankie announced the wrong title. Another time he missed his introduction, stopped the orchestra, and had to begin for a second time. He encouraged the kids to clap along, several times on the ‘on beat’ instead of the ‘off beat’.

Frankie had his own microphone, while the other four performers had to share two mike’s. Additionally the backing group did very little other than to provide harmonies to Frankie’s lead and join him in a couple of dance routines which ‘would require a lot more polish before they were any help to the presentation’.

Even the final curtain was a fiasco – play off music from the pit, a stage hands fist clearly visible on the curtains, all in preparation for a final bow that never came.

When asked for a photograph on his own Frankie refused point blank. We work as a group, said one of the Teenagers, its a picture of all of us together or non at all.

The highlight of the tour however was even a two week booking at the London Palladium. But even that was not without controversy. Fourteen year old Teenagers’ singing star Frankie Lyman was barred from making a ‘live’ television appearance with the Teenagers’ on ATV’s Sunday Night at the Palladium.

This had been because, the then, London County Council regulations forbid performers under the age of 16 from appearing on commercial television on Sunday’s. Instead viewers saw a recording of Frankie and the Teenagers made at the Palladium earlier in the same week.

Had the programme been shown on the BBC then the performance would have been legal. The singing group had been appearing at the venue for two weeks. The controversy brought the BBC and ATV in line as to live performances.

Selections for the tour included Love is a Clown, Am I Fooling Myself Again, Teenage Love, Paper Castles, The ABC’s of Love, I’m Not a Juvenile Delinquent, I Promise to Remember and the massive ‘Why Do Fools Fall in Love?

 The Platters

by Pete Clemons

It is well known that artists such as Bill Haley, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent all appeared at the Gaumont Cinema, later the Odeon, on Jordan Well.

Not quite so well documented was that, The Platters and many others, played the venue too. The vocal harmony group toured Europe during 1957, appearing on the hit television show Sunday Night at the London Palladium.

Less than a year before The Platters appeared in Coventry, nobody had ever really heard of them. But they soon became one of the hottest attractions around.

The person responsible for a lot of The Platters success, at that time, was Samuel ‘Buck’ Ram a prominent songwriter and arranger for the likes of Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and Count Basie.

Buck Ram wrote the hits ‘The Great Pretender’, ‘The Magic Touch’, ‘Only You’ and ‘Heaven on Earth’. He also put together the classic version of the ‘jive’ group after meeting the rich voiced tenor Tony Williams.

Despite The Platters forming some years earlier, it was Buck’s idea to rebuild the group around Tony, instead of sending him out as a solo artist. This was during 1955. First to join the combo was another tenor David Lynch. Next came baritone Paul Robi who had called Buck Ram’s ‘Personality Productions Office’ for an audition.

Then came Zola Taylor who Buck had seen competing in an amateur singing contest in Los Angeles. Finally the slightly built Herbert Reed completed the quintet. In addition to having a rich bass sound Herbert was also the comic and dancer of the band.

For a while the individuals who made up The Platters could not have been happier with their good fortune which seemed to come around overnight. With Buck Ram also managing the band, he saw to it that they had their own accountant and legal adviser because, as he mentioned, he wanted them all to develop a business sense and save and prosper from the money they would earn.

At the time of the Coventry concert The Platters had just released an album for Mercury Records which bore just their name for its title. And, because of it’s sales Mercury Records was already putting together a follow up album which would be called The Platters Volume 2.

The harmony within the band wasn’t to last though. The ‘classic’ line up lasted till around 1959/60 when Tony Williams left the group. And one by one, other members resigned. Various line-ups using The Platters name have toured concurrently ever since. In later years the Platters became notorious for the number of competing groups touring the US and Europe using the name.

In addition to the Buck Ram hits mentioned above The Platters also covered songs like ‘My Prayer’, ‘You’ll Never Never Know’, ‘It Isn’t Right’ and ‘I’m Sorry’ during the Coventry concert. At the concert, which happened slap bang in the middle of the classic line up’s existence, The Platters were supported by Jack Parnell and his Orchestra who had performed their own set during the first half of the evening.

To warm the audience up Jack Parnell and his band performed tunes such as ‘Lime House Blues’ and ‘Rock Around the Clock’. Guest vocalist Gene Williams contributed on songs like ‘Singing the Blues’ and ‘Heartbreak Hotel’.

The Gaumont / Odeon closed during 1999. The building was bought by Coventry University and December 2000 saw it become the Ellen Terry building.