‘Totally enthralling’ – Trembling Bells wow Coventry at Old Grammar School.

Pete Clemons has his say on a brilliant gig in unusual surroundings

On the evening of the day that the results of the European elections were being announced, then what better way to get away from it all there was, than to go and see a band play live in a great setting?

Ironically the band visiting Coventry, a city who voted to leave in numbers higher than the national average, was a group from Scotland, a country that voted to stay in.

And in the wonderful yet unusual surroundings of the old 12th century Grammar School, on the corner of Hales Street and Bishop Street in Coventry city centre, rock band Trembling Bells certainly lifted the spirits.

I had read that Trembling Bells were a folk rock band but I didn’t hear anything remotely traditional about them. They are electric, they are led by a drummer, the vocals are distinctive and haunting, the organ was dominant and they are heavy on improvisation.

That’s not to say that I was disappointed, far from it, this adventurous and, musically, tightly knitted band do make a great noise which I really enjoyed.

Trembling Bells opened the evening’s events with the attention grabbing ‘Wide Majestic Aire’. This was followed by equally absorbing tunes such as ‘My Father was a Collapsing Star’ ‘Killing Time in London Fields’ and ‘Christ’s Entry into Govan’.

For well over an hour I was totally enthralled and completely in the bands grip. Their frantic yet controlled energy just demanded attention.

I had noticed beforehand that the previous evening Trembling Bells had supported Belle and Sebastian at the Royal Albert Hall.

And effervescent drummer, Alex Neilson, made reference to it saying that it had been a warm up for the Coventry gig.

Trembling Bells are no strangers to Coventry as their latest CD release along with their previous effort ‘The Sovereign Self’ have both been released by Tin Angel Records.

And as if to capture the spirit of the unfolding events further, another thing that made me smile was the title of a track on the band’s latest CD release – ‘England was Aghast’.

Given the circumstances that surrounded the day, it just couldn’t be made up.

Finally the Tin Arts Centre, based at the Canal Basin, deserves a great deal of credit.

Over the years they have certainly had great vision in providing live music in a variety of buildings around the city that, I for one, would never normally had the opportunity of venturing into.

Flashback: Celebrating The Beatles’ Revolver 50 years on.

Pete Clemons takes a look at a ground-breaking album for the Fab Four.

The spring and summer months of 1966 was a quite remarkable time.

May saw Liverpool crowned as First Division (now Premier League) champions, Everton would win the FA cup 3-2 after overturning a 2-0 deficit with just over quarter of an hour left to play and July saw England win the World Cup at Wembley Stadium, overcoming West Germany 4-2.

It was also a mixed year for Beatles fans.

This was the year that John Lennon claimed that the band were more popular than Jesus.

The double ‘A’ side single ‘Paperback Writer/Rain’ had topped the singles charts.

And, during August of that year, The Beatles announced that the concert played at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, in California, would be their last ever, except of course, if you do not include their infamous roof top gig.

At the time John Lennon claimed that The Beatles music was not being heard and that it had all become a freak show.

Also during August, just before that infamous American tour, The Beatles released their remarkable and ground breaking album ‘Revolver’.

This article may appear a little self-indulgent, with some of it written as I remember it through the eyes of a highly impressionable young lad who was not even ten years old at the time, but Revolver was the first LP that seemed to fully grab my attention.

Not that there was a lot wrong with the previous Beatles albums.

I do remember the bands previous releases ‘Rubber Soul’ and ‘Help’ being played in our family house on Hipswell Highway.

But up until ‘Revolver’, and for me personally, it had all been about the single and the songs I had heard on Brian Matthews and Ed Stewart’s Saturday morning radio programmes.

For this next release though, John Lennon had promised something very different from what had gone before.

The Beatles were, by 1966, beginning to spend more time in the studio. From all accounts the band spent more than 350 hours at Abbey Road for this release.

This resulted in the band becoming more focused on the lyrics and along with producer George Martin and studio engineer Geoff Emerick their attention turned to experimenting more on the technical side of electronic sound production.

According to John Lennon, he wanted it all as one continuous piece. No space between the tracks.

“They wouldn’t wear it,” he said.

Taking ‘Revolver’ at face value I was hearing music that contained, in addition to the normal instruments, tape loops, backwards guitar parts, sitar, tabla and much much more without actually knowing what these instruments were or the technology that had created these sounds.

For me personally, and I guess many others, this was the first time we were exposed to such sounds.

It was only a few years ago that we were celebrating 50 years since the very first Beatles single released during October 1962.

And now here we are looking at ‘Revolver’ 50 years on.

So this gives an indication just how far the band’s music had progressed in those four years.

Even the lyrics which made up ‘Revolver’ were also captivating. The songs spanned the spectrum from humorous to political. At times they were dreamy and almost childlike. But almost all had a deeper meaning. Yet at the same time, each of the songs on this a wonderful album, could conjure up visions and pictures of the situations being described to us in song.

As writers and band mates The Beatles were still very tight and close knit during 1966. And the ideas were bouncing off each other. ‘Taxman’ the opening track, for example, was credited as a George Harrison but it turned out that John added touches.

And so it continued. ‘Yellow Submarine’ was down to Paul McCartney and John Lennon but George helped finish it off. ‘Good Day Sunshine’ was another Paul song but John admitted to throwing a line or two in. ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ was a John Lennon song but the title came from an expression that Ringo Starr used a lot. And ‘Here, There and Everywhere’ was Paul’s completely but John mentioned that it was his favourite. So there was no sign yet of the bitterness that would eventually engulf the band.

Unusually, at around the same time ‘Revolver’ was released, the single ‘Yellow Submarine’ and its B side of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ was released. I say unusually because more often than not single releases by

The Beatles were, more than often, non-album tracks.

Many people will, I think, agree to the fact that this album was some kind of invisible stake in the ground for them. It sounds fanciful but I do think that this record affected the way, young people in particular, thought and how they saw life. It just seemed to open up all kinds of possibilities.

Particularly if you had an artistic leaning.

Not everyone was convinced by the album at the time of its release. This fascinating statement in the Disc and Echo magazine from August 1966 gave an insight into the views of Ray Davies of the Kinks.

After listening to each track on Revolver three or four times Ray gave this infamous verdict: “This is the first Beatles LP I’ve really listened to in its entirety but I must say there are better songs on ‘Rubber Soul’.

“Still, ‘I’m Only Sleeping’ is a standout, ‘Good Day Sunshine’ is second best and I also like ‘Here, There and Everywhere’.

“But I don’t want to be harsh about the others.

“The balance and recording technique are as good as ever.”

And for those who still needed convincing about the direction in which the music was heading then the next Beatles release, and arguably the greatest pop single of all time, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, would continue to turn more heads and open up a lot more minds.

The subsequent album release ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, released during mid-1967, would see the Beatles at the zenith of their career.

Remembering when Birmingham’s best would travel to perform in Coventry

Pete Clemons remembers when Brummie bands of the 1960s would make the short trip down the A45

With the eventual breakup of Denny Laine and the Diplomats, the Vikings had now been joined by Bev Bevan.

Another Jeff Lynne connection is fully covered in John Davies excellent book that pulls together his memories as bass player of Coventry’s own The Mad Classix. Guitarist Ron Smith left the band during February 1966 and

Jeff Lynne attended a few rehearsals with a view to being his replacement. However the Classix came to an abrupt end after a gig on St Patricks Night 1966 when their van was broken into and all the gear stolen.

During 1966 and the music scene was changing rapidly. It was moving away from beat and was fast becoming more influenced by the rock and the more progressive style of music. This led to another crop of Birmingham bands including The Ugly’s, who were led by Steve Gibbons and The Way of Life who at one time boasted future Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham in their ranks, were also beginning to gig in and around the city.

The Nightriders had now become The Idle Race but the band was still playing dates at The Cheylesmore and The Walsgrave.

The classic line up of The Moody Blues played the Leofric jazz club in 1967. The Move played the Locarno during 1968. I could mention the Spencer Davis Group and Spooky Tooth doing similar. But are these bands strictly classed as fully fledged ‘Brummie bands’?

And this trend continued through until the end of the 1960s. Even Bobby Davies, who by now was touring the as Jasper Carrott would find his way to the City Arms folk club in Earlsdon and the Biggin Hall pub on the Binley Road.

The above is not a definitive list. It is merely an indication of who I know played here. A notable exception that sprang to mind was The Rocking Berries. They were another prominent ‘Brummie’ band back in the 1960s but they did not seem to visit Coventry in their own right. Maybe it was because they had a few hit singles early on and became nationally known fairly quickly. They did however appear at Coventry Theatre on a package tour with Roy Orbison. And I am sure there were other notables who I have missed or simply did not realise.

The history of Birmingham legends ELO and their connections to Coventry

In his 125th article for Coventry Telegraph, Pete Clemons discusses the Brummie icons

In terms of gig going this year I have seen both Jeff Lynne and Trevor Burton. One of these great musicians you may have heard of the other you may not be quite so familiar with. But you will almost certainly have heard music that each of them has contributed to.

During the 1960s and 1970s Birmingham was awash with some great bands and some incredibly inventive musicians. And the music they produced has, over time, been heard in all corners of the globe. The motivation for some of these musicians, apparently, was an alternative lifestyle to that in the steel foundry or car factory.

The linkage between the two names above is a little tenuous but not just the fact that both were from the second city. For those who remember that fine rock band, The Move, then you may have already realised the connection.

The Move had formed in 1965 and scored a succession of hit singles including ‘Fire Brigade’ and ‘Flowers in the Rain’. The band initially comprised of Carl Wayne on vocals, Ace Kefford on bass, guitarists Trevor Burton and Roy Wood and Bev Bevan on drums.

All the band members had been with 60s beat bands and, with only twenty miles of the A45 separating us, there are loads of Coventry connections. Carl Wayne’s band The Vikings, for example, had been regular visitors to The Sportsman’s Arms and other pubs within the city.

Jeff Lynne who, at the time was with The Idle Race, received an offer to replace Trevor Burton in the Move during February 1969. He declined in the hope that The Idle Race would get the success they so richly deserved.

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A year or so later, however, Jeff Lynne did eventually join The Move. He was possibly enticed by the grand ideas of Roy Wood the bands charismatic multi-instrumentalist. These ideas involved introducing more orchestration into the music and these plans would eventually come into fruition by way of the Electric Light Orchestra or ELO as they later became more commonly known as. Both Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood were very keen on experimentation and production. And with Bev Bevan also making the move the ELO were born.

The Move and ELO actually overlapped each other for a period. ELO released their incredibly ambitious first album on the legendary Harvest Records label at the back end of 1971. The album contained the successful single ‘10538 Overture’. The Move released their final three track single during mid-1972 by way of the wonderful ‘California Man’.

However during the recording of the bands second album Roy Wood, with regret, left ELO later citing management issues. But you can’t keep a great songwriter down for long and Roy was soon back. This time with a rock ‘n’ roll band called ‘Wizzard’. In fact Roy Wood’s Wizzard soon found themselves at the forefront of the glam rock years.

Both ELO and Wizzard would appear at the National Jazz Blues and Rock Festival held at Reading during August 1972. ELO performed on the Saturday and Wizzard on Sunday. Toward the end of 1972 ELO played at the Lanchester Polytechnic (Coventry University). Around the same time Wizzard also played the Lanch with Coventry band Asgard as support.

After Roy Wood’s departure Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan had set about re-building ELO by enlisting an assortment of rock and classical musicians. By the time of the release of their second album the band had expanded to an eight piece that included multi-instrumentalist Richard Tandy who had also had an input to the first album.

Richard had been at school with Bev Bevan and was well known on the Birmingham circuit having been involved with various bands as well as appearing on The Move’s hit ‘Blackberry Way’. Richard has been an integral part of ELO ever since.

The album ELO2 was released during January 1972. This produced another hit single. A classical reworking of Chuck Berry’s ‘Roll over Beethoven’. Despite a succession of hit singles though ELO could still had not made an impact on the UK albums chart, although they were beginning to create waves in America. This all changed, however, during 1976 when the band went platinum with the release of the album ‘A New World Record’. From then on they could do no wrong. By the end of the 1970s ELO were one of the biggest selling bands in the UK.

As with all these massive bands, the creativity of the individuals involved took on different directions. Bev Bevan had a spell with Black Sabbath, then after ELO officially disbanded in 1986, Jeff Lynne would become a founding member of late 1980s super group The Traveling Wilburys. Bev Bevan would briefly revive the ELO name during the late 80s early 90s when he put together ELO part 2.

The 1990s saw Jeff Lynne in demand as a producer. He has never hid the fact that The Beatles were a huge influence so it must have been a massive high for him when he became involved with hugely successful Anthology collection. The then ‘new’ Beatles songs titled ‘Free as a Bird’ and ‘Real Love’ were produced by Jeff Lynne from mono demo tapes.

The majority of the various strands of The Move and other ‘Brummie’ bands have always remained close to their Birmingham roots. As such the Trevor Burton Band, for example, can be regularly found playing pubs such as The Broomfield Tavern. Of course you will need to check his website for gig dates. Similarly Roy Wood puts on his hugely popular gigs around Christmas time.

Up until recently you could hear Bev Bevan on his really enjoyable Sunday afternoon radio programme on BBC WM. And Bev recently toured with longtime friend Jasper Carrott and several other ‘Brummie’ musicians, including Trevor Burton, who put together a show that was a mixture of music and comedy.

And now, under the name of Jeff Lynne’s ELO a new album of original music is available. ‘Alone in the Universe’, was released last September to good reviews and, with it, came a supporting tour that was effectively a career spanning spectacular. The tour visited Birmingham and quite memorable it was too.

Flashback: Remembering Coventry band Jigsaw

If the success of a band is measured by its pure persistence and longevity then Jigsaw would actually have been up there with the very best of them, writes Pete Clemons.

Jigsaw, formed in 1966, were a group from whose band members came from both Coventry and Rugby. Essentially they were born out of the ashes of another Rugby group The Mighty Avengers but also included members of The Antarctic’s, The Beat Preachers and others. They were active continuously for almost the next twenty years.

Formed by guitar player Tony Campbell the band started life as a six piece and, later on in the bands life – and through the formidable song writing team of organist Clive Scott and drummer Des Dyer – Jigsaw scored a succession of worldwide hits.

Their discography runs to many singles and albums.

In addition to Campbell the original line up was Scott on keyboards and vocals, Barry Bernard on bass, Tony Britnell on saxophone, Kevin Mahon also on sax and Dave Beech on drums. Des Dyer joined a year or so after the initial formation of the band and, in addition to taking over on drums, he also took on the role as lead vocalist.

Soon after forming, Jigsaw without doubt became one of the hardest gigging bands in the region. They quickly secured regular slots at venues The Walsgrave, The Cheylesmore, The Baginton Oak and The Parkstone Club.

During this period it would be fair to say that Jigsaw were more in keeping with the other ‘underground’ bands of the day. They released their first single during 1968 and their music was blues based and incredibly ambitious. This was reflected in their debut concept album ‘Letherslade Farm’, released on the Philips label in 1970.

This incredibly rare album, named after the hide out used by the great train robber’s bears no resemblance at all to the music that they would later become renowned for. Essentially it is a satirical view of the music industry, at that time, and is one continuous story which tells the tale of a broken down pop singer. Arguably ahead of its time ‘Letherslade Farm’ did have its moments though in the form of ‘Diesel Blues’ and a version of  Bach’s ‘Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring’. Sadly none of the bands early releases charted.

Undeterred, the hard work and the regular round of local gigs continued for Jigsaw and during the very early 1970’s the band was given an opportunity to turn professional.

The security of day jobs needed to be considered so it must have been a huge decision for the band members to have to make.

It was at this point that Kevin Mahon decided to leave the band. However, the rest of them went for it and the band’s first major engagement was a European tour supporting soul legend Arthur Conley.

Jigsaw had, by now, gained a tremendous reputation for their stage presence. Wild and exciting was probably a more apt description. Explosions, fire eating, drum kit demolitions were quite common place. I can still clearly remember seeing them once damage a concert room. To be fair the hole left in the ceiling was totally unintentional – the band member leaping from the top of the organ was clearly unaware of the venue’s low headroom.

The next step change for Jigsaw came when sax player Tony Britnell left the band. He would however return to the music scene when he became a member of Shakin’ Stevens and the Sunsets.

During the early to mid 1970s the whole music scene was splintering in all directions and, like other bands, Jigsaw took on a whole new direction. Clive Scott and Des Dyer began writing and recording more mainstream music with the intention of appealing to a wider audience.

But a change of fortunes for Jigsaw was just around the corner. The success of Scott and Dyer as song writers was almost instant as their song ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ was a top 20 hit for Opportunity Knocks winners Candlewick Green in 1974.

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Although not released as a single Jigsaw’s own version of ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ can be found on the 1974 album ‘I’ve Seen The Film, I’ve Read The Book’. Further singles were released at this time but without chart success. This meant them being dropped by their then recording label, BASF.

Then in November 1975 another Scott and Dyer composition, ‘Sky High’, became a huge worldwide smash for Jigsaw. The song became instantly recognisable. The single, their first for the Splash label, peaked at No.9 in the UK and No.3 in the U.S. It was also a huge hit, selling incredibly well, in Japan. An album of the same name also sold strongly.

1976 saw the band hit the U.S. top 30 again with “Love Fire” and then again in 1977 with “If I Have to Go Away” which charted in the UK as well. But it was in America where Jigsaw, arguably, gained most of their chart successes.

1978 saw bass player Barry Bernard leave the band. Various replacements came and went but by the early 1980s Jigsaw had split for good and ceased to be a live unit. It was not quite the end of the music though as, through the advent of the compact disc, the inevitable greatest hits albums and compilations followed.

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Post Jigsaw both Clive Scott and Des Dyer continued their song writing. They worked with artists such as Boyzone and Bad Boys Inc.. During 1983 and again in 1985 Scott and Dyer made attempts at representing the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest by entering the ‘A Song For Europe’ competitions. Their 1983 song ‘With Love’ performed by Casablanca finished a creditable third while their 1985 effort ‘Energy’, this time performed by Des himself, finished fourth out of the eight songs considered.

Clive Scott then moved into the world of production, and along with Ray Hedges, oversaw several recordings that The Nolan’s had produced for the Japanese market. The Nineties saw him team up with the Northern Soul DJ turned producer Ian Levine and worked with Blue, Billie Piper, Gloria Gaynor and the Italian artist Lorenz. Sadly Clive passed away aged just 64 during May 2009.

Whether you prefer their progressive rock style of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s or the lighter, more mainstream, pop of the mid 1970’s then Jigsaw’s considerable and varied legacy is well worth searching out.

From the Tic Toc to the Kasbah: A history of the Coventry nightclub

Pete Clemons on the historic venue in Primrose Hill Street

The venue that we currently know and love as The Kasbah is more than 100 years old and is one of the oldest and most enduring entertainment rooms in the city.

Situated at 51 Primrose Hill Street this incredibly proud looking building first opened as the Globe Picture Theatre in 1914. Quite incredible when you think about it now but at the time it was one of four cinemas in Hillfields alone. Movies were shown within it for more than 40 years until it closed in 1956. The venue was then re opened in 1957 as the Majestic Ballroom.

The Majestic, in the main, had resident big bands such as the Wylie Price Orchestra augmented with singer Jean Hudson. Friday’s and Saturday’s were advertised as evenings of modern dance. Although during the afternoons you could attend rock ‘n’ roll dances and learn to jive to band and disc. These sessions continued until July 1961.

The venue was then taken over by the Mecca organisation that spent the rest of the year rebuilding and redecorating. During early 1962 announcements began to appear that bookings were now being taken at the renovated building with its luxurious decor and modern amenities. March of that year the venue opened as The Orchid Ballroom.

Initially the venue held beat, gala nights and bingo but The Orchid quickly became the premier venue for Irish entertainment. The show bands had now arrived and they were led by the likes of Johnny Flynn, Hank Locklin, Maurice Lynch and Jack Ruane.

Early 1963 and the Orchid Ballroom had now come under the control of entertainer and entrepreneur Larry Page. Larry had actually been a pop star in his own right having toured with Cliff Richard and the Shadows and became known as the ‘teenage rage’.

Page retired from performing at the end of the 1950’s and joined Mecca as a consultant manager.

During his stay in Coventry he hosted many Sunday night talent contests and had even managed to get record deals for local artists Johnny B Great and the Goodmen, Shel Naylor and The Avengers.

He even discovered and created an all girl group, The Orchids, who legend has it, were named after the venue. The Orchids, along with the bands named above all signed to Decca records and all had several minor hits on that label, although The Avengers had, by then, become The Mighty Avengers when their singles were released.

His time in Coventry was relatively short. The Orchid ballroom had, by now, become a magnet for some of the most influential record producers and music publishers of the early sixties. Both Phil Solomon of Decca records and Edward Kassner of President records were both serious players in the music industry back then and their remit was to entice Larry back to London.

Of course they succeeded but the legacy he left us with was long lasting and continues to impress today. After he left Coventry during 1964 Larry then went on to manage The Troggs and The Kinks and, of course, set up his own Page One record label and later The Penny Farthing label.

From the mid sixties the emphasis switched from beat to ‘pop’ music but throughout all this change the Irish 32 club continued through till the end of the 1960’s when, as a music venue, the Orchid Ballroom closed its doors.

After that the venue became a bingo hall. And then some years later the venue closed for good and lay dormant.

That was until during the very late 1980’s when Jon Gaunt began to breathe new life into the building.

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Jon had founded a co-operative theatre company called Tic Toc. The theatre company, along with its other spin off’s had performed at other venues within the city such as the Coventry University and at Hertford Place but now wanted its own permanent home.

The company received funding from West Midlands Arts and the Arts Council of Britain. With this money they bought and renovated the disused and now derelict hall. It reopened in 1990 as The Tic Toc Club.

Looking back the Tic Toc Club had an illustrious history yet albeit short lived history. The Britpop scene was then in its infancy and the club captured the magic of those early days by playing host to Blur and the Ocean Colour Scene.

The Tic Toc also embraced the buildings earlier history by naming its two rooms the orchid suite and the majestic ballroom.

The Tic Toc club even teamed up with the Coventry Telegraph music column ‘Street Talk’ to bring some valuable exposure to the local scene at the time with performances by Splash With Sonya, The Giraffes, The Bonediggers and many others.

For a brief while in 1993 the venue became known as Antics and played host to future internationally important bands like Porcupine Tree and Ultramarine but by early 1994 it was all over.

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But it did not remain closed for too long as it soon re-opened as The Colosseum. The Colly, as it was fondly known as, opened in 1995 and initially concentrated on the dance scene holding regular themed nights such as Fundamental and the Groovy Garden which began at the Dog and Trumpet in the early 1980’s and still continued at The Kasbah till fairly recently.

However by the turn of the century it had established itself as an incredibly important live venue for local bands and also attracted future household names like The Libertines, The Arctic Monkeys and Keane as its fame widened.

During late 2007 and after around 12 years The Colosseum was refurbished and re-launched as its current incarnation The Kasbah. The Kasbah is very popular with Coventry’s strong student base and holds a weekly mix of club nights along with the regular live bands.

As a live venue the Kasbah has built on the successful foundations of the Colly and is also well established on the national touring map. Recent highlights include Cage the Elephant, La Roux and Noah and the Whale.

Upcoming gigs include The Cribs, and Gabrielle Aplin.

100 years of history is an astounding feat for any building nowadays. Let’s hope, after this future landmark birthday, that it continues to grow for years to come.

Pete Clemons with another Coventry Telegraph article – 

Coventry singer songwriter Cliff Hands gets ready to launch new album

Pete Clemons details the rise of a fantastic and much-loved local artist

One of the most eagerly anticipated CD releases of 2016, for me at least, is that by Coventry troubadour Cliff Hands. And for Cliff, who is much admired by fellow musicians and music lovers alike, this will be his third album release.

Being first made aware of the album toward the end of 2014 it was actually my most eagerly awaited release of 2015 but, as you will see, aligning everything together for a project like this is no easy task, particularly when you are part time musicians.

But, align everything they did and the completed product is upon us. The album is titled ‘Two Inch Down to Dust’ and I do not say this lightly, but I truly believe that this particular set of songs, have hit the mark in terms of quality and craftsmanship that has surprised me. This release is nothing short of sensational.

Whenever I have had the chance to talk to Cliff he always seems to come across as a very pleasant and unassuming sort of guy. But this is in complete contrast to his songs which can carry quite a sting.

Cliff is also incredibly modest about his past recording achievements which I personally have held in high regard. But I have always felt that his songs are worthy of far greater recognition than just the Coventry’s circuit for singer songwriters. Not that there is anything wrong with the Coventry circuit. Far from it, but I am sure a wider audience will relate with this release.

For this album Cliff plays acoustic guitar and occasional mouth harp. He has also enlisted the talents of David Sanders on lead guitar, Wes Finch on bass, and Gee Vaughan on drums. Timely contributions have also been added by Hazel Stalker on piano and Bradley Blackwell on upright bass. And each of these musicians has complimented the songs by adding sensitivity or an edge where required, light or dark where necessary. And all are understandably and rightly proud of what has been achieved here.

Cliff’s lyrics are, I would describe as, observational. He creates songs about instances where some of us quite often would turn a blind eye to. They can also incredibly witty and thought provoking. And probably down to their sheer honesty they can also create a sharp intake of breath. His songs, for me at least, instantly conjure up images and paint pictures.

Like many musicians nowadays, Cliff is a ‘spare time’ musician. It is not his day job and neither is it a major source of income. I believe that they call it a ‘labour of love’. By day Cliff is a carpenter and I guess is he in contact with all manner of folk. Just maybe, it is that contact which sharpens his senses and puts life into perspective for him and from where he is able to channel his thoughts into his songs and music.

Cliff released his debut album ‘Crawling from the Woodwork’ during 2008. It was a completely solo work. At that time he was quoted as saying the following “Most of the songs on the album have been written over the previous two years, although one or two are a bit older than that. Although I have been busy with work and family commitments, I never gave up playing and would always be strumming and writing. But then a couple of years ago I stumbled across the Tin Angel live music venue in Spon Street and the people I met there inspired me to start up seriously again’’.

For his second album ‘Street Shanties’, released in 2012, Cliff attempted to enhance his songs and take them to another level.

Another by Pete Clemons for the Coventry Telegraph – 

Caravan to roll back the years with West Midlands performance this March

Caravan are a UK band formed in Canterbury during the second half of the 1960s and who initially comprised of Pye Hastings on guitar and vocals, Richard Coughlan on drums, Dave Sinclair on Hammond Organ and Dave’s cousin Richard Sinclair on bass and vocals.

They were also augmented by Pye’s elder brother Jimmy Hastings who added to the bands overall sound immensely by way of alto sax and flute.

In fact the roots of Caravan can be traced back to a band called The Wilde Flowers.

And it was from the base point of the Wilde flowers that, in addition to Caravan, a host of other bands and artists such as The Soft Machine, Kevin Ayres, and Robert Wyatt first came to prominence.

Caravan are best recognized as being one of a number of bands from the Canterbury area who, at the time they first formed, wanted to write more than just two minute beat and r ‘n’ b songs.

And creating this band was a means of cutting loose and writing a unique style of original music.

It all started brightly enough for Caravan, in terms of album releases, as the band’s first two LP’s were showered with glowing reviews.

But it could have, so easily, all ended in tragedy during an early gig at the Marquee, London in 1969.

As once described by Richard Sinclair: “Pye came up to grab hold of the microphone and say “Hello!”. All that came out to about 500 very damp and sweaty people was “Hellll!” He didn’t get the “lo” out. He fell backwards into the drum kit in a shower of sparks, like the biggest light bulb you’ve ever seen.”

As for playing in the Coventry and Warwickshire area I have dates of Caravan playing in Nuneaton as far back as 1970.

Their most recent appearance was at the Coventry Jazz Festival of the August bank holiday Monday of 2004 where they performed in Castle Yard in the shadow of the old cathedral.

There were many other visits by the band in between those years.

Caravan were quite wonderful musicians and equally adept as writers but the band members individual music tastes and growing ambitions, ranging from rock and jazz and through to the incredibly ambitious, would at times collide and this would lead to constant change.

And this, I guess, is what happened to Caravan during a tumultuous period after the release of the ever popular third album ‘In the Land of Grey and Pink’ during 1971.

First Dave Sinclair left and then shortly after the bands next album, ‘Waterloo Lily’, both Richard Sinclair and Steve Miller – Dave Sinclair’s replacement – had gone.

Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan rebuilt the band and took Caravan in a new direction.

The line-up expanded to a five piece and included Geoffrey Richardson on viola as well as the returning Dave Sinclair.

(Dave Sinclair would actually dip in and out of the band over the next 30 years adding that certain uniqueness to the overall sound).

So grand and melodic was Caravan’s music that it always gave the impression that it was created to be accompanied by an orchestra.

And so it was to be as this very thing happened on 28th October 1973 when Caravan shared the stage with The New Symphonia Orchestra at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London.

But the theme had been set for the remainder of the 1970s and early 1980s. Good solid musicians passing through the ranks producing a succession of equally impressive albums.

With each of the albums contained a diverse and varied range of songs that carried light and dreamy lyrics along with a spattering of humour.

Unusually though, Caravan’s 1982 release ‘Back to Front’, did just that. It reverted to a four piece but more than that.

It saw a reunion of the original foursome who created those first three ‘classic’ albums.

By that time each of the band members had ‘day jobs’ and apart from the odd gig, during the 1980s, Caravan appeared to have ceased as a band.

That was, however, until 1990 when Caravan, along with several other bands from the 1970s, were asked to appear for a forthcoming TV series called Bedrock.

The live recording took place at the Central TV Studios, Nottingham.

The only stipulation for this particular gig was that it had to be the classic line up of each of the bands who were to appear (as described in the very first paragraph above).

The success of that reunion led to a succession of further sold out gigs and then followed another period of quiet until 1995 when Caravan would resurface once more with a new album called ‘The Battle of Hastings’.

By now Jim Leverton had been recruited on bass as Richard Sinclair had moved on to his ‘Going Going’ / ‘Caravan of Dreams’ projects. Geoffrey Richardson had also returned to the fold.

There then came a quite delightful album titled ‘All Over You’. This was essentially ‘a delve into the archives’ which, in turn, produced an album of mainly acoustic re-workings of familiar tunes from the Caravan back catalogue.

Between 1996 and 2007 Caravan included lead guitarist Doug Boyle. This addition had a profound impact on the music in as much that spectacular guitar solos were added to the mix that, in turn, brought a whole new dimension to familiar old tunes.

A follow up to ‘All Over You’ titled ‘All Over You Too’ appeared in 1999. Again it raided the archives but this time, with Doug Boyle featuring, the songs were freshened up but had a more edgy feel to them.

In addition to some quite memorable gigs this period also saw the release of another new studio album during 2003 which was titled ‘The Unauthorised Breakfast Item’.

And still today Caravan continue as an active band, albeit sporadically as there have been quiet periods over the last 10-15 years. 2005 saw the beginning of health issues for drummer Richard Coughlan that had an effect on his drumming.

A new drummer, Mark Walker, joined the band in December 2010 although Richard still performed alongside on percussion.

Sadly, Richard Coughlan passed away during December 2013.

Pye Hastings said at the time: “Richard was a fine musician and will forever be remembered, not least by us, but by the fans all around the world.”

2013, however, also saw Caravan at work on a new album which was sponsored through ‘crowd funding’.

That album’ titled ‘Paradise Filter’ was released early 2014. And a short tour was put together to support it. And yet another of, the nowadays, very occasional Caravan gigs appears in the region during early 2016.

Frustratingly, although they were reasonably popular, Caravan never quite gained the recognition that I felt the band so richly deserved.

Although they did have their moments some forty years ago when, arguably, they were up there with the very best that was around at that time.

The current line-up is Pye Hastings still on guitar and vocals, Geoffrey Richardson on guitar and viola, Jan Schelhaas on keyboards (Jan had been with Caravan during the mid 70s and rejoined the band during 2002), Jim Leverton on bass and Mark Walker on drums will be appearing at the Artrix, Bromsgrove during March.

Not one by Pete Clemons this time but a link he sent me by James Rodger that’s relevant here and from the Coventry Telegraph.

St. Patrick Goes to The Punjab in Albany Theatre event

BY JAMES RODGER

Two of Coventry’s longest established communities celebrate each other’s culture in a spectacular evening of music and dance on March 19 at the city’s Albany Theatre.

The project is the brainchild of Joe O’Donnell, one of Coventry’s finest Celtic musicians and a resident of the City for 20 years.

Joe has a lifelong interest in Indian music and its likely influence on European music, including Celtic music, not least of all his own.

Joe has assembled a talented array of Coventry’s musicians and dancers to explore this rich cultural association.

They will combine traditional and new material, much of which will be seen and heard for the first time.

The artists involved are folk group Comhaltas, seniors from the McHugh Irish Dancing School, Uillean Piper Aiden O’Brien, Asian dancer Sabrina, and Fine Lines featuring tabla player Juggy Rihal, voted Best Musician in the Bhangra Music Awards 2015.

Topping the bill is Joe O’Donnell’s Shkayla, the powerhouse quintet that also features Si Hayden on guitar. Especially for this event the band will perform some of Joe’s celebrated but seldom-heard album ‘Gaodhal’s Vision’.

The original recording featured Ireland’s greatest blues and rock guitarist Rory Gallagher, with whom Joe worked extensively in the 1970s.

The event is being promoted in partnership with Coventry Irish Society.

The Society has recently expanded its remit into supporting Irish artistic activity in order to increase awareness and develop links within the wider community.

Tickets are on sale at The Albany Theatre box office, price £12 (with concessions).

Book tickets here.

http://joeodonnellsshkayla.com/

Caludon Castle School’s music heritage stretches far and wide

By Pete Clemons, on the talents who have walked through the doors at the school.

Walking to Caludon Castle School you take a path off Axholme Road which is on the left if approaching from the Belgrave Road end – several other entrances to the school did exist though.

Follow this path down its slope and in front of you, you are met by a bridge created within a long multi-storey single structure building.

The head masters office and other facility rooms are on the left hand side of the building, the school assembly hall to the right. The ‘bridge’ which spans between the single structures is the library.

As you pass under a bridge the space seems to open out into a huge paved area that fans out and slopes down to five large multi storey buildings.

Each of these buildings was known as a block and was sub divided into class rooms, common room etc. Each block contained two ‘houses’. You spent three years in one ‘house’ then two years in another ‘house’.

Beyond the blocks, the tennis courts and the indoor swimming pool the River Sowe meanders through the school playing fields. It was traversed by several bridges which led to even more playing fields.

Well at least, those are my memories of the school I attended. However I left more than 40 years ago. I understand that, during the intervening period, it has been demolished and rebuilt into a more modern facility. Nowadays, as I understand it, it is a mixed academy. During my time there it had been an ‘all boys’ school.

As I remember, sport was a big thing within the school. You were encouraged to take part in a variety of sports. Rugby, football, hockey and other activities were on offer.

Corporal punishment such as detention and the cane was also on the curriculum if you stepped out of line.

When I attended Caludon much was made of the sports stars who had graduated from there. And rightly so. Both Bobby and Trevor Gould signed up for Coventry City Football Club. Bobby, in fact, would go on to be transferred to Arsenal for £90,000.

Back in 1968 this was a huge sum of money. Since I left Olympians like Rachel Smith, Marlon Devonish and the highly rated Coventry City football player James Maddison, have also passed through the ranks at Caludon Castle. Even author and Singers FC historian Lionel Bird attended the school.

But what about those who left Caludon Castle School and who were drawn towards the arts? In particular, within music. Here, I have attempted to gather together some of the names of those who attended the school and took that path.

So in no particular order:

Pete Waterman OBE . I am sure that the guy needs no introduction. However Pete has had an illustrious past that includes being a record collector, producer , songwriter , radio and club DJ and television presenter . He also managed The Specials for a brief period. While a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting team he wrote and produced many hit singles for the likes of Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley.

Paul King at the King exhibition at Coventry Music Museum

Paul King . Joined Coventry band The Reluctant Stereotypes. Went on to form Raw Screens and then in 1983 re-launched the group as the highly successful ‘King’. After the demise of  King, Paul then moved into television, where he presented MTV.

Tony Wall. Tony took a similar musical path, in the early days, as classmate Paul King. Tony became bass player for The Reluctant Stereotypes / King and others.

Al Docker . Al’s first band was as far back as 1970 joining rock band Tsar as drummer. In 1971 he formed Love Zeus who played the Belgrade Theatre and other venues. Al also played in a short lived band called Zoastra alongside another notable Coventry musician Kevin Harrison. Al Docker was involved also with the Coventry Arts Umbrella Band nights, a songwriter and went on to play keyboards with a reggae band he formed in Cornwall – The IS. Check their music out on Reverbnation – Al was also a main songwriter with the band. https://www.reverbnation.com/theissite

Al Docker in the late 60’s as a young man.

Al Docker in the 1990’s playing keyboards with The IS (a reggae band he formed when he moved to Cornwall).

(Note additional to the article) – In 1972 Al Docker, who sadly passed away in the late 1990’s, wrote one of his lyrics – Castle Stones – in Trev Teasdel’s Communication Book (a communal book for writing and art work). In 2013, Trev sent the lyric to Al’s younger brother John Docker, who wrote his own music to it and recorded it with his band Lies – Here https://soundcloud.com/coventrylies/castle-stones)

John Docker . John is the younger brother of Al Docker. Continues to serve with Coventry band Lies (a link to their music on Soundcloud ) where he plays bass guitar. Lies were formed back in 1991 and classify themselves as an alternative rock band. An album by Lies titled History can be found. John is also a stalwart in the Coventry music scene regularly updating people of events and other such information via various media sites. He has also been a sound engineer and a promoter predominantly during the 1990s. John was also in a band called Dubotion and put on bands at the Golden Cross in the 1990’s.

John Docker

Lies

John Docker’s Band nights at the Golden Cross.

Rod Felton. (The Link is to a page about Rod Felton, with some of his tracks and other material) Fondly remembered by anyone who knew him, Rod will always be associated for his work on the local folk circuit. Whether it is playing or hosting gigs. Rod was also a member of  The New Modern Idiot Grunt Band alongside Rob Armstrong. At the turn of the century he teamed up with Dave Bennett and performed under the name Im ‘n’ Im.

Folk group Black Parrot Seaside

Geoff Veasey / Arnold Chave / Mick Harris / Graham Caldicot. All served with rock band Black Parrot Seaside during the 1970’s although by 1978 the band had drifted into folk music. BPS released a couple of albums and a single. One of their tunes ‘I am a Vacuum cleaner’ was even played on a John Peel late night show. Geoff Veasey currently runs Nuneaton Folk Club.

Nigel Ward. Took the folk music route and was a member of  The Oddsods along with Pete Willow and others. Now a member of  Sly Old Dogs who are essentially The Oddsods under a different name.

John Gravenor / Al Walder . John (vocals) and Al, later replaced by Jim Pryal (drums), met up with John Alderson and Ade Taylor lead guitar and bass respectively during the late 1960’s and formed the well-respected blues band Wandering John. Even today, when I read or hear a conversation about the Lady Godiva bar (the dive), the comment ‘who remembers that guy with the huge shock of red hair who used to frequent the place’ always seems to pop up. Listen to their 2010 reunion gig at the Sphinx in Coventry, over several youtube videos. Excellent footage – Part One here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYHpcJg1vY0

From The Broadgate Gnome 1970

Team 23

Craig Ward as he is now Of course there were other schools in Coventry who could boast similar ‘successes’ stories if not better – Provide me with the names and I will happily put an article together.

Ian Evatt: Ian currently plays for Chesterfield and I think it is fair to say that he is now in the autumn of his career.

But what an illustrious career he has had as he played for QPR, Blackpool and Derby.

For the latter two clubs Ian played at the highest level of English football, the Premier League.

Ian Muir: A Tranmere Rovers legend.

Ian was once described as the best forward never to have played in the top tier of English football.

Peter Hormantschuk: A Coventry City defender who, will long be remembered, for his 30 yard goal against Manchester United.

Knee problems curtailed what should have been a longer career in the game.

John Burkitt: Another ex-pupil who made the grade at Coventry City FC.

John and who played a total of 5 games.

He also turned out for Nuneaton Borough and Rugby Town.

Ian Darnell: Ian represented the Coventry Rugby team during their days at Coundon Road.

Ron Cook: He has become an actor of considerable note.

Ron starred as Parker in the film version of Thunderbirds.

Parker, of course, was the butler to Lady Penelope.

He has also appeared in Dr. Who, Sharpe and Mr Selfridge amongst other TV programmes.

Neil O’Connor: Brother of Hazel.

Neil was a member of Midnight Circus along with Dave Freeman and Joe Hughes.

Midnight Circus played live at the after carnival gig at the Memorial Park and the Lower Holyhead Road Youth Centre during the mid-1970s.

With the addition of  Pete King the band evolved into The Fly’s who gained chart success with the album Waikiki Beach Refugees during 1978.

Neil Richardson: During the 1970s Neil played alongside Ray Harte, Iain MacDonald, Ted Duggan and John Duggan as bass player in the incredibly busy Coventry band Drops of Brandy.

Along with other work they picked up, Drops of Brandy had residencies at Bloomers Club in Birmingham and Tiffany’s in Liverpool.

Before all this though Neil had played bass for another Coventry band Nak-ed-en along with guitarist Loz Netto and drummer John Bradbury.

Craig Ward: Began as a DJ alongside the likes of Pete Waterman, Graham ‘Tilly’ Rutherford and Mark Brown.

During 1974 Craig, along with Graham Wood, became co-director of the Sunshine music Agency based in Gulson Road.

Sunshine Agency specialised in management, publicity and promotions. Bands they managed and promoted included Smack; Walrus Gumboot; A Band Called George and many more.

John Walker / Tez Tehergee / Dave Blundy: When you have had a forty year plus musical career as a mainly ‘local’ band, who perform for the love of performing, and who have changed style from rock to folk then I guess change is inevitable.

And change Black Parrot Seaside certainly did during their four decades.

The band amassed a considerable amount of ex-members.

And it turns out that the four names mentioned in the previous article were not the only band members who passed through Caludon Castle.

Dave and Tez were involved with the first ever rehearsal of the band in 1975.

All three names mentioned here were guitarists with John Walker being involved with the band slightly later on during their evolvement.

While on the subject of BPS, former member Arnold Chave – who I mentioned previously – is now involved in a duo that goes under the name of Blues Division.

Brian Price: Brian is a member of the four piece acoustic group Driftwood who are based in Southampton.

He has a new album due in March 2016 titled ‘Like A River’.

Lieutenant Pigeon

Rob Woodward: A founding member of Lieutenant Pigeon who will undoubtedly be remembered for their chart topping single Mouldy Old Douhh released in 1972.

But there has been so much more to this accomplished piano player’s career in music.

Rob began life as a solo singer under the moniker of Shel Naylor and in 1964 recorded a single for Decca Records titled ‘One Fine Day’ which had been written by Dave Davies of The Kinks.

Steve Johnson: Bass player Steve replaced Pete Fisher in Stavely Makepeace who would also release records under the instrumental side project name of Lieutenant Pigeon.

Steve, with the blessing of the rest of the band, continued to tour under the Lieutenant Pigeon name long after that initial success.

Nigel Fletcher: Nigel is actually the third member of Lieutenant Pigeon to have attended Caludon Castle.

In fact the only member of the band not to attend the school was Rob Woodward’s Mother, Hilda, who also happened to be an accomplished piano player.

Nigel was the drummer, and with Rob Woodward, had also been a member of Stavely Makepeace whose career encircled that of Lieutenant Pigeon.

So once again I will sign off with – The above is not an exhaustive list and apologies to anyone else I happened to have missed.