The Passions song “I’m in Love with a German Film Star”was written about me, you might remember it. £ 5,000 a month was too much for my liver (that was quite a lot in the early eighties), so I drifted back to “RocknRoll” as a mercenary, journeyman, technician doing onstage sound for: Pretenders, Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers, UB40, PIL, Elkie Brooks, Earth Wind & Fire, Bob Marley, ABC, Bob Dylan, Barbara Dickson (Zal Clemonson of SAHB was in her band!) amongst others. So you see that early grounding in an unconventional lifestyle, living in the Wimpy, stood me in good stead “

Roadent continues
“Whilst working for the Clash I had been interviewed for a German documentary “Punk in London” After the demise of the Sex Pistols. The director of that documentary contacted me and asked if I would like to be in a tv show for German TV ” Brennende Langeweile” (Burning Boredom) featuring The Adverts. It was shite but as I had no means of supporting myself so I took the part. After I stayed in Germany, moving to Munich, where I got more work acting for German TV, I always thought I was a crap actor, but they were willing to pay me up to 20,000 marks (around £5,000) a month — who was I to refuse.) The biggest film was Das Ding (The Heist) in which me and four mates from the German army stole 250,000,000 marks, but all in 5 Mark pieces. The film was directed by Uli Edel who later went on to direct an equally bad actor — Madonna. I have always been touched by the idea of a song written about me, but not so sure about the Foo Fighters doing the same.”

Pete Chambers with Roadent in Coventry c 2009 for the erection of the Two Tone Plaque for Mr Georges nightclub in Coventry, where the Specials met Bernie Rhodes.

Scon (Roadent) with Christine Street in the Coventry Evening Telgraph July 1973. They both worked at Michael Rixom’s Hair Salon about the time Bowie had his hair dyed. They were the first in Coventry to follow Bowie’s style.

Roadent signing an autograph

Roadent with the Clash

Scon in his early days c1972 on the left.

The Wimpy bar hang out in 1972.

……………….

Pete Clemon‘s mentions Alternative Sounds, another Coventry music magazine which was created by Martin Bowes in 1979 as Two Tone broke through in Coventry. Martin championed a lot of the new Punk 9or punk inspired bands of the late 70’s in Coventry and initiated the Sent from Coventry album on Cherry Red.

Martin Bowes of Alternative Sounds 

Below – A selection of Coventry punk bands from the late 70’s / 1980. Roddy Radiation’s early band The Wild Boys, V Babies / Criminal Class / Stu Knapper’s Riot Act  and Terry Hall’s Squad.

               Part One – Hot Rod Ignited the Folk Scene

YOU know how you are able to retain some of your memories from when you are fairly young? Well an unusual memory for me is being able to recall, fairly vividly even today, an orange and cream coloured transit van that would be parked up in the road just behind the street I grew up in and a few doors away from my best friend at that time. I am guessing that this would have been the late 1960s. So to get the opportunity to write a few words about the van owner, 40 odd years on, is quite a thrill and honour.

The inside of the transit van, I remember, was covered in posters that depicted the names of major folk and blues acts from that time such as Julie Felix. I remember asking the owner of the van what it all meant and he told me that they were names of artists he had toured with. We kids just knew him as Roddy and it was only when I hit my teenage years that I began to realise just how popular, and well respected as a musician and songwriter, Rod Felton actually was.

Rod began his working life as a commercial artist, or a sign writer as they were known, at Whitworth-Gloster Aircraft Ltd based in Baginton but, after five years there, he was made redundant. At the time of his redundancy in 1964 he had already been folk singing for around two years in his spare time. The redundancy then focused his mind and his thoughts turned to becoming a professional musician as soon as possible.

To make ends meet, and so that he could concentrate on his music during the evenings, Rod took a on number of jobs that included a warehouse man, a painter and decorator and even a bread salesman. But Rod was, and still is, his own man. He is certainly very strong minded and the type who makes his own decisions and lives with them.

By 1965, and at 22 years old, Rod was appearing regularly at folk and blues clubs in Coventry, Rugby, Leamington, Birmingham and London.

And at each venue he appeared at he was always being asked for a return appearance.

The folk music and blues scene during the mid 1960s was very strong and Rod was proving to be very popular on the circuit within Coventry and around the Midlands and beyond in terms of bookings. Rod was also using his natural artistic flair to create his own advertising posters.

English Ritual Drama group, The Coventry Mummers, were formed in 1966. During 1967 The Mummers were invited over to Kiel in Germany for a series of plays. I am not sure what involvement they had exactly, maybe they were active Mummers for a while, but the invitation saw Rod and fellow Coventry folk musician, Geoff Smedley, travel over to Germany with the group.

While they were there alliances were built and contacts made. And these contacts would prove useful for bookings in around Kiel on a return visit to the city during 1968.

1967 also saw the birth of ‘The New Modern Idiot Grunt Band‘ who consisted of Rod and fellow fun loving musician Rob Armstrong. Rod and Rob had known each other well from the folk circuit. Rob had been performing as far back as 1963 and was equally well respected on the circuit. For a while Rob had been in a duo with Deserie Meikle who simply called themselves Rob and Des.

For the return visit to Keil, Rod Felton and Geoff Smedley, were, this time, joined by Rob Armstrong. Initially the trio went out there to give individual performances. But, so popular they became, the trio occasionally performed together and became known as ‘The Gentle Idea’. The German folk fans were treated to blues along with a helping of traditional and English contemporary folk music. Rod and Rob would also get the opportunity to perform together and play a rousing ‘Grunt Band’ set.

According to Rod, ‘The New Modern Idiot Grunt Band’ band name came to him in a vision during a dream. But for Rob it was more succinct and a simple case of too much alcohol providing the inspiration. Either way, this was an era when bands could get away with a bit of silliness by coming up with names like ‘The Bonzo Dog Do Dah Band’. The New Modern Idiot Grunt Band went out gigging under a variety of names. They used their full band name or were more simply known as as The Idiot Grunt Band, NMIGB and IGB.

The New Modern Idiot Grunt Band were not a folk group, they were not blues band. In fact they were not anything really. They were, however, a fun loving duo and existed purely to give their audience a good time. And whatever or wherever the gig was, you knew that it would involve much alcohol and general harmless outrageousness. And during those early days of the band the pair would, occasionally, be joined on stage by Sneaks Noise bass player Jon McIntosh.

Despite their easygoing outlook, Rod and Rob were very professional and very serious about what they did. According to Rob ‘we were serious but we were not very serious, we were professional but we were not very professional’. Rob then went on about their time together in the Grunt Band and, despite the great time together, how it was mostly him who took the lead, kept the band in check, and ensured that they both got to the gigs on time. Fairly quickly the Grunt Band became very successful and were very popular in many areas of the country.

Rob remembers well the Rugby Festival of 1969 which involved bands like Pink Floyd and King Crimson as well as the NMIGB. At the end of the festival, and late into night, there was still a sizeable crowd who still wanted more. So, much to the crowd’s delight, the ‘Grunt Band’ returned to the stage and gave the revelers an extra couple of hours of fun.

A week later Rob got rather excited when he saw a headline on that weeks NME (New Musical Express) that proclaimed ‘Jug Band rocks festival’.

Thinking that the late night festival goers must have included a music journalist Rob eagerly read the accompanying article. However, his joy did not last long when he realised that the article was on about Mungo Jerry who had performed the same weekend at a different festival.

Live recordings of the Grunt Band do exist as far back as 1967 but the band is barely audible. However, an acceptable live recording does exist from 1969 and from a gig that took place at The Three Crowns in Barwell.

It was recorded on good quality equipment and stands the test of time today.

………………………………………………………………….

Rod and His Mystery LP

Part 2 – Rod and His Mystery LP

Pete Clemons

The Reggae Rod Felton EP, (3 tracks) from Rod Felton – Singer Songwriter on Vimeo.

Rod and his LP mystery; IN the second and final part of his story, Pete Clemons continues to chart the career of folk maverick Rod Felton…

THE New Modern Idiot Grunt Band never actually split up as such. There was no animosity or anything like that. It was a simple case that the band ceased being a professional outfit and, as such, never went after the gigs anymore.

However, that said, the pair still managed to play at least half a dozen dates a year right through to the mid 1990s. In fact, for the right occasion, they still find the time to play the odd gig together. The most recent get together I remember was during 2010 at the Dave Bennett memorial gig held at The Maudslay pub in Chapelfields. By 1971 Rod Felton and Rob Armstrong began to branch out more and had begun to build and concentrate on their new respective careers. Rob, of course, needs no introduction to the path he took of crafting handmade acoustic guitars to an incredibly high standard. And for more than 40 years he has built these instruments for the great and the good.

Rob also formed a new folk group called ‘Music Box‘ who also included ‘Pip’ and then Colin Armstrong (no relation). Colin came across Rob when it was suggested he took a damaged guitar to Rob for repair. And between them they released the acclaimed album titled ‘Songs of Sunshine’ on the Westwood Record label.

Rod, however, began to concentrate on a solo career. He was also organising his own folk clubs at venues like the Three Tuns in the city centre, the City Arms in Earlsdon and many others. He was also spending a lot of time in London sharing a flat with the likes of Shelagh McDonald and Keith Christmas.

And in turn these clubs were attracting artists of the caliber of Shelagh, along with a host of other top quality names such as Shirley Collins, Mike Absalom, Alex Campbell and Magna Carta. The list is endless and all made several appearances at the various folk clubs around Coventry and Warwickshire at that time. The folk music scene during the first few years of the 1970s was very strong in this region.

Rod Felton also signed management and recording contracts with Barry Murray and Harry Simmonds who were managers and producers to the likes of Mungo Jerry, Savoy Brown and Chicken Shack. They in turn signed Rod up with the British Talent International Agency who handled the previously mentioned bands along with the likes of Prelude, Weather Report and Herbie Hancock. But one of the biggest unsolved mysteries surrounding Rod Felton is did he, or didn’t he, make that all-elusive album.

It is widely rumoured that Rod did actually record two albums that were never released and, to all intents and purposes, still lay hidden in some vault somewhere. One of the albums was allegedly recorded for the Spark record label which was a part of the Southern Music group. The other album was apparently recorded for the Dawn record label which was a subsidiary of Pye Records and where he had been backed by a jug band called Bronx Cheer. The link up with Bronx Cheer is certainly very true because Rod supported them for an appearance at The Marquee club in London during April 1974 and a record of that gig is available to view on the Marquee website.

I have scoured the archives of both the Spark record label and Dawn records but to no avail. The closest I have got so far to solving this mystery was when I spoke to Roger Lomas. It certainly seems as though a single was destined to appear. During the early 1970s, and I think this must have been closer to 1973, Roger Lomas was signed to Southern Music Publishers in Denmark Street in London. He introduced Rod Felton to Southern Music and, according to Roger ‘we recorded two tracks there together’. However, and also according to Roger, ‘I don’t know whether he ever recorded an album though’.

Part 3 – Farewell to Folk Star Rod

Part 3 – Farewell to Folk Star Rod

Pete Clemons 

SO, as widely reported by way of many tributes and remembrances in the press and other media, the world lost Coventry singer songwriter Rod Felton on Wednesday, March 26. Born on August 28, 1942 (Editor’s note – Rod’s funeral photo says he was born April 24th 1942) Rod was just 71.

A bout of chemotherapy for throat cancer had left him very weak and he finally succumbed to bronchial pneumonia and emphysema.

But, in keeping with Rod’s ‘doing it his way’ approach to life, even the lead-up to his funeral was not as straightforward as these things would normally be. And those who were close to him had to admit that, giving his family a final runabout, would have been in keeping with Rod’s sense of humour. You see, and not for the first time, Rod went missing for a while.

After his passing, Rod, was transferred to hospital. At some point in-between the incident documents were accidentally mislaid and this resulted in Rod being listed under the name of Donald Felton (part real name and part stage name) instead of his real name of Donald Rodney Feltham. As a consequence of the coroner not receiving any information Rod became ‘lost’ for a while. It resulted in Rod’s brother- in-law Alan and niece Kelly, a nurse at University Hospital, touring its catacombs and having to make a visual search until he was found. Apparently a joyous ‘there he is’ went up when he was discovered.

A little later, and after Rod’s whereabouts had been discovered, he was visited by his sisters Gill and Jan who remarked at how peaceful he looked. They likened him to ‘lying in state’ blissfully unaware of the events that had been going on around him.

Rod lost his mother May during November 2013 and had not been very well at all during that period. However, a few weeks before his passing, he seemed to be rallying around. He even phoned his sister Jan to announce that his voice had returned and to prove it he began singing down the phone to her. My darling girl, he said, the old vocals are getting stronger and the calluses on my fingers are returning.

The night before his funeral there had been a gathering and a celebration of Rod’s life at the Royal Oak in Earlsdon. As Rod once played a large bass drum for them, apparently never missing a beat, the celebration included Morris men dancing and singing out in Earlsdon High Street.

There was even a re-creation of a team photograph taken during Rod’s own Rod in younger Morris men days. His friends took up the same positions that they had stood many years ago but Rod’s sister Jan took front row centre position behind the bass drum. Poignantly, this had been the very position that Rod had taken up on the original photograph.

The Morris Men will be having a ceremony in October where, apparently, they nail a plaque to a tree in his honour. This particular honour dance will take place on Hearsall Common and is normally reserved for respected members of the group only.

The thing that passed my mind, that particular evening, was when it suddenly occurred to me as to how late the daylight had remained. I just happened to think that, for April, it seemed unusual for the darkness not to draw in until at least 8.50pm. Just me I guess.

Rod’s funeral took place on April 29 at Canley Crematorium. I remember that that particular Tuesday morning had started off rather damp and misty. There was even a drop of rain. But by midday glorious sunshine had broken through.

The chapel was packed with Rod’s friends and family. Not only were people stood in the aisles and at the rear of the room but there were masses of folk outside who could not get in. Despite the high turnout it all remained very orderly and dignified. Even the minister who conducted the service commented on the fact that in 20 years service at Canley he had never witnessed a crowd like it.

The theme of celebration, that was prevalent the previous evening, continued throughout the proceedings. One of Rods songs ‘And I Love You’ heralded the mourners into the chapel and another, and possibly the one he will be most remembered for, ‘Curly’, was heard during the service.

Now I will admit that I do not know who ‘Curly’ is. Maybe one day I will find out. But I had it on good authority that ‘Curly’ was present on the day. The ever traditional ‘Morning Has Broken’ was also heard. The readings included a eulogy, a poem written and read by Rod’s sister Jan, and a bible reading from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ‘To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven’ which was adapted into a song by Pete Seeger and made infamous by the Byrds.

At times, throughout the service, spontaneous accompaniment could be heard from the mourners which made for a most wonderful and memorable event. Rod would have absolutely loved it. And with donations being requested, a considerable amount of money was raised for Rod’s favourite charity the British Red Cross and Cancer Research.

Then after the formalities it was all back to Whitefriars Olde Ale House on Gosford Street where acquaintances were remade, stories of days gone by swapped and memories revived. Apparently by the end of the afternoon, due to the size of the crowd who had attended, the pubs supplies of alcoholic beverages had began to run into short supply.

Rod’s ashes will now be taken to Scotland where they will be released during a Spiritual Native American Ceremony. Originating from the head of the ‘Bear Tribe medicine clan’, Chief Two Trees, the ceremony releases you to the four elements of earth, wind, re and water. is form of spirituality was something Rod very much believed in.

Everyone I have spoken with recently seemed to agree that, as a lyricist and songwriter Rod could have ‘made it.’ .’ Yet the thought of ‘making it’ was not, I think, what Rod would have wanted. There would have been demands and expectations that he would not have enjoyed.

A legacy website has been talked about, as has a ‘Concert for Rod’ which is due to happen during August. e intention being that a website will contain his music, photographs and cuttings. But of course this will take time and can only be achieved when Rod’s possessions have been sorted through. And as Rod was in the process of moving house then his bits and pieces are currently in various locations.

Many people crossed paths with Rod during the various stages of his life. He seemed to have been known by a wide and varied range of folk. And he did have some very good and close friends who knew him better than most. But I am not sure if anyone actually ever knew the real Rod Felton. He was indeed a unique and special character.

……………………………………………….

July 1965 – Coventry Standard

Rob Armstrong with a guitar he made for Bert Jansch

NEW – PETE WILLOW’S TRIBUTE TO ROD FELTON IN COVENTRY TELEGRAPH

DESCRIBED by Acoustic Guitar Magazine as a guitar virtuoso there cannot be many music lovers in the Coventry, and surrounding area, who have never heard or come across Si Hayden.

Si, of course, has written over 500 songs, appeared on over 60 albums, and released 28 albums during a career that now spans well over 15 years. He has also written music for film, TV and radio. He has even featured on an EP that also involved comedian Rik Mayall.

Talking to Si you soon realise that being able to play an instrument is one thing but, for him, creativity and bringing something new to that instrument is everything. His enthusiasm and love for what he does also quickly rises to the surface. And guitar is not his only weapon of choice. He is at home on most stringed instruments.

Si is also very versatile and can easily adapt to play guitar in a variety of styles ranging from Jazz to Spanish and anything inbetween.

Well, for Si and label mate Paul Whitehead, a remarkable chain of events happened during 2013 which will hopefully ensure that their creativity and music will receive greater exposure during 2014 and beyond.

Alejandro Clavijo, founder of Spanish website ‘Reviews New Age’, released a compilation album during 2012 titled ‘Best of Reviews New Age: The Piano’. The album was a tremendous success worldwide. A dedicated website was created for it on facebook that has since attracted in excess of 20,000 followers. ‘The Piano’ has also received critical acclaim and received several awards in various ‘best of 2012’ categories.

Having listened to his work and with a follow-up album in mind, which this time would feature the guitar, Alejandro Clavijo contacted Si completely out of the blue. Alejandro was keen on Si’s track ‘Time Out’. So much so that he wanted it to open his second album.

The intention was that the album would, again, be a compilation and would contain 16 tracks by 16 of the best current exponents of their craft. These would include Will Akerman and Alex de Grassi who were already well known to Si as they are favourites of his.

Due to the fact that Alejandro was extremely keen to sign Si up for the project meant that Si knew that he had a position of leverage. He decided to push things a little and put forward, for consideration by Alejandro, an album titled ‘Inversions’ released by long time friend, Paul Whitehead, who also happens to be an amazing guitarist and composer.

During the early 1990s Paul Whitehead played original tunes around the Midlands folk clubs and, over time, has put together a collection of songs that covered a 20-year period. In 2008 Paul finally put these beautifully crafted tunes on to tape. The result was ‘Inversions’ a guitar instrumental album recorded solo and with no overdubs.

But despite being the accomplished player that he is, and is also a hard act to follow in a live environment, Paul would much prefer to record rather than gig. Recently, other commitments meant Paul had put music on the back burner. He was also completely unaware of what Si was setting up in the background.

It turned out that Alejandro and his team loved Paul’s work and selected a track from ‘Inversions’ for the album. A deal was signed for the proposed album and, after Si’s recommendation, the album was increased to a 17 track release by 17 different artists. The CD was produced in Spain and has been mastered in USA by Grammy Award winning engineer Corin Nelson as well as being manufactured in the States.

The final finished product, titled ‘Best of Reviews New Age: The Guitar’, was made available to buy on December 1, 2013 and within the first ten days of its release it had achieved incredible success by reaching the top 10 of both of the Spanish Amazon charts in each of the instrumental and new age genres it had been listed in. It peaked at number four and number seven, respectively, on each of those different charts.

The results of this album are quite compelling. As the title suggests, it primarily focus on the guitar, but it also comprises a mix of solo finger picked guitar as well as blends in ambient infused tracks. It does draw the listener into a quite pleasant and relaxed state of mind. Just the thing you need after a day’s work.

The album’s success has since been revealed to Paul. According to Si, “When I broke the news to Paul he didn’t quite know what to say. He was blown away and has since retrieved his Martin acoustic guitar from the loft. I knew this would inspire him again.”

The knock-on effect is also having an effect on the artist led Silvery Records label which releases and sells the music of both Si Hayden and Paul Whitehead. As listeners buy the compilation album it is only natural that they will begin to investigate the individual performers involved in it and delve deeper into their back catalogues. And Si has noticed increased activity on sales to the USA of both physical CDs and downloads.

Not one to rest on his laurels Si is already looking to the future. He is already planning that his 29th album release will be his version and interpretation of Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’.

This will be uncharted territory for Si as this will be the first time he will have covered anybody else’s music.

And for his 30th album Si’s intention is to put together and release his own personal compilation CD. It will feature 30 different tunes taken from all his previous albums which will be released while he is still in his 30s. In fact Si’s achievements, so far, are quite remarkable by any standards.

With two of them coming from Coventry, I think you will agree with me, that it is quite uplifting for our downtrodden city that an album consisting of guitarists, considered to be some of the most talented in the world today, chooses two of our own and, along with others from around the globe, come together on one CD release. 

Possible recordings exist from August 1966. Winters was “…booked for 6 weeks of cabaret in Leeds..” in September 1969.” 


A while back Murray McKenzie (AKA Murray Winters and Scott McKenzie) got in contact with Hobo. I passed the contact to Pete Clemons who interviewed him about his 60’s band The Flamingoes and his subsequent career as a promoter. Very interesting and the result was published in The Coventry Telegraph recently. Rob Woodward of Lieutenant Pigeon was also in the Flamingoes.


Line up: Alan Payne on lead guitar, Ollie Warner on bass guitar, Rob Woodward on keyboards, Bill Gates on drums and on lead vocals the above mentioned Murray Winters (Mackenzie)

I WAS recently, pleasantly pleased, to be reminded by Murray Mackenzie about another popular beat band who existed within Coventry during the early 1960s and who played all the same local venues as The Sorrows, The Matadors and The Echo Four. And this band went by the name of The Flamingoes and Murray had once been a member of them.

The Flamingoes featured the following personnel – Alan Payne on lead guitar, Ollie Warner on bass guitar, Rob Woodward on keyboards, Bill Gates on drums and on lead vocals the above mentioned Murray Winters (Mackenzie). The band came together during mid-1963. Murray explained that he got the name Murray Winters because, before joining The Flamingoes, he had had a spell as the lead singer with The Vampires. At that time The Vampires also had a female singer called Helen Summers. So they took his first name of Murray and added Winters to it so the group was always advertised at that time as The Vampires with ‘Murray Winters & Helen Summers.

Early dates for The Flamingoes would include venues such as the New Inn at Longford and The Navigation Pub on Stoney Stanton Road. And their set would include all of current chart hits from the bands of the day that included a lot of Tamla Motown material. Lead guitarist Alan Payne used to buy imports so the band were able to do few numbers from Motown acts that were not known at the time, but who would became household names a couple of years later, such as Otis Redding, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Sam & Dave.

The Flamingoes would eventually get work through agent Reg Calvert who operated his rock ‘n’ roll school at nearby Clifton Hall Rugby. Reg would get the band playing gigs all over the country and also at his own local venue of the Co-op Hall in Nuneaton.

At the Co-op Hall The Flamingoes would be the main support act to bands such as Johnnie Kidd & the Pirates, Them, The Who, The Fortunes, The Brook Brothers, Brian Poole & The Tremeloes and Pinkertons Assorted Colours.

For that support slot the band would earn around PS18 per night. If, however, the band had to travel for example to Wisbech Town Hall where they supported Dave Berry and the Cruisers then their earnings would go up by an extra PS4 to PS22.

Murray Winters recalls a story of those travels : “We were appearing with Johnnie Kidd and the Pirates at Banbury Winter Gardens. He was a really great guy and we were doing quite a few gigs with him at that time and we all became really friendly. Girls were at the front of the stage screaming and shouting when Johnnie Kidd came on, and one girl grabbed the bottom of his feet, and one of his slip on shoes came off, to show a great big hole in his sock with his big toe sticking out. Looking on from the side of the stage, we were all in bits.”

By the end of 1966 the band, who by now were known locally as The Pretty Flamingoes, were due to sign up for a record deal with producer Shel Talmy.

Shel, of course, had already produced hit records with bands like The Who. Just two days before the band were due to go down and record for Shel, they suffered a catastrophe.

Rob Woodward, who had been instrumental in getting the deal with Shel in the first place, had borrowed the group’s van. During the night the van was stolen from outside his house. With it went all of the group’s equipment which had been stored within it. Not being insured that was just about the end of the group. They tried to carry on, borrowing gear from here and there, but it only lasted another six months before they decided to call it a day.

After the split Rob Woodward would go on to put together, firstly Stavely Makepeace and then Lieutenant Pigeon along with Nigel Fletcher on drums, bass player Steve Johnson and Rob’s mother Hilda on piano.

Murray Winters however, although remaining in the entertainments business, took a totally different route. Murray went on to form his own band called Murray Winters and the Late Nite Set. Between 1968 and 1970 they played a lot of local venues, and we used to pack the Old Ball Hotel on Ball Hill every Sunday lunch time when they appeared there. The lunchtime shows became so busy, with so many people being turned away, the band moved to The Walsgrave pub in order to accommodate everybody.

During 1970, and at the age of 25, Murray formed an agency business called Scott Mackenzie Associates. The business was named after his son, Robert Scott Mackenzie, who was born the same year as the hit single ‘San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)’.

The experience gained working around the country with The Flamingoes stood in good stead as he had met various club owners who, when he got into conversation with them, would always ask if he knew of any other good bands or acts that he could suggest to them to appear at their venues.

From those beginnings Murray, now known as Scott, started fixing up bands and acts to appear at some of these venues and they would, in turn, pay him commission. As this was a more attractive proposition than working at the Chrysler, Scott gave up the day job and concentrated on his agency full time.

And as Scott Mackenzie Associates he also brought many American touring acts to Coventry in the 1970s which many people will remember such as Johnnie Ray, Neil Sedaka, Del Shannon (who Smackee backed worldwide for three years between 1975 and 1978), Bobby Vee, The Crickets and Bill Haley and the Comets to name but a few.

In fact for the Bill Haley gigs the support act was Shakin Stevens and Pete Waterman was compere for the shows. Pete did the shows for free as he just wanted to meet Bill Haley. Scott also brought The Sex Pistols to Coventry when they appeared as Mr George’s Club as he was the sole booking agent of the venue for several years.

Today Scott lives in Somerset and still specialises in supplying top quality live acts for your events and functions. Not only that but for over 35 years Scott has been the agent for Barry Walker & Smackee for whom his son Rob Mackenzie plays guitar.

…………………………………….

The following article is from the Coventry Evening Telegraph, sourced via the Broadgate Gnome site and Paul Connew, later of Daily Mirror, mistakenly referred to them as The Pretty Flamingoes in the article. However the band was called The Flamingoes.

Memories and Comments from Lead Guitarist Alan Payne.

“I was in a local band called “The Flamingoes” which included the best drummer / vocalist I’ve ever heard, a guy called Bill Gates, no not that one! Equally on a par with the likes of Roger Taylor, Keith Moon etc.We had a residency at the Walsgrave on Tuesday nights and every week there would be a local guest band too.

This one week the guest band was one called “Listen” which had a 16 year old Robert Plant and John Bonham which eventually lead to Led Zeppelin. They were both phenomenal even at that age!

There was another Coventry band called “The Beat Preachers” who had another great drummer (can’t remember his name sadly).

If we both played a gig together people would come from miles just to hear an amazing double drum solo from Bill Gates and the other drummer, it was like listening to a duet by Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa – breathtaking!!

When the Flamingoes split I joined a Birmingham duo called: “Double Feature” who had voices like Stevie Winwood and we recorded the first ever version of “Handbags and Gladrags!! We used to do gigs with the likes of Roy Wood, The Moody Blues, Jeff Lynne etc. We were quite well known on the Bham scene at the time.”


………………………………………………………………………


NEW ARTICLE FROM PETE CLEMONS Nov 2017

Bill Gates and the Flamingoes Part 1

I was amazed at how, fairly recently, a random post on Facebook that started with normal chatter developed into a rather touching story that had a cracking ending.

It began with Coventry born bass player, Ade Taylor, linking a Coventry Telegraph article to his wall. The article, which was about The Walsgrave pub, contained a picture of a Coventry band that Ade was a member of called Wandering John. And Ade’s accompanying comment was ‘The Coventry scene back in the day. Me top left, far left’.

Additional comments to Ade’s original post widened the conversation around the local music scene during the 1960s and 1970s.

Then one of Ade’s FB friends – another Coventry born musician, Alan Payne, responded with this comment ‘Talking about the Walsgrave, that was a pub near me, I lived in Wyken. I was in a local band called “The Flamingoes” which included the best drummer/vocalist I’ve ever heard, a guy called Bill Gates, no not that one! Equally on a par with the likes of Roger Taylor, Keith Moon etc. We had a residency at the Walsgrave on Tuesday nights and every week there would be a local guest band too. This one week the guest band was one called “Listen” which had a 16 year old Robert Plant and John Bonham which eventually lead to Led Zeppelin. They were both phenomenal even at that age!’

The conversation continued……………..

Ade Taylor: ‘Great story Alan, from great times. I bet your band weren’t half bad either!’

Alan Payne: ‘They were mate, we used to do gigs with the likes of Roy Wood, The Moody Blues, Jeff Lynne etc. We were quite well known on the Birmingham scene at the time. It was those days that made me the musician I am now’.

Then I joined in the conversation by posting a different article up which was more specific to The Flamingoes.

Alan Payne: ‘Thanks Pete, I’m amazed!. Even more so cos that’s the only photo now have of my dad!’

Even Roger Lomas joined in the chatter: ‘Good ol’ Arthur’

To which Alan Payne replied: ‘I’m stunned you even remember my Dad, he sure was one of the world’s larger than life figures and oh that laugh!!’

Roger Lomas: ‘Remember him well Alan’

Alan Payne: ‘Oh I do Roger, EVERYDAY, it’s good to know he’s not forgotten

Alan Payne: ‘And a great thank you to you Ade, had you not done your posting about The Walsgrave pub I would never found the picture of my dad and the info on Google about my band!’

What a fantastic conversation to read and to have gotten involved with. And it didn’t end there………..

Part 2 – Bill Gates

After I wrote my article about The Flamingoes, I remember I had a lovely chat with a lady called Gill who had been the partner of Flamingoes drummer Bill Gates, who Alan had praised so highly in the earlier conversation. Gill had read the article and added more meat to the bone about the band and Bill Gate’s musical activities.

I clearly remember Gill mentioning the fact that Bill had had a brush with The Beatles. And that meeting could have changed the whole Beatles history. But it was that huge a comment that I admit to brushing it under the carpet. It was not that I didn’t believe Gill, it was more a case she had embellished the story.

But while chatting to Alan Payne off line, he mentioned the very same story at which I immediately felt remorse towards Gill for ever doubting her. Not only that, but Alan revealed some more startling facts. I have penned a brief resume of our chat below………………

Alan: ‘Did you know that Bill met Gill while in Spain?. She was doing film extra work there and did the horse riding scenes for Sophia Loren in El Cid. She had beautiful dark hair like Sophia’

Alan: ‘The strange thing was that many years later I had dinner with Sophia Loren and Carlo Ponti at Thames Television Studios in Teddington where I worked and Sophia remembered all about it’.

Me: I mentioned to Alan that I never realised any of that but what I did remember was that Gill clearly missed her Bill who had passed away during 1993.

Alan: ‘I do too!. Nearly everything I know about music and life itself came from him. Like my Dad he was a larger than life character and extremely talented. Whilst doing his national service in Germany he played drums a few times with The Beatles. Apparently Paul McCartney wanted him for the band because of his great vocals but he couldn’t get out of his national service. He had some acetates of their time together in Germany. Can’t imagine what they’d be worth if they had survived. Also, Bill’s mother was my music teacher at King Henry VIII school. Bill should have been a huge star!’

It was at this point I admitted to Alan that Gill had mentioned the Beatles connection and that I had just nodded my head, not taking it too seriously.

Alan signed off with the following throw away comment. ‘You might also like to know that not long after moving to London in 1980 I became close friends with Freddie Mercury till his death’.

To complete the story, here are some final pieces of information, from notes I made at the time I was talking to Gill……….

When The Flamingoes infamously had their van was stolen towards the end of 1966, amongst other items, Bill lost his drum kit. It was a Slingerland and was only one of seven in the country at that time. He replaced it with a Ludwig kit.

Bill would practise his drumming every day, to records by gene Krupa and Buddy Rich.

Bill’s brush with The Beatles came, as mentioned, when he was stationed in Germany. The Beatles, at that time, were playing in Hamburg while Bill was stationed in Monchengladbach with The Royal Signals.

Pete Best was The Beatles drummer between August 1960 and August 1962. And it seems that Bill stepped in for Pete Best, in Germany, on more than one occasion. Of course it has been well documented how Pete was eventually replaced by Ringo Starr.

But it now appears that the course of Beatles history could have taken a completely different path had the rest of the band been agreeable and Bill Gates had been able to join them. Makes you wonder doesn’t it.

BORN in Harrogate during 1944 Ian Stuart Colman moved to Rugby after leaving school in 1961 where he gained an apprenticeship as a draughtsman with AEI (Associated Electrical Industries).

Stuart, as he became known, had been born into a strong musical background. His father had been a band leader and his mother sang in a choir. Despite this Stuart was influenced by rock ‘n’ roll and, so I have been told, amassed a tremendous record collection. That early influence would continue to be a feature throughout his career.

It was not long after he moved south that he met up with like colleagues who set about forming a band which they called The Cataracts who played many local gigs, in particular, at the Co-op Hall in Nuneaton.

The Beat Preachers were formed in 1963 with a line up of Geoff Parson (guitar), Stuart Colman (bass), Graham Rolaston (drums), Forbes Merrigan (lead guitar) and Jackie McCormick (vocals), having been created out of two other groups – The Cataracts and The Boot Hill Six. They would then go on to become one of the more popular and relatively successful beat bands on the Coventry circuit.

Despite Stuart having an early interest in rock ‘n’ roll, as a group, The Beat Preachers found their musical influences came from rhythm and blues while their style came from the newly emerging ‘Mod’ scene that was beginning to develop.

The above line-up continued for almost the entire existence of the band until Jackie McCormick left toward the end of 1965. His eventual replacement was saxophonist Tony Britnell, later of Jigsaw, but midway through 1966 the band split permanently when Forbes Merrigan quit and Stuart Colman joining Pinkerton’s Assorted Colours.

The Beat Preachers, although popular in Coventry, were not con-fined here and they regularly visited places like Nottingham, Leicester and Northampton and picked up a reputation when they became known as the Midlands version of The Rolling Stones. But they also played many gigs in and around Coventry with The Parkstone Club being a particular favourite venue for them. They also supported The Who at the Matrix Hall in 1965.

The Beat Preachers did release a single on the Pye Record label (Pye 7N 15961) during September 1965, however it was under the pseudonym of The Caribbean. The disc received good reviews but apparent bad management and even worse promotion meant that the record failed to chart.

The songs that made up the single, titled ‘Inside Out’ with the B-side of ‘Up My Street’, were unusual at that time because they had an early reggae feel to them. The song writing sources were equally curious, and presumably tongue in cheek, as they were credited to ‘Benn/Sherriff’, I assume after the two notable people from Rugby’s historic past, George Benn and Lawrence Sherriff.

After his stint with the Pinkerton’s, Stuart Colman then joined forces with other band members to form Flying Machine. Flying Machine was, of course, the band that had formed after the Pinkertons originally split and who had a huge hit record in America. Following that venture Stuart returned to England during 1971. Soon after his return Stuart settled in London and joined rock ‘n’ roll revival band Hurricane as bass player.

This band was also made up of pianist Freddie ‘Fingers’ Lee, Dave Wendells on guitar and drummer Carlo Little who had all been with Screaming Lord Sutch’s band The Savages at some time or other during the early 1960s.

In 1976, Stuart was involved with organising a march to the BBC. This was in protest about the lack of rock ‘n’ roll music on BBC Radio One. The outcome, to his own surprise, was in him being given his own weekly show on Radio 1. Part of the radio show’s remit was to include live music and one of the early sessions was by Shakin’ Stevens and the Sunsets. Due to the unavailability of the show’s usual ‘live session’ producer, Stuart was asked to cover this role as well.

It went down a storm and the popularity of that show and that particular live session led to Stuart being headhunted by Epic Records to act as producer for Shakin’ Stevens who, by now, had assembled a new band.

The impact of this partnership was immediate as ‘Shaky’ secured hits with ‘Hot Dog’ and ‘Marie, Marie’ followed by a string of number ones that included ‘This Old House’ and ‘Green Door’.

This was a tremendously busy period for Stuart. Not only was he working on various Radio 1 shows but his production skills were been used by a great deal of artists and this culminated when, during 1982, he was voted the top singles producer of the year by Music Week magazine.

He even managed to write an excellent book about rock ‘n’ roll and those that played an important role in it as well as who was keeping the flame burning at that time. It was titled ‘They Kept on Rocking’ and well worth seeking out.

The hectic schedule and the production successes continued throughout the 1980s with his involvement in releases by Billy Fury, The Crickets, Phil Everly and Little Richard.

Such was the regard Stuart was held as a producer that he was asked by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton to produce the very first Comic Relief record for The Young Ones, in 1986, which also featured Cliff Richard. The result being that a remake of the song ‘Living Doll’ rose to the top of the charts and raised an awful lot of money for charity.

1986 also saw Stuart open his own ‘Master Rock’ studios in London. Customers over the next few years included Jeff Beck, U2, Elton John, Eric Clapton and Soul II Soul.

Stuart was then invited to join Capital Radio when they re-launched their station in 1988. He remained there until 1995 playing rock ‘n’ roll oldies. In parallel, he was also running a similar show for the BBC at their Radio Solent station.

And then came the inevitable TV work as Stuart was invited to produce major music specials that involved the likes of Natalie Cole, T’Pau and Meat Loaf.

The mid-1990s took Stuart’s love of American music to Nashville Tennessee where he produced for country rock artists such as Faith Hill, Nancy Griffith, Linda Gail Lewis and plenty of others.

However, life was not all good as in 2002 tragedy struck when Stuart was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus. It took a great deal of treatment and tremendous resolve to battle back from it. But recover he did and he is now completely clear of the disease.

Nowadays Stuart still produces, is still involved with rock ‘n’ roll in which he writes for magazines, works as a consultant for Ace records and shares his time between Manhattan in New York and the Forest of Dean.

Ian Crawford adds –


When the Beat Preachers moved on with Stuart Coleman his old band, The Cataracts, comprising Roger Meakin – Guit/vocals, Mick Pearson – Guitar, Johnny Armitage – drums and Colin ? -bass played Woolpack Beat Club and other venues in the Rugby area.We were all AEI apprentices & contemporaries of Stuart Coleman c.1963-64

AS the embers of another Christmas and festive period smoulder away and the distinctive voices of Noddy Holder and Roy Wood are packed away into their CD cases for another 12 months it is at this time of year when I can’t help but think back to those heady ‘Glam Rock’ days of the mid 1970s.

I was surprised to be reminded that, in actual fact, the lead up to Christmas 2013 just happened to be the fortieth anniversary of those particular songs. For it was at the tail end of 1973 when Slade’s ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ and Wizzard’s ‘I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday’ fought it out for the top spot in the nation’s top 10. Of course Slade came out on top in that instance but Wizzard did have their moments and had claimed a number one hit earlier in the year.

I must admit though that I, personally, must have been living in a bubble back then as I really cannot remember the term ‘Glam Rock’ being used at the time. But it certainly was a description applied to this form of rock music and was mentioned by David Bowie in a 1972 interview. In answer to a question about other artists who had adopted his lead he said, “I think glam rock is a lovely way to categorise me and it’s even nicer to be one of the leaders of it.'” Wizzard’s song came about as a result of their leader Roy Wood having spotted a gap in the market in as much that a full on rock ‘n’ roll Christmas song hadn’t been released for years. He told Q Magazine in 1996, “There’s nothing rock and roll about Christmas at all. The only song I can remember before ours was Brenda Lee’s ‘Rocking around the Christmas Tree'” which, incidentally, is still rolled out on all those Christmas compilations and TV adverts. The idea for Slade’s song happened when bass player Jimmy Lea’s mother-in-law had mentioned, tongue in cheek, that despite the band’s huge success Bing Crosby’s ‘White Christmas’ was still more popular than any of their hit records had ever been. Apparently it was only a coincidence that these two long remembered tunes were issued during the same year.

THE STORY OF MONTY PYTHON’S FIRST LIVE PERFORMANCE WHICH TOOK PLACE AT THE BELGRADE THEATRE, COVENTRY 1971.


The latest article by Pete Clemons for the Coventry Telegraph with some background notes by Trev Teasdel.

Back in 2007, I posted an article on the original Hobo – Coventry Music and Arts Magazine archive site on Vox, regarding the Lanch (Lanchester Poly tech now Coventry University) Arts Festivals. On the programme of the 1971 festival, in small print, was the name Colin Richardson – the London Bron Agency with who Ted Little (then Social Secretary of the Lanch student union) book his bands through. Colin came across my post and got in touch, offering more information for the site.

Colin Richardson with Paul McCartney

booker

Colin proved to be a fascinating man and raconteur of hos own musical history. I promtly interviewed his for the Hobo site, starting from his jazz group background and venue management which included the Marquee club in London c 1965. Colin went on to manage Jon Hiseman’s Colosseum and the New Jazz Orchestra and work for various music agencies like Bron, booking some of the top bands of the time into venues like Coventry’s Lanchester Poly. Later he worked for Charisma records and then became a music journalist, interviewing the likes of Nilsson, Genesis and Paul McCartney.

The full Colin Richardson interview – in parts – can be viewed here –
1. http://covdiscoarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/colin-richardson-interview-part-1.html
2. http://covdiscoarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/colin-richardson-interview-part-2.html
3. http://covdiscoarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/colin-richardson-interview-part-3.html
4. http://covdiscoarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/colin-richardson-interview-part-4-bron.html
5. http://covdiscoarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/colin-richardson-interview-part-5.html
6. http://covdiscoarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/colin-richardson-interview-part-5.html
7. http://covdiscoarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/colin-richardson-interview-part-7.html


Part 6 relates to the Monty Python scoop.
Colin Richardson’s own site is http://colinrichardsonjazz.typepad.com/blog/

Colin was subsequently interviewed by BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire on the Python story – you can listen to the broadcast on part 6 of the above interview. On the recent announcement of Python’s proposed return to the stage, BBC Coventry called him back for another brief interview end of 2013.


Pete Clemons also followed on with a great article on the story of Colin’s historic Python scoop for the Coventry Telegraph which hit the press last Monday and is re-presented here for posterity and those who didn’t see it. However, there is an oversite in that Pete inadvertently merged a eye witness account of the Python performance with an anacdote by myself. Although i went to most of the Lanch events and witness the Gumbies leaving the Lanch poly with knotted hankerchiefs on their heads, marching down priory street to the Belgrade Theatre, it was a Nuneaton Observer journalist (an old school pal) Chris Applebey who actually saw the performance and interviewed John Cleese. Pete forgot to attribute that bit to Chris, so we mention it here.

This is Chris Applebey’s story –
“One of the most memorable weeks of my life! I was a reporter for the Nuneaton Observer and had press tickets for all events. The stand out moments for me were Elton John’s performance in the Lanch Hall – he’d just switched from the Burn Down the Mission style stuff to the screaming up and down on top of his piano bit – and then his dressing room afterwards where he was very kind to my, then 17 year old, sister Sue. He was a sweetie to her. The same week I saw Monty Python‘s first live show at the Belgrade. I was in a press box, right next to the stage and Cleese stood in front of me, glaring and shouting “Albatross! Albatross! Gannet on a stick! Tern ripple.” I was crying with laughter as he just stood po-faced in usherette uniform as I clung to the balcony legless with laughter. I interviewed him afterwards, I am tiny and he’s huge and I was very star-struck and young. All I can remember was him saying how great it was to see so many people had come such a long way to see them, from somewhere up north, all dressed as “Gumby”. It was an incredible coup for the Lanch to get so many big names that year, who were just hitting the big wave of their careers. I guess free tickets made it a very good deal.”

IN case it escaped your notice, cult comedy group Monty Python, have announced a reunion by way of a return to the live stage. The event, scheduled for July 2014, will be held in London at the O2 arena. It seems as though they want to see if they ‘were still funny’.

The show will be their first new project for three decades as it is more than 30 years since the Pythons last performed together at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in September 1980, and 40 years since they last performed on stage in the UK.

However, the humble surroundings of the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry city centre can lay claim to being the place where the Monty Python team first played to a live audience. And this was indeed quite a coup.

It all came about through the efforts of booking consultant for London based Bron Agency, Colin Richardson, and student union event organiser Ted Little. Having put together a successful Lanchester Polytechnic Arts Festival in 1970 the pair was now planning for the 1971 festival. The ‘Flying Circus’ TV programme had been around for couple of years yet Monty Python was still cult viewing.

Ted asked if it would be possible to book one or two of the Monty Python team to perform a couple of sketches from the cult TV show, as they were immensely popular with the student fraternity. Colin expressed doubt, because, as far as he knew, none of the Python team had ever made any live appearances as Python characters.

Undeterred he said he would try to find out if any of them might be interested in doing something.

Colin modestly says that a slice of luck then followed. He had a band going at the time that included an American singer by the name of Jean Hart who happened to be the then partner of ‘Goodie’ Bill Oddie. This resulted in Bill offering to introduce Colin to ‘Python’ Eric Idle.

A meeting was set up and Eric Idle asked Colin about what dates he had in mind, the Festival organisation, its history, etc. Colin mentioned many of the artists that had already been booked along with some of those who had appeared during the previous two years and described how well-run the festival was.

Colin had been expecting Eric to indicate who, if anyone, from the Python team might be up for taking part when he said something that almost had him breathless with excitement. It was along the lines of: “Well, your timing couldn’t be more perfect as we’ve been discussing the possibility of doing something live on stage and, if we did, it would defi-nitely be away from London in case it didn’t work for us.

“Now, if you can find out whether the Belgrade Theatre is available for, say, a three-night run, that would certainly increase the odds of us agreeing to do it, as we’ve all worked at that venue before and know that it would be an ideal place for us'” The meeting concluded with Colin promising to get back in touch with Eric as soon as possible and he left to find a phone to call Ted Little and give him the astounding news. Ted didn’t seem to take it in at first and kept asking which of the Pythons I was talking about.

Colin replied “‘All of them, the ‘tout ensemble’, the whole damn Circus!'” After it had all sunk in Ted checked the Belgrade’s availability and phoned him back to confirm that we could have Sunday 31st January, Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd of February 1971. Colin passed this information on to Eric and, soon after, the dates and the deal was agreed.

As quickly as the dates were announced to the public the tickets for the event, priced at PS1 each, were unsurprisingly snapped up in minutes for all three nights. The shows became a total sell-out. Unsurprisingly the shows were a fantastic success, as the student audience was a proven fan base which already knew most of the sketches, sometimes word-perfect. Colin Richardson even remembers that, on the first night, the entire front row was wearing ‘Gumby’ style knotted handkerchiefs to the astonishment of the Pythons onstage.

And recollections of the gigs have been recorded in Michael Palin’s published diaries. He writes: “As Terry and I walked through Coventry at 11.45pm for the first ever Python stage show it was amazing to turn the corner and see the theatre seething with people. From behind the stage one could hear just how enthusiastic they were. There were ten men dressed as Gumbies in the front row of the circle.”

He goes on to write: “We finished at about 1.30am but the audience refused to leave. After two or three minutes John went out and spoke to them, thanking them for being a wonderful audience and adding savagely ‘Now will you please go home’. This they enjoyed even more.

“We walked back to the hotel at 2.30am with half a dozen grown men with knotted handkerchiefs over their heads.”

In his next entry Palin goes on to mention that, when they arose, they all had breakfast in a cafe across from the hotel they had stayed in. Believe it or not it was called ‘The Gay Gannet’.

The shows have long remained in the psyche of many of the Coventry attendees. Trev Teasdel remembers the event very well and here he recalls one of his many memories: “When we came out of the ‘Lanch’ on the Sunday at midnight after watching Curved Air, Ivor Cutler and Adrian Henri we watched the student Gumbies marching out of the union building with knotted handkerchiefs on their heads singing ‘I’m a lumberjack’ and marching off down Priory Street to Pool Meadow and then on to the Belgrade Theatre.

He continues ‘I was sat in box next to the stage as John Cleese, in full usherette uniform, screamed ‘Gannet on a Stick, Albatross, Tern Ripple’ at me. I was helpless with laughter, slid off my seat and just clung to the cushioned wall in front of me as he continued yelling. He was almost nose to nose with me and remained so without a trace of laughing. I was 18 at the time and a huge fan.

Former Wandering John bass player Ade Taylor was also amongst the audience and recalls, “From the moment they walked on stage, they had the audience in stitches. Each sketch was warmly greeted and we were laughing so much that we missed the next funny bits.

“The Spam sketch, Parrot sketch, Bicycle Repair Man, Ministry Of Silly Walks – they were all included. It was great night. And, we knew it was an historic night.”

Colin Richardson went on to work for Charisma Records’ home at the time too such wonderful bands like Van der Graff Generator, Genesis and Lindisfarne’ and where he was International Manager for label boss Tony Stratton-Smith. By pure coincidence Charisma records later became the home for future Monty Python albums.

After a successful spell as social secretary for the Lanchester Polytechnic would go on to become director of Northampton Arts Centre. Following serious injury he became active in the development of disability arts and, during 1993, he established the Arts Council of Great Britain’s initiative to increase the employment of disabled people in the arts.

Ted sadly passed away in 1999 aged 56 but his influence on the Coventry and Birmingham arts along with his work in London and elsewhere, is still remembered.

With tickets for the current show selling out within one minute I guess it remains to be seen if the reunion will be seen as a success and that, in today’s day and age, Monty Python are still seen as funny. I certainly hope they are as the country could do with a bit of silliness right now.

But if nothing else then one thing I did learn from them, and have always kept in mind, is that ‘Krakatoa is east of Leamington’.

” There were ten men dressed as Gumbies in the front row… we walked back to the hotel at 2.30am with half a dozen grown men with knotted handkerchiefs over their heads MICHAEL PALIN