David Owen was well known and well liked as one of the top agents in Coventry. He also owned the ‘Lunchbox’ a local restaurant and nightspot, above the shops near the Forum on the Walsgrave Road. Whenever I saw him he was always friendly but very much the businessman. He always seemed to be on the phone, talking about groups, bookings and music generally.

David was always very encouraging to the groups that he managed. He would never fail to mention the ‘Sorrows’ and the ‘Matadors’ at every opportunity. As a drummer I was always in awe of Harry Heppenstall the drummer with the Matadors, whenever I watched them.

The Sorrows big hit ‘Take A Heart’ was also a great inspiration to all of us. Tony Fennell’s haunting ‘paradiddle’ makes it an unforgettable song. He was actually a session drummer by then, having started the ‘Mustangs’ a few years before. They backed Coventry singer ‘Lynne Curtis’. Don Fardon ex singer with the Sorrows also sat in on a gig with us once at Broad Street Old Boys Rugby Club. That was a great night. He was an imposing presence and a great singer. He really got the crowd going, a later had a hit with his song ‘Indian Reservation’.

One particular meeting with David did stick in my mind though.

We were called to his office one afternoon, which was above a newsagent’s shop, opposite the GEC works in the Stoke area of Coventry. He was considering us for some work in Germany as a backing group for another of his acts. This was a great opportunity so we were all very excited. I was just seventeen at the time and still at school. I did have some worries about getting a work permit for Germany, as the minimum age at the time was 18 years. The last thing I wanted was to stop the group from taking, what could have been our first big break. Unfortunately we didn’t get the job in the end, as the booking fell through. This was an early disappointment, which we found difficult to deal with at the time.

David had a lot of connections in the music business especially around Coventry and Birmingham. We travelled all over the City and to gigs further afield. The ‘Co-op Ballroom’ in Nuneaton and ‘The George’ in Hinckley, ‘The Cedar Room’, ‘ The Elbow Room’ and the Mackadown in Birmingham were all on the circuit for Coventry based groups. The ‘Carlton Ballroom’ in Erdington, which later became ‘Mothers’ was another great place to play.

All-nighters began taking off in the Midlands, at venues where promoters were able to obtain a licence. I remember we played the ‘Chateau Impney’ just outside Droitwich for one of their Friday all-nighters, with Birmingham reggae group ‘Locomotive’, who later had a hit with ‘Rudi’s In Love’. I still remember playing drums behind our group, while the crowd were dancing. As dawn started to break I saw the sunlight just starting to come up over the stage and I thought ‘I’m so lucky to be here and to be able to do this’.

Roger Williamson, who would later form Eastlight, was the bass player when I joined the ‘Nite Train’ in 1964. We were actually a three piece, with Terry on Lead Guitar and Vocals, Roger on Bass and me on Drums, Jim Lang had already left to join one of the Irish show bands by then. Show Bands were becoming popular in Coventry at that time. This was before his days as tenor sax player with the great ‘Ray King Soul Band’.

I remember our repertoire was mainly R & B numbers, including ‘Walking the Dog’, ‘Jump back, ‘Gloria’, ‘Kansas City’ and Mose Allison’s ‘ Parchman Farm’ etc. We did get some good gigs though back in the day. The Chesford Grange near Leamington had two stages down in the basement, with a ballroom for dancing upstairs. On Saturday nights they had a full band in the ballroom and usually two groups on in the cellar downstairs. By ten o’clock the place was usually heaving. We also had a residency at the Avonside Country Club, just down the road, for a while as well.

In the week we used to run our own nights at the ‘Red House’ in Stoney Stanton Road’ and the ‘New Inn’ in Longford, charging about 2 shillings (10p) on the door. I remember also playing the Cedars in Coundon, where they used to pass a collection plate round to everyone in the pub to pay the group, happy days!

As well as David Owen we used to work for another agency, Friars Promotions in Albany Road, Earlsdon. Jack Hardy, who ran the business, had an answering machine in the office, which was always on. If it was a group on the phone asking for money he would let the answering machine handle the call, but if it was a pub or club with work to offer, he would rush to the phone, cut in and take the call. We did eventually get paid, but as we were only getting about £20 a gig, we weren’t doing it for the money. The Musicians Union rate at that time was only about one Guinea an hour.

We used to practice two nights a week at the ‘Holyhead Road Youth Club’ near Coventry town centre. The club had two stages, one in the basement and another in the main concert room. Any youngsters visiting the club in the evening would have the choice of two free shows, as there were usually two groups rehearsing in each space. I often used to see my cousin Dave Cooper rehearsing with his progressive folk group ‘Dando Shaft’. Dave and I had grown up together and we would often sing together and play guitar, in his bedroom at Auntie Nell’s house in Tallants Road, Bell Green.

Roger Williamson eventually left the ‘Nite Train’ to join the Darkness and then set up Folk duo ‘Eastlight’. Folk music was very popular in the sixties at that time, with lots of good venues in the City. He was a big loss to us as he was a good bass player, as well as an extremely good guitarist. Welshman Bryn Evans, who took over, also played a mean bass guitar.

We became a ‘Soul Band’ around that time as well. The line-up was eventually extended to nine, with two new sax players, Al and Trevor, and a new trumpet player Stan, who all had day jobs working for Rolls Royce at Ansty. Our Female Singer ‘Hyacinth’ also brought in two girl backing singers. Our repertoire became more James Brown and Otis Reading, with popular numbers like ‘Shake’, ‘I Feel Good’, Wilson Pickett’s ‘Midnight Hour’, Eddie Floyd’s ‘Knock on Wood’ and Gino Washington’s “Hi, hi hi, Hazel’ now on the setlist. When Terry, our lead guitarist, got hold of one of the new “Fuzz” boxes, we were able to cover some of the new Spencer Davis hits like, ‘Keep on Running’ and ‘ Somebody Help Me’, which always went down well at ‘The Racehorse’ in Warwick.

Sunday nights in Coventry were mostly very quiet. The local pubs had to close at 10.30pm as licences were not usually issued to pubs for Sunday dancing. We’d often go the Hotel Leofric Jazz club on a Sunday Night and watch the some big name bands on the small stage there in the concert room. It was mainly R and B bands in those days. I remember seeing Long John Baldry’s ‘Steam Packet’, with The Brian Auger Trinity, Julie Driscoll and a very young Rod Stewart there a few times. John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, with Mick Taylor on lead, and ‘The Graham Bond Organisation’ were some names I remember.

Rod Stewart would come on halfway through the Steam Packet’s set dressed with a look straight out of Carnaby Street. ‘Rod the Mod’ had an impressive voice, even in the early sixties. I remember him singing Marvin Gaye’s ‘ Ain’t That Peculiar’ standing right next to me at the edge of the stage.

The ‘mod’ look for us, meant ditching our drainpipe jeans, winkle-picker shoes and tea-shirts for Cuban heels, Paisley Shirts and backcombed hair.

There were so many venues in Coventry in the 1960’s where you could see and hear all kinds of music; ‘The Matrix Ballroom’ on Fletchamstead Highway was a venue that attracted a lot of major names. Just about every UK Chart Topping Group played there in the early sixties, but it also attracted some of the big American Artists as well. One such artist on tour at that time was Jerry Lee Lewis. I remember we were the first group on early in the evening, so I couldn’t use my own drum kit, something I wasn’t too happy about at the time. We did our set and when we got back to the dressing rooms behind the stage, Jerry Lee Lewis’s backing group had arrived, so we had a chance to chat with them about music. They were all pretty high, and I don’t just mean from playing music. A stark reminder that hard drugs are never very far away in the music business.

Coventry agents would work their groups quite hard in those days, and David Owen was no exception. We couldn’t stay to watch Jerry Lee Lewis, as we were back in the van and heading downtown for another show. The Lanchester Polytechnic was a popular Coventry music venue, next to the new Coventry Cathedral. It had three stages one in the Refectory on the third floor and two stages opposite each other in the main ballroom.

We were heading for the main ballroom this time, which meant we could use the big lift, next to the loading bay at the back of the college. A lift was paradise for anyone who had to carry heavy music gear up and down stairs. That night we had three heavy ‘Vox Boxes’ plus the P.A system to shift.

As we got out of the lift we could hear the first band ‘Unit 4 + 2’ coming to the end of their set. Panic began to ensue, as we needed to get everything set up before they finished, so we could keep everyone dancing. As we got onto the opposite stage they announced that they would play two more numbers. I breathed a sigh of relief and started setting up my kit.

I have great memories of the Lanchester, and have seen some great student events there. We would often go to see the energetic ‘Ray King Soul Band’ perform there. Ray was a great performer and really knew how to work a crowd. Jim Lang’s tenor sax melodies complemented Ray’s voice and we all knew they were destined for much bigger things.

We also played some gigs at the ‘Benn Memorial Hall’ in Rugby. On one occasion we were supporting ‘The Ivy League’, who had changed their name to ‘The Flower Pot Men’ in line with the ‘Flower Power’ craze that was now sweeping the nation. It was an amazing experience to listen to them singing those three part harmonies on ‘Let’s Go to San Francisco’, from the wings as they performed their set.

We went for a lot of auditions with various promoters and got some good gigs, but there were also many disappointments, along the way. We did however come second in a talent contest at the Coventry ‘Locarno’. Their revolving stage was a weird experience, as we had to start playing facing a brick wall. As we played the audience slowly came into view, by the time they could eventually see us we were halfway through our first number.

Eventually I left the ‘Nite Train’ to join Dave Pennycook and Colin Elliot in ‘Monday’s Children’, who were looking for a drummer. We went on to rock great places like ‘Smorrell Lane Social Club’ in Bedworth and the ‘Lime Tree Social Club’ in Tile Hill with ‘Small Faces’ covers.

There was no ‘Big Time’ for me I’m afraid, just a lot of very happy memories of being in a group in Coventry in the swinging sixties.

Rob Peake – June 2020

For several years, from when I was around 10 or 11 years old, I worked as a paper boy for HR Owen newsagents. It was how I raised money to buy records and attend gigs. I was based at the Momus Boulevard shop and, the more I became a fixture, the more my tasks there grew. I was even trusted behind the counter on occasion.

HR Owen had three shops as I remember. One on the opposite corner to the Painted Lady public house in Longfellow Road. Another on the forum row of shops. And a third, as mentioned, on the corner of Momus Boulevard and Lord Lytton Avenue. The owner of these shops, David Owen, also owned the Lunchbox restaurant also on the forum.

Despite working for him, I never knew David Owen. As far as I knew it was his wife who handled the shops. Although I am sure I briefly met him on occasion. I certainly had no idea as to his other life which was revealed to me around years later.

Fast forward to around 2010 and Coventry singer, Dr. Ray King, was giving a talk at our local library. During the talk he mentioned how he was managed at one point by David Owen. When Ray mentioned the Lunchbox restaurant the penny suddenly dropped.

I managed to speak to Ray after his talk and he revealed that this was indeed the David Owen who I once worked for. Additionally, the top floor of the Momus Boulevard shop was used as David’s office for his music affairs. I was totally staggered.

In recent years I have also seen that David also owned, or part owned, Elizabeth the Chef whose main head office and other premises were in Leamington Spa.

For years now, I have wanted to write an article about David, based on information gleaned as best I can. But up till now I have not had enough to put together a decent read.

What I have found out so far is as follows and some of these quotes are Ray King’s own words about the early days of his musical career when still known by his birth name of Vibert.

‘So I had a photograph taken and played my first real gig at the Craftsman’s Arms in Rotherham Road. I continued singing then I linked up with a band called Suzi and The Kingsize Kings’.

‘Suzi left the band and, at the same time, I became known as Ray King. The King Size Kings changed their name to the Ray King Soul Band (or Soul Pact as often advertised). Their first gig was at The Walsgrave Pub in Coventry and, under the management of David Owen, everything felt right’.

‘David Owen had a restaurant above his newspaper shop on the Walsgrave Rd and he managed one of the City’s foremost groups in the early 60’s known as The Millionaires’.

I also asked Nigel Lomas of his memories of David Owen. Nigel replied ‘I didn’t know he managed Ray, he was the Sorrows manager. I first met David when he owned the Lunch Box Restaurant above the newsagents shop, we (Johnny B Great and Goodmen) played at the opening of the restaurant during the evening, after the lunchtime launch of the Lunch Box restaurant in 1963. The daytime entertainment had been provided by the Jerry Allen Trio from ATV programme “Lunchbox”.

I then asked Roger Lomas for his memories. Roger replied ‘David Owen also managed The Sorrows up until when I joined the band and we relocated to Italy. He used to own a shop on Walsgrave Road. Only met him a couple of times so didn’t really know him.

Then finally, quite by coincidence, drummer Robin Peake provided the following information: ‘I was drummer for the Coventry group ‘The Night Train’, from 1964 to 1968. Following in the footsteps of Dave Jones, who left in early 1964 to join the army. We carried on as a three piece, playing the Navigation, Red House, Heath Hotel and the Walsgrave, in fact most of the local venues. We worked for Friars Promotions and for David Owen, who got the gigs for us. Eventually we became a 7 piece soul band, adding 2 saxes and a trumpet to the line-up, plus a female singer, following in the shadow of the great ‘Ray King Soul Band’, who we often met on the road, in fact our tenor-sax player Jim Lang, left to join Ray King’.

‘We played all the great venues such as’ Chesford’, the ‘Lanchester’ and the ‘Matrix Ballroom’, as well as further afield in Birmingham, ‘Mothers’ in Erdington, the ‘Elbow Room’ in Aston and the ‘Connaught Rooms’ in Wolverhampton, not forgetting Birmingham University, and Leicester University. They were great days’.

‘Although we never made the big time, we did support many of the more well known groups.

Eventually I left the ‘Night Train’ to join Coventry band ‘Mondays Children’. Coventry and Birmingham had a great and flourishing music scene at that time, with some of the best groups and venues in the UK’.

Robin’s comment about Jim Lang leaving Night Train to join the Ray King band then had me wondering if Ray resurrected the name during the 1970s. By then Ray, of course, led a band called Nite Train. So I asked Robin if he had any further memories on this, or David Owen. He sent me a wonderful article which will make up part 2 of this piece. 

The Stormbreakers were formed from three other Nuneaton based groups who had all disbanded. They were The Walkers, The Teenbeats and the original Stormbreakers. When those three groups called it a day a new version of The Stormbreakers came into being. They were described as a Shadows styled rock group who commanded top audiences wherever they went.

What The Stormbreakers didn’t lack was ambition. This band clearly had a determination and enthusiasm to get to where they wanted.

Their singer was Keith Redfern who came from The Teenbeats, drummer was Tony Scott who played in the original Stormbreakers. The two lead guitarists were John Dakota and Rod Steele both from The Walkers. On rhythm guitar was Keith Troy and this was his first group. The Stormbreakers also had their own sound technician and that was Gary Williams who also plays the bass.

The group formed during 1961 and local success soon came their way. The earliest gigs I can search out for the band were at places like St John Ambulance Hall, The Holly Bush and The Corner House all in Nuneaton.

But this hard working band were not just known in Nuneaton. They also built up a following in Coventry, Leicester, Northampton and Birmingham where The Stormbreakers played to decent sized audiences. Of course they were also regulars at the Co-op Hall in Nuneaton as well as in the normal pubs and clubs in the Warwickshire area.

The Stormbreakers even had a manager and agent in David Gallagher who had the group booked into venues for four or even five nights a week. The Stormbreakers were so popular that the group was the only one in Nuneaton to have its own fan club.

But then for whatever the reasons, all good things come to an end, and towards the end of 1963 there appears to have been a split within the group. Band members left and new musicians were recruited. Even the management changed as in stepped promoter Vince Martin who came up with a new name: The Establishment.

Vince remembers that, despite the new name, The Stormbreakers name needed to continue through till mid 1964 in order to honour already agreed dates. Using the new Establishment name may have created disappointment. Additionally this new name may well not have drawn in the expected size of audience.

The Establishment carried on from where The Stormbreakers had left by creating a decent reputation on the Midland pop scene.

Soon after The Establishment were formed they began advertising for a female vocalist. Vince Martin had managed to get the band work on the continent. However their was a condition in their contract that required them to have a female vocalist. More than a dozen vocalists were auditioned.

One of those who approached the band was Dena Gaye, whose real name was Dilys Birch. The day of her audition Dilys and her husband were booked to attend a car rally so she couldn’t attend. However, the following day the couple noticed in the newspaper that The Establishment were playing at the New Inn at Longford. So they went along to see them play.

It seems that, from the stage, the band recognised Dilys from a photograph she had sent them with her original application. They invited her to get up and sing with them. Then, after an official audition, Dilys was offered the job.

In order to fulfil a three month tour of France with the band, Dilys resigned her post as an infant teacher. Dilys Birch gave her first public performance with the Establishment at a party and dance at the George Ballroom in Hinckley. This was to be the last local date before the French tour.

The five members of The Establishment, who had also turned professional, were Noddy Ford, Eddie Willet, Keith Goodyear, Wal Freeman and Keith Redfern.

During the first month in France the group played at a United States Air Force Base at Fontainbleu. The groups manager, Vince Martin, said that in order to visit France the group had turned down a month’s contract to appear at the Star Club, Hamburg where the Beatles had made their name. The hope was though that a tour of Germany would become an opportunity during 1964. Presumably due to the changing music scene, The Establishment eventually folded during mid 1965. 

Became The Establishment
The Establishment Line up was: Keith Redfern – vocals, Noel Ford – lead guitar, Keith Gudger – rhythm guitar, Ed Willett – bass, Wal Freeman – drums. Later joined by Barry Kingsbeer

Dave Norris – ?

Establishment became The Congress around September 1965

From Nuneaton

Memories from Dave Norris

“The Stormbreakers” played their first gigs together since 1964 on Friday 8th & 15th Oct. 2004. Of the 5 in the band 4 are original members and one (me) is from an old Coventry band “The Mad Classix” of the same period. Our average age is 63 and the gigs are for charity, being the Mary Ann Evens Hospice and the County Air Ambulance. Of the members, the lead guitarist now lives in Wales and the singer in Skegness.”

Barry Kingsbeer wrote on Comments to Godiva Rock article on CET
I was flattered to see a kind mention of the Chicanes here, schoolmate Kevin Connolly got a drum kit and took me round to his house to see it. At that point, being young and without fear we decided to form a band. I didn’t play any instrument at that time but ended up on bass which has been my first instrument ever since. On leaving the band I joined The Establishment, formerly The Stormbreakers from Nuneaton. Left Coventry 65/66 and lost touch. I’ve lived in Stratford for the last 20 years and am still playing.

From Pete Chambers – Godiva Rocked to a Backbeat

” Formed 1962 and got to support the likes of Screaming Lord Sutch, the Hollies, The Undertakers, Emile Ford and the Checkmates and the Pretty Things. 1964 they took on former Vampires vocals it Johnny Washington and reinvented themselves as Johnny Washington and the Establishment.”

Extract from Pete Chambers Backbeat – Coventry Telegraph

” Nuneaton’s biggest beat band, The Stormbreakers, who later changed their name to The Establishment.

Lead vocalist Keith Redfern recalls those days: “We were the first group in the area, it was around 1964, we attracted a lot of followers, including other musicians. We were known as a group’s group. We played all over the place, including Coventry’s Locarno, The General Wolfe and Nuneaton’s Co-op Hall. You name it we supported them, like Cliff Bennett, Johnny Kidd and even the Hollies.”

One of those venues, Nuneaton’s Co-op Hall Ballroom, was at its height the musical mecca for the area. Run by madcap promoter Reg Calvert, it saw its fair share of excitement, playing host to The Beatles who were the support to Tanya Day and The …” The Stormbreakers. Keith Gudger joined the Nuneaton band on the strength of a talent contest in 1962; he was spotted by Wall Freeman and asked to join the band. They lined up like this: Keith Redfern vocals, Ed Willett second lead guitar, Noel Ford lead guitar, ‘Nov’ on bass, Keith Gudger on rhythm guitar and Wall Freeman on drums.
Early gigs included the Nuneaton ambulance hall: “I recall we used to practice in Noel Ford’s front room,” said Keith Gudger. “We moved his poor mum and dad into the kitchen as we took over their living room, bless them. We did cramped spaces pretty well though, we had a small Morris J2 Van, we changed the seats around and managed to get all the band in it, plus girlfriends and equipment.”

By this time Nov had left as bass player, so Ed switched to bass and they became a working five-piece. They got to support a host of top names such as Screaming Lord Sutch, The Hollies, The Undertakers, Emily Ford and the Checkmates and the Pretty Things.

“We had the foresight to get ourselves a good PA system as soon as possible,” reveals Keith. “It paid off, one gig in Stoke on Trent we were supporting Brian Poole and The Tremeloes and they asked if they could borrow our PA. We had a 100-watt system; theirs was a tiny 50-watt, both pretty puny by today’s standards. In 1964 we changed our name to the Establishment and were part of Friars Promotions, and Vince (Martin) Holliday (who still owes me 10 bob by the way), took us to France to play the US bases for three months. The first hotel we stayed in turned out to be a brothel. It was a crazy time, we were young and it was the first time we had been away.

“As we moved to the next port of call, we ended up in Paris, not where we wanted to be. Our old van had damage to the column change, and the electrics started playing up. So there we were in this quiet zone in Paris and our horn started sounding on its own. We were running around like headless chickens trying to stop the noise, then someone grabbed a handful of cables and we carried on our way with no horn sounding, but sadly with no headlights either.

“We got to know a lot of the GIs where we played, it was during the Vietnam war, so many of those guys were training to go there, it was a chilling thought that many of those we met probably never came back.”

In 1965 Keith left the band, and continued for a while with Johnny Washington as frontman under the name George E Washington and the Establishment. In 2004 they had their first reunion concert and from that they started gigging again. So that brings us back around to the Call Up the Groups gig, your chance to hear the band.

The ESTABLISHMENT

circa 1964-1965

From Broadgate Gnome –

They were also known as Johnny Washington and the Establishment.

Beat group previously known as The Stormbreakers.

From Nuneaton

Line up: Keith Redfern – vocals, Noel Ford – lead guitar, Keith Gudger – rhythm guitar, Ed Willett – bass, Wal Freeman – drums. Later joined by Barry Kingsbeer.

Top of the Pops was a weekly music programme that ran between 1964 and 2006 and produced well in excess of 2000 programmes. At its peak it regularly attracted audience viewing figures of 15 million, and at least once, almost reached 20 million.

For those of a certain age it was a must see programme. It mainly ran on a Thursday. Most of the family would sit around the telly watching it albeit, some, with a hint of cynicism. It was a time to slag off artists you did not like. It could also be frustrating as you wished it hurried up and got something on the screen that touched you. For older viewers it was, maybe, light entertainment.

The important thing to remember about Top of the Pops, I think, was that it didn’t so much create artists. What it did do was to sell records. Chances are that if you got your record onto the programme it charted.

There was a time, that when a band played on it, by there own admission they felt that they had ‘arrived’. And bands who were in the business for commercial success couldn’t wait to get on the programme. For the record label, and those associated with it, Top of the Pops was major. Records which went big were, quite often, those that appealed to the mass market.

During the programmes heyday it was produced by old school BBC stalwarts like Johnnie Stewart and Robin Nash. Each of them had honed their skills on Juke Box Jury and other light entertainment programmes. They were followed by Michael Hurll who had followed a similar path. Although a succession of producers, until the programme died a natural death, did try and update the programme. Generally though the producers were a generation or so older than the artists who appeared on the programme and, for years, tended to keep Top of the Pops more mainstream.

Having said that, Top of the Pops, did have some memorable moments. There is no denying, for example, that his appearance on the programme did David Bowie’s career no harm whatsoever. The reaction the day after he performed ‘Starman’ during 1972 was staggering. I also remember similar reactions when T.Rex performed ‘Ride a White Swan’ and, slightly later, ‘Hot Love’. Overnight sensations, literally.

The programme also did no harm in boosting the profiles of the DJ’s who introduced the artists. It made a lot of them household names. And they found themselves in demand with guest slots at club appearances and other events.

Top of the Pops specials also became a staple of the festive period as, again at the programmes height, they occupied hourly slots at both Christmas and New Year. Similarly, both these programmes attracted massive audience numbers.

Throughout the history of Top of the Pops, almost all the performances were mimed. It was a requirement that the artist re-record backing tracks. However, the reality it seems, was that the artist pretended to re-record the song but actually used the original tape.

The late 1970s brought a collision of different musical cultures and Top of the Pops began to move in a more radical direction as it veered away from middle of the road. New wave was here and it was mixing it up with disco, the crooners and the novelty acts.

DJ Mike Reid cynically mentioned that ‘Punks didn’t want to be here on TotP – (oh yes they did)’. And he was partially right. With a quarter of a million records at stake, selling the day after an appearance then yes, he had a point. It really was the difference between selling records or not.

Jimmy Pursey, of Sham 69, was a showman and he had his justifications for doing the show. And even managed to convince himself as to why he should do it. Squeeze made no secret of the fact that they wanted money in order to try and break America. While The Boomtown Rats simply wanted the money. And, by the end of the 70s, some of those bands were not even trying to pretend to play live. Having said that The Clash did take a stand for playing live. They refused to mime and became one of the few who performed ‘live’ albeit on a video. Rather than a perceived threat the new wave turned out to be a shot in the arm for the programme.

The studio was four or five stages set in the round. An audience were moved from stage to stage. George Best was once famously spotted when The Rolling Stones performed ‘The Last Time’. So popular it became that there was an eighteen month long waiting list for audience tickets. And it was not necessarily music lovers who wanted to get onto it. For example, when disco was at its peak, it gave dancers the spot light. For many it was just an opportunity to be on the telly.

Since its demise there have been many calls to bring back Top of the Pops. But personally I think things should be supported at the time. When something has gone, a decision has been made well beyond our control, and it is gone forever. There is no point in trying to recreate something. It is never quite the same afterwards. Give thanks to what it gave when it was active.

Coventry and Warwickshire related bands and artists who appeared on Top of the Pops include:

Frank Ifield – January 1964

The Sorrows – September 1965

Pinkerton’s Assorted Colours – January 1966

Vince Hill – February 1967

Lieutenant Pigeon – September1972

Jigsaw – November 1975

Stevenson’s Rocket – December 1975

The Specials – August 1979

The Selecter – Oct 1979

The Bodysnatchers – March 1980

Hazel O’Connor – August 1980

Funboy 3 – October 1981

The Primitives – February 1988

Panjabi MC – January 2003

In fact, for completion, there was one edition of Top of the Pops filmed during November 1979 that featured The Specials, The Selecter and Madness all on one show!

Within minutes of the launch of the SpaceX Dragon rocket in Cape Kennedy, Bruce Soord continued his own personal exploration. Only Bruce’s voyage of discovery was through his own, now rather vast, back catalouge of songs. And, similar to the lift off, the on line viewing audience was clearly from many and varied parts of the world.

This time Bruce promised that this session was going to be slicker. Less chat and more songs. Bruce did warn us that he was going to play as many requests as possible but that not be able to fit them all in. And that hopefully there wouldn’t be any of the ‘button’ issues.

With that said Bruce quickly burst into the title track from the ninth TPT album ‘All the Wars’. Bruce did seem to be on a mission come the end of that opening tune, as he said: ‘lets talk more songs’. Thinking out loud as to how to approach this one Bruce set about a track from the Dissolution album ‘Threatening War’ that involved the use of looper and shaker.

Preparing himself for his third song Bruce mentioned how blessed we had been in the UK to have had the the spring heatwave accompany us through this lockdown period. A change of guitar and Bruce was now into ‘Fend for Yourself’ which involved the very clever use of electronic gadgets as the improvisation began.

By now Bruce was literally beginning to feel the heat in his loft as he mentioned how hot it was in there. And it was only going to get hotter this side of the laptop as the next song, ‘The One You Left to Die’, not only involved looper and shaker but also introduced, mid song, a change from acoustic to electric guitar. A large tambourine was deployed along with an array of improvisation. Bruce had admitted that, at times, he didn’t know where, and in which direction, the songs were going to go. This was an incredible journey that displayed skill and deftness.

Taking some time out, Bruce managed to answer a viewers question. And that was ‘had he thought about trying this kind of event with the full band’. Bruce’s reply was that ‘yes he had but the logistics, preparation and rehearsals would be problematic’.

The next song up was ‘Someone Here is Missing’ which was just wonderful to hear. And this was followed by a song that, apparently, had gone in a totally different direction during rehearsal and that was ‘Reaching Out’. It took a second take to get it going, after ‘falling on my butt’, during the first take but it proved to be an utter delight as it, yet again, produced some exquisite improvisation.

‘Why do I do it to myself, I have no idea’ Bruce mentioned as he introduced the next song. One, in fact, that he had never played live before. Even as he was putting on his guitar he questioned ‘Do I really want to do this?’. The song was ‘Seasons Past’ from the Magnolia album. It took a second take but it was clear that Bruce really wanted to crack this short yet tricky song. I could almost feel the audience, this side of the screen, willing Bruce on at this point and that, along with his own perseverance paid off.

As Bruce announced the last song he mentioned how much he had enjoyed doing these intimate gigs. They had indeed been very special. He finished with quite a long song from the Variation of a Dream album titled ‘Remember Us’. And he warned us that this was another that could go anywhere. But what a finale it proved to be as Bruce looped harmony parts as well his acoustic. And wrapped the whole song off with a flourish of electric guitar. And with that its over as Bruce poured himself a well deserved triple hop Duvel.

And there you have it. 21 songs over more that three hours, culminating in that supreme ending to what had been three unbelievably attention grabbing sessions.

This lockdown has been a surreal period in time. It is not even been a generational thing. This has been a once in a lifetime event and, for many, life will never be quite the same again despite it’s loosening and the recent attempts to release us into the new normal.

But these Bruce Soord events have indeed been a highlight of my own personal lockdown experience too. And that is not just me saying it. The final word on all of this goes to a comment I read where similar feelings had clearly been invoked…………

‘Although online and remote, they somehow feel intimate and personal, which gives them an intensity which is hard to describe. From my own solitary home space. But even with his mistakes, omissions and reminders-to-himself, written in felt pen, the pleasure he gives and the adoration he receives makes being in lockdown feel better and better’.

FROM THE ALBERT HALL TO THE SNOOKER HALL!!’

For the completion of this article my sincere thanks go to Milan Stojsavljevic, whose passion for the subject, took this project to a whole new level. Thanks also to Horizon photography, Val Webb (Haudiquet) for information, and John Shipley for making the priceless photographs available. And, of course, to John Shipley for the wonderfully funny and informative chat. Pete Clemons.

Below – King Henry VIII School cross country team with John Shipley, top row, third from right, 22/3/67.

‘The Bowie Boys’ at the Rose and Crown.Back row Big Jim, John Wankling, Chris Byers, Roddy Byers, John Shipley, Dave Wankling, Kevin Brown. Kneeling – Steve Connolly (Scon) aka Roadent. Paul 0’Brien.

Swinging Cats outside Noels Cafe, Station St West, Foleshill (down the road from the General Wolfe). Photo Jill Furmanovsky.

Swinging Cats with Jane Bayley on vocals. General Wolfe rehearsals – Two photos from This Then

Away – The Swinging Cats – on Look hear

Never on a Sunday – The Swinging Cats – on Look Hear

The Swinging Cats Mantovani – Horizon Photography

The Specials Tour Poster

Swinging Cats at the Big Top

Free Nelson Mandela – Special AKA with John Shipley on guitar.

Special AKA with Housebound with John’s favourite track from ‘In the Studio’

Special AKA perform “What I like Most About You” on BBC’s Crackerjack.

The Supernaturals – Horizon photography

The Supernaturals line up 

Pauline Black – Vocals
Everett (The Beat’s old drummer) – Drums replaced by Rob Hill
Zip The Bassman – Bass replaced by Ray, a bass player from Rugby
Tony White – Guitar
Dave Gedney (“That boy gets everywhere!” – Tony)
John Shipley – Guitar (2nd Line-up)
John Greenhow (2nd Line-up)

The Great Escape – 

Memories from Tony White via Rex Brough

“The first line-up supported Joe Boxers on tour. The second line up really rocked. NME described us as playing ‘Guitar-based underwater spy-movie music’ I really enjoyed this band – we supported The Communards on their UK tour in 1986 and played some great gigs around the country. There was a lot of Press and record company interest in The Supernaturals at that time. John Shipley and Pauline fell out. Upshot was that a new band emerged from the ashes called The Great Escape”.

The Great Escape – Val Webb (Haudiquet) (Ex swinging cats) was drafted in as lead singer and Barry (Rob Hill’s old partner in rhythm from The Mix) replaced Ray on Bass. The new line up was now Val, Myself, John Shipley, John Greenhow, Rob Hill and Barry. The Great Escape actually played some corking gigs in Cov in early ’87 but finally split up.

The Great Escape – Demos 

These next three videos of John Shipley’s The Great Escape are unheard cassette demos / rehearsal tapes that Val Webb (Haudiquet) sent for digitisation. Digitise by Trev Teasdel for Val.

The Great Escape video 1,  3 tracks. The first track is a new version of the Swinging Cat’s number Away but with John on vocals. Followed by Motion of the Ocean and Ordinary Life with vocals by Val.

The Great Escape Video 2. 3 Tracks. Date a Heart – Val on Vocals, Don’t say You’re Sorry – John on vocals – Don’t Say You’re Sorry – Val on vocals.

Great Escape 3. 3 tracks 1. Hold me Vocals John, Hold Me backing track, I Must Confess -John vocal.

The Cosmics live at the Stoker, Coventry – Horizon Photography.

The Cosmics – Released as a 3 track 12 ” Produced by Mark Downie aka Marcus Upbeat

Elecktric Custard live at the Roadhouse, Birmingham

Swinging Cats reunion – Paul Heskett, John Shipley, Chris Long. Horizon photography

“John and the General reunited.  Horizon Photography.

JUNGLE MUSIC – The Special AKA featuring Rico

John Shipley – Horizon photography

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A Swinging Cat in a Hat. Horizon Photography

As part of last year’s 2 tone at 40 celebrations, The Selecter’s Neol Davies, gave an incredibly interesting and insightful chat at the Coventry Music Museum. Neol really did reveal some amazing facts as he saw things at the time.

The event began when Neol, who was born in 1952, mentioned that his birth name was actually Leon. He rearranged those same letters to arrive at the name Neol (pronounced Neil).

Neol’s early interest in music was the twangy guitar sounds of The Shadows. And, during 1967, he saw Jimi Hendrix perform at Coventry Theatre. And that moment was very inspiring for him.

A damaged finger forced Neol to change his plectrum style. And that, in itself, may have helped in producing his unique playing style.

Neol’s introduction to playing reggae happened during a spell with Chapter 5. Chapter 5 had formed sometime around 1974 or 1975 at the Holyhead youth Centre where Charley Anderson had been a youth worker. The band included Charley on bass, Desmond Brown on Organ, drummer Sylverton Hutchinson and Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson guitar and vocals. Chapter 5 continued through till around 1976. And Neol was quick to acknowledge that these early relationships, including that with the group Nite Train – who were led by Ray King and included both Jerry Dammers and himself – were the seeds of the Two Tone movement.

However, depending on who you talk to, there was a lot of inter-changeability between the musicians of these bands before the ‘classic’ 2 Tone line up’s settled. And people see things from slightly different angles.

As time went on a number of other bands were either formed at, or were at least associated with, the Lower Holyhead Road centre. These included Pharaohs Kingdom, Earthbound, Nite Train, Hard Top 22 and Transposed Men.

And, of those, the period when Transposed Men would begin to take shape, would prove to be another critical moment for Neol. The band comprised of former Chapter 5 bandmate Desmond Brown on organ, guitarist Kevin Harrison who Neol had known for years, Steve Wynne on bass and drummer John Bradbury (Brad) who Neol once had to persuade to take up the drums and to buy a kit.

The story goes that Brad played ‘Watching the Detectives’ by Elvis Costello and both he and Neol decided to make a record. Between them they came up with the most wonderful of grooves. Even today, it is such a delight to listen to. The tune was recorded at Roger Lomas’s studio using Roger’s drum kit and included additional trombone from Barry Jones. It also used the sound of sandpaper. Originally titled ‘Kingston Affair’ by Selecters this most amazing tune was completed by Christmas 1977. Of course, ‘Kingston Affair’ would not see light of day until it turned up on the flip side to The Specials debut single ‘Gangsters’ released during May 1979 and re-titled ‘The Selecter’.

The Transposed Men band name had come from a book read by drummer John Bradbury who had been sharing a house with Jerry Dammers at the time. Transposed Men built a set that included tunes like ‘On My Radio’, ‘Missing Words’, ‘Street Feeling’, ‘Washed up and Left for Dead’ and ‘Out on the Streets’. They would rehearse at Binley Oak and almost signed to Virgin Records during late 1978.

In parallel to this Jerry Dammers had been working up the Coventry Automatics and all the hybrids of them. By now, John Bradbury was building up quite a reputation and Jerry asked Neol if he could borrow Brad. Jerry was desperate for a drummer and Neol immediately realised he was going to lose Brad. And so it was, as Brad took with him the ‘swing’ that the Transposed Men had. And that crucial part of John’s repertoire went, with Brad, to the newly formed Specials.

There appeared to be no animosity in Brad’s departure. Yet, strangely, the pair never spoke again. In fact Brad completely blanked Neol on Two Tone tour. And to this day, Neol is totally mystified as to what had happened between them.

Could Neol have been a Special ?. Neol didn’t suggest it, as such, but he can be forgiven for thinking that it was indeed a possibility given the circumstances at the time. Neol did caveat his thoughts by conceding that the prospect of him becoming a Special was maybe just have been in his mind and had never even crossed Jerry Dammers thoughts.

However, as The Specials were taking shape, they would rehearse at the Heath Hotel on the Foleshill Road. At the time Neol was attending and taking part in those rehearsals. He attended an awful lot of the sessions.

Neol, who lived close to the Heath Hotel, then discovered that rehearsals were going on behind his back. Initially a guy called Chuck was taking on the guitar parts. Then Neol saw guitarist Lynval Golding turning up and realised that was that, as far as he was concerned.

Again, in those early days of The Specials, Jerry possibly thought he only needed one guitarist in the band. Then Jerry began to realise that he needed a second guitarist. And, after a ‘meeting’ at the Domino in the city centre, in came Roddy ‘Radiation’ Byers. Even at that point Jerry could have quite possibly considered Neol.

A possible explanation as to why Neol was never in the frame to join the band was that Jerry maybe recognised that both he and Neol were strong characters and band leaders. And that would have caused problems and they would quite likely to have clashed. All interesting thoughts though.

As far as I can determine, Hard Top 22 formed during 1977 and were a reggae roots group. The band included Charley Anderson, Amos Anderson, Charles ‘H’ Bembridge, Compton Amanor, Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson and Chris Christy.

Having seen the rise of The Specials and realising the potential of The Selecter track were possibly the reasons Neol set about creating a whole new band based around the tune.

Hard Top 22 were experienced, they had recorded four songs at John Rivers studio in Leamington Spa. Charley effectively broke up the band and invited both Neol and Pauline to form The Selecter. Additionally, The Selecter included Charles ‘H’ Bembridge on drums, Compton Amanor on rhythm guitar, Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson and recruited Desmond Brown on organ. Neol brought some great songs with him but, in Charley’s words, ‘Hard Top 22 made them hotter’.

As The Selecter began to form Neol was lead singer but he never felt fully confident to be a front man. The band were so loud and Neol’s voice became inaudible. So Pauline Black was invited to join.

Pauline Black’s book exquisitely details the birth of The Selecter. It seems that Lynval Golding was instrumental with introducing Pauline to the band. Initially the entire band, according to Neol, was doubtful that Pauline should be singer. Although Pauline’s book gives a slightly different slant. Either way, as Neol acknowledged, how wrong they were as, having Pauline on lead vocal, clearly worked. Pauline’s book also mentions her debut gig as being in Worcester during July 1979.

But one thing is certain and that the formation of The Selecter did happen really quickly as Hard Top 22 had headlined a festival at Hearsall Common during April 1979. And Neol’s memories of the beginning of The Selecter are similar to that of Pauline’s: ‘The Selecter band formed June / July 1979 and the first gig included the the full first line up. It was not until the 2 tone tour when The Selecter played dance hall sized gigs. October 1979 saw The Selecter headline at the Lanch supported by The X/Certs.

Up until Selecter formed Charles ‘H’ Bembridge had been a bass player. Suddenly he decided that he wanted to play drums. And, he became a truly unique drummer. Resentment that The Selecter were playing Neol’s songs. And a mixture of all those emotions made it so good and punchy. And, between them, the band members were putting everything into it. ‘at times up to eight nights continuous at, two shows per night and six weeks on road’. And, all the time, things were becoming a real issue.

From the outset it seems that there was a lot of tension within The Selecter. Apart from Desmond and Charlie no one really knew Neol. Charlie wanted to steer band in a more roots reggae direction but Neol wanted to take the band down a totally different path. But, as Noel conceded, they were a very good band because of the friction. It brought with it a lot of power and energy.

With Chrysalis Records providing the money for the 2 Tone label Neol was given a budget of one thousand pounds for their debut single ‘On My Radio’. Neol also went with Jerry Dammers to get the deal for The Selecter’s debut album. The Specials manager, Rick Rogers, had a company – Trigger – that dealt with the albums publicity. But Neol felt that that Trigger pushed the record from a different angle than it should have been.

Neol admitted that his single biggest mistake was not signing for Warner Brothers when the opportunity presented itself. And he holds his hands up to that one. Neol thought that it would have been difficult to manage the whole 2 Tone thing, if The Selecter and The Specials had been on two different labels. As such he put his trust into the 2 Tone umbrella as opposed to that of what the band were capable of. In hindsight he feels that they should have gone out on their own.

The beginning of the end for this version of The Selecter came, just under eighteen months after the band formed, when Desmond Brown left . The Selecter were on the verge of recording their second album ‘Celebrate the Bullet’. This was a devastating blow for Neol. Charlie Anderson also left. Charlie has mentioned on social media that he was not happy with the album’s title. And during the album’s recording, up stepped producer Roger Lomas, to play some of the bass parts. The Selecter played Top of the Pops where they met Ian Dury and that secured the loan of Norman Watt-Roy to help on some Selecter bass lines when the band played live.

Neol may or may not have being considered for The Specials, we might never know, but Jerry Dammers certainly acknowledges Neol’s involvement and contribution at the outset of 2 Tone era. And, it is true to say that, the basement under that Lower Holyhead Road building was the place where the seeds of 2Tone movement were formed and from where history was created.

Finally, Neol mentioned that he was going through old tapes and recordings with the posibillity of these being released in some form or other in time to come.

by Pete Clemons

After a summer recess, further pop entertainment was provided by the Coventry Theatre, over the August bank holiday weekend of 1964, and for the rest of that week.

This time it was the turn of another Liverpool group, The Searchers, who would share top billing with Dusty Springfield in a one week variety bill that marked the reopening of the theatre.

Within the advertising for this event it was stated that ‘The Searchers visit to Coventry will be a welcome opportunity for local fans to see the band in a live performance. They reached the coveted top place in the hit parade with ‘Needles and Pins’ and ‘Dont Throw Your Love Away’. And their latest recording ‘Someday Were Gonna Love Again’ is already climbing the charts’.

After forming and, in the space of two short months, The Searchers, established themselves as one of the countries most successful and sought after bands. They gained their first silver disc during 1963 with ‘Sweets for my Sweet’ which hit the top spot just three weeks after it entered the charts. Their debut LP, ‘Meet The Searchers’ released during 1964, hit the upper reaches of the charts within seven days after release, quickly establishing the band as serious recording artists and not just one hit wonders.

The Searchers were apparently named as such after the John Wayne. They formed initially as a backing group for a country and western singer. But they soon departed from that genre and quickly established themselves as a part of the Merseybeat boom. After several highly successful trips to Hamburg’s Star Club they cut some demo’s. These found their way into the hands of Pye Records A&R man, Tony Hatch. A contract and recording session soon followed and they came to the great listening audience during June 1963.

On December 20 1963 the ‘New Musical Express’ printed a series of lifelines, in a feature on Dusty Springfield. Of those ambitions Dusty stated that her personal ambition was to be happy. And, back in 1964, she certainly appeared to come across as having a very happy disposition. But, regarding her work, she was never completely happy for no matter how great her performance was, she was always striving for something greater. Another ambition for Dusty was to become an international star. This, at the time of these Coventry appearances, she was well on the way to achieving. Dusty had had a succession of hits in the UK and several in the USA. But of course, Dusty Springfield went on to achieve that ambition by the bucketful. By the time of her week in the city she had completed recording sessions in France and Germany and was scheduled to record Italian and Spanish versions of her hits. And all of these achievements were realised in a short space of time, having only began her solo career during the second half of 1963.

The original advertising for the 1964 Coventry event continued: ‘In September The Searchers will be making a return visit to America for a tour. Going with them will be Dusty Springfield who has also made a previous visit. In the meantime her visit to Coventry will also be welcomed, especially when it comes at a time when her latest release, the Burt Bacharach song, ‘I Just Don’t Know What to do With Myself’ is competing for a top place in the hit parade’.

Another singer, Eden Kane, was among the supporting artists for this huge event and the compère for it all was Clifford Davis. Clifford had been a variety performer in his own right. He has appeared at various variety theatres in Britain as a magic act compère and this was be his first appearance in Coventry.

A slight mystery to this event is around the line up of The Searchers. Depending on which source you use, bass player and vocalist Tony Jackson left the band during either July or August 1964. I suspect that his replacement, Frank Allen performed at these gigs. That aside the line up was Tony Jackson/Frank Allen bass and lead vocals, John McNally rhythm guitar and vocals, Mike Pender lead guitar and vocals and Chris Curtis on drums.

It is true. Cliff Richard once went head to head with The Beatles when both were involved in a contest for audiences at two of Coventry’s most popular cinemas during August 1964. To be fair, the same conflict was also happening up and down the country. And, as it happens, both films proved to be incredibly popular with each doing exceptional business all round at their opposing box offices.

The Beatles first film ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ had already broken box office records in many parts of the country in the short space of time since it was released. And it was anticipated that the tremendous attraction of the famous Merseyside group, which was so irresistible to teenagers, children and many adults during 1964, would bring about a box office record’s at the Gaumont Coventry.

In preparation for the crowds a special schedule had been drawn up to show the film five times a day during the week, and three times on a Sunday. The way was indeed opened for records to be broken. Additionally, extra staff had been taken on to help control the enthusiastic audiences expected.

The film itself was, and still is, a comedy with many hit tunes and an offbeat storyline. It follows thirty six hours in the life of The Beatles as they travel to a TV show in London. The film used a variety of state of the art photographic techniques including a documentary. Together it created one of the music based motion pictures of the 1960s. Apart from The Beatles, the only other well known personality to share the film, is Wilfred Brambell of ‘Steptoe and Son’ fame. He played Ringo Starr’s grandfather.