That said, this is not so much a best of, just a view of what passed my way. And I will try to keep events in some sort of chronological order.

The gig going year, began for me, with a visit to Leicester for a gig by the Dirt Road Blues Band. It was a fantastic night and a pity that these guys don’t get together more often. But maybe the fact they don’t, makes the gig that bit more special.

It continued with a trip to London to see Judy Dyble perform at the Union Chapel. Again, Judy’s gigs are few and far between but well worth catching if possible. Judy returned later in the year with another album of beautiful and evocative tunes titled ‘Earth is Sleeping’.

March saw Steven Wilson visit the Warwick Arts Centre in support of his ‘To the Bone’ album release. Honestly, I was just not prepared for how good this gig was going to be. It was an immense spectacle.

Bedworth band Luna Kiss released their long-awaited album ‘Following Shadows’ during

April. And very impressive it was too in particular the very powerful single ‘You Are’. This was followed up in July by the albums official launch gig at which, each of the bands performing, Luna Kiss, The Ellipses and Free Galaxy did themselves proud. The heatwave meant the venue felt like you were in a pressure cooker and, given these very difficult conditions, each band excelled.

Norwegian band, Gazpacho released their tenth album in May. Titled ‘Soyuz’, this unique band reminding us, by putting to music, the notion that beautiful moments in time cannot be captured and simply saved for the future. May also saw The Fierce and the Dead release their acclaimed instrumental album ‘The Euphoric’. Ethereal, compelling and highly recommended.

Synthcurious, in conjunction with the Tin Arts Centre used the magnificent setting of St John’s Church, Spon Street, to great effect during May. The venue played host to White Noise legend David Vorhaus, who gave a dazzling display of wizardry on his Kaleidophon during May.

A seemingly endless summer saw me take in a couple of memorable outdoor gigs. The Rolling Stones at the Ricoh and Elvis Costello at Blenheim palace. Both gigs have been extensively covered elsewhere but both were extremely memorable.

A memory that has become ingrained in me and will stay with me for life was that of virtually a whole audience singing along to ‘Shoom’ a track by Public Image Ltd and performed as an encore at their gig at the Copper Rooms. If you are familiar with the track you will get the picture. It was something else.

Legends Canned Heat arrived at the Leamington Assembly during July and gave the audience a night to remember as their brand of boogie music had the whole of a seated audience on their feet. It really was great to see and hear.

August and the release of ‘Dissolution’ by The Pineapple Thief. A very different album and not instantly gratifying. But well worth sticking with. With a subtlety deep within it this album certainly grows and continues to give. Later in the year I saw the band play live in Sheffield. With drummer Gavin Harrison now settled in The Pineapple Thief have certainly arrived.

July saw Callum Pickard and the Third Look simply blow me away at the Old Grammar School. Soon afterwards I was shocked by the news that they were splitting up. I appreciate that these things happen, but I can’t help but think that they were on the cusp of something special. However, thanks for the memories guys.

Kristy Gallacher returned to the live stage during August after, what seemed like, a long period away. Not as though I needed it, but I was reminded as to what a talent Kristy is. Her set at Nuneaton Folk Club was immense.

September was a very busy month. Soft Machine released their ‘Hidden Details’ album. And very good it is too. It is a nod to the past and I enjoy listening to it immensely. The loss of guitarist, Piotr Grudziński, cast a huge shadow of the future of Riverside. Certainly, judging by the reaction to their album, ‘Wasteland’, any fears were quickly dispelled. Wasteland is clearly a departure from past and Riverside have clearly embarked on a whole new path. September was also when Two Whole Quails left me mesmerised at The Nursery Tavern with their unique interplay between audio and visual. A real highlight. Finally, for the month of September, Crokodile Tears gave us ‘Old Skool’ a pleasant album of songs reminding us of times gone by.

Acclaimed Russian duo, Iamthemorning, returned with a new album titled ‘Ocean Sounds’. A melancholic release that vocalist, Marjana Semkina, freely admits that they do conjures up visions of desperate and dramatic situations. Their music is certainly complex and compelling.

From the Jam brought the house down, firstly during October at The Empire and then a few weeks later at The Assembly in Leamington as they celebrated 40 years since the release of the iconic album released by The Jam, ‘All Mod Cons’.

Sanguine Hum are another band who never seem to fail in their pursuit of a catchy tune. Latest album ‘Now We Have the Power’, released during October, is sheer delight. Great rhythms combined with lyrics that feel at times as if conversations are taking place within the song. As with previously mentioned releases – complex and worth persevering with.

My final gig of the year was one during December by Roddy Radiation and his Skabilly

Rebels. Promoting his EP release ‘Losing Control’ the Rebels were on sparkling form performing a great cross section of songs from his days as a Bonedigger back to that as a Special. What a way to sign off.

A CD bought for me at Xmas is proving to be a real delight. Released by American band Ace of Cups, this really is a remarkable story and a genuinely fine album. Ace of Cups are from the West Coast who, during the mid-1960s, performed at the same festivals as the likes of Jimi Hendrix. They split releasing only a single. Now the Ace of Cups, complete with stellar backing musicians, have put everything right. The album is a nugget of, fifty-year-old songs, recorded in today’s digital age. Well worth investigation.

There have recently been a few programmes on TV involving Billy Connolly. They have been reminding us of Billy’s past achievements. And Billy, himself, has been reminiscing along with us. Sadly, Billy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s – a neurological condition that impacts movement and speech – several years ago. But apart from physically, he doesn’t appear to have lost his spark.

Billy Connolly left the shipyards of Glasgow during the mid-1960s. He particularly remembers a conversation with fellow welder Willie McGuiness. The words: ‘You don’t want to be sitting here, an old man, who wanted to be a folk singer. If you are keen on it then do it now’ were ringing in his ear and he acted upon that advise.

As still happens today, those who think differently, tend to find each other and gravitate toward each other. Back then though, these people were more identifiable by the way let their hair grow long. Together these types of people did anything other than the ordinary. Tam Harvey and John Byrne were two of the artists who befriended Billy. (50 years on and John Byrne has recently had an exhibition at the National Portrait gallery in Edinburgh).

During 1965 Billy and Tam Harvey formed The Humblebums, a name derived from a play on the word Hobo. Billy playing banjo an instrument that he had discovered a few years earlier and practised at every moment he could.

At gigs, Billy introduced them both to the audience by saying, ‘My name’s Billy Connolly, and I’m humble. This is Tam Harvey, he’s a bum’.

Gerry Rafferty met Billy during 1968 while sharing a bus in Paisley. The pair recognised in each other, things others didn’t. Gerry, who already knew John Byrne, mentioned to John that he had just met the funniest man he had ever come across. John would animate Billy throughout his career. Gerry joined The Humblebums, expanding the band to a trio, but it then became a duo again after Tam Harvey left.

Gerry Rafferty was writing some strong songs and was dedicated to ‘making it’ and this, in turn, influenced Billy. As The Humblebums, Billy told stories while Gerry played the songs. But it seems that the stories were becoming longer and were overtaking the concerts. A strain developed between the pair and, in all places, at Queen Street Station, Glasgow, they made the decision to split. Apparently, it was all very amicable. The Humblebums had given Billy the desire to be more than just a comic.

Billy was also becoming known for his colourful and outrageous clothes as well as causing some controversy with his observational brand of humour. One famous example of this was a sketch called The Crucifixion. Apparently, the whole sketch had begun years earlier in the Saracens Head pub on Gallowgate, Glasgow.

Billy and Tam Harvey frequented the pub regularly. Tam told Billy a story that, over time, Billy added to and expanded upon. Essentially the story picked up on an alleged spelling mistake in the bible and that the last supper had really taken place in Gallowgate, and not Galilee. And this, I understand, is how The Crucifixion sketch began.

Billy Connolly shot to fame after several appearances on the Michael Parkinson chat show. He starred in his own comedy shows and tours and then moved into the world of humorous travelogues, where again, he created many popular prime time TV series. His career took another dramatic turn when he featured in several blockbuster films.

Billy appeared in Coventry several times at the theatre. And there was even on appearance at the start of his solo career which took place at The Bear Inn folk club that once stood on the High Street. I am also, fairly-certain, that The Humblebums once appeared at the Elastic Inn folk club. But I need to find evidence to prove that one.

The one thing Billy has unknowingly given me is the ability to laugh at myself and to not take life too seriously.

Nowadays, you can’t help but notice the number of 1980s music events that have sprang up. As with the 60s and 70s it is as though those, who were teenagers during the 80s, are suddenly staring to get that second wind. You know the feeling. You have seen your children grow up and now they are beginning to fly the nest. You have more time on your hands and you are now setting about having a few years to yourselves again. And fair play to you all.

And of all those 80s bands and artists whose names you will see touring on these package tours, for some of you, there will be one glaring omission. Or at least I rarely seem to see them mentioned. And that band is Wham!. And for a while, the music that Wham! created, was totally inescapable.

Wham!, namely George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, epitomised and embellished the 1980s. Essentially a duo, Wham! was formed during 1981 after the break-up of a Ska band George and Andrew both featured in.

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley would also perform with backing singers Dee C. Lee and Shirlie Holliman. After Dee C. Lee left the band to join, and later marry, Paul Weller of the Style Council, Shirlie was joined by Helen ‘Pepsi’ DeMacque during 1983. They first appeared together on the video of ‘Wake me up before you Go-Go’.

After the split, which was apparently very amicable, both George and Michael went their separate ways, career wise, to varying degrees of success.

Seeing this new wave of electronic funk on the horizon, on entrepreneur began a new series of promotions at the Stables nightclub, at the Chesford Grange in Kenilworth during 1982. They began on, of all nights, a Monday night and one of their earliest promotions was that of a personal appearance by Wham!, ‘an exciting new funk group’. They were promoted as follows……..

Wham! are a duo – vocalist George Michael and guitarist Andy Ridgeley – who hail from Watford. They specialise in electronic funk, something like ABC, but much better.

Their aim (apart from being successful) is to become spokesmen for Britain’s youth – George is just 17 and Andy 18 – hence their slogan: Youth is precious. Don’t waste it, enjoy it. – (By my calculations the pair would have each been 19 at the time of the gig, but hey – what do I know about how these things work).

Since they signed to CBS early this year, they have had one single out – Wham! Rap – which was critically acclaimed, but failed to make the charts.

Now they have a new single ‘Young Guns (Go For It)’ which they will be promoting at the Stables.

Soon after this appearance ‘Young Guns’ reached number three in the UK charts and, then during 1983, Wham! achieved further success with ‘Bad Boys’ and ‘Club Tropicana’.

They went on to achieve further huge smash hits with the above mentioned ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’, ‘Everything She Wants’, ‘I’m Your Man’, ‘Last Christmas’, ‘Careless Whisper’ and ‘Freedom’.

Wham!, had developed their style of funk and soul music and went on to become one of the most successful pop acts of the 1980s selling an estimated 30 million records worldwide between 1982 and 1986.

George Michael was indeed an incredibly special person. Throughout his turbulent and well documented solo career he, seemingly and generously, donated and provided his time to Cancer, HIV, IVF and many other worthy causes. Additionally he gave royalties from the re-releases of the ‘Last Christmas’ single to Band Aid. And all this was done, apparently, under strict ‘no publicity’ conditions.

On the face of it, 40 years ago seems an awfully long time ago. And of course, it was. But looking back over that particular passage of time, and at some of the moments that took place, it seems like only yesterday. Apart from those directly involved – although even they may not have even realised – we certainly didn’t know it at the time, but history has proved that 1978 was one of the most significant years the Coventry music scene has ever known. It preceded and gave rise to one of the most important musical movements which, even today, continues to create ripples.

The celebrations that heralded in 1978 had hardly died down when almost immediately The Automatics, very soon to be known as The Coventry Automatics and namely Jerry Dammers, Horace Panter, Terry Hall, Silverton Hutchinson, Roddy Radiation and Lynval Golding, began a residency at Mr Georges Club.

These regular Monday night sessions lasted for several months. Almost, in fact, until the club finally closed its doors for the last time. It was a period of great change for the band. Those first few months of the year would see also the band’s name change to The Jaywalkers for a short while.

By the middle of 1978 things would change again. The following extract was written by Gary Bushell and was published in the 5th July 1978 edition of Sounds magazine. It is part of a review he wrote for a gig by The Clash at Aylesbury Friars the previous week on June 28th.

‘SURPRISE number one last Thursday were support group The Specials (as they’d been known for four whole hours. were formerly the Automatics which was very confusing far the other Automatics, you know, the tanks rolled over Poland ones). The Specials are a five piece multi-racial punk reggae group from Coventry, and the two cultures don’t so much clash as entertainingly intermingle. Whereas Clash play punk songs and reggae songs, The Specials’ ditties combine elements of the two’.

That tour with The Clash was also significant for other reasons. As bass player Horace Panter remembers – ‘We started the tour as a 6-piece but ended it as a 7-piece’ (Neville Staples had graduated from Roadie to full-time performer).

The final piece of the jigsaw of the classic recording line up of The Specials would drop into place toward the end of 1978 when Transposed Men drummer John Bradbury replaced Silverton Hutchinson. Word has it that Silverton, a reggae drummer, had become disillusioned with the direction the band was taking. Brad’s unique drumming style would become integral as firstly, The Special A.K.A, and then The Specials developed their distinctive sound.

But, as important as it was, the birth of The Specials was not the only thing that happened in Coventry during 1978.

Bands such as Ian Dury and the Blockheads, The Jam and The Buzzcocks who, less than a year or so earlier had been playing the nightclubs had found that their fan base had grown significantly. As such they were now returning to the city and appearing at the far larger Coventry Theatre.

Also appearing at the theatre were the more established rock acts like Be Bop Deluxe, Wishbone Ash, AC/DC and Rory Gallagher alongside the more soulful sounds of Johnny Mathis, The Stylistics and George Benson.

There were also some notable support bands playing the Theatre as UFO and Van Halen each supported Judas Priest and Black Sabbath respectively.

On the outskirts of the city, at the Warwick University, other memorable gigs were taking place. Those by The Ramones, Third World and a Stiff Records tour that included Stiff recording artists Wreckless Eric, Jona Lewie and Lena Lovich certainly spring to mind. Looking back in hindsight, time has told us that it was an incredible year for Coventry, although I think in this case we all realised it. But it was also one that continues to provide many a talking point.

They say that great music lasts a lifetime. And, any band that can sell out 1000 seated venues, with regularity and with ease, must have had something going for it at some point. What is even more remarkable is that the band in question have been in existence for more than 55 years and each of its core band member are now in their 70s. But I am talking about the music of Manfred Mann.

One of the earliest memories I have is one of receiving a 45-rpm record by Manfred Mann back in 1964. I know that as I still have it and I wrote on the sleeve the date I received it. I was captivated by it. More so the B side of the record, as I remember it though.

Little did I know back then but all these years later and I would still be getting to at least one Manfred’s gig per year. Honestly, it is one of the highlights on my gig going calendar. And I am clearly not alone as the loyalty of those who follow The Manfred’s is really, quite staggering.

The band itself began as The Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers, playing The Wine Lodge (aka Tally Ho, Tudor Rose and now Philip Larkin) during 1963. An ever-evolving group, The Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers has an interesting history all its own. And it was during mid 1963 that the band became known as Manfred Mann and gained a recording deal with the HMV record label.

Below is a reproduction of a revealing article from early 1964, that contains an interview with Manfred, and touches on the bond that developed between the band and our city………….

“Manfred Mann is to appear at Coventry’s Matrix Hall soon and what a crowd will be there to see him, or rather them, because Manfred Mann is more than one person.

In the bleak wintery days of early 1963, the five members of Manfred Mann, the rhythm and blues group who have established a large following in Coventry were so hard up that they all slept in one room.

This was the only room in their South London flat they could afford to heat, drummer Mike Hugg mentioned.

Existence depended on pooling resources and, from the bond which developed among the group, has grown a strong co-operative alliance. Although it takes its name from pianist Manfred Mann it acknowledges no leader. This alliance is paying off now the groups growing popularity is bringing regular well-paid work.

They are contracted to Southern Television for a new series and their recording ‘5-4-3-2-1’ was written at the request of producers of Associated Television’s ‘Ready Steady Go’ who were looking for a new signature tune.

Manfred Mann work with the future in mind and after a job, draw only £3 each, the bare minimum to cover everyday expenses. The rest goes into the bank with the result that the latest recruit, bass player Tom McGuiness joined, he was immediately equipped with a new £155 instrument.

During the last year the group estimate they have spent £1600 on such items as a van, equipment and uniforms. And they still claim to have £900 in the bank.

The group was formed in 1962 by Manfred and Mike Hugg who played drums and vibes after a summer season at Butlin’s Clacton where they had been playing in the same dance band. It was at this time that the two founder members began to be noticed by Coventry youth as there was a party of local lads and lassies at the camp at that time.

The boys formed a modern jazz combo which provided rewards neither financial nor artistic, shrugged Manfred. We became steadily more disenchanted with the scene. It wasn’t just that there was little money to be made, but wherever the band played it was always in competition with audience conversation.

‘They didn’t participate. But gradually we drifted into rhythm and blues where we found that the audience were participating in something-alive. In a way rhythm and blues is the music of today – it is modern folk music, inasmuch as modern folk dig it’. At this point Manfred broke off to stroke his long hair away from his eyes.

‘Our idea is to play rhythm and blues, but not as most people think it should be played, as an imitation of an American sound. We want to create some sounds which are different and original to us. Our interest is not short term and we feel that turning out our own material will pay us in the long run’.

Originally known as the Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers the group change their name just before their first disc ‘Why Should We Not’ was released.

Explained Manfred ‘when we started recording it was impressed upon us that we were using a name that was not commercial. I agreed to the new one on the understanding that it refers to us all. We work as a team and I don’t want to be singled out for special attention’.

The full line up of this interesting group with the interesting sound that is soon to rebound from the ceilings of the Matrix Hall, Coventry is Mike Hugg drums and vibes, Manfred Mann piano and organ, Paul Jones singer, Tom McGuiness bass and Mike Vickers alto sax, guitar and flute. “

Incredibly today’s Manfred’s still contain at their core, three members of the band from those early days, namely Hugg, Jones and McGuinness. In fact, when the band reconvened for Tom’s 50th birthday during 1991, Mike Vickers was also a part of it all. The current band also features vocalist Mike d’abo who was successor to Paul Jones when Paul left the band during 1966 to begin a solo career. And together The Manfred’s set is generally made up of songs from the entire Manfred Mann spectrum along with a few surprises.

I couldn’t just let this pass. But the 4 December 2018 marked exactly 25 years since the first ever Porcupine Tree gig at the Nags Head, High Wycombe in 1993.

And what a journey it has been for Steven Wilson ever since. To get to the position of being a musician, simply creating music from his bedroom, to an internationally acclaimed artist has not been easy. The fact is that it has been far from an easy ride. There has been an incredible amount of hard work, commitment and an awful lot of self-sacrifice along the way.

Additionally, Steven is at the forefront of giving the listener as complete an aural experience as possible. From the artwork of an album right down to its final production and mastering. Steven oversees the whole thing. He is also seen as a leading light in the field of state of the art recording techniques. Which is where Steven’s real passion lies.

As far as Porcupine Tree, being a live band were concerned, questions were being asked a couple of years prior to that first gig as to whether Steven’s ‘bedroom’ project would ever be heard by a wider audience. It wasn’t as though Steven had not already had experience on the road. He had, through his ‘other band’ No-Man. But by the time of those first gigs, Porcupine Tree had already had a couple of albums released. Those had been through their independent label, Delerium Records who, it must be said, deserve a lot of credit for getting the band heard during those early days.

Even in a news update from mid-1993, when asked about playing Porcupine Tree music live, Steven mentioned that he was no nearer having a live band than he had been at the previous update. He continued that, he had hoped to do a few gigs to promote the release of ‘Up the Downstair’ but the whole project just didn’t justify the expense of touring yet.

Suddenly, during October 1993, a news update was released that was a lot more up-beat about the whole live thing. It read ‘To promote the imminent re-release of Voyage 34 (Nov 29), I’m doing some gigs. This is a bit of an experiment and we are only doing three to start with, just in case it’s a total disaster’. These will be at High Wycombe, Nags Head on Dec 4, London Borderline on Dec 7, Coventry Tic Toc on Dec 11 (although by the time of the gig the venue had been renamed Antics).

The news update also mentioned that Porcupine Tree were doing a radio one session on December 6 for the Marc Radcliffe show. The band, who would be accompanying Steven, was also announced. Steven Wilson on vocals and guitar, Colin Edwin on bass, Richard Barbieri on keyboards (who both played on ‘Up the Downstair’) and Chris Maitland (from NO-MAN’s live band) on drums.

Surprisingly that first gig, held in an upstairs period styled room that I remember contained a lot of old timber, sold out as it drew in people from far and wide. From memory it was, understandably, a slightly nervy but very competent debut. I cannot think of very much interaction between band and audience. A couple of the musicians were laughing and joking before the gig but as soon as the first notes of V34 were released they all came across as highly committed to the task in hand. For what it’s worth, I did come away feeling hugely impressed. For me, that live debut at The Nags Head came across as a complete success. The gig in Coventry on the following Saturday was an altogether different affair. But what did the band think about it all?

An update received during the early part of 1994 mentioned that Steven had been happy with the way that the PT shows had gone. Changes had been made of a consequence of finding that certain pieces had not worked in a live context (‘Fadeaway’ for example) and others had been introduced to replace them. At present Porcupine Tree are doing several shows in Europe, where a lot of interest had been shown.

Toward the end of 1994 things were gathering momentum as half a dozen UK gigs were announced. One being at the Old Trout in Windsor on November 9 which I managed to get to. News of these events came with a couple of cautionary lines. One being how it had been difficult getting decent gigs in the UK. The other was whether or not the ‘professionals’ would recognise the quality and appeal of the music.

Remember, all this was happening at a time when Britpop was taking the country by storm. And the kind of music which Steven was creating, was very much a part of the underground. Plus, the internet was very much in its infancy. So, getting the word out there was still very much hand to mouth. How times have changed over the last quarter of a century.

After more than 700 gigs, culminating with a gig at the Royal Albert Hall, 10 studio albums and several live releases Steven pressed the pause button on Porcupine Tree as he concentrated on his solo career where he went on to become the biggest selling artist for the K.Scope label. And still, to many, the music of Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson is still to be discovered.

The Woodstock festival held during August 1969 is remembered for so many things. Not least of all for the fact that it produced so many memorable performances. And this, in turn, gave greater rise to so many of the bands and artists who featured in it.

Of course , over here in the UK, the vast majority of music listeners only had the film and the triple LP record set to judge it all by. But some of the most talked about tracks from the album were those by Jimi Hendrix. Of course, what you hear on vinyl, or on celluloid, was only part of a greater performance and of an even stranger and remarkable story.

Earlier, during 1969, Jimi had seemingly wanted to expand the band and explore new options. And this led to Noel Redding leaving the successful Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Several accounts exist over the exact circumstances of Noel Redding’s departure during June 69. Noel Redding, according to an interview, claimed that he had heard, via a third party, on the morning of a festival in Denver that Jimi had wanted to expand the band. Noel also mentioned that after the gig in Denver tear gas was used on the crowd, who were trying to get onto the stage. But, he explained, the wind was blowing into the direction of the stage. After the gig the band were hustled into a van. Suddenly, crowds were all over the van, even on the roof of it, and it began to buckle. Noel simply couldn’t handle it anymore and quit. Witnesses at that same gig claimed that Jimi also announced on stage that this was to be the last ever gig by the Experience. Either way, the original Jimi Hendrix Experience was finished.

With the Woodstock festival looming it was clear that Jimi’s new band had to be put together hastily. Bass player Billy Cox was an old friend for example. Guitarist Larry Lee, another old friend of Jimi’s, then got a call from Billy Cox. Jimi had given Billy the job of tracking down Larry.

Larry Lee hadn’t heard from Billy, who happened to be sat next to Jimi, in years. All this was just a couple of weeks before the gig. They encouraged Larry to join them where they were jamming. This was now ten days before the Woodstock gig itself. The rest of the line-up featured Mitch Mitchell drums, Juma Sultan percussion and congas, Jerry Velez congas.

There then began, apparently, a battle between those who only had commercial interests at heart and who wanted Jimi to continue with money making music of the Experience, and Jimi himself with his artistic ambitions and visions. But for artists, money is not always the prime motivator. Sometimes they need to grow.

For Woodstock, Jimi was down as the headline act. Well actually that’s not strictly true. Festival organiser Michael Lang had actually wanted his childhood hero, western movie star Roy Rogers, to close the show. He wanted Rogers to play a song called Happy Trails which had been used for the TV cowboy programme ‘The Roy Rogers Show’. But Rogers turned down the offer.

The Woodstock festival, notoriously, ran incredibly late. Rain on the Sunday being one of the issues. So late in fact that Jimi didn’t get on stage until 8:30/9am on the Monday morning of the 18 August. Knowing that the whole festival weekend was suffering with timing issues, organiser Michael Land did actually give Hendrix the opportunity of performing earlier at a time where he could take maximum exposure. But Hendrix refused and stuck with the original schedule. However, despite a dwindling crowd there was still a substantial audience to play for.

Having followed Sha-Na-Na on stage Jimi’s band were introduced onto the stage as The Experience although when you check anywhere they seem to be credited as ‘Gypsy Suns and Rainbows’. However, during Voodoo Chile where Jimi introduces the band, he is clearly heard explaining that is their first gig and to call them the ‘Southern Rainbows, but you can call us the Band of Gypsies’. They played uninterrupted for almost 2 hours. You would never have known that this new line up had hardly performed together.

Jimi was a prolific jammer and spent many hours in the studio. This was true particularly after the break-up of the Experience. The core of the Woodstock band was with him through this period as well as drummer Buddy Miles. A lot of Jimi’s gigs were also recorded. And this is why there was so much material, of varying quality, being made available over the years since Jimi’s death. And, of course this brought with it, all the usual questioning of motives behind each release.

A Coventry band that has fascinated me for a while now is ‘Two Whole Quails’. Put very simply, ‘Two Whole Quails – namely Lee and Chris – produce original soundtracks that overlay, to me at least, obscure films. On the occasions I have witnessed ‘Two Whole Quails’ I have found the combined package of film and music score to be incredibly exciting and rather absorbing. Additionally, this whole project is beginning to get noticed as performances are springing up away from the city.

Wanting to know a bit more about the band history and ambitions, I contacted Lee and he kindly replied with the following fascinating overview:

‘We’ve been playing together, on and off, for nearly 25 years. This has been in several different bands and we’ve regularly recorded stuff together – for our own amusement- over the years. We became ‘The Quails’ in 2009 & recorded ‘Floyd On Quails’, a CDR that we gave away a few copies of too friends. We made some more recordings in 2010 but these were shelved as ‘The Quails’ were put on ice to make way for our next band, ‘Auntie Greville’s Perforated Anvil’ (AGPA). ‘The Quails’ didn’t use film, but we were keen on using spoken word, making musical / soundscape backdrops. One track, ‘A Quail’, uses excerpts from an interview with David Hockney; whilst ‘Who Is ‘They’?’ features highlights from a Q&A with Hunter S. Thompson. (We have performed an entire set backing Hunter S. Thompson!).

AGPA was where the film thing was born really. We had the idea of making videos to go with each of the numbers in the set & projecting these (along with a couple of screens for oils). We were into grainy, lo-fi, low- res mobile phone footage and made our own films to accompany each of the numbers in the set. For one number, we used a section from a 1924 silent film called ‘Greed’ which, I guess, was our first foray into scoring silent films. In AGPA, the music came first, and the films were made afterwards.

AGPA dissolved & in 2013 we returned to ‘The Quails’, becoming ‘Two Whole Quails’ as we found that 4 other bands called The Quails! We decided to write a score for a silent film. Although not strictly ‘silent’, Jan Svankmajer’s ‘Alice’ was chosen. I’d seen it a year or two before and my wife suggested it when we began to search for films. It took about 12 months to write. We split the film into sections and wrote the music independently of one another. We would meet up each week and play one another the sections we’d worked on until we had the whole thing recorded. We then went back and spent 6 months learning how to play the whole thing together and turn it into a piece suitable for live performance. We were keen for people to watch the film, not the ‘band’ – the idea being that we fade into the background, there to supplement the images on screen.

We’ve performed ‘Alice’ in its entirety several times but it weighs in at >80mins so we quickly realised that we needed a more versatile ‘set’. We looked at reviving ‘Greed’ and this eventually led to our finding our way to lesser known early 20th century surrealist cinema.

With Maya Deren’s ‘Meshes of the Afternoon’, we wrote the whole score together. It’s one of our most improvised soundtracks and was written to the film. This is by far our most popular film / score – we’re about to hit 100,000 watches on You Tube!

We tend to work on the music together, taking cues from the film as our starting point – what the visual image ‘sounds’ like. It will usually be that one of us gets a particular idea – either at the time or in-between rehearsals – and we take that on then go from there. As the process goes on, the soundtrack becomes more tightly locked into the film. Sometimes we work on pieces individually, but we tend to refine them together. There is a lot of improvisation in our performances. These improvisations are structured by responding to the film. These eventually form the basis of the soundtrack & we end up with a series of pieces, each of which is triggered by certain visual cues.

Where we make our own films, the process is different again. With ‘Radio New World’, we started with the narrative. This is our friend’s story about broadcasting his own pirate radio station from his parents’ garden shed in the 1960s. We got him into the studio to tell his tell his tale then put the story to music. The film came last & illustrates the narrative. With our new work in progress, ‘The Chancellor’s Dinner’, the music came first. We had to come up with something very quickly for an event that Coventry University had booked us for at the Herbert Art Gallery – the Chancellor’s 175th Annual Dinner! This 20-minute piece came out of nowhere and is completely improvised. We have performed it twice without film & we are currently working on a film comprised largely of footage of meals / food that people have sent us.

We are also putting the finishing touches to a soundtrack we were commissioned to write by German author / director, Daniel Hadrovic. The film is called ‘Tote Mich Noch Einmal’ (‘Kill Me Again’). It’s scheduled for release Autumn 2019 and will be screened at film festivals in Germany and hopefully in the UK. There may be a small DVD release too. We’ve yet to see any part of the film and the score has been written to Daniel’s extremely brief brief! It will be interesting to see how this turns out and how he edits the music to the film. We have another early 20th century surrealist film that we’ve ‘mapped out’ ready to start work on before Christmas and we are looking forward to performing ‘The Chancellor’s Dinner’ – with film – early in 2019’.

Huge thanks to Lee for his concise reply. This project is no doubt a labour of love. But it certainly has legs. What ‘Two Whole Quails’ are creating right now is, I think, unique and particularly exciting. I would certainly recommend the ‘TWQ experience to anyone who is remotely interested in vintage footage and musical soundtracks.

45 years ago saw, in my opinion, the release of one of the finest concept albums ever. It was titled ‘Quadrophenia’ and it was by rock band The Who. Thinking back to when the album was released I remember it was a lavish affair across two LP records with the gatefold sleeve that came complete with a black and white booklet set within it.

At the time of Quadrophenia’s release the UK was in turmoil. We had gas and electricity shortages and everyone seemed to be on a 3 day week. The Who was amongst a plethora of bands that managed to make things, for the youth at least, that little bit more enjoyable. And maybe the dank and grey artwork, used on the albums sleeve, was deliberate to reflect those times.

After the release of the Tommy album, things went relatively quiet for The Who. And this trend continued during the first few years of the 1970s. The individual musicians within the band began to release solo albums or feature in films. Admittedly, The Who did release one of their finest albums ‘Who’s Next’ during this period. But ‘Who’s Next’ had been made up of songs mainly created for a science fiction fantasy project called ‘Lifehouse’ that, disappointingly, hit the buffers and was aborted.

Quadrophenia is the story based around a disillusioned ‘Mod’ called Jimmy. Jimmy is a working class youth who struggles with life. But Jimmy has never moved on with the times and he lived in the past. He created a standard of living for himself as influenced by what he enjoys to hear but has difficulties with those who do not see life in the way he does.

But the character of Jimmy is way deeper than the one portrayed on the record. Jimmy was formed on how guitarist and writer, Pete Townshend, saw the four very different personalities within The Who at that time. Drummer Keith Moon was wild and unpredictable. Bass player John Entwistle was himself, a song writer and was unhappy at his own overall contribution to the band. Roger Daltrey wanted something where he uses his powerful vocal and was able to shake his, then, long hair on the stage.

And, combined, these four individuals came together in Pete’s mind to create Jimmy. To add to Jimmy’s problems he was also bipolar or schizophrenic. But for the purposes of the album, and with the four personalities in mind, Jimmy was quadrophenic. Meanwhile, during the writing of Quadrophenia, Pete Townshend was having his own issues with his perceived failure to deliver on his failed ‘Lifehouse’ project.

During this period of self-doubt, after ‘Lifehouse’, Pete Townshend would have a flashback during 1972, to when he was 19, and a particular gig in Brighton where, afterwards, the band had missed their train back to London and spent the night under Brighton Pier. During this flashback Pete reached for his notebook and scribbled out the story. Pete’s notes were reprinted and are what you can see in the front inside cover of the booklet that came with the original double LP.

1972 was also a turbulent time for The Who, who themselves, had many issues to contend with. It is not unfair to say that The Who was close to splitting up. Things were not helped by the fact that Pete Townshend had to take over production duties at a critical time in the recording process. And one infamous incident, for example, came about during a rehearsal for the album.

The whole album was initially presented as a demo presented by Pete Townshend to the rest of the band. And during its recording Roger would become impatient. He just wanted to get on with it while the rest were larking about. Roger was fairly grounded kind of guy, while Pete was a complicated character and this all came to a head in the studio. This had been going on for years and just seemed to come to the boil. Pete swung his guitar in the direction of Roger, giving him a glancing blow to his shoulder. In retaliation Roger waded in and thumped Pete. Many bands would have folded but it was possibly this creative dynamic that saved them.

A taster track for what was to come, 5:15, was released as a single a month before the album was released. The song captures Jimmy going back to Brighton to try to find what he had lost within himself. On 5:15 a train’s whistle can be heard and throughout the album sounds can be heard such as those of rolling waves. Strings were also used to enhance the songs.

The opening track on the album ‘The Real Me’, is the essence of the story where each of the four personalities of The Who are featured and sets the scene for the rest of the album. Jimmy goes in search of help for his issues.

The distance of what The Who was, back in 1964, and what they had become is captured in the album. Jimmy happens to pass The Who as they were leaving Hammersmith Odeon following a gig. They went straight into a flash car and Jimmy was devastated. This was not The Who he remembered. Another example of the change over time is when Jimmy meets up again with the ‘Ace Face’ from his scootering days. The ‘ace’ has now settled down and is now working as a bell boy in a hotel. 

Like most youngsters born before the 1960s Jeff Beck grew up with the radio. It was one of the few forms of entertainment and music was all important. Jeff was attracted to the guitar from an early age and he would love to analyse the sound. He has also cited the film ‘The Girl Can’t Help It’ and the sounds of Les Paul and Mary Ford as being early influences.

At around the age of 14 Jeff’s sister gave him the phone number of someone whom she thought was a like-minded individual, as they had both built their own homemade guitars. That phone call led to Jeff meeting Jimmy Page at Jimmy’s parents’ house. The pair clicked instantly listening intently to guitar solos on the music of the 1950s. This was the beginning for Jeff as he began searching for that innovative sound.

After leaving school Jeff became an art student at Wimbledon College. At the same time he was gigging in various bands. Jeff loved art school but the music took over.

The Yardbirds had been searching for a new guitarist. It wasn’t that their current guitarist, Eric Clapton, was not good enough. It was that they were after a new direction and looking for a hit record. And it was through Jimmy Page, who had been approached first, that Jeff hooked up with The Yardbirds during early 1965. In fact Eric Clapton went to check Jeff out, who was then playing with his band The Tridents, to ensure they were getting the right man.

At around the same time Jeff and Jimmy had become inspired by Indian music. They were listening intently to a lot of the Ragas of Ravi Shankar. Jeff was convinced he could interpret a version of the sound on his guitar.

Beck’s ‘sitar’ like sound that he got out of his guitar helped transform The Yardbirds and achieve the chart success they desired. Within a month of joining the band Jeff was touring America.

With the money that he earned Jeff invested in a 1963 Corvette. You see, Jeff Beck’s other interest was cars.

After less than two years however Jeff Beck was fired by The Yardbirds. The way Jeff explains it is that the band had been added to a package tour called the ‘Caravan of Stars’. It was an odd tour as it meant a lot of travel and The Yardbirds had a 15 minute slot where they got to play 2 or 3 songs. This was not what Jeff wanted and simply walked away and returned home after 2 gigs.

Jeff Beck was now, in his own words ‘free to dream again’ and back in the U.K. Jeff set about forming his own band.

To begin his quest Jeff visited the Cromwellian Club in London. It was a meeting place for musicians. This particular night it was unusually quiet. In fact the only other person in there was an out of work singer called Rod Stewart. They got chatting and during the conversation Rod mentioned Ronnie Wood. Jeff knew of Ronnie as they had met in Sheffield when Ronnie was touring with his own band The Birds and Jeff with The Yardbirds.

The first year or so saw a succession of musicians joining and leaving the core trio of the new Jeff Beck Group. They also found themselves under the guidance of producer Mickie Most. It was a real miss-match as Mickie was trying to steer the band in the direction of chart success. Jeff loved Rod Stewarts voice and specifically asked for Rod to sing on the hit single ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’. But Mickie didn’t care for it and this was evident during the singles recording. Jeff likened the ‘Hi Ho’ period to wearing a pink frock in Oxford Street. It had all been too uncomfortable for him.

Eventually though the Jeff Beck Group settled with Nick Hopkins on piano and Micky Waller on drums. A gruelling tour of America followed and they were getting rave reviews. It was reported heavily, for example after a gig at Fillmore West, that the band had blown away headline bands such as the Grateful Dead.

Back in the U.K. the band recorded the ground breaking ‘Truth’ album which was released during 1968. Needless to say that ‘Hi Ho’ never made though its B side, the magnificent ‘Becks Bolero’ – actually recorded in 1966 – did. Rock music had not heard anything like this before. Several more U.S. tours followed along with a second album ‘Beck-Ola’ released in 1969. But it was also being reported that a rift had developed within the band. Days before the band were due to fly out for a scheduled slot at the Woodstock Festival, Jeff disappeared and the band disintegrated. During a recent documentary Jeff was still convinced it was the right thing to do. And reluctantly Rod Stewart agreed.

By the end of 1969 Jeff Beck was back at his Mother’s house. Another film that had inspired him as a youngster was called ‘Hot Rod Gang’. Jeff still has a vivid memory of a particular scene showing 2 hot rods, one on either side of the road, with their wheels up on the kerb stones. While Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood were joining up with rock band, The Faces, Jeff lost himself in his cars.

That was until early 1971 when Jeff resurfaced with an all new Jeff Beck Group featuring Max Middleton on piano, Cozy Powell on drums, bass player Clive Chaman and vocalist Alex Ligertwood. By the time this new band recorded the ‘Rough and Ready’ album Ligertwood had been replaced by Bobby Tench. A second album, affectionately known as the Orange album, kind of kicked off from where the previous ones had finished. Although, the albums final track called ‘Definitely Maybe’ kind of set the scene for future and more instrumental, Jeff Beck albums.

Before that though, Jeff had met up with Stevie Wonder when he had been offered some studio work. A collaboration between the pair led to the single ‘Superstition’ written by Stevie but Jeff played on. Jeff then formed the short lived Beck, Bogert and Appice with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice. And this power trio included a heavy version of ‘Superstition’ on their only album release. A writing block apparently prevented this trio developing further.

After this venture Jeff retreated to his workshop once more. He remembers that on one occasion while working on a car he had the radio on and heard this instrumental. It was Miles Davis and John McLaughlin performing on the Jack Johnson tribute album. Immediately a door opened within his mind to a host of new ideas that would lead to the million selling ‘Blow by Blow’ album. The album contained tracks from his association with Stevie Wonder along with collaborations with Max Middleton who Jeff had once again teamed up with and between them came up with tunes like ‘Scatterbrain’. Produced by George Martin the instrumental ‘Blow by Blow’ was an altogether, more jazzier album, and it was clear to hear that new avenues were opening up.

During this time Jeff would see the Mahavishnu Orchestra play live and get to meet up with them. He immediately bonded with the bands keyboard player Jan Hammer. With George Martin unavailable, Jan agreed to help complete Jeff’s next album ‘Wired’. In fact they paired up for one of the albums highlights ‘Blue Wind’. The amazing relationship between Jeff and Jan would continue until the beginning of the 1980s.

The 1980s were was a time that felt alien to Jeff. He has mentioned that it was a push button time, uninspiring and no place for him. So for the majority of that time he was either building cars or guesting on other artist’s album. That said, during the middle of that decade he released an album title ‘Flash’ that seemed to draw on all his previous experiences. And it saw a reunion with Rod Stewart. ‘Flash’ also earned Jeff his first Grammy award.

Another relative period of quiet followed. That was until, out of the blue, he received a picture that would adorn his next album. Jeff took one look at it and thought ‘they hit the bull’s eye – that is me’. Inspired by the painting Jeff set about forming another power trio. This time however, there would be no bass. Its replacement would be keyboards. Together with Tony Hymas, who had worked on ‘Flash’ and Terry Bozzio they created the classic powerhouse album ‘Guitar Shop’ that was chock full of aggression, melody and attack. Released in 1989, ‘Guitar Shop’ earned Jeff his second Grammy award.

Despite gossip to the contrary, whenever I have seen Jeff live or giving interviews on TV, he always seems to come across as a humble kind of guy who simply wants to follow his own path. He has been described as a maverick, a risk taker, he is exciting, and he is out there. And he will say no if he is not happy. Also, and I think most importantly, he doesn’t appear to give a monkeys about the trappings of success.

Yes he has had his moments. George Martin, for example, recalled a time when he witnessed Jeff throw his guitar across the studio in total rage. But don’t we all have our moments? A recent interview showed him totally grateful that he has had been given the chance to have appeared at places as revered and diverse as The Hollywood Bowl and Ronnie Scott’s club.

Nowadays Jeff is, in the main, reflective. He has gone out with band’s that includes singers such as Imelda May, Joss Stone and Beth Hart. The occasional new album is released, Jeff even went right back to his early influences recently, and still finds great success with them. And he even seems to be at peace with ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’ – well, the fact that it has given so many people a lot of pleasure. As for Rod Stewart, well he has stated that he has not given up hope of ever performing with Jeff again.