Just For You – 1964 Sam Costa Film – Coventry Connections.

by Pete Clemons

Born 1910, Sam Costa began his
working life as a singer for big bands. Sam was also one of my Mum’s favourites.
As such I remember him for presenting ‘Housewives Choice’ on Radio 2 from 1967.
He also appeared of ‘Juke Box Jury’ and David Frost’s ‘Frost on Sunday
programme.

 During 1964 Sam Costa appeared
in a film with several connections to Coventry within it. The plot to the film
is almost non existent really. Well, to be honest, there isn’t one at all. It’s
more a programme that showcases singing stars from the hit parade of the day
complete with Sam Costa’s interludes.

 Throughout the movie DJ/agent
Sam lies in his other worldly computer operated bed. If there is a message then
it is that he is demonstrating all the trappings of success. The bed provides
him with all his needs. ‘This is the life’ he says. ‘All the wonders of modern
science at my beck and call, anything I want at the touch of a button’.

 Another scene has Sam ranting
‘I’m not paying through the nose for all this guff for nothing you know’. ‘Its
amazing what you can do in bed. This bed does everything’. Between songs he has
this continual conversation with the computer which is trying to stir him into
life.

 From his berth Costa
introduces: Faye Craig: “Bongo Baby” and “Voodoo.” The
Applejacks: “Tell Me When.” Al Saxon: “Mine All Mine.” Band
Of Angels: “Hide & Seek.” The Orchids: “Mr. Scrooge.”
The Bachelors: “The Fox” and “Low In The Valley.”

Freddie & The Dreamers: “You Were Made For Me” and “Just For
You.” Doug Sheldon: “Night Time.” Caroline Lee, Roy Stone and
Judy Jason: “Teenage Valentino.” Peter and Gordon: “Leave Me
Alone” and “Soft As The Dawn.” Millie Small: “Sugar
Dandy.” Jackie and the Raindrops: “Loco-Motion.”

The Warriors: “Don’t Make Me Blue.” Mark Wynter: “I Wish You
Everything.” Johnny B. Great: “If I Had A Hammer.” Louise
Cordet: “It’s So Hard To Be Good.” The Merseybeats:
“Milkman.”

 From
that list you might just have spotted the Coventry associations. These of
course are The Orchids and Johnny Goodison. After The Orchids performance Sam
quips ‘The rumours that The Orchids helped me with my 11+ are totally untrue’

 For the
American market, several of the UK musical performances were cut from the film.
Added however was new footage of US artists – including The Chiffons, The
Vagrants and The Rockin’ Ramrods. It was then released Stateside as ‘Disk-O-Tek
Holiday’.

 Just For you is a feature
completely of it’s time. It is excellent quality, widescreen and in colour. At
the same time it is a incredibly priceless resource in as much that you get
rare footage of several not so well known crooners of the day.

 It is futuristic in that the
film features a TV remote control as well as a huge wall mounted screen.

Lots of groovin, ravers and go
go dancing. Sam Costa did eventually get dressed but still lived life in bed.
The line of show was, for me, ‘have you got your weekend joint yet’? – Not sure
those days had arrived at that time but it really made me smile.

Johnny B Great

The Wine Lodge – The Tally Ho – now the Philip Larkin

The Hotel Leofric was the place where, for decades, the good and the great of the entertainment world would stay. Of course it had many other visitors. But the Leofric was an important and well known feature at the heart of the city centre.

The hotel’s main entrance was accessed from Broadgate. At the rear of the building, but still connected internally to the hotel, was the White Lion Pub. The White Lion did have its own entrance and this was via Smithford Way.

The Leofric wasn’t exclusively a hotel though. For several years, during the early to mid 1960s, it was the hub for two jazz major clubs. Both of these clubs were held on Sunday evenings. The Warwickshire Society of Jazz Music (WSJM) held their gigs upstairs in what was known as the Windsor Room. While downstairs in the Grosvenor Room The White Lion Jazz Club held its club nights. For a while, gigs held at The White Lion were billed as ‘The Best in British Jazz’.

During this period Ronnie Scott appeared at The White Lion several times. To the point where I suspect he, and his business partner Pete King, may have had an organisational involvement with The White Lion Club. But I may have read to much into that. There is, though, clear evidence that Ronnie and Pete did have a ‘branch’ in Coventry.

It began when, suddenly and during the early part of 1962, The White Lion Jazz Club changed venues. An announcement appeared in the local press. It read: ‘Best in British Jazz’ – Will all members, and Modern Jazz Fans, please note that our concerts will now be held every Sunday upstairs at The Wine Lodge’.

Ronnie Scott had, by now, established several ‘branch’ clubs up and down the country. Already in the Midlands were ‘branch’ clubs in both Leicester and Birmingham (this was several decades before Ronnie opened his club on Broad Street in the early 1990s). And a branch venue was established at The Wine Lodge by Ronnie Scott and Pete King.

The Wine Lodge was soon being billed as ‘the only club in Coventry to play top modern jazz stars such as Tubby Hayes, Ronnie Ross on his saxophone, Jimmy Skidmore and more’. Even well known overseas jazz musicians such as Americas top tenor saxophonist star John ‘Zoot’ Sims appeared there. And Zoot was not the last. He was succeeded by many others. These particularly included many saxophonists whom both Ronnie Scott and Pete King (who were both tenor saxophonists themselves) greatly admired.

It has to be said that all this was at a time well before the, now, world famous Ronnie Scott Jazz Club operated from its current site. Scott’s initial base was at Gerrard Street, London and moved to Frith Street in 1965.

The Wine Lodge, of course, was situated on the corner of The Burges and Corporation Street. Just a couple of hundred yards down from The Hotel Leofric. And this new Coventry club became known as The Yardbird Club.

The move to the Wine Lodge meant it freed up the Leofric Hotel’s Grosvenor Room. This was immediately filled by The Warwickshire Society of Jazz Music (WSJM) who now occupied both rooms at the Leofric Hotel. It was then that the WSJM then began their simultaneous evenings of both traditional and modern jazz events.

The Yardbird Club remained at The Wine Lodge for around three years or so before moving on to The Mercers Arms. Again, Ronnie Scott was involved by being on hand to perform with his band at the opening night of the ‘new Yardbird Club’.

As for The Wine Lodge, towards the mid 1960s, up and coming beat groups had taken over the venue. Bands like The Sorrows, The Pines, The Beat Preachers all appeared there. In fact The Vampires had had a residency there as early as 1962.

After its hey day as a jazz venue The Wine Lodge went through a series of name changes. These included the pub being called The Tally Ho and The Tudor Rose. Today it is known as The Philip Larkin.

BAND INDEX

It was either during the later part of 1960 or early 1961 that the Warwickshire Society of Jazz Music (WSJM) first commenced operating at the Hotel Leofric on Sunday evenings. It was quickly regarded by visiting musicians, and the cognoscente of the jazz world, as one of Europe’s finest jazz clubs.

At that time there was already a jazz club based at The Leofric Hotel. The White Lion Jazz Club held gigs in the Grosvenor Room (downstairs) on Sunday evenings. The Warwickshire Society of Jazz Music held their gigs in the Windsor Room (upstairs).

In terms of comfort, décor and surroundings the club was certainly unsurpassed by any other in the British Isles, whilst the list of artistes and groups who have appeared there read like a ‘who’s who’ of British jazz. And that list included such names as Mr Acker Bilk, Chris Barber, Ottille Patterson, The Temperance Seven, Terry Lightfoot, Bob Wallis, Mick Mulligan, George Melly, Don Rendall, Jimmy Skidmore, Keith Christie, Graham Bond, Joe Temperley and Eddie Blair to name only a few.

In March 1962 the Warwickshire Society of Jazz Music, following the acquisition of the Grosvenor Room in addition to the Windsor Room which they were already occupying, began what was seen as a daring experiment of mixing both traditional and modern jazz.

Predictions within the jazz world were of a grim outlook. However, in total contradiction to the prophecy’s of the pundits, this merger became a tremendous success and the followers of each idiom shown extreme tolerance and interest towards the other. Yes, there really had been past clashes between the two cultures.

Members of the WSJM were able to move freely between both rooms as they pleased on payment of only one membership fee and the majority allocate their Sunday evenings entertainment on a 50/50 basis between the two.

Only a short while earlier it would have been unheard of for a jazz club to operate in one of the nations leading hotels but the conduct of the Midlands Jazz fans has lead to Mr J.R. Wearmouth, manager of the Hotel Leofric, to say: ‘Their behaviour can only be described as exemplary and my staff and I are pleased to see them at any time’. That in itself was a fitting tribute.

The Warwickshire Society of Jazz Music claimed to be the only club in the country that perused both a traditional and modern policy. Both groups play simultaneously. Traditional in the Windsor Room and modern in the Grosvenor Room.

Over time, of course, modern jazz became more popular. At the same time music trends were changing. It all began getting more avant garde. Bands who were more jazz, blues and, later rock, influenced quickly moved in and the venue became more of an underground hangout.

The Grosvenor room remained modern jazz but the traditionalists had moved on. The Windsor Room, now run by Roy Brunt for McKiernans Promotions, saw acts like the bluesy John Mayalls Bluesbreakers, Cream then later the likes of Taste, Spooky Tooth and Family. It even founfd room for soul legends such as Screaming Jay Hawkins and Lee Dorsey.

Stagflation hits pop music.

Stagflation is apparently a condition where you have persistent high inflation combined with a stagnant demand in a country’s economy. Todays inflation rises are at their highest for 50 years. It is eerily similar to where we were in the 1970s. The live music scene doesn’t appear to be recovering quite as well or as quickly as it had hoped now that post pandemic restrictions are easing.

As always there you will find exceptions, winners and losers. Some tours are going from strength to strength but at a grass routes level things could be a lot better. I am hearing of many events where music fans are reluctant to pay up front for tickets. Equally promoters are not willing to take a risk. They are waiting, or pinning their hopes on that last minute rush when they begin to see return from their investments.

For some reason a lack of confidence on all sides….promoters and audience. Punters are not willing to commit. This has a double edged sword effect as promoters are, in turn, getting cold feet at the prospect of empty venues.

I have heard so many times recently how, nowadays, a band’s only real income comes from touring. No longer do they make money from album sales alone.

And this whole situation had me thinking back to the mid 1970s when we had similar issues and, where high inflation, also had a knock on effect on the music industry. I was reminded me of an interview with promoter Mel Bush who gave us his thoughts on the inflation issue at that time.

Here is that interview…….

If the cost of pop concert tickets keeps going up, a visit to a live performance could well become a rare treat rather than a regular outing for hard up music fans.

As prices increase people will decide to stay away – especially if the band is not very well known – and prices will be raised again to cover the cost of the concert.

A simple take is to slip into the kind of thinking that 500 people paying 50p per ticket is just the same as 250 people paying £1. But national and local promoters all agree that, unfortunately, it is not as simple as that.

Mel Bush, who was promoting Slade’s nationwide tour explained that the band would probably be out of pocket after travelling around the country – even though they were playing to full houses every night.

‘If you take the average group like Slade they will have about a dozen road crew, plus the groups personal tour manager and the group themselves.

There are hotel bills, wages, hiring out allowances and other running expenses. To put on one show costs around £1400 a night. And the hall takes 30% of the receipts, to which another 10% is added for extra stewards and electricians.

The hire of the van costs £400 a week, lights and sound equipment add another £400 a night and the hotel bill is around £300 a night’.

He said the band would not make any money on tour. ‘It’s purely done for the kids to get a chance of seeing them perform, and to promote records.

‘Last year Slade sold more albums in Britain than anyone else and they have had a string of hit singles. But we want to keep the prices of admission down for the working class kids. We could charge £3 and still fill the halls – and that would make a profit – but we don’t want to do that.

The situation is the same when groups are booked in to venues by separate promoters and are not on a tour arranged through one agency. But the loss is suffered by the promoter, not the band, in this case’.

Looking back at that interview, to me, what Mel Bush was suggesting appears to be a complete 180 degrees viewpoint from that being suggested today for the music industry. Times have changed during those 40 years I appreciate. We are now in this digital age for starters where, in my opinion, it hasn’t been as kind to musicians as it might have been despite, initially, looking as though it was going to be all so great for them. But we do seem to be back in a situation where inflation is hitting music hard.

How different it all was in the 1970s when we were last faced with the kind of inflation rises we are feeling today. And yet, somehow, how very similar it all sounds. It is strange though that, despite the country being in a recession, the labour market has not noticeably been affected. All we can do now, I guess, is to continue to support the venues. And, where possible, attend gigs and buy merchandise.

 Bill Haley in Coventry 1974

by Pete Clemons

When Coventry folk think about Bill Haley, I suspect that, a lot of their thoughts go back to February 1957. It was then that, what seemed like, the entire population of the city attended. If not then they were in the enormous crowd that gathered outside the Gaumont theatre or were with those who filed into Broadgate to get a glimpse of Bill on the Leofric Hotel balcony during his visit to the UK.

But Bill Haley’s success did not last. He didn’t carry the youthfulness of, for example, Elvis Presley. Or the same charisma. And towards the end of the 1950s the hits had dried up for Bill. And as his popularity in America waned he did make several more visits to the UK, the last of those being in 1974.

During his UK tour of 1974 Bill Haley and the Comets performed several times in the area. And those gigs included visits to the Lanch, Chrysler Social Club and Bedworth Civic Hall where he had Shakin’ Stevens and the Sunsets in support.

The Comets on that trip to the UK were Nick Nastos on lead guitar, Rudy Pompilli on tenor sax, Ray Parsons rhythm guitar and Freddie Moore on drums. Strangely the stage gear included orange hi-vis jackets and black trousers. Bill Haley wore a white jacket.

Incidentally, Rudy Pompilli passed away soon after this 1974 tour with lung cancer. Although not a smoker himself it is thought that Rudy contracted the disease through secondary smoking. Smoking had been common place in theatres, and other public spaces, for years.

When the band took to the stage the ‘teds’ shot to the front of the dance floor to be as close as they could to their idol. As for Bill well he looked just as he had done almost 20 years previously. Despite several musical revolutions during that time he looked relatively unscathed.

The old hits rolled and the youthful Comets rocked in authentic style. ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’, ‘Razzle Dazzle’, ‘See You Later Alligator’, ‘The Saints Rock and Roll’, ‘Rip it Up’, ‘Johnny Be Goode’, ‘Hail Hail Rock and Roll’ and his anthem ‘Rock Around the Clock’ were all there. The latter, however, sounding a little jaded and like a worn out 45. In fact the whole event felt like that worn out cardigan that your Dad really loves and refuses to wear anything else – worn out but familiar.

By the end of it all though the sweat was pouring. Despite that Bill and the boys returned to the stage for an encore of ‘Rock This Joint’. Bill Haley had come to terms with these twilight years admirably and was still playing rock and roll the way it used to be. It was still there for anyone that would listen.

 Reg Calvert and the School of Rock – Update.

by Pete Clemons.

Reg Calvert – A Rock n Roll Rollercoaster

Clifton Hall – The School of Rock

Danny Storm, Buddy Britten, Robby Hood

Reg Calvert and Johnny Washington

The Fortunes – Fifty Year Milestone