FROM THE ALBERT HALL TO THE SNOOKER HALL

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.

John Shipley - Horizon photography

Interviews  with Mr Peter John Shipley, 3/2/20 and beyond

It’s not every day that you get an opportunity to talk to a musician who played guitar on one of the most iconic songs ever released. Recently, I did just that, when I spoke at length to Peter John Shipley who played on the Jerry Dammers’ anthem “Free Nelson Mandela”, whilst a member of The Special AKA.

John, of course, was also on that remarkable picture that showed a group of David Bowie “freaks”. The image was captured at the Rose and Crown on the High Street during the mid 1970’s, and was recently released on the internet. In fact, it was John’s photo.

John arrived in Coventry with his family in 1965 after spending his early years in Bedford, having been delivered to an unsuspecting world, at Whittington Hospital, Highgate, London. He was schooled at King Henry VIII grammar school, where he excelled at cricket, basketball and cross country running, an all-round athlete.

His introduction to the world of arts and culture came during 1972, when he first heard Bowie’s “Life On Mars”, which was originally released on the “Hunky Dory” album on 17/12/71. His interest in music and performance developed when he went to see Roddy Byers’ showband perform at the Smithfield Hotel on Hales Street, opposite Coventry Theatre, in 1974. The rhythm guitarist, “Trev”, apart from being a decent musician, also wore....drainpipe trousers, an oddity at the time. This inspired John to pick up a guitar.

John couldn’t remember Trev’s full name. So I had to call on Roddy’s memory once again. “Trevor was a bit of a mystery. Apparently, that was not his real name. All I know is that he was a big fan of Lou Reed and had been expelled from a posh school. I met him again when the Specials played Berlin in the early days. He was pretending to be German. He said hello, gave me a hug and a kiss and then walked off. Strange guy, he gave me a black eye once, too!”

During 1975 John moved to Torquay. While there, John honed his guitar skills and vividly remembers the hot summer of 1976, when he serenaded folk on the beach, with his take of “Bobby Shafto”, which he had learnt from Bert Weedon’s “Play in a Day” book. He moved on to Brighton, but was back in Coventry, however, when the Sex Pistols and The Clash performed on the same bill at the Lanchester Polytechnic on 29/11/76, and, as with the legendary Manchester Lesser Free Trades Hall gigs, it seems that it had a profound effect on all that gathered there. Returning to Brighton, John moved in with old friend and fellow “Bowie boy”, Dave Wankling during 1977, and has fond memories of duetting with him on their take of “I Got You Babe”.

Dave knew some French guys called Philippe and Alain, and between them, they formed a band they called, The Squares. However during 1978, both John and Dave left the band. John seems to think that the young Frenchmen returned home, and continued to perform as “Les Squares”, until fairly recently.

After the split, John and Dave returned to Coventry where Urge were formed, with the additional services of John Westacott on bass, and Billy Little on drums. John was not destined to remain in Urge for long. He had noticed that people didn’t dance at their gigs even though the songs were, by and large, danceable, and he was very keen to create a more rhythmic groove with more visible audience participation. Dramatically, in the middle of a set at the Lanchester Polytechnic, John walked off the stage, never to return. Seeing the (Coventry) Automatics perform at Mr George’s nightclub and the Hand and Heart, only confirmed the direction that he wanted to take.

The formation of the Swinging Cats, during ’78, began when John met keyboard player, Toby Lyons at the Hope and Anchor, and they then approached bass player, Steve Wynne of the Transposed Men to join. Together with drummer Billy Gough, they rehearsed at the Green Shed, close to the Butts. John formed a friendship with Jerry Dammers (coincidentally, another ex- Henry’s pupil), over a pint or three at the Hope and the Bear Inn, and the two pals would also travel to the Rum Runner in Birmingham, where the ideas (and more beer) flowed.

It all began well for the Cats when they won a Battle of The Bands competition at the Lanch. The band began the competition with Jane Bayley on vocals, only to be replaced, for the final, by Jerry Dammers’ girlfriend at the time, Valerie Webb (now Val Haudiquet). In Val’s words, “Not sure why, but Jane Bayley left the Swinging Cats whilst doing Battle of the Bands. I offered my services as a stand in for the final. I think I had about 10 days preparation, if that. We went on to win...I was elated, as I'd never sung before...I remember I was nervous as hell...but as so many people have said, once I was up there I was loving it”. In his capacity as 2 tone supremo, Jerry offered the band a two single deal, and having joined the 2 tone stable, they went on to tour with the Selecter, and later, the Specials. Val describes the experience, “We toured with Selecter to replace Holly and the Italians who had dropped out of the tour. Remember my voice getting progressively worse and worse as I had no experience of singing so much for such a long time! After the tour, we appeared on Look Hear. By that time I sounded like an old washboard. So sad...my only ever TV experience and I was awful! By the time Jerry offered the 2 single deal, I had left, and Jane Bayley had rejoined”.

The prize for winning the competition had been a day’s recording at Woodbine Studios in Leamington Spa, and that single session spawned the double A side, Mantovani/Away, which was eventually released in August 1980. The release of their debut though representing a great step forward, did not fare well however, despite the first 20,000 copies being sold at the giveaway price of 50p. Each of the members of the Cats had adopted a “nomme de guerre”, including John as “Vaughan Truevoice”, Chris Long as “Craig Guatemala”, Paul Heskett, “Vince Laredo”, Toby Lyons, “Toni El Dorko”, and Val as “Pussy Purrfect”.

The Cats suffered from constant line up changes, and this possibly hindered their progress. This culminated in their meltdown, much to John’s regret, shortly after the notorious Cambridge Midsummer Common gig in October 1980, as part of the “More Specials” tour, which saw Jerry and Terry Hall hauled in front of the beaks and fined £1000 for inciting a riot. The Cats’ set was rudely interrupted after only two tunes by National Front thugs who started a violent fracas. After the tour, which John recalls was peppered with similarly unpleasant incidents and brought little joy, the almost inevitable happened, and the Cats breathed their last.

The second planned single, “Greek Tragedy”, was finally recorded with a roster of Rhoda Dakar on vocals, Chris Dickie (of Gods Toys) on bass, Rob Hill on drums, Jerry on keyboards, and John on guitar. Sadly it never reached the pressing plant. “Greek Tragedy”, however, did get a live outing during the Rock Against Racism gig at the Butts stadium, in June ’81. The opening band that day were “Ship’s Crew” a hastily formed outfit of John’s creation. At about 1pm, the song was aired to just two people, as John recollects it...Mr Dammers and John’s dad, Bob, who was attending one of his son’s gigs for the very first time. Ship’s Crew sailed out that day, and capsized on their maiden voyage.

John’s next move was to become a member of the Special AKA, by which time 2 tone was fully under the control of Chrysalis Records. This was a particularly difficult time financially, as Chrysalis were not paying him any wages, so he had to sign on to make ends meet. This situation wasn’t helped by the fact that the album, “In the Studio” took a tedious and protracted three years to complete. As an unexpected silver lining though, John did get to appear on the iconic “Crackerjack” children’s TV show, performing “What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend”. However this sudden apparent lift in his fortunes was somewhat tempered by the fact that he never received a single Crackerjack pencil..........

John’s relationship with the music industry progressed when Pauline Black fronted band, The Supernaturals. Other personnel in a fluid line up included Everett Morton (ex Beat) on drums, replaced by Rob Hill, Zip the Bassman on bass(!), replaced by Ray from Rugby, and Dave Gedney, Tony White and John Greenhow (guitar). The Supernaturals eventually secured a support slot on a prestigious tour with the Communards, which led to one memorable performance at no less a venue than the Royal Albert Hall. Following the tour, and a gig at Bangor University, Pauline and the band went their separate ways. However, without the kudos of Pauline as vocalist, the Supernaturals began to “de-energise”, in John’s words, and finally dissolved.

The break-up of the Supernaturals precipitated a name change to The Great Escape and the eventual recruitment of Val Webb as lead singer and lined up as Val, Tony White, John, Rob Hill, John Greenhow and “Barry” on bass. John reminisces, “a gentleman called “Callum” suddenly appeared on the scene, a bloke claiming to be the brother of Billy McKenzie (of Associates fame, RIP). Following a recording session in Stoke- On-Trent, it soon became very apparent to everyone that Callum couldn’t sing.” Val enthusiastically recalls, “We only did a few gigs, but they were well received. John wrote some excellent stuff for the band. I sent a cassette to Trev Teasdel, which he managed by magic, to transfer onto a cd. Unmistakable Shipley wonderstuff. They are, in fact, my proudest moments."

Inevitably, however, following an almost predictable pattern, and much to John’s bitter disappointment, The Great Escape parted ways, once and for all.

After the demise of The Great Escape, John joined a motley group of like-minded, bohemian musicians called The Cosmics. The line-up consisted of Carlton Brodin (guitar/vocals), Dave Fullwood (trumpet), Nadja (trombone), Richard (sax), and Neil (drums,) and, on their London dates, they were joined on stage by no less a legend than Cuban-born Jamaican ska, reggae and erstwhile Specials trombonist, Rico Rodriguez. The cohort started busking at Camden Lock, next to the Cutty Sark and eventually secured a residency at Gaz Mayall’s “Rockin Blues”night, in Soho. A German promoter from Hamburg saw them playing at Gaz’s Rockin Blues and secured their services to play at the first German Ska Festival in Aachen entitled “Skanking the Linden Tree”. John fondly recalls fondly remembers a local band dressed as wasps wearing bin liners and antennae...The Cosmics then supported the notorious Judge Dread aka Alex Hughes (who still holds the record for having the most songs banned by the BBC) at a bierkeller in Freiburg and then narrowly missed out on a one off support slot with Black Uhuru. The night before a trip to Amsterdam, the Cosmics reluctantly played a gig in Folkestone at a nightclub called “Bottoms”, ostensibly to earn the fare for the ferry over to Ostend. Having safely boarded the ferry , John was on his uppers, and only had enough cash to buy some bread rolls. In an act of desperation, John cheekily appropriated some jam pots to augment his repast, which almost got him arrested...After an infamous gig at Hackney Empire an employee from the venue absconded with the takings and the band spent a futile couple of hours driving around Hackney, in the vain hope of tracking down the perpetrator.

One final anecdote from John’s seemingly inexhaustible supply involved a breakdown on a trip up the motorway in his trusty Allegro, to his adopted home to play at the Tic Toc club in Hillfields. The AA were summoned and a rogue water pump was identified as the problem. After being towed the rest of the way, John abandoned the vehicle near the club and as he got out, a local “entrepreneur” emerged from a bush and offered to “look after” the car for a small fee. John declined. That night John fell asleep in the gents toilets, no doubt due to an exhausting live routine, the refreshments that followed and the fate of his beloved motor playing on his mind. He was rescued the following morning by a cleaner. As luck would have it, John returned to his vehicle which started first time, and he drove home without further amiss.

Regretfully John had to leave the band soon after, due to personal circumstances.

John’s final romance with the music world saw him join Elektrik Custard, a band formed by his son Ethan (vocals and trumpet), and based in Leamington. Other personnel included ex Specials and Swinging Cat’s horn player, Paul Heskett (Sax), Steve Goodyear(Trombone), Clint(vocals/rapping), Leon(vocals) and John’s stepson, Frank(drums). John reckons he played about 30 gigs with the band and really enjoyed the camaraderie and atmosphere of the collective. He took particular pride in performing on stage with Ethan and Frank. His favourite tunes from the set are “Suspects on the Mic”, Pie Life (inspired by Ethan’s stint working at a pie factory), and a cover of Prince Buster’s “One Step Beyond”. After a three year labour of love, John left the band in 2013.

Financially, John supplemented the instability of his career as a musician by undertaking a variety of jobs. He worked as a labourer and scaffolder on building sites, as a cleaner at Mr George’s nightclub, a chef at Suzy Q’s pool and snooker club, and even held a position as bar/cellarman at the Chesford Grange Hotel, to name but a few.

During his time as a guitarist, John has always shunned the limelight, preferring instead, to loiter in the shadows. Through it all, he has never given up his great love of snooker, either as a player or a spectator. It reached a pinnacle when he played a frame against Steve “Boring” Davis, broadcaster, club dj, and erstwhile world snooker champion, at the Arches Snooker Club.

Despite the onset of Parkinson’s disease, John retains a razor sharp wit. He is a gentleman of sartorial elegance and fine taste (thanks, that tenner will come in handy later...), an enthusiast of music and film, and is often to be found foraging in local charity emporiums, for items of cultural and aesthetic interest. The chat with John concluded with an exclusive viewing of a biography, which is still only a work in progress, and has the working title of “From the Albert Hall to Fuck All”, an “account of his journey through the treacherous waters of the music industry”. It promises to unleash a veritable tsunami of engrossing tales.

And John’s biggest regret...not getting those Crackerjack pencils, of course! It’s a cruel world.

Note: These interviews were conducted in a controlled environment at Ikea, Coventry (RIP) and Cafe Italia, Trinity Street, Coventry, and no musicians were harmed in the process.

Disclaimer: The veracity of these interviews, including, names, dates, venues and incidents is totally reliant on John’s memory bank but every effort has been made to embellish them to make them sound even more bizarre...just saying. 

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MORE ON THE SWINGING CATS HERE A TO Z OF COVENTRY BANDS POST

https://coventrybands.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-swinging-cats.html

PHOTOS AND VIDEOS

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