The Edwin Hawkins Singers – Coventry 1970

The Edwin Hawkins Singers – Coventry 1970

By Pete Clemons

The Lanchester Arts Festival of 1970 used Coventry Cathedral for two of its concerts. On the Saturday night of the festival Sir Adrian Boult and the London Bach Orchestra could be heard at the venue. The previous Wednesday it had been the turn of The Edwin Hawkins Singers who had hit the charts the previous year with the hit record and gospel song 'Oh Happy Day'.

'Oh Happy Day' was a song of joy and worship but, given its chart position of number 2 in the UK, it seemed to connect with a wider audience. It is a completely unforgettable tune. The original female lead, which is so memorable, was by Dorothy Combs Morrison who also sang in 'R' n 'B' clubs. The song is also said to have given George Harrison the idea for 'My Sweet Lord'.

It seemed perfect, the Edwin Hawkins Singers to make their British debut at Coventry in Britain's most modern Cathedral. But what could have been a joyous occasion was spoiled by two things.

Firstly, no P.A. Was allowed, which meant that while the choir en masse could be heard pretty well throughout the audience, the solo's were often completely lost.

Problem two was that the concert was being recorded for the special BBC TV programme to be shown at Easter. Great, for those who couldn't get to the actual event, but not so good for those who did. The camera crews were a constantly intruding, barrier, stopping the audience / congregation from really becoming a part of the choir.

Edwin Hawkins, pianist, soloist, arranger and director of the church singers from the San Francisco Bay area, looked harassed in the break between the singers two one hour sets. 'Its such a shame' he said, 'people paid money to hear us and there is just no way for all of them to hear us'.

Within these tight limitations the singers did very well. Soloists included Edwin Hawkins, Shirley Miller, Elaine Kelly and Walter Hawkins. They refused to get discouraged and had the whole audience on their feet clapping along to several of the tunes.

Edwin Hawkins, who passed away during January 2018, introduced contemporary sounds and synthesizers to create, and revolutionise, a whole new sounding form of gospel music. And for that vision he would ultimately be awarded with a Grammy. 'Oh Happy Day' became the first gospel song to hit the popular music charts. Not just in the UK but worldwide.

I'm not certain if the concert was aired during Easter 1970 but it certainly was on BBC2 on Thursday 24th December at 5pm with production by John Street. The radio times in its bumper Christmas and New Year edition said 'The Hawkins Singers don't have all the earthy roughness of a pukka gospel choir, but they make up for it with subtle use of dynamics and some excellent soloists. Here they'll be singing in Coventry Cathedral, which should provide a piquant setting for their fervour'.

Colin Richardson's memories:

(Colin Richardson was the London booking agent (Bron Agency) engaged by the

Colin Richardson with Paul McCartney

Lanchester Polytech Student Union to book the artists for their Arts festivals in 1970 and 1971) 

Here's my (somewhat surprised) reaction: First off, my booking of the choir, on the back of their recent hit, was simply the obvious (to me) vision of Coventry Cathedral being an ideal venue for the performance. What I wasn't aware of was that they would need a P.A. and to the best of my (admittedly now hazy) recollection, none was requested by their agent.

Next, the choir that arrived, disappointingly, wasn't the full choir that I'd seen perform on TV. It was around 16 I think.

Next, I had no knowledge of the BBC filming it. That must either have been negotiated with Ted Little or possibly directly between the Beeb and EHS management.

So, yes, it was a little bit of an anti-climax for me, but still a magical occasion, near freezing temperature notwithstanding.

The Specials - Coventry Building Society Arena 11 September 2021

 

The Specials - Coventry Building Society Arena 11 September 2021.

By Pete Clemons.

I felt that there was a degree of anxiety within the crowd. After all, for many, it was their first indoor gig in a long time. It was clearly down in number on previous visits here but still decent enough.

However, normal service quickly resumed. Horace Panter, in his diary, reported a fight within the audience during the song 'Breaking Point'. Must admit to not seeing that from our vantage point. But I did notice a section of the crowd, almost on queue during Nite Klub and the line 'And the beer tastes just like piss', duly obliging by lobbing the contents of their ten pound plastic pots aimlessly into the air.

None of us are getting any younger and neither are the members of Ska revivalists The Specials. And whereas I really enjoyed the setting of the old Coventry Cathedral chosen for the bands homecoming gigs on the last tour, I also remember feeling that the actual gig was tedious and going through the motions.

Tonight at the Coventry Building Society Arena, described by Horace as 'an impersonal concrete shed with dreadful facilities' that included 'a dreadful excuse for a dressing room', was a new more laid back version of The Specials. Dare I say, a more mature performance. And the way 'Freedom Highway' and 'Rat Race' sat comfortably together, meant that the gig had my entire attention from the get go.

 It was very evident by way of a few ballads in the form of 'Get Up, Stand Up', a duet between Lynval Golding and guitarist Steve Cradock, and 'The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)', that this was a more composed presentation.

I felt that this performance lacked the edge The Specials once had, although there were brief flashes of energy from Horace Panter, yet somehow it wasn't to the detriment of the overall gig. This was a very impressive concert that still carried a bite and the venom of The Specials of old.

The songs on offer from the new album suggests that it is a more laid back affair. And it was as if the old songs were reigned in slightly so as to give the overall performance some kind of balance. Additionally, with Lynval Golding not taking up his guitar that often, the whole feel of the gig was bound to change in emphasis.

The ever joyous Terry Hall seemed to praise Coventry at one point. Additionally he mentioned that 'I have spent that much time in Coventry this year I'm thinking of buying a time share in Hillfields'.

I cant help but suspect that the new album, 'Protest Songs 1924-2012', will have more time in the charts on merit rather than simply through the power of pre-sales. That album could yet turn out to be a bit of an inspired release.

Finally and again from Horace's angle, he described the Coventry gig as 'the concert took on a life of its own and the gig was a triumph', which, seeing as this was a 'homecoming' gig was great to read.

Godiva Festival 2021

 

Godiva Festival 2021

Roddy (Radiation) Byers at Godiva Festival

After a couple of years away the Godiva Festival was back. And what an apparent success it was. What follows is a snapshot of the weekend, through my eyes only, and far from an attempt to cover the entire event. Apart from the music the Godiva Festival offers so much more.

Friday: With the gates due to open at 6pm, and the first band due on the main stage at 10 past 6 it was always going to touch and go, given the rightful and totally understandable security procedures that were in place, as to whether they played to any audience at all.

On the face of it, it seemed a little unfair given the effort of how the earlier main stage bands had battled through various stages of competition just to get there. That said both The Bad Divine and Candid stepped up to the plate and performed really well. So much so that they were far from upstaged by the more experienced headliners Therapy? And Supergrass.

Those who are now approaching middle age will certainly remember The Colosseum. Not that I was a frequent visitor to what is now known as Kasbah but Friday evening kind of reminded me of a 'Colly revisited' night.

Saturday: Yet again the earlier bands suffered almost the same fate as happened the previous evening. That said the main entrance had improved its throughput time for ticket holders and other entrants.

The result being that The Lloyd McGrath Collective and The Astras had a larger audience. Both bands giving a great account of themselves no doubt winning over a new legion of admirers. Not only had the entrance to the venue improved but so too had the weather.

Next up on the main stage was Roddy Radiation and the Skabilly Rebels. There was an audible gasp as Roddy entered the fray. He really did look the business dressed in 1950s style, three quarter length blue jacket complete with bootlace tie. That sense of audience reaction seemed to be picked up on stage and that, in turn, inspired the Skabilly Rebels into turning out a powerful performance.

As someone, far more wise than I, whispered in my ear at the end of the set 'that's what a not to be mentioned band is lacking right now'. And I couldn't help but agree. Later on during the afternoon, with the weather getting better by the hour, The Selecter turned out an equally crowd pleasing performance that include many of their hits.

Sunday: As I wandered around I was treated to Bollywood, Bhangra, Izzy Derry and, closing this most memorable of weekends, Sister Sledge. Again, the weather was on top form, almost touching 30 degrees.

Izzy Derry left an impression by way of being an acoustic performer with a difference. She was accompanied by a keyboard player who really added to her sound and contributed to the overall ambience.

Sister Sledge on the other hand just knew how to bring pure joy and energy. The funk influence of Nile Rodgers and Bernie Edwards was all over this performance. Hit after hit had a field full of people of all ages dancing from beginning to end.

Chrissie Dux

Sophie Ellis Bextor - Murder on the Dancefloor

Roddy Byers (Radiation) Rat Race

Selecter - Three Minute hero

Panjabi MC

Moon

 

Moon

by Pete Clemons

Moon were not strictly a Coventry band but a band that had many Coventry connections. In fact Moon formed in London and were, at one time, associated with the London pub rock scene.

Moon formed during1975 when punk rock was in its infancy, disco was huge and glam rock was beginning to wane. It began when Noel McCalla began to see what was happening in London. 'I thought what the hell am I doing in Coventry'. He commuted for a while, fulfilling his previous band commitments, which appear to be a couple of local showbands. He finally began to stay down in London, rehearsing with a couple of guys left from a jazz group called Moon. And slowly the current band began to take shape, with friends called in from Coventry and others drifting down from Newcastle. Now the line up of Noel (vocals), Loz Netto (guitar), Graham Collyer (rhythm guitar), Ron Lawrence (bass), Nicky Payn (tenor sax, flute and harmonica), Luigi Salvoni (drums) and Doug Bainbridge (alto sax, flute and percussion) boasted Italians, Australians and Swede's in its pedigree.

An interview during mid 1976 claimed that 'Moon don't particularly want the pub rock label stuck to them now, and its unlikely to happen because they're certainly a cut above the average group on that circuit. They combine the energy and enthusiasm of early soul with a blue eyed horn section and some very good original songs but they acknowledge an obvious debt to their early stamping ground. They're also proud of their lead singer Noel McCalla who is only 19 years old and is a natural vocal talent. The others, good musicians though they are, view him with a certain amount of awe. Because McCalla with his stage movements and bright button eyes is totally untrained and free from influence. He's great for us says bass player Ron Lawrence, admiringly, because bands can easily get stagnant. You all have histories and little things you love. The rest of the band have all got their influences but Noel there – he freaks me out'.

Ron Lawrence, the oldest member of the group continued: 'McCalla's move to London from Coventry was the luckiest thing that ever happened. I spent eight years up there trying to get bands off the ground. You can stay in Coventry so long as you finally twig that either you have to make a break and get to London, make the ultimate move, or just forget it. There is no music coming out of Coventry. You open the front door there is a factory. In there is a working men's club. There you can have a game or snooker or work the 'bandits'. The town thrives on industry. But at 11pm its dead. There is nowhere to play and nowhere to hear music'.

Moon's debut album, 'Too Close for Comfort', was reviewed as follows: 'An agreeable first from a group who have already made some impact slogging around the countries pubs and clubs. Basically they are a tight rhythm section with an exceptionally good vocalist, 20 year old Noel McCalla, who has already been compared with all the singers worth being compared with. It is a varied set with enough identity to give a good picture of their ideals. Among the best tracks is the funky opening title 'Lone Ranger'. 'Cold Nights' with its contagious and skillful title track, slow burning harp and percussion. If talent still counts then this band will make it sooner or later'.

A second release 'Turning the Tides' was issued during 1977 at the height of punk rock. It never stood a chance as The Sex Pistols had just released their infamous album and that was getting all the attention.

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For more information  - this is a link to the Moon entry on Coventry Bands - 1960's to Now (the new version of the Hobo A to Z of Coventry bands) 

https://coventrybands.blogspot.com/2021/08/moon.html

The Lone Ranger - Moon.

Too Close For Comfort - Moon

Cold Nights - Moon

Desolation Alley - Moon