Circles Club – Coventry - A History (Silk Disco)

 Circles Club –  Coventry - A History (Silk Disco)

by Pete Clemons

Silk Disco didn't just provide disco nights. They also began to put on bands. And a band would be incorporated with a disco evening. This type of event began almost immediately.

Graham Wood of Silk disco remembers: 'When we (Jim Twyneham and myself) started promoting bands at the Plough we soon knew it wasn’t large enough for some of the better known bands and so probably started planning for Circles in late 1970'.

Circles worked within small budgets and, quite correctly, felt they were up against larger outfits like the 'Lanch' who could sustain any greater losses.

Graham's genuine love and enjoyment of the newly developing progressive rock scene provided the temptation to move into the world of band promotion.

'Promotion of bands began at The Plough. But we soon knew it wasn’t large enough for some of the better known bands and so probably started planning for Circles in late 1970'.

Building Trades Club, Whitefriars Street – (the numbers are attendance figures)
8 July 1971 Boots and Liberation 154
15 July 1971 Phineas Hog and Fresh Maggots 140
22 July 1971 Fang and Good Habit 130
29 July 1971 Hackensack and Lucrezia Borgia 118
5 August 1971 Stray 350

Circles tenure at the Builders (Building) Trades Club was short lived. As Graham remembers 'They sacked us after 5 weeks due to the mess left after the Stray gig on 5 August. The place was rammed with, approx 350 people. And yes they did spill a bit of beer. Also a few glasses were smashed. All this was not helped by Stray's exploding dustbin that showered confetti all over the floor'.

Graham conceded that the place did look a mess but the club probably took more money in beer sales that night, than they had in a complete month. A 15 strong committee summoned Silk representatives, Graham and Jim Twyneham, to a meeting the following Sunday and we 'were out'.

It left us 5 days to find a new venue !!. And that new venue was The West End Club just off the ring road at the Spon End junction.

West End Club – (the numbers are attendance figures)
12 August 1971 Hookfoot 284
19 August 1971 Mick Abrahams 311
26 August 1971 Dando Shaft (Palladin - Cancelled) 280
2 September 1971 Bronco 287
9 September 1971 Paul Brett's Sage 138
16 September 1971 Stackridge 163
23 September 1971 Quiver 90
30 September 1971 Ginger (Bell and Arc - Cancelled) 85
7 October 1971 Supertramp 104
14 October 1971 Caravan (Toby - Cancelled) 304
20 October 1971 Palladin 90
28 October 1971 Hackensack 156
11 November 1971 Stray 203
18 November1971 Writing on the Wall (Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts - Cancelled) 146
9 December 1971 Hookfoot
16 December 1971 Man 138
20 December 1971 Hookfoot 95
23 December 1971 Hackensack and Butch 163
30 December 1971 Van der Graff Generator 355
27 January 1972 Duster Bennett 102
24 February 1972 Mick Abrahams Band 115
30 March 1972 Hackensack and Jizzel 223


Locarno – (the numbers are attendance figures)
13 April 1972 Hawkwind and Barnabus 678

27 April 1972 Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come, The Pretty Things and Pugma Ho (Words promotion)

11 May 1972 Argent and Vinegar Joe (Words promotion)
18 May 1972 Emperor Rosko Show and Hackensack 320
21 December 1972 Hackensack 225

2 Locarno gigs, Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come and Argent) were promoted by Words, a southern based promoter, who asked Silk to provide the disco and light show. Both good nights but not great attendances.

When Silk promoted Hawkwind and Emperor Rosko they only chose the Locarno because of its larger capacity and it was a kind of swansong and was never going to be a regular promotion like Circles.

In truth Graham cannot remember why Silk never continued booking bands for Circles beyond mid 1972, with the exception being Hackensack at the tail end of 1972, 'which I guess was our Circles finale'.

John Coles attended and, still clearly remembers, the vast majority of the above gig nights. He was just 16 in 1971. John had been challenged about his age during a Silk night at The Plough in 1970. Of course he had to think on his feet and distort the truth in order to get in.

If Graham Wood has one slight regret then that was that he and Jim didn't gamble more on bigger bands, the likes of Mott the Hoople for example.

With no disrespect for the bands they did promote Graham thinks the problem was a mixture of; competing with the Lanch and Warwick Uni and trying to get the right bands at the right price. And, of course, there was all the other admin stuff which all took time!

But, in my opinion, Graham Wood and Jim Twyneham had real bottle to go for it. And there is absolutely no need for regret. The legacy that this pair have left us, with their Silk and Circles ventures, is really quite amazing. They even made a national newspaper. But that story is to come.

My sincere thanks to Graham for all his time and insights.