Nigel Lomas – A Musical Journey

 

Nigel Lomas – A Musical Journey

by Pete Clemons

Sadly we recently lost one of the finest drummers Coventry has produced. Not only did Nigel Lomas perform on records that made the old hit parade he also had an almost photographic memory of his achievements. He had near perfect recall for detail and his descriptiveness was incredibly vivid.

By way of my little tribute I have attempted to collate emails Nigel sent me and include notes I made in order to present his musical achievements into, hopefully, a lasting legacy.

It begins when Nigel, who was born in 1942, told me how he formed the Zodiacs in 1959, with the singer Maurice Redhead. They had met at a rock n roll club in 1958 call THE Drumbeat Club on the Lockhurst Lane railway bridge Holbrooks side. The Drumbeat was a cellar club beneath a coffee bar. 'I used to get up and sing there and have an occasional go on the drums'. The only people I remember from there in the group were Mick Van de Stay who was the singer and guitarist Jim Smith. The names of the others escape me.

At this time there we a few coffee bars that had music, The Milano, at Radford, The Domino on Gosford Street being just two. During 1960 when Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent appeared at the Gaumont Cinema the pair actually called in at the Milano after the show.

While with the Zodiacs the venues we played included; Collycroft Club Bedworth most Thursdays, Newdigate club Bedworth most Tuesdays, St Georges Hall Nuneaton most Saturdays, the Ritz cinema Longford on the odd Friday night or Sunday afternoon, the Stag and Pheasant Lockhurst Lane Sunday Lunchtimes for about one year, maybe more I cannot remember them all. Additionally brother Roger Lomas clearly remembers being sat outside the Stag and Pheasant pub, to watch and hear Nigel play.

Also during my time with the Zodiacs I also stood in with a group touring the county with the fair at Heasal Common called Prince Dave Khan and the Babes. They wanted me to join them but I turned them down.

Other groups sharing the bill during these times were: Vince Martin and The Vampires, The Atlantics, who played at the Domino coffee bar, Johnny and the Rebels, Max Holliman and the Guitarnos who were from Nuneaton.

I left the Zodiacs in 1962 and was replaced by a very good drummer called Ron Cooke. Within one week I had replaced him in his group The Freemen who, at that time, were the highest paid Coventry group due to being the resident house band at the General Wolfe Hotel and by playing four nights a week there.

The Freemen became The Goodmen during 1962. I assume this was at the instigation of Larry Page who, by now, had move to Coventry from London in order to transform The Orchid Ballroom. 'Then vocalist and good friend Johnny Goodison fronted us. I was the only drummer ever to play with The Goodmen 1962 – 1965'.

And it was during 1963 when Nigel selected his first professional drum kit. It was from a shop in Snow Hill, Birmingham, 1963. Actually it was Johnny Goodison who picked it for him. 'Thanks Larry Page. You put me and a few other Coventry musicians and vocalists on the first rung of the professional recording ladder'.

Recordings that included Nigel from this period included:

1963 The Orchids - Gonna Make Him Mine

1963 School Is In / She's a Much Better Lover Than You By Johnny B. Great & the Goodmen

1964 Acapulco 1922 / You'll Never Leave Him (Note: did Nigel actually drum on this?)

During this time I was asked by manager Larry Page to sign for Kinks, who were Ravens at the time - It seemed Nigel turned them down as he didn't think the Ravens were as good as the Goodmen.

'After Johnny Goodison left we worked as The Goodmen with Beverley Jones in 1964 on lead vocals and also some gigs with Shel Naylor (Rob Woodward) and the Goodmen'.

'By 1966/67 I was domiciled in London and got to know Scott Walker. My good friend and leader of the backing group, the late great Johnny Goodison, was by now the leader of the Quotations, the excellent backing group of the Walker Brothers, I spent good times with them on several occasions and even joined a group with Scott's very good friend John Stewart for a short period.

During his time in London Nigel was rubbing shoulders with session players such as Jimmy Page and Big Jim Sullivan. He remembered one session that definitely produced a single. But I cant help thinking that Nigel sat in on a host of other records and this information could now be lost to the sands of time.

1967 Ellis Waygood - I Like What I'm Trying To Do / Hey Lover (with Keith Degroot)

During 1968 Nigel returned to Coventry. Additionally both brother Roger and Pip Witcher had resettled in Coventry, after their Sorrows adventures, and decided to reform The Clouds. This time as a four piece with Bill (Eggy) Bates and Bill Campbell joining the pair.

In parallel to his song writing activities with Pip, Roger formed The Eggy along with bass player Bill Campbell, Bill Bates on vocals. The Eggy were indeed a proper band. The name change, because The Eggy was a similar line up as the reformed Clouds, was due to a soon to be released record that was released at Easter time. The Eggy also saw Roger reunited with brother Nigel on drums.

The Eggy would be active up until 1969 gigging when commitments allowed. Additionally, The Eggy would bear the fruits of those earlier Rog and Pip sessions as the single ‘Your Still Mine' c/w 'Hookey’ was released during 1969 on the Spark label/Southern Music.

Renegade was a one off project that began during 1973, and was the first major production work for Roger Lomas This led to him reuniting with, and working once again, with Pip Witcher on guitars and vocals. And, yet again, more songs would surface from those late 60's Rog and Pip sessions. Following on from an earlier Renegade project, this venture and the single, came Renegade the band.

After a re-shuffle of band personnel, Renegade the band settled on a line up of Roger Lomas on guitars and vocals and Pip Witcher. Mick Eastbury provided bass and, once again, brother Nigel sat in the drummer’s seat.

It was the height of the Glam Rock and Renegade were a rock band who, by way of stage clothing, made by Roger, certainly fitted the bill.

Renegade promoted the single 'A Little Rock 'n' Roll' at the Locarno in Coventry during 1974. The Locarno, at that time, had a revolving dance floor and, during the performance, drummer Nigel Lomas fell off the his drum stool but recovered in time without missing a beat. Renegade also played a gig on the Locarno roof.

1973 Renegade - Lovin' and Forgiving / Never Let Me Go

1974 Renegade - A Little Rock 'n' Roll / My Revolution

The rest of the1970s saw Nigel playing with many club bands such as The Carltons. He had also become a Sorrow during their multiple reunions and frequent lineup changes, making a document of their more recent history, from that era, particularly complex. This included a single recorded and released 1977 for the Telefunken label. 'C'mon Everybody / Let's Have a Party'. A final release, an EP titled 'Gonna Find a Cave' was released during 2014. Activity with The Sorrows continued almost up until the pandemic hit.

Finally, the following are reviews of Johnny B Great singles from music magazines of the times:

Johnny B Great and the Goodmen - School Is In : She's A Much Better Lover Than You (Decca F11740)

Some critics enjoyed it.......

There seems to be a revival on old U.S. Bonds numbers lately what with 'Not Me' by the Orions and now 'School Is In' by Johnny B Great and the Goodmen. As might be expected it's a lively number with good vocal, and raucous sax half way along. Ultra commercial with a good chance of hitdom. Lead voice that actually sounds adult for a change. Apart from the dubious title, the flip is a pretty good ballad with a good set of lyrics. It's a gentle type thing with a jaunty approach and a goodly sort of atmosphere.

Some critics not as much.....

Johnny B Great now there is a tempting name. But let's leave it alone because the disc is not great but it's not bad. 'School is in' - if you ignore the words - is just fine for dancing.
'She's A Much Better Lover Than You' isnt so successful. Tries for quietness and comes a cropper.

The second single however failed much better....

Johnny B Great – Acapulco 1922 : You'll Never Leave Him (Decca F.11804)

Great idea for Great this....a vocal version of the contagious melody Acapulco 1922. Right from the crunch opening the producers, Messers Talmy and Stone manage to pin your ears back and compel attention all the rest of the trip. Echoesy multi tracking is spliced with added girl group work and a really gutsy accompaniment directed by Charles Blackwell.
This one should beat a hurried path to the lists for all concerned.
Bert Berns is the producer and Mike Leander the MD on the second half. Hear Johnny sings 'You'll Never Leave Him' with a colorful simpler contrast to the top side and should certainly add sales. I like the almost folksy use of guitar and group voices in accompaniment.

On a personal note I received the odd verbal clip around the ear from Nigel. This would happen if I made an error when writing articles. For example I mentioned the Freemen as The Fenmen. Nigel was all over that one. But it was never taken as personal as it ended up being an education. In a strange way it became a badge of honour.

Thank you Nigel Lomas. A legacy, (and i'm sure it is far from complete) to be incredibly proud of.