Nektar 74 – Down to Earth

 

Nektar 74 – Down to Earth

by Pete Clemons

Chipping Norton Studios. Gerry Rafferty recorded "Baker Street" there. Radiohead recorded their debut album Pablo Honey (including "Creep") at the studio. Duran Duran recorded major parts of their debut album here. Status Quo recorded "In The Army Now" at the location.

Another, more less remembered album recorded at the Cotswolds studios created by Richard and Mike Vernon, initially for the Blue Horizon Label, was “Down to Earth” by Nektar – the bands second album to be recorded in the UK. An article about that particular journey within the bands history is reproduced below............

Hidden away in the depths of Oxfordshire is a small village by the name of Chipping Norton. There you'll find a small studio hidden away in the back streets, and this is where Nektar are working rigorously on their new album to meet the deadline only days away.

Studio time costs money and the band aren't exactly overloaded with riches. They are in the unique position of managing themselves and this means they have to cover their own expenses.

Still the British tour they've just completed has proved to be a quite rewarding exercise and they're hoping to completely break into the circuit next time round. But future plans were far back in their minds and their main concern was to complete their fifth album.

Those who are familiar with the band will know that although their origins lie in Britain they spend all their time in Germany, apart from when they tour.

'People regard us as a German band and I suppose that's true' says Mick Brockett, the guy responsible for the bands intricate light show. When I saw the band they were laying down the final tracks on one of the numbers. They were going to record the last track 'Show Me the Way' the next day.

They had all the basic tracks for it laid down. All that had to be worked in was the vocals, lyrics and let PP and Kenny Arnold and Bob Calvert (alias the mischievous Captain Lockheed) do their bit.

They were certainly looking tired, it's not surprising, apart from spending virtually all the hours of the day getting the album together they had already been on the road for 12 months. The smell of cigarette smoke and stale lager filtered around the studio and the pale, disheveled figures of the band were crumpled on studio seats.

It was in the early hours of the morning that Derek Moore thought it would be ok to hold the interview. Derek, apart from playing bass guitar is the band's manager and generally gets things together. He's a tall, thin and amiable guy and it still puzzles me how he and the rest of the guy's can contain so much enthusiasm and dedication after being on the road for so long.

Obviously the rewards have been good, they are mighty big in Germany and have secured various recording contracts all over the world. They desperately want to break in Britain as they feel it will open the pathway for them in other countries and also because it's their home.

By the looks of things they're well on the way of doing so, every place they played has asked them back and their price is getting higher each tour.

The album, provisionally titled 'Down to Earth' will be released to coincide with the bands next British tour in June. They will also be releasing a single off the album.

'We know which one we'll release in Germany, but we haven't decided for England. This is no kind of plunge for commercial success it's just that the songs on this album are shorter and more straight to the point. There are still some long ones but there are quite a few prospective singles'.

'The idea for calling this album 'Down to Earth' is because all the other albums have had a spacey feel and the run of the titles have been rather spacey and we thought we'll keep the title in the same vein but the meaning will be entirely opposite'.

This is the longest time they've spent on an album and personally I think it's their best. It packs more of a punch rather than the inert loose feel the others had. It's also more representative of the band live which is something else again.

Like their previous recordings the album follows a concept which revolves around a story about a circus. I asked Mo if there would be anything special about the presentation, 'I don't really know. Three days before we came into the studio we hardly had any numbers ready. Then we had three days rehearsal and started getting ideas together'.

'Now in the studio's we're doing things bit by bit. So we're not sure at the moment what the end's going to be'.

The band remind me a lot of Man. Both have the ability to jam and make it sound as if they were working off a score, but still retaining that raw, fresh energy that you get when you improvise.

It seems that Man are getting bigger all the time so its logical that Nektar will start picking up too, as this kind of freestyle sound is beginning to rear its head in the music scene.

'I think the music scene is beginning to stagnate. Everyone's looking around for something new. Every ten years or so everyone stops and say's well we've got nothing to follow now and they start looking around. First they go backwards and dig out all their old records and try and make it happen again and it doesn't but something new comes out of it. I think that period has arrived again'.

Very true indeed. The main base of criticism against the band has been that they sound very psychedelic and their colourful light show adds to the air of hipness. Well that's definitely not how the band want to be classified. Now that money's beginning to flow the light is going modified and a bit slicker and with Mick in charge, spectacular.

The album is tighter and might prove to be more acceptable to the airwaves who have pretty well ignored them here in Britain. But don't worry it's still Nektar, just a little more......down to earth.

The Travelling Riverside Blues Band / The Travs

The Travelling Riverside Blues Band / The Travs

By Pete Clemons

Johnny 'Slide' Alderson

With changing landscape it is a rare thing nowadays to see a band the calibre of this. One whose band members grew up to and inspired by the family group of John Mayall music and the British blues boom of the late 1960s.

The late British blues movement was driven by powerhouse bands and virtuoso guitarists who shifted traditional American blues into heavy, high-volume blues-rock and early psychedelic styles. Key purveyors included John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Cream, Fleetwood Mac, Savoy Brown, and Chicken Shack and, to an extent, Led Zeppelin.

The Travelling Riverside Blues Band (often called The Travs) has its roots tracing back to Coventry, Leicester and the Midlands live music scene in the early 1980s, with members active across regional venues in the UK for over four decades, including recent active performances.

The bands line-up has changed extensively through those decades but, in recent times – and for a good number of years, has settled with founding member Johnny (Slide) Alderson on guitar, Trev Mugleston on keyboards, vocals and harmonica, Steve Hawkins bass guitar and vocals, and Jeff Durow on drums.

The earliest formation of The Travelling Riverside Blues Band I remember was with Tony 'Mojo' Morgan (bass), George Stevens (drums) and Trevor Jones (vocals). The band has had various line-ups but 'Johnny Slide' (John Alderson's other persona) now being the only constant original member. The long gone and well remembered Sunday Sessions at the Whitley Abbey Pub on Abbey Road was an early venue the band played in.

On the evidence of what I saw recently at The Broomfield Tavern The Travs are smoothly elegant and still bring total conviction to the music. They continue to regularly tour and play regional Midlands pubs and clubs near Coventry and Leicester. Their set list, which has never remained stagnant, typically consists of classic rock, pop, and blues covers tailored to the live pub crowd. Some of the songs they cover were written decades earlier but spotlighted by the British blues boom era.

Man of the World
Need Your Love So Bad
I cant quit you babe
Copper head Road
Gimme Some Lovin
I'm a Man
I Feel Free
You Shook Me

Johnny 'Slide' has always been fondly remembered in these parts. After all he had been a member of Coventry favourites Wandering John who were active between 1969 and 1971. When I mentioned I had recently seen The Travs it prompted some amazing comments. They were too good not to be included in this article........

Wandering John bass player Ade Taylor remembers: 'He always has been a great guitarist, since the day I joined the band "Interior War", Johnny was playing number 2 guitar to Rod Grant. I replaced John Westacott on bass, and after 2 gigs, there was a revamping of the band, and Johnny and myself were sacked!. We then decided to put our own band together, and when John Gravenor and Al Walder joined, "Wandering John" emerged as a new band. This time, John Alderson was lead guitarist, and his reputation as a top guitarist grew and grew! I'm so proud of him and John Gravenor'.

John Gravenor, nicknamed Wandering John, and where the Coventry band got its name said:
'John Alderson one of the best guitarist Coventry ever produced so proud to be part of his career'

If the late 60s, early 70s British blues scene peaks your attention then don't pass up on the opportunity if The Travs pass by your way.

Chesford Grange – The Twist Den

 

Chesford Grange – The Twist Den

by Pete Clemons

During 1964, the Chesford Grange Hotel in Kenilworth, Warwickshire was owned and operated by the Hames family. The Hames family originally took over the estate just before World War II (moving from the Kenilworth Castle Gatehouse) and successfully developed it back into a premier hotel and nightlife venue by the mid-1950s.

Michael (Mike) Eckersley served as the General Manager of the Chesford Grange Hotel from January 1964 through to sometime during the 1970s. And during his tenure, the Warwickshire venue was a highly popular hotel and live music destination.

As the 'Swinging Sixties' took off, the Chesford Grange Hotel in Kenilworth introduced a 'fabulous discotheque' downstairs in its old cellar bars to target 18-to-25-year-olds. It became known as 'The Twist Den'.

The Twist Den existed at Chesford Grange for roughly 5 to 8 years, operating from the mid-1960s until it was rebranded in the early 1970s. The space evolved across two distinct eras: The Twist Den Era that incorporated the flourishing beat scene and then the Mid-to-Late 1960s which became host to the British blues generation.

Said manager Mr, Michael Eckersley during 1968 'Chesford Grange has seen some of the better pop groups, but the scene is changing and Teenagers want blues and we want to keep up'. And his hunch paid off as hundreds would turn up for gigs. As many as 800 were mentioned.

The Twist Den featured a packed underground bar with psychedelic, ultra-violet lighting projected onto the walls. It ultimately became famous for hosting local and burgeoning rock acts, including a bi-weekly residency by The Andicaps (which could well have featured a young Jeff Lynne, later of ELO fame, as he was with the band till around 1965), as well as acts the like of the John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and John Lee Hooker.

In fact after John Lee Hookers appearance it was reviewed very elegantly 'John Lee still shows magic He strolled in, grabbed a chair, sat down and began to play the blues, very quietly, very modestly, John Lee Hooker had arrived at the Chesford Grange. It was ear-straining to hear him'.

Even London's psychedelic nights were catered for and recreated at the Chesford during 1967 and 68 as bands like The Mood, Psychotic Reaction and From the Sun played regularly. Thursday evenings gave way to these night and to complete the London scene feel they came complete with Juliana's discotheque. Early April 1967 it was reported that the venue was 'invaded by pop musicians when auditions were held to select groups for Saturday sessions'. This I understand was promoted by local philanthropist David Owen.

Another name also referenced as a major contributor within the music booking history circles at the Chesford Grange is Peter Martin. I don't think he was an employee of the hotel but worked as an independent booking agency. Regardless of that, both Eckersley and Martin appeared to be incredibly hip and forward thinking. They certainly had their finger on the pulse by way of recognising the changing scenes and the bands they went for.

A newspaper article from 1969 mentioned 'We agreed on a form of cooperation said Mr. Peter Martin, of County Town Entertainments, who run's the Sunday concerts'. He went on to say that 'he had never known any trouble at the venue'.

That said things never went entirely smoothly. It was revealed during 1969 that P. P. Arnold was to have received £225 for a date and that about 500 people were at the Chesford to see her. However P.P. Arnold and her group, T.N.T., did not turn up. Martin had to face the disgruntled customers.

The Early 1970s saw the music scene at Chesford Grange shifting towards heavier progressive rock and a massive rebranding. The venue was renamed The Kinetic Kenilworth, and the old downstairs Twist Den was converted into the Kinetic Cellar. And during this heavy metal and progressive 'underground' era, the cellar hosted legendary acts such as The Groundhogs, Hawkwind and Van der Graaf Generator for entry fees of just 40p.

The overarching 'Kinetic' music venue era at the hotel came to an end around 1973, paving the way for later iterations of the hotel's nightlife spaces, such as the Camelot Suite and Oliver's. Meanwhile the cellar bar rebranded itself with names like Blaises and the Stables as the 'disco' generation took over.

At its peak the Twist Den regularly pulled in 700 to 800 revellers.and claimed that 'The cream from Radio 1 will be performing here by Monday'.

The Chesford Grange hotel continues to thrive successfully in its beautiful setting. Apart from relaxing stays it also offers a gym and pool facilities as well as catering for flamboyant weddings. Music is still there as well.