Pete Clemons with another Coventry Telegraph article -
Coventry singer songwriter Cliff Hands gets ready to launch new album
Pete Clemons details the rise of a fantastic and much-loved local artist
One of the most eagerly anticipated CD releases of 2016, for me at least, is that by Coventry troubadour Cliff Hands. And for Cliff, who is much admired by fellow musicians and music lovers alike, this will be his third album release.
Being first made aware of the album toward the end of 2014 it was actually my most eagerly awaited release of 2015 but, as you will see, aligning everything together for a project like this is no easy task, particularly when you are part time musicians.
But, align everything they did and the completed product is upon us. The album is titled ‘Two Inch Down to Dust’ and I do not say this lightly, but I truly believe that this particular set of songs, have hit the mark in terms of quality and craftsmanship that has surprised me. This release is nothing short of sensational.
Whenever I have had the chance to talk to Cliff he always seems to come across as a very pleasant and unassuming sort of guy. But this is in complete contrast to his songs which can carry quite a sting.
Cliff is also incredibly modest about his past recording achievements which I personally have held in high regard. But I have always felt that his songs are worthy of far greater recognition than just the Coventry’s circuit for singer songwriters. Not that there is anything wrong with the Coventry circuit. Far from it, but I am sure a wider audience will relate with this release.
For this album Cliff plays acoustic guitar and occasional mouth harp. He has also enlisted the talents of David Sanders on lead guitar, Wes Finch on bass, and Gee Vaughan on drums. Timely contributions have also been added by Hazel Stalker on piano and Bradley Blackwell on upright bass. And each of these musicians has complimented the songs by adding sensitivity or an edge where required, light or dark where necessary. And all are understandably and rightly proud of what has been achieved here.
Kristy Gallacher and Cliff Hands
Cliff’s lyrics are, I would describe as, observational. He creates songs about instances where some of us quite often would turn a blind eye to. They can also incredibly witty and thought provoking. And probably down to their sheer honesty they can also create a sharp intake of breath. His songs, for me at least, instantly conjure up images and paint pictures.
Like many musicians nowadays, Cliff is a ‘spare time’ musician. It is not his day job and neither is it a major source of income. I believe that they call it a ‘labour of love’. By day Cliff is a carpenter and I guess is he in contact with all manner of folk. Just maybe, it is that contact which sharpens his senses and puts life into perspective for him and from where he is able to channel his thoughts into his songs and music.
Cliff released his debut album ‘Crawling from the Woodwork’ during 2008. It was a completely solo work. At that time he was quoted as saying the following "Most of the songs on the album have been written over the previous two years, although one or two are a bit older than that. Although I have been busy with work and family commitments, I never gave up playing and would always be strumming and writing. But then a couple of years ago I stumbled across the Tin Angel live music venue in Spon Street and the people I met there inspired me to start up seriously again’’.
For his second album ‘Street Shanties’, released in 2012, Cliff attempted to enhance his songs and take them to another level.
So for that album he introduced the talents of guitarists such as Al Britten and David Sanders. These guys are far from strangers to Cliff as previously they had performed together as ‘The Dead Lily’s’.
A good melody is all important to Cliff. And you can hardly criticise him for being a lazy writer as he stretches the dictionary to its full extent with each word of his lyrics seeming to count.
My personal take is that the album does not overtly fall into any genre. Yet it is tinged with folk, country and rock styles. The songs on ‘Two Inch Down to Dust’ were not all new to the project. One track, for example, titled ‘Number Plates’ has certainly been around for a while. In fact I was fully expecting to see it appear on Cliff’s second album ‘Street Shanties’. But it simply did not fit the flavour of that album.
For those who have seen Cliff play live then they may be familiar with one or two of the tunes but they have developed significantly over time. And now, and with the added textures from the backing band, those particular songs sound really wonderful.
The album, which is littered with references to Coventry, was recorded in two locations. These were The Tin Angel studios at the Canal Basin and over in Stratford. But because of work and family commitments getting everyone together has been a real challenge. And as such, the album took two years to put together and complete.Cliff is particularly keen to acknowledge the talents of Ian Whitehead who recorded and mixed the album and also to Paul Sampson who mastered it.
Great care and a good deal of thought has also been taken with the albums overall packaging. A photo shoot was arranged on location at the Cat in the Hat curiosity shop on the London Road who kindly let Cliff and the band loose within their premises.
And credit is due to Gee Vaughan for the resulting sleeve and photos and Al Britten for its artwork.
The release of ‘Two Inch Down to Dust’ is being ushered in by way of a launch night at The Maudsley Pub on the Allesley Old Road on Saturday 2nd April. In addition to Cliff and the band the line-up for the evening is completed by the wonderful talents of The Moonbears and Kristy Gallacher.
Another by Pete Clemons for the Coventry Telegraph -
Caravan to roll back the years with West Midlands performance this March
by Pete Clemons
Caravan
Caravan are a UK band formed in Canterbury during the second half of the 1960s and who initially comprised of Pye Hastings on guitar and vocals, Richard Coughlan on drums, Dave Sinclair on Hammond Organ and Dave’s cousin Richard Sinclair on bass and vocals.
They were also augmented by Pye’s elder brother Jimmy Hastings who added to the bands overall sound immensely by way of alto sax and flute.
In fact the roots of Caravan can be traced back to a band called The Wilde Flowers.
And it was from the base point of the Wilde flowers that, in addition to Caravan, a host of other bands and artists such as The Soft Machine, Kevin Ayres, and Robert Wyatt first came to prominence.
Caravan are best recognized as being one of a number of bands from the Canterbury area who, at the time they first formed, wanted to write more than just two minute beat and r ‘n’ b songs.
And creating this band was a means of cutting loose and writing a unique style of original music.
It all started brightly enough for Caravan, in terms of album releases, as the band’s first two LP’s were showered with glowing reviews.
But it could have, so easily, all ended in tragedy during an early gig at the Marquee, London in 1969.
As once described by Richard Sinclair: "Pye came up to grab hold of the microphone and say "Hello!". All that came out to about 500 very damp and sweaty people was "Hellll!" He didn’t get the "lo" out. He fell backwards into the drum kit in a shower of sparks, like the biggest light bulb you’ve ever seen."
As for playing in the Coventry and Warwickshire area I have dates of Caravan playing in Nuneaton as far back as 1970.
Their most recent appearance was at the Coventry Jazz Festival of the August bank holiday Monday of 2004 where they performed in Castle Yard in the shadow of the old cathedral.
There were many other visits by the band in between those years.
Caravan were quite wonderful musicians and equally adept as writers but the band members individual music tastes and growing ambitions, ranging from rock and jazz and through to the incredibly ambitious, would at times collide and this would lead to constant change.
And this, I guess, is what happened to Caravan during a tumultuous period after the release of the ever popular third album ‘In the Land of Grey and Pink’ during 1971.
First Dave Sinclair left and then shortly after the bands next album, ‘Waterloo Lily’, both Richard Sinclair and Steve Miller – Dave Sinclair’s replacement - had gone.
Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan rebuilt the band and took Caravan in a new direction.
The line-up expanded to a five piece and included Geoffrey Richardson on viola as well as the returning Dave Sinclair.
(Dave Sinclair would actually dip in and out of the band over the next 30 years adding that certain uniqueness to the overall sound).
So grand and melodic was Caravan’s music that it always gave the impression that it was created to be accompanied by an orchestra.
And so it was to be as this very thing happened on 28th October 1973 when Caravan shared the stage with The New Symphonia Orchestra at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London.
But the theme had been set for the remainder of the 1970s and early 1980s. Good solid musicians passing through the ranks producing a succession of equally impressive albums.
With each of the albums contained a diverse and varied range of songs that carried light and dreamy lyrics along with a spattering of humour.
Unusually though, Caravan’s 1982 release ‘Back to Front’, did just that. It reverted to a four piece but more than that.
It saw a reunion of the original foursome who created those first three ‘classic’ albums.
By that time each of the band members had ‘day jobs’ and apart from the odd gig, during the 1980s, Caravan appeared to have ceased as a band.
That was, however, until 1990 when Caravan, along with several other bands from the 1970s, were asked to appear for a forthcoming TV series called Bedrock.
The live recording took place at the Central TV Studios, Nottingham.
The only stipulation for this particular gig was that it had to be the classic line up of each of the bands who were to appear (as described in the very first paragraph above).
The success of that reunion led to a succession of further sold out gigs and then followed another period of quiet until 1995 when Caravan would resurface once more with a new album called ‘The Battle of Hastings’.
By now Jim Leverton had been recruited on bass as Richard Sinclair had moved on to his ‘Going Going’ / ‘Caravan of Dreams’ projects. Geoffrey Richardson had also returned to the fold.
There then came a quite delightful album titled ‘All Over You’. This was essentially ‘a delve into the archives’ which, in turn, produced an album of mainly acoustic re-workings of familiar tunes from the Caravan back catalogue.
Between 1996 and 2007 Caravan included lead guitarist Doug Boyle. This addition had a profound impact on the music in as much that spectacular guitar solos were added to the mix that, in turn, brought a whole new dimension to familiar old tunes.
A follow up to ‘All Over You’ titled ‘All Over You Too’ appeared in 1999. Again it raided the archives but this time, with Doug Boyle featuring, the songs were freshened up but had a more edgy feel to them.
In addition to some quite memorable gigs this period also saw the release of another new studio album during 2003 which was titled ‘The Unauthorised Breakfast Item’.
And still today Caravan continue as an active band, albeit sporadically as there have been quiet periods over the last 10-15 years. 2005 saw the beginning of health issues for drummer Richard Coughlan that had an effect on his drumming.
A new drummer, Mark Walker, joined the band in December 2010 although Richard still performed alongside on percussion.
Sadly, Richard Coughlan passed away during December 2013.
Pye Hastings said at the time: "Richard was a fine musician and will forever be remembered, not least by us, but by the fans all around the world."
2013, however, also saw Caravan at work on a new album which was sponsored through ‘crowd funding’.
That album’ titled ‘Paradise Filter’ was released early 2014. And a short tour was put together to support it. And yet another of, the nowadays, very occasional Caravan gigs appears in the region during early 2016.
Frustratingly, although they were reasonably popular, Caravan never quite gained the recognition that I felt the band so richly deserved.
Although they did have their moments some forty years ago when, arguably, they were up there with the very best that was around at that time.
The current line-up is Pye Hastings still on guitar and vocals, Geoffrey Richardson on guitar and viola, Jan Schelhaas on keyboards (Jan had been with Caravan during the mid 70s and rejoined the band during 2002), Jim Leverton on bass and Mark Walker on drums will be appearing at the Artrix, Bromsgrove during March.
Not one by Pete Clemons this time but a link he sent me by James Rodger that's relevant here and from the Coventry Telegraph.
St. Patrick Goes to The Punjab in Albany Theatre event
The Albany Theatre
BY JAMES RODGER
Two of Coventry’s longest established communities celebrate each other’s culture in a spectacular evening of music and dance on March 19 at the city's Albany Theatre.
The project is the brainchild of Joe O’Donnell, one of Coventry’s finest Celtic musicians and a resident of the City for 20 years.
Joe has a lifelong interest in Indian music and its likely influence on European music, including Celtic music, not least of all his own.
Joe has assembled a talented array of Coventry’s musicians and dancers to explore this rich cultural association.
They will combine traditional and new material, much of which will be seen and heard for the first time.
The artists involved are folk group Comhaltas, seniors from the McHugh Irish Dancing School, Uillean Piper Aiden O’Brien, Asian dancer Sabrina, and Fine Lines featuring tabla player Juggy Rihal, voted Best Musician in the Bhangra Music Awards 2015.
Topping the bill is Joe O’Donnell’s Shkayla, the powerhouse quintet that also features Si Hayden on guitar. Especially for this event the band will perform some of Joe’s celebrated but seldom-heard album ‘Gaodhal’s Vision’.
The original recording featured Ireland’s greatest blues and rock guitarist Rory Gallagher, with whom Joe worked extensively in the 1970s.
The event is being promoted in partnership with Coventry Irish Society.
The Society has recently expanded its remit into supporting Irish artistic activity in order to increase awareness and develop links within the wider community.
Tickets are on sale at The Albany Theatre box office, price £12 (with concessions).
(Blog editor's note - I have embued the original articles with material and links from the Hobo sites in this version.)
Pete Waterman is auctioning some of his model trains worth more than £1 million pounds
Walking to Caludon Castle School you take a path off Axholme Road which is on the left if approaching from the Belgrave Road end - several other entrances to the school did exist though.
Follow this path down its slope and in front of you, you are met by a bridge created within a long multi-storey single structure building.
The head masters office and other facility rooms are on the left hand side of the building, the school assembly hall to the right. The ‘bridge’ which spans between the single structures is the library.
As you pass under a bridge the space seems to open out into a huge paved area that fans out and slopes down to five large multi storey buildings.
Each of these buildings was known as a block and was sub divided into class rooms, common room etc. Each block contained two ‘houses’. You spent three years in one ‘house’ then two years in another ‘house’.
Beyond the blocks, the tennis courts and the indoor swimming pool the River Sowe meanders through the school playing fields. It was traversed by several bridges which led to even more playing fields.
Well at least, those are my memories of the school I attended. However I left more than 40 years ago. I understand that, during the intervening period, it has been demolished and rebuilt into a more modern facility. Nowadays, as I understand it, it is a mixed academy. During my time there it had been an ‘all boys’ school.
As I remember, sport was a big thing within the school. You were encouraged to take part in a variety of sports. Rugby, football, hockey and other activities were on offer.
Corporal punishment such as detention and the cane was also on the curriculum if you stepped out of line.
When I attended Caludon much was made of the sports stars who had graduated from there. And rightly so. Both Bobby and Trevor Gould signed up for Coventry City Football Club. Bobby, in fact, would go on to be transferred to Arsenal for £90,000.
Back in 1968 this was a huge sum of money. Since I left Olympians like Rachel Smith, Marlon Devonish and the highly rated Coventry City football player James Maddison, have also passed through the ranks at Caludon Castle. Even author and Singers FC historian Lionel Bird attended the school.
But what about those who left Caludon Castle School and who were drawn towards the arts? In particular, within music. Here, I have attempted to gather together some of the names of those who attended the school and took that path.
So in no particular order:
Pete Waterman OBE . I am sure that the guy needs no introduction. However Pete has had an illustrious past that includes being a record collector, producer , songwriter , radio and club DJ and television presenter . He also managed The Specials for a brief period. While a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting team he wrote and produced many hit singles for the likes of Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley.
Paul King at the King exhibition at Coventry Music Museum
Paul King . Joined Coventry band The Reluctant Stereotypes. Went on to form Raw Screens and then in 1983 re-launched the group as the highly successful ‘King’. After the demise of King, Paul then moved into television, where he presented MTV.
Tony Wall. Tony took a similar musical path, in the early days, as classmate Paul King. Tony became bass player for The Reluctant Stereotypes / King and others.
Al Docker . Al’s first band was as far back as 1970 joining rock band Tsar as drummer. In 1971 he formed Love Zeus who played the Belgrade Theatre and other venues. Al also played in a short lived band called Zoastra alongside another notable Coventry musician Kevin Harrison. Al Docker was involved also with the Coventry Arts UmbrellaBand nights, a songwriter and went on to play keyboards with a reggae band he formed in Cornwall - The IS. Check their music out on Reverbnation - Al was also a main songwriter with the band. https://www.reverbnation.com/theissite
Al Docker in the late 60's as a young man.
Al Docker in the 1990's playing keyboards with The IS (a reggae band he formed when he moved to Cornwall).
(Note additional to the article) - In 1972 Al Docker, who sadly passed away in the late 1990's, wrote one of his lyrics - Castle Stones - in Trev Teasdel's Communication Book (a communal book for writing and art work). In 2013, Trev sent the lyric to Al's younger brother John Docker, who wrote his own music to it and recorded it with his band Lies - Herehttps://soundcloud.com/coventrylies/castle-stones)
John Docker. John is the younger brother of Al Docker. Continues to serve with Coventry band Lies (a link to their music on Soundcloud ) where he plays bass guitar. Lies were formed back in 1991 and classify themselves as an alternative rock band. An album by Lies titled History can be found. John is also a stalwart in the Coventry music scene regularly updating people of events and other such information via various media sites. He has also been a sound engineer and a promoter predominantly during the 1990s. John was also in a band called Dubotion and put on bands at the Golden Cross in the 1990's.
John Docker
Lies
John Docker's Band nights at the Golden Cross.
Rod Felton. (The Link is to a page about Rod Felton, with some of his tracks and other material) Fondly remembered by anyone who knew him, Rod will always be associated for his work on the local folk circuit. Whether it is playing or hosting gigs. Rod was also a member of The New Modern Idiot Grunt Band alongside Rob Armstrong. At the turn of the century he teamed up with Dave Bennett and performed under the name Im ‘n’ Im.
Folk group Black Parrot Seaside
Geoff Veasey / Arnold Chave / Mick Harris / Graham Caldicot. All served with rock band Black Parrot Seaside during the 1970’s although by 1978 the band had drifted into folk music. BPS released a couple of albums and a single. One of their tunes ‘I am a Vacuum cleaner’ was even played on a John Peel late night show. Geoff Veasey currently runs Nuneaton Folk Club.
Nigel Ward. Took the folk music route and was a member of The Oddsods along with Pete Willow and others. Now a member of Sly Old Dogs who are essentially The Oddsods under a different name.
John Gravenor / Al Walder . John (vocals) and Al, later replaced by Jim Pryal (drums), met up with John Alderson and Ade Taylor lead guitar and bass respectively during the late 1960’s and formed the well-respected blues band Wandering John. Even today, when I read or hear a conversation about the Lady Godiva bar (the dive), the comment ‘who remembers that guy with the huge shock of red hair who used to frequent the place’ always seems to pop up. Listen to their 2010 reunion gig at the Sphinx in Coventry, over several youtube videos. Excellent footage - Part One herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYHpcJg1vY0
From The Broadgate Gnome 1970
Roy Wall. Roy is the elder brother of King’s bass player Tony Wall. He was a cool saxophonist and appeared in bands such as Team 23 who toured with The Specials during 1980. Team 23 had a single released on Race Records.
Team 23
Peter Thompson. Drummer for Homicide whose track, Armageddon, is featured on Sent From Coventry LP. Also, the Homicide track ‘This is Then’ can be easily found on youtube.
Brendan Paul Thompson. Brother to Homicide drummer Peter, Brendan, in his spare time, is a very popular Elvis Presley tribute act appearing at many venues around the city.
Byron Curry. A lifelong Rockabilly fan and stand up drummer with the Eager Beavers who he was a member of for 20 years. Sadly Byron passed away during 2012 but is fondly remembered by all who knew and heard him.
Loz Netto. (Link to Loz's full website). Loz was in bands with Al Docker. He also played guitar for Coventry bands such as Nack-ed-en, Tzar and Love Zeus that were all active during the 1970s. Towards the end of the 70s he became a founding member of Sniff ‘n’ the Tears who had a minor chart hit. Most recently The Loz Netto band has released the critically acclaimed ‘Bridge of Dreams’ album.
Phil Morley. Guitarist Phil joined Russian Gun Dogs alongside vocalist and guitar player Paul Watters and bass player Dean Bourne during in 2007. Drummer Sean McNulty completed an early line-up of this acclaimed band.
Neil O’Connor. Brother of Hazel. Neil was a member of Midnight Circus along with Dave Freeman and Joe Hughes. Midnight Circus played live at the after carnival gig at the Memorial Park and the Hobo Workshop at the Lower Holyhead Road Youth Centre mid 1974. With the addition of Pete King the band evolved into The Flyswho gained chart success with the album Waikiki Beach Refugees during 1978. neil went on to play guitar with his sister's band Hazel O'Connor's Megahype and has produced some fine solo tracks in recent years.
Hazel's version of Neil O'Connor's song for the Flys.
Neil plays Synth on this track.
And Neil's version of Hazel's song.
One of Neil's more recent solo tracks
Midnight Circus at the Hobo Workshop, Lower Holyhead Youth Centre 1974.
Craig Ward - Craig began as a DJ in Coventry alongside some of the other Top DJ's in Coventry, Pete Waterman, Mark Brown, Tilly Rutherford etc. In 1974 he formed the Sunshine Music Agency, based in Gulson Road, with other Coventry luminaries - songwriter Bob Young, DJ Graham Wood (Ex Silk Disco), Monty Bird of Bird Studios, and Stu Bell. They promoted local and regional bands like A Band Called George, who made a single for the Bell Label - NCB Man and others (see the blog post). They supported bands and artists with bookings, venues, studios, songwriting and promotion.
Craig Ward as he is now
Of course there were other schools in Coventry who could boast similar ‘successes’ stories if not better - Provide me with the names and I will happily put an article together.
The above is not an exhaustive list so apologies to those I missed. I am just using Caludon as a point in case as, I myself, am a ‘Cally’ old boy.
Pete Clemons PART TWO
The above is not an exhaustive list so apologies to those I missed’ - This was written within the final line that I wrote on my previous article about Caludon Castle School.
And what a get out of jail card that statement proved to be.
I indeed missed quite a few other names that, since leaving Caludon Castle, have left their mark in both sport and the arts.
Some I must admit that I kicked myself for missing, some I just didn’t realise attended the school, but none were intentionally omitted.
The purpose of the original article was to promote those who had made a substantial contribution to the arts.
But as my introduction to the article mentioned sports people then I feel it only fair to include them in this mop up exercise.
So, again in no particular order - except that it begins with sport and works through to the arts………..
Bobby Parker: Was once described as the new Bobby Moore after he had captained the victorious England Youth team to victory in the Little World Cup during the very early 1970s.
Bobby played for Coventry City, Carlisle and Queen of the South.
Grant Ward and Chesterfield's Ian Evatt
Ian Evatt: Ian currently plays for Chesterfield and I think it is fair to say that he is now in the autumn of his career.
But what an illustrious career he has had as he played for QPR, Blackpool and Derby.
For the latter two clubs Ian played at the highest level of English football, the Premier League.
Ian Muir: A Tranmere Rovers legend.
Ian was once described as the best forward never to have played in the top tier of English football.
Peter Hormantschuk: A Coventry City defender who, will long be remembered, for his 30 yard goal against Manchester United.
Knee problems curtailed what should have been a longer career in the game.
John Burkitt: Another ex-pupil who made the grade at Coventry City FC.
John and who played a total of 5 games.
He also turned out for Nuneaton Borough and Rugby Town.
Ian Darnell: Ian represented the Coventry Rugby team during their days at Coundon Road.
Ron Cook: He has become an actor of considerable note.
Ron starred as Parker in the film version of Thunderbirds.
Parker, of course, was the butler to Lady Penelope.
He has also appeared in Dr. Who, Sharpe and Mr Selfridge amongst other TV programmes.
Neil O’Connor: Brother of Hazel.
Neil was a member of Midnight Circus along with Dave Freeman and Joe Hughes.
Midnight Circus played live at the after carnival gig at the Memorial Park and the Lower Holyhead Road Youth Centre during the mid-1970s.
With the addition of Pete King the band evolved into The Fly’s who gained chart success with the album Waikiki Beach Refugees during 1978.
Neil Richardson: During the 1970s Neil played alongside Ray Harte, Iain MacDonald, Ted Duggan and John Duggan as bass player in the incredibly busy Coventry band Drops of Brandy.
Along with other work they picked up, Drops of Brandy had residencies at Bloomers Club in Birmingham and Tiffany’s in Liverpool.
Before all this though Neil had played bass for another Coventry band Nak-ed-en along with guitarist Loz Netto and drummer John Bradbury.
Craig Ward: Began as a DJ alongside the likes of Pete Waterman, Graham ‘Tilly’ Rutherford and Mark Brown.
During 1974 Craig, along with Graham Wood, became co-director of the Sunshine music Agency based in Gulson Road.
Sunshine Agency specialised in management, publicity and promotions. Bands they managed and promoted included Smack; Walrus Gumboot; A Band Called George and many more.
John Walker / Tez Tehergee / Dave Blundy: When you have had a forty year plus musical career as a mainly ‘local’ band, who perform for the love of performing, and who have changed style from rock to folk then I guess change is inevitable.
And change Black Parrot Seaside certainly did during their four decades.
The band amassed a considerable amount of ex-members.
And it turns out that the four names mentioned in the previous article were not the only band members who passed through Caludon Castle.
Dave and Tez were involved with the first ever rehearsal of the band in 1975.
All three names mentioned here were guitarists with John Walker being involved with the band slightly later on during their evolvement.
While on the subject of BPS, former member Arnold Chave – who I mentioned previously – is now involved in a duo that goes under the name of Blues Division.
Brian Price: Brian is a member of the four piece acoustic group Driftwood who are based in Southampton.
He has a new album due in March 2016 titled ‘Like A River’.
Lieutenant Pigeon
Rob Woodward: A founding member of Lieutenant Pigeon who will undoubtedly be remembered for their chart topping single Mouldy Old Douhh released in 1972.
But there has been so much more to this accomplished piano player’s career in music.
Rob began life as a solo singer under the moniker of Shel Naylor and in 1964 recorded a single for Decca Records titled ‘One Fine Day’ which had been written by Dave Davies of The Kinks.
Steve Johnson: Bass player Steve replaced Pete Fisher in Stavely Makepeace who would also release records under the instrumental side project name of Lieutenant Pigeon.
Steve, with the blessing of the rest of the band, continued to tour under the Lieutenant Pigeon name long after that initial success.
Nigel Fletcher: Nigel is actually the third member of Lieutenant Pigeon to have attended Caludon Castle.
In fact the only member of the band not to attend the school was Rob Woodward’s Mother, Hilda, who also happened to be an accomplished piano player.
Nigel was the drummer, and with Rob Woodward, had also been a member of Stavely Makepeace whose career encircled that of Lieutenant Pigeon.
So once again I will sign off with - The above is not an exhaustive list and apologies to anyone else I happened to have missed.
Thumbing through a recently published glossy rock magazine my attention was grabbed by an article relating to North London favourites The Kinks.
The article mentioned the fact that on 1 February 1964 The Kinks had played their debut gig with the classic line-up of Ray Davies guitar and vocals, Dave Davies on lead guitar, Pete Quaife on bass and drummer Mick Avory.
This, in turn, led to me being reminded about a gig during the very early part of January 1964 that featured both The Kinks and the incredibly hard-working Warwickshire band The Matadors. Immediately my curiosity got the better of me.
If The Kinks debut gig was on 1 February, what then was going on during early January?
This Kinks / Matadors event happened at The Orchid Ballroom, now known as The Kasbah. The Orchid Ballroom at that time was being run by Larry Page who, by early 1964, was also part of the management team running the affairs of the Kinks. So here was an obvious link. Larry had clearly brought the group up to Coventry for some experience away from London.
But then that begs another question. If Larry Page was managing The Kinks then why did they sign up to Pye Records and not Decca. After all Larry Page had secured recording contracts for Coventry bands and artists such as Johnny B Great and the Goodmen, The Orchids and Shel Naylor (aka Rob Woodward of Lieutenant Pigeon) on Decca Records. I guess the answer to that though is not really relevant here.
Anyhow, returning to the article that initially took my interest, it all had me wondering that if this was not the classic line-up who debuted on the 1 February then who was in the band at that time and what might they have played on that January night in Coventry.
Well without doubt both Ray and Dave Davies along with Pete Quaife would have been present. They had been members of the band that had been known as The Ravens from around October/November 1963 till the end of that year and maybe just slightly into 1964. In fact legend has it that Larry Page had been very instrumental in encouraging The Ravens to change their name to The Kinks.
So that just leaves the drummer. Mick Avory joined The Kinks during the last week or so of January, after an advert he had placed in Melody Maker was answered by the band and their management. I have also read that the bands management, Boscobel Productions, had also placed an advert for a drummer. Maybe both had taken out adverts but, either way, Mick Avory would not have drummed for The Kinks on this particular occasion.
The Ravens had had a drummer by the name of Mickey Willet. And it may well have been Mickey who sat in on the drums that night.
However it seems that Mickey, although a very good drummer, had been slightly older than the rest of the band and his image did not fit the great scheme of things going forward. Also, Mickey apparently did not see eye to eye with the management. At some point Mickey Willet was asked to leave the band.
Further research in the Ray Davies book, X-Ray, revealed that a replacement drummer needed to be found to cover the bands schedule while a permanent drummer was found. That drummers name was Johnny Green and my gut feeling is that he is the guy who filled in for The Kinks that night. But here I am trying to micro manage the days in a chain of events that happened during a ten week period some 50 plus years ago.
The Kinks had been scheduled for some recording time at Pye number 1 studios round about the week commencing 20 January 1964. Still without a permanent drummer they drafted in session player Bobby Graham.
They recorded several songs that included what would turn out to be their first two singles. The tracks included ‘Long Tall Sally’, ‘I Took My Baby Home’, ‘You still Want Me’, ‘You Do Something To Me’, ‘I Don’t Need You Anymore’. The Ravens had recorded songs such as ‘Revenge’ and ‘Oooba Dioba’.
Another song from the days of The Ravens ‘One Fine Day’ written by Dave Davies was actually recorded by Shel Naylor (Coventry’s own Rob Woodward). So I am guessing that these are the tunes that would have greeted the audience at The Orchid Ballroom.
Ray Davies
Within a week of Mick Avory joining The Kinks they found themselves on the iconic TV programme ‘Ready, Steady Go!’ They appeared alongside the likes of Manfred Mann, Ben E King, John Leyton and Kiki Dee.
The Kinks returned to Coventry during March 1964. This time they were part of a package tour that featured The Dave Clark 5 and The Hollies that called into The Coventry Theatre.
But even then this was still a fledgling version of the band and the set list would have been similar to their January visit. It was not until August 1964 that The Kinks really hit their stride when they got to number 1 with their third single ‘You Really Got Me’. This was followed by ‘All Day and All of the Night’ in the October and ‘Tired of Waiting For You’ released during January 1965.
Larry Page, who moved on from The Orchid Ballroom, remained with The Kinks until around September 1965. By then he was involved with another band who would also reach legendary status, The Troggs.
There have been many hints over the last few years, in fact I only heard Ray Davies mention it on the TV recently, that there may be a possibility that The Kinks could well yet tour again.
Time will tell I guess but I wouldn’t hold my breath. However today, Ray Davies still tours occasionally and has been added to the songwriter’s hall of fame. Dave Davies appears to have recovered well from a stroke and has begun playing again.
Pete Quaife sadly passed away during 2010 and Mick Avory leads a band called the Kast Off Kinks which features past members of the band.
Additional and related infromation from the Hobo site:
Ron Lawrence, former bass players with the Coventry Folk Rock band April (c 1969 - 71) went on to play bass with Sniff and the Tears (along with Cov guitarist Loz Netto) and had a minor hit with Drivers Seat c 1978. Ron went on to session for many artists but became a friend of Ray Davies and played bass with the Kinks live in the late 70's and featured on recorded songs such as Come Dancing.
Trev Teasdel and Pete Clemons reminisce on memories of one of Coventry's most talented musicians
The Specials perform to 2000 fans in Coventry for the group's last concert of a 48-venue tour of Britain - 29th November 1979
By Trev Teasdel and Pete Clemons
We were both quite sad to hear of the passing of John ‘Brad’ Bradbury, drummer for The Specials. Not just
Pete Clemons and Trev Teasdel
because of his work with the band, but Trev knew him some ten years before he joined.
I on the other hand, got to know him when he worked at Virgin Records in the arcade. He introduced me to many bands from across a wide spectrum of genres and as many on the ‘Cov’ scene will remember, he really was a nice guy as well as a great drummer. Many Coventrians who were around in the 70s will have their own memories of him, but these are Trev’s and it’s quite a shock for both of us to think that he has gone at the age of 62.
Nack-ed-en
I met Brad in May 1970 when my mate, Coventry drummer Steve Harrison who went on to play with L’homme de Terre in the 80s, asked me to turn up at the Queens Hotel on Primrose Hill St with my book of lyrics. Steve had joined a new three-piece rock band called Nak-ed-en and when I turned up, the band was in full swing but Steve wasn't in the drum seat. After the practice, the band explained that Brad was now the new drummer and we adjourned to The Dive bar (The Lady Godiva), where Brad looked through my lyrics and there was some talk of band member Loz Netto meeting up with me to try some out. It never came to fruition but we still became good friends.
The in The Parson's Nose chip shop in Bishop Street, Coventry - March 1980
Coventry Arts Umbrella Club
The main topic of conversation at The Dive, was how much the Queens Hotel charged Nack-ed-en to practice. I was putting on the bands at the Umbrella Club with Al Docker at the time and suggested they join the Coventry Arts Umbrella Club, as they would then be able to practice free of charge. They took up the offer and I got to watch Nak-ed-en practice on a regular basis in the Umbrella coffee bar, before and we put them on at the Umbrella Club.
I don’t know how Brad worked with The Specials, but back then he was very into Northern Soul and was a very tight and skillful drummer, not at all showy. Back in 1970, it was the trend for drummers to imitate Ginger Baker with 15 minute-long drum solos which, except where the drummer was really good, often caused the audience to head for the bar. Brad never did that, his drum breaks were short, sharp and to the point, as demonstrated by the drum break in Gangsters. He used to get the band to take the songs apart and work on the transitions between the verse and chorus or bridge. He had a good sense of song structure and his drumming seemed to play an important part in signalling the transitions.
Pete Waterman and Special's drummer John Bradbury unveil the final 2-Tone plaque in Coventry's Heritage Trail
Umbrella Club Jam Session 1970
In August 1970, Brad and Loz Netto took part in an Umbrella Club jam session, called Vic’s Heavy Rock
Jam Session. This was actually organised by Al Docker, with me doing the door duty, but on the night, the all-night session was led by a very long-haired Neol Davies. This was the first time Neol and Brad had played together in seven years, when the pair played on the The Selecter track Kingston Affair. In 1979, it finally appeared on the B side of the Gangsters single and Nak-ed-en split up not long afterwards.
Loz Netto became lead guitarist in Tsar, a progressive band created by Al Docker and after that, Love Zeus, who once played a stunning set at the Belgrade Theatre.
Brad was always about town, you’d see him everywhere, walking between music pubs, or standing at the bar watching a band, when he wasn't playing himself. Always friendly, always smiling and always easy going. He’d always be in a band, you’d look and the drummer was Brad. That’s how it was then; bands formed, split and reformed or joined other outfits and that’s how you got your experience. Line-ups weren't precious, unless you got famous and had fans that would be upset by the change.
In the late 70s, Brad reunited with Neol Davies in a forerunner of The Selecter, called Transposed Men,
where they played some of the Neol Davies songs that would soon be given the Ska treatment via The Selecter. The band consisted of Neol Davies, Desmond Brown, Kevin Harrison (later of Urge), Steve Wynne and John Bradbury and they band split when Jerry Dammers bagged John Bradbury for The Specials after Silverton left. Much of the rest is history that everyone knows, more or less.
Brad took the drum seat of the Specials for the famous leg of their journey and Neol reformed Transposed Men with new members from Charley Anderson’s Chapter 5 and former folk Coventry singer, Pauline Black as lead singer. After The Specials broke up, I remember I was backstage at the Dog and Trumpet with Tony Morgan’s own Ska band EMF. We were taking out amps to the van, along with Brad, and we laughed when Brad turned to Tony and called him Two Tony. Brad was always really witty and made us laugh. He was just a boy from Coventry who played an important role one of Coventry’s greatest moments, so hats off to Brad!
Charley Anderson's first Band in Coventry Live in Woodend for the first Reggae Festival in Ska City, Charley Redlax bass Desmond Brown organ, Sylverton Hutchinson drums, Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson guitar vocals, Joy Evering vocals, Neol Davis guest on guitar.
Sniff and the Tears with Loz Netto (lead) and Ron Lawrence (bass) of Coventry
JB's Allstars
Hard Top 22 - Charley Anderson - Bass, Amos Anderson - Compton Amanor - Rhythm guitar
Charles "H" Bembridge drums , Chris Christy -
"Somewhere around 1979 Neol Davies combined Hardtop 22 with his latest band Transposed Men to give the classic first line up of The Selecter."
