The Pickwicks

Pete Clemons visitation to the Coventry music scene once again - this time with a Coventry Telegraph article on Tony Martin's Echo Four and The Pickwicks - both managed by Larry Page c 1963 / 64. 

There's also a an article by Pete Chambers on this post and a link to Leah D' Archy's article on Pickwick musician John Miles.

Pickwicks were frock and roll.

By Pete Clemons

ONE of the earliest of the Coventry beat bands was Tony Martin and the Echo Four. They formed during the early part of 1963 and the original line-up doing the circuit back then was Tony Lucas (AKA Tony Martin) on vocals, Mac Watts lead guitar, Alan Gee rhythm guitar, Rod Simpson bass guitar and Malcolm Jenkins on drums.

They were a relatively short-lived band but during 1963 Tony Martin and the Echo Four played well over 100 gigs in our region alone. The earliest dates I can find being at The Binley Oak in Paynes Lane which was one of the earliest venues to regularly put on 'rock and twist' nights. The band soon found their popularity growing and quickly got themselves on the circuit that included venues such as The Baginton Oak, The Craftsman, The Heath Hotel, Coventry Flying Club and many others.

Tony Martin and the Echo Four were highly rated for their musical ability and, after around a year or so, came to the attention of Larry Page who, at that time, was in control of entertainment at The Orchid Ballroom. I am guessing though that he had his own ideas about them and in what direction they should take.

One mystery that I do have concerns the discovery of a few dates I have made by a spin-off band called The Bandits who apparently featured Tony Martin. These gigs occurred toward the end of 1963 at the Flying Club and The Parkstone Club. Apart from those dates I know very little about this group and I am curious to know a bit more about The Bandits along with the other musicians who made up this group.

By March 1964 and, under his guidance, Larry Page reshaped The Echo Four and re-launched them as The Pickwicks. Firstly Mac Watts, who left the band, had been replaced by John Miles  (See Leah D'Archy's enlightening article on her grandfather John Miles HERE and Tony (Martin) Lucas took on bass guitar duties as well as doubling up on vocals because Rod Simpson had also left the band.

The overhaul was completed with a final line-up of John Miles (vocals and lead guitar), Alan Gee (rhythm guitar), Tony Martin (bass) and Malcolm Jenkins (drums).

The Pickwicks, through Larry Page, obtained a residency at The Orchid Ballroom and they also gained a recording contract with Decca Records. Their first single was released during May 1964. It was a "beat" version of a song made some forty years previous which they called 'Apple Blossom Time.'.

* The original, '(I'll Be With You) In Apple Blossom Tim',' was a popular song in its day written by Albert Von Tilzer and lyricist Neville Fleeson, and first copyrighted in 1920. The song has been recorded by numerous artists including Artie Shaw, Nat King Cole, Jo Stafford, Anne Shelton and many others.

In keeping with the Charles Dick-k ens theme the band had a photo shoot where they were dressed in Dickensian attire complete with top hats. But with dry cleaning and the pressing of this gear, in particular the frilled shirts, taking up to a week and a half it proved to be totally impractical.

Johnny Miles sang lead vocal on The Pickwicks version of 'Apple Blossom Time' and it and was given a B-side titled 'I Don't Wanna Tell You Again'. The matrix number for the single was Decca 1964 - F11901 but, despite the publicity, it failed to hit the charts.

So by the time the second single, 'Your Old Enough',' was released the band had reverted back to a more orthodox stage dress. On its release it was described in the local press as 'a throbbing rhythm and blues sound led by vocalist John Miles who also comes over well on the flipside 'Hello Lady'.

Incidentally 'Your Old Enough',' Decca 1964 - F11957, was released during August '64 and was specially written for the band by songwriter Michael Julian who had also written Cliff Richard's hit 'Constantly'.

The Pickwicks, although playing a lot of dates in and around Coventry, seemed to spend a lot of their time on the road playing many dates around the country. There are plenty of tales to tell that involved incidents with their van overheating, breaking down on the M1 and such like.

The band's third and final single was released in January 1965. This one was titled 'Little by Little' and was released on the Warner Brothers label. Its matrix number was WB151 and produced by Larry Page himself. Its B-side 'I Took My Baby Home' is an early Ray Davies song and the original version can be found on the B-side of The Kinks' first single 'Long Tall Sally'. It was widely reported that future Led Zeppelin guitarist, Jimmy Page, played lead guitar on the single but some reports I have read deny it.

The Pickwicks eventually split up in March 1965. Maybe The Kinks and his latest find, The Troggs, were now uppermost in manager Larry Page's thoughts. But it seems that the group had not been getting the amount of work they expected.

Tony Martin, as well as working as a driver, went on to join a band called The Clouds alongside both Roger and Nigel Lomas. Alan Gee worked for Alfred Herberts. John Miles and drummer Malcolm Jenkins had hoped to form another group. I am not sure if this ever happened but Malcolm did have continued success when he resurfaced with The Ray King Soul Band appearing on their Live at the Playboy Club album.

The story of The Pickwicks did not end there though. Even after the band called it a day their legacy continued for a little while longer... well at least the band's name did.

It seems that after Coventry's Pickwicks disbanded a group of musicians based up in Manchester bought the rights to the band's name. Back in the 1960s you could easily register a name. The Manchester version of the band toured Germany and other parts of Europe. One of those band members would go on to become an agent and promoter. 

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Leah D'Archy (the granddaughter of John Miles) has written a great article on John Miles and The Pickwicks. John Miles sang on The Kinks single You Really Got me! You can read Leah's article here 

Cutting via Broadgate Gnome A to Z 

The Pickwicks (R&B/Beat group)  made three singles under Larry Page in 1964 -

Apple Blossom Time - 1964 b/w I Don't Wanna Tell You  (Decca 1964 - F11901)

You're Old Enough b/w Hello Lady  (Decca 1964 - F11957)

Little by Little b/w I Took my Baby Home  (Warner Bros. 1965 - WB151)

The Pickwicks made three singles under Larry Page in 1964

This one, a B side from c1965,  was written by Ray Davies of the Kinks with - allegedly Jimmy Page on guitar.

From Broadgate Gnome 2003 
"The Pickwicks line up consisted of - John Miles (lead guitar), Alan Gee (rhythm guitar), Tony Martin (bass), Malcolm Jenkins (drums).

Started life as Tony Martin And The Echo Four, before Larry Page signed them in March 1964 and changed

their name. Initially their stage gear was top hats and tails a' la 'Pickwick Papers' , but when they couldn't find anyone to clean them, they quickly gave the image up!

They cut 3 fine singles of tough Beat/R&B, with Jimmy Page playing lead guitar on at least the first 2 of them. 'Apple Blossom Time' is a cover of the old standard with a tough backing but fairly weak vocals, whilst the B-side has a great Page guitar solo. The A-side of the second single was a ballad, but the B-side was described as '...throbbing R&B...' 'I Took My Baby Home' is an early Ray Davies song, originally released as the B-side of 'Long Tall Sally', The Kinks first single. 

They eventually split up in April 1965 with drummer Jenkins going on to join The Ray King Soul Pact / Band."

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NOTE - " On Youtube Leah D'Archy
"Singles: Tony Martin and the Echo Four did NOT originate from the Pickwicks ... The Pickwicks had John Miles and he wasn't it the Echo Four ... he told me that himself ... Johnny miles is my grandad"

From Pete Chambers - Backbeat - Coventry Telegraph

" DID fabulous Coventry beat group The Pickwicks lose out on chart success because their B-sides were better than their A sides?" TONY MARTIN and His Echo Four had been playing the local and national circuits, including a prime show at Coventry Theatre supporting Brian Poole and The Tremeloes. Local impresario Larry Page spotted them and so began the image building. Out went the black suits and ties. In came the "Mr Pickwick" frock coats, breeches, top hats and even stick-on whiskers! It was March 1964 and The Pickwicks had completed the transformation with the line-up of John Miles (vocals and lead guitar), Alan Gee (rhythm guitar), Tony Martin (bass) and Malcolm Jenkins (drums). With a residency at the city's Orchid Ballroom and a diary full of bookings, Larry Page secured a Decca recording contract for his boys. Johnny Miles insisted their first single was a remake of the old classic Apple Blossom Time (the 1920s Fleeson & Tilzer song that had been recorded by The Andrews Sisters among others). But this was no ballad, instead it was given the big beat treatment. "I was always influenced by the drums and bass sound that Johnny Kidd and the Pirates achieved," reveals John Miles. "Our drummer Malc was a big guy so he could hit the skins with a lot of power." Indeed such was the style of Malcolm Jenkins that when John heard a band long after The Pickwick days playing live, without seeing their drummer he recognised Malc just by his drumming style. Apple Blossom Time was completed in just three takes and I Don't Want to Tell You Again was picked for the B-side. Apple Blossom was a good song, but the B-side was a great song - a product of that time and akin to the multi-part harmonies The Beatles were doing on the likes of She Loves You and I Want to Hold Your Hand. Johnny's fabulous pop-beat voice was more than good enough to be heard on the charts, but Apple Blossom Time was the chosen single and I Don't Want to Tell You Again never got a look-in. Towards the end of 1964 the Pickwick Papers image had been dropped, mainly due to the fact that they couldn't get the costumes cleaned quickly enough. John says: "It was so hard to find a cleaner who knew how to clean and press all the ruffs and frills, and when we eventually did find one, it took about a week to get them back, so it was easier to just give them up." But The Pickwicks were more than just an image. Anyone who has ever witnessed them will know what a top-flight freakbeat unit they were. This was much in evidence on their second single You're Old Enough with Hello Lady on the flip. On hearing these two tracks you start looking yet again for which is the A-side and which the B. You're Old Enough is a good enough song, but the B-side - that's what The Pickwicks were all about. Hello Lady (recorded in just one take) positively rocks along in a 12- bar boogie style and John's lead vocals are spot on. I talked to him about the way the single was released, saying I couldn't understand why Hello Lady was consigned to a B-side. I felt that had it been an A-side then Coventry may well have had another hit band. "You are right of course", explains John. "We pleaded with the management at Decca to flip the whole thing, but they were adamant and look what happened." What happened was, like its predecessor, it failed to chart. Despite the lack of hit-parade success, the band continued to play up and down the country. One such concert at Bradford's Fat Black Pussycat Club was more memorable than most. John says: "We were on stage at this smallish club, when suddenly Tony Martin started going wild. He was leaping about with his bass still playing. I was knocked out. I thought Tony's well into it tonight, this was pre- Hendrix but he was doing all his kind of stuff, going mental. "It turned out that he had leant against some heating pipes at the back of the stage and burnt the skin off his neck, but like a good trooper he had continued to play." In 1965 they switched labels to Warner Brothers releasing the now highly collectable single Little by Little with I Took my Baby Home (a Ray Davies/Kinks song) on the B-side. Yet again, in my opinion, a mistake. Both songs were good but I Took my Baby Home was by far the catchier of the two. As I said, this single is highly collectable, because all over the internet it is claimed a certain Jimmy Page played guitar on the track. Although a great session man, the future axe-person for Led Zeppelin never played on this or any other Pickwicks record, it was a guy called Harry Friar. So that's just lopped pounds 50 off my copy of Little by Little! Before 1966 The Pickwicks had split up, with Malcolm Jenkins joining The Ray King Band and Tony Martin joining Roger Lomas in The Clouds. John went on to work with The Kinks and with his idol Johnny Kidd: "He was a lovely man, I never heard him criticise anyone. Such a talent." And then in 1988, while visiting a relation in Myton Hospice, John saw a face he barely recognised. It was Tony Martin. "We sat and talked about the old days, it was so good to see him again. I went back a few days later with Alan Gee. We took our guitars along and sang Apple Blossom Time with Tony one last time, it was magical but so very sad. "A month later Tony was gone, but he will never be forgotten." THE PICKWICKS TRIVIA HELLO LADY was written by former Harley Street specialist Michael Julien in just five minutes. He had previously written Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me for Shirley Bassey and Constantly for Cliff Richard. LARRY PAGE got The Pickwicks a prime place on the bill at the Royal Albert Hall. Others playing that night included The Applejacks and Adam Faith. Little by Little was also released on Warner Brothers in America. Malcolm Jenkins started his drumming career with The Coventry School of Drums. "

Lieutenant Pigeon

The ever prolific Pete Clemons with his latest for the Coventry Telegraph. The background to Lieutenant Pigeon and Mouldy Old Dough - which wasn't their only single of course.

How Mouldy Old Dough was big hit.

Pete Clemons 

ONE of the biggest sellers of any hit record to have been written and produced in Coventry was to all intents and purposes an instrumental. The main theme of the song was played mainly on piano, in a honky tonk bar room style, although the piano was accompanied by drum and tin whistle. The song's title derived from an adaptation of a 1920s jazz phrase, 'Vo-De-O-Do'.

There were very few words involved in the song. In fact the only lyric used is the song title which is repeated from time to time in a gruff voice. Actually, because I enjoy hearing this jaunty tune, I am being rather kind to it. The Guardian newspaper once described the vocal as "unspeakable" and continued "it sounds like he's just emerged from a skip, clutching the titular dough with hideous relish." The single itself was also described in the Guardian article as both "awesome and horrible" in the same paragraph.

The tune in question is also one of the very few number one records to feature a mother and her son. In fact the only other parent and child combinations I can think of off the top of my head are Frank and Nancy Sinatra, who had a 1967 hit with 'Somethin' Stupid' and Kelly and Ozzie Osbourne who appeared together on 'Changes.'.

I am sure most of you will have, by now, realised which song I refer to. And when you start to scratch the surface and delve deeper into history of Lieutenant Pigeon's iconic tune 'Mouldy Old Dough' (Decca 13278); released in February 1972, you will soon discover that it has had quite a life throughout the years. Some of it, as I also discovered, was slightly controversial.

For those who need an introduction to Lieutenant Pigeon they were Robert Woodward (piano, guitar and tin whistle), Nigel Fletcher (drums), Steve Johnson (bass guitar and tin whistle) and Hilda Woodward who was in her late 50s at this time. Hilda, apart from being Rob's mother and a member of Lieutenant Pigeon, was also a piano teacher.

During its lifetime 'Mouldy Old Dough' has been used as the British Banger Car racing theme song and was played on the rolling lap of many banger and stock car meetings. It has been played over the tannoy at the beginning of Oldham Athletic Football Club to herald in the teams. It has been heard on a BBC TV nature programme in which Kate Humble was presenting a show about pigeon breeding. And maybe most surprisingly Jarvis Cocker, leader of the band Pulp, chose it as one of his songs when he was featured on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs during April 2005.

During an interview with the weekly music paper New Musical Express the band's drummer Nigel Fletcher explained: "Hilda's front room in Coventry was the scene of the crime. We didn't use the best equipment - it was recorded on a domestic machine. We find we get a better sound using the front room."

When 'Mouldy Old Dough' was initially released it did not sell well at all. However, out of the blue, fate crept in. The song had been picked up by a Belgian TV current affairs programme which used it as their theme tune. Additional success in the Belgian charts resulted in the song getting a new lease of life over here in the UK. And to further help its progress BBC Radio 1 DJ Noel Edmonds had picked up on the tune's novelty factor and he chose to help it along where he could.

From its initial release the single took eight months to reach the top of the UK charts and, at long last, became a hit in the UK. It spent a total of 19 weeks on UK singles chart, and during October 1972 it spent four of those weeks at the number one spot.

In all, 'Mouldy Old Dough',' sold well in excess of 750,000 copies, becoming the second biggest selling UK single of the year, behind 'The Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards' bagpipe version of 'Amazing Grace.' .' 1972 certainly was a year for diverse music. 'Mouldy Old Dough' also saw its creators, Rob and Nigel, win an Ivor Novello award for song writing.

Because it topped the UK charts, appearances on Top of the Pops beckoned. Graham Gouldman of 10cc fame was once quoted as saying "it was beyond doubt the most singular and bizarre thing I had ever heard on the programme." The band also performed a home town gig at the Locarno Ballroom during October 1972. There then began a legal battle over who actually played piano on the chart topping single. It was claimed by a third party that he had actually performed on the record. The group maintained that the record had in fact been re-recorded with Rob's mother Hilda on piano. The whole issue was eventually resolved out of court, after it was agreed that the claimant had indeed played bass piano on a demonstration version of the tune. After two years, and much legal wrangling, a settlement had been worked out and in December 1974 a payment was awarded to the claimant.

The follow-up single to 'Mouldy Old Dough' was another largely instrumental track titled 'Desperate Dan.' .' This spent a total of ten weeks on the charts, peaking at number 17 in December 1972. Despite releasing a further dozen or more singles with titles that included 'And the Fun Goes On' and 'Oxford Bags',' it was 'Desperate Dan' that proved to be their only other British hit. But it was not to be the band's last ever chart success. Lieutenant Pigeon managed to score a further hit, in the autumn of 1974, when they reached number three in the Australian charts with a cover version of 'I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen'.

Lieutenant Pigeon eventually split up in September 1978 only to reform, in name only, for a lucrative offer to tour Scandinavia during the 1980s. The offer was taken up by bass player Steve Johnson who put together a new band. Despite the fact they played no part in the tour, due to family commitments and alike, both Rob and Nigel gave Steve their blessing.

Hilda Woodward sadly passed away during February 1999 aged 85 but Rob Woodward and Nigel Fletcher still find time to work together. 2001 saw them release an autobiography titled 'When Show Business is No Business.' .' I can't recommend this book enough. It is an excellent read.

And most recently the pair have combined their musical talents once again. You may have noticed, and understood the significance of, the sky blue ribbons around our city. To support the 'Tie a Sky Blue Ribbon' campaign they have released a revamped version of their 1981 single 'Bobbing Up and Down Like This' and re-titled it 'Ribbons Everywhere.' .' It is now available for download on itunes.

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Here is their website http://www.lieutenantpigeon.co.uk/

Rob Woodward - piano

Nigel Fletcher- drums
Steve Johnson - bass,
Rob's mum Hilda - Piano

From the Rex Brough Cov Music Site.

This band created Coventry's first No 1 hit in their living room in Stoke. Mouldy Old Dough, was basically an instrumental save for the intermittent refrain of the title. The B-side, "the Villain" is highly recommended as it is very very strange. The follow-up Desperate Dan, just made the Top 20.

Singles
1.Mouldy Old Dough/The Villain Decca 18/02/72
2.Desperate Dan/Opus 300 Decca 1/12/72
3.And The Fun Goes On/Opus 302 Decca 11/05/73
4.Oxford Bags/Creativity Decca 31/08/73
5.Big Butch Baby/I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen Decca 1/02/74
6.You Are My Hearts Delight/Love Inflation Decca 9/08/74



7.Rockabilly Hot Pot/Gosford Street Ragg Decca 19/09/75
8.Goodbye/I'll Sail My Ship Alone Decca 23/04/76
9.Spangles Comet 23/09/77
10.Disco Bells SMA 14/04/78
11.Bye Bye Blackbird Elver 12/07/78
12.Bobbing Up and Down Like This Shack 22/05/81

Albums
1.Mouldy Old Music Decca 1973
2.Pigeon Pie Decca 1974
3.Pigeon Party Decca 1974

Reissue CDs
Mouldy Old Dough - 1998 Emporio

Heavy Cochran
Singles
I've Got Big Balls (Of Resentment)/Well, Fairly Big Psycho P 2611
I've Got A Little Prick (Of Conscience)/It's 12 Inches But I Don't Use It As A Rule (8/79) Psycho 2619


Rob Woodward
Single
Bogie/Hell Bent On Rock'n'roll (6/80)
Bounty Hunters

Single
Coconut Shuffle (Remix)/Barrelhouse (6/80)

Rob Woodward made records as a solo artist  - Shel Naylor - for Decca when he was only 17. This is his second single One Fine Day, written by Ray and Dave Davies of the Kinks with Jimmy Page on guitar recorded in 1964.

This is their other band Stavely Makepeace with Steve Tayton - Cov sax player

Much more on youtube for these artists.

Virgin Records Coventry - 1973 Onwards.

Pete Clemons latest for the Coventry Telegraph -

Buying Records at Virgin.

Pete Clemons 

DOES your memory stretch back to when the Virgin Record and Tape shop used to exist in the Arcade close to the birdcage and the old Climax pub as it was then? As teenagers we all used to use it to buy our records and cassettes. Along with a good friend that I grew up with I spent many a happy hour in the place browsing through and chatting with staff about the new releases.

And yet, as much as I have since tried to research it, I can find no evidence of the actual opening. The shop just quietly appeared. There was no fuss and, unlike other record shops at the time, no advertising that I can remember in the local press. The shop simply went about its business in a quiet and effective manner. Or so it seemed.

Of course, unknown to us at the time, the opening of this humble g t tn shop, with I guess its then shocking name, was at the beginning of what would become one of the greatest empires in entertainment history. In fact the Virgin name would go on to, and 40 years on continues, to spread into many facets of our life from travel to banking and from media to health.

Virgin Records and Tapes in the Arcade, Coventry, which opened early to mid 1973, was one of the first of a dozen or so stores opened by Richard Branson. It followed on from the opening of his original store above a shoe shop in Oxford Road, London during 1971. A second shop quickly followed in Notting Hill and then the name was rolled out nationwide. Lots of music fans, though, were already aware of the name thanks to Virgin's very popular mail order operation.

A short while after Virgin had opened its doors a gig that involved David Allen and his band Gong was held in the parking area at the rear of the shop. Maybe this event marked the official opening.

Almost simultaneously to the shops opening nationwide the Richard Branson's next move was the creation of the Virgin record label complete with its distinctive Roger Dean design 'twins' logo. The labels first release was Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' which proved to be an instant success.

The original guys that ran the Coventry shop were Malc, whose full name I cannot find, and Mike O'Hare. Both of them knew the music well and were very friendly and helpful people. They were also very open to what was happening in the music scene locally, created a much laid back atmosphere in the shop, and were always happy to help. Such as with a magazine that Trev Teasdel helped produce called Hobo. The shop was more than willing to sell copies as well as write reviews of new albums.

Malc and Mike even compiled a singles and album chart, for the magazine, of what was selling in the shop at the time.

Around 1974 Dave McGarry joined the team at the Virgin shop. During his stay there he developed a love of Texas music. He remained at the shop till around 1977. 'Texas' Dave McGarry, as he is now known, now resides in Australia and is renowned for bring the best Texas acts to that country.

Pete Waterman also moved into the Virgin shop during 1974. Pete, of course, moved his 'Soul Hole' record outlet from the 'I Am' store on The Burges to the top floor upstairs at Virgin.

Richard Branson, as has been proved throughout his career, is not the type of person to rest on his laurels. He knows that things must always be freshened up. During 1975, and to widen his roster of bands, he made an audacious bid to sign up The Rolling Stones. But that attempt failed, however 17 years later, he would realise that ambition.

From the mid to late 1970s the Virgin shop employed a number of local luminaries such as Gordon Montgomery and John Coles. Under names like 'Fopp' and nowadays 'Rise' Gordon would go on to build his own entertainment and music outlets. John Coles, of course, captured in great detail the early days of 2-Tone on film and even now continues to delight us with his shots. Stu Knapper of Coventry punk band Riot, original vocalist for The Specials' Tim Strickland, Chris Long of 2-Tone band The Swinging Cats and, the then, future drummer for The Specials, John Bradbury, all served time in the shop. These guys knew the music scene incredibly well at that time very and, in particular, John Bradbury certainly introduced me to a few new bands back then.

1977 saw an opportunity that the company just could not miss. Virgin records, I think it is fair to say, had become associated as an outlet for those with longer hair than most and had a little more of a laid back approach to life. That image was soon ditched when the record label made the master stroke signing of The Sex Pistols. They were soon followed by a host of other punk and post punk bands. This diversification of the music also spread to reggae and other genres.

The Virgin record shop was also attracting customers who were based in Coventry while studying at the city's various universities. Simon Frith, the celebrated rock music sociologist, frequented the Coventry store. Radio 1 DJ Simon Mayo apparently queued up at Virgin to buy Gangsters when it was released, while he was at Warwick University, while The Specials bass player, Horace Panter, in his excellent book 'Ska'd for Life' recalls standing in Virgin pretending to browse the record sleeves but really watching people buy The Specials 'Gangsters' single.

And in 1980 the 'Sent from Coventry' compilation album sold 8,000 copies in its first week as it went on to reach number eight on the UK Alternative charts. Local records stores like Virgin records played a large role in this success as did the then new Coventry music magazine of the time, Alternative Sounds, produced by Martin Bowes.

During the early 1980s Virgin had acquired the Charisma Records label, along with their back catalogue, which included the likes of Genesis. All of a sudden names like Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel became known the world over and not just on the underground.

After ten years the Virgin Record and Tape Shop in Coventry moved premises. During 1984 it had moved into The Precinct. The shops, or stores as they had now become, were rebranded as Megastores.

The company continued to grow and diversify as other artists like Soul II Soul and Janet Jackson signed to Virgin. This move would see their careers flourish worldwide. Branson eventually sold Virgin Music to EMI for in excess of PS500million in 1992 in order to finance other interests that the Virgin Empire was growing into.

Despite the sale the Megastore name continued under its new owners. By then vinyl was being replaced by compact disc and cassettes had almost disappeared. Games, phones and other forms of media were now being introduced as technology, and rapidly, advanced. But of course it advanced so far that music began to become downloadable. All of a sudden the physical product was not a necessity.

A management buyout in 2007 saw the stores rebranded as Zavvi but this was short lived as Zavvi, itself, entered administration less than two years later. Some of the stores were sold to HMV and this is where the Coventry store remains today.

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Pete Waterman's Soul Hole record Store was upstairs at Virgins c 1974 - next two pics from Hobo Magazine 1974

Peter Waterman, John Bradbury, Pete Chambers and photographer John Coles in this pic of the Two Tone plaque launch at Virgin Records Coventry c 2009

John Coles and John Bradbury with the Virgin Records plaque.

Virgin Records Two Tone plaque again.

Trev Teasdel - editor of Hobo - Coventry's Music and arts magazine 1973 - 75 - on sale at Virgin Records during that period.

Among the many albums for sale was a very special one full of Coventry bands initiated by Martin Bowes - Alternative Sounds.

Stu Knapper of  Coventry Punk band Riot Act worked at the store in the late 70's - Riot Act youtube below.

During Stu Knapper's time at Virgin, Simon Frith - author of  The Sociology of Rock and a professor at Warwick University in the 70's was a regular visitor to the Coventry store. Simon was very familiar with the Coventry music scene.

Texas Dave McGarry worked at Virgin records Coventry c 1974 onwards before moving to Australia to promote texas Music artists touring down under. His story is here -

http://wyrefarmed.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/texas-dave-mcgarry.html

Hobo Magazine 1974 - Virgin (Coventry store) charts and album reviews by Virgin staff appeared in Hobo

Some of the Virgin Charts (Coventry Store) from Hobo Magazine.

VIRGIN RECORDS ALBUM CHART (Coventry Store) August 1973
Compiled by Mike O'Hare and Malc)
1 Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
2 David Bowie - Hunky Dory
3 Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
4 Faust - Tapes
5 Santana - McLaughlin
6 George Harrison - Material World
7 David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
8 Genesis - Live
9 Clifford T Ward - Home Thoughts
10 Roy Wood - Boulders
11 David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
12 Cat Stevens - Foreigner
13 Terry Riley - Rainbow in C
14 David Bowie - Man Who Sold the World
15 Lindisfarne - Live
16 Alan Hull - Pipedream
17 Mott the Hoople - Mott
18 Genesis - Foxtrot
19 Pink Floyd - Meddle
20 Beatles - 67-68

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Virgin Album Charts (Coventry Store) October 1973
1 Rolling Stones - Goat's Head Soup
2 Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
3 Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
4 Status Quo - Hello
5 David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
6 David Bowie - Man Who Stole the World
7 Pink Floyd - Meddle
8 David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
9 Beatles - 66 / 70
10 Yes - Yes Album
11 Led Zeppelin - 5
12 Uriah Heap - Sweet Freedom
13 David Bowie - Hunky Dory
14 Yes - Yes Songs
15 Van Morrison - Hard Rose the Highway
16 Slade - Sladest
17 Budgie - Never Turn Your Back
18 Beatles - 62 - 67
19 Faust
20 Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy

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Virgin Album Chart (Coventry Store) FEB 1974

1 Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
2 Leo Sayer - Silverbird
3 Roxy Music - Stranded
4 Yes - Tales from Topographical Oceans
5 ELP - Brain Salad Surgery
6 Who - Quadrophenia
7 Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
8 Bob Dylan - Dylan
9 Gong - Angels Eggs
10 David Bowie - Pin Ups
11 Fripp and Eno - No Pussy Footing
12 Elton John - Yellow Brick Road
13 Santana - Welcome
14 Alice Cooper - Muscle of Love
15 Wings - Band on the Run
16 John Lennon - Mind Games
17 Faces - Faces Live
18 Donovan - Essence to Essence
19 Ringo Starr - Ringo
20 Nazareth - Loud n Proud

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Virgin Album Charts (Coventry store) March 1974
1 Free - Free Story
2 Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
3 Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark
4 Deep Purple - Burn
5 Bob Dylan - Planet Waves
6 Wings - Band on the Run
7 Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic
8 Roy Harper - Valentine
9 Slade - Old, New and Borrowed
10 Incredible String Band
11 Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets
12 Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
13 Pink Floyd - A Nice Pair
14 Steeleye Span - Now we're Six
15 Sutherland Bros / Quiver = Dream Kid
16 Montrose
17 Lou Reed - Rock n Roll Animal
18 Mick Ronson - Slaughter on 10th Avenue
19 Carly Simon - Hot Cakes
20 Temptations - 1990

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Virgin Album Charts (Coventry store)
1 Gong - Camembert Electrique

2 Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
3 Rick Wakeman - Journey
4 David Bowie Diamond Dogs
5 Wings - Band on the Run
6 Uriah Heap - Wonder World
7 Sparks - Kimono
8 Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
9 Bonzo Dog Dog Do Dah Band - History of
10 Bad Company

Virgin Singles Charts (Coventry store)

1 Sparks - This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us
2 Bad company - Can't Get Enough
3 Montrose - Bad Motor Scooter
4 Brian Ferry - The In Crowd
5 Allman Bros - Jessica
6 Captain Beefheart - Upon the My oh My
7 Kevin Coyne - I Believe in Love
8 Jan Akkerman - House of the King
9 ELP - Jerusalem
10 Black Oak Arkansas - Jim Dandy

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From Alternative Sounds c 1979 "We talked to Tim and John here. Virgin records have been open for 6 years in Coventry. They stock everything here (except from brass bands0 and are open 6 days a week. As they are a chain store, it means that they can get most records but there are often delays cos they don't deal with the distributors direct. A chart single costs 75p here. they also have discounts on the top 50 albums (about £1 off) plus various bargains in their 'cheap rack'. This is the only shop in Coventry where they have headphones for you to listen to records first" Martin Bowes.

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Hobo Magazine Album Reviews from Mike O'Hare and Malc of Virgin Records Coventry c 1973/4

Here are the links to their album reviews on another part of this site. Complete with youtube.

1. Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Messin'
2. Clifford T Ward - Home Thoughts
3. Todd Rundgren - Wizard a True Star

Below is a sticker from Virgin band Gong which was given to me by the Virgin staff while I was producing Hobo magazine.

Delia Derbyshire

Pete Clemons with yet another article for the Coventry Telegraph, this time celebrating Delia derbyshire day who was born in Coventry and realised the Doctor Who theme electronical and much more...

Delia's Recipe of strange sounds.

Pete Clemons 

MENTION the name Delia Derbyshire and, quite naturally, most people will immediately remember her for her involvement in the creation of the theme tune for the classic TV programme Dr Who, created during the early part of the 1960s, and which has just recently celebrated a remarkable 50 years on our screens.

Through her day job at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Coundon born Delia Derbyshire was also an explorer within the world of electronic music. And as well as arranging the Dr Who theme tune, which is thought by many as being the best ever TV signature music ever, she was also heavily involved in the recording of an album which would become a cult classic on its release during the late 1960s.

That album 'White Noise - An Electric Storm' was begun during 1968 with recording continuing into 1969. It would eventually be released by Island Records during June 1969 and would go on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide. During its lifetime it would be name checked as having influenced artists as diverse as The Orb, Julian Cope, Jerry Dammers, Martin Bowes Attrition and many others.

White Noise came about when David Vorhaus, an American electronics student with a passion for experimental sound and classical music, attended a lecture by sound scientist Delia Derbyshire. The pair then hooked up with fellow workshop composer Brian Hodgson and percussionist, Paul Lytton. Vocalists John Whitman, Annie Bird, Val Shaw were also involved in the project.

Early recordings of the album were undertaken at the BBC workshop in Maida Vale during the night after all the staff had gone home. It seems as though the BBC were unaware that their equipment was being used for these purposes, at that time, although the organisation is now fully aware.

But the group could not continue this practice of 'borrowing' the BBC's resources for the whole album so they ended up creating their own studio. And as such the rest of the album was created in Kaleidophon Studios in Camden, London.

The final results were quite groundbreaking at the time. It was an experimental record built up with a collection of strange and wonderful songs. And it was created using a combination of tape recording techniques. It was also said that it used the first British synthesizer, the EMS Synthi VCS3, but having read a later interview with David Vorhaus I think that theory has now been cast into doubt.

The album does contain lyrics but the voice was also used to create some of the soundscapes. According to David Vorhaus 'I always used a lot of voices and if, for example, somebody screams in the background then that can be used as part of one of the waveforms. It makes the sound more interesting, without the listener actually knowing what they're hearing.' When the ideas were first submitted to Island Records, over a year prior to its release, you do kind of wonder why they invested in it. Having been a blue beat and reggae label at that time, it must have sounded like nothing they had ever released before. I can only assume that it may have been a case of right place right time. After all it was 1968 and the music industry was becoming more open to freedom. And Island Records, themselves, were introducing alternative music and, along with bands such as Traffic and Spooky Tooth to their catalogue. Regardless, White Noise became one of the first of this new crop of signings and the album became a cult classic.

The opening track on the album 'Love Without Sound' included, for example, speeded up tape edits of a double bass to create some astonishing sounds. The LP itself was in two halves. Side 1 was subtitled 'Phase in' with side 2 being known as 'Phase out.' .' The rest of side 1 of the record or tracks 2 to 5 on the CD is made up of the following titles 'My Game of Loving',' 'Here Come the Fleas',' 'Firebird' and 'Your Hidden Dreams.'.

The whole of side 2 of the album, tracks 6 and 7 on the CD, contains some of the most chilling music I think I have ever listened to. It really is quite powerful stuff. Track 6, titled, 'The Visitation' is about a road accident that leads to an out of body experience and that track alone took three months to complete.

The final track on the album also has its own story. It seems that Island Records had advanced the 'band' a considerable sum of money. But a year after the deal was complete Island was still waiting to see the results. So the label wrote to David Vorhaus demanding that they receive the album's master tapes within seven days or they would set about reclaiming their money. This resulted in the hurriedly recorded finale and fairly self explanatory 'A Black Mass: An Electric Storm in Hell.'.

By today's standards the album is quite short as the seven tracks clock in at around 36 minutes but at the same time it really is a must for those that are interested in electronic music, particularly in those early pioneering days.

It may not be the most conventional of records and it will not grab the attention of everybody. It is, however, a quite legendary and important album in the eyes of the small group of people as well as the critics alike. But make no mistake, Delia Derbyshire and her colleagues were true pioneers within their chosen field of work.

Delia Derbyshire continued to work for BBC until 1973 when she left London. She took on a variety of jobs that included being a radio operator for a team of people who were laying the national gas pipeline and also a bookshop manager. She did however make one more musical contribution. And that was collaboration with Sonic Boom which took place toward the end of the 1990s.

Delia passed away during July 2001. Yet even today, so revered is Delia Derbyshire, that a tour inspired by her work has been planned for the week of April 12. A female trio based in Manchester called the Delia Darlings have spent time with Delia's archives and have created music based on their findings and will be touring it around the country.

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7 part video on Delia Derbyshire

Colin Williams - Indian Summer

Pete Clemon's latest for the Coventry Telegraph on the Indian Summer guitarist - Colin Williams -