Jerry Lee Lewis – 1964 Coventry Matrix Hall

 

Jerry Lee Lewis – 1964 Coventry Matrix Hall

By Pete Clemons

During 1964 Jerry Lee Lewis toured extensively in the UK. He had been struggling for any success back home in the States. He had recently moved from Sun to Smash Records (Philips in the UK), and Smash had a plan to get him back on track again. Shortly before touring the UK, Jerry Lee had recorded what many were sure would be his comeback hit: 'I’m on Fire'. But sadly the single failed to set the charts alight.

During the tour Jerry Lee Lewis gave what many called 'outstanding performances', among them a Manchester TV Special and a concert at The Matrix Hall in Coventry. Gene Vincent, The Animals, The Paramounts and The Nashville Teens, who were Jerry's backing group, all appeared on the bill.

Here is how the gig was reported at the time:

Jerry Lee Lewis can be seen in action at Coventry's Matrix Hall on Saturday night, and it is likely that among his repertoire will be his new Philips single 'I'm on Fire' coupled with 'Bread and Butter Man'.

Jerry Lee, who is getting on for 30, sounds like a teenager on the disc which should prove a firm favourite with his many thousands of fans up and down the country. Hundreds of them, as reported on here recently, are travelling from far and wide to see him in Coventry.

Many people don't realise that Jerry Lee's first ideal was to become, not a rip roaring fire tongued pop singer, but a preacher. He studied a the bible institute at Waxahachie, Texas but was sent down, he claims, 'for rocking the accompaniment to a religious song'.

Jerry Lee's special singing style, I suppose, developed a few years later when he began incorporating boogie and blues of the South with country music.

Today one of the fastest recording artists, Jerry is married to his third cousin, Myra Gale Brown, and has two children – a son by a former marriage, and a baby daughter born in August last year.

He lives at Oora Lake, Memphis and his spare time interests include motor cycling, duck hunting and fishing. Jerry Lee Lewis can play, and I mean play – not mess about with, almost any instrument.

He has never learnt to read music but is a master of improvisation, and almost any tune gets more tuneful when caught between the keys of a piano and the nimble fingers of Jerry Lee.

From his piano he drifted almost automatically into entertainment. It started with him tickling the drums or playing the violin in local clubs. Soon he was sitting in whenever a group happened to be a man short.

Nowadays his style incorporates the boogie and blues with the country and western, but somehow he still fits in with the contemporary scene. That's why Coventry's Matrix Hall will be packed to capacity on Saturday night. The new Jerry Lee disc is in the shops now.

Full concert 1964

Moonbears - Four Sides For Red

 

Moonbears - Four Sides For Red

(Coventry band)

by Pete Clemons

 

 On Bandcamp 

On Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheMoonbears/

On YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6DhwgV68_XD3F5JwGmNDfg/featured

Quadrilaterals can be simple or complex. And this four sided double album is no exception. Thankfully, nothing on this record comes across as remotely anthemic. Neither are there any of those catchy hooks to draw you in.

Moonbears imaginations must have been working overdrive to dream this opus up. The strength of Four Sides For Red lies with the non standard and the unpredictable compositions. The emphasis of the tracks is placed on feel rather than technique. The album is choc full of improvisations yet, at the same time, no one appears to be at the centre of it all. This is a total group album.

Moonbears music swirls and flows between the feverish pulsing of jazz rock and a halcyon filled shade of pop. Grand sweeping melodies are bifurcated with saxophone and the dreamy ardour of unhurried keyboard.

If you are unable or unwilling to reconcile your traditional listening ideas then you might not get much out of this work of art. But open your mind a little and you will be rewarded greatly. It is an album that seems to challenge conventional song construction and adds loose improvisations and instrumentals. Sometimes at the same time. It is not a quick hit. It is more a slow release and needs to be absorbed.

Getting Four Sides For Red released has been a labour of love with love being the operative word. It has taken, what seems like an age, to get it into the wider world. Not least of all because of the pandemic. But love is a powerful thing and with it being a central and important theme to the albums completion they got there in the end. I suspect it contains some deeply personal lyrics but interpretations of words can take you in many directions

My take on Moonbears are that they are more than a band. They are a commitment. Chances are taken. They are not rock and roll, not jazz, not pop. Just music, intense music. The musicians involved seem to know instinctively what is required. You kind of get the most action with the least number of people. There appears to be no rules within the band, just different styles. They come across as free thinking with no boundaries. The music develops from many different areas. They are certainly comparable to nothing in these parts. The absolute opposite of homogeneous.

In conclusion, it takes a little self endeavour to get into Four Sides For Red. But the benefits are accessible to anyone who takes the time to listen to it. It is an album for the fullness of time to come and not simply for the moment.

Blue Beat comes to Coventry 1964

 

Blue Beat comes to Coventry 1964

You tend to associate Blue Beat music as an influence for the Ska scene that took off in Coventry during the late 1970s. And indeed it was.

But I hadn't really considered that the genre had reached the ears of music loving public of Coventry much before that. But how wrong I was. Yes we had the reggae boom of the late 60s. I clearly remember reggae singles being heavily played in the youth clubs at that time.

So imagine my surprise, while researching for something entirely different, an article I came across in a column in a Coventry newspaper from 1964.

The article was reviewing the latest Blue Beat releases. Admittedly, these records were not from the Blue Beat catalogue itself. But the discs themselves were by heavy weights from the scene which found them released by the Decca, Columbia and Ember labels.

The article is reproduced below:

Blue Beat has come to Coventry. For some time it's lively rhythm has dominated the scene in many of London's West End night spots, and now this infectious message is spreading. Local record shops report encouraging sales and many of the Blue Beat discs are now available.

Perhaps one of the most commercial singles in this style would be 'Cross My Heart' a Decca release from The Exotics.

The eight Exotics are West Indians – seven of them were born in the West Indies but one, tenor player Jimmy Sampson, is a product of that fab beat city, Liverpool.

'Cross My Heart' is an up tempo number, full of vigour and musical colour, and benefits from the vocal sounds of singer and pianist, 22 year old Owen Gray.

Columbia Records offer 'Little Girl' coupled with 'The Bluest Beat', a combination of the sounds of Ezz Reco and the Launchers and Boysie Grant and Beverley. The disc is a follow up to the Launchers 'King of Kings'.

Boysie Grant was responsible for the vocal on the last one and this time he is helped out by Beverley. Ezz and his group thump out the rhythm while Boysie and Beverley call and answer each other throughout the song.

The whole thing has a deliberate thudding beat in a slow-medium tempo and yet manages to steer clear of over commercialism.

Ember Records have released two Blue Beat discs as a start to a new series of rhythm and blues extended players. Entitled The Fabulous Blue Beats' – volume one and two – the records were taped in a seemingly ideal atmosphere of a cool cellar in the heart of Soho.

Out of the gay laughter and rings of cigar smoke came titles like 'I'm the Loneliest Boy in Town' and 'Tan Tan Blues'. Story songs, city songs, these are examples of pepped up sounds with modern overtones that still retain the old tradition of the blues.

I have played these two EP's over and over again and enjoyed them. However the one tune that really impressed was the lengthy ever swaying 'Tight Like That' on volume one.

The Beatles 1964 'Jugglers and Acrobats' film. Paul Fox.

 

The Beatles 1964  

'Jugglers and Acrobats' film

by Pete Clemons

Those with long memories will remember, when visiting the cinema, that in addition to the main event you also had a support film. At least that's how I remember it. On more recent visits to the cinema I have noticed that you only seem to get the feature presentation.

Back in 1964 a short film was made especially to accompany The Beatles film 'A Hard Day's Night'. And that warm up film was called 'Jugglers and Acrobats'.

'Jugglers and Acrobats' featured a young Coventry man. The then 20 year old Paul Fox. A professional juggler, Paul learned his trade from his father, popular Coventry entertainer Winston Foxwell at an early age.

And this had not been Paul's first film part – he played with Dirk Bogarde in 'The Password is Courage' when he had a small role as a juggler.

Along with his father Paul made the short film which will be shown on the Rank circuit in support of The Beatles film. And this included the Coventry Gaumont.

This is how 'Jugglers and Acrobats' was more recently reviewed:

Harold Baim takes another look at a slice of life and even back in 1964 he felt that the variety circuit was maybe not as vibrant as it once was and looked at the dying arts of juggling, acrobatics, spinning plates and uni-cycling.

This film was made to accompany the cinema distribution of the first Beatles film 'A Hard Days Night'. It shows some of last jugglers and acrobats from the Variety Circuit.

The film has a script as some of the performers are learning the basics when they are actually accomplished performers some of whom have been practising their art since they were children, others learning skills that were passed down through generation of circus performers.

You could not help marvel at some of the performers like Veronica Martell who juggles at great speed but also does an amazing hat flip routine.

The circus is still going but variety clubs have declined and here is a chance to see these performers display their circus skills.

How different from puppets are the Juggles and Acrobats who practise year after year to reach a pitch of perfection and proficiency. Winston Foxwell teaches his son Paul the rudiments of the craft. It's hard work for both of them. The boy just doesn't seem to catch on at all. Much to the dismay and disgust of his father. Young Foxwell, or 'Fox' as he is professionally known, has to learn that if at first you don't succeed then in this particular business it really is a case of try, try again. The concentration demanded is head breaking. Dad's patience becomes exhausted. Without the watchful eye of his old man, he may do a little better. He does a little more than better.

Winston Foxwell, master manipulator, taught his son Paul. Winston Foxwell describes juggling as 'the propelling of one of more solid objects through the air so skilfully that none of the fall to the ground'. I'd say easier said than done. This boy is really something; only twenty-one now but one day he'll be the greatest, of that there is no doubt.

Today jugglers and acrobats are unfortunately becoming harder to find. There are those who strive hard to keep the ancient art alive. And I for one hope they will never entirely disappear from the scene.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1726190/

The Sorrows Movie Period Italy 1967

 The Sorrows Movie Period Italy 1967

It has been well documented how Coventry band, The Sorrows, spent time touring Italy during the 1960s. But while there, one of the unexpected spin off's, was when they rubbed shoulders with the Italian movie world.

And so it was, that during 1967, The Sorrows took part in the music for director Mariano Laurenti's film 'I Ragazzi di Bandiera Gialla'. In the movie the band appear towards the end of the movie where they perform the song 'Verde, Rosso, Giallo & Blu' (Green, Red, Yellow & Blue).

The line up of The Sorrows at that time was Pip Whitcher, Bruce Finley, Wez Price and Roger Lomas. And I asked Roger what he remembers of that time.

The answer was 'not much really'. The film set was where the old Spaghetti Westerns were recorded. So the band got to look around familiar cowboy film sets. They also visited locations for the epic Jason and the Argonauts. Particularly where Jason’s quest for the legendary Golden Fleece. Parts were filmed south of the Amalfi Coast.

Roger admitted that some of the other artists involved with the films score had a slicker image. The Sorrows, by their own insistence, wanted to keep there rock and roll image. That said, and for their song, the band were dressed in suits whose colours matched the song titled. Roger seemed to remember that he was in the yellow suit.

The storyline for 'I Ragazzi di Bandiera Gialla' (the lads of the Yellow Flag) is set in Rome. Carlo and Stefano compete for the love of Marisa, a student, basketball player and budding singer. Unknown to each other, the two teenagers rent two adjacent basements with the intention of turning them into "beat" dance clubs.

Meanwhile, Marisa manages to record her first album titled 'You will be proud of me'. This attracts the attention of a record producer. And it is not all in a professional manner.

It turns out that Marisa prefers Carlo over Stefano. And this becomes more and more evident after Carlo was forced into military service. There then follows a series of misunderstandings, that highlight the rivalry with Stefano.

The first album recordings of Marisa arrive in the hands of DJ Gianni Boncompagni, who decides to include them in his radio show.

Stefano manages to replace Marisa's record with his own and gets the desired feedback. Stefano can thus open his restaurant and club. But Carlo wants revenge and sabotages the opening. This results in Stefano and his friends resorting to a brawl.

It is Marisa who settles the dispute. She convinces the both Stefano and Carlo to join forces and to manage one single club. It opens with the name "Bandiera Gialla" – Yellow Flag. The club becomes a huge success.

The film stars: Gianni Pettenati as Stefano Quaranta, Marisa Sannia as Marisa Gelli, Fabrizio Moroni as Carlo Rossi and Renata Pacini as friend of Stefano

In addition to The Sorrows the films soundtrack includes music by Ricky Shayne, Lucio Dalla, Gian Pieretti, Claudio Trionfi, The Primitives, Gli Idoli, Renato Zero and Equipe 84.

And this, it turns out, wasn't the only time The Sorrows mixed it with the good and the great of the Italian movie industry.

'Verde, Rosso, Giallo & Blu' (Green, Red, Yellow & Blue). By the Sorrows

Mariano Laurenti's film 'I Ragazzi di Bandiera Gialla'. In the movie the band appear towards the end of the movie where they perform the song 'Verde, Rosso, Giallo & Blu' (Green, Red, Yellow & Blue).

The Sorrows - Pink Purple Yellow and Red - English version

Porcupine Tree - Talking to Richard Allen

 Porcupine Tree - Talking to Richard Allen

by Pete Clemons

Rock band, Porcupine Tree appear to have attained legendary status. October 2010 saw the band give their last performance at the Royal Albert Hall. The hall holds almost 5300 people and I am not even sure it sold out. The band and their management were pushing the promotion for the gig right up till the last day.

Fast forward a dozen years and Porcupine Tree are due to play the SSE Arena at Wembley in November in front of 12500 people. And it is already close to selling out.

It has not been the easiest of rides for Porcupine Tree though. It has taken over 30 years of hard slog and a lot of heartache to get to this position and I'm not just talking about the band members themselves. Yes, of course they are crucial to the story of Porcupine Tree but all stories start with a beginning and more widely there were also sacrifices made.

None more so than Richard Allen, the band’s first manager who, alongside Ivor Truman also ran an obscure record label called Delirium and a mail order operation called The Freak Emporium. Glenn Povey was also the band’s first promoter and booking agent and all his good work seems to have been forgotten. Glenn did a huge amount for the band and his huge contribution seems to have been unfairly ignored in the band’s history. Glenn for many years organised tours and concerts when nobody really cared about the band other than their first loyal fans. “I think he was treated very badly in the way that he was just dropped without so much as a thanks for all your work” says Richard.

As the story goes, Richard had been sent cassette tapes by Steven Wilson, the talent behind Porcupine Tree. Initially Richard tossed the tapes to one side. Sometime later Richard heard the tape after a friend he had lent it to suggested it was very good and that he should listen to it! When he heard the music on the tape it blew him away and he knew that with enough effort the project could one day fill an arena “It was a pretty crazy thought really when you look back as the band had many lucky breaks that were out of their control, but I was right!” Richard invested the next 10 years of his life in managing and promoting the band from scratch.

A recent chat I had with Richard seemed to centre around the last year or so of his involvement with the band. Water under the bridge now as far as he is concerned but it is still part of the story.

The chat began with talk about the Rich Wilson book of Porcupine Tree’s history which is currently being revised and updated.

Richard Allen asked me if I had read the Porcupine Tree book and said that Rich Wilson had spoken to everyone from those early days. Apparently, the research took him years....

I replied that I kind of guessed Rich Wilson had done his homework. I did once mention the book to Steven Wilson to see if he had read it. He replied with a curt no....but he did ask if it was accurate to which I said that the early events were as accurate as I remember them to be, but of course the book went into a lot more detail that I would have known.

Richard Allen continued 'For me personally I don't think they ever topped Signify but Steven seems to be doing OK nowadays. Yes I think he realises how important those early years were and it is a shame Steven wouldn't get involved in Rich Wilson’s book...a mistake in my view. It’s definitely accurate unlike the band’s official history! The band liked to have their own polished version of their history like all bands including Pink Floyd...There is nothing controversial in Porcupine Tree history anyhow...It is pretty pedestrian as bands go'

I then mentioned how Steven Wilson’s own recent book touches on how things were just not enjoyable towards the end of that last tour in 2010.

Richard Allen went on to mention that 'Porcupine Tree didn't socialise outside of the band yet he always assumed they did... “The main reason I quit was it was not fun anymore'”

'I also did not get on with the bands US manager Andy Leff. It all went a bit Spinal Tap with “18 ft not 18 inches” type incidents costing the band large sums of money. Andy was a massive fan of the band and managed to convince Jason Flom to sign Porcupine Tree to Lava but the haphazard admin of the tours in America and the Tour with Yes cost the band huge sums of money blowing more than their total tour support in a very short time. I had agreed to split management with Andy if he got a deal, but that arrangement was doomed from the outset because no manager can survive on half commission (not least half of nothing) and I was continually having to sort out the logistics in the USA. That was the responsibility of the management in the USA as far as I was concerned. The main reason I quit was because I was being blamed for things that I had not organised, which I had no control over and which had seen a humongous loss overall. This was made worse by the fact that the In Absentia tour of Europe I organised with Glenn Povey had made a profit for the band! Steven didn’t really see what I was having to deal with, and I recall at the end of the In Absentia Tour there was what I can only describe as a ‘kangaroo court’ where I was accused of various admin issues all of which proved to be the responsibility of Andy not me. I batted off every accusation and the band just moped off making no apology. That was the final straw for me, and I quit. It was all fairly miserable by then, but I hated the music as well because it had become a kind of soundtrack to the moaning, so I was glad to go to be honest. When the accountants had to pick up the mess the band realised that I was telling the truth”

Since then, Richard Allen has had further adventures in the world of politics and tax campaigning and is still a successful guy. He looks back on that era with fondness “Its far enough away now to remember the good stuff and forget all the constant complaining!” he laughs. I’ll have to write a book of my own , but Porcupine Tree will almost certainly be just a few chapters.

Richard concludes "30 years ago on the way to work on my bike whilst listening to Radioactive Toy on my walkman I had a vision of Porcupine Tree playing to thousands of people in an arena. This year that vision comes true. I don't think even Steven saw that coming back then" I hope they do Radioactive Toy in their forthcoming set.

Ronnie Spector

 

Ronnie Spector

by Pete Clemons

Sadly, during January 2022, the extraordinary Ronnie Spector passed away. During December 2019 Ronnie gave what was to be one of her last shows in Coventry. It was at the Warwick Arts Centre and it was a Christmas concert. Due to the pandemic and lock-down restrictions she would perform very few times after.

But at her Arts Centre gig she gave us huge hits like 'Baby I Love You' and 'Be My Baby'. Additionally she performed seasonal songs like 'Frosty the Snow Man' and 'It's Christmas Once Again'. She also included a few of her own personal favourites such as Ray Charles' 'What'd I Say', 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart' and a stunning version of Amy Winehouse's 'Back to Black'.

Legend has it that it was a flash of fate that was responsible for launching one of the most successful female singing groups of the 1960s. The then 19 year old Estelle Bennett picked up the phone to call a magazine editor. But, instead, she got the wrong number.

She had accidentally called record producer Phil Spector who said 'sorry you've got the wrong number. You say you're The Ronettes?. Great, it so happens I'm looking for a group to provide some backing sounds on a Bob B Soxx and the Blue Jeans disc. Why don't you three come over'. The rest, as they say, was history.

The other two thirds of the group were Ronnie Bennett, sister of Estelle and Nedra Talley, a cousin of the others. The two families living, at one time, in the same house where they would rehearse and sharpen up those incredible natural harmonies.

The Ronettes worked hard and developed a decent stage act. And then during January 1964 The Ronettes came to the UK for a tour. During one of her first interviews Estelle mentioned that 'America was getting all hotted up over the arrival of The Beatles. I think they'll do great there. They're exciting. Reckon you can fix for us to meet them?.And we dig Cliff Richard too'.
The tour itself took in around 20 dates up and down the country including The Coventry Theatre. Local newspaper, The Coventry Telegraph, announced it like this:

Freddie and the Dreamers are the main attraction in the Sunday concert at the Coventry Theatre this weekend and The Ronettes are featured as guest stars. Others on the bill are The Rolling Stones, The Barron Knights featuring Duke D'Mond, Patrick Dane and the Quiet Five and The Cheynes. The following week the attraction will be Chris Barber's Jazz Band with Ottilie Patterson.

The Shades, a British group, were due to back The Ronettes on this tour.

While over here The Ronettes would occasionally break away from the main tour to headline several of their own gigs. One of those was at the Co-op Hall in Nuneaton. A coup for promoter Reg Calvert. Again the Coventry Telegraph heralded the forthcoming concert:

Reg Calvert presents, this Friday, America's sensational recording stars The Ronettes with their smash hit 'Be My Baby', along with Carl and the Cheetahs and The Stormbirds. Tickets 7/6.

Incredible days I think you will agree.