Origins

The Top Twenty's Bridgwater story begins in 1960 but leading up to it's debut a quick thumb through the Bridgwater Mercury's archives confirms that for a small industrial town in the middle of Somerset, Rock N'Roll did not exist. "Trad Jazz" was supposedly the choice of music amongst young people at the time and even though it enjoyed a brief renaissance in the U.K. during the early 60's it was only as an alternative to the pop music that was still dominating the British singles charts. In June 1960 the Bridgwater Round Table put on an "Open Air Festival of Modern & Traditional Jazz" at The Rugby Ground at Taunton Road with Johnny Dankworth and his Orchestra as headliner. The festival was a financial disaster and reported a loss of £250.00, undoubtedly a lot of money in those days. As the Mercury reported "The festival had everything - except cash customers. Two top-line bands were engaged and every detail of organisation was perfect. But only 1,000 people passed through the turnstile instead of the 2,000 needed to clear expenses or the 6,000 hoped for. Mr.G.E.Horsey an officer from the Table told the Mercury "We thought we were giving the modern teenagers what they wanted, but we were wrong. Whether they don't want live shows and prefer their entertainment canned all the time I just don't know" There could have been several reasons for the lack of interest shown but I would guess that the Round Table had simply misjudged what the "modern teenager" was actually listening to. Trad Jazz's resurgent popularity coincided with the appearance of Dankworth in our home town but as a "modern" culture it may have been marketed as a "young person's" music but it's image of bowler-hatted beardies wearing dickie bows and sparkly multi-coloured waistcoats always seemed far too square and middle-aged.

There was, it seemed, a gap in the teenage market but it took an individual from Wiltshire to fill it. At first my impression was that the Top Twenty must have been a locally-run operation but this was not the case. The main instigator, Graham Alford, was based in Trowbridge and in fact there were Top Twenty's in their home town on a Friday, at the Chippenham Neeld Hall on the Saturday - the biggest "Top Twenty" venue, and in Stroud on the Wednesday. Add to that the intermittent concerts held in Bath, Banbury, Cirencester, Salisbury and Watchet and you are talking about a full-time occupation.

Bridgwater was chosen as a Top Twenty venue becuase of it's similarities in size and population to Trowbridge and the fact that it was only 40 miles from Alford's Wiltshire residence. Graham paid a visit to Taylor's Record Shop and met Stan Barnett who was Taylor's record manager at the time. Stan was asked if he would like to get involved, primarily in a promotional capacity, though he was also responsible for providing the music that was played at the Top Twenty's gigs and was occasionally employed as a taxi driver for some of the artists, most of which arrived in Bridgwater by rail. However, Bridgwater's other record shop, Acland's, were also involved at least initially. Johnny Kidd, the first artist to be booked at the Town Hall, made an "in-store appearance" at Aclands and it appears that the intention was for subsequent bookings to be given the same treatment.

With customary aloofness, the arrival of the Top Twenty was not heralded at all by the Bridgwater Mercury. It's "entertainment" section incorporated sport as well as the arts back in those days, consequently there seemed to be more interest in the exploits of Bridgwater Town Football Club and the latest local skittle league scandals - reviews were only provided for the terribly highbrow Bridgwater Arts Centre's "music club" concerts.

In the Mercury's 23rd August 1960 edition, headlines on the front page were shared by stories about a female charged at Bridgwater Crown Court with infanticide and a "shock horror probe" tale of assault under the film-noirish title "Midnight Scene at Saltlands Avenue". These were placed either side of a photograph of young women parading their plum puddings outside the Brent Knoll Inn (I kid you not.) Lost forgotten films "The Challenge" and " Never Let Go" were appearing at the Odeon whilst "Goliath" featuring Steve Reeves - advertised under the banner "1000 women dream of his embrace" - was showing at the Palace (or the "Flea Pit" as it was lovingly known.) Also included was the advert below advertising a brand new venture. Regardless of any disinterest the local press may have shown for the club, The Top Twenty began with an absolute belter and Monday nights were never quite the same again for the next 6 years.

The Concerts

1960

29/8/60 Johnny Kidd & The Pirates/Larry Boyd & The Davericks
5/9/60 Brian Fisher/Anne Beverley with the Four Strangers
12/9/60 Johnny Spencer & The Casuals/Gary Price/Pete & The Devils (local group)
26/9/60 Keith Kelly/Danny Davis/Lyn Tracey/Tex Roberg/The Strangers and The Semi-Tones (backing bands)
17/10/60 Dale Rivers & The Ramrods/Larry Boyd & The Davericks
24/10/60 Paul Hanford and The Rhythm Seekers/Clay Nichols & The Teenbeats
31/10/60 Barrie James & The Dominoes
14/11/60 The Brook Brothers/Barrie James & The Dominoes
28/11/60 Danny Hunter/Brian Fisher & The Strangers
5/12/60 Johnny Spencer & The Casuals
12/12/60 Michael Cox/The Hunters

1961

2/1/61 Danny Davis/Tex Roberg/The Nevitt Bros.
16/1/61 Lance Fortune & Screamin Lord Sutch
23/1/61 Johnny Spencer & The Casuals
30/1/61 The Nevitt Bros/Brian Fisher/Shirley Gaye
13/2/61 Sandra McCann/Johnny Gregg/The Antones/Mike Storm & The Comets
27/2/61 Dickie Pride/Pete Chester & The Consulates
6/3/61 Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs/Royston Jones & the Raiders
20/3/61 Vince Taylor & The Playboys/Di Mackay/Frank Kelly & The Crestas
27/3/61 Barrie James/The Nevitt Bros/Shirley Gaye
10/4/61 Danny Davis/Brian Fisher/Shirley Gaye with The Strangers
24/4/61 The Londons/Johnny Spencer & The Casuals
8/5/61 Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs/Dean Torrent & The Pressmen
15/5/61 The Brook Brothers/Barrie James
22/5/61 Billy Fury/Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs

4/9/61 Danny Davis/Brian Fisher/Shirley Gaye & The Semitones
11/9/61 The Antonnes/Sandra McCann/Mike Storm/Johnny Gregg & The Comets
18/9/61 Ricky Forde & The Cyclones
25/9/61 Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs
16/10/61 Johnny & Mike with The Shades featuring Jackie London
23/10/61 Paul Clayton & The Corvettes
13/11/61 Ricky Forde & The Cyclones
27/11/61 Duffy Power
4/12/61 Bobby Angelo & The Tuxedos
11/12/61 Royston Jones & The Raiders
18/12/61 Nelson Keene/Ricky Forde & The Cyclones/Carol Waterman/Dean Torrent & The Pressmen

1962

8/1/62 Johnny, Mike & the Shades
15/1/62 Danny Davis/Gary & Lee/The Paramounts
29/1/62 Sandra McCann/Mike Storm/The Antonnes/Lee Scott & The Comets
5/2/62 Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs
12/2/62 Ricky Forde & The Cyclones
19/2/62 Royston Jones & The Raiders
26/2/62 A Demonstration of the dance "The Twist"
19/3/62 Dean Prince & The Dukes
26/3/62 Barrie James/Sandra Laine/The Strangers
9/4/62 The Comets/Kim Taylor/The Antonnes/Mike Storm/Lee Scott
16/4/62 Ricky Forde & The Cyclones
30/4/62 The Shades
7/5/62 Mike Berry & The Outlaws
14/5/62 Dale Rivers & The Ramrods
21/5/62 Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs
28/5/62 Russ Sainty and the Fabulous Nu Notes

10/9/62 Duke D.Mond & The Barron Knights
17/9/62 Alan G.Read & The Statesmen
24/9/62 Colin & Bruce/The Detours
1/10/62 Barrie James/Pattie Knight/Gary & Lee/The Strangers
22/10/62 Dean Prince & The Dukes
29/10/62 Ricky Forde & The Cyclones
5/11/62 Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs
19/11/62 The Crestas with Mike Sagar
3/12/62 Erkey Grant & The Tonettes
10/12/62 Brian Poole & The Tremeloes

1963

7/1/63 The Barron Knights
14/1/63 The Federals with Tony Bolton
28/1/63 Dale Rivers & The Ramrods
4/2/63 Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers
11/2/63 The Tartans
18/2/63 Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs
25/2/63 The Dowland Bros with the Soundtracks
4/3/63 The Detours
11/3/63 The Original Checkmates
25/3/63 Nick Troy & The Trojans
8/4/63 Jerry Williams & The Violents
22/4/63 Gary Landis & The Rebels
29/4/63 The Dowland Bros and the Soundtracks
6/5/63 Peter Jay & the Jaywalkers
13/5/63 Johnny Milton & The Condors
20/5/63 Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs
27/5/63 The Barron Knights

2/9/63 Sounds Incorporated
9/9/63 The Fourmosts
16/9/63 Colin & Bruce with The Detours
23/9/63 Johnny Milton & The Condors
30/9/63 The Fabulous Tuxedoes with Bobby Angelo and Susan Terry
21/10/63 Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
4/11/63 Tania Day with the Rockin Rebels
11/11/63 Johnny Burnette
25/11/63 The Lonely Ones with Gene Anthony & Johnny Keepings
2/12/63 Shane Fenton & The Fentones
16/12/63 The Swinging Blue Jeans
23/12/63 Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs
30/12/63 Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers

1964

6/1/64 Carter-Lewis & The Southerners
13/1/64 The Rockin Berries
20/1/64 The Gamblers
3/2/64 Colin & Bruce with The Detours
10/2/64 The Dowland Bros with the Soundtracks/The Overlanders
17/2/64 The Rebounds with Vern Rogers
24/2/64 Chris Sandford and His Group
3/3/64 The Ramblers
17/3/64 Marty Wylde & the Wildcats
24/3/64 Eddie Langdon with the Cracksmen and "French Film Star" Brigitte Bond
6/4/64 Pat Wayne & The Beachcombers
13/4/64 Me & Them
20/4/64 Linda Laine with The Sinners
4/5/64 Robb Storme & The Whispers
11/5/64 The Barron Knights
25/5/64 The Rockin Berries
1/6/64 Rod & Caroline with The Solitaires
8/6/64 Dave Berry & The Cruisers
15/6/64 Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
22/6/64 Tony Bolton & The Federals
29/6/64 The Pretty Things
6/7/64 Ray Starr & The Cherokees
13/7/64 The Rebounds

24/8/64 The Cockneys
31/8/64 The Pickwicks
7/9/64 The Rustiks
14/9/64 The Original Checkmates
21/9/64 The Discs
28/9/64 The Escorts
5/10/64 Them
2/11/64 Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
9/11/64 The Mighty Avengers
23/11/64 Jimmy Powell & The Five Dimensions
30/11/64 Downliners Sect
7/12/64 The Paramounts
14/12/64 The Cymerons
28/12/64 Dave Curtis & The Tremors

1965

4/1/65 Wayne Gibson & the Dynamic Sounds
11/1/65 Pat Wayne & The Beachcombers
18/1/65 Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
1/2/65 The Long And The Short
8/2/65 Beat Merchants
15/2/65 Just Four Men
22/2/65 The Nashville Teens
1/3/65 Tommy Quickly & The Remo 4
8/3/65 Riot Squad
22/3/65 Naturals
29/3/65 Checkmates
12/4/65 Gamblers
26/4/65 The Who
10/5/65 Just Four Men
17/5/65 Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers
24/5/65 Toggery Five
31/5/65 Little Frankie & The Country Gentlemen
14/6/65 Shelley (Stuart, Richard, Geoff & James)
21/6/65 The Dennisons
28/6/65 Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders
5/7/65 Doug Gibbons & The Outcasts
12/7/65 Cops N'Robbers
19/7/65 The Measles
9/8/65 Lancastrians
16/8/65 The Riot Squad
23/8/65 The Mojos
6/9/65 Bo Street Runners
13/9/65 The Birds
20/9/65 Meddy Evils
27/9/65 The Cymerons
18/10/65 The Small Faces
1/11/65 The Downliners Sect
15/11/65 Gary Farr & The T.Bones
22/11/65 The Measles
29/11/65 The Emotions
6/12/65 Hedgehoppers Anonymous
13/12/65 The Mark Four
20/12/65 The Sorrows

1966

3/1/66 The Pack
10/1/66 The Swinging Blue Jeans
17/1/66 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
24/1/66 Les Fleur De Lys
31/1/66 The Alan Price Set
7/2/66 The Beatstalkers
14/2/66 The Meddyevils
21/2/66 The Hot Springs
28/2/66 The Mindbenders
7/3/66 The Eyes
14/3/66 The Carnaby One Plus Four
28/3/66 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
4/4/66 Tony Rivers & the Castaways
18/4/66 Paddy, Klaus & Gibson
25/4/66 The Action
9/5/66 The Nite People
16/5/66 Diane Ferraz & Nicky Scott
23/5/66 The Paramounts
6/6/66 The Quiet Five
13/6/66 The Sons Of Fred
20/6/66 The Troggs
27/6/66 The Knack
4/7/66 The Voids/Lindsay Dear
11/7/66 Danny Clark & The Force West
18/7/66 The John Bull Breed
15/8/66 Pete Budd & The Rebels
22/8/66 The Quiet Five
12/9/66 That Group with Bob Martin & Denise
19/9/66 The Ides Of March
26/9/66 The People's People
17/10/66 The Children
31/10/66 Rob Chance & The Chancers
14/11/66 Mike Raynor & The Condors
21/11/66 The Spectres

On the 5th December 1966, The Top Twenty became "The Bridgwater Discotheque"

The Artists 1960

29th August 1960

JOHNNY KIDD & THE PIRATES

Graham Alford had to hit the ground running so booking someone substantial for this "Grand Opening Night" was of prime importance. With this first concert he couldn't have done any better. From a Rock N'Roll perspective there was a lot of mediocrity in the British charts during the early 60's, especially when compared to the Beat Boom period that at this point was still 3 years away. But in Kidd & the Pirates, The Top Twenty not only succeeded in obtaining the services of an artist that was currently in the charts (always a vital advertising tool) but the band were a mighty fine one too. In fact Kidd's Pirates were regarded as one of the very few English bands from this period that offered a high quality alternative to the teenage ballads that permeated the pop charts at the time. Johnny Kidd (real name Frederick Heath) began his career in the skiffle group Bats Heath & The Vampires in 1956 and via The Frantic Four, The Five Nutters and The Fabulous Fred Heath Band, formed The Pirates in April 1959. Kidd not only wrote his own material which, apart from Billy Fury and possibly Marty Wylde, was a comparative rarity back in these pre-Fab Four days, but over a period of time he & The Pirates developed a live act that revealed a showy, slightly threatening stage presence. His eye-patch may have been used to conceal a squint whilst the band's striped jumpers undoubtedly milked the "yo-ho-ho" pirate image somewhat but Heath also wielded knives and a cutlass on stage which no doubt kept all those punters sitting in the front row on their toes! (Kidd apparently was forced to cease his swashbuckling antics as insurance cover became unobtainable.) The band had secured a residency at the Wandsworth Town Hall and despite a disastrous performance at the venue in front of an A&R man from HMV were duly signed to the label after being given a second chance. During this time, Kidd had embarked on a frantic 3-month period of songwriting but it wasn't until "Please Don't Touch" emerged that he was ready to release something of substance, though the first version of the song was issued by a band called The Bachelors on Parlophone (no relation incidentally to that treacly trio from Ireland.) Kidd eventually released his own recording of the song on the 8th May 1959 as his first HMV release and achieved a No.24 hit, though there were suggestions that if it had not been for a National strike, it would achieved a higher chart placing. Heath, however failed to capitalise on this excellent debut and his follow-up was a sugary version of "If You Were The Only Girl In The World" that, whilst being a staple part of his live show, on record made Kidd sound more like Max Bygraves than Brit rocker. The band was then re-shuffled in order to improve the strength of it's musicianship and a new rhythm section of bassist Brian Gregg and top session drummer Clem Cattini replaced the original incumbents. Only guitarist Alan Caddy was retained from the previous band and this was largely due to his Royal College of Music background. On the 13th May 1960, the "new" Pirates covened at the Abbey Road Studios to record a testosterone-fuelled version of "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" for their next "A"-side. Having been informed by EMI that the reverse of this single could be one of their own choices, on the day before the session, Kidd and the band retired to a cafe called The Freight Train in Berwick Street, Soho (owned by skiffle star Chas McDevitt) and in approximately six minutes co-wrote one of the great rock n'roll songs in British music history. The song was "Shakin All Over" and despite co-writer Brian Gregg suggesting that the band were mildly embarrassed by it, EMI wisely decided to promote it as the next single and it reached No.1 in June 1960, despite being voted a "Miss" on the popular TV programme Juke Box Jury. "Shakin All Over" was still in the charts at the time of their Top Twenty performance whilst the band's follow-up single, the somewhat similar, but still extremely good "Restless" was issued just 1 month later. Despite being thrust into the limelight on the strength of these records, Kidd once again struggled to maintain career momentum and subsequent releases proved unsuccessful, but unlike a number of artists from the early 60's Kidd survived the changing musical landscape and even though his Pirates eventually jumped ship, new recruits were press-ganged and a new line-up (which included the legendary Mick Green on guitar) released an excellent version of Arthur Alexander's "A Shot Of Rhythm & Blues" in late 1962 that pre-dated the Liverpool sound by several months and suddenly the band were back in business. They successfully negotiated the oncoming rush of Merseybeat by releasing two superb singles in 1963, both written by future Tom Jones manager Gordon Mills. The first "I'll Never Get Over You" deservedly reached the heady heights of No.4 whilst follow-up "Hungry For Love" got to No.20. But once again, instead of consolidating this success, Kidd was unable to keep the hits coming, despite turning out some decent material in a number of styles that was the equal of many a Beat band. After guitarist Green left to join Billy J Kramer's Dakotas, Johnny once more found himself out in the cold commercially and part of the reason for this appeared to be a reluctance on the part of the record buying public to accept the singer as anything other than a leather-clad rocker from the "old" school, a situation that was not helped when Kidd made a blatant attempt to recall the glory days by re-recording "Shakin All Over" in 1965. By 1966, Kidd was on the verge of a comeback with a promising 'New Pirates' line-up but on the 7th October, upon returning from a cancelled gig, a motor car accident in Lancashire tragically killed the vocalist whilst also injuring Pirate Nick Simper. Along with The Shadows, Johnny Kidd's music was more influential than any other British band from the early 60's and if there were such a thing as a British equivalent of the Rock N'Roll Hall of Fame then he would have to be in it. The Kidd story does not end with his untimely death however, as The Pirates (including Mick Green) re-united during the mid-70's for a series of acclaimed albums and concert performances. Riding on the coat tails of pub rock, their abrasive take on R&B updated the original Johnny Kidd sound whilst complimenting other bands like Dr.Feelgood, who were ploughing the same musical furrow. (In fact Dr.Feelgood were named after a Johnny Kidd "B"-side whilst their bug-eyed guitarist Wilko Johnson was virtually an updated version of the Mick Green style) Green remains something of a cult figure and played in Paul McCartney's band when Macca decided to go all retro with his "Run Devil Run" album in 1999.

JOHNNY KIDD & THE PIRATES - Shakin All Over (1960)

JOHNNY KIDD & THE PIRATES - Restless (1960)

The "Added Attraction" on this bill, as mentioned in the extremely small print in the advert above, was local band Larry Boyd & The Davericks (see below)

"Before performing at the opening of the "Top Twenty Club" at Bridgwater yesterday evening, rock n'roll star Johnny Kidd made a personal appearance at Acland's record shop at 49 Eastover, Bridgwater. Placed high in the charts at the moment with his and the Pirates' recording of "Shakin All Over", Johnny signed discs and sheet music for many of the hundreds of teenagers who visited the shop between 12.30 & 1.30 p.m. One of Mr.Acland's staff told the Mercury that there was no rowdyism, in fact the young people appeared to be too shy to go and talk to the singer. Future performers at the "Top Twenty Club" include The Shadows - whose recording of "Apache" now tops the hit parade, Russ Conway, Alma Cogan and other artists who record for E.M.I. All the stars who perform at the club will also put in personal appearances at Acland's"

I'm not sure what happened regarding the promised appearance of the three E.M.I. artists mentioned above but unfortunately none of them played the Town Hall. Instead, after the opening night's blockbuster, the Top Twenty settled into a routine of booking artists that were not necessarily household names but who were nevertheless professional and more than capable of providing good entertainment.

5th September 1960

BRIAN FISHER & THE RAIDERS

ANNE BEVERLEY with The Four Strangers

Whilst it may be tempting to believe that the "Brian Fisher" advertised could have been the very same that ran a successful hairdressing salon in the town centre for many years and that Anne Beverley was in fact Sid Vicious' mother.....different Brian Fisher....different Anne Beverley. This Fisher originated from that hot bed of Rock N'Roll - Southampton. A surprisingly high number of artists booked during the early Top Twenty days were from this part of the globe which suggests that they were probably purchased as a "package" with a deal having been struck between Graham Alford and the agency that owned the artists in question. Fisher & Beverley were both on the books of one Len Canham, a promoter who was at one point the manager of Southampton's Royal Pier Pavilion and Canham was to provide the Top Twenty with several other artists. Brian Fisher, to my knowledge, never got as far as securing a recording contract but according to Pete Broyd, another Canham-ite and leader of the band The Blackjacks, he should have done. "He was a very mature singer for his age and at a time when the rest of us were trying to emulate Elvis or Cliff he did his own thing. He favoured Jerry Lee Lewis numbers but the song we all remember Brian for was 'Do You Wanna Dance'. Brian was not one of the 'pretty boys' and perhaps for that reason he never quite made it" As early as 1962/63 Fisher had become weary of the music scene and had all but retired - but not before making a total of 5 appearances in Bridgwater.

For a potted history of the "Southampton scene" go to www.davidstjohn.co.uk/groups

12th September 1960

JOHNNY SPENCER & THE CASUALS

GARY PRICE*

PETE & THE DEVILS

Johnny Spencer & The Casuals were the first in a number of groups to play The Town Hall that hailed from that thriving metropolis Bristol whilst Gary Price would appear to have been a member of The Casuals. As for Pete (and not forgetting of course his Devils) they were billed simply as a "local band" and were fronted, so rumour has it, by a guy called Pete Gibbs. Gibbs became an entertainer in Spain in the mid-60's and released several singles on the continent, but by 1966, was also signed to Parlophone. His greatest claim to fame however would appear to be that prior to his European jaunt he was in a London band called The Cliftons, whose bass player was a certain Bill Wyman (see 29th November 1966)

*Price was hailed in the Top Twenty advert as a sax-alphonist - just as well he didn't play the xylophone.

** The Bridgwater scene is something that needs to be expanded still further. Thankfully there is now a web-site devoted to this very subject and it can be found here : http://www.geocities.com/bridgybeat/

26th September 1960

KEITH KELLY

Keith Kelly (real name Michael Pailthorpe) hailed from Selby and spent three years in the Royal Air Force before becoming a vocalist/rhythm guitarist with the John Barry Seven. After leaving in 1959 he sang at the famous 2 I's Coffee Bar in Soho where he was spotted by George Martin. Like a number of artists who played the Town Hall in the early days, Kelly appeared on the Parlophone label as a solo artist which is fairly interesting in itself as it dispels the myth that prior to The Beatles signing in 1962, Parlophone had no "pop music" roster as such and concentrated instead on releasing novelty and comedy records. His debut single "With You" appeared in early 1960 but it was the follow-up 'Tease Me' (which was apparently written by the singer on the London Underground) that made the charts, reaching No.27 in May. A car accident prevented Kelly from taking advantage of his new-found success, delaying the release of the next record and even though "Listen Little Girl" scraped into the bottom regions of the Top 50 in August 1960, the moment was lost. Kelly was by all accounts not only an exemplary musician (he was a particuarly fine chromatic harmonica player) but he also bore a passing physical resemblance to Buddy Holly. Later joined the Hull band the Keith Herd Rhythm Group and released one single for CBS in 1967.

KEITH KELLY - Tease Me (1960)

LYN TRACEY"
("Miss Personality")

TEX ROBERG

Roberg was another singer that was on the Len Canham roster and in fact was one of Canham's first signings. South African born, Tex was later "discovered" playing at Butlins Holiday camp and became one of a bewildering amount of artists that tried his luck in Hamburg, Germany. Whilst helping to satisfy the ravenous appetite for "beat music" that had occurred in that city after the initial influx of a number of English bands, Roberg rubbed shoulders with the Beatles during their sex & drugs period. "In spring of 1962, garish red posters announced that the times of village music were over. Manfred Weissleder was to open the "Rock and Twist Parade 62" – that is what the poster said – on 13 April 1962 with his 'Star Club' on Grosse Freiheit 39 in Hamburg. This was to be achieved by a "clustering of the European elite" consisting of The Beatles, Roy Young, The Bachelors, and the South African 'Tex Roberg & The Graduates'. From May onward they were joined by 'The Tony Sheridan Quartet' and 'Gerry & The Pacemakers".

DANNY DAVIS
("Britain's Most Sparkling Teenage Artist")

The heavily Brylcreemed Davis (who looks about 14 in the opposite picture) also made records for the Parlophone label but his history is somewhat vague and consequently hard to track down. "You're My Only Girl" and "Love Me" were released on that label in 1960, the former just prior to the Town Hall appearance whilst the latter was a cover version of the Presley song penned by Lieber and Stoller. "Talkin In My Sleep" followed in 1961 and as the ad (right) suggests he was also signed to Pye, but none of his releases saw any chart action. Listening to the rather scratchy version of "Love Me", Davis not only sounds like a Cliff Richard clone but with all due respect, it's easy to understand why he wasn't a great success. No doubt both of the 1960 releases were performed during his debut appearance at the Town Hall and at least by Bridgwater's standards he must have been a big star as he, along with label mate Kelly appeared at both Aclands AND Taylor's Record Departments on the day of the gig.

DANNY DAVIS - Love Me (1960) Apologies for the very ropey sound quality!

10th October 1960

DALE RIVERS & THE RAMRODS

Not to be confused with the Connecticut band of the same name that had a huge hit with "Ghost Riders In The Sky" in 1960 or the UK equivalent formed during the same year that hailed from Carlisle, this was another Bristol based group. Band names were 10-a-penny back in these pre-Pinkerton's Assorted Colours days, consequently it's hard to distinguish between a potential who's who of future superstars and an acne-ridden selection of hopefuls with dodgy hair-do's and no fixed talent (see "The Detours" and "The Paramounts" entries)

LARRY BOYD & THE DAVERICKS

Bridgwater's very own and if you are a local child of the 60's & 70's you will remember Lazza as a permanent fixture in the annual Carnival concerts (full story hopefully to follow)

24th October 1960

PAUL HANFORD & THE RHYTHM SEEKERS

Yet another Parlophone artist, Hanford missed out to Bryan Hyland on an English cover version of the excruciatingly twee "Itsy Bitsy Teeny-Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini". "If You Ain't Got Love" followed during the same year.

The advert for this concert tantalisingly suggests that the male members of the audience were to be given a special treat this evening - an appearance of "Miss Itsy Bitsy" in her "bikini". Whilst it is tempting to guess whether the young lady in question was part of the Hanford entourage or Elsie from the local chippy, one suspects that it was a small piece of poetic licence on behalf of the marketing department of The Top Twenty and was intended to advertise Mr.Hanford's latest vinyl offering.

PAUL HANFORD - Itsy-Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini (1960)

CLAY NICHOLS & THE TEENBEATS

31st October 1960

BARRIE JAMES & THE DOMINOES

Another singer off the "Parlophone Recording Artiste" production line. I have only been able to trace a couple of singles, "As Far As I Can Tell" and "Hot Sunshine" both released in 1961. James was originally discovered by impresario Carrol Levis (an earlier version of Hughie Green) at the tender age of 15 but spent three years away from show business as an apprentice jockey. He was also part of the same Southampton scene that had given us Brian Fisher, Tex Roberg & Anne Beverley and was once in a skiffle group with the next band booked for the Top Twenty.

BARRIE JAMES - As Far As I Can Tell (1961)

14th November 1960

THE BROOK BROTHERS

Barrie James & The Dominoes
("back by popular demand")

From Winchester, Ricky & Geoff Brook were once hailed as the UK's answer to The Everly Bros. Having attended Peter Symonds Secondary School, their career began with the proverbial skiffle origins and after winning a talent contest held at Southampton's Royal Pier, they signed to Top Rank Records, turning professional in the process and consequently losing the services of one Barrie James (see above). In 1960 they issued covers of the Four Brothers "Green Fields" and the Hank Locklin song "Please Help Me I'm Falling" both of which were produced by Tony Hatch, but then Top Rank went bust. When Hatch moved to Pye Records as their "in house" producer, he took the Brook Brothers with him and they managed 5 Top 40 hits between 1961 & 1963 with "Warpaint" their first and biggest smasheroo, reaching No.5 in March 1961, two months before their 2nd Top Twenty appearance. Bearing a passing resemblance vocally to the aforementioned Phil & Don, the Brooks suffered mostly by recording a succession of bouncy, sappy, pop songs, some of which were vaguely based on Everly melodies, but none of which were of a particularly high standard. If the siblings had had Chet Atkins as a producer and a songwriting team of the calibre of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant on their side, things may have been a tad different. As it was, they were given novelty songs like "Ain't Gonna Wash For A Week" which did at least reach No.13 in the charts, but they were eventually swallowed up by the beat group movement and despite appearing in the film "It's Trad Dad", entering a tune called "A Song For Europe" into the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest (which did not live up to it's title as it didn't win) and changing their name to "The Brooks" they disappeared into the black hole of light entertainment.

THE BROOK BROTHERS - Say The Word (1960)

THE BROOK BROTHERS - Double Trouble (from the film "It's Trad Dad!" - 1962)

28th November 1960

DANNY HUNTER

Anne Beverley
Brian Fisher & The Raiders
("The Shiek of Shake")

Hunter is something of a mystery as Google searches reveal next to nothing about him. There are suggestions that he worked for both Larry Parnes (more on him later) & Len Canham but his history is cloudy to say the least. Bob James, one of the "Southampton" crew, described him as "extremely good looking with an 'average' voice!" which, with only "Lost Weekend" for evidence, may not be too far from the truth though Hunter sounds like a British version of Paul Anka to these untrained ears. The song incidentally was originally recorded by American artist Billy Brown in 1960 for the Republic label.

DANNY HUNTER - Lost Weekend (1961)

5th December 1960

Johnny Spencer & The Casuals

12th December 1960

MICHAEL COX

Michael Cox was a scouser who had the good fortune to be taken under the wing of the mercurial Joe Meek, the man responsible for providing the first ever British record to make No.1 in the USA - The Tornadoes "Telstar". "Telstar" did not appear until 1962 so Cox's involvement occurred during Meek's embryonic period as an independent record producer, one of the very first in the UK. Michael's career took off when his younger sisters Diana, Susan, Jenny & Barbara wrote to ABC TV demanding an audition for Jack Good's "Oh Boy!" Despite this rather forceful approach Good was sufficiently impressed to sign him up for the program that became "Oh Boy's" successor "Boy Meets Girl". Good also effectively took over Cox's career and successfully obtained a deal for the singer with Decca Records. Cox recorded the Marty Wylde song "Teenage Love" and "Too Hot To Handle" for the label in 1959, songs that failed to chart but which featured a backing band that included guitarist Joe Brown. Good then introduced the singer to Joe Meek after the producer had enquired about signing new talent to his own Triumph record label and with Decca, rather hastily, deciding that Cox wasn't quite what they were looking for, Cox signed on the dotted line and ironically succeeded in securing a Top 10 hit with his first release. After Marty Wylde had generously offered the singer a demo of a song written by John D.Loudermilk called "Angela Jones", Cox recorded this rather tepid teenage tearjerker and it reached No.7 in June 1960. Sounding pretty much like of the lot of the pop fodder that was in the charts back in those days, it does not bear the trademark sound that set Joe Meek's records apart from the rest and was the only sizeable hit to appear on Meek's label before it was abandoned due to financial difficulties. Cox, who was popular in both Denmark & Sweden toured Scandinavia to some degree of success, backed by one of Joe Meek's regular bands. (This was either The Outlaws, who later featured guitarist Richie Blackmore, or The Checkmates, an ex-Top 10 group that had backed singer Emile Ford - there seems to be some confusion as to who actually got the gig). But his notoriety abroad could not be matched back in the UK and despite moving to His Master's Voice and reaching No.41 with "Along Came Caroline" just 2 months before his visit to Bridgwater, his days as a pop star were numbered. ("Along Came Caroline" was a blatant re-write of "Angela Jones" - so much so that the character appears in the song's lyrics) In later years, Michael Cox literally disappeared from the scene and following a bizarre experience with a ouiji board, he decided to abandon his surname and became Michael James.

More poetic licence from the Top Twenty's ad men (see Paul Hanford above.) This time they triumphantly acclaim "Wow! A date with "Angela Jones!" on the concert's ad. This comment obviously refers to Michael Cox's hot new platter and does not suggest in any way that Ms Jones herself would be available for a curry, a couple of pints of pale ale and a quick grope by the changing room doors.

MICHAEL COX - Angela Jones (1960)

THE HUNTERS

The Hunters were an above average instrumental band during a period when the charts were full of em. Formed out of a group called The Parker-Royal Five that were based in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, after band member David Meikle had left to form his own combo, replacement Dave Sampson became the unofficial leader. Their first single, "Sweet Dreams" reached No.29 in May 1960 and after a swift change of record labels, follow-up "Teen Scene", heralded as their "new" Fontana release by the Bridgwater Mercury's advert, appeared during the same year. "Teen Scene" was in fact a fine cover version of an obscure USA hit that was originally recorded by that household name Dicky Doo & The Don'ts. There are a couple of albums, "Teen Scene" and "Hits From The Hunters" currently available, so one must imagine that they enjoyed a healthy recording career and they were used fairly frequently as a live backing band by touring musicians and on record by a number of singers. In 1961, they appeared on a couple of occasions behind Cliff Richard as The Shadows, when the letter were involved in a minor car accident. One of these performances included a stint on the prestigious Sunday Night at the London Palladium TV show. Guitarist Brian Parker and his ex-Parker Royal cohort David Meikle successfully re-invented themselves in the mid-60's as co-founders of the band Unit 4 Plus Two. Consequently The Hunters fact file reveals two further items of interest, one of which is that Parker co-wrote the 4+2 hit "Concrete And Clay" and the other is that the band would appear to have had a particular liking for the pith helmet.

THE HUNTERS - Teen Scene (1960)

The Artists 1961

2nd January 1961

Danny Davis/Tex Roberg
THE NEVITT BROS

Yet another booking from the Southampton roster managed by Len Canham. The Nevitt's (Mike & Tony) were making their debut here and apart from a couple of faded photographs, the only other info about what was probably another Everly Bros inspired duo was the name of their backing band, The Jaguars.

16th January 1961

A great "double header" for this particular evening with two artists that were poles apart - a typical 60's male crooner and a self-confessed raving loony from the North West of London.

LANCE FORTUNE

Lance Fortune was another scouser, this time from Birkenhead - just a ferry ride across the Mersey. Fortune (real name Chris Morris) studied classical piano as a child but stricken with the desire to be famous, sacrificed a scholarship at a Welsh University to work as an odd-job man at the 2 I's Coffee bar, the Soho venue at which Tommy Steele was discovered and which became a mecca for wannabe rock n'roller's for some time afterwards. Morris became one of many singers that formed part of the Larry Parnes production line. An ex-shopkeeper, "Mr.Parnes, Shillings & Pence" as he was called, was the Simon Cowell of the 1960's and probably the most successful manager/agent/impresario in the UK at the time. Parnes template was to take a succession of young men* with a varying degree of talent and turn them into "stars" with each singer given a glamorous stage name that was apparently meant to highlight their individual personalities. Parnes groomed a plethora of male singers but his knack of spotting raw talent was somewhat hit and miss as he placed a heavy emphasis on image and the money-making capabilities of each performer. Even though Parnes artists Marty Wylde, Billy Fury, Tommy Steele & Georgie Fame had careers that lasted for a sizable length of time, for every one of Larry's successes there were two who didn't quite make it and Fortune belongs in the latter category. The singer, who incidentally was not actually managed by Parnes but was discovered and re-named by him threatened to make his mark when "Be Mine" got to No.4 in January 1960. Sounding like a dead ringer for the Buddy Holly-inspired John Barry production of "What Do You Want?" a No.1 for Adam Faith in 1959, "Be Mine" was apparently another Joe Meek presentation, but the John Barry connection was cemented by the fact that he arranged this track under the pseudonym Johnny Prendy. Unfortunately, Fortune only made the Top Thirty just once more from a further 3 pizzicato string-laden single releases, subsequently his career became nothing more than a tiny smudge in the margins of UK rock n'roll history. Incidentally, we can dispel the idea that Parnes' choice of stage name was tailored to each singer as the monicker Lance Fortune was not the sole property of the Birkenhead balladeer. It was originally given to another Parnes artist before Fortune's career took off. Lance Fortune Mk II (or Mk I in this case) was none other than Clive Powell aka Georgie Fame.

LANCE FORTUNE - Be Mine (1960)

* It may be churlish to suggest it, but perhaps there was an ulterior motive for Parnes' interest in "young men" as Larry and indeed Joe Meek, were both homosexuals.

SCREAMING LORD SUTCH

Where does one begin? David Edward Sutch (or Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow as he later became) was born in Hampstead in 1940 and as a teenager was a plumber's mate who developed an early passion for rhythm n'blues. A chance meeting with drummer Carlo Little in a coffee bar led to the formation of The Savages, though at this point there was no intention for Sutch to be in the band, as he didn't have any musical talent whatsoever. An excessively eccentric character with exceptionally long hair (by early 1960's standards that is), his arrival as a rock n'roll singer happened by chance. Carlo Little takes up the story "During a 12-bar rock and roll jam Bernie (the guitarist) screamed his guitar loudly. Excited by his playing Sutch went crazy with his head, his hair fell down, the full 18 inches, and screamed his head off "Yeah man!" It was such a funny sight that none of us could play any longer for laughing" This appeared to make him the ideal candidate for the role of The Savages lead vocalist and he was consequently given the job. The fact that he couldn't hold a note was of no importance. Almost from the outset Sutch & The Savages (with future Stones collaborator Nicky Hopkins on piano and Keith Moon an occasional drummer) built up a solid reputation as a live band within the capital city with Sutch it seems, doing his utmost to draw attention to himself. He adopted a "Wild Man Of Borneo" image by glueing a pair of thrift-shop buffalo horns to his motor-cycle helmet, whilst on stage The Savages honed a "horror-themed" stage show that was taken in part from the American artist Screamin Jay Hawkins and which eventually became their calling card. Apart from appearing as Jack The Ripper, Sutch would be carried on and off-stage in a black coffin with his skin painted a ghostly white and lips bright red. Knives, daggers, skulls and even the odd fake dead body were all used as props. If Johnny Kidd's stage act was "slightly threatening" then Sutch made him look like Capt. Pugwash by comparison.

His Top Twenty appearance featured all of these antics and maybe more but did not, it would seem, feature The Savages. Carlo Little had accepted a professional engagement with Dougie Dee and the Strangers and Sutch suddenly found himself on his own. A successful audition at the famous 2 I's Coffee Bar however convinced the proprietor of that establishment Tom Littlewood to send him out on tour with Vince Taylor's Playboys (more of him later) and it was this band that backed him on the gig. Sutch was, at this point, still not signed to a record label but later that year The Savages re-formed, Sutch met Joe Meek (yes him again) and signed to Pye Records, releasing his first single "Til The Following Night" (aka "My Big Black Coffin") in the process. Sutch and The Playboys must have been quite a sight that night. God knows what Lance "Mr.Clean Cut" Fortune thought of it all. There have been many nutters sighted in Bridgwater over the years but Sutch was the only one with a microphone and a 4-piece band.

Sutch hit the headlines just 2 months after this gig when he was caught eloping with the 17 year-old daughter of a policewoman, just the sort of behaviour that your mother always warned you about.

SCREAMING LORD SUTCH - My Big Black Coffin (1961)

Sutch singles of note from the early 60's all take advantage of the band's "hammer horror" image and are as subtle as a bunch of Hells Angels gatecrashing a Tupperware Party. They include "Jack The Ripper" from 1963, a track that apparently attracted the latter day attention of Jack White from The White Stripes and for which, Sutch made a typically over the top promo film, whilst from 1964, "Monster In Black Tights", "She's Fallen In Love With The Monster Man" and "Dracula's Daughter" were all issued in short succession. There are two problems with Sutch's recorded output. The first is that, beyond the comic "shock" value that it held back in the early 60's, it isn't very good, secondly it gets constantly overshadowed by the man's rare talent for self-promotion, consequently it has consistently taken a back seat to his eccentric behaviour, which includes the following;

In 1961, he enters politics for the first time, with the formation of the "Sod Em All Party". In 1963, the now re-christened "National Teenage Party" polls 208 votes at the Stratford-On-Avon by-election. In 1964, Sutch starts his own pirate radio station. "Radio Sutch" initially broadcasts from a fishing trawler situated in the Thames Estuary called the Cornucopia but 2 weeks later, he is forced to move his operation to the war-time gun platforms at Shivering Sands near Southend. A Royal Navy task force is eventually summoned to physically eject Sutch from the area. In 1966, Sutch stands against Harold Wilson in the General Election at Huyton, Lancs and polls a creditable 585 votes. In 1968, Sutch tours America in a Rolls-Royce adorned with a Union Jack and during 1969, upon hearing that Elvis Presley is to make his comeback in Las Vegas, successfully poses as the "British Ambassador for Rock N'Roll" and not only obtains press tickets, but secures a meeting with "The King" himself. Sutch releases his first album in 1970 entitled "Lord Sutch and His Heavy Friends". In a BBC "worst album ever" poll in 1998, the record receives an honorary mention, but Colin Larkin includes it in his book "Top 1000 Albums Of All Time". In 1972, Sutch appears, along with several topless women, at 10 Downing Street with the intention of presenting Prime Minister Ted Heath with tickets for Wembley Stadium's forthcoming "London Rock N'Roll Show" extravaganza at which the good Lord makes an appearance. The police are called to intervene and several arrests are made but Sutch escapes prosecution as he is the only member of the entourage who is fully clothed. In 1983, he forms his beloved "Monster Raving Loony Party" and in 1991 surpasses politician Bill Boakes as the parliamentary candidate that has stood most times in UK election history. In 1994, he achieves his finest political result, with 1,114 votes at the Rotherham by-election. Finally, and sadly, in 1999, having suffered depression from the death of both his mother and her pet dog, Rosie, Sutch is found hanged at his Mum's residence.

23rd January 1961
Johnny Spencer & The Casuals

30th January 1961
The Nevitt Bros/Brian Fisher/SHIRLEY GAYE & The Semi-Tones

Another Len Canham evening featuring "The New Teen Rave" The Nevitts, "Rocking Boy" Brian Fisher and "For The First Time Here - Glamorous TV Star" Shirley Gaye (pictured right)

13th February 1961

SANDRA McCANN/JOHNNY GREGG/MIKE STORM & THE COMETS/THE ANTONES

With Bristol just a stone's throw away, it made sense from a geographical perspective for the Top Twenty to tap in to it's local music scene. To my knowledge, Johnny Spencer & The Casuals and Dale Rivers & The Ramrods had been the only Bristol bands to have played the Town Hall up to this point but here was the first evening to feature a number of acts that were predominantly from that city. On 16th December 1960, a concert called "Groups Galore" had played Bristol's Colston Hall. This was a showcase evening for a lot of the city's local bands, "even though not one of them had a recording contract, and some of the musicians were still in school" Such was it's popularity, "Groups Galore" became an bi-annual event for the next 5 years and was successfully revived in 2000 with the same line-up that had played the first gig 40 years previously. A well-publicised final performance of "Groups Galore" occurred in 2005. As for the above 4 artist's, it's surprising just how little is known about the bands and singers that originated from the banks of the Severn and who played The Top Twenty. As mentioned above, most of these groups and singers never succeeded in signing a record contract, consequently their history is based on a life on the road and hundreds of gigs like this one. Sandra McCann was billed as "only 16 years old" at the time of this concert and was something of a Brenda Lee-a-like, Mike Storm was one of the original "Groups Galore" artists as were The Comets, the proverbial Bristol backing band (a Bristolian Booker T & The MG's if you like.) They played the Town Hall on numerous occasions, backed an array of different vocalists and like a lot of the artists above were still active until recently though the band finally called it a day in 2007.

THE COMETS - Walk Don't Run (live)

A live performance of The Ventures classic recorded at The Colston Hall either in 1960 or 1961 during a "Groups Galore" concert. There are a few isolated screams from the female members of the audience and dig that guitar tremelo!!!

27th February 1961

PETE CHESTER & THE CONSULATES

Pete Chester was in fact the son of Charlie Chester, or "Cheerful" Charlie as he was known. A popular British comedian of the Arthur "'Allo Playmates" Askey/Max Miller mould, as a child of the 60's & 70's I remember Chester as the genial host of the BBC Light Programme's "Sunday Soapbox" which was first broadcast in 1969. Chester Jnr on the other hand was a drummer by trade, who was once a member of "The Five Chesternuts", a band that eventually evolved into The Drifters (the UK version) or as most people know them, The Shadows. Despite losing out on the opportunity to be part of the Cliff Richard gravy train, Chester stuck around long enough to co-write his No.1 hit "Please Don't Tease" with Shad Bruce Welch. After that it would appear that Chester contented himself with a variety of backing bands and the odd minor hit or two, one of which, "Ten Swinging Bottles" was lodged at No.14 when Chester made his one and only appearance at the Town Hall. Back in the days when you could make up an instrumental out of any old bollocks (and believe me, a lot of people did) Chester chose to "rock up" that old singalong classic "Ten Green Bottles". Yes, it is as bad as it sounds.

PETE CHESTER & THE CONSULATES - Ten Swinging Bottles (1961)

Incidentally, Charlie Chester has played Bridgwater too. He made a war-time appearance back in the 1940's at the Palace as part of an ENSA concert.

DICKIE PRIDE

With a name like Dickie Pride, he just had to be another member of the Larry Parnes stable and indeed he was. Richard Knellar was transformed into Dickie by the Parnes "star maker machinery" but he was actually discovered by Russ Conway in 1958 when a 16-year old Knellar was singing at a pub called "The Castle" in Tooting. Conway remembers "I dropped into a pub in Tooting and there was this incredible singer. I'd no idea who he was, but I was so impressed I talked to Larry Parnes about him. We went to see him the next week and took Lionel Bart with us. We were all so impressed that Larry decided to sign him on the spot." As a youngster, the singer enrolled at Croydon's Royal College of Church Music and such was his vocal prowess he was being touted as a future opera star. The young Knellar however felt that skiffle offered a far more exciting career and after forming a band called The Semi-Tones, opera lost a potential Pavarotti. Signed to Columbia Records by Norrie Paramour, Pride made his debut in 1959 on "Oh Boy!" at the tender age of 17 and released his debut record "Slippin And Slidin" during the same year.

DICKIE PRIDE - Slippin' And Slidin' (1959)

Pride had the raw ingredients to be a big name and according to various members of the Parnes' entourage was the real deal, with Billy Fury, Joe Brown and Duffy Power all suggesting that he was the best singer of them all. Power says "Dickie was absolute magic on stage, completely spell-binding. On a tour you get a bit jaded listening to the same people singing the same things every night, but Dickie was the one the other singers went to the wings to watch. You couldn't take your eyes off him." So why wasn't Pride a star? It has been suggested that he wasn't pretty enough but the truth is he was a troubled man with a drink problem and a bad attitude that often resulted in an all too frequent tendency to use his fists when the mood took him. Apart from occasionally clashing with members of the audience, in 1959 he was up before the Crown Court for smashing windows and stealing a car, a story that not only hit the national press but which was also discussed in The House Of Commons. Not the sort of acceptable social behaviour you would expect from a would-be pop star. Two years later, having already been dropped from the Larry Parnes roster once before, Pride allegedly knocked out singer Terry Dene on stage after an argument over a girl. If his off-stage antics weren't bad enough, his potential as a singer was never realised, primarily due to bad management. Releasing only 5 singles between 1959 and 1960 it would appear that neither manager nor record company had any idea as to what to do with him. In 1960 he was initially offered The Silver Beatles as a backing band before Parnes changed his mind and by 1961 Dickie's career was already stalling, with the relationship between him and Parnes further soured by a reluctance to allow Pride to sing anything more than the perfunctory three "hit singles" every night. In the early 60's, there didn't seem to be anywhere to go beyond rock n'roll apart from cabaret so Parnes decided that he would make Dickie an "all-round entertainer" He had already performed this trick successfully with Tommy Steele, so why couldn't he do it again? An ill-fated album of hokey Tin Pan Alley standards called "Pride Without Prejudice" was released during the year of his Top Twenty appearance in an attempt to salvage his career but it didn't sell in sufficient quantities and by 1962, Pride & Parnes had parted company for good. There's not much of Dickie Pride's career to remember him by but one of his "Oh Boy!"performances from 1959 survives and even though it only gives a glimpse of what he was like, it's enough to suggest that he could have extended his career beyond the early 60's. As it was Pride drifted into obscurity and all we have left are a few urban myths that make it hard to distinguish fact from fiction. It is said that Pride ended up working as a coalman and gained a heroin addiction. Drug problems certainly dogged his life towards the end but the rumour that in 1967 he was committed to a mental hospital and given a lobotomy may be stretching the truth somewhat. He eventually died in 1969 after an accidental overdose of sleeping tablets.

DICKIE PRIDE, CLIFF RICHARD & MARTY WILDE (with The Vernon Girls) - Three Cool Cats (from "Oh Boy!) (30/5/1959)

6th March 1961

JOHNNY CARR & THE CADILLACS

Billed as "versatile and dynamic", Johnny Carr (real name Cornelius O'Sullivan) & his Cadillacs, were a Bristol based band that were formed in 1958 and apparently played alongside The Beatles at the Kaiserkeller club in Germany. They have been credited with having played various songs that became a staple diet of every Beat Band in creation, BEFORE everyone else did, including "You'll Never Walk Alone". and "Twist And Shout". Regarded by many as both the most popular and the best of Bristol's beat groups, they also seemed to go down particularly well at the Top Twenty making a staggering 10 appearances between 1961 and 1963, more than any other artist. As of this moment, they are still going strong and probably playing a village hall somewhere near you (if you live in the Bristol area of course.)

ROYSTON JONES & THE RAIDERS

Not one of Johnny Carr's Bristol rivals, Royston came from Richie Blackmore of Deep Purple fame and John Cleese country, Weston-Super-Mare.

20th March 1961

VINCE TAYLOR & THE PLAYBOYS

Even though they didn't know it at the time, The Top Twenty were on something of a roll. Following hard on the heels of Messrs Sutch & Pride, Vince Taylor was the latest artist who may only have secured a modest reputation at the time of his Town Hall appearance but in later years was revered by UK music enthusiasts as another one of those bona-fide rockers that was just a tad more exciting than your average male crooner. He was born Brian Holden in London in 1939 but was often regarded as an American vocalist as he had spent the period 1946-1957 living in the USA. Taylor's father-in-law was the famous cartoonist Joe Barbera of Hanna-Barbera fame and apart from "managing" the singer, it was Barbera who brought Vince back to England. Upon his arrival Holden auditioned at that musical mecca the 2I's Coffee Bar, Brian became Vince, The Playboys were formed and by 1958 he was recording for the Parlophone label releasing "I Like Love" as his first release. With hindsight, Taylor was only a fair to middling singer but he was a good looking guy and after adopting a black leather image that Gene Vincent had previously popularised he and the band developed a dynamic stage act that was a cut above the rest of the competition and which included an extremely animated Vince, all rubbery legs and exaggerated limb movements. On record however, Taylor enjoyed only modest success and by 1960 Parlophone had already dispensed with his services but not before Taylor had released what is generally regarded as a piece of Anglo-Rock N'Roll as good as anything being issued in the States at the time. "Brand New Cadillac", written by Vince, was relegated to the "B" side of a cover version of Johnny Ace's "Pledging My Love" in 1959 but partially due to The Clash's rendition of the song on their "London Calling" album it is rightly regarded as one of the most important releases in the history of British pop music.

VINCE TAYLOR & THE PLAYBOYS - Brand New Cadillac (1959)

Off-stage, Taylor was an awkward cuss who once achieved the distinction of being fired by his own band and who, allegedly, became the first "rock" star in the UK to be arrested for wielding a knuckleduster. But by 1961, Taylor & The Playboys were back on the circuit and very quickly gained a strong following in Europe with France in particular clutching the group to their collective bosom, so much so that by the end of 1962, the band were headlining the prestigious Paris venue L'Olympia. But Vince was still proving to be a little unpredictable and during an appearance on the popular Dutch Television program "de Vuist" almost came to blows with the program's host Willem Duys after he was told that the band were only allowed to perform one song. Taylor refused to perform on the show and sulkily returned to France.

Taylor's other claim to fame is that David Bowie modelled his famous creation Ziggy Stardust on him. By 1964 the rebellious Taylor had started to enjoy his new-found fame and had got hooked on drugs, "losing his marbles" big time in the process. Wikipedia offers the following anecdote : A mixture of acid, amphetamines and alcohol proved fatal to his mind and in front of a full house, on the brink of becoming a huge international star, he had a break down - coming on stage and trying to evangelize the audience, he claimed to be the prophet Matthew, and he preached until the band agreed with everything he was saying. The audience pretended not to understand, thinking that it was part of the show. But after 15 minutes of running around with a towel on his head, and a few poorly executed songs, he began to wreck the whole stage like The Who, but this was before the set was even played. Taylor shortly afterward joined a religious sect with Bowie encountering him in London in the mid-60's. Bowie says There was an American rock singer. I guess he would have come out of the late 50's...late 50's early 60's, called Vince Taylor. Who possibly...well, I met him a few times in the mid 60's. In fact, went to quite a few parties with him. Vince Taylor was trying to make his way in Britain. He couldn't crack the States. He was a sort of real seedless character. So he decided to try and do it in England. And he was out of his gourd. Totally flipped. I mean, the guy was not playing at a full deck, at all. And he used to carry maps of Europe around with him. And I remember very distinctly, him opening a map out on Cherry Cross Rd. outside the tube station, and putting it down on the pavement, and kneeling down with a magnifying glass-and I got down there with him-and he was pointing out all the places where UFO's were going to be landing over the next few months. And he had a firm conviction that there was a very strong connection between himself, aliens, and Jesus Christ. Those are the 3 elements that went into his make up and drove him. He basically went to France and became a huge rock star. And one night he decided he'd had enough. So he came out on stage in white robes, and said that the whole thing about rock had been a lie, and that, in fact, he was Jesus Christ. And it was the end of Vince, his career, and everything else. And it was that and his story which really became one of the essential ingredients of Ziggy and his world view.

Taylor was not washed up entirely, and towards the latter part of the 60's, Playboy drummer Bobbie Clarke organised a small one-month tour of France, billed as "Vince Taylor and Bobbie Clarke backed by Les Rockers". But there were problems throughout due to Taylor's erratic behaviour that included, at the final gig, a premonition that the concert hall would "blow up" as soon as he took to the microphone. (Rumour has it that the the electricity supply short-circuited as Vince began his opening song) But he remained a popular artist and in late 1969, the magazines 'Bonjour les Amis' and 'Disco-Revue' began a support campaign to get Taylor's career back on track by asking its readers to write to Barclay's Record Company in the hope that owner Eddie Barclay would give him another chance. Suitably convinced, Vince recorded again for the label, and performed intermittently throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, until his death in 1991.

On a more sober note, at the time of making his Top Twenty debut, backing band The Playboys were appearing for the second time having previously performed with Screaming Lord Sutch.

And talking of The Playboys, ALL of the following have appeared in this band at one time or another. Shadows drummer's Tony Meehan and Brian Bennett, Bennett's fellow rhythm partner, bass player Brian "Licorice" Locking, Beatle collaborator Tony Sheridan, Georgie Fame and Jimmy Page.

VINCE TAYLOR & THE PLAYBOYS - What'd I Say (1961)

There is an unconfirmed suggestion that this was recorded at L'Olympia in France on the 7th July 1961 with a pick-up band called "The Noise". If this information is correct then this clip occured just 3 months after his Town Hall appearance.

The Town Hall bill for the 20th March also included two other artists, but both remain shyly elusive when it comes to providing information about their history.

DI MACKAY

Di, as the Top Twenty advert suggests, was billed as "The Girl With The Guitar", and was an alumni of the popular "Saturday Club" Radio programme. But a protracted search of the Saturday Club's archive listings does not reveal McKay as being part of it's roster of artists. For the unitiated, "Saturday Club" started life on the 1st June 1957 with a program called "Saturday Skiffle Club" - produced by Jimmy Grant, hosted by the incomparable Brian Matthew and broadcast every Saturday from 10-10.30 a.m. After skiffle's popularity began to wane, the program's title was altered, the broadcast was expanded to two hours a week (10am to 12noon) whilst the emphasis, musically, was shifted to incorporate all forms of "teenage music". The show known as "Saturday Club" first began it's lengthy lifespan on the BBC Light Programme from October 4th 1958 to September 23rd 1967 before switching to Radio 2 from September 30th 1967 to January 18th 1969. It consisted mainly of "live" pre-recorded performances by artists as there were restrictions on the amount of "Needle Time" allowed on Radio during it's period of popularity.

FRANK KELLY & THE CRESTAS

Another artist who is something of an unknown quantity, the only description that I have found for this singer is "another obscure Brit pop rocker" which just about sums him up. He may have been making his one and only appearance at The Town Hall with The Crestas (the first of two bands who performed at The Top Twenty under that name) but by 1962/63, Frank had teamed up with The Hunters (see 1960) and had released....well at least one single that I am aware of, entitled "I Saw Linda Yesterday" for Fontana. This "Runaround Sue" rip-off was originally written and performed by the equally obscure Dickey Lee though Craig Douglas also released a version of the song. Of far more interest was it's "B"-side "Good And True". Whilst the vocal performance suggests Kelly had something of a Buddy Holly fixation (note token hic-cups), the guitar solo and instrumental passage not only lifts the song from it's mediocrity but proves conclusively what a good band The Hunters were.

FRANK KELLY & THE HUNTERS - Good And True (1962/63)

27th March 1961
Barrie James/The Nevitt Bros/Shirley Gaye & The Keytones
EASTER PACKAGE SHOW ("Win the monster Easter Eggs in the jiving competition!")

10th April 1961
Danny Davis/Brian Fisher/Shirley Gaye with The Strangers

24th April 1961

Johnny Spencer & The Casuals
THE LONDON'S
("Popular Radio & TV Vocal Team")

Having named yourself after the capital city, you would think that this artiste would be a tad more popular but nay. No info on this lot I am afraid apart from the mouth-watering Mercury advert and it's brief description of The London's talents.

8th May 1961

Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs

DEAN TORRENT & THE PRESSMEN

And not much on these either, though I am almost certain that they were local lads from good old Bridgy. The Pressmen may have included Pete Gibbs in their line-up. This being the same Pete Gibbs of Pete And The Devils fame (see 1960). The Pressmen also backed another local pop luminary called Jimmy Treharne during the early 60's but there is no word on the mysterious "Dean Torrent" however.

15th May 1961
The Brook Brothers/Barrie James with the Semi-Tones

THE BROOK BROTHERS - Warpaint (1961) (entered charts 1/4/61)

22nd May 1961

Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs
BILLY FURY

A major coup for the Top Twenty and probably one of the biggest acts to have ever played The Town Hall as at this point in the man's career, Fury was a regular contributor to the Top 10 singles chart with "Halfway To Paradise" having been released just one month before his Bridgwater appearance. Born Ronald Wycherley on April 17th 1940, he was brought up in Dingle, a rough, predominantly working class area of Liverpool, and was a schoolmate of Ringo Starr's at St. Silas Church of England. A sickly child, he contracted Rheumatic Fever in 1946 which weakened his heart valves, eventually contributing to his death at the age of 43. The story goes that, during one of his many visits to his local hospital, he overheard a doctor telling his mother that he would be lucky to reach the age of 30. The young Ronald took piano lessons at age 11 and at 14 was given his first guitar by his parents but was never particularly proficient on either instrument. As a teenager he obtained a job as a deck-hand on the Mersey tug-boat "Formby" and this coincided with a keen interest in country & western music and the formation of the Formby skiffle group which performed in local cafe's in the city. A change of jobs in 1957 saw him working at the Joshua Reynolds department store and it was here that he began to gain a reputation as a budding songwriter. In 1958 Wycherley recorded 6 demos in a local studio situated at a house owned by one Percy Phillips (the same studio at which The Quarrymen recorded the following year). He also sent a tape of material, along with a photograph, to Larry Parnes but initially received no response. After entering, and failing, in a "Carroll Levis Discoveries" talent contest at the Liverpool Empire, the common "rock myth" story suggests that it was not until Ronald's mother contacted Parnes personally that the impresario invited Wycherley to The Essoldo Theatre in Birkenhead on the 1st October where his "Extravaganza Show" was playing with Marty Wylde headlining. Wycherley had hoped that the singer would record some of his songs, but whilst backstage, the 18-year-old was asked to sing 5 of his compositions for his new admirers as an impromptu audition and 10 minutes later, the inexperienced and totally unknown teenager was performing in front of a hall full of very enthusiastic punters.

"Two thousand screaming teenagers held up the programme at Larry Parnes' "Extravaganza" - which featured rock 'n' roll idol Marty Wilde - last Wednesday when an 18-years-old Dingle boy, Ronnie Wycherley, of 35 Haliburton Street, completed a three-minute spot in the star-studded programme. Ex-tugman Ronnie, with a little apprehension, took the stage at the Essoldo Theatre, Birkenhead, after the compere of the show said: "Larry Parnes has given breaks to young people in his time and tonight he has invited a young local boy to entertain you." Wearing a two-tone Texan jacket and a guitar slung over his shoulder, Ronnie nervously walked on to the stage, and swung straight into the first number with an Elvis Presley inspired style. His three minutes were constantly punctuated by screams and shouts from hundreds of teenage girls, which were intensified at the least move of his body" (Also making his debut at this Birkenhead gig was another 18-year-old - a singer turned comedian by the name of Jimmy Tarbuck.)

(The more sober, and therefore, probably more accurate, version of events is that Fury, backed by future Fourmost member Billy Hatton, took part in an audition that Parnes held in the city centre, from which Fury's Essoldo performance sprang. The idea that an unknown 18 year-old should be thrust into the limelight on a backstage whim is also likely to be a little fanciful. Fury, apparently, knew that he would be singing at the theatre as that was part of the audition process)

Whatever the turn of events, unsurprisingly, Ronald was signed on the spot, making his "official" debut in Stretford the following evening and in the process quickly became another of Parnes' proteges. The proverbial name change followed soon afterwards with Ron's own choice of monicker - Stean Wade - being dropped in favour of the more dynamic Billy Fury. After signing to Decca Records, in 1959 Fury released his first single, the self-penned "Maybe Tomorrow" and quickly established himself as a new star. During the sixties Fury spent 258 weeks on the singles charts with 11 Top Ten hits and in 1961 alone, the year of his Top Twenty appearance, Fury's singles were in the charts for a total of 50 weeks. Of all of the Presley pretenders, Fury was UK's best - certainly more talented than Cliff Richard and better looking than Marty Wylde, and according to the All Music Guide "was one of the very few English rock 'n rollers of the period who could (and did, on stage and on television) stand alongside the likes of Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent with no apology or excuse for being there" Fury had the Presley image well and truly sussed. His somewhat suggestive on-stage antics (he used his microphone as a sexual prop) were severely criticized by a number of individuals who believed he was responsible for corrupting the entire population of UK's female youth. Consequently Billy was told to "tone-down" his act. He continued to write his own material and in 1960 recorded an album's worth of his own songs, some of which were written under the pseudonym of Wilbur Wilberforce. Fury had successfully borrowed Presley's look - the resulting album "The Sound Of Fury", produced by Jack Good - did a more than capable job of replicating the man's music. It was effectively the UK's first rockabilly album and with Joe Brown doing his best Scotty Moore and Andy "Love Me Do" White on drums the record was and still is one of the most authentic rock n'roll albums produced outside America. (In an interview conducted in 1970, Keith Richards called it one of the greatest Rock N'Roll records of it's era). Mr.Parnes however, was unsatisfied and in an attempt to make Fury a more palatable product, was resposnible for a spate of cover versions that were chosen to "smooth out" Billy's sound. Despite the overtly commercial material, Fury's career continued to go from strength to strength. This was partially due to the fact that the songs covered were always intelligently chosen, but it was also becuase Fury had the talent to pull them off.

BILLY FURY - Turn My Back On You (1960) - From "The Sound Of Fury"

Fury never achieved a No.1 hit record, but both "Halfway To Paradise", a Goffin/King number originally recorded by Tony Orlando, and "Jealousy", reached No.2 in 1961. But in terms of Top 10 hits alone, 1962 and 1963 were his best years. 1962 also saw Fury make his acting debut in the film "Play It Cool", a somewhat forgettable Teenploitation movie that was all part of the process of transforming the singer into "Mr.Versatility", a role that Fury disliked but which was nevertheless expanded upon with numerous appearances in variety shows and the dreaded panto. In 1963, his "We Want Billy" album was one of the very first live records to be released in the UK whilst during 64 & 65, his single releases continued to chart, though less frequently than they had previously. During the mid-60's Fury's heart condition began to take it's toll and in 1967 he required surgery which not only brought a premature end to his concert performances but effectively suspended his career for several years. During his convalescence, he discovered a love for birdwatching but in 1971 further, more extensive, surgery was required and with an increasing dependence on alcohol due to depression, Fury's almost non-existent career suddenly put Billy in a somewhat precarious financial position. In 1973 he re-appeared in the public eye for the first time in a number of years with a cameo appearance as singer "Stormy Tempest" in the film "That'll Be The Day" alongside Ringo Starr and David Essex but unfortunately, further surgery was required in 1976 and just 2 years later he was declared bankrupt, a situation that was only resolved after an agreement with the Inland Revenue saw Fury re-record his hits for K-Tel in 1978. Undoubtedly against doctor's orders, but under pressure to keep the money rolling in, Fury signed a record deal with Polydor Records in 1981 and recorded a "comeback" album entitled "The One And Only", but in March 1982, he collapsed at his farm, suffering partial paralysis and temporary blindness. He recovered from this latest ordeal, and remained determined to resurrect his career with a live TV show appearance and a national tour, but on 28th January 1983, he was found unconscious in his St.John's Wood flat and pronounced dead on arrival at St Mary's Hospital, London.

BILLY FURY - Halfway To Paradise (1961)

There can be no doubt that Alford regarded this concert as being of prime importance. It was to be the final gig of their Spring season prior to taking a 3 month break and apart from laying on coaches for people living in Weston-Super-Mare and Burnham-On-Sea there was also a significant hike in the cost of the ticket, 7 shillings as opposed to the normal entrance fee of 3 or 4 bob. In the end, it backfired on them. The Top Twenty had been getting about 350-400 punters every Monday for quite some time, but on this occasion the undoubted star quality of the singer made no difference when it came to forking out hard cash and only 200 people turned up.

There is an unsubstantiated rumour that during this concert, a male member of the 200-strong crowd took umbrage at a Fury comment that questioned the audience's mentality whilst also doing nothing for the North/South divide. (Fury apparently dedicated a song to all the "swedes" in the audience - that's the vegetable incidentally, and not a selection of fans from Stockholm.) The aforementioned punter, a market stall owner, armed himself with some brussel sprouts, no doubt during the interval, which were then pelted at the vocalist mid-way through a vocal performance. Fury - not a man to be trifled with - stopped the band mid-song, pointed to the guy in question and promptly told him to "F*** Off!". Exit punter, suitably embarrassed with the band continuing the song where they had left it.

BILLY FURY - Don't Knock Upon My Door (From Oh Boy!) (30th May 1959)

30th May 1961

"Bridgwater Borough Magistrates yesterday granted an application for a licence for a juke box for a cafe at 10 Clare Street, Bridgwater despite police opposition. Making the application on behalf of Mr.James William Ellick of 66 Ashleigh Avenue, Bridgwater, Mr.R.G.Ash said the juke box would be controlled by a switch behind the counter and it would be used only from 8 am to 6 pm. The cafe is closed at 6 pm. so there was no question of trouble with gangs of youths. Opposing the application, Inspector C F Searle said he was instructed to do so becuase of the type of instrument. Juke boxes were inclined to attract the rowdy element and sometimes gave rise to complaints in relation to traffic from the congregation of youths and motor-cycles. The chairman (Mr E L Kelting) told Mr.Ash that the magistrates wanted Mr.Ellick to realise that the matter would be reconsidered when the licence became due for renewal in March, should any kind of nuisance result."

June 1961

"When the police objected yesterday at Bridgwater Borough Magistrates Court to the proposed installation of a juke-box in a Bridgwater cafe, the tenant told the Magistrates it had been installed last January. Mr.Leslie Norman Iles, of the Sunshine Cafe and Guesthouse, Bristol Road, Bridgwater said that the people who had installed the machine had told him that they did not think music liecences were required in Bridgwater. He had since seen in the Press a report of an application for a music licence in respect of another cafe, and he wished to be legally covered. In reply to the police objection that juke-boxes led to rowdyism and undesirables, Mr. Iles said he had had no trouble since his was installed. "The worst we get are the schoolchildren" he went on. "We have had a few teddy boys but we have had no trouble from them. The school children are the noisiest"

During August and September other concerts of interest sporadically appeared at The Town Hall. An arrangement with the West of England Jazz Society yielded a series of gigs, some of which ran alongside the Top Twenty for a short while. Bob Wallis & His Storyville Jazzmen were first to appear on 19th July and unsurprisingly this prompted a small Bridgwater Mercury review. "Despite the abundance of dark glasses, droopy sweaters and bearded faces, the true "traddie" was missing from the show and so accordingly was the atmosphere which pervades most concerts or festivals" suggested the Mercury's "Trad Jazz" expert. (In other words, nobody turned up.) As far as my theory regarding the Mercury's editorial bias against rock music is concerned, it's worth noting that at this point The Top Twenty had been going for exactly one year but not so much as a word had ever been written about it, yet as soon as the more respectable Wallis & Co come to town, the newspaper sends a roving reporter post haste to cover the great event.

A couple of interesting items suddenly appeared in quick succession. On Friday 11th August "G.B. Rockshows Inc" promoted the appearance of "World Drum Beat Champion" Rory Blackwell. Blackwell's monicker had arrived via his successful attempt at breaking the world record for non-stop skin-bashing. If this suggests that he was nothing more than a novelty act then it is worth noting that Blackwell holds a distinctive position within the history of British popular music as he was the leader of the country's first rock band. Ken Colyer's Studio 51 in London's Great Portland Street had opened on the 24th August 1956 with an appearance by Blackwell and on the 6th September at the same venue, "Rory Blackwell's Rock N'Rollers" recorded the first ever rock n'roll session to occur in the British Isles. He was closely followed by the more authentic Tony Crombie's Rockets but even though Blackwell wasn't necessarily the best, he was certainly the first.

I am not entirely certain as to what status Blackwell had achieved by 1961. I dare say he was more renowned for his exploits as a percussive marathon man than for any significant recordings that he might have made. Throughout it's history, rock n'roll has been extremely unkind to those who steadfastly belong within a certain timeframe and who share a reluctance for change so chances are that Rory was already regarded as being part of the past by the time he played here but at least the guy had/has history on his side.

RORY BLACKWELL - Fabulous (1961)

The Top Twenty finally re-appeared on Monday 4th September, but not before another "GB Rockshows Inc" presentation rocked the town (or at the very least gave it a slight shove.) During the first weekend of that month the Town Hall became the rockingest venue in Somerset as on Friday 1st September, just 3 days before The Top Twenty re-opened it's doors to the public we were treated to an appearance of something obliquely called "ROCK N ROLL ALL STARS" - "London's Greatest Touring Rock Show". The rather bland advertisement promoting this mysterious event gave nothing away, and despite the ad's rhetoric I haven't been able to find out anything about this performance. Who were "G.B.Rockshows Inc" anyway? Judging from their rather grandiose title it could either have been a major London promoter with designs on taking over the country or a company run by some bloke from his upstairs bedroom in Dampiet Street. Answers on a proverbial postcard please.

In what must have been a flurry of activity, The Town Hall was hastily prepared for the next exciting episode of Rock N'Roll mayhem. Having finally cleared the theatre of discarded lipstick and piles of dandruff, The Top Twenty was back in action.

4th September 1961

Danny Davis/Brian Fisher/Shirley Gaye & The Semitones

On the 8th September, the West of England Jazz Society once again promoted a Town Hall concert as part of their Trad Jazz series, though this one was a little more significant as it featured George Melly with Mick Mulligan and his Band. This may have been Melly's first appearance in Bridgwater but it was certainly not to be his last.

11th September 1961
The Antones/Sandra McCann/Mike Storm/Johnny Gregg & The Comets

18th September 1961

RICKY FORDE & THE CYCLONES
("A new up and coming group")

To paraphrase Frank Zappa*, Ricky Forde & the Cyclones were "Just another band from Bristol".

*Zappa's Mothers of Invention released the live album "Just Another Band From LA" in 1972.

25th September 1961
Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs
("Just back from their German tour")

16th October 1961

JOHNNY & MIKE with THE SHADES (featuring Jackie London)

Johnny & Mike with the Shades were built around the respective talents of vocalist Johnny Cannon (John Symonds) and drummer/vocalist Mike Wayne (Michael Long.) Based in Bath, they were very much a "nearly" group that failed to hit the big time, largely due to a series of unfortunate circumstances. Formed in early 1959, Mike Wayne was originally with a band called The Pacific Five whilst Cannon drummed with local rivals The Dominoes. After the two joined forces, they turned professional in 1962, but having gained a solid reputation and despite touring with some of the best in the business (The Everly Bros, Roy Orbison, The Rolling Stones), they remained a "local" band waiting for their big break after a number of bad career moves served to cook their proverbial goose. Signed by Decca after an impressive performance on "Saturday Club", the record company spent a great deal of time and money on the band's recording of The Coasters "Poison Ivy" for single release. I say "band recording" but vocalists Cannon & Wayne were the only group members involved, "The Shades" having been told to kick their heels whilst session men like guitarist Big Jim Sullivan played their respective parts. The song was eventually ditched after a Decca big-wig took a personal dislike to the finished product. Allegedly boasting John Lennon & Paul McCartney as fans, their manager Jack Fallon refused to allow Brian Epstein to sign them to his impressive roster of artists and, just to rub salt into their wounds, they later they had the ignominity of having their arrangement of "You'll Never Walk Alone" stolen by Gerry Marsden of Pacemakers fame after he'd heard the band perform the song at a club in Widnes. Inevitably they faded into obscurity despite the occasional single release, including, as the “Cannon Brothers with The Shades”, the single “Turn Your Eyes To Me” which appeared on the ultra obscure BRIT label in 1965, peaking at No.36 in the radio London Fab 40 chart. The band eventually called it a day in 1967 but drummer Pete Gavin survived however, later becoming an original member of Heads Hands & Feet alongside Chas Hodges of Chas & Dave fame and one of the finest guitarist's in the cosmos, Albert Lee.

JOHNNY, MIKE & THE SHADES - This Boy (from "Saturday Club") (1963)

MP3 courtesy of Shades bassist Noel Lawrence

23rd October 1961

PAUL CLAYTON & THE CORVETTES
("Another Great New Discovery Group")

Guess where this lot came from? Yep, you guessed it - Bristol!

13th November 1961
Ricky Forde & The Cyclones

DUFFY POWER

Power (real name Ray Howard) was yet another Larry Parnes discovery (Perhaps The Top Twenty only needed the appearance of 3 more Parnes singers to collect the set and receive a special certificate.) Power had been working in a laundry when he was discovered in 1959 at the tender age of 17. Parnes was in a London cinema, catching up on some local talent but witnessed the teenager winning a Saturday morning "jive" competition with his band Duffy & The Dreamers and promptly signed him to one of his "I'm-going-to-make-you-a-star-if-you-stick-with-me" contracts. Power's career never really blossomed under his manager's tutelage, partially becuase of a lack of decent material but also becuase Duffy was a bit of a rebel who lived the Sex, Drugs & RockN'Roll lifestyle before way before the term had been invented. Dressed in leopard skin jackets and gold lame waistcoats, he was a great live performer but seemed unable to transfer his on-stage energy to the recording studio and his Fontana single releases - cover versions of songs like "Ain't She Sweet", "Dream Lover" and "Whole Lotta Shakin Going On"- were disappointing. Only one single was issued in 1960 and just 2 more appeared during the following year. With his career in the doldrums Power suffered from acute depression and during 1961 tried to commit suicide. His attempts to end it all were apparently interrupted by a friend's phone call. A casual visit to a blues club eventually became a musical epiphany for Duffy, with Power suddenly realising the direction in which to take his career. He split with Parnes and later resurfaced a couple of years later alongside future Cream members Jack Bruce & Ginger Baker as a member of The Graham Bond Quartet/Organisation. Their 1963 recording of "I Saw Her Standing There", one of the first ever Beatle covers, has been called "a milestone of British Blues". Power later joined Blues Incorporated, a band of great historical significance from a UK perspective. Hosted by Alexis Korner, it has not only been heralded as Britain's first blues band, but it included within it's constantly changing line-up, a host of musicians that were at the forefront of the 60's British Rock movement. Between 1964 & 1967, Power appeared on at least three of their albums, but not long after his final stint with the band, the singer found himself out of work and, partially due to drug dependancy, became mentally ill. Thankfully he recovered and during the 70's, worked as a session musician before finally releasing his one and only, critically acclaimed album in 1973.

I believe that Power had already parted company with Larry Parnes by the time he had made his Top 20 appearance, nevertheless his departure from the Parnes stable and the subsequent re-invention that followed makes him one of the very few artists who was single-minded enough to leave the straightjacketed world of screaming teenagers and substandard cover versions behind in order to take his career into his own hands.

DUFFY POWER - Kissin' Time (1959)

4th December 1961

BOBBY ANGELO & THE TUXEDOS
("Jivers please note : Jiving competition tonight!!!!!")

Originating from Walton-On-Thames under the somewhat un-original name of Bobby Vincent & The Shadows, singer Bobby Hemmings idolised Gene Vincent and adopted both his surname and some of his stage mannerisms as well. His backing band's decision to choose a title that became synonymous with another beat group from this period became an embarrassment for obvious reasons and had to be hastily rectified. By early 1961, Vincent had adopted the Italian sounding Angelo whilst the backing band took their new monicker, not from the dinner jacket, but from a new guitar that had recently appeared on the market. Their debut single for the HMV label, "Baby Sittin', "reached No.30 in August 1961 and was based on the distinctive sound of the lead guitarist's Stratocaster. The follow-up "Don't Stop" inexplicably ditched the twanging guitars, and the hapless Tuxedoes in the process - a session band taking their place in the studio.* This follow-up featured female backing vocalists and a more confident Angelo lead that was 2 parts Presley to 1 part Buddy Holly but the change of direction didn't work, and the single failed to chart. Consequently The Tuxedoes had the last laugh as having contributed greatly to Angelo's only success they later re-emerged as "The Innocents", becoming Mike Berry's group in the process (see Berry entry) whilst Angelo disappeared off of the music map altogether. "Baby Sittin", their 2 and a half minutes of fame, is generally regarded as a cut above a lot of the music that was coming out of the United Kingdom at the time so it's strange that their career should have had such a short shelf life. The only insight into the group comes from bassist Dave Brown who offers the following "We mainly toured the South of England and Germany. It was sometimes bloody hard work but all in all great fun and I'm glad to have been part of early British Rock 'n Roll however lowly a part that may be."

* This was, unfortunately, common practice throughout the 60's (see Johnny, Mike & The Shades entry). Having signed on the dotted line, there were many musicians who suddenly found themselves on the musical scrapheap as "top" session musos were brought in to provide a more polished sound. Even Ringo Starr was told to shake a tambourine during the first Beatle recording whilst session man (and former Billy Fury drummer) Andy White played the perfunctory "Love Me Do" drum part which proves that it could happen to even the best of them.

BOBBY ANGELO & THE TUXEDOS - Baby Sittin' (1961)

11th December 1961
Royston Jones & The Raiders

18th December 1961

NELSON KEENE

The last member of the Larry Parnes caravan to play the Top Twenty, Keene was one of 10 children. Never one of the stellar artistes in Parnes stable, he recorded three singles for HMV, with "Image Of A Girl" and "Keep Loving Me" appearing in 1960 whilst "Miracles Are Happening To Me" appeared the following year. If the latter single suggested that Keene had found religion, not even divine intervention could make him a star and he disappeared into obscurity.

NELSON KEENE - Image Of A Girl (1960) - CRACKLY VINYL WARNING!

Ricky Forde & The Cyclones
Dean Torrent & The Pressmen

CAROL WATERMAN

The final Top Twenty concert of 1961, as the advertisement stated, was a "Christmas Spectacular" that not only boasted the talents of no less than 4 different artistes but was so damn exciting that even the balloons get a credit of their own, alongside something belwilderingly referred to as the "Yes & No Interlude", whatever that was. Even though Nelson Keene was the undisputed "star" of the show, perhaps of more interest were the artists that appeared with him. Of these, Forde & the Cyclones from Bristol and Bridgwater's very own Torrent & The Pressmen had appeared previously, but the addition of Carol Waterman "singing pop songs" (as if she would do anything else) is significant. For Carol was and in fact. still is none other than Carol Lee-Scott aka Grotbags, the children's entertainer from the 1980's who shot to prominence on shows such as "The Rod Hull & Emu Show" (full story hopefully to follow).

The Artists 1962

From January 1962 through to the summer break in May, The Top Twenty seemed to be treading a little water. A lot of the bands that appeared were either making return visits or were part of the Bristol/Bath/Southampton set-up that had served Graham Alford so well previously. It wasn't until the latter part of the year that we saw some fresh faces and by then, the seeds of a new era in British Popular Music were beginning to grow.

8th January 1962
Johnny, Mike & The Shades

15th January 1962

Danny Davis
GARY and LEE
THE PARAMOUNTS

If you are a music enthusiast with a keen sense of rock history then you will know that "The Paramounts" was the original band name of what later became Procol Harum. Based in Southend and formed in 1959, their original line-up featured Robin Trower, Chris Copping, Mick Brownlee, Bob Scott and the 14-year old Gary Brooker, all of whom were members of the group that famously scored a No.1 hit in 1968 with "A Whiter Shade Of Pale". It is extremely unlikely however that the band that shared the stage with Danny Davis & Gary and Lee on this day in the Top Twenty's history are one and the same due to at least two reasons. The first is the proliferation of local artists that were booked by Graham Alford during this period. The second, and most convincing piece of evidence is that The Southend Paramounts did not turn professional until 1963 and hardly ventured outside of the Southend area gig-wise until that year. I have been unable to unearth evidence of any other band called The Paramounts, but that hardly suggests that the band operating under this name on the 15th January 1962 were "skipping the light fandango" in Bridgwater's Town centre 6 years before reaching the toppermost of the poppermost. Chances are they were from Bristol or some other nearby locale, but of course this could just be a selection of scruffy herberts whose previous live appearance was in the Crown Inn's skittle alley. Regarding Brooker & Co, we only had to wait another 2 and a half years for the real Paramounts to play as they turned up at the Top 20 again in December 1964. As for "Gary & Lee", there is a distinct lack of information. For all I know it could have been an impromptu performance by the Top Twenty bouncers.

29th January 1962
Sandra McCann/Mike Storm/The Antones

LEE SCOTT & The Comets

Another appearance by the West Country's own Funk Brothers, The Comets - this time backing yet another lost and forgotten Bristolian vocalist.

5th February 1962
Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs

12th February 1962
Ricky Forde & The Cyclones

19th February 1962
Royston Jones & The Raiders

26th February 1962
Paul Clayton & The Corvettes

The advert (left) highlights within it's small print that lost and forgotten group Paul Clayton & The Corvettes (making their second appearance at The Town Hall) but there are two other reasons for including it here. Firstly the nation's fascination for "The Twist", a dance craze that refused to go away and secondly the reference to the TWW TV program "Discs A Go-Go". "Discs-A-Go-Go" featured a very young Tony Prince prior to his defection to Radio Caroline and was also co-hosted by Kent "Hello grappling fans" Walton several years before he became the commentator for the Saturday afternoon wrestling, a curiously essential viewing habit that practically EVERYONE between the ages of 50-60 has a memory of. Discs-A-Go-Go was the successor to another long-forgotten TWW pop programme called "Now!" and was recorded at both their Bath Road studios in Bristol and, I believe, in Cardiff also. It was franchised out to a number of local Television companies such as Tyne Tees, but to my knowledge did not appear in some parts of the country including London. Artists gave "in-the-studio" performances in front of a live audience, a relatively new concept back in those days and an idea which was later used to particularly good effect by "Ready Steady Go". It also had a rather cheesy method of presenting records by artists who were unavailable to appear. A series of cartoon drawings of a Fox were used to illustrate the theme and the lyrics of the song. With alarming originality the animal was apparently called "Foxy" and if you wrote to the TV station you could be the proud owner of a free "Discs-a-Go-Go" "Foxy" badge. Apparently "Discs-A-Go-Go" was as much a part of the local scene as the Top Twenty with various punters recalling frequent visits to the program which were taped on a Wednesday. As for The Twist , like all dance crazes (and there were an awful lot of them in the 60's) it overstayed it's welcome yet by 1963 it was still being promoted locally with frequent twisting competitions held at both The Town Hall and The Odeon.

When dances like the "twist" and all its later developments are introduced, the young accept them eagerly and without question, while their parents raise their eyebrows or smile indulgently for a while and then take them up with almost equal fervor, ostensibly in order to project the youthful image themselves. What they fail to realize is that such dances have their origin in pagan fertility dances that were performed in times past as a part of immoral religious rites. And just as they were designed to arouse the sexual emotions of the participants in the religious orgies, so their modern-day counterparts contribute to the loosening of moral inhibitions.

Those who subscribe to the modern morality that allows for premarital sex relations have no objection to this. But what of those who have no such end in view, who may be indulging themselves simply because it is the custom? Such ones should not deceive themselves. They are still affected emotionally in the same way. Stimulation of this sort inevitably leads to improper inclinations, and those who entertain wrong desires can be just as completely overtaken as the twenty-four thousand were in succumbing to the Baal of Peor in the days of Israel.-Num. 25:1-9." THE WATCHTOWER

So to recap.....on the 26th February 1962, Bridgwater Town Hall was subjected to a demonstration of a new dance craze followed by a sex orgy free-for-all. And, leaving the missus behind, you popped over to the Duke for a couple of pints didn't you?

19th March 1962

DEAN PRINCE & THE DUKES

Yet another proverbial Bristol band.

26th March 1962
Barrie James/The Strangers

SANDRA LAINE

There is a strong possibility that Sandra had appeared at the Town Hall previously but not as a "headliner". She was part of the never-ending supply of Southampton based artists and is, in fact, the bouffant-bedecked female spotted in the Dezo Hoffman photograph of Barrie James (see 1960) who, as it happens, appeared on this very same bill with the female singer.

9th April 1962

The Comets/The Antones/Mike Storm/Lee Scott

KIM TAYLOR
("An attractive newcomer ")

For Kim Taylor, see Sandra Laine above. A Bristol equivalent, one would imagine, of the Southampton chanteuse.

16th April 1962
Ricky Forde & The Cyclones

30th April 1962
The Shades Instrumentals (with Johnny & Mike + Young Jackie London)

7th May 1962

MIKE BERRY & THE OUTLAWS

Mike Berry (real name Michael Bourne) was a native of Northampton and progressed from skiffle group "The Rebels" to a band called "Kenny Lord & The Statesmen". Whilst with the latter, a demo was delivered to both Jack "Oh Boy!" Good and Joe Meek both of whom were sufficiently impressed to jostle for Berry's attention. Meek eventually got the singer's vote by suggesting that he could become the new Buddy Holly despite the fact that Berry's voice sounded more like a cross between Billy Fury & Adam Faith. In the end it was a rather macabre marketing idea that eventually got Meek the gig. He suggested releasing an album featuring a picture of the singer superimposed onto a ‘ghostly’ photograph of the deceased Buddy, an idea that Berry obviously approved of but which, fortunately, never happened. Berry spent months waiting for Meek to come up with a sure-fire hit but his first single release, a fairly lame cover version of the Goffin/King classic "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", flopped. (It's "B" side "My Baby Doll" was such a blatant copy of the Holly style that I'm surprised Norman Petty did not sue for plagiarism.) Finally in October 1961, 9 months after signing up with the eccentric producer, Joe Meek produced the overtly sentimental "Tribute To Buddy Holly" and it reached the heady heights of No.24 in the UK singles chart. The song's sentiment may well have been genuine but Berry was criticised for cashing in on Holly's unfortunate death but then, in fairness, he wasn't the only one. (Tommy Dee's appalling "Three Stars" is just one song that springs to mind.)* Rumour has it that Mike Berry's heartfelt "Tribute" was given a seal of approval "beyond the grave" by Buddy Holly himself but the fact that the tune was written by part-time spiritualist Geoff Goddard may be no coincidence. Berry obtained two further hit singles in 1963, his biggest being "Don't You Think It's Time" which reached No.6, whilst "My Little Baby" was less successful, peaking at 34. Berry split from Joe Meek during the 60's and joined forces with Robert Stigwood, the Australian entrepreneur who was in the process of setting up his own music empire. Berry's first single for Stigwood in 1964, the self-penned "On My Mind" was an excellent example of British Beat, but generally the move was not successful for either party and appearances in the Top 40 soon ceased altogether. Apart from an unexpected Top 10 hit in 1980 with the ballad "The Sunshine Of Your Smile", Berry is better remembered in later years as an actor having appeared in "Worzel Gummidge" from 1979 to 1981 and as Joe Spooner in the BBC TV program "Are You Being Served?" As for Berry's Town Hall gig, the singer went through a number of backing bands during the 60's, with Bobby Angelo's Tuxedoes (under the name "The Innocents") supporting Berry for awhile, but the band that played The Town Hall -The Outlaws - not only became his regular group, they also recorded a variety of cowboy-themed Joe Meek instrumentals under their own name and by 1964 boasted the talents of Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple fame as their guitarist. Blackmore was not at the Town Hall gig in 1962 but Chas Hodges of Chas & Dave fame was, as he was an original member of the band.

* In later years, Berry traded heavily on being a Buddy clone, consequently his web-site calls Mike "Britain's Buddy Holly" which is probably taking things just a little too far. However it also mentions that Berry appears every year at Paul McCartney's annual party that celebrates the bespectacled American, so if it's good enough for Macca, then who am I to argue?

MIKE BERRY & THE OUTLAWS - Tribute To Buddy Holly (1962)

14th May 1962
The Ramrods (and Dale Rivers)

21st May 1962
Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs

28th May 1962

RUSS SAINTY & THE FABULOUS NU NOTES

East-Ender Russ was born Alfred Sainty in April 1938. (Sainty apparently changed his name after, quite rightly, being told by his girlfriend that Alfred was "not rock n'roll enough") A patron of the famous 2 I's coffee bar in London he was a regular performer at the Compton Street venue for about a year, and during this period was backed by Tony Sheridan & his band. Sheridan had been a member of the London music scene for quite awhile without ever getting that "lucky break" but has a place in music history for famously using The Beatles whilst recording with German MOR producer Bert Kaempfert in Hamburg during 1961. In 1959 Sainty passed a BBC audition which led to more than 500 radio appearances. He became a regular on The Saturday Club and also appeared on "Pop Go The Beatles". Sainty was head-hunted by a teenage quartet called The 4 Teens, who needed a lead singer and subsequently the band became The Nu-Notes in the process. Sainty's first single release "Happy-Go-Lucky-Me" appeared on Top Rank in 1960 but after the label went under, Russ found it difficult to hold down a regular contract and over the space of 3 years appeared on Decca, HMV & Parlophone. Decca's "Too Shy" (1960) and "Don't Believe Him, Donna" (1961) were followed by a couple of singles on HMV during the year of his Bridgwater appearance, with neither "Keep Your Love Locked" or "Send Me The Pillow You Dream On" threatening world domination. The band opened the famous California Ballroom in Dunstable on the 12th March 1960 (Sainty's nickname was "King Of The Cali") and also enjoyed a summer season at the Bognor Regis branch of Butlins in July of that year but apart from that the only other interesting fact is that The Fabulous Nu-Notes line-up included three guitarists of note. In 1961 super session man Big Jim Sullivan was replaced by Roger Dean, who later turned up in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, whilst original guitarist Rhett Stoller apparently penned the "Match Of The Day" theme music!

RUSS SAINTY & THE FABULOUS NU-NOTES - Race With The Devil (1960) (b-side of "Too Shy")

At this point, The Top Twenty paused once again for the summer months but during the break in it's transmission, parts of the film "Tom Jones" starring Albert Finney & Susannah York were filmed in Castle Street from the 24th to the 27th August.

21st August 1962

FILM-MAKING IN BRIDGWATER - Castle Street is the location area

"Scenes for the £400,000 screen version of Henry Fielding's "Tom Jones" will be shot in Castle Street, Bridgwater this week-end and members of local amateur dramatic societies will be employed as extras. The production unit - from Woodfall Films - will be on location in Bridgwater from Friday until Monday and people in the Castle Street area are being advised by the police on parking and other traffic problems which might arrive. Keystone of the Woodfall company is Tony Richardson who moved from a successful career in the theatre and TV to produce and direct the much lauded "Look Back In Anger" both on stage and on screen. "Tom Jones" reunites Richardson with the author of "Look Back In Anger", John Osborne, who is said to have turned Fielding's rambling novel into a fast-paced, humour-filled script that retains all the boisterous flavour of 18th century England. Acting the part of Tom Jones is 25-year-old Albert Finney who impressed audiences in his first starring role in the Richardson-produced Woodfall film "Saturday Night And Sunday Morning". The female lead is played by blonde Susannah York"

28th August 1962

"TOM JONES" COMES TO TOWN" - Bridgwater provided ideal background for part of £400,000 film.

"The clatter of hooves and the rumble of horse-drawn carriages have once again echoed - for the first time in possibly 50 years - in Castle Street and King Square, Bridgwater where on Friday and throughout the week-end scenes reminiscent of the 18th century have been witnessed by crowds of townspeople. With the horses and carriages came all the latest techniques of the film industry and Bridgwater's little Georgian corner was given all the necessary treatment to make it look exactly like as it may have looked in the 1700's. Hundreds of townspeople went along to watch a unit from Woodfall Film productions filming scenes for the £400,000 film version of Henry Fielding's "Tom Jones". It was the first time ever that Bridgwater had been chosen as a location for a big film and when "Tom Jones" comes to the local screen there will certainly be full houses at each performance. The scene at Castle Street which was filmed on Friday morning showed Tom's father arriving by coach at a house in London"

"Tom Jones" was given a Royal Premiere in front of the Duke Of Edinburgh in July 1963.

7th September 1962

On the Friday before the Top Twenty re-opened, Royston Jones & The Raiders made a return visit to the Town Hall but on this occasion as the headliners for a "Friday Jive Night". It would seem that the popularity of this "teenage music" was beginning to spread.

10th September 1962

THE BARRON KNIGHTS

After the proverbial three month lay off, the club returned with a band confusingly billed as "A Fabulous Group with a New Sound - Saxes & Electric Vibes". Under normal circumstances, this rather unusual instrumentation would be uncommon, but when it is attached to a combo more noted for it's belly-laughs than beat music, something doesn't quite add up. The Top Twenty's advertising department sometimes had the habit of getting things completely wrong when describing the assets of their latest acquisition. As an example, the stock definition "Vocals - Instrumentals - Comedy" was used so often to describe an artist's assets that one gets the impression that this "catch-all" description was employed in the absence of any known information about the band in question. In the case of this concert, someone must have got their wires crossed, unless The Barron Knights spent a small part of their history masquerading as a jazz group, which is exceedingly unlikely. Ironically the "Vocals - Instrumentals - Comedy" tag mentioned above would have been a more accurate narrative for the Barron's though it is worth noting that "The Knights Of The Round Table" (as they were originally called) started out as a "harmonizing vocal group" from Leighton Buzzard so it's possible that this concert took place before they found their niche as a band with a show-biz sense of humour and the propensity to mimic other artists. Early singles for both Fontana ("Let's Face It" - 1962) and Columbia ("Jo-Anne" - 1963 and "Comin Home Baby" - 1964) saw no chart action whatsoever whilst playing it straight musically. They remained, at least for the time being, a pop group with comical overtones and it wasn't until they went to Hamburg to play the Top Ten club (literally half the club that the Top 20 was!) that they changed their musical focus and returned with a new "cabaret" image that was annoyingly close to "light entertainment". The first of two big breakthroughs occurred in 1963 when they were spotted at a gig in Liverpool by Brian Epstein and were asked to support The Beatles on their debut UK headlining tour, culminating in a hugely successful appearance at The Fabs Christmas Show. Their second came in 1964 when "Call Up The Groups", an item that had been a highlight of their stage act, reached No.3 in the charts. The single was based around the idea of pop artists being conscripted into the army and featured impersonations of a number of bands performing their recent hits but with the lyrics suitably altered to fit the subject matter. Despite having to overcome 17 copyright infringements, the single launched the Barron Knights career and from this point on they played things almost entirely for laughs. Other hits followed in a similar vein including "Pop Go The Workers" and "Merry Gentle Pops" in 1965 and, during the height of punk rock, both "Live In Trouble" & "A Taste Of Aggro" reached the Top 10 in 1977 & 78 respectively. As for the Bridgwater Mercury's billing above, Duke D Mond was the pseudonym of recently deceased band member Richard Palmer, whilst the most well-known line-up included Barron Anthony (Anthony Osmond), Leslie "Butch" Baker and um....Pete & Dave (Pete Langford & Dave Ballinger).

DUKE D.MOND & THE BARRON KNIGHTS - Jo-Anne (1963)

17th September 1962

ALAN G.READ & THE STATESMEN
("The full sound with sax for a good beat")

"One of the founding fathers of the Bristol scene. I first met him in 1958 when he fronted The Cemetry Skiffle Group! Been mates ever since. He was also guitarist in Daryl Grant & The Descants, and was with me in The Franklyn Big 6. He & I went on in the late sixties to promote gigs in Bristol, particularly @ The Old Granary. Al wrote a great book about that, still available. He was a presenter on BBC Radio Bristol for many years" Mike Tobin aka Mike "Boppin" Tobin, veteran of the Bristol music scene, one time member of Mike Tobin & The Magnettes (1957-1964) and The Franklyn Big 6 (1965 to either 1967 or 1968). Currently manager of Yatton's one and only Stackridge.

18th September 1962

As a result of the decision by the Minister of Housing and Local Government, Bridgwater is to have it's first "Teenage Club". It will be at 23-25 St.Mary's Street. The club will be run by Mr.Ivor Richards who was informed last week that an appeal against Bridgwater Town Council's refusal to permit change of use of part of the present garage premises, formerly Holley's, had been upheld.

24th September 1962

COLIN & BRUCE
("From TWW's "Looking For A Star")

THE DETOURS

This could have been interesting as The Detours were the name of a skiffle band formed by The Who's Roger Daltrey and which featured a line-up that included both Pete Townshend and John Entwistle. It would be nice to think that there is a possibility that this might have been Daltrey's embryonic Who line-up but.....it isn't. If I hadn't got so carried away by what I thought was an exciting discovery I would have noticed that the advertisement lists this group as an instrumental band (They were in fact Colin & Bruce's backing musicians.) The Detours returned in March 1963 with Pete Townshend still nowhere to be seen. However in April 1965.............

27th September 1962

Another independent gig at The Town Hall this time featuring the mysterious Tony Martell & the Troubadours with the equally obscure David Whitfield & The Rapids.

1st October 1962

"Rock And Twist Spectacular"
Barrie James/Gary & Lee/The Strangers/PATTIE KNIGHT

6th October 1962

On the opening weekend of the month the first in a series of "Jive Nights" took place, expanding upon the idea that had first appeared at the Town Hall back in September. However on this occasion, there were some significant changes in the shape of a new promoter, a new venue and a new evening for what became a regular weekly occurrence. "Bridgwater Entertainments Ltd" were responsible for providing a weekly rota at The Blake Hall of Roller Skating on Monday nights, Big Time Bingo on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and a live band on the Saturday evening. Only local bands or groups from the surrounding area played these evenings, suggesting that whilst these concerts were more frequent, the promoters didn't have as much clout that the Graham Alford Agency had. Gigs during this month were Jimmy Treharne and The Pressmen on the 4th, The Mustangs on the 13th October, the proverbial Royston Jones & the Raiders from WSM on the 20th October and The Silver Stars Group on the 27th October.

22nd October 1962
("A new feature - Record Request Spot")
Dean Prince & The Dukes

29th October 1962
Ricky Forde & The Cyclones

5th November 1962
Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs

19th November 1962

MIKE SAGAR & THE CRESTERS *

After yet another period of booking the familiar and not so famous, this lot appeared. Originally from Bramley in Yorkshire, they enjoyed minimal chart action with "Deep Feeling" (No.44 in December 1960) and followed this up with the rather curiously titled "The Brothers Three" in 1961, a release that received the equivalent of the Juke Box Jury hooter amongst the record buying public. The band included one Richard Harding on lead guitar, an individual revered in local circles as a budding Eric Clapton. "He's probably the best undiscovered guitarist in the world, an absolute top class player by any standards, and has been since the 60s. "He plays better than just about anyone you can think of, and was a kind of underground legend in the 60s and 70s. I still remember his version of the Brubeck hit "Take Five" with awe - the Cresters were a total knockout, I have an old tape of them playing some instrumentals which is amongst my most treasured musical possessions." So says a member of Sheffield Forum.co.uk. Apart from releasing an instrumental of the Frankie Laine hit "Jezebel" under his own name in 1961, Harding can currently be heard twanging with a country group called Dillinger.

Also advertised this evening was another "Twist Contest", the 323rd to have appeared in the Town Hall during 1962 alone. "£2 2s for the Best Couple : £1 1s for the next best two"

* The Top Twenty's advertisement erroneously spelled the band's name as "The Crestas" though, ironically, this became the correct spelling circa 1965 after Mike Sagar's departure.

MIKE SAGAR & THE CRESTERS - Deep Feeling (1960)

November's "Jive Concerts" at The Blake Hall were as follows; 3rd - Jimmy Treharne & the Pressmen 10th - The Mustangs 17th - Dave Whitfield & the Rapids 24th - Tony & the Fabulous Tycoons

3rd December 1962

ERKEY GRANT & THE TONETTES

From Manchester, the All Music Guide confirms their obscurity but suggests that they had a "punkish" sound which must have set them apart from a lot of the other bands that were treading the boards in 1962. At some point during a career that refuses to yield any hard facts, they recorded The Coasters song "Girls" but their only release of significance appears to be the excrutiatingly naff "I Can't Get Enough Of You" for Pye Records in 1963, under the name Erkey Grant & The Earwigs. Released with a passable version of another Coasters classic "I'm A Hog For You" on it's flip, it's hard to believe that this track was passed over in favour of an A-side that sounds like The Kinks backing Neddie Seagoon on lead vocals. Incidentally, note obligatory "indoor-shade-wearing" photo (left), a sure sign of a rock n'roll rebel if ever I saw one.

ERKEY GRANT & THE EARWIGS - I'm A Hog For You (1963)

10th December 1962

BRIAN POOLE & THE TREMELOES

The first band to appear at the Top Twenty with connections to the beat-group boom of 1963 though at this point in their career, the group hadn't really hit their stride. The Tremiloes (asa they were originally (mis) spelt) were formed in Barking, Essex in 1958 and made their debut at Ilford Palais in 1960. Poole was originally a Buddy Holly imitator complete with horn-rimmed glasses but after joining forces with The Trems they appeared regularly on radio, turning professional in 1961. On 1st January 1962, they famously became the band that Decca Records chose to sign instead of The Beatles primarily becuase they were based in London. Rumour has it that Decca's A&R man Dick Rowe left the final decision to his assistant Mike Smith and the rest, as they say, is history. Hindsight is of course a wonderful thing, but to give Smith some credit, geographical distance was an important factor back in those pre-motorway days whilst it's just possible that the band had given a better performance than the Fab Four who were understandably nervous on the day in question. Brian Poole was quickly established as the group's "leader" (another trend that The Beatles successfully bucked) and after a stint as a backing band for both The Vernons Girls ("The Locomotion") and, believe it or not, Jimmy Savile (on a not very politically correct cover of Ray Stevens' "Ahab The Arab") they released a handful of unsuccessful singles of their own namely "Twist Little Sister" and "That Ain't Right" in 1962 and "A Very Good Year For Girls" and "Keep On Dancing" released in January and March 1963 respectively. Poole and The Tremeloes consequently appeared at the Town Hall with their career stubbornly refusing to take off.

BRIAN POOLE & THE TREMELOES - Twist Little Sister (1962)

By June however, a change of musical direction resulting in a heavier emphasis on Rhythm & Blues paid handsome dividends as first "Twist And Shout" (No.4) and then "Do You Love Me?" (No.1) stormed the charts. "Twist And Shout" may well have been a cover of a song popularised by the Isley Bros, but it was, in effect, a carbon copy of a version that The Beatles had recorded for their debut album "Please Please Me" 4 months earlier (and which, in my humble opinion, is still one of the best "group" recordings The Fabs ever committed to vinyl). The irony should be fairly obvious when one considers Decca's decision to choose the Barking boys ahead of the best band in the world.

Despite being a poor man's version of the more robust groups that appeared during the beat-boom years, Poole & The Tremeloes continued to pick up the odd hit single here and there with both Roy Orbison's "Candy Man" and "Someone Someone" reaching the Top 10 in 1964 but after the comparative failure of two good cover versions of songs originally recorded by a new wave of American artists, namely The Strangeloves "I Want Candy" (No.25) and The Rascals "Good Lovin'" (did not chart), Poole eventually left to pursue a solo career in 1966, a move that normally would have meant curtains for his backing group. But whilst Poole's stab at stardom floundered to the extent that he gave up music altogether to become a butcher, the addition of Chip Hawkes (Chesney Hawkes dad) gave The Tremeloes a new lease of life and in 1967 alone achieved no less than 3 gold records including the No.1 "Silence Is Golden", a cover of a discarded Four Seasons b-side. The Trems sporadically continued to pepper the Top 10 with hits up to 1970 but then made the unwise career choice of changing their image, denouncing their previous music and dismissing their old fans as "morons". Damage done, the only option remaining was to slip quietly into the cabaret circuit.

BRIAN POOLE & THE TREMELOES - Candy Man/Do You Love Me? (NME Pollwinners Concert) (1964)

December's Blake Hall concerts; 1st - Jimmy Treharne & the Pressmen 15th - The Mustangs & Mike Allard & The Tremors 24th - Tony & The Tycoons 29th - Johnny Rush & the Raiders 31st - The Tornados (no not the "Telstar" mob, this lot were from Blandford Forum)

The Artists 1963

7th January 1963
The Barron Knights

14th January 1963

TONY BOLTON & THE FEDERALS

Born out of long forgotten band The Beatniks, Bolton & The Feds were another group who recorded for Parlophone Records though they appeared at The Town Hall minus contract as their first single "The Climb" did not appear until January 1964. 3 more Parlophone 45's followed, including a cover version of The Platters "Twilight Time" and their final release, 1965's "A Bucketfull Of Love" but they never threatened to trouble the charts with their particular brand of beat music. As the mid-60's beckoned, The Top Twenty effectively became a nursery for a number of musicians who later found fame and fortune elsewhere, a situation that was no doubt being repeated in venues & clubs the length and breadth of the country. Hiding within The Federals line-up was keyboard player Tony Kaye (real name Tony Selvidge.) He was a member of several bands during the 60's, amongst them Johnny Taylor's Star Combo and Jimmy Winston & His Reflections but later became an original member of Yes and appeared on their breakthrough album "The Yes Album" in 1970. Incidentally, Tony Bolton & The Federals were one of those bands incorrectly labelled under the "Comedy/Vocal/Instrumental" umbrella. Unless Bolton augmented his vocal performance with a stand-up routine, I think we can safely say that this piece of info is not strictly accurate.

8th January 1963
Dale Rivers & The Ramrods

Friday Night Jive concerts for January at The Blake Hall were; 5th Teddy Valour & The Valiants - 12th The Raiders with Rod Young - 19th Mike Slain & The Vikings - 26th Tony & His Fabulous Tycoons.

There was also a "Friday Jive" night at The Town Hall on the 11th January featuring "The West of England Jive Group" Nick & The Senators and a "Special Jive Night" on Monday 21st January at The Blake Hall with The Tornados (from Blandford) Altogether a very busy month!

4th February 1963

PETER JAY & THE JAYWALKERS
("They steal the show wherever they go!")

A band that straddled the period between early 60's British pop and the oncoming rush of Merseybeat, Jay & The Jaywalkers played the Town Hall 4 times, though three of those appearances occurred in 1963. Primarily an instrumental band based around Peter Jay's drums and a raucous brass section, they achieved a No.31 hit in October 1962 with the Joe Meek produced "Can Can 62", a track that became a staple diet of The Jaywalkers live act for quite some time afterwards. Despite the obvious novelty factor of this record and the slightly ludicrous spectacle of the group performing the routine as it was played during their live shows, they were apparently a more than competent band and toured the UK with The Beatles during the same year as their Top Twenty debut. The driving force behind the band's early incarnation was one Peter Miller but he left in 1966 to concentrate on songwriting. During their latter years, they became a quartet, calling themselves Peter Jay & The New Jaywalkers and turning their attention to soul music. One significant band member during this period was Terry Reid, a "nearly made it" man who holds the dubious distinction of once turning down the opportunity to join Led Zeppelin. Reid joined the band in 1966/67 just prior to their eventual split but despite Jay's retained involvement, their final single, 1967's "The Hand Don't Fit The Glove" was credited to Terry Reid & The Jaywalkers. An impressive support slot on a Rolling Stones UK tour followed but was not enough to save the band from extinction.

PETER JAY & THE JAYWALKERS - Caroline (1963)

In the 5th February 1963 edition of the Bridgwater Mercury, the weekly ad for the Top Twenty sensationally mentions "Another New Up and Coming Group - Electric Organ, Sax, Guitars, Drums" The group in question? The terribly obscure The Tartans (see below) Of far more interest was the advertisement that appeared directly above.......

The "Dynamic" Beatles were only 4th on the bill for the 26th February concert but it wasn't long before everyone in the UK knew exactly who they were.

By some strange coincidence, appearing at The Bridgwater Arts Centre on the very evening that this advert appeared was The Alan Civil Horn Trio. What's that you say? Never heard of him? Alan Civil, for all you Non-Beatlephiles out there played the horn solo on Revolver's "For No One" in 1966. Spooky or what?

11th February 1963

THE TARTANS

Probably one of the most obscure bands to ever play The Top Twenty, I haven't got the foggiest as to who this band were but regarding their somewhat colloquial name, would suggest that they were not from round these parts. The only reference that I have found that fits chronologically, if not geographically, is from the web site Irish-Showbands.com. It mentions a band called The Tartans that were in existence during the 1960's but sadly does not provide any further info. A genuine, possibly Celtic, curiosity.

18th February 1963
Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs
("Back from their tour of The Middle East!")

JOHNNY CARR & THE CADILLACS - Remember That Night (1963)

25th February 1963

THE DOWLANDS with The Soundtracks

From Bournemouth, David and Keith Dowland were yet another in a long-line of late 50s Everly Brothers imitators. With a backing group that included Roy Phillips (a Ray Charles look-alike member of the 60's band The Peddlers) and drummer Chris Warman, the duo were enormously successful locally. In 1962, their Joe Meek-produced debut single, "Little Sue", was issued on Oriole. Later Meek recordings included "Big Big Fella", "Break Ups" and a 1963 arrangement of Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line", but it was only when Meek began to dip his toes into the Merseybeat sound that the group made chart headway. While "Wishin' And Hopin'" and "Don't Make Me Over' were trumped by both the Merseybeats' and the Swinging Blue Jeans' respective versions, the brothers hastily released a Beatles cover of "All My Loving' (which sounds like Lennon & McCartney on helium) and spent seven weeks in the UK Top 50 in early 1964 (The single was also released in the States on the Tollie label) They appeared on several British package tours but, via Meek's emotional disintegration and interrelated long gaps between releases, the Dowlands decline was inevitable.

February's Blake Hall Roll Call; 2nd Jimmy Treharne & The Pressmen - 9th The Mustangs - 16th Bob Fremton & The K.D.C. - 23rd Teddy Valour & The Valiants.

4th March 1963
The Detours

11th March 1963

THE ORIGINAL CHECKMATES
("A Monday Twistacular!")

This was the ashes of the band known as Emile Ford & The Checkmates, who scored a No.1 hit in 1959 with "What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For?", a song originally written in 1917. Emile Sweetman was born in Castries, St.Lucia and arrived in the UK during the 1950's seeking work as a sound engineer. Sometime after his arrival Ford formed The Checkmates with two of his half-brothers (George & Dave Sweetman) and won a talent contest sponsored by Pye Records. From the resulting audition, their first single, a Joe Meek-produced cover version of Don Gibson's "Don't Tell Me Your Troubles" was scheduled for release but Pye wisely chose the B-side and the single went straight to the top of the charts. Ford & his Checkmates enjoyed a particularly fruitful 1960, securing 3 more Top 40 hits, 2 of which entered the Top 10, but their place in the sun was short-lived and by late 1962 the band had slowly been swallowed up by the new sounds that were emerging. Ford left, initially to concentrate on a solo career but then giving up singing altogether in 1963 to become a studio engineer, a return to his first love. His band continued, albeit in two seperate factions, with his backing musicians forming The Excheckers and Ford's siblings becoming The Original Checkmates with the latter continuing to record with Joe Meek for Decca and Parlophone. Whilst with Meek, The Checkmates became just another band that the producer used in an attempt to repeat the success of "Telstar" which is why most of Meek's productions from this period bear a striking resemblance to The Tornadoes. Checkmate releases included "You've Got To Have A Gimmick Today" (March 1963) described by one journalist as "breathtakingly appaling" and "an exercise in complete and utter bilge", "Union Pacific" (June 1963) a Shadows/Tornadoes hybrid and an entire album's worth of material released on the Pye label during the same year. The Checkmates were used frequently during 1963 by Meek as backing musicians, particularly when his "other" band The Outlaws were unavailable and they eventually worked extensively with Michael Cox both on record and during the singer's hugely successful tour of Scandinavia.

THE ORIGINAL CHECKMATES - Union Pacific (1963)

19th March 1963

TWIST TO "DISCS"

Two youngsters twisted their way to a guest appearance on the TWW pop show "Discs A Go-Go" at Saturday's twist competition held at the Odeon Theatre, Bridgwater and organised by the manager Mr.John Tucker. The winners, Joyce Baker and Michael Wenmouth were among finalists who had been selected from six previous contests. They were chosen by a Bridgwater Mercury reporter, Michael Hughes who acted as judge. All the competitors were members of the Odeon Boys and Girls Club, which meets on Saturday mornings. Joyce and Michael will have tea with the compere of "Discs A Go-Go" Kent Walton and will be guests on the programme.

25th March 1963

NICK TROY & THE TROJANS

This wonderfully-named band were yet another from the Southampton area. They were formed by drummer Alan House with 4 of the 5 members having attended Hardly County Secondary School in Fawley. After originally being called both The Blueteens & The Phantoms, lead singer Graham Gay came up with their ludicrous alter ego and the name stuck. Looking at their short but interesting biography, they appear to have been a band who had a knack of employing people with the most unlikely names including a bass guitarist called Godfrey Lightning and a female vocalist called Esme Duval. Having played the local area as one of Len Canham's artists, they finished second on a local TV talent show called "Home Grown" in 1962, and during the following year hit the road, taking in Bridgwater en route.

By this time they were being backed by the glamorous “Twistettes”, a female vocal/dancing duo, one of which was Esme White. When the other Twistette eventually decided that life in the back of a Commer Van wasn’t quite what she expected, Esme changed her name and became the sole female vocalist. In 1964 the band finally turned professional and after the customary stint in Hamburg, they were offered a three-month contract playing American-forces bases in Frankfurt. They were a show band primarily, playing rock n’roll but also incorporating comedy and show tunes into their repertoire. Upon returning from Germany the band moved to London, Duval left to get married and the remaining band members made several attempts to find fame and fortune, recording a number of demo discs and completing an audition for EMI. But nothing came of it and the band eventually split up in 1968. The lure of rock n'roll is a strong one however, and the original five members of the band re-formed in 2004.

April's Poptastic Blake Hall line-up was as follows; 2nd Rodd Young & The Raiders - 9th Mike Slain & The Vikings - 16th Jimmy Treharne & The Pressmen - 23rd The Mustangs - 30th The Avengers with Clive Shane & Rix.

8th April 1963

JERRY WILLIAMS & THE VIOLENTS

("First Time In England - An Exciting, Sensational and Dynamic Pop Group From Sweden!")

Back in the pre-Abba days when Eurovision meant Elvis Presley singing in German it was somewhat rare to find a band treading the boards that were from any other European country apart from the UK but Williams & his rather punkish-sounding Violents were from the same land that spawned Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and .....that other bird. There are several references to this band on the internet but there does not appear to be a definitive history for a singer who has not only been performing for over 40 years but who appears to be regarded as a pioneer of Swedish popular music, influencing countless musicians along the way (That's Swedish musicians incidentally.) According to one less-than-informative biography, Williams was christened Erik Sven Fernström in 1942 in Solna, Stockholm and was born on his parents sofa - an insightful piece of information I'm sure you will agree. Williams started his career in 1957 and joined forces with the instrumental band The Violents sometime between 1960 & 1962 after the group had decided to augment their line-up with a vocalist. Sometimes known as "Mr.Dynamite" (a nickname stolen from James Brown) Williams outgrew his original employers as his star rose with the The Violents eventually becoming mere backing musicians to the enigmatic vocalist (it says here). "When Jerry Williams gets going you can compare it to a box of dynamite going off. He jumps, struts, twists and exhausts himself completely. His hair flies, sweat pours. Nobody can stand still when he goes for it. Mods and rockers, everybody likes Jerry" says Stora from Sweden. Thank you Stora! We do know that Williams & The Violents played The Star Club in Germany during the same period as the Fab Four and that Williams enjoyed 5 Top 10 hits in his native country during the 60's but had to wait until 1969 before obtaining his first No.1. He appears to have had an extensive discography and apart from being a "rock n'roller" had his own "Jerry Williams Talk Show" on Swedish TV in 1968. He also appeared in the films “G - som i gemenskap” and “Lilla Jönssonligan och Cornflakeskuppen” (What, an entire film about a breakfast cereal?). One Swedish fan sums up the singer by offering the following crucial information; " When the Beatles hit Sweden in 1964 he refused to compromise. I gave no hits but he still could make his living playing. In 1965 Bildjournalen, the teenage paper wrote an biography comparing him to other Swedish rock kings. They had all been forced to go back to their normal jobs." So that clears that up then. A trawl through a number of YouTube clips reveals a competent singer and band but with an unintentionally hilarious line in over the top terpsichory (see below).

JERRY WILLIAMS & THE VIOLENTS - Twistin Patricia (Hello, Goodbye) (1962)

JERRY WILLIAMS & THE VIOLENTS - Number One (1963)

22nd April 1963

GARY LANDIS & THE REBELS

Yet another selection of complete unknowns, the only clue as to their identity coming from the Bridgwater Mercury's ad which states that they were a "A Really Great Beat Group". That would be a really great beat group that no-one has heard of then. Perhaps you simply had to be there.

23rd April 1963

"THEY TWISTED TO SUCCESS"

When Bridgwater teenagers Joyce Baker & Michael Wenmouth entered a twist competition at the Bridgwater Odeon, they did not know that it would lead to a V.I.P. visit to a television studio. Joyce of 137 Rhode Lane and Michael of 4 Coronation Road, won the competition and as a special prize were invited to the TWW Television Centre, Bath Road, Bristol, to appear in a special recording of TWW's Top Ten programme "Discs A Go-Go" For hours they twisted and jived during the rehearsals under the blazing studio lights and then "got with it" as the programme was recorded. Viewers saw the youngsters on the screen on Easter Monday. Highlight of the visit came at the end of the programme when Joyce and Michael were introduced to the disc jockey and compere of the programme, Kent Walton. A breezy chat with Kent and smiles as they posed for pictures on the studio set brought a thrilling end to the day for them.

29th April 1963
The Dowland Bros with the Soundtracks

There does not appear to have been any "Jive Nights" at the Blake Hall from April onwards, either that or they simply stopped advertising them. However, there was a Grand "Modern Dance" at the Town Hall on the 13th April with - Direct from London - The Dan Reilly Five ("featuring the Swinging Electric Organ with singing star Rita Lee") Like, Dullsville.

6th May 1963
Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers

13th May 1963

JOHNNY MILTON & THE CONDORS
(From the film "Money Spins"*)

Milton and his band were from Essex and, like Jerry Williams' Violents to a certain extent, were another group hijacked by their lead vocalist. The Condors were drummer Clive Graham's band but as Milton had the best voice he became their front man. They recorded the terribly obscure "Charleston Cocktail" for the Oriole label as "The Johnny Milton Band" in 1961 but had to wait another three years before their next release. Manager Geoff Stephens was a successful song-writer having penned both The Applejacks "Tell Me When" and Dave Berry's "The Crying Game". It's a pity then that he couldn't find a hit for his own group as the sum total of their efforts were just 2 singles, "A Girl Named Sue" (Decca) and "Cry Baby" (Fontana) both in 1964, the latter of which may or may not have been a cover version of the excellent Garnet Mimms original. By 1965 the band had fractured with some of the musicians continuing under the name The Symbols.

* This film is so obscure that even the All Movie Guide has never heard of it.

JOHNNY MILTON & THE CONDORS - A Girl Named Sue (1964)

20th May 1963
Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs

27th May 1963
The Barron Knights

Top Twenty closed for the months June, July and August 1963.

The winds of change were blowing through British popular music. By the time the Top Twenty had reconvened from it's customary 3 month break, it was obvious that the music scene was no longer the sole property of Cliff Richard, Frank Ifield and Elvis Presley. Merseybeat had evolved from it's skiffle origins and "Beat Groups" began taking over the British singles charts. With the Brian Epstein NEMS empire growing almost daily, The Beatles were at the forefront of this revolution. "Please Please Me" hit the music charts in February and in April 1963 Gerry & The Pacemakers had taken "How Do You Do It" to No.1. With television programmes like "Thank Your Lucky Stars" showcasing new bands to millions of TV viewers on a weekly basis, suddenly the emphasis was on the UK and not what was happening across the Atlantic. At this point The Top Twenty was well established and had been turning over a fairly healthy profit. It might have made sense to have stuck to this winning formula but from September onwards there was a noticeable shift away from the plethora of pretend-Presley's that had graced the Town Hall stage previously. A few members of the old guard were retained but even though the Peter Jay's, Johnny Carr's and Bobby Angelo's of this world could still command regular spots, artists like Danny Davis and Barrie James were now old hat. The Top Twenty kept moving with the times and a selection of new bands offering an exciting and vibrant alternative began to appear.

2nd September 1963

SOUNDS INCORPORATED

From Dartford, Kent and formed in 1961, Sounds Incorporated were unlike a lot of the other instrumental bands that were doing the rounds back in those Hank B Marvin-influenced days as their line-up did not comprise the conventional guitar/bass/drums instrumentation but centred around three saxophonists (Alan "Boots" Holmes, "Major" Griff West and Barrie Cameron.) After building a solid reputation in the Woolwich area they got their big break in August 1961 when Gene Vincent's Blue Caps were prevented from entering the country due to union restrictions and Sounds Incorporated were used as his "scratch" band instead. This not only led to securing a contract with Parlophone Records but also gave them a reputation as a more than dependable backing band that resulted in them being used by a number of travelling American stars such as Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brenda Lee & Sam Cooke. However, despite their exemplary skills as musicians, the transition from concert stage to chart action proved difficult. Their one and only record for Parlophone - "Mogambo" - failed to make any waves and after moving to Decca, subsequent releases "Sounds Like Locomotion" (1962) "Stop" and "Order Of The Keys" (1963), also stubbornly refused to shift any significant units despite the latter being produced by Joe Meek, who was seemingly responsible for 98% of ALL early 60's British output. It wasn't until after their Town Hall appearance that things started to take off. A visit to Hamburg and The Star Club saw them rubbing shoulders with those lovable moptops and after being signed to the Epstein conglomerate they not only enjoyed a couple of minor hits on their third label Columbia but obtained a regular slot as Cilla Black's backing band. In 1964, their rousing (and pretty darn excellent) rendition of the "William Tell Overture" may have been ignored in the UK but went to No.1 in Australia but ultimately their biggest achievement was opening for The Beatles in front of approximately 55,000 fans at the infamous Shea Stadium concert on the 15th August 1965. Despite being seriously hampered by the lack of a vocalist within their ranks, during a period when bands of their ilk were no longer as prolific or as popular as they had been, they easily held the position as the top instrumental band in the UK during the "beat" years. They later changed their name to "Sounds Inc" and other claims to fame are that the aforementioned horn section made a guest appearance on Sgt.Pepper's "Good Morning Good Morning" whilst drummer Tony Newman later joined The Jeff Beck Group and subsequently played with David Bowie on "Diamond Dogs" in 1974.

SOUNDS INCORPORATED - Mogambo (1962)

SOUNDS INCORPORATED - Rinky Dink/William Tell Overture (1964)

The advertisement reveals that Sounds Incorporated were a last-minute replacement for another band that had unfortunately disbanded prior to their Top Twenty engagement. A shame, as the cancellation spared us the opportunity to see Freddie "He Ate My Hamster" Starr appearing with his band The Midnighters, just prior to his conversion to stand-up comedian and complete lunatic.

5th September 1963

The Beatles re-appear at The Gaumont Theatre, but this time as headliners just 6 and a half months after their previous engagement. Apart from the rumour that the band appeared at the Royal Clarence Hotel (see November 1963) their two stage performances in Taunton are the closest they got to appearing in this town. (Apart from a brief appearance in a Fish N'Chip Shop in Roman Road, Taunton on the 15th September 1967 when filming "Magical Mystery Tour")

A sign of the changing times..... Above the Beatle advert in the Mercury is another Gaumont billing, a F W Entertainments Ltd production of "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs" with 50's singer Ruby Murray in the lead role.

9th September 1963

THE FOURMOST

A further indication of Merseybeat's growing popularity and that Graham Alford had his finger firmly on the pulse. En route to conquering the world, Merseybeat hits Bridgwater!

The Fourmost were formed by Brian O'Hara and Billy Fury's pal Billy Hatton in 1958 first as "The Blue Jays" and then "The Four Jays" and were, of course, just a small part of the huge explosion of music that occurred on Merseyside during the early 60's.

The reason for this musical revolution is hard to pinpoint exactly but one initial and significant development was that skiffle went electric. Despite the record moguls in London declaring that, after Lonnie Donegan, vocalists were the future of popular music*, in a number of UK cities skiffle musicians continued to be influenced by the same musical styles that had captured their imagination in the first place - only this time they had replaced their tea-chest's and cardboard boxes with amplified instruments whilst maintaining that classic 4-piece "band" line-up. Geographically and culturally removed from "The Big Smoke", many cities began developing their own sound based on rhythm n'blues and rock n'roll though in Merseyside's case there were a number of other important factors that resulted in something quite unique. Firstly, Liverpudlians were fairly poor by comparison with a high unemployment rate which meant that many teenagers turned to music as a way of escaping the doldrums of every day life. By 1961 there were 350 groups working in the Merseyside area alone. Hardly surprising that under these circumstances, a Liverpool scene should emerge. Secondly it was a more cosmopolitan city than most with a mix of races and a healthy exchange of cultures, a situation that was accentuated by it's close proximity to the River Mersey. Finally, the fact that Liverpool was a sea port was of paramount importance as sailors passing back and forth on a regular basis from the USA introduced into this country a selection of vinyl records from across the Atlantic that were simply not available anywhere else in the UK. These records became the staple diet of scores of young scousers playing music in the city and explains Merseybeat's affinity with Black American soul and R&B. There may well be an element of truth to the suggestion that Liverpool simply happened to be in the right place at the right time, but it was certainly more complicated than that.

The Four Jays made their debut at The Cavern Club on March 1st 1961, 3 weeks before The Beatles and after a couple of personnel changes and a new name, The Four Most's joined the Brian Epstein revolution and almost instantly became one of a number of his bands that benefitted from sharing a management contract with The Fab Four. They were given a couple of Lennon & McCartney "cast-offs" for their first two single releases with their debut, "Hello Little Girl" supposedly written by John Lennon whilst sitting on the toilet. This song was part of The Beatles early repertoire and was also performed during their famously unsuccessful audition for Decca Records (see story below) Given initially to Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Fourmost's version (Epstein had shortened their name upon signing them to his roster) reached No.9 in the charts and is ultimately superior to the Fabs rather nervy and unpolished effort. The follow-up, Lennon's "I'm In Love" established the Fourmost still further but despite being a better tune than it's predecessor, only reached No.17 in December 1963. Further opportunities to record Lennon/McCartney material were denied and, hardly surprisingly, the hits dried up but not before they had reclaimed their Top 10 status with their third 45, "A Little Lovin'" in April 1964. They were a band who never strayed too far from the "pop" market and whose strength was their three-part harmony, but after achieving a 100% record of successive Top 20 hits The Fourmost could not maintain this winning run and soon became the victim of diminishing returns. 1964's "How Can I Tell Her" was a "nearly" hit as were two 1965 cover versions. The first was a pretty decent stab at The Four Tops "Baby I Need Your Loving" whilst the second was an unforgivably naff take on The Coasters "Girls Girls Girls" that included an excruciating Bugs Bunny vocal to accentuate the comedic aspect of the song. Despite the erratic nature of these releases, the singles at least suggested that the band's shelf life might be extended for at least a little while longer but they could not replicate their initial chart success and they never troubled the Top 40 again. 1965 saw them enjoy a brief appearance in the film "Ferry Cross The Mersey" plus the release of their one and only album, the fairly obviously yet cunningly titled "First And Fourmost". It featured a ragbag of cover versions and one or two further efforts at "tickling the funny bone" that, whilst pointing the way ahead to a career beyond beat music, failed miserably. 1966 saw the death of original member Mike Millward from luekaemia and when the release of another Beatle tune, McCartney's gorgeous "Here There & Everywhere", failed to make an impression, their days as a viable pop group were well & truly numbered. At this point in musical history the times were indeed a changin with many bands from the early 60's keen to re-invent themselves as faux flower children. But it rained heavily throughout The Fourmost's summer of love as they spent a small part of it attempting to put George Formby back in the charts by releasing his "Auntie Maggie's Remedy" as a single. Complete with spoons and toy whistles, it, unsurprisingly, failed to capture the spirit of the times and not long after their penultimate 45, 1968's "Rosetta" (which featured a certain Mr.McCartney on piano) the band, now called Format, ceased recording altogether and headed directly for the comparative comfort of the cabaret circuit.

"Hello Little Girl" was released in the very same month that the band appeared at The Town Hall. At this point it becomes apparent that the idea behind the Top Twenty's new policy of booking bands was to capture these artists as they were setting out on their debut tour of the UK and that certainly seems to be the case here.

*Dick Rowe, the A&R man at Decca Records, turned down The Beatles after their audition with the company. Rowe famously suggested to the group's manager : "Groups with guitars are on their way out Mr.Epstein. You really should stick to selling records in Liverpool"

THE FOURMOST - Hello Little Girl (1963)

THE FOURMOST - A Little Loving (live at the tailors) (1964)

16th September 1963
Colin & Bruce with The Detours
("with Fabulous New Drapes & Lighting Effects!")

23rd September 1963
Johnny Milton & The Condors

For the first time with this advert, The Top Twenty also announced forthcoming attractions, one of which was a return visit by The Barron Knights. The Knights DID return to The Town Hall but not until May 1964 which either suggests that bookings were being made well in advance or that this proposed concert never took place.

30th September 1963
The Fabulous Tuxedoes with Bobby Angelo & Susan Terry

21st October 1963

WAYNE FONTANA & THE MINDBENDERS

The Northern music scene in 1963 was in such rude health that Manchester boasted almost as many bands as their near-neighbours Liverpool. This sometimes made it hard to distinguish which of these two cities some groups actually came from. Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders were Mancunian and made their Town Hall debut during the year of the band’s birth. Glyn Geoffrey Ellis was an ex-apprentice telephone engineer who re-named himself after Elvis Presley’s drummer D J Fontana (and not the record label as has been suggested.) He formed The Jets, a semi-professional band that were a regular group on the local Manchester circuit between 1961/62. Legend has it that when, ironically enough, Fontana Records expressed an interest in signing The Jets an audition was arranged at the Oasis club in the city centre. Unfortunately, only Fontana and bassist Bob Lang turned up so two other local musicians who just happened to be drinking in the venue's coffee bar were press-ganged into making up the numbers. Of the two, 18 year-old guitarist Eric Stewart was already an old hand having played with both Gerry Lee & The Stagger Lees and another band called The Jets, this one fronted by the singer Johnny Peters. Stewart was still with Peters at the time but with Fontana (the label) offering Fontana (the singer) a contract despite an indifferent Oasis performance, Stewart quickly jumped ship whilst handing in his notice at the local drawing office. Renaming themselves after Dirk Bogart’s just released movie The Mindbenders, (a film about sensory deprivation experiments), the quartet's first release was a cover of Fats Domino’s “Hello Josephine” but it barely made the Top 50, peaking at number 46 in June 1963. Two further singles, "For You, For You" and a cover of The Diamonds "Little Darling'" were even less successful, but the label stuck with the band and after their version of Ben E. King's "Stop Look and Listen" made number 37 in May 1964, their breakthrough arrived in November of that year when Curtis Mayfield's "Um Um Um Um Um", originally recorded by the obscure American soul singer Major Lance, reached No.5. The band enjoyed an even bigger hit in February 1965 when Clint Ballard's "The Game of Love," reached No.2 in Britain and achieved the rare distinction of going to No.1 in the American Billboard Hot 100 but just as world domination beckoned, disaster struck. A tour of the States was planned to capitalise on their Billboard success but despite completing a promotional visit, the band were refused visas by officials concerned about the flood of British groups working in American venues whilst denying their USA counterparts the opportunity to play instead. Immigration officials demanded statements from both Billboard and Cashbox to prove that the band's Stateside success justified their presence on American soil. Somehow the band survived this fiasco, but their situation was not helped when they turned down Hank Ballard Jnr's "I'm Alive" as a follow-up to "Game Of Love" allowing The Hollies to take the song to the No.1 spot. The writing was on the wall - at least for The Mindbenders - as Wayne Fontana had long harboured ambitions to make it as a solo singer. The group continued to achieve chart success, albeit on a minor scale, but with Fontana’s management company also convinced that Wayne would be better served without his band, the decision was made for him to leave. Unfortunately, no-one told the group of these plans and in October 1965, Fontana walked off stage midway through a live show leaving Stewart and the boys to carry on without him. The group continued as a three-piece, which was apparently what the label and management company had been planning all along but the move was only marginally successful and was soured by band and singer continuously slagging each other off within the pages of the music press. Fontana's early solo singles continued with the soulful direction that had yielded positive results with Tbe Mindbenders. His debut, a version of Garnet Mimms "It Was Easier To Hurt Her" was surprisingly good whilst the equally worthy follow-up, Jackie Edwards "Come On Home" reached No.16. But Fontana's biggest hit was ironically written by future Mindbender Graham Gouldman, his somewhat syrupy “Pamela, Pamela” reaching No.11 in December of 1966. But his career struggled to maintain momentum and from 1967 onwards he was filed under "missing persons" chart-wise. The Mindbenders, now with Eric Stewart at the helm, initially threatened to upstage their ex-vocalist when their first release, the superior “Groovy Kind Of Love” reached No.2 in December 1965. But despite several more single releases, The Mindbenders eventually disbanded in 1969.

After the end of the swinging 60’s, the fortunes of the two main protagonists of this band could not have been any more different. Eric Stewart became an original member of 10cc during the early 70’s and co-wrote some of their biggest hits including "I'm Mandy Fly Me" and the No.1’s “I’m Not In Love” and “Dreadlock Holiday”. He also spent a period during the 1980’s as Paul McCartney’s co-songwriter. As for Fontana, like a lot of singers with the inability to maintain a steady level of artistic output, he was well on the way to cabaret and those endless "Sounds of The 60's" package tours. In fact the only headline that Fontana has achieved since 1966 was a particularly embarrassing one.

“In 2005, he fought off bankruptcy, but was arrested after police were called by bailiffs who went to his home in Glossop,Derbyshire. He poured petrol on to the bonnet of a car, and set it alight with a bailiff inside. Fontana was remanded in custody on 25th May 2007 in regard to the charge. He appeared at Derby Crown Court dressed as the lady of justice, with a sword, scales, crown, cape and dark glasses, claiming "justice is blind". On 10 November 2007, he was sentenced to 11 months for setting fire to the car but was released.

From The All Music Guide

From a Bridgwater perspective, the band continued to re-appear regularly at The Top Twenty regardless of their current status, one of the very few "chart" acts to do so. They made 5 appearances in total, 4 times with Wayne Fontana and once without him. After their initial performance they came back in June 1964 then made their 3rd appearance on the 2nd November 1964 just 2 months after the release of their first Top 5 hit. "The Game Of Love” was issued during the same month as their 4th appearance in January 1965 whilst The Mindbenders solitary gig without Wayne occurred just 2 months after the release of “Groovy Kind Of Love”.

Fontana also made a personal appearance at Taylor's Record shop on the day of this concert.

WAYNE FONTANA & THE MINDBENDERS - Hello Josephine (1963)

4th November 1963

TANIA DAY with The ROCKIN REBELS

Another Town Hall artist whose history remains a guarded secret amongst all and sundry apart from Ms Day and, one would imagine, various members of The Rockin Rebels. The Mercury billing stated, a little too excitedly, "Don't miss the blond bombshell!" Well at least we know the colour of her hair!

11th November 1963

JOHNNY BURNETTE

Apart from Jerry Williams (who doesn’t really count) Burnette is the only non-UK artist to have played The Top Twenty and is most certainly the only singer to have appeared under it's banner that hailed from the US of A. Probably most well-known for 2 sizable “teen” hits released in 1960, he was also a bona-fide rockabilly artist whose 25 recordings for the Coral label in 1956 with “The Rock N’Roll Trio” are revered amongst musicians and fans alike as some of the most compelling and powerful slabs of rock n’roll ever committed to vinyl . On a more sombre note, at the time of making his Top Twenty appearance he had less than one year to live.

Johnny was born in Memphis, Tennessee and along with brother Dorsey grew up in a public housing project in the Lauderdale Courts area, which, from 1948 until 1954, was also the home of Elvis Presley. As kids both he and Dorsey were keen amateur boxers and went on to become Golden Gloves Champions. After leaving high school, Johnny tried his hand at becoming a professional fighter, but after one bout in which his nose was broken he decided to quit. He and Dorsey worked on the barges that sailed down the Mississippi River, and with both showing a keen interest in music, they would work the barges during the day and play the local bars at night with a number of like-minded musicians that included another former Golden Gloves champion, guitarist Paul Burlison. In 1952, the Burnette brothers & Burlison formed a group called The Rhythm Rangers. Having already been turned down by Sam Phillips at Sun Records due to their musical similarities with Elvis, Scotty & Bill, in 1956 a Presley appearance on the "Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey TV show" convinced them to move to New York. The trio got an audition with the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour, an “Opportunity Knocks” type program which was broadcast on both radio and TV. They won the competition three times in a row, which gained them a place in the finals and a recording contract with Coral Records. It was at this point that they officially became known as "The Rock & Roll Trio." and it was during Burnette’s short stay with Coral that he cemented his reputation by recording the tracks that would prove to be his legacy. “There’ve been wilder, one-off examples of rockabilly but, viewed as a whole, the 25 Coral tracks remain unrivalled for unsubtle power and raw intensity” said one observer.

JOHNNY BURNETTE & THE ROCK N'ROLL TRIO - The Train Kept A Rollin' (1956)

Promotional appearances were arranged for Dick Clark's American Bandstand, Steve Allen's Tonight Show and Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, together with a summer tour with Carl Perkins and Gene Vincent. On Sept 9th 1956, they appeared as finalists in the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour at Madison Square Garden but were narrowly beaten for the coveted prize. Coincidentally on the same evening, Elvis made his debut Ed Sullivan appearance on CBS.

JOHNNY BURNETTE & THE ROCK N'ROLL TRIO - Hound Dog (live on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour) (1956)

Despite all of this frenetic activity, the three singles issued by the band on Coral failed to make the national charts. One of the reasons for this failure is that the music was far too raw for the general public to digest and consequently lacked commercial appeal. In fact prior to his chart success in 1960 with Liberty Records and despite regular appearances on TV, Burnette failed to have any significant hits during the late 1950's. After an argument over billing, brother Dorsey left the group and was replaced by Johnny Black, the brother of Elvis’ bassist Bill Black, but with the group still failing to hit the big time, the trio officially disbanded in Autumn 1957. Johnny decided to try his luck in California. He and a friend, Joe Campbell, hitched down to the West Coast and after meeting up with brother Dorsey, a brief but short-lived attempt at re-uniting the The Rock N'Roll Trio ended when Paul Burlison returned home to concentrate on his electrical business. The trip however was not entirely unsuccessful as The Burnettes' brashness got them their first major music business coup. On arriving in LA, Joe Campbell bought a copy of “A Map To The Stars”, a pamphlet which showed locations of the homes of the rich and famous. In an effort to peddle some songs to the teen idol Ricky Nelson, the boys sat on the steps of the star’s house until he turned up. Their persistence paid off as Ricky was sufficiently impressed with their material to record a number of their songs including "It’s Late", "Waitin’ In School" and "Just A Little Too Much" amongst others. Despite Johnny & Dorsey securing a record contract with Imperial on the strength of their Nelson connection, Johnny was unable to capitalise on their songwriting success and spent the next 2 years still searching for the big breakthrough. In 1958, Johnny released 3 singles as a solo artist with Freedom Records, which was an off-shoot of Liberty. In mid-1959, after Freedom was shut down, Johnny moved to the main label under the direction of producer Tommy "Snuff" Garrett. With the bigger company carrying more promotional clout than Freedom, Johnny’s singles were advertised and distributed to a wider audience and even though his first two releases only sold well regionally, his third single, "Dreamin’" (May 1960) reached No.11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No.5 in Britain. By comparison to the raw recordings from 1956, "Dreamin’" complete with orchestral backing, was firmly aimed at the teen market but it was his next record that made Burnette a star. "You're Sixteen", released in October 1960, reached No.8 on the Hot 100 and No.3 in Britain and earned him a gold record. After trying to capitalise on his success Burnette's career was curtailed when firstly a ruptured appendix and then exhaustion caused by attempting to return from the illness too soon meant a lack of promotion which consequently affected the chart positions of each subsequent Liberty release. After recovering, Johnny returned to the road with a triumphant tour of the American North, culminating in a season at the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre, after which he undertook a highly successful tour of Australia with Connie Francis. Further singles for Liberty were issued but only the firmly patriotic "God, Country and My Baby" charted, reaching #18 on the Hot 100 and this was to be Johnny Burnette’s last major hit. In 1962, Johnny toured Britain for the first time with Gary U.S.Bonds and Gene McDaniels, and appeared on the NME Poll Winners’ Concert and several TV programs. By the time he had reached Bridgwater, Burnette had left Liberty and continued to jump from label to label. He recorded for Chancellor Records, a company that had had success with teen idols like Fabian and Frankie Avalon, briefly joined forces with Dorsey on Reprise and then signed a one year contract with Capitol in the summer of 1963. "It Isn’t There" was issued on August 19th 1963 as his first single for the label. When his Capitol contract ran out, Johnny decided to take charge of his own affairs forming his own Sahara Records (later re-named Magic Lamp). But just 6 months after his Town Hall appearance tragedy struck. After dark on August 14th 1964, Johnny’s tiny unlit fishing boat was hit by an unaware cabin cruiser on Clearlake, California. The impact threw him off the boat and sadly, Johnny drowned.

JOHNNY BURNETTE - It Isn't There (1963)

THE FOUR SPECS

15th November 1963

A CRUSH ON THE BEATLES!

Rush hour traffic was delayed in the centre of Bridgwater on Friday evening (15th) when a rumour spread that The Beatles, a Merseyside act consisting of four young men*, were at The Royal Clarence Hotel. Hundreds of youngsters, the vast majority of them girls, rushed to the area and it took the police, led by an inspector, three hours to get the streets and pavements completely clear. One harrassed constable told a group of Bridgwater Grammar School girls, who were screaming up at one of the hotel windows, "There are no Beatles here and there are not going to be any" (* Talk about understatement!!!!)

25th November 1963

THE LONELY ONES with Gene Anthony & Johnny Keepings

This band heralded the return of the Southampton "Avenue Artists" set-up that had served The Top Twenty so well previously. Info regarding "The Lonely Ones" is scarce and is currently limited to the band's line-up which consisted of Keeping & Anthony on vocals, Jim Sachs (bass) Tony Goode (guitar) Joey Bromley (bass) and Chris Warman (drums) It would appear that there were two distinct sides to the group's repertoire with Anthony responsible for the ballads whilst Keeping was reserved for the "heavier stuff". It is hardly surprising therefore that the band eventually split down the middle with Keeping, Sachs & Good fronting "The Soul Agents", a group whose name not only betrayed their musical leanings but who also backed Rod Stewart at some point during their career.

2nd December 1963

SHANE FENTON & THE FENTONES

If Johnny Burnette's career ended in tragedy (see above) then Shane Fenton & The Fentones were a band born out of it. From Mansfield, Johnny Theakstone & The Tremoloes were formed in 1961, and after sending an audition tape to the BBC's Saturday Club, lead singer Theakstone decided on a spot of re-invention. Depending on which story you believe, Theakstone chose "Shane" from the film of the same name or from Albert Shane who had recently co-written a Gene Vincent single, and "Fenton" from either a Mansfield garage or a local printing firm. The newly named band duly posted their tape to the Beeb and anxiously waited for a reply. Sadly within days of receiving the corporation's thumb's up, Theakstone was taken ill and tragically died as a consequence of the rheumatic fever that he had suffered as a kid. Unsurprisingly, the band decided to break up, but Theakstone's mother asked them to continue in memory of her deceased son. Bernard Jewry was originally from Muswell Hill but had moved to Mansfield at the age of two, appearing in panto when he was just 4 years old. At the tender age of 17, Jewry took part in an amateur showcase held at the Mansfield Palais and it was during this performance that he befriended Theakstone, eventually taking on the "lucrative" job of becoming the Fentones roadie. Jewry ocassionally sang with the band on an ad hoc basis, consequently after Theakstone's untimely death he was given the unenviable task of stepping into the singer's shoes by becoming the "new" Shane Fenton. The band breezed through the BBC's audition and under the management of Tommy Sanderson had, within a matter of months, secured a Parlophone recording contract with George Martin as their producer. After the first choice for their debut single, the novelty song "Five Feet Two, Eyes Of Blue" was jettisoned in favour of a Jerry Lordan composition, the rather jaunty "I'm A Moody Guy" reached No.21 in September 1961. There seems little doubt that Shane & The Fentones were Cliff Richard & The Shadows clones with Jewry's high-pitched voice occupying similar territory to Cliff Richard's wispy vocal style but in early 1962 the band joined forces with Billy Fury and The Tornadoes on a Larry Parnes package tour but subsequent single releases, including an instrumental by The Fentones, only reached the lower regions of the singles chart. Included amongst these was Fenton's 3rd single release, "It's All Over Now", a song originating from 1920 which reached the heady heights of No.29, but hiding away on it's B-side was an absolute gem, the self-penned "Rave On" inspired "Why Little Girl" which, had it been promoted as the new single, could have provided the band with their big breakthrough. June 1962 finally saw a return to the Top 20 with a cover of "Cindy's Birthday", originally recorded by American TV teen star Johnny Crawford but it was to be the band's last hit and despite appearing in the Billy Fury showcase movie "Play It Cool" by early 1963 Fenton was being touted as a solo artist. The Fentones continued to back Shane on the road, but had been dispensed with as a recording band which at this point boasted the talents of future Hollies drummer Bobby Elliott. It was during this same year that Fenton chose to remain loyal to manager Sanderson by turning down the opportunity to sign for Brian Epstein which in turn lost him the chance to record Lennon/McCartney's "Do You Want To Know A Secret?" subsequently given to Billy J Kramer. Apart from showing a lack of good judgement, their reluctance to update their sound proved costly. The Fentones parted company with Shane altogether in 1964 and apart from a brief spell as a duo with his later wife Iris Caldwell (who was incidentally Rory Storm's sister), Jewry joined forces with ex-boss Sanderson and briefly enjoyed some success as a manager with both The Hollies & Lulu amongst his clientele. But Jewry's story doesn't end there. After doing the cabaret circuit to death for several years, in the early 70's he joined forces with writer/producer Peter Shelley and re-invented himself as the black-leather-glove-wearing glam rock star Alvin "My Coo-Ca-Choo" Stardust. Alvin's new image was not exactly original, being a well-worn mixture of both 50's rocker Gene Vincent and 60's vocalist Dave Berry with added fairy dust, but it worked and after several years in the wilderness it re-established Jewry as a bona-fide pop star once again with alter-ego Stardust chalking up no less than 7 Top 10 hits between 1973 and 1984. "He comes on lean and glistening, wrapped in a tight skin of reptilian black leather. He is a great panther pacing the stage with graceful majesty..." Disc Magazine 1974. That's quite enough of that thank you!

SHANE FENTON - A Fool's Paradise (1963)

16th December 1963

THE SWINGING BLUE JEANS

If the Fourmost were part of the 2nd wave of Merseybeat artists to have obtained success in the UK, then The Swinging Blue Jeans were at the point of it's creation having been formed out of two skiffle groups that finished first and second respectively in a talent contest held at the Liverpool Empire in May 1958. Originally called The Bluegenes, they held residencies at a number of Liverpool venues including The Cavern Club and were top of the bill when The Beatles made their debut there on the 21st February 1961 as part of the group's "Tuesday Guest Night" slot. The band were a regular attraction in the Liverpool area but initially appear to have been out on a limb musically in comparison to most of the other Merseyside bands that were peddling their wares during the early 60's. Suggestions were that their sound was vaguely "jazzy" during their formative years, but despite being at the vanguard of MerseyBeat they were not fan favourites, probably becuase they didn't sound like anybody else. The Cavern's compere Bob Wooler suggested as such whilst writing for "Mersey Beat" magazine in October 1961. Wooler offered a list of what he considered to be the 10 most popular bands in Liverpool at the time but the line-up did not include The Bluegenes with Wooler suggesting that "They are beyond comparison. They are in a class of their own" Whilst this may well have been the case, this did not neccesarily help the band's popularity as in January 1962, when the results of the first Mersey Beat poll appeared, the band were not even included in the Top 20. They added their "Swinging" appendage in 1963, and quite possibly along with the name change, became an archetypal beat group in the process. Despite the suggestion that they secured a recording contract largely on account of their geographical status, their debut single "It's Too Late Now" made it into the Top 30 but the 2nd release, the nondescript "Do You Know" didn't chart at all. Luckily fate dealt the group a couple of more than decent breaks. Firstly Lybro jeans decided to sponsor the groups own weekly "Swingtime" radio show which briefly held a 13-week residency on Radio Luxembourg and secondly a cameo appearance in the Christmas Day 1963 edition of "Z Cars" performing "Hippy Hippy Shake" heightened their national exposure and as a consequence, the single, a cover of an obscure '50s rocker by Chan Romero, reached No.2 in January 1964. This song was part of The Beatles repertoire during the early 60's and the story goes that The Blue Jeans first heard it performed by The Fab Four during one of their guest appearances at The Cavern and duly nicked it, recording their own version just one week later.* For their second 45, the band effectively repeated the winning formula of their previous release by producing a fine version of Little Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly" which reached No.11 just 2 months after their debut but their finest hour was undoubtedly their cover of Betty Everett's "You're No Good," which they took to No.3 in July 1964 and which remains arguably one of the finest examples of Merseybeat ever committed to vinyl. But after this success The Blue Jeans struggled to maintain their status. a situation not helped by the fact that they apparently once turned down an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in order to honour a prior engagement in Sweden. The mediocre material they recorded throughout the mid-60's did not help matters, consequently when founder member Ralph Ellis left in 1965 they very quickly found themselves out in the cold. Ellis was replaced by ex-Escorts vocalist Terry Sylvester and 1966's half decent cover of Bacharach/David's "Don't Make Me Over" succeeded in achieving a No.31 chart placing despite receiving a scathing review in the music press by no less an individual than Paul Jones of Manfred Mann. But by the following year, their swing had very much been swung and attempts to address their decline resulted in changing their name to Music Motor for a brief period, whilst further releases during both 1967 & 1968 appeared under both The Bluejeans and Ray Ennis & The Bluejeans. All to no avail. Sylvester chose the inevitable escape route by replacing Graham Nash in The Hollies and the band finally folded. There have been several attempts at comebacks however - single releases for the Dart label in 1973 and the EMI & Rio labels in 1989 (which included a re-make of their first single). Consequently the band, under the careful guidance of Ray Ennis, are still out there, still swinging, forever blue jeaned.

THE SWINGING BLUE JEANS - Hippy Hippy Shake (1963)

*It has also been suggested that actress Sue Johnston, of "Brookside" and "Royle Family" fame had to buy the original version of "Hippy Hippy Shake" in Brian Epstein's NEMS record store so that lead singer Ray Ennis could learn the lyrics!

23rd December 1963
Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs
("Christmas Twistacular!" - "Balloon contests & "Take Your Pick" parcels")

30th December 1963
Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers

The Artists 1964

6th January 1964

CARTER-LEWIS & THE SOUTHERNERS

By 1964, most of our major UK cities had developed a healthy local music scene and with the British Beat movement now in overdrive, many bands and artists that had only previously achieved local success were being plundered by the music moguls as record companies went searching for “the next big thing” (One exception to this rule was Bristol, a city that supplied very few chart acts during the 60's) Whilst Liverpool & Manchester had dominated 1963, during the following year, Birmingham supplied a healthy selection of artists for The Town Hall*. The first exponents of "Brum Beat" to play Bridgwater were Carter-Lewis & The Southerners, a group whose individual members became far more well-known after the group's demise whilst still remaining largely anonymous. John Carter (real name John Shakespeare) & Ken Lewis (James Hawker) were songwriters primarily having first met in school, forming a skiffle band mysteriously called LVI in the late 1950's. They wrote and performed extensively for the BBC programs "Easy Beat" and "Saturday Club" and also recorded covers of the latest chart hits with jazz musicians such as Marion Montgomery & Marion Ryan. Sometime during 1960, Carter & Lewis had spent an entire day peddling 6 songs that they had written to a variety of London publishers based in Denmark Street. Only Noel Gay Music offered the duo a contract and with Terry Kennedy signing up as their manager, it was the latter that suggested that forming a band would be the best way to get their songs heard and the group started recording with Joe Meek as early as 1961. Early material revealed a strong Buddy Holly influence and they scored a No.18 hit for Mike Sarne called “Will I What”, a follow-up to the hugely successful "Come Outside". Ironically, despite their songwriting background, very few of their singles featured their own compositions, none of which achieved any great success though "Your Momma's Out Of Town" (mentioned in the Top Twenty's advert) did reach No.22 in 1963. Described as a band that operated within “the wimpish end of the market” their 3-part harmonies became a trademark of sorts particularly when Carter, Lewis & fellow band-member Perry Ford (Bryan Pugh) formed The Ivy League late 1964, achieving Top 10 success in 1965 with both “Funny How Love Can Be” and ”Tossin And Turnin”. Perhaps the most significant (and certainly less wimpish) member of The Southerners was Jimmy Page – a red hot guitar gunslinger who achieved a reputation pre-Led Zeppelin as an in-demand session musician. In fact Page played on so many records during the early 60’s that it’s surprising to find him holding down a regular spot with any group from this period. Page certainly helped to beef up The Southerners insipidness, but despite appearing on a couple of singles in 1963 and, most notably, on a fine version of "Skinnie Minnie" in 1964, his tenure as a band member was so brief that I thought it unlikely that he could have played our home town. However, it has been suggested that Page's career with the Carter-Lewis conglomerate spanned a period that was just long enough for him to have played Bridgwater before promptly leaving the group directly afterwards though one would like to think that the two incidents are not related. As for the main protagonists, Carter and Lewis went on to forge successful careers as writers of commercials and jingles whilst also developing a solid reputation as backing vocalists. They provided harmonies on a number of major hit singles including "There's Always Something There To Remind Me" by Sandie Shaw, "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones, "Out Of Time" by Chris Farlowe and "Hi Ho Silver Lining" by Jeff Beck, as well as a number of the Who's early recordings including “I Can’t Explain”. Post Ivy League, they reached No.4 in 1967 as leaders of the Flowerpot Men with their borderline hippie satire "Let's Go To San Francisco" whilst Carter sang lead vocal on "Winchester Cathedral", by The New Vaudeville Band in 1966, a Top 10 UK hit and a No.1 in the US of A. Carter later became a member of the band First Class, whose 1974 summer hit "Beach Baby" was written by the duo.

*'Liverpool started the ball rolling. Now the Midlands is ready to take over. We have the groups. Let's hope they have the luck the Merseysiders have enjoyed.' Midland Beat monthly magazine.

CARTER-LEWIS & THE SOUTHERNERS - Somebody Told My Girl (1963) ("B"-side of "Your Momma's Out Of Town" recorded October 63 with Jimmy Page)

13th January 1964

THE ROCKIN BERRIES

The Rockin' Berries were not only the second Brumbeat group to play The Town Hall but they were also the second to have a hit record (The Applejacks "Tell Me When" was the first.) Another band with "wimpish" overtones, their history is a little convoluted but guitarist Brian "Chuck" Botfield appears to be the main constant for a group who have had more than their fair share of personnel changes. Botfield and future Berrie Geoff Turton both attended Turves Green School and upon leaving, Botfield formed a skiffle group called “The Bobcats”, a band that at one point included a young female piano player called Christine Perfect, who for the uninitiated became Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac. Botfield re-named the band "The Rockin' Berries" and after they had split he was invited to play guitar for a combo that included another future Berrie, drummer Terry Bond. Botfield agreed to join on the proviso that the new group adopt the name of his previous employers and The Rockin' Berries Mk II were born. They gained a good reputation locally and enjoyed the novelty of having two vocalists, one of which, Jimmy Powell, was regarded as one of the best singers in the West Midlands. In November 1961, the band were boosted by the double filip of obtaining a Decca Records audition with promoter Jack Good whilst also securing some dates in Germany, but unfortunately the group failed to obtain the record deal despite vocalist Powell impressing. The Berries returned to Deutschland for a second stint, but when the band were offered an extension to their original European contract, several members expressed dissatisfaction over remaining abroad and the band promptly split down the middle with Jimmy Powell taking up Jack Good's original contract offer and becoming the first "Brumbeat" recording star in the process. Powell was replaced by Botfield’s old school cohort Geoff Turton to complete the Germany engagement, a singer that possessed a Frankie Valli-inspired falsetto that was used by the group to great effect and after returning to the UK they were contacted by the same label that had previously turned them down and became Decca recording artistes. They released two singles, the second of which, "Itty Bitty Pieces" got them a TV appearance on Ready Steady Go! but neither Decca 45 made any headway and after just one year they were dropped by the label. Signed to the Pye subsidiary Piccadilly by talent scout and new manager John Schroeder, their first release for their new employers, the rather fey "I Didn't Mean To Hurt You" was a minor hit and featured the band copying The Shirelles original female vocal delivery note for note. During a performance at London's famous Marquee Club they were spotted by American record producer Kim Fowley, who suggested that they record a version of a song written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King called "He's In Town", originally issued by the American vocal group The Tokens. Released as a single in October 1964, the song went to No.3 in the charts. After the record company had turned down Carter & Lewis' "Funny How Love Can Be" as the follow-up (see above), the next Rockin' Berries single was less successful but "Poor Man's Son", originally recorded by American vocal group The Reflections returned the band to the Top 10 in May 1965. Chart success was at a minimum however and the band slowly drifted into Barron Knights territory, developing a live routine that placed heavier emphasis on vocalist Clive Lea's impersonations of Norman Wisdom and George Formby. On their 2nd album, a brief glimpse of their immediate future appeared with a cover version of "The Laughing Policeman" and from that point onwards they were doomed as a beat group. Their hugely successful cabaret show however earned them a spot at the 1967 Royal Variety Performance and in later years Clive Lea joined local comedy group The Black Abbotts as a replacement for Russ "I Love A Party With A Happy Atmosphere" Abbott. Geoff Turton meanwhile embarked on a solo career in 1968 under the pseudonym "Jefferson" and enjoyed a No.22 hit with Barrie Ryan's "The Colour Of My Love"

THE ROCKIN BERRIES - Itty Bitty Pieces (1963)

20th January 1964

THE GAMBLERS

The early 60's were littered with the discarded backing bands of late 50's rockers like Marty Wilde and Adam Faith. The Gamblers were primarily Billy Fury’s combo though according to Fury's web-site, they did not achieve that distinction until January 1964, the very month that they played the Top Twenty. Originally formed in Newcastle-on-Tyne in the early '60s, they were a flexible group with the ability to adapt to different styles of music and Fury, who had previously been backed by both The Blue Flames & The Tornadoes snapped them up when the latter band's defection created a vacancy. The group appeared in Fury's 1964 autobiographical film "I've Gotta Horse" and due to their connection with the Liverpudlian they were placed 9th in the world male vocal group section of the Record Mirror readers' poll in 1964, ahead of Gerry & The Pacemakers. After Billy had moved on elsewhere they secured a residency at Newcastle's Majestic Ballroom and were briefly employed by Fury's record label Decca and periodically were allowed to release their own singles. Their version of Smokey Robinson’s seminal "You Really Got A Hold On Me" appeared before hooking up with Mr.Wycherley, whilst 1964's "It's So Nice" reached the lower regions of the Top 30 and "Now I'm All Alone" in 1965 was a modest seller. A cover of the Supremes theme tune for the USA teen-exploitation film "Doctor Goldfoot (And His Bikini Machine") is probably best forgotten. Unfortunately, but hardly surprisingly, nothing that they produced made much impact and after four attempts with Decca over a period of as many years they jumped to Parlophone in 1967, finally ending their career with a cover of the Julie London hit "Cry Me A River".

THE GAMBLERS - You Really Got A Hold On Me (1963)

3rd February 1964
Colin & Bruce with The Detours

10th February 1964
The Dowland Bros with The Soundtracks

THE DOWLAND BROS with The Soundtracks - All My Loving (1963)

THE OVERLANDERS

The Overlanders are best remembered for their chart-topping version of Paul McCartney’s “Michelle” in November 1965 and consequently have been saddled with the epithet “one-hit wonders”. Due to “Michelle’s” success they are also frequently referred to as a “covers” band but the All Music Guide suggests that they were more than that, whilst providing a strong argument for their re-discovery. Paul Arnold, originally from Bretford near Rugby, was invited to London after submitting a demo tape of his songs to Harry Hammond, an ex New Musical Express photographer who had branched out into group management. Whilst there Arnold was introduced to a duo called “Peter & Laurie” – namely fellow vocalists Peter Bartholomew and Lori Mason and The Overlanders were born. They started out as part of the early-'60s British folk boom, and were influenced by American artists like The Kingston Trio, whose repertoire formed a part of their own alongside the compositions of Woody Guthrie and some original material. But the emergence of The Beatles in 1963 changed the laws of British music and The Overlanders adapted their style, incorporating beat group harmonies and arrangements to fit around their folky leanings. Signed to Pye Records in 1963, they became comparable to The Searchers, with whom (not coincidentally) they shared the same producer, Tony Hatch. They debuted with "Summer Skies and Golden Sands" in July 63, which didn’t sell but which the AMG suggests was “a step toward the development of folk-rock in the U.K.” Three months later the beat-oriented "Movin'" was issued but it was their third single, and their first cover version that gave them a minor hit. Chad & Jeremy’s "Yesterday's Gone”, reached No.75 in the Billboard Hot 100, appearing at just the right moment when all things British got airplay in the United States. That was to be the group's sole success in America, and their last chart action anywhere for more than a year. The Overlanders released six more singles, but despite positive critical acclaim they could not achieve the sales to match. In 1965, the band expanded to a 5-piece which consequently toughened up their sound, adding Terry Widlake on bass and David Walsh on drums. It was this line–up that recorded “Michelle”, one of several “Rubber Soul” tracks that The Beatles felt were not worthy of single release but which were hungrily set upon by a variety of artists looking to feed off the Fab Four’s scraps. The Overlanders pleasant but slightly lightweight version of Macca's ballad rode the top spot for three weeks but the band were unable to follow up with another British hit and Paul Arnold eventually left the group to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by Ian Griffiths on vocals and guitar, but the Overlanders' fate was sealed with the advent of the Summer of Love, their music increasingly regarded by many as outdated. By October 1967 they were no more.

THE OVERLANDERS - Yesterday's Gone (1964)

17th February 1964

THE REBOUNDS with VERN ROGERS

Billed by the Mercury's advert as "The group that backed Johnny Burnette"*, there's not a lot to be found on the mysterious Vern apart from the fact that he was once backed by a band called The Hi-Fi's and had a single released by Oriole Records called "Be Everything To Anyone You Love". There is one other piece of info available however and it comes from, of all places, a David Bowie web-site. It's an account of a pop concert that was held in 1963 in the sleepy town of Wickham, Hampshire called, with startling originality "Wickham Goes Pop". The Bowie connection is that his fledgling group The Konrads also appeared at this mini festival along with many other glorious unknowns and of course Rogers and The Rebounds. The review concludes "The Rebounds immediately impressed the audience with their obvious professionalism. Surrounded by a forest of electronic equipment, the Rebounds were undoubtedly the highlight of the show. Their vocal numbers were tremendous, and the addition of an electronic organ to the group produced interesting effects. Vern Rogers, on the other hand, was disappointing. A "shouter" of the old "rock" school, he was unpopular with teenagers at the show." Like, get with it man!

* The band that appeared with Burnette in 1963 were called "The Four Specs" though this could well have been Vern & the boys under another name.

24th February 1964

CHRIS SANDFORD & HIS GROUP

Soaps have got a lot to answer for. Ever since the depressing popularity of programmes like "Eastenders" and "Neighbours", we have been introduced regularly to an annoying selection of thespians who hold the somewhat dubious distinction of being able to sing AND act, though in many cases it's worthwhile to use both descriptions very lightly. However, back in these pre-Anita Dobson days Chris Sandford may well have been the very first soap star to hold down two careers simultaneously. Born in London in 1939 he was originally employed by Radio Caroline in their sales department. Apparently, like a lot of the early "wunnerful" radio-type employees, Sandford came from a theatrical background and first achieved notoriety as "The Singing Milkman" Walter Potts in television's "Coronation Street". The synopsis of Walter's story is that part-time singer became pop star and in a perfect example of fiction becoming fact, the song featured in the programme, "Not Too Little, Not Too Much" became a Top 20 hit for Sandford in 1963 though upon listening to the song in question, one observation is that maybe Walter should have stuck to selling gold top. In order to prove that he was indeed a pop singer, Sandford released a number of other singles including "You're Gonna Be My Girl" with The Coronets, a band that featured Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell. Sandford was eventually promoted within the Radio Caroline hierarchy and DJ'd for Caroline North, but only for a period of about six weeks in 1964 or 1965. Chris continued to make records, including a Bob Dylan spoof called "I Wish They Wouldn't Always Say I Sound Like The Guy From The USA Blues" but largely concentrated on his acting and voice-over career. Apart from appearing sporadically in series like "Dad's Army", "Danger Man" and "The Liver Birds" he also lent his considerable acting skills to that cinematic masterpiece "Up The Chastity Belt" in 1971. In recent years, Sandford has made a name for himself as a fishing expert, hosting "Just Fishin’ . . . with Chris Sandford" on the Discovery Channel and writing a regular column for Angling Times.

As we have already seen throughout The Top Twenty's history, artists have occasionally made "in-store appearances" at our local record shops with Taylor's the chief exponent of presenting these stars to their adoring public. Of all the people that have graced Bridgwater's Town Centre, Sandford was apparently the most popular. Stan Barnett, Taylor's Record Manager at the time said that "Eastover was packed" for The Coronation Street star's visit, so much so that windows were broken and Sandford thought about escaping out the back to avoid the crush. Ah, the power of Television!

CHRIS SANDFORD - Not Too Little, Not Too Much (1963)

3rd March 1964

THE RAMBLERS

Originally from Ilford in Essex, The Ramblers were another band "attached" to producer Joe Meek. They had auditioned initially as a vocal band but Meek was more taken by their instrumental abilities. Their one and only single "Dodge City", had been written by Geoff Goddard and had originally been recorded under the title "Outcast" by fellow Meek artists The Flee-Rekkers in 1962. Featuring the songwriter on keyboards, it was released by The Ramblers on Decca in November 1963 and featured a typical "kitchen sink" Meek production. By late 1963 however, Meek's work was already sounding out-dated and hardly surprisingly, the single failed to make an impression. They continued to work with the producer and recorded a handful of vocal tracks at Meek's 304 Holloway Road, Islington studio, but none were issued. Prior to signing to Meek the band had toured extensively in Denmark, Sweden and Germany and during a visit to the latter, had been filmed during an appearance at The Star Club in Hamburg. In later years they also appeared in a TV commercial for Burns guitars, and prior to disappearing for ever, cut a couple of vocal tracks for the South London-based Oak record label.

THE RAMBLERS - Dodge City (1963)

13th March 1964

CALLING ALL CATS!
Twist and Shake at the BLACK CAT STOMP featuring "The Rapids" All-Star Group.

Held at the Bridgwater & Albion Rugby Clubhouse.

17th March 1964

MARTY WILDE & THE WILDCATS

A rather belated appearance at The Top Twenty for one of the brightest stars of late 1950’s UK pop. He was born Reginald Leonard Smith in Blackheath on April 15, 1939, and grew up in Greenwich, Southeast London. The son of a professional soldier, he lived in various parts of England throughout his childhood but spent his mid-teen years in the capital city, just as Lonnie Donegan was kick-starting the skiffle boom. By 1957, the 17-year-old Smith was, like 100’s of other teenagers, planning to be discovered by playing the city’s coffee bars and clubs and it was a performance at one of the latter, the Condor in Soho, that he was discovered by Lionel Bart who recommended the youngster to Larry Parnes. Playing under the distinctly un-rock n’roll name of Reg Patterson, for just £1.00 a night (plus a meal), Parnes was suitably impressed and Reg Smith was instantly renamed Marty Wilde. Wilde proved so popular on the subsequent package tour that Parnes had arranged for him that the next step of getting him on to television, and signing him to a recording contract with Philips was a relatively simple task. His first single, "Honeycomb," failed to chart, and it wasn't until the release of a fine cover version of the doom-laden Jody Reynolds hit "Endless Sleep" in the summer of 1958 that he saw any success with the record reaching the U.K. Top 5. Wilde became a permanent fixture on the television programs “6:5 Special” “Oh Boy!” and “Boy Meets Girl”, and was a major rival to Cliff Richard from mid-1958 until the opening months of 1960. According to the All Music Guide “Both were powerful singers, but Wilde had a different kind of voice and presence, with a dark, brooding quality that came out in his rock & roll ballads" Wilde did not trouble the charts for the remainder of 1958, but the following year he hit a winning streak with three consecutive Top 3 singles. Cover versions of Richie Valens "Donna" (No.3), Dion’s "A Teenager in Love" (No.2) and Phil Phillips "Sea of Love” (No.3) were followed at the end of the year with another Top 10 success, "Bad Boy," which he wrote himself. This dark, threatening ballad was big enough to reach the lower regions of the American charts.

MARTY WILDE - Bad Boy (1959)

Since 1958, Marty had been backed by The Wild Cats, a raucous combo that had very quickly gained a healthy reputation that was significant enough for them to back both Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent when the two US rock n’rollers played Britain. Noted for their wild, over-the-top stage antics, their original line-up included top session man Big Jim Sullivan on lead guitar, though the best Wild Cat line-up contained the future Shadows rhythm section of Brian Locking and Brian Bennett on bass and drums respectively. In 1959, Wilde married Joyce Barker, a member of the singing group the Vernons Girls— they had their first child Kim a year later. By the end of 1960, however, Wilde was struggling to maintain his career with the baton having already been passed to Billy Fury and in particular Cliff Richard, who, as Wilde's main rival, took Marty's mantle as the UK's premier teen idol. Wilde decided on a change of image and in 1960 announced that he would be specializing in Frank Sinatra-style ballads. He hosted the TV program "Boy Meets Girl" for a number of months and also appeared in the West End production of "Bye Bye Birdie". Manager Parnes however, wanted Marty to take the "all round entertainer" image one step further by suggesting that Wilde take up acting but the singer was reluctant. On record meanwhile, he was never able to replicate his previous success though he did reach the Top Ten once more, in 1961, with a cover of Bobby Vee’s "Rubber Ball". Despite dwindling record sales, he maintained a top-flight band in later years with members including a youthful guitarist named Justin Hayward, later of the Moody Blues but by 1963, when the Liverpool sound came along, he was effectively regarded as part of music's past. His subsequent recordings were all-but-invisible, although he enjoyed continued success as a composer in the mid-60’s with "Ice In The Sun" by Status Quo, "Jesamine" by the Casuals, and Lulu's "I'm a Tiger" all notable hits as a songwriter. Working under the pseudonym "Shannon" he obtained a minor hit in 1969 with a little ditty called "Abergavenny" though a Alvin Stardust-type attempt at jumping onto the glam rock bandwagon as "Zappo" proved less successful. Whilst daughter Kim emerged in the early 1980s as a pop star vocalist in her own right, her old man has never entirely given up performing and can still be found travelling the length and breadth of the UK with the latest version of The “Wild Cats” despite approaching his 70th year.

MARTY WILDE & THE WILDCATS - Lonely Avenue (1963)

The advertisement for this concert intriguingly includes the following message: "YOUNG MEN WITH UNTIDY HAIR AND LONG COATS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE DANCES. TIDY SWEATERS AND JEANS ARE ALLOWED" Sounds like a bit of Ethnic Teddy-Boy cleansing to me.

24th March 1964

EDDIE LANGDON & THE CRACKSMEN with "French Film Star" BRIGITTE BOND

Langdon was billed as the "new singing star from London's 2 I's Coffee Bar" on the advertisement, but by 1964 it's hard to imagine that this once vital part of the London music scene was still influential enough to be shaping the careers of the new generation of pop singers. The band were certainly doing the rounds at about this time as they appear along with the delightful Brigitte Bond on a web-site highlighting gigs that were played at a venue called The California Ballroom in Dunstable. But apart from that......nothing. As for "French Film Star" Bond, once again the All Movie Guide, usually a dependable source, either knows nothing or is not saying. However.....there was an obscure and, it has to be said, fairly excruciating single by Brigitte released in the same year as her Town Hall appearance. "Oh Yeah Baby" coupled with "Blue Beat Baby" featured her backing band The Blue Beats and appeared on The Blue Beat label. Blue Beat, in case you did not know, was the British term for the Jamaican style of music known as ska, and if the message wasn't already obvious enough this single was a blatant attempt to cash in on what was, at the time, a fairly new musical phenomena. So, a French female ska-singing movie star. Well, perhaps not as one play of this awful record not only calls into question whether Brigitte was actually French, but also proves quite conclusively that she couldn't sing.

BRIGITTE BOND & THE BLUE BEATS - Oh Yeah Baby (1964)

6th April 1964

PAT WAYNE & THE BEACHCOMBERS

Another Birmingham band, Pat Wayne & The Beachcombers were very much a bunch of local boys who unfortunately didn’t make good. Along with Keith Powell's Valets and Mike Sheridan's Nightriders, The Beachcombers were amongst the city's top live acts in the early 60’s but they were unable to substitute their live reputation for vinyl success. Patrick Curley was from Ladywood, Birmingham and worked as a waiter at the Grand Hotel in Colmore Row. Upon forming a skiffle group called The Deltas in 1957, he changed his name to Pat Wayne. The Deltas gained a solid local following both for their musical chops and for their taste in clothing, the band resplendant in matching bright red suits. They won a BBC Six-Five Special talent contest held for local bands at the Gaumont cinema but despite a brief appearance by Denny Laine as bass guitarist, Wayne soon lost interest and bailed out to front another combo called The Rockin' Jaymen. The Rockin Jaymen’s line-up remained constant until 1962 when they were joined by two of the best saxophone players in Birmingham - Dario Capaldi and Monk Finch. This gave the band a distinctive stage image whilst providing a trademark sound that set them apart from the other groups playing the circuit. In June 1963, Cliff Richard & The Shadows producer Norrie Paramor paid a visit to Birmingham with the sole intention of signing new talent for Columbia Records. Auditions were held at the Moat House Club in Digbeth and Pat Wayne's Rockin' Jaymen were one of the first bands to be signed. They were rewarded with a visit to the famous Abbey Road studios where they recorded a number of tracks under Paramor’s direction. But prior to the band's first single release, the record company showed some concern regarding the group's name and it's similarity to Peter Jay and The Jaywalkers. This problem was solved when someone from the "band naming department" at Columbia came up with "The Beachcombers" as an alternative and suddenly The Jaymen were no more. (There were in fact two other bands operating under the name "Beachcombers" at the time including a London-based line-up whose personnel included a certain Mr.Keith Moon.) With their new monicker intact, “Go Back To Daddy”, composed by Birmingham songwriters John Chesterton and Bob McNally, appeared as the A-side of the first single backed by a raucous “dance version” of the Hank Williams classic "Jambalaya". Columbia decided to take advantage of the Beachcombers' instrumental prowess and in October 1963, their own sax-laden instrumental “Mad Goose” appeared on 45. But chart success was proving to be a tough nut to crack for both singer and band so Columbia reverted to that tried and tested ploy called ”the cover version”. In November 1963 they returned to Abbey Road to record Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven." Strongly rumoured to feature Jimmy Page on guitar, Beachcombers chief axe-man at the time Geoff Roberts has suggested otherwise. Roberts is also credited with the comment that the track probably influenced The Beatles recording of the same song stating, “If you listen to their version there are similarities”. One possible reason for those "similarities" is that The Fab Four cut the track on 30th July 1963 some 4 months before Roberts and co committed Berry’s song to tape. Regardless as to who got their first, The Beachcombers single succeeded in selling more than 80,000 copies and probably deserved to do better as it's a strong performance of a song that became part of the staple diet of every beat group in creation. But shifting 80,000 units in 1963 was not enough to make a single a hit so, after the failure of one Chuck Berry original, The Beachcombers, now minus Geoff Roberts, decided to record another. “Bye Bye Johnny” was released as a single in April 1964 but once again failed to make any impression. Sax players Capaldi and Finch left the band later that year and after the release of a final single, Pat Wayne decided to go solo, recording a further three singles in 1965 and 1966, but after being dropped by his label he eventually re-joined The Beachcombers whose only significant contribution to pop’s history during their latter stages was the brief inclusion of a young drummer called John Bonham in 1966. Bonham didn’t last long however as he was far too aggressive for the band's music and was promptly dismissed for being too loud.

PAT WAYNE & THE BEACHCOMBERS - Roll Over Beethoven (1963)

13th April 1964

ME AND THEM

The All Music Guide says the following about this band "This quintet were probably courting disaster with their name, given the existence of a well established band called Them on Decca. They released three singles on Pye in one year that failed to chart, and disappeared despite having finally gotten it right with a superb third single, "Show Me You Mean It Too," written by lead guitarist George Davies." And that's it. No line-ups, no hard luck stories, no splitting due to "musical differences", no band members achieving notoriety as backing musicians for Leapy Lee, just a void of information. I do know however that the three singles released in the same 12-month period all appeared in the same year that they played the Top 20 and were namely, "Feels So Good" (January) "Everything I Do Is Wrong" (April) and "Getaway" (August). The Top Twenty's advert however refers to another single called "I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself" which, perhaps unsurprisingly, was banned by the BBC.

ME AND THEM - I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself (1964)

20th April 1964

LINDA LAINE & THE SINNERS

"Gazing into my crystal ball this week, I see a girl looming large in the hit parade. What happened was that Brian Poole told me his agent had a marvellous girl singer called Linda Laine, backed by a good group with the naughty name of The Sinners. Well, thought I, if Brian Poole says she’s great, I’d better investigate! So I got a copy of her record “Low Grades and High Fever” and found he was right – Linda is fab! This dark-haired 19 year-old started singing at a concert at the Stevenage factory where she worked. The Sinners’ manager asked her to do a booking with them – and that, you could say, was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. “She’s great to have with the group” said Del Hidden, the group’s lead guitarist. “She looks after us like a Mum!” Vans used by pop groups are usually very higgledy-piggeldy – but not The Sinners. Frilly curtains hang at the windows and the seats have covers to match. The rest of the group consists of Len Crawley, the drummer, rhythm guitarist Peter Belotte and Russ Maxwell on bass guitar. The boys are very sound musicians as well as being nice and easy to get on with. They even said if I wanted to be a singer Linda & The Sinners would show me how! Who knows, I might stare into the crystal ball one fine day and see myself!"

This rags to riches tale paints a perfect picture of cozy domesticity and comes from an unknown source. Despite it's patronizing tone it supposedly provides us with a glimpse of Linda's origins. Plucked from the wilful obscurity of the factory production line to "Top Of The Pops" stardom! The reality is actually a little different as Linda was already in a band before she joined The Sinners in 1960. From Stevenage, Kent, Linda (real name Veronica Lake) previously sang with The Nightshades but when The Sinners decided to go professional, Ms.Laine signed on the dotted line and became their full-time vocalist. They were with Columbia for just one year and during that period released 5 singles altogether, "I Can't Stand It" "Don't You Know, Don't You Know, Don't You Know" "Low Grades & High Fever" "It's So Exciting" and "Don't Do It Baby". The latter, a synthesis of The Beach Boys "Don't Worry Baby" and "Help!" period Beatles instrumentation reached No.73 in the "Record Mirror" chart whilst the snappy "Low Grades & High Fever" (which is strongly reminiscent of teenage Lulu) did very well in the States, almost making the bottom regions of the Top 50. Linda was a youthful 19 years-old when she made her one and only Top Twenty appearance but despite receiving good press and possessing a fine voice, The Sinners became just another band who were one good song and some decent promotion away from stardom. Linda herself believes that due to the quality and sheer volume of the "female vocalist" opposition the band were fighting a losing battle. "We continued our touring in the UK, but due to many other good female singers, such as Dusty, Sandy Shaw, Lulu, Cilla and Shirley Bassey we didn't seem to quite make it so we went to Germany for 3 years" Germany was a good place to be and apart from constant gigging the band were signed by the "Hansa" label and released a batch of 45's, including a version of The Silhouettes "Get A Job" that reached No.5 in the German hit parade in December 1965.

LINDA LAINE & THE SINNERS - Low Grades & High Fever (1964)

My thanks to Linda for allowing me to use her music and her photograph, many more of which can be found on her Facebook profile. And Linda is still out there "treading the boards" and is probably rocking a town somewhere near you as we speak.

21st April 1964

"FIGHT BROKE OUT AT TOWN HALL DANCE”.

“Policeman assaulted as he went to Steward’s Assistance : Youth fined £10.00”

Arresting a youth for assaulting him in a melee at a dance in Bridgwater Town Hall. P.C. Ian Stone was jumped on by about 15 young men, Bridgwater Borough Magistrates were told yesterday. Ronald William John Comer (19) of 29 Quantock Road, Taunton, was found guilty of assaulting the officer in the execution of his duty and was fined £10. He was granted three weeks in which to pay.P.C.Stone told the court that in response to an emergency call in Bridgwater police station he went to the Town Hall where a dance was in progress. He found a group of 10 youths arguing with some dance stewards, one of whom was a woman. P C Stone went on “I dispersed them and returned to the entrance of the hall. While I was standing there Comer approached me and said “You coppers are all the same” and he prodded my left arm with his fingers. I warned him as to his conduct and he moved away. A few minutes later I was approached by a steward and asked to return to the dance hall as a fight had broken out. “Entering the foyer I saw a group of 10 or 12 youths assaulting a dance steward. As I went to the steward’s assistance, Comer turned and struck me in the chest with his fist. With the assistance of P C Russell who was there in plain clothes I removed Comer from the hall. Attempts were made by about 15 youths to remove Comer from my custody and after a struggle he was taken to Bridgwater police station. On oath, Comer said “There was some trouble with some chaps and I was watching and trying to get my mate off. P C Stone came over and grabbed me around the neck and dragged me out. As he put his arm around my neck my elbow must have gone in his chest".

23rd April 1964

"A well-known Liverpool group visited Bridgwater over the weekend. But they were not The Beatles and neither did they sing "pop" numbers. They were the folk-singing Spinners, making their debut in the town"

This concert took place at The Bridgwater Arts Centre, and was something of a departure from their classical repertoire.

28th April 1964

"4 belts with photographs of The Beatles incorporated in the buckels were provided by Detective Sergeant Kenneth Thorne at a juvenile court at Bridgwater on Tuesday. Before the court was a 15-year-old schoolboy who admitted breaking into the shop of F and A Hook Ltd in Eastover, Bridgwater and stealing the belts valued at £1 15s 8d. Thorne said he had made a statement to the police in which he said he entered the premises by climbing on a roof and forcing a window. Fining the boy £5.00 the chairman told him "We are shocked by this becuase it was a deliberate offence" She asked the father to see that the boy paid the fine from holiday earnings and pocket money"

4th May 1964

ROBB STORME & THE WHISPERS

Another band from The Top Twenty’s dark, dim past whose own history is currently clouded in uncertainty. They were yet another band from Birmingham whose career spanned a number of years and who released several singles without any chart success whatsoever. The wonderfully named Robb Storme released, either as a solo artist or with The Whispers, at least 10 singles during the first half of the 60’s and appears to have had more record contracts (Pye, Piccadilly, Decca, Columbia) than Bill Wyman has had teenage girls (.........OK perhaps not.) Apart from Mr.Storme, the only other member of the band that admits to being involved is guitarist Norman Shapiro. He joined as a fresh-faced 17 year-old in 1960 but by the following year had already flown the nest. Singles released include 1961's “Music” which one imagines bears no relation to the awful John Miles chart-topper of the same name, a "memorable" (according to one journalist) cover version of Phil Spector’s classic tear-jerker “To Know Him Is To Love Him” for Piccadilly in January 1964, “Where Is My Girl?” from 1965, a song that bears the distinction of being ripped off by Pete Townshend and a version of The Beach Boys “Here Today” from Brian Wilson's masterpiece “Pet Sounds” which “outdoes” the original version (according to another reviewer) As for Townshend’s steal, the Chris Charlesworth book on The Who states the following; “Pete had heard “Where Is My Girl?” a little known 1965 single during a “Melody Maker” interview. That song very convieniently provided the melody during the verses of “Substitute”” So there you have it. The band, to their credit, did make an attempt, albeit unsuccessfully, to change with the times and after a period as “The Robb Storme Group” re-emerged in 1967 as the overtly psychedelic “Orange Bicycle”. They released a few singles of which their first, “Hyacinth Threads” is also their most treasured. They performed at the Isle of Wight music festival on August 31st 1968 wearing matching black and orange suits (nice!) Significant ex-members of “Orange Bicycle” include keyboardist and Iron Maiden producer Will Malone and future Supertramp drummer Kevin Currie.

ROBB STORME & THE WHISPERS - To Know Her Is To Love Her (1964)

11th May 1964
The Barron Knights

25th May 1964
The Rockin Berries

THE ROCKIN BERRIES - He's In Town (released May 1964)

1st June 1964

ROD & CAROLINE with THE SOLITAIRES

Billed as "Recording Artistes from "TV & Radio", they sound like the proverbial cabaret fodder to me, otherwise no further info available.

8th June 1964

DAVE BERRY & THE CRUISERS

Dave Berry & Joe Cocker were Sheffield's premier R&B singers in the 1960's. Berry (real name David Grundy) started out at the tender age of 18 after quitting his job as a welder to go professional. Re-named in homage to the great Chuck, Dave was initially part of an Everly Bros harmony duo but was asked to join a band called The Chuck Fowler Group who had just secured a residency at Sheffield's Esquire Club but whose lead vocalist, the aforementioned Fowler, had just left. Now called The Cruisers, solid gigging in the UK inevitably led to them being discovered and they were "spotted " by talent scout and freelance record producer Mickie Most. Most recorded a demo with the band which resulted in a Decca recording contract and in October 1963, The Cruisers reached into the extensive back catalogue of Berry's namesake to release a rather pasty version of "Memphis Tennessee". This resulted in a surprise No.19 hit, only 14 places below the original version. The single may have got the enigmatic lead vocalist noticed, but the backing band were deemed "not suitable" by Decca studio boss Mike Smith and they were replaced on record by the "new wave" of session men that included Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. Two more covers of familiar fare - namely "My Baby Left Me" and Bacharach/David's "Baby It's You" followed and whilst both reached the Top 30, the former was unspectacular despite the inclusion of the stellar musicians mentioned above and a sparkling Page solo, whilst "Baby It's You" probably deserved greater success. The breakthrough arrived when he obtained a song written by Geoff Stephens called "The Crying Game". Berry's rather slight wispy voice had always been better served by ballads despite his love of Rhythm & Blues and in "The Crying Game" the singer had found a real gem. The single rocketed to No.3, Berry became a star and in the wake of his sudden exposure, the general public were introduced to an artist who had developed a rather intriguing image. Berry, like many others before him, had borrowed squarely from the Gene Vincent model by dying his hair black and wearing jet black items of clothing, including leather gloves and cape. He also perfected a manic stare that he would use on unsuspecting female members of the audience and developed a strange habit of concealing himself whilst singing, either behind his microphone or the upturned collar of his jacket. It has been suggested that the singer had had the unusual ambition to appear on Television completely hidden from the camera but the nearest that he got to achieving this was one "Ready Steady Go!" performance in which he sang half a song behind a stage prop. It was an act that, in later years, was pilfered to great effect by Alvin Stardust but where Berry seemed slightly sinister, Alvin looked just plain daft. After another, not-so-well-known Bacharach cover failed, in April 1965 Berry took Bobby Goldsboro's "Little Things" to No.5 in the charts but his biggest hit failed to make much of an impression in the UK. The superb "This Strange Effect" written by Ray Davies of The Kinks was a No.1 hit in both Holland and Belgium and established the singer as a major star on the European circuit. In 1966, Berry achieved his third UK Top 5 hit with the sugary "Mama" written by BJ Thomas, but he swiftly became another singer whose career was swallowed up by psychedelia. Berry is remembered by the Boy George cover of "The Crying Game" and by the rather surprising inclusion of the inclusion of that singles B-side "Don't Gimme No Lip Child" by The Sex Pistols during their live concerts in 1976.

DAVE BERRY & THE CRUISERS - Don't Give Me No Lip Child (1964)

DAVE BERRY - This Strange Effect (1965)

15th June 1964
Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders

22nd June 1964
Tony Bolton & The Federals

29th June 1964

THE PRETTY THINGS

Now here was a band………….. The roots of The Pretty Things are inextricably linked to The Rolling Stones, so much so that for a short period of time in 1964, it was touch and go as to who would make the bigger impact. Future Pretty Thing Dick Taylor was there from the start, appearing in a school group with a certain Mick Jagger called Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. Taylor also attended the same Sidcup Art School as Keith Richards and after all three had witnessed Brian Jones playing with Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated at the Ealing Club in early 1962, by the middle of that year the quartet had formed a band called the Rollin’ Stones, Taylor moving from guitar to bass to accommodate Jones’ arrival. When the Stones turned professional, Taylor chose to remain at art school to complete his studies but after teaming up with a fellow Sidcup student called Phil May (born Phillip Arthur Dennis Wade), together with guitarist Brian Pendleton and bassist John Stax, they became The Pretty Things in homage to a Bo Diddley song. Initially, drummers posed a problem, a succession of them passing through the band’s line-up which by now had secured a residency at the 100 Club in London that in turn, had yielded a Fontana recording contract. However, soon afterwards they found their missing piece when ex Carter-Lewis & the Southerners drummer Viv Prince joined the group. Prince, despite being a little raw, fitted in perfectly with the rest of the band but he was also an absolute nutter whose antics matched those of fellow skin-basher Keith Moon at his best (or worst.) During 1964, their first single “Rosalyn”, written by Jimmy Duncan, only reached No.41 on the charts despite being one of the best debuts of the year, but the superb follow-up “Don’t Bring Me Down” achieved a No.10 position in November and the Pretties had arrived.

THE PRETTY THINGS - Rosalyn (1964)

From the outset The Pretty Things were saddled with an image problem. They were considered wilder, rougher and more outrageous than any other beat group and very quickly became the band that the establishment loved to hate. I will willingly admit that I have never been much of a rebel. During the great “Beatles vs Stones” debate back in the early 60's, my 6 or 7-year-old moral code put me squarely in the Fab Four's camp partially becuase I thought that Jagger & Co. were far too scruffy and uncouth for their own good. But The Pretty Things were something else. They were the Bash Street Kids to The Beatles Lord Snooty & His Pals. Their early singles may well have been impressive but watching them on TV gave me a slight feeling of unease. My young imagination probably thought that by the simple act of playing their music, the band would come to your town, ransack your house and then nick off with your sister. And then there was their hair. Way before the psychedelic period of the mid to late 60’ s when it became fashionable to grow as much facial fungus as humanly possible, Phil May's barnet was twice as long as anybody else's whilst Dick Taylor seemed to embody the idea of teenage rebellion simply by wearing a beard. The untamed look didn’t do them any favours as most of the headlines they created were entirely for the wrong reasons. Phil May has suggested that the band were picked on but with Viv Prince terrorising entire countries there appears to have been no smoke without fire. The book “British Beat 1960-1969” states “Shows often ended in riots, particularly on the continent, and one classic advertisement byline stated “Last month in Liverpool they made tough men cry!”. Another journalist confirmed "With an estimated 61 convictions, ranging from drug to weapon possession, they were kicked out of hotels and restaurants worldwide and claimed to have invented the rock tradition of throwing furniture out hotel windows". Success in the States stalled when “Don’t Bring Me Down” was banned due to a misconstrued lyric and even though their follow-up “Honey I Need” got to No.13 in the UK, the band’s manager Bryan Morrison made the mistake of sending them off on a gruelling tour of New Zealand with Sandie Shaw for two weeks rather than concentrate on cracking the American market. Whilst in New Zealand, Viv Prince showed his hand. “Prince came into his own: being openly drunk, setting fire to stage curtains, chopping up stages with an axe, and staging live crayfish races in hotel lobbies. The New Zealand tabloid press bayed for blood and the group were thrown out of the country" He was sacked shortly after their return to the UK but the damage had already been done.

Prince survived long enough to appear on the band's first two albums, both released in 1965. Their eponymous debut failed to capture the excitement of the band's live performances and was largely a selection of R&B cover versions, the likes of which bands like The Stones and The Animals had already produced to much greater effect. Follow-up "Get The Picture?" was an improvement with a heavier emphasis on original compositions. The album still revealed a brash R&B influence but May & Taylor's embryonic songwriting partnership at least succeeded in providing the group with a greater sense of identity. Despite releasing several high quality singles, including the excellent "Midnight To Six Man", a paean to the all-nighter lifestyle, they were never again a force in the British charts and did not manage a hit at all in America but despite their lack of success, The Pretty Things embarked on a career of continual musical growth. They were one of the first groups to embrace the psychedelic culture - the B-side of their “Come See Me” single in 1966 was called “£$D”, and despite the title's suggestion that it was a monetary tribute to the old librus, solidus, demarius, it's still something of a giveaway. In 1967 their 3rd album "Emotions" was a major departure, a set of "pop" songs punctuated by brass and orchestration that was apparently added against the band's wishes. This record not only tipped a musical hat to The Kinks, but also featured a more than healthy dose of Ray Davies-type social commentary in it's lyrics. During the same 12 month period they also worked under the alias The Electric Banana, a nom de plume used to record a number of musical pieces for The De Wolfe Music Library, a corporation that provided incidental music for Horror & Soft Porn movie soundtracks. The Pretty Things moved to Columbia Records towards the tail end of the 60's and despite completing only a short tenure with the label, it was the material released by this company that helped to cement the band's cult status. They issued two mind-expanding singles, the bizarrely complex but mightily impressive “Defecting Grey” and the comparatively straightforward "Talking About The Good Times" but both were again overlooked by the same record buying public that were busy putting Englebert Humperdinck to the top of the charts. In 1968 however, the band released their magnum opus, an album that is generally regarded as being both the first ever concept album, and the first so-called Rock Opera. “S.F.Sorrow”, released in December of that year was taken from a short story written by vocalist Phil May. Recorded at Abbey Road with Norman Smith whilst The Beatles were working on Sgt.Pepper and Pink Floyd were busy tinkering with their debut album, it features experiments with the latest sound technology and included instruments like the Mellotron that had hardly been heard on record before. In fact the band often employed gadgets and techniques that were devised on the spot by Abbey Road's white coated technicians. As with most concept albums, it's sometimes hard to fathom exactly what the record is about though part of it's obtuseness is due to the fact that the LP's sleeve contained parts of May's completed story line which were intended to be read in conjunction with the song's lyrics. In retrospect, listening to the record in 2009 suggests that even though the album's ambition ultimately outweighs it's expectation, it still stands as a fine record and is regarded by many as something of a lost psychedelic "masterpiece". More importantly it was, at the time of it's release, something that no-one had ever done before. "S.F.Sorrow" was critically acclaimed by fellow musicians and journalists with a modicum of sense but once again the album was criminally ignored and failed to make an impression. Pete Townshend later suggested that the record had NOT acted as an inspiration for The Who’s “Tommy” despite the latter appearing just one year after "Sorrow's" birth, but this is somewhat hard to believe as apart from the general idea of issuing a "themed" album, the two LP's share a number of characteristics including parts of the story line. In many ways “Tommy’s” success and “S.F.Sorrow’s” comparative failure sums up a career that was stubbornly refusing to happen and despite it's pioneering qualities, "Sorrow" has been unfortunately confined to a lifetime of cult status. Original member Dick Taylor departed directly after the album's release as he felt that the record could not be surpassed and the band subsequently moved to the newly-formed progressive label Harvest. They made their bow with 1970’s confident “Parachute” - the band's "Abbey Road" to S.F.Sorrow's "Sgt.Pepper" if you will - and it received the accolade of being voted Rolling Stone’s “Album Of The Year” ahead of records like Simon & Garfunkels' "Bridge Over Troubled Water", Neil Young's "After The Goldrush" and Van Morrison's "Moondance" but, sadly, no-one was listening. In later years, despite becoming the first band to issue an album on Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label (1974's "Silk Torpedo") and intermittently releasing records of some worth, The Pretty Things became the archetypal "nearly famous" band, vastly under-rated who never got the credit they so thoroughly deserved. And they are still out there, Dick Taylor and Phil May having re-formed the group in 1990. 2007's "Balboa Island" was their first new studio platter for 8 years.

THE PRETTY THINGS - £$D (1966)

6th July 1964

RAY STARR & THE CHEROKEES

A bit of a Top Twenty conundrum. The Bridgwater Mercury advert's blurb stated that they were one of "London's top bands" and that they were also "Decca Recording Artists". But despite history suggesting that the latter fact was indeed correct, The Cherokees geographical origins were Northern as they originally heralded from Leeds. The other mystery surrounding this band is the inclusion of Ray Starr as band leader/lead vocalist. Biographies of The Cherokees are thin on the ground but I have yet to find one that mentions Starr as part of it's line-up. So what do we know about them? After one 1964 single with Decca called "You've Done It Again Little Girl", they fell under the watchful guide of producer Mickie Most, moved to Columbia and as The Cherokees, issued four more singles including a fine cover version of Billy Fury's "Wondrous Place" and Wilson Pickett's "Land of 1000 Dances". The latter coincided with the release of several other versions released by a variety of artists and consequently The Cherokees got trampled in the rush for the charts. Their finest moment therefore would appear to be a No.33 chart placing for "Seven Golden Daffodils" in October 1964, another much covered song which was originally a Lonnie Donegan "B" side. This single apparently achieved it's lofty chart position due to incessant plugging by several pirate radio stations.

THE CHEROKEES - Seven Golden Daffodils (1964)

13th July 1964
The Rebounds

1964 was the first year in which the summer break was shortened to just one month which is a suggestion of how popular The Top Twenty was at this point. It's temporary disappearance once again prompted an opportunity for other promoters to use The Town Hall as a temporary residence for "Beat concerts" and the first of these appeared on Friday....

17th July 1964

THE TOWN HALL

From The Cavern, Liverpool - Parlophone Recording Artists
LEE CASTLE'S BARONS plus "Taunton's Brightest Group" Roger & The Sabres.

28th July 1964

"BE LIKE THE BEATLES" Pupils told.

"Strive to be aces in the same way that the Beatles are" was the advice given by Miss A.D. Cadwallader, headmistress of the Diocesan Girls' Secondary School, Bath, when presenting prizes to Westover Junior Girls, Bridgwater on Tuesday. Although admitting that she did not enjoy the Beatles music, and that the tunes she played on her violin were not quite like theirs, nevertheless there was much to be said for them. "They give a great deal of pleasure, they work as a team, and if they quarrelled they would not be successful" added Miss Cadwallader.

10th August 1964

Two more "Town Hall" presentations starting with......

Q.M.A. presents THE SHAMROCKS - An exciting R&B Group in the "Stones" style plus at your request, Roger & The Sabres.

17th August 1964

From The Star Club Germany, Bobby Sansom & The Giants plus The New Invaders.

24th August 1964

THE COCKNEYS
("London's own Pearly Beat Kings")

The first of two successive Top Twenty bands whose apparel was more significant than their attempts at pop stardom. A quartet signed to the Philips label, The Cockneys appeared on stage in flamboyant Pearly Kings & Queens costumes befitting a band from the capital city. Originally called The Falcons, they released one single under this name in December 1963 called "Stampede". Apart from their debut single, a Beatle-esque ditty called "After Tomorrow", they only issued one more record "I Know You're Gonna Be Mine" before biting the dust. Their debut single was re-released however, as it was used during the opening and closing credits of that huge box office smash “Go-Go, Big Beat”*. Consequently the song appears to be their one lasting legacy in popular culture.

THE COCKNEYS - I Know You're Gonna Be Mine (1964)

*"Go-Go Big Beat" (or "UK Swings Again" as it was known in this country) is a 27-minute documentary that was released in America during May 1965. It ran into trouble by suggesting that the film contained music by The Beatles and consequently Brian Epstein filed a lawsuit. Their music DOES appear however, but only in a short ballet sequence.

THE COCKNEYS - After Tomorrow (from "Go-Go Big Beat")

31st August 1964

THE PICKWICKS

Another group who had the gift of the garb, but who were also highly rated for their musical ability. Initially from Coventry, The Pickwicks began life as Tony Martin & The Echo Four but under the guidance of their flamboyant manager Larry Page, an impresario who in later years gave us The Troggs, the group were re-invented as Dickensian dandys with top hats, breeches, frock coats and stick-on whiskers. Featuring John Miles, Malc Jenkins, Alan Gee and the aforementioned Tony Martin, the band obtained a residency at Coventry's Orchid Ballroom and a recording contract with Decca. Their first single was a "beat" version of the old 1920's song "Apple Blossom Time" which, perhaps understandably, failed to take root in the charts but behind the façade of their slightly ridiculous image, they were responsible for some fine singles in the category now lovingly known as “freak-beat”. It has been suggested than one reason for their lack of success was down to some dodgy decision making over the choice of their singles with each subsequent 45 featuring a stronger strong on it's flip-side. The band desperately tried to get Decca to switch their 2nd single, "You're Old Enough" for it's "B" side "Hello Lady" which was written by former Harley Street specialist Michael Julien, a songwriter who had already provided hits for Cliff Richard ("Constantly") and Shirley Bassey ("Kiss Me Honey Honey"). But despite being the catchier song, the record company refused to listen. After switching to Warner Brothers in 1965, the "B" side curse continued with “Little By Little”, another song “rumoured” to feature Jimmy Page on guitar, featuring the superior Ray Davies song “I Took My Baby Home” on the flip. Result? No hit. Drummer Malc Jenkins once did a magazine fashion shoot with Cilla Black with Jenkins in full Pickwicks gear and Cilla in her best Mary Quant but the band eventually reverted to type and were effectively de-frocked by the end of 1964 as they couldn’t find anyone to clean their costumes! John Miles explains "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." The band eventually split in 1966 but the general consensus appears to be that they were somewhat underrated. A question of their musical chops being as impressive as their mutton chops perhaps?

With great irony The Top Twenty chose this concert to once again remind all patrons that "Any person with unconventional hair styles or attire will not be admitted" This ruling obviously did not apply to the artists.

5th September 1964

TOWN HALL BRIDGWATER

Roy, Mike & the Mexicans - An exciting group from Bath plus Roger & the Sabres.

7th September 1964

THE RUSTIKS

Previously an instrumental band known as both The Vibros and The Fireballs respectively, The Rustiks were a band from Paignton, Devon that won a talent contest organised by Westward Television’s “Beat” program. Brian Epstein and Dick Rowe were among the competition's judges and apart from their first prize of £100.00 and a recording contract with Decca Records, they also inherited Brian Epstein as their mentor with the Beatles manager announcing upon presenting the prize that they would be signing to NEMS Enterprises. In fact "The Fifth Beatle" not only became their manager, but also their record producer despite a non-existent track record for studio production. Their debut single “What A Memory Can Do”, released on the 4th September 1964 apparently features some Epstein knob-twiddling which makes The Rustiks and Rory Storme & The Hurricanes the only artists that have benefitted from Epstein's vast studio knowledge. The NEMS connection worked well for the band initially, by October 1964 they were appearing on the Beatles’ Autumn tour but their brush with fame and fortune was short-lived as their contract was not renewed upon expiry. In Epstein's book 'A Cellarful of Noise' he mentions signing The Rustiks to his stable of artists. 'The Beatles may move more and more into films; most of the remaining artistes will endure and mature but I am anxious to build on the foundation of the beat groups and create other enterprises................ in 1964 I signed two non-Liverpool groups - The Ruskies (sic), and Cliff Bennett and The Rebel Rousers,' One final single “Not The Loving Kind” was released on 15th January 1965 but by the following year they had been discarded. Drummer Bill Covington takes up the story. “In 1966 the strain of dealing with The Beatles was all that Epstein could bear and he decided to trim his 'enterprises' by sorting the wheat from the chaff. In March 1966 I remember walking over to John Lyndon's office to meet with Brian Epstein. It became a stormy meeting as accusations of ineptitude and mis-management were thrown Epstein's way by us. In return, Epstein railed on us for not producing any quality material and therefore he decided not to renew contracts with The Rustiks. The last time I saw Brian Epstein was at that meeting, surrounded by press photographers and reporters demanding to know what his future plans were for his 'empire.' On the 23rd April 1966 a half page advertisement run by NEMS Enterprises in the first issue 'Disc and Music Echo' confirmed that in addition to Tommy Quickly, Epstein has without public notice also terminated/failed to renew the management contracts of The Rustiks.' The Daily Mirror of Friday, March 4th 1966 reported that 'Pop starmaker Brian Epstein is parting company with three of his big discoveries, they are pop singers Tommy Quickly and Michael Haslam, and a beat group, The Rustiks. Their contracts with Epstein - the Beatles boss - have not been renewed. Last night from his suite in a New York hotel, Mr. Epstein told me, 'We mutually agreed to relinquish our obligations to each other. I have no other comment to make.'

The Rustiks were actually a replacement for The Nashville Teens whose Top Twenty show had to be cancelled due to a tour of Scotland.

THE RUSTIKS - What A Memory Can Do (1964)

14th September 1964
The Original Checkmates

20th September 1964

"DOUBLE BEAT NIGHT" Dick Delmont & The Strangers - Wiltshire's Top Pop Group plus The New Invaders.

21st September 1964

THE DISCS

One of the most obscure bands to have played The Top Twenty during this period, the only description of the group available comes from the Bridgwater Mercury's own advertisement.
From London - Shortly recording on the E.M.I. label. 2 girls & 4 boys playing Pop, R & B, Blue Beat and Country & Western.

You only need to add "jazz" to that list to collect the set!

28th September 1964

THE ESCORTS

A Merseybeat band who never reached the heady heights of some of the other Liverpool artists but who remain fondly remembered even if their commercial impact was slight. Formed in 1962, their original drummer was Ringos Starr's cousin John Foster aka Johnny Sticks, and they secured an early residency at the Liverpool venue The Blue Angel and won a talent contest held at Liverpool’s Philarmonic Hall despite rumours that the competition was "rigged". Judged by heavyweights Dick Rowe, George Harrison, Ringo Starr & Cavern DJ Bob Wooler, the band turned professional the day after their success but the “prize” of a Decca Recording contract and management by top London impresario Harry Lowe failed to materialize after Decca turned them down and Lowe suddenly lost interest. It wasn’t until their “contract” was bought out by Jim Ireland that the band were able to move ahead and Fontana eventually added them to their roster. Voted the “9th best band in Liverpool” in 1963 by “Mersey Beat” magazine readers, their debut release of Larry Williams “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” (recorded before The Beatles got hold of it the following year) was passed over by the general public. In fact only one of their remaining five singles reached the charts, their second effort “The One To Cry” scraping in at No. 49 in June 1964. Subsequent singles were what you would have expected from a second-generation Mersey band – catchy and melodic but not memorable enough to gain them chart success. Some unfortunate choices in the cover-version department did not help matters as songs were chosen that were in direct competition with other recordings made by more prominent groups – The Drifters “I Don’t Want To Go On Without You” was recorded by both The Searchers and The Moody Blues whilst The Everly Brothers “Let It Be Me” became a minor hit for Peter & Gordon. The original line-up included Terry Sylvester who, after leaving to join another Merseybeat band on the rocks, The Swinging Blue Jeans in 1966, later replaced Graham Nash in The Hollies. Sylvester’s replacement was Paddy Chambers, another mersey musician who had “done the rounds” in bands such as Faron’s Flamingoes, The Big Three and Paddy, Klaus & Gibson but despite getting none other than Paul McCartney to play tambourine on their swansong release, a version of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles “From Head To Toe”, they finally split in 1967.

The Escorts are considering recording an R&B number for their next disc John Kinrade told "MERSEY BEAT" “If we do decide on this kind of number it will be one written by our manager Jim Ireland and our publicity agent John Chilton. I would probably play harmonica and John Chilton might play organ for the recording session. The boys current disc “The One To Cry” is selling three times as fast as their first disc “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” and they are hoping that it will make a chart showing. The group is just back from a highly successful 3-day tour of Scotland. “We were mobbed in Glasgow” John said. “We couldn't play our full spots and Terry Sylvester and I were dragged off the stage.

Terry even lost his shoes and I had to be passed over a crowd of girls, football style" After playing two dates in Glasgow and one in Perth, the boys travelled down to Leicester and then to Surrey before returning to Liverpool. “We’ll be playing at local venues mostly during the next week or so” said John. Talking about the group’s recent “Ready Steady Go!” appearance John said that he and the rest of the group didn’t even manage to see it. He explained, “We dashed to catch a plane home after recording the show but there weren’t any seat vacancies, and we had to wait until 10.30 pm to get seats. Then storms delayed us so we didn’t get home until the early hours of the morning. If we’d have come home in the van we’d have been home hours earlier” The boys will have new stage outfits. John described them – Black Watch tartan shirts with black collars and cuffs, blue leather waistcoats and black mohair trousers. He added “We found that our suits were too bulky for stage wear and started wearing them without the jacket, just the waistcoat and found it more comfortable.

Two of the group have just bought new cars. John has bought a pale blue Zephyr and drummer Pete Clark has bought a second hand Mercedes for £1,000. But the first night that Pete took the boys out in the car it broke down in the Mersey Tunnel causing chaos in rush-hour traffic. Everything’s fine now, apparently, but the rest of the group suggested that bicycles should be strapped to the roof – just in case! Asked if he thought that beat was dying, John said emphatically “No. We talked to kids all over the country and they’re as keen as ever. But we have found that The Beatles popularity is waning – everyone’s raving about The Rolling Stones now” Commenting on the number of ballads in the charts at present John said “It’s odd really, because we intended recording “Blue Moon” instead of “The One To Cry” but it was decided that the first wasn’t commercial enough because it was a ballad”

From "MERSEY BEAT" magazine 1964

Ah, the hectic life of a would-be pop star!

THE ESCORTS - The One To Cry (1964)

5th October 1964

THEM

Apart from the infamous Who concert in 1965, Them were one of 2 other artists to play The Top Twenty whose subsequent achievements marked them as more than just “another beat group”. But back in 1964 they were as unknown to Bridgwater's audiences as any other band that had played The Town Hall and were very much in their infancy having only been together for about 6 months. The reason for their lofty position within pop music’s Premier League? Van “The Man” Morrison. George Ivan Morrison was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on August 31, 1945 - his mother was a singer, his father a music enthusiast who collected American jazz and blues recordings. At 15, Morrison quit school to join local R&B band The Monarchs, touring military bases throughout Europe, particularly Germany, before returning home. In April 1964, local Belfast entreprenuers Jimmy Conlon, Jerry McKenna and Gerry McCurvey (known as the "3Js") were instrumental, along with Morrison, in the creation of a new R&B club called Club Rado situated at Belfast's Maritime Hotel. Having recently vacated a group called the Golden Eagles and with the anticipated opening night for the new club rapidly approaching, the unemployed vocalist needed new musicians post haste to fulfil his forthcoming engagement. He had recently been introduced to The Gamblers, a Belfast East group formed in 1962 by Ronnie Millings, Billy Harrison, and Alan Henderson. Schoolboy Eric Wrixon was recruited as a keyboard player and with Morrison eventually augmenting the line-up on saxophone, harmonica and vocals the band was complete. The proverbial name change occurred following a suggestion by young Wrixon, with the Gamblers becoming Them after the 1954 sci-fi horror movie of the same name. Rehearsing above a bicycle shop, the curiosity of the local patrons was aroused by the appearance of several cryptic advertisements in a Belfast newspaper the first of which asked the question "Who Are? What Are? Them!" This clever marketing ploy coupled with a word of mouth reputation based on the band's incendiary performances at Club Rado created so much interest that queues appeared around the block well in advance of each gig. It was at The Maritime that Them created their legend. Steeped in R&B and Blues, they introduced Belfast audiences to the music of Bobby Bland, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker & Jimmy Reed amongst others, Morrison ad libbing furiously, creating his songs live as the concert unfolded. The creation of what became the band’s anthem "Gloria" happened on stage at this venue with the song lasting for as long as Morrison wanted it to, depending on his mood. The band reached the unlikely ears of The Bachelors manager Phil Solomon who recommended Them to Dick Rowe at Decca Records. Rowe rushed over to the Maritime to hear the band and, suitably impressed, signed them immediately whilst arranging for a recording audition at Decca's West Hampstead studios on 5th July 1964. Augmented by session musicians, seven songs were recorded, amongst them both "Gloria"and what turned out to be their first single "Don't Start Crying Now". Released in August 1964 just 2 months before their Bridgwater date, this obscure Slim Harpo song was a strange choice for a debut single as it was one of the most un-commercial items recorded at the Decca sessions. Unsurprisingly, it failed to chart though predictably it sold well back in Belfast. As a follow-up Solomon and Rowe hired Jimmy Page, Peter Bardens and Bobby Graham to back Morrison on a cover of Big Joe Williams "Baby Please Don’t Go" , though Billy Harrison provided the song’s guitar solo. Released in November 1964, the following month Them made their TV debut on ”Ready Steady Go!”, Solomon using his connections to have the song played as the weekly signature tune for the television show. The single, which featured the now-legendary "Gloria" as its B-side, gave the band their first hit finally reaching the Top Ten on the UK singles chart.

THEM - Baby Please Don't Go/Gloria (1964)

In January 1965, Them toured England for a second time but already the toll of constant one-nighters had accounted for band members Wrixen & Mellings. These two became the first sacrifices in a bewildering array of personnel cahnges that continued throughout Morrison's tenure with the group. It was also around this time that the band started to earn a bad reputation amongst journalists for bad manners during their interviews. Billy Harriosn explained the attitide problem on Anti-Irish sentiments that were prevalent on the continent at the time but the truth was that success sat uneasily on the group's shoulders, particularly Morrison's, an individual who has never been comfortable playing the role of "pop star". Interviewed by a reporter from the Irish Independent, the journalist remarked "They were the most boorish bunch of youngsters I'd come across in my short career". Another female reporter was met with an arrogant display of complete indifference. "They would just sit and mutter monosyllabic grunts to themselves and give her off-the-wall answers". It was an interview technique that Morrison was to perfect to a fine art during his solo years. Regardless of the band’s social shortcomings, Solomon’s next move was to bring in the American producer and songwriter Bert Berns. Berns had written "Twist And Shout" amongst many other American hits and like his predecessor showed a lack of confidence in the band's musical ability by hiring session musicians Phil Coulter and Andy White. “Here Comes The Night” another Berns composition reached No.2 in the UK and No.24 in the US Billboard Hot 100, establishing the band as a major force in the growing wave of BritPop that was sweeping America. On 11th April 1965 Them made an infamous guest appearance at the NME Pollwinners Concert at Wembley Empire Pool. This 1965 showcase remains one of the finest gatherings of the British pop aristocracy with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Animals, The Searchers, The Moody Blues and Dusty Springfield all making an appearance. Ordered to play their current hit, Them audaciously segued from "Here Comes The Night" into a seven minute version of "Turn On Your Lovelight", a Bobby Bland song that had been part of Them's early Maritime repertoire and which had been the catalyst for Phil Solomon's original interest. This audacious act of defiance was yet another example of Morrison's refusal to do as he was told. In June 1965 the band released a raw but slightly sterile debut album called "The Angry Young Them" that failed to capture their superb live performances and when their next two singles failed to chart, the record company started to get a little nervous. The band responded by going through a 4-month period of almost constant line-up changes.

Firstly, Jackie McCauley was replaced, despite having been in the band for just a few months and then in July his brother was also sent packing from the band. Founder member and Gamblers stalwart Billy Harrison was the next to go and finally in September Morrison and surviving member Alan Henderson decided to go the whole hog and sacked the entire band. Things were beginning to disintegrate. By early 1966, the situation had turned into pantomime when a bogus Them, featuring various sacked ex-members of the group and assembled by managers Reg Calvert & Terry King suddenly made themselves available for bookings. Phil Solomon responded by not only slapping a lawsuit on the perpetrator's of this scam but in a tit-for-tat move, "borrowed" the names of Calvert & King's top acts The Fortunes & Pinkerton's Assorted Colours and demanded that Decca pay him their royalties! Solomon's bravado worked and Them Mk II sank without trace. Meanwhile, the band were going down a storm in America culminating in a June 1966 three-week run at the famous Whisky-A-Go-Go in Los Angeles with The Doors appearing for the final week as the band's opening act. But Them were already beginning to self destruct. They went on to headline at the The Fillmore in San Francisco and played Hawaii but it was here that things got nasty, with disputes erupting among band members and management over financial arrangements. Upon returning to the UK, Morrison, not for the first time, was incensed to discover that Decca had released a single against his wishes and without consulting the band and citing this as the last straw promptly left the group to return to Ireland. Them continued without him but were never able to replace the talismanic singer who continued as a solo artist with tremendous success, issuing some of the most exceptional music, particularly during the 1970's.

THEM - Mystic Eyes/Gloria (1965)

23rd October 1964

TOWN HALL - BRIDGWATER

Q.M.A. presents the dynamic U.S. recording group on the London American label.
THE BRUINS

27th October 1964

"BERTIES" at new dance

Saturday 31st October will see the start of Saturday night dances at the Co-Op Hall, West Quay, Bridgwater. The two beat groups engaged for the all important first night are no newcomers to the "Beat Scene", namely Bristol's top group "The Diplomats" and the clowns of rock, the "Burlington Berties". One of the organisers is no newcomer to Bridgwater's beat groups, as he already plays an active part in managing bookings for the up and coming local group "the Bluebeats". It is hoped that if the first prove successful, to make these regular dances, with local as well as national talent.

31st October 1964

2nd November 1964
Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders

9th November 1964

THE MIGHTY AVENGERS

Originally called Dean Law & The Avengers until Law's departure, they may have sounded like a bunch of super-heroes but they were in fact a quartet of mere mortals based in Rugby who just happened to fall into the radar of Rolling Stones manager Andrew "Loog" Oldham. Having failed with their first single "Hide Your Pride" released on Decca in 1964, Oldham took the band under his wing. The group (featuring the wonderfully-named Biffo Beech on drums) released four singles in two years, and no doubt to Oldham's influence made a habit of recording songs that Jagger and Richards deemed unsuitable for their "band". These included "So Much In Love", "Blue Turns To Grey", later a hit for Cliff & The Shadows and the Spector-ish "(Walkin' Through The) Sleepy City", the latter of which was released in 1965. Of these only "So Much In Love" charted, reaching the lofty position of No.46, but the song bears the distinction of being included in a batch of 142 7" singles marked "personal favourites" that were discovered gathering dust at the home of the late great John Peel after his death. Loog-Oldham eventually abandoned them for some other "latest thing" and in 1966, lead guitarist Tony Campbell left to become part of the band Jigsaw who charted with "Sky High" in 1975.

THE MIGHTY AVENGERS - So Much In Love (1964)

There may have been no "Top Twenty" gig on the 16th November but it was a bumper week for all the "tots and teens" of Bridgwater with no less than 2 seperate gigs in the town centre. Not sure about the credentials of Eddy Dark and The Salvos but there was a welcome return for of the old Town Hall favourites Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs.

21st November 1964

WESTSIDE Promotions presents..... TOTS and TEENS SESSION!
JOHNNY HASTINGS and the TRIBUTES

22nd November 1964

Recently a prophecy which many people have made has been coming true - a revival in folk music. This form of music, perhaps closer to all of us than any other kind, has, for quite some time, been laying dormant, enjoyed by only it's staunch supporters in folk clubs. Then, about two years ago in the United States, students in colleges "discovered" a group of folk singers - Peter, Paul & Mary. They achieved international fame, have recently completed a very successful tour of this country, and were primarily responsible for bringing folk music to the fore again. Now, to understand and appreciate folk music is to be "right-up-to-date". New folk clubs are appearing like wildfire all over the country - recently one was opened in Taunton. Surely, the time is right for one to be formed in Bridgwater. Somerset is rich in folk songs, and there is a large section of the local community, particularly younger people who, it is certain, would support the formation of such a club. The possibility of a folk song "gathering", if it is not the formation of a club, may cement with the opening last Friday, of the Bridgwater Youth Coffee Bar, at Queen Street. With the hope that the coffee bar will be a success, after the great amount of planning and work which has been done, this could be the ideal place for folk song singalongs, not to mention other interests, all of which would be encouraged. BRIDGWATER MERCURY Letters page.

"Something is happening and you don't know what it is"

23rd November 1964

JIMMY POWELL & THE FIVE DIMENSIONS

Jimmy Powell grew up in the West Heath area of Birmingham. After leaving school, he apprenticed as a lathe operator in Kings Norton while at night he fronted a local band called The Detours. For many years revered as one of the best vocalists to have emerged from the “Brum Beat” scene, his powerful vocal style soon began to attract attention and in 1961 he turned "pro" after joining an up-and-coming local group called The Rockin Berries. Powell’s tenure with The Rockin Berries has already been discussed elsewhere, suffice to say that after the band split during one tour of Germany too many, he was snapped up by Jack Good and signed to the Decca label. Powell consequently became the very first Birmingham artist to secure a recording contract and his first release was an energetic cover of Buster Brown's “Sugar Baby” in 1962. Whilst the record did not chart, it’s a significant release as at this point Britain’s R&B scene had barely been established and yet Powell was suddenly at the forefront of it. Two more singles followed in 1963 but the sudden arrival of The Beatles heralded the rise of the “beat group” and Powell was frozen out. Jimmy decided to try his luck in London, becoming involved with the local blues scene at London's famous Marquee Club. New manager Malcolm Nixon introduced him to a hot blues act that he'd named "The Five Dimensions" and Powell was soon given the position of lead vocalist. Depending on whose story you believe, about 6 months later, Jimmy Powell added a second vocalist/harmonica player to the band. Born in Archway, North London, on the 10th January 1945, Rodney David Stewart was apparently in the band for about a year though the inevitable rivalry between the two singers led to Rod’s departure. However, another story has Stewart being a member of the Dimensions at the time of Powell’s arrival. With Jimmy taking over the vocal chores, Stewart was relegated to harmonica player with the inevitable repercussions. In 1964, The Five Dimensions were hired to provide the backing for Jamaican singer Millie Small on her hit recording of My Boy Lollipop. It has long been thought that Stewart played the harmonica solo on the record - a story he has since denied, but despite various candidates being offered as the likely contender according to Jimmy Powell he was the culprit. "I played harmonica on My Boy Lollipop and Mike Carroll did the clapping" says Jimmy. Of course a far more pertinent question is – did Rod Stewart play The Top Twenty? It’s practically impossible to tell. The All Music Guide states that Rod joined the band in 1964 and Powell has suggested that he remained a Dimension for a 12 month period so it could have happened. But unless anyone out there has any hard evidence we shall probably never know. Powell & The Dimensions signed to Pye Records during 64 and released a number of singles. The first of these, “That’s Alright” (with Rod The Mod on harmonica) appeared in June whilst the second - a re-make of "Sugar Baby" featured Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and drummer Clem Cattini was released in November. Neither charted. Powell eventually cemented his reputation as a fine live performer, playing Hamburg's Top Ten Club and a little later the UK college & university circuit but success on record proved elusive. In 1966, Powell's throaty rasp could be heard belting out a number of soulful sides on the short-lived "Strike" label and he later signed to "Young Blood" records in 1969 for which he recorded an album as well as various single releases. But despite continuing to record in the early 1970s and retaining his popularity as a live singer, Jimmy Powell later faded from the music scene. However he remains, without a doubt, one of the strongest blues vocalists to have emerged from the West Midlands in the 1960s.

JIMMY POWELL & THE FIVE DIMENSIONS - That's All Right (1964)

30th November 1964

THE DOWNLINERS SECT

The story of the Sect begins in 1956 at the Gunnesbury Grammar School in Middlesex and the formation of the skiffle group The Kool Three featuring future Downliner Mick O'Donnell. The Kool Three became The Downliners in 1959, naming themselves after the Jerry Lee Lewis song "Down The Line" and having completed their formal education, the nucleus of the group moved to Twickenham. After a disastrous tour to France, the band split at the beginning of 1963 but O’Donnell and drummer Johnny Sutton re-grouped by placing an advertisement in a national music paper which resulted in a new line-up. A second drummer, Keith Evans, was one of the first to join but could only be accomodated by switching to bass guitar. The name of the new band was immediately changed to Downliners Sect, with O’Donnell and Evans also adopting new identities, becoming Don Craine and Keith Grant respectively. After O’Donnell’s mother Joyce became their manager, The Downliners obtained residencies at both Eel Pie Island and Studio 51, the original home of skiffle, and their reputation as a hard hitting Rhythm N’Blues combo, comparable to both The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds soon gathered pace. One journalist offered the following observation. "Of all of Britain’s R&B bands The Downliners were arguably the rawest. The Sect didn't as much interpret the music of Chess Records as attack it, with a finesse that made The Pretty Things seem positively suave in comparison. Long on crude energy and hoarse vocals, but short on originality and songwriting talent" The band entered the studio in 1963 but their initial recordings were not issued, consequently the first official release was a live-EP "At Nite In Newport Street" recorded at Studio 51. The record was financed by the band themselves and only 400 copies were pressed but it achieved an underground status in, of all places, Sweden with a copy finding its way to the Swedish pirate radio station Radio Syd where it was played on heavy rotation. In the process it created for the band a very strong Swedish following. The Downliners no frills approach to R&B was championed by such luminaries as Van Morrison, Rod Stewart & Steve Marriott with both Rod & Steve apparently being overlooked for the position of harmonica player in favour of Ray Sone who joined the Sect in 1964.

Their record contract with Columbia was signed during the same year and they promptly released a cover of Jimmy Reed’s "Baby What’s Wrong" with the single reaching the bottom regions of the UK chart. Close inspection suggests that it's surprising that the record charted at all as it was performed with an almost primitive rawness that seemed unsuitable for commercial success. The band played with a wild abandon whilst vocally, lyrics were delivered with a growling ineptitude (In my opinion, the lack of a decent vocalist has plagued The Sect since Day One.) Follow-up singles were issued to no effect with early 45's adopting the idea of plundering the band's name for a series of punned song titles. Their first three releases featured B-sides entitled "Be A Sect Maniac", "Sect Appeal" and "Insecticide" respectively. This slightly irreverent attitude extended to their image which revealed itself in Don Craine’s constant wearing of a deerstalker hat both on and off stage. Unfortunately blues and R&B purist’s took this joviality as a sign of weakness and quickly alienated the band. As if to underline their "jokey" image, in September 1964 The Downliners recorded a version of The Coasters novelty hit “Little Egypt” that failed in the UK but reached No.2 in Spring 1965 in their beloved Sweden. Their popularity in this country was such that when they played the Ice Stadium in Stockholm more than 10,000 punters appeared with the police twice threatening to pull the plug on the gig if the audience didn’t calm down. Back home, their debut album “The Sect" was released at the tail end of 1964 and was more of the same with the proverbial Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry cover versions rubbing shoulders with original material that continued pretty much in the same wild and abandoned vein. Having lost some of their core audience, The Downliners decided to court controversy by releasing a fairly self-explanatory EP called "The Sect Sing Sick Songs". Included was an answer record to the Shangri-La's doom-laden "Leader Of The Pack" called "Leader Of The Sect", but the EP’s most debated track was "I Want My Baby Back", an item originally recorded by the obscure American singer Jimmy Cross. This song, about a gruesome car accident, contained such classic lines as “Over there was my baby, and over there was my baby and way over there was my baby” It was of course banned by the BBC. At this point, instead of releasing some material that could have helped them to regain a foothold as a chart-bound band, The Sect decided to change musical tack and the release of the "Wreck Of The Old 97" single in early 1965, proved to be a shape of things to come. An album of mostly old-timey Country & Western songs called "The Country Sect". "Country Rock" was a term that became more common place towards the latter part of the 60's, with The Byrds' Gram Parsons-inspired "Sweetheart Of The Rodeo" album, released in 1968, largely responsible for it's creation though Parsons had begun the process of incorporating country songs into his repertoire as early as 1966. But here we have The Downliners, a British band no less, delving into a distinctly American genre of music that had not really been explored in popular music before, approximately 12 months before anyone else had thought of the idea. To be honest, it wasn't an idea that really worked. First and foremost, "The Country Sect" is not a very good album, The Downliners somewhat ramshackle performances giving the distinct impression that they were not suited to the material. This brave but ultimately bewildering career decision was commercial suicide at the time but the Sect were a band who were seemingly uninterested in the trappings of success. The 1966 album "The Rock Sect's In" wisely abandoned the country leanings but was effectively an album's worth of cover versions that, whilst spirited, were the sound of a band struggling for direction. Hidden however amongst covers of "Hang On Sloopy" and Vince Taylor's "Brand New Cadillac" was a song called "Why Don't You Smile Now?" written by a pre-Velvet Underground Lou Reed & John Cale. Two interesting singles released in 1966, “Glendora” – a tale of love between man and mannequin – and Graham Gouldman's "The Cost Of Living" showed great potential but with both failing to chart, the Sect began to slide. After several more personnel changes they re-named themselves Don Craine’s New Downliners Sect but then Craine himself hung up his deerstalker for good in 1967 and the band’s entertaining but subsequently unsuccessful career finally ended in 1968. Treasured by various members of the pub rock fraternity their debut album was re-released in 1976 after the band had been name-checked by those "in the know". The band consequently re-formed for one final hurrah to cash in on their new found popularity.

THE DOWNLINERS SECT - Baby What's Wrong (1964)

7th December 1964

THE PARAMOUNTS

The origins of this band go back to a talent contest held at the Palace Hotel Dance Hall in Southend during the early 60’s. Contestants included local bands The Coasters, Mickey Law & The Outlaws, The Raiders and Bob Scott & The Clansmen amongst others. Law won the contest somewhat controversially with The Coasters coming a close second though there were suggestions that Law had somehow fixed the vote. Organizer and local entrepreneur Peter Martin hit upon the novel idea of putting together a Southend “super group” by combining the best members of the competing combos together in a single line-up. He ended up with vocalist Bob Scott, The Raiders Robin Trower and Chris Copping on guitar and bass respectively, Mick Brownlee the Outlaws drummer and 14-year-old Gary Brooker from The Coasters on keyboards. The band were assembled by somewhat dubious means, Brooker joining on the false promise of having been told by Martin that his previous employers had been informed of his departure from their band when nothing of the sort had been arranged. Huge R&B fans, singer Scott was the odd-man-out as he preferred the repertoire of the hip-shaking Elvis and Ricky Nelson. As vocalist, the band generally played what he sang, but when Scott failed to turn up for a gig, the teenage Brooker found himself pressed into service as the singer, and the band ‘s material changed. In 1961, Robin Trower’s father bought the Penguin Café situated on Southend’s sea-front and The Paramounts began playing in the basement, christening it “The Shades” after Southall band Johnny Harris & The Shades, a recent and regular Southend attraction. Fellow Southend musician John Denton explains the “scene”. "The cellar club was run by the genial Len Trower. It cost me a shilling to descend into the dimly-lit cavernous room, formed of two dark areas fronted by a small dancing space and low stage. Behind the stage, a zany mural depicted The Paramounts' cartoon replicas. In the two back chambers, one could perceive youths sipping cola, while girls danced effortlessly to the juke box sound of 'Thumbin' A Ride'. The dance area was to fill as The Paramounts plugged in and commenced to rock. Egg boxers bedecked the ceiling, serving as primitive sound-proofing; the cluster of 'backing vocalist' fans was so effective in this environment despite the throbbing sound; the people around the stage were executing what would be termed The Pogo some fifteen years later. This was the most exciting music I'd ever heard." There were several changes in the line-up between Christmas 1962 and Autumn 63. In December 62, Copping had left the band to attend university and was succeeded on bass by Diz Derrick, an old skiffle cohort of Brooker’s. Apart from his obvious musical talent, Derrick also received the backing of his financially well-off parents with his father funding the purchase of a commer van which was quickly adorned with the words “Paramounts R&B” on it’s rear in gold letters. Drummer Brownlee also exited after deciding that marriage and bricklaying was more exciting than being a rock n’roller, Barrie (B.J.) Wilson from Orpington arrived after answering an ad in the Melody Maker. Learning their trade quickly, they turned their attentions away from their Essex roots to the capital city and began playing venues that had been previously been musically pillaged by The Rolling Stones, consequently by mid-1963, they had turned professional and had become one of the more advanced R&B outfits in London, having abandoned the good old rock n’roll of Chuck Berry in favour of the sophisticated soul of James Brown and Bobby Bland. More obscure material was procured from the record collection of future record producer Guy Stevens, with Brooker suggesting that at this point, any white singer was quickly omitted from the band’s repertoire with the exception of Bobby Darin. A demo tape that included versions of The Coasters ' "Poison Ivy" and Bland's "Farther On Up The Road." was recorded at IBC Studios with Glyn Johns engineering. “Poison Ivy” was manager Peter Martin’s choice but the band were reluctant to cut it citing The Coasters music as “sacred”. Signed by Parlophone Records in late 1963 “Poison Ivy" was given the professional treatment by George Martin’s assistant, producer Ron Richards. The single skirted the lower regions of the Top 40 and the proverbial appearances on both Ready! Steady! Go! and Thank Your Lucky Stars earned them a good reputation. After appearing on the latter program with Mick, Keef & the boys, The Stones proclaimed that the Paramounts were “The best r&b band in the country”. Unfortunately it was an endorsement that seemed lost on the rest of the UK as the group were never able to capitalize on the publicity. A second single, Thurston Harris’ “Little Bitty Pretty One” was quickly followed by an excellent version of The Impressions “I’m The One Who Loves You”. Driven by Gary Brooker's Hohner piano, this track proved conclusively that when the band were given material that they were sympathetic to, they were indeed as good as Jagger & Richards had suggested. The release was also notable for the inclusion of the Brooker/Trower composition on it’s B-side, "It Won't Be Long," the first song ever written from within the band and penned after producer Richards suggested that money could be made by recording their own material. After another Coasters cover “Bad Blood” was banned by those paragons of virtue the BBC (“Bad Blood” is apparently an obscure euphemism for VD) the string-laden "Blue Ribbons" written by Jackie De Shannon and P.F.Sloan’s “You Never Had It So Good” seemed like last ditch efforts on behalf of EMI to break the band commercially despite neither being suited to the band's soulful style. The latter single, which the band hated, at least features another fine Brooker/Trower original on it's B-side called "Don't Ya Like My Love", a track regarded in some circles as the best thing the band ever recorded. B.J.Wilson temporarily left the band in 1965 to pursue a gambling career in the South of France whilst the band were relegated to backing Sandie Shaw & Chris Andrews. With single sales poor in late 1966, the Paramounts broke up. Diz Derrick left the music business altogether, whilst Trower and Wilson joined other bands. "When our repertoire was no longer sacred, we jacked it in. By early 1966, I became disillusioned myself, and started writing my own songs. You see, you could play at The Scotch, and perform a song, and five minutes later they'd play the record, and wipe you off the floor That couldn't have happened in earlier days, because only Guy Stevens had the record!" We came upon a situation where our repertoire was, in fact, available in every disco in town – it hadn't always been that way. Otis Redding had come from being a sort of underground artist, to becoming a public property. Suddenly it wasn't ON any more. We'd lost the exclusivity of repertoire we'd enjoyed in previous years." The story doesn’t end there however. Brooker began writing songs with lyricist Keith Reid and in 1967, they arranged to cut a song that they'd written entitled "A Whiter Shade of Pale," which was recorded by a studio band credited as Procol Harum. When it became a No.1 hit, not only were new recordings needed, but a live band was required to complete tour commitments. Brooker enlisted old cohorts Trower & Wilson and with Matthew Fisher, an ex-member of The Downliners Sect, on organ and David Knights on bass, the band embarked on a hugely successful career. When two years later, Fisher and Knights departed, The Paramounts connection was strengthened still further when Chris Copping returned to the fold as bass guitarist.

THE PARAMOUNTS - I'm The One Who Loves You (1964)

* A band called The Paramounts played the Top Twenty on the 15th January 1962 but as I have previously mentioned, I am not convinced that this was the Southend version mentioned above as I do not believe that they played outside of their locality until the following year, an impression that has been backed up by comments made on the sleeve notes of their EMI Abbey Road compilation "Whiter Shades Of R&B"

11th December 1964

TOWN HALL - TEEN BEAT Presenting the West of England's TOP Pop Group who have already recently opened with The Hollies. THE MUSTANGS

This concert occurred on the same day as a "GRAND TIDDLE" at the Bridgwater Technical College. This was in aid of the Mayor's Christmas Cheer Fund and started at 10am. Tiddlywinking and Rock N'Roll - a perfect combination.

14th December 1964

THE CYMERONS

The Cymerons were from Swinton in Manchester and would have been largely anonymous if it were not for the fact that their band name pre-dates that curious psychedelic habit of spellyng thyngs in a slyghtly uncoventional manner. Band names like The Cyrkle and The Syn cropped up fairly regularly during 1965/66 but The Cymerons appear to have adopted this idea earlier than most as they were up and running as early as 1963. The band certainly did not appear to have any psychedelic tendencies as far as their choice of music is concerned, in fact they appear to be - dare I say it - a little "old fashioned". The web-site "Manchester Beat" features various comments from ex-followers of the band and in the first paragraph the words "Everly Bros" "high kicking routine" and "Elvis Presley covers" are all mentioned. They were originally known as "Eddie & The Cymerons" despite having no band member called Eddie, in fact their lead vocalist was originally someone named Mike Lynch and he soon left to form the equally obscure The Chapters. Being Mancunian, they not only played The Cavern in nearby Liverpool but also appeared at most of the local haunts like the Oasis Club, the Forty Thieves, The Spiders Web, the Twisted Wheel (later made famous for it's Northern Soul connections) and finally the Roaring Twenties Club at which they had a residency, playing regularly on Friday nights during 1963. More importantly they managed to squeeze out a couple of singles "I'll Be There" appearing on Decca in 1964 and "I Can See You" on Fontana in 1966. Two 45's in three years tells it's own story and apart from the fact that they once had the novelty of a female manager and that they returned to play The Top Twenty in 1965, they remained largely unknown outside of their beloved Manchester.

THE CYMERONS - I Can See You (1966)

28th December 1964

DAVE CURTISS & THE TREMORS

The Dave Curtiss & the Tremors fact file isn't that interesting. Originally from Clacton, Curtiss was their bass guitarist and vocalist. The band recorded for the Philips label releasing "You Don't Love Me" and "What Kind Of Girl Are You" in 1963 and Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" backed by The Coasters "I'm A Hog For You" the following year. Recorded a "beat" version of "Que Sera Sera" (one can only imagine what that sounded like) and at least one other song ("How I Cry") on the extremely obscure Karate label. Curtiss' career is far more interesting post Tremors. He played as a session musician in France backing Vince Taylor amongst others and was very briefly involved in the embryonic Deep Purple though his involvement with the band never got beyond the "planning" stage. Later he appeared, along with future Yes guitarist Steve Howe, in the original line-up of the British psychedelic band Bodast. By far the most intriguing historical snippet is that in 1972 he was in a duo called Curtiss Maldoon that wrote and recorded, on their hard-to-find debut album, a song called "Sepheryn". In 1998, Curtiss' daughter suggested to what was her current employer at the time that it would be cool to use some of her old man's lyrics. Madonna (for it was she) duly plundered "Sepheryn" as inspiration for the hit single "Ray Of Light" but then discovered that "old man" Curtiss wasn't happy and litigation ensued. Despite the fact that the similarities between the two songs, beyond the first verse, are marginal, the end result is that "Ray Of Light" now enjoys the complex song-writing credit of Madonna/William Orbit (her producer) Dave Curtiss/Clive Muldoon and Christine Leach (Curtiss' daughter).

DAVE CURTISS & THE TREMORS - You Don't Love Me Anymore (1963)

The Artists 1965 (January to June)

4th January 1965

WAYNE GIBSON & THE DYNAMIC SOUNDS

Wayne Gibson and the Dynamic Sounds were the brain-child of Shel Talmy, a freelance producer born in Chicago but who worked predominantly in the UK and whose artist roster was particularly impressive. He produced early hits for both The Kinks & The Who and also worked, at one time or another, with Manfred Mann, The Easybeats, The Creation and a very young David Bowie before entering into the world of folk/jazz fusion with the unique Pentangle. Talmy was apparently responsible for putting The Dynamic Sounds together back in 1963 but it’s hard to see where they fitted into his grand scheme of things. The band were originally known as The Tornadoes and released at least 6 singles, of which 4 were rumoured to be Talmy productions. Of these only 'Kelly' (co-written by Del Shannon and another track to feature the talents of young Jimmy Page on guitar), made the charts, scraping in at No.48 in 1964. Despite being the regular backing band on the BBC Television program "Beat Room", the band split in 65 but not before releasing a version of “Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead” from “The Wizard Of Oz” as a single. Gibson went solo, and achieved a belated No.17 hit in 1974 with a fine version of The Stones “Under My Thumb” that was originally recorded in 1966. The release was denounced by Mick Jagger (alongside a selection of other Stones covers) but it has earned a healthy reputation amongst Northern Soul followers as something of a “floor filler”. Apparently Gibson later became the first white male English singer to have a single released by the Motown corporation when his version of Paul McCartney’s "For No One" from "Revolver" was issued by that label but by the mid-1970’s he was back with Pye Records and achieved marginal success with a series of disco releases.

WAYNE GIBSON & THE DYNAMIC SOUNDS - Kelly (1964)

WAYNE GIBSON & THE DYNAMIC SOUNDS - Bread And Butter/Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On (from "The Beat Room" 1964)

11th January 1965
Pat Wayne & The Beachcombers

18th January 1965
Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders

WAYNE FONTANA & THE MINDBENDERS - The Game Of Love (1965)

1st February 1965

THE LONG & THE SHORT

From Norwich, the band enjoyed a brief spell in the UK charts when "The Letter" reached No 30 in September 1964. Originally recorded in the States by Don & Dewey it was revived by it's composer Sonny Bono as the debut release by Caesar and Cleo, or Sonny & Cher as they were later called. The Long & The Short reached the UK Top 50 a second time in December 1964 with the instrumental "Choc Ice" but that was the end of the band's love affair with the charts. They stuck around long enough however to appear in the film "Gonks Go Beat" in 1965. Directed by Robert Hartford-Davis, the All Movie Guide's film synopsis is sharp and to the point "This rock comedy features an alien who tries to distribute peace, love and understanding around Britain". Further inspection is probably futile as apart from the fact that it's an extremely rare film and consequently hard to track down, any movie that includes "Carry On" stars Kenneth Connor and Terry Scott as well as Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and John McLaughlin as "themselves" should either be avoided at all costs or a "must see" depending on how warped your sense of humour is.

THE LONG AND THE SHORT - Love Is A Funny Thing (1965) ("B"-side of "The Letter")

8th February 1965

THE BEAT MERCHANTS

The Beat Merchants were from the leafy West Sussex town of Horsham, a quiet respectable suburb of Brighton. Formed in late 1962 by guitarist Ralph Worman, they were originally called The Hustlers and were pieced together from a motley selection of Worman’s schoolmates all of whom were aged between 14 and 16. They were initially an instrumental band based, inevitably, around the music of The Shadows but after the addition of vocalist Peter Toal they plundered the Chuck Berry catalogue and, often billed as Peter & The Hustlers, began to play local gigs. By mid-1963 they were confident enough in their own ability to record some demos and submitted them to EMI, where A&R chief Norrie Paramour expressed some interest in the band, promising to arrange a recording test. Meanwhile on August 3 1963, Peter & The Hustlers were booked to play Horsham's Saint Leonard's Hall as the opening act to an up and coming group of London scruffs called The Rolling Stones. The Stone's first single, “Come On” had just entered the charts and over 600 punters were crammed into the 400 capacity venue. As hometown boys, the Hustlers got a warm reception but the Rolling Stones simply blew the Horsham band away. Having been caught unawares by the Stones cocky swagger it was wisely decided that covers of "Hippy Hippy Shake" were not where it was at and, suitably inspired, the Hustlers switched their allegiance to R&B. With vocalist Pete Toal emigrating to Australia, the band's transformation continued. Now calling themselves The Merchants (the "beat" part was added later) the clean cut image of sharp suits and regular visits to the barber were replaced by long hair, leather and a heavy dose of perspiration. The decision to change was almost immediately vindicated by a resounding victory in the National Boys' Club Beat Competition held at the Brighton Dome, though 1st place was only achieved after the judges had asked for a repeat performance as they had been too loud initially. Norrie Paramour’s promise of a session with EMI eventually bore fruit, the group travelling to Abbey Road for their recording test and after impressing, a deal with Columbia Records was mooted. But when the company took their time to respond, the band grew impatient and arranged another test with the much younger and certainly much hipper Mike Leander, Decca’s A&R man. The band were swiftly rewarded with offers of contracts from both record labels but Decca was the preferred option as Leander had been far more successful in capturing the band's new sound than the slightly old-fashioned Paramour had achieved. Nevertheless, it was Columbia that successfully secured the band's services in a deal that was signed possibly out of a sense of loyalty. In August 1964 the band recorded their first single, a group composition called “Pretty Face”, releasing it during the last week of September. Reviews were positive and the single reached No.44 in the UK charts but achieved greater success locally with impressive showings in both Manchester and Birmingham. This harmonica-driven single may lack melodic structure but it's high energy performance is regarded amongst "Freakbeat" aficionados as one of the most primal stabs of British R&B released during the 60's with a sound that invokes early Stones or Yardbirds. They were quickly sent on a nationwide package tour with a number of artists that bore little or no resemblance to what the band were producing musically at the time. The tour included pop combos The Honeycombs, The Applejacks & Lulu & the Luvvers, teenage ska sensation Millie and "old boy" Gene Vincent. The tour was a huge learning curve for the band with one group member suggesting that it was during this jaunt that they actually learnt how to play. A second single, “So Fine” was released in February 1965 but despite being more polished than their debut effort, the band were not entirely happy with the final results and it failed to chart. It did succeed however in providing the band with an unexpected source of revenue when it appeared erroneously on the "B" side of Freddie & The Dreamers US release of "You Were Made For Me", a 45 that eventually achieved gold record status. If "So Fine" had been a band composition, the royalty payments received would have been considerably higher. Meanwhile back in the U.K. the Merchants found themselves stuck on the touring treadmill with nothing to shout about in record sales terms and this eventually took it’s toll. There were frequent disagreements that resulted in the proverbial personnel changes but it was the departure of founder Ralph Worman in particular that threatened to tear the band apart. The Beat Merchants re-shuffled however and became a 4-piece, toughening their sound still further amd gaining a a more than creditable reputation as a top-notch live band. Unfortunately it was at this point that they were handed a huge blow when Columbia decided to drop the group despite the fact that it was a decision that may have been avoided had the band’s manager not mis-interpreted the finer detail of the original record contract. Believing that they had a 2-singles a year deal for an unlimited period of time, the contract actually stipulated that it was for 1 year only with an offer to renew after the first 12 months. With the first year complete, and with neither band or manager making any noises over a possible extension, Columbia sensed a lack of commitment and promptly cancelled. The Beat Merchants were undeterred, but from this point on effectively became a live band, making what little money they could from touring. With a heavier emphasis on their own material, more demos were recorded at R.G. Jones' studio in Morden towards the end of 1965. Those who have heard these recordings suggests that it's as good as anything that was being issued at the time by bands of a similar ilk with the song-writing in particular showing some originality and sophistication. Nevertheless, despite shopping these recordings around to various labels, no-one would sign them. A few weeks after the sessions, the Beat Merchants headed across the Channel for some Christmas dates in Germany and France, also playing a New Year's show in Munich. They continued to tour Europe at the beginning of 1966 but despite a triumphant return concert in their hometown, the band grew disheartened by their inability to secure a record deal and after a final gig in Worthing they disbanded. With only two singles to their name, the bulk of their recordings remained unreleased for many years but the obscure Circle record label finally put them out on a 2004 compilation called "The Beats Go On". It was a belated end to yet another "what-might-have-been" band history.

THE BEAT MERCHANTS - So Fine (1965)

15th February 1965

"Club cards will be given out tonight - these will be worth 1 shilling for you next week"

JUST FOUR MEN

Just Four Men were a common or garden Merseybeat band that made a couple of singles for Parlophone during 1964-65 but who achieved no success with either. Formed in January 1963, they were originally called both The Silhouettes and Dan Fenton & The Silhouettes, before changing their name again to The Four Just Men, which was also the title of a popular 1959 American TV series. But after being threatened with a court injunction by another bearing that name, EMI suggested a subtle alteration and despite sounding like a 1960’s under-arm deodorant, Just Four Men released "Things Will Never Be The Same"/"That's My Baby" in 1964 and "There's Not One Thing"/"Don't Come Any Closer" the following year. All 4 songs were penned by singer-guitarist Dimitrius Christopholus and guitarist John Kelman and suggest that given a little more time and effort, the band may well have achieved something but after touring with stars like Del Shannon, The Rolling Stones, and The Searchers they were dropped by EMI. In 1966, they changed their name to Wimple Winch and became one of the very few Liverpudlian bands to attempt the transition from popular beat combo to psychedelic men of mystery and it is for this latter period of their career that they are most fondly remembered.

JUST FOUR MEN - Things Will Never Be The Same (1964)

22nd February 1965

THE NASHVILLE TEENS

The town of Weybridge in Surrey has had some notable residents. E.M.Forster wrote “Howards’ End” here between 1908 and 1910 and during the mid-1960’s at least three Beatles lived in this leafy London suburb with Lennon moving to his place in the country during July 1964. Weybridge is also responsible for spawning The Nashville Teens, formed in the summer of 1962 from the dying embers of two local bands. Their very brief history is as follows. Formed in 62 - went to Hamburg 63 - cut musical teeth - several personnel changes later, got discovered by producer/pop impresario - signed to major label - achieved 2 Top 10 hits, the first of which employed the talents of one Jimmy Page - after subsequent singles failed to make any impression, gained reputation as hard-working live band - split up. It's hard to avoid sounding familiar, but this truncated version of events is almost a carbon copy of so many other band’s histories from this period that one need only change the name of the artist and the story's synopsis would stay the same. Some of these groups achieved their 15 minutes of fame, as The Teens did, others faded into oblivion. But…………we need to put a little flesh on the bones regarding The Nashville Teens turn of events despite the danger of creating a little Deja Vu. Whilst the name of the group was taken from an Everly Brothers song called “Nashville Blues”, this 6-piece band featured the slightly unusual format of having two lead singers - Ray Phillips and Arthur (Art) Sharp. The band did indeed earn their pedigree during an extensive period of gigging in Hamburg in 1963, temporarily augmenting their line-up with the introduction of a 3rd singer, Terry Crow, who didn’t last very long. During their Hamburg engagement, they earned a residency at the infamous Star Club and were asked to play as backup band to visiting American rock & roll superstar Jerry Lee Lewis. The collaboration (achieved without any of the band’s vocalists attending) resulted in the recording of what has been regarded as one of the great live albums of the era, “Jerry Lee Lewis Live at the Star Club”. American music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine suggested that "Live at the Star Club” is "extraordinary, the purest, hardest rock & roll ever committed to record". I bet the guys at Sun Records would have had something to say about that. The performance earned them a solid reputation and pretty soon they were being asked to perform a similar function for other American acts, backing Carl Perkins on his single “Big Bad Blues” and playing regular gigs with both Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. It was at one of these Diddley dalliances that they were discovered by singer Mickie Most (his position as pop svengali was established a little later) and after signing a management contract with Don Arden, they were snapped up by Decca in 1964. Most, naturally, became their producer and they released their debut single, "Tobacco Road," during the summer. A composition by North Carolina-born songwriter John D. Loudermilk (other credits included "Sittin' In The Balcony" by Eddie Cochran, "Ebony Eyes" by the Everly Brothers, and of course “Angela Jones” by Michael Cox) "Tobacco Road" was itself inspired by a 1932 Erskine Caldwell novel depicting dire rural poverty among white southerners, quite a heavy subject for a songwriter more well known for his sentimental country-based ballads. Despite the overt American subject matter, The Teens, aided and abetted by Mr. James Page on guitar, gave a fine performance and the single achieved chart success both in the UK where it reached No.6, and in the States where it was assumed they were an American band becuase of their name.

THE NASHVILLE TEENS - Tobacco Road (1964)

Their follow-up song, "Google Eye," (not incidentally a song about a computer search engine but one of the very few ever written about a fish) was also penned by Loudermilk and reached No.10 in England but failed to make a dent in America and from this point onwards The Teens tried hard to maintain their high profile but couldn’t quite deliver. The following year the band made an appearance in the film, “Be My Guest” and after their success in the States they made a 2nd movie appearance in a forgettable Stateside flick called “Beach Ball” that also featured The Supremes. But further attempts to crack the US market were botched when in 1965 a visa mix-up forced the band to abandon a high profile American tour with the Zombies. Whilst stuck in New York they recorded their third single, the appropriately named "Find My Way Back Home". Released in the month that they played The Town Hall, this stalled at No.34 in the UK charts. Other singles duly followed, including the Andrew-Loog Oldham produced "This Little Bird" (May 1965) but it was released in direct competition with a version by Marianne Faithfull whom Oldham also managed at the time and whilst Faithfull's version eventually made the Top 10 the Teens could only peak at No.38. Of the rest, only the Shel Talmy produced "The Hard Way" (1966) made The Top 50 and when three more singles all failed to chart…. well you can guess the rest. It has been suggested that one of the reasons for their lack of success, apart from the want of a decent song-writer, was personality, or at least the lack of it. Good musicians they may have been and flexible to a fault but the band simply lacked character, a common problem that plagued about several hundred other groups from this mid-60’s period. Apart from their singles, their early Rhythm N'Blues based material sounds ill-suited and contrived and it wasn't until they introduced folkier songs into their catalogue that they appeared more comfortable. Their situation was not helped by the fact that Decca Records never really promoted the band - in fact Decca Records never really promoted ANY of their rock acts which is why they had none left by the end of the 60’s apart from the Stones and the Moody Blues, and they handled their own affairs. The Nashville Teens retained their reputation as an excellent live band and continued to back Messrs Berry and Perkins during their frequent visits to England but despite plugging away, they fell victim to that age-old musical equation, no inspiration + lack of airplay = no hits. They were very quickly regarded as “old fashioned” and probably prolonged their shelf life beyond it’s date stamp, managing to soldier on before eventually splitting in 1973. “Tobacco Road” may be the only worthwhile part of their legacy that they left behind, but it’s a pretty good song to leave.

THE NASHVILLE TEENS - Find My Way Back Home (1965)

This was a re-scheduled appearance by The Nashville Teens as what would have been their debut performance at the Town Hall on the 7th September 1964 was cancelled due to touring commitments.

1st March 1965

TOMMY QUICKLY & THE REMO FOUR

Another product of the Merseybeat factory, Tommy Quickly & The Remo 4 were an amalgamation of 2 separate artists, brought together by Brian Epstein in the vain hope of achieving some chart success. Quickly was a boyish-looking singer who had previously played a very small part in the Liverpool music scene whilst The Remo Four may well have started their career as a Merseybeat band in their own right but eventually became backing musicians searching for an enigmatic lead vocalist. The story begins with The Remo Quartet - formed in 1958 by Colin Manley & Don Andrew - two Liverpool Institute classmates of Paul McCartney. They progressed from playing local parties and beat contests to regular concert appearances, changing their name during the summer of 1959 and turning professional in 1961. During that same year, they were voted the third most popular band in Liverpool in the annual “Mersey Beat” poll behind Gerry & The Pacemakers and a bunch of no-hopers called The Beatles. During The Remo Four’s formative years they rubbed shoulders with The Fab Four regularly though this was hardly surprising as Liverpool’s beat movement was, at this point, a local phenomenon confined only to the city and it's surrounding area. However The Beatles were regarded as "mates” and both groups were among the regulars at the Cavern Club during 1961 and 1962. The two bands also shared the bill with Gerry & The Pacemakers, Rory Storm & The Hurricanes and Ted "Kingsize" Taylor and the Dominoes at the historic "Operation Big Beat" concert held at New Brighton’s Tower Ballroom on the 10th November 1961. Organised by Sam Leach it was the first major concert promoting Merseybeat to take place in the city and it attracted between 3-4,ooo fans. Like most of the Liverpool bands, The Remo Four sharpened their stage skills by touring Europe but unlike The Beatles they did not shuffle off to Hamburg, but in 1962 played American Air Force bases in France. By this time, Johnny Sandon, a refugee from The Searchers, had become the first of 4 vocalists that The Remo Four were paired with and despite being offered to both Billy J.Kramer and Cilla Black, The Remo's stayed loyal to Sandon and it was this line-up that signed to Epstein's NEMS Enterprises. (The opportunity to play with Cilla Black was denied by her boyfriend Bobby Willis who objected to the collaboration.) They cut "Lies" and "Magic Potion" for Pye in 1963 without success, so exit Sandon and enter young Tommy Quickly. Quickly (real name Thomas Quigley) had been the lead vocalist with a lesser-known Liverpool band called The Challengers, later called Tommy Quickly & The Stops. Epstein liked the singer but didn’t like his band so The Stops were ousted and the youngster was handed the vocal slot with the Remo’s. Signed to Piccadilly Records, Quickly's arrival gave the band a commercial spring in their step and Epstein gave the band a song that he thought was a guaranteed hit, a Lennon/McCartney reject called "Tip Of My Tongue". Almost everything that The Beatles touched in the early 60's turned to gold but not this song. A relic from the 1962 Decca audition tape, it had been lying around for awhile only to be abandoned altogether by the Fab Four. In retrospect, it’s easy to see why as it's not the greatest piece of music that John & Paul had penned. “Tip Of My Tongue" was a flop, as were the band’s next four singles plus a further two drum-heavy instrumentals recorded by the Remo Four on their own. A fifth single recorded for Pye, "The Wild Side of Life", did reach No.33 in October 1964, but Quickly was unhappy. Apparently overwhelmed by the machinations of the music industry, and still disappointed with the ruthless treatment of his old backing band he was ill-prepared for the spotlight and with manager Epstein unable to push him any further, he retired from the music industry altogether in 1965, the same year that he made his Top 20 appearance. The reasons for this swift departure are uncertain but during the mid-60's Quickly developed a drug problem and this seems to have played a part in his disappearance. Sadly, in later years, a fall from a ladder resulted in serious head injuries that consequently caused brain damage*

TOMMY QUICKLY - Stagger Lee (1964)

As for The Remo’s post Quickly career, they released one single in 1965 called "Live Like A Lady" and by 1966 the acquisition of organist Tony Ashton had resulted in the quartet becoming a forceful fusion of jazz, soul and rock that was very much in keeping with a number of other bands that were around at the time such as The Graham Bond Organisation and Brian Auger's Trinity. They played Hamburg's Star Club fairly extensively and even recorded for the Club's own record label, issuing an under-rated album's worth of well-chosen cover versions entitled "Smile!" in 1967 that revealed what a fine combo they had become. It's a record that would be worth checking out if it wasn't so hard to find. Despite being belatedly re-issued on CD, even that is currently unavailable.

THE REMO FOUR - Peter Gunn (1966)