Welcome to Ready Steady Gone - a flashback to the times when I was involved in the local North East band scene of the late sixties and early seventies. The site contains my own personal photos, anecdotes and newspaper cuttings showing some of the bands, clubs and music venues of that era. Also information about some of the musicians I knew, several of whom have risen to great heights from humble beginnings in North East clubs and dance halls. There are even a few MP3s in the Music section.
Inspiration for these pages came after I stumbled across the excellent Vintage Sixties Live site hosted by musicians Alan Leightell and Alan Prudhoe, who are also veterans from this period. Whereas the photographs and memorabilia on their site leans towards groups that played in the region’s working men’s clubs in the early to mid sixties - mainly in the south of the area - my recollections start slightly later and are based mainly in the Newcastle and Sunderland beat clubs, ballrooms and colleges.
This is the North East music scene as I remember it and as I experienced it, through the eight bands I played with during the period. The photographs and cuttings should bring back memories to anyone who was around at the time; musicians or otherwise.
There were a lot of great local North East bands performing in the area during this period, some of which are mentioned on the site. But there are many that aren’t. There are no deliberate omissions. Other than my own personal cuttings, photos and memories, I have not, at this stage, done much extra research. I would welcome (for possible future inclusion on the site), anecdotes and photos relating to North East bands venues and musicians of this period, in particular from the Newcastle, Sunderland and South Shields areas. If you have any such material that you’d like to share, please contact me.