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Early Stuff

I’ve included this page so I could mention some of the musicians and bands that were around in Sunderland while I was still at school. A couple of noteworthy ex-pupils from my own school, Bede Grammar School for Boys, are Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics and Don Airey. Don has had a distinguished career as a keyboard player with Rainbow, the Ozzy Osbourne band and more recently, Deep Purple. An ex-pupil from my primary school who I knew at the time was Bob Marshall who went on to play for a top Sunderland Band in the early sixties – Chris Warren and the Strangers. Bob later joined the John Miles Set – remember ‘Music (is my first love)’? Chris Warren later joined Pickettywitch who had chart success with That Same Old Feeling.

The sax wasn’t the first instrument I learned. My first instrument was the violin and my first experience of playing with other musicians was in the school orchestra at Bede Grammar School. My first public appearance outside of the orchestra was at the age of fifteen at a school concert playing Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five”. The scratch band for the occasion was called the Guthrie Quartet after the drummer, Graham Guthrie. The others in the band were a Scots lad called Jimmy Wilson on upright bass, Donald Airey on piano plus me on alto sax.

When I was learning to play music, the Singles charts were dominated by American performers. A lot were solo singers such as Pat Boone, Bobby Darrin, Johnny Tillotson, Bobby Vee and of course, Elvis. There were also a few instrumentalists like Duane Eddy and Johnny & the Hurricanes. In the UK, the Shadows were the number one instrumental group and the musicians that most youngsters were trying to emulate. At this point in time a lot of local groups started springing up, at first covering the music of the Shadows and then expanding their repertoire to include current chart hits. The first band I ever saw live was Paul Ryan and the Streaks in South Hylton. They had a great sax player called Bernie. I was just learning to play at the time and listening to the Streaks made me realise that I had a long, long way to go.

Paul Ryan and the Streaks – photo kindly supplied by Bernie Walsh

While I was still at school, Graham Guthrie and I started up a group called the Katians named after a couple of girls he fancied at the time. By this time I had changed over to tenor sax. The Katians had a line up of two saxophones, organ, guitar, bass and drums. The group played instrumental covers of tunes by Johnny and the Hurricanes, the Rocking Rebels, Jet Harris and Duane Eddy. The Katians never really got any further than a couple of concerts at a church hall in South Hylton. During the this period, I was also playing second tenor sax in a fifteen piece dance band run by some students at the local teachers training college.

The Katians – left to right: Roger Smith (tenor sax), Graham Guthrie (drums), Peewee Milburn (guitar), Alan Joynes (alto sax). Kate and Gillian – after who the Katians were named – (vocals) .

By this time the Beatles were starting to establish themselves as a household name. The ‘Liverpool Sound’ was born and dozens of other Merseyside performers achieved chart success following in the Beatles wake: Bands such as the Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, Freddie and the Dreamers to name but a few. So why not a ‘North East Sound”? The Animals had charted with House of the Rising Sun and had proved that the Newcastle had a lot to offer. Could they start an avalanche of North East bands the same as the Beatles had done in the North West? In 1964 I went to the Sunderland Empire to see a show called the Geordie Sound featuring a number of North East bands; Kim & the Kinetics, the VIPs, The Delemares and Paul Ryan & the Streaks (mentioned above). In addition the show featured the up and coming Joe Cocker. Unfortunately the show was a bit of a flop outside of the North East and failed to establish Newcastle as the “new” Liverpool.

Souvenir booklet from the Geordie Sound tour (kindly supplied by Bernie Walsh) – see more below

Graham Guthrie and I played together in a couple more bands before moving on to the Conrads with a lead guitarist, bass player and vocalist/rhythm guitarist who all lived quite near to me. We played a lot of the current chart material – Beatles, Kinks, Dave Clark Five and the like.

The Conrads business card

Apart from the odd wedding reception and party, our only regular gig was at a youth club dance at St Barnabus church hall in Sunderland where we always shared the stage with another young band called the Fireflies. The drummer in the Fireflies was Nigel Olsson who I would later play with in the Jazzboard and James South. The Fireflies guitarist was Mick Grabham who was a member of Plastic Penny with Nigel and later went on to play with Cochise and Procol Harum.

The Conrads performing at a wedding reception in 1964

The Conrads didn’t last that long. David Snowdon, the lead guitarist joined a gigging band and started to play working men’s clubs on a regular basis. He later went on to play with the Up North Combine. Peter Watson, the bass player, joined a band called the Quandowns and eventually went to Hamburg as a professional musician. In later years I would play again with both David and Peter in separate bands.

The Conrads at St Barnabus Church Hall in Hendon, Sunderland in 1964

The Conrads at St Barnabus Church Hall. Left to right; Alan Wharton (vocals/guitar), Peter Watson (bass), Roger Smith (tenor sax), Graham Guthrie (drums) and David Snowdon (lead guitar)

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Kylastrons – 1965

In the early sixties, before Screaming Lord Sutch became a politician and leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony party, he was a fairly successful UK rock horror performer. He was famous for his weird antics on stage, which at one time involved him leaping out of a coffin at the beginning of his act. A North East musician who played in Sutch’s band, the Savages, for a short time was guitarist Malcolm Douglas Langstaff, otherwise known as Kylastron Mac. He had earned his nick name from years of playing lead guitar with the popular Newcastle instrumental group, the Kylastrons, both in England and Germany.

I first met Mac at the beginning of 1965 after I placed a card in a Sunderland music shop, advertising my services as a tenor sax player. A week later I got a call from him, inviting me for an audition with his band – a reformed Kylastrons. The Kylastrons had been around for a long time in one form or another. The band in 1965 was led by Mac, who was an exceptional guitarist with a flamboyant personality. A few years later he would play and record with Keith Emerson in the Nice, appearing on the Nice’s ‘Ars Longa Vita Brevis’ album. The rest of the band consisted of Bernie Watson from Sunderland on keyboard and Bill Baker from Burnopfield on drums. The new Kylastrons did not have a bass player, relying on Bernie to supply bass lines on his keyboard. The other three band members were a lot older than me and they all had years of gigging experience behind them. I went for a couple of rehearsals with the band and, in spite of my age and inexperience they seemed happy to take me on. Their repertoire consisted mainly of instrumental numbers, a lot of which had been penned by Kylastron Mac.

The Kylastrons personnel in 1965 – Malcolm Langstaff (guitar), Bernie Watson (organ), Bill Baker (drums) & Roger Smith (tenor sax)

My first gig with the Kylastrons was at the Blue Note club in Sunderland on Friday 5th February 1965. We supported a Liverpool band called the Black Knights who had appeared in the film ‘Ferry Across the Mersey’ featuring many of the Liverpool bands that had found fame in the wake of the Beatles. The following night we played at a dance in Ashington, Northumberland until 11.00 pm followed by a session at the el Cubana club in Sunderland from 1.00 am to 3.00 am. On the Sunday night we played at the Rainbow Club in Seaton. Four venues in three days – my gigging career had started with a bang!

In the few months that followed I learned a lot about gigging and life on the road. As well as playing local gigs, the Kylastrons also played in Kendal, Worksop, Doncaster, Rotherham, Sheffield and Hull. We stayed at various hotels, bed & breakfast establishments and transport lodges. On one occasion our van broke down on the A1 near Sinderby in Yorkshire and we had to spend the night shivering in a farmer’s hay barn.

The Kylastrons business card

On 3rd February I paid my first visit to a recording studio; Mortonsound in Newcastle. We recorded seven instrumental numbers for a demo disc, which Mac intended sending to major recording companies in London. The numbers we recorded were Kylastronic versions of classical pieces – ‘The Sabre Dance’ and ‘Hall of the Mountain King’; two Duane Eddy numbers – ‘Ramrod’ and ‘Ring of Fire’ plus ‘Besame Mucho’, ‘Exodus’ and a Mac composition called ‘The Trial and Tribulations of Life’.

I played with the Kylastrons until 20th March 1965 when they replaced me with a bass player. I was grateful for my apprenticeship with the band, having crammed a lot of experiences into a seven week period.

The Kylastrons eventually broke up at the beginning of May 1965.

Worksop Palais de Danse poster 6th March 1965

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Six Leaves – 1965

After splitting with the Kylastrons, I was introduced to the world of affiliated working men’s clubs. Most villages and districts in the North East had at least one Working Men’s Club and most of them provided entertainment including local bands (or beat groups as they were called back in 1965). Bands were booked by the club’s concert secretary who would address you as ‘bonny lad’ and refer to your band as ‘the torn’ (turn in English). It was the concert secretary’s job to regularly tell you to turn down the volume. He had the power to pay off the band or give you more bookings depending on how you went down. Audiences were mainly seated but in some clubs towards the end of the night people would get up to dance. The upside of playing at these clubs was that the beer was incredibly cheap and it didn’t cost much to get rat arsed and look as if you were enjoying being there. A pint of Federation beer could cost as little as eleven pence (less than 5p in new money). As a comparison, a pint bottle of Newcastle brown ale at that time cost around two shillings and six pence (twelve and a half pence in new money).

When my friend David Snowdon found out that I had left the Kylastrons he asked me if I was interested in auditioning with his band, which played mainly in Working Men’s clubs in County Durham. They were a female fronted five piece outfit playing a mixture of standard pop songs and current chart hits. The other band members liked the sax and I was asked to become the sixth member of the band that was renamed ‘The Six Leaves’. The line-up before I joined was vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, bass and drums. The sax added a new dimension to their covers of early Tamla Motown songs such as “Baby Love” (the Supremes) and pop songs like “My Boy Lollipop” (Millie). After a while a couple of sax instrumentals were slotted into the repertoire. These were rock versions of the “William Tell Overture” and Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood” and were real crowd pleasers.

The male members of the band wore matching green waist coats with a leaf pattern while Sylvia, the vocalist, used to wear something low cut and clingy. She was in the habit of roaming around the audience while she was singing and plonking herself on some punter’s knee, risking the odd grope. But she could look after herself and when she let fly with her left palm she always kept on singing!

The Six Leaves in 1965 with Jeff Tait (left) on bass.

The Six Leaves had a fairly busy schedule in working men’s clubs in the Sunderland and Durham areas. Some that come to mind are; The Queens in West Hartlepool, Horden Labour Club, Houghton Glendale, Silksworth Buffs and York House in Seaham.

Apart from Sylvia Tait and her bassist husband Jeff, the other members were fairly inexperienced musicians. It wasn’t long before petty rivalries emerged and the band started falling apart. The first to go was Paul, the lead guitarist and backing singer. His harmonies were sorely missed and, although he was replaced by a better guitarist called Don Sweetman, the overall sound of the band was never quite as good.

The Six Leaves – with Sylvia Tait on vocals (left)

At this time saxophones were gaining popularity and I was getting offers of work from Newcastle and Gateshead bands. When one of the top Sunderland bands contacted me and asked if I was interested in joining, I decided to call it a day with the Six Leaves. My last gig with them was on Saturday 25th September 1965 at the Glendale Club in Houghton-le-Spring. I received the princely sum of one pound, seven shillings and sixpence.

The Six Leaves stage gear – blue shirt, black knitted tie and green waiste coat with leaf pattern

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Jazzboard – ‘65 to ‘67

In 1965 there were a lot of good bands around and if you didn’t want to do the working men’s club circuit, competition was stiff. Popular bands from the Sunderland and South Shields area playing in night clubs, ballrooms and colleges at that time were: the Gregg Burman Soul Band, Revolutionary Spirit, The Shady Kases and Shades of Blue. Some of the top Newcastle bands were the Junco Partners, the Sect, the Elcort and the Chosen few. It used to be an unwritten rule that you played in working men’s clubs for a couple of years in order gain experience and become competent and polished enough to play in beat clubs, dance halls and the like – a bit like a musical apprenticeship.

After playing in social and working men’s clubs for only five months I felt I was ready to move on to something different. In September 1965, one of the popular Sunderland bands, the Jazzboard were looking for a sax player. I hadn’t actually seen the band but I’d heard a lot about them. They played at two of Sunderland’s trendiest clubs – the el Cubana and the la Cubana. I also knew that they frequented the Biz Bar where the Sunderland mods hung out and that they had a big following in the area. Jazzboard were a four piece outfit previously going under the name of the Fallout. They were fronted by a charismatic singer called Bruce. They had a young talented organist, a bass player but no lead guitar. Their lead guitarist Mick Grabham, had left a few months earlier and had not been replaced. The only one of the band that I knew personally was their drummer, Nigel Olsson.

Jazzboard’s business card

Contrary to the name, Jazzboard did not play jazz but were basically an R & B (rhythm and blues) band, performing covers of songs by artists like Alexis Korner, John Mayall and the Graham Bond Organisation. I’d never played that type of music before but when I was approached by Nigel Olsson and asked if I was interested in auditioning with the band, I had no hesitation in accepting. The audition was a success and I played my first two gigs with Jazzboard on Thursday 30th September 1965 and the following night at the ‘Club 11’ nightclub in Sunderland. That weekend we also played at the la Cubana and el Cubana. I felt that I’d moved up a notch in the local music scene and I was pleased that I would be playing to the Sunderland ‘in-crowd’. To celebrate I went out and spent the money I’d earned on some mod clothes.

The band members at that time were Bruce Lowes, singer and occasional drummer, Nigel Olsson on drums (but sometimes out front on vocals), Jimmy Hall on Vox Continental keyboard, Brian Hughes on bass and myself on tenor sax. In later years Nigel found fame and fortune as Elton John’s drummer and Jimmy went on to perform with Kiki Dee, Highway and Frankie Miller’s Full House. Jazzboard was managed by Bruce’s father, Bert, a larger than life character who owned several businesses in East Herrington, including a hairdresser’s shop where the band rehearsed. Bert also acted as the road manager, minder and chief trouble-shooter.

The Jazzboard in 1966 (left to right standing): Brian Hughes, Bruce Lowes, Bert Lowes, Jimmy Hall & Roger Smith. Nigel Olsson seated in front.

In the Six Leaves, I’d been used to a lot of traveling, playing at numerous social clubs all over County Durham. I found out that other than the Cubana clubs in Sunderland, Jazzboard hadn’t been playing too many gigs. The el Cubana and la Cubana clubs were housed in an old terraced building on Toward Road, Sunderland opposite Mowbray Park. The el Cubana was situated in the cellar of the building and the licensed La Cubana above. The clubs were owned and run by a guy called Eric Punshon who I had first met when I played with the Kylastrons. The el Cubana was unlicensed so most of the punters used to get tanked up in the Palatine Hotel just down the road before going to the club. The Cubana had a great atmosphere and was nearly always full for Jazzboard’s appearances. The bands that played at the el Cubana were mainly from the Sunderland area but on one occasion in early 1966 the Spencer Davis Group appeared there.

Adding the sax to the Jazzboard brought their sound a little bit closer to that of their favourite band – the Graham Bond Organisation. But it also coincided with a growing interest in Soul music in the UK. In the autumn of 1965, Wilson Pickett had a sizable hit with ‘In the Midnight Hour’. Following in his steps was Otis Redding with ‘My Girl’ and ‘Mr Pitiful’. James Brown was also gaining popularity in the UK with ‘Papa’s got a brand new bag’. Because of the sax/organ line up, Jazzboard were able to make a reasonable job of covering the new soul material and jumped on the band wagon before most of the other local bands, which were mainly guitar based.

Listen to the Jazzboard’s version of Neighbour, Neighbour

Roger on stage with the Jazzboard

The band’s change in direction and Bert’s hard work over the next few weeks paid dividends because the bookings came flooding in. Bert had also managed to get some work from Bill Keith, the manager of the Chosen Few who were going south to London in favour of local gigs. We got a regular weekend booking at the Guys and Dolls club in Newcastle plus gigs at the 45 Club in Whitley Bay, the 4X Jazz Club in Tynemouth and Redcar Jazz Cub.

Then at the end of 1965 the really good stuff started coming in. On 23rd December we played our first gig at the renowned Club a’Gogo in Newcastle. On New Years Eve we played at the Kirk Levington Country Club, a venue which at that time was booking all the country’s top club bands such as Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band, Chris Farlow, Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, the Steam Packet to name but a few.

The Jazzboard posing for a publicity photo at the docks, Roker

However it wasn’t all plain sailing. The New Year got off to a bad start on 2nd January 1966. In stark contrast to the New Year’s Eve gig at the stylish Kirk Levington Country Club and a New Year’s Day gig at the 45 Club, Whitley Bay, we played at a working mens club in County Durham called Birtley Buffs. The band was determined to keep the party spirit of the previous two nights going in spite of the fact that the audience hated us and our music. As the band members became more intoxicated, the crowd got angrier and less tolerant. The final straw was when we did an impromptu version of Ken Dodd’s ‘Tears for Souvenirs’ with Brian Hughes, the bass player flat on his back. For the first and last time Jazzboard was paid off. We decided after that gig to rename the band “Bert Lee and the Buffs” to commemorate the occasion. That idea didn’t last very long but a few months later we did go under the name of ‘Big Herbert’s Band’ for a few weeks because we thought it sounded trendier than Jazzboard.

But 1966 did get a lot better. Our first major gig was opening for the Who at Mister McCoys Club in Bottomley Street, Middlesbrough on Friday 7th January. The Who had two top ten hits in 1965 with ‘I Can’t Explain’ and ‘Anyway Anyhow Anywhere’. Throughout 1965 they made regular appearances on ITV’s ‘Ready Steady Go’. In November 1965 they entered the charts with ‘My Generation’ so at the time of the Middlesbrough gig they were really hot property. They put on a great show for the hundreds packed into Mister McCoys that night. John Entwhistle wore his famous Union Jack jacket. Keith Moon wore a white T shirt bearing the word “POW” with “Dave Berry” in a smaller text below. We didn’t get to meet the Who before their set because they arrived at the Club while we were on stage. Before the gig, the Who’s roadies kept telling us how ugly the members of the Who were and that if our band had been in their shoes we’d be more popular because we looked better! After the show we spent an hour or so talking to the band in the dressing room during which time I ended up with Keith Moon’s sweaty T shirt as a memento of the occasion. Nigel was invited back to a party at the Who’s hotel and got a taxi back from Middlesbrough to Sunderland the next day, which had apparently cost Keith Moon £17 – (a couple of weeks wages in those days!).

The Jazzboard with some fans at Ashington, Northumberland. I’m wearing Keith Moon’s “POW” T Shirt, picked up at our gig with the Who a few weeks earlier

Me with Keith Moon’s T shirt 40 years later. A bit yellow and faded but still in one piece!

A month later on 8th February 1966 we opened for the Small Faces at the Majestic Ballroom in Newcastle, affectionately know then as ‘the Maj’ (and now ‘The O2 Academy’). I don’t remember much about the Small Faces performance that night but I recall that we shared a small dressing room with them. The band was accompanied by a minder who was about a foot taller than the band members. At one stage the dressing room was invaded by some female fans and some male students from Newcastle University. The students asked if they could interview Steve Marriott for their University magazine. They were promptly ejected by the Face’s minder and only the girl fans were allowed to stay.

Over the next few months Jazzboard continued to play at some of the best venues in the North East such as the Kirk Levington Country Club, Mister McCoys, the Club a’Gogo and Newcastle’s Mayfair ballroom plus the newly opened Quay Club in Newcastle. We opened for a number of top bands of that era; Geno Washington’s Ram Jam Band, The Action, The Eyes, The Shevelles, Tony Rivers and the Castaways, The Pretty Things and Herbie Goines and the Night Timers. We also started playing at some new venues – the Kave Dwellers (or KD) Club in Billingham, Columbia House in Stockton and a new club on Roker Avenue, Sunderland called Club Aztec (previously the Blue Note). Around this time we also started visiting the Club a’GoGo in Newcastle after our own gigs had finished.

The Jazzboard in 1966 at Newcastle’s West End Club

Another photo of The Jazzboard at the West End Club with Bruce on drums

We were sometimes mistaken for another Newcastle band that played at the same venues as Jazzboard. They were the Gas Board, a soul covers band fronted by Bryan Ferry, who was a student at Newcastle University at the time. Another connection with Gas Board was the fact that our singer, Bruce Lowes had been in a band called the Banshees with Ferry a few years earlier. Bruce had been the drummer/vocalist with the Banshees and had approached Bryan Ferry, who he knew from a cycling club, and asked if he would front the band. Ferry, who had not previously sang with a group, successfully auditioned with the Banshees and took over the vocal spot from Bruce.

A Jazzboard publicity photo taken at Sunderland Technical College (now part of the university)

Throughout the late spring and summer of 1966, Bert was still getting Jazzboard a lot of work – as many as five gigs a week. Most other local bands at this time were going through a Newcastle agency run by an ex-ballroom manager named Ivan Birchall. From June we started playing regularly at the Cellar Club in South Shields, the home of the South Shields mods. The original Cellar Club was on the ground floor and cellar of a large old house on Beach Road, South Shields. Later that year it was to be replaced by the ‘New Cellar’ on Thomas Street.

In August, Bert managed to get us regular spots at three night clubs owned by the Bailey Organisation; Sunday lunchtime at the Latino Club in South Shields; Monday night at the La Dolce Vita in Newcastle and Friday night at the Marimba Club, Middlesbrough. The clubs all had their own house band to support the main performers but the idea of us appearing was to do a couple of dance sessions between the cabaret acts. Our appearances at the Bailey clubs continued until November that year during which time we shared the bill with diverse acts such as Gerry and the Pacemakers, Los Bravos, Peter and Gordon, the Ivy League, the Four Pennies, Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson, The Johnny Dankworth Orchestra with Cleo Lane and the Honeycombs as well as a few comedians, including Bill Maynard (now better known as Greengrass from the TV program ”Heartbeat”).

Flier for the Bailey Nightclub group

La Dolce Vita in the sixties

Another performer we appeared with at the Bailey clubs was the legendary American rock and roll singer Jerry Lee Lewis. Jerry Lee was famous for his hits ”Whole Lotta Shakin’’ Going On” and ”Great Balls of Fire” in the late fifties. He was equally famous for bigamously marrying his thirteen year old cousin in 1958 when he was 22. Not too long after this wedding, Jerry Lee toured Great Britain and was given a rough ride by both the British press and his audiences for what now could be regarded as paedophilia. When he toured England in 1966 as a cabaret act his previous misdemeanors had either been forgiven or forgotten. In the audience at Newcastle’s Dolce Vita on 24th October and enjoying the show along with other rock and roll fans was none other than Eric Burdon of the Animals. Because of a dispute with the Musicians Union, Jerry Lee was accompanied by British musicians for the two Bailey gigs as well as his own Memphis backing band. The British musicians were, in fact, some of The Pirates who had come adrift from Johnny Kidd when he had been killed in a car accident on the 7th October 1966. On the 4th November we appeared again with Jerry Lee Lewis (and the Pirates) at the Marimba Club in Middlesbrough. When I was about twelve one of my favourite records had been ”Shakin’ All Over” by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. At the Marimba gig I shared a meal with some of the Pirates in the club’s restaurant. Although they had not been with Johnny Kidd in his heyday, it was a humbling experience to spend time with musicians who had backed one of my childhood idols.

On Friday 2nd December 1966 the New Cellar Club in South Shields was officially opened. The Jazzboard were the first band to play at the club. Not on the first night but at a private party for the contractors and staff the night before the official opening. Unfortunately this didn’t help us get tickets for the Jimmy Hendrix gig at the Cellar a couple of months later. These were in short supply and priority was given to club members. The New Cellar was a great place to play. It had a dressing room for the band and a stage that revolved from the dressing room into the main lounge and dance area. The furniture was purpose built for the club – the tables had even been inscribed with the names of all the local bands that had played at the old Cellar, including the Jazzboard. We started to play regularly at the club through to the spring of 1967 and during one period we were playing there every week.

Drummer and occasional vocalist – Nigel Olsson

Listen to Nigel Olsson singing Here Me Calling Your Name

In January 1967 we met a Jamaican soul singer called Keith Locke who had moved from the Far East to Newcastle. Keith had a number of hits in Singapore and Malaysia in 1965 and 1966 with a band called the Quests. He was hoping to launch a new career in England and needed a backing band. The Jazzboard, fronted by Keith was to be renamed Keith Locke and the All Stars. After a month of rehearsals the band was ready to take off but then Keith just disappeared as quickly as he came and we never saw him again. The Quests are still big in the Far East and can be seen performing on YouTube.

Keith Locke in the Evening Chronicle

Keith Locke and the Quests

Publicity leaflet for Keith Locke

In the spring and summer of 1967 there were a lot of personnel changes. A year earlier the original Jazzboard bass player, Brian Hughes had left the band to be replaced by Peter Watson who had been playing in Germany with the Quandowns. Nigel was the next one of the original Jazzboard to leave taking Peter Watson with him to form a band called the Enterprise. We added a trumpet to the line up coincidentally another ‘Jimmy Hall’.

For nearly two years the Jazzboard had performed without a guitar in the line up. In the spring of 1967 the Jazzboard became a seven piece when guitarist Les Gofton joined the band. Les had been playing with South Shields band, the Bond and earlier that year had supported Jimi Hendrix at the New Cellar Club. Incidently, Les is the father of Lauren (Laverne) and Peter (Johnny X) from the North East band Kenickie. Lauren Laverne is now better known as a TV and radio presenter.

Guitarist Les Gofton

Jimmy, the organist ditched his Vox Continental keyboard and acquired a Hammond organ. Unfortunately, he also acquired a drinking habit which affected his ability to stay awake during performances! Several bass players came and went before Pete Watson returned. Both Peter Watson and Les Gofton were in the band’s final line up.

Bassist Pete Watson on the right

Things started to pick up in the late spring. We opened for a few top names; Alan Price at Redcar Jazz Club, The Herd (with Peter Frampton) at Eston, Middlesbrough and the Family at Peterlee Jazz Club and we were still gigging up to four nights a week. However, the days of Jazzboard were numbered when organist Jimmy Hall decided to start a new band with ex-bass player, Brian Hughes. Jimmy asked me and the other Jimmy Hall (trumpet) if we were interested. We both were. Jazzboard’s last gig was at the Locarno Ballroom in Sunderland on 18th August 1967. We shared the bill with three other North East bands that night; John Lewis Blues Band, the Trend and Just Bent. We were the last band on and so most of us went on a pub crawl before our set. Needless to say, the alcohol we consumed ensured it wasn’t our best show but a lot of our Sunderland fans were there knowing it was our last performance and gave us a great send off. Strangely enough, a year or so later, I played in the same band as the drummer from Just Bent. He remembered that night very well and told me that the Jazzboard made a great impression on him and his band. Perhaps they were all as drunk as we were!

The last Jazzboard line-up at the New Cellar Club, South Shields. Left to right: Les Gofton (guitar) facing backwards, Peter Watson (bass), Bruce Lowes (vocals), George Muncaster (drums), Jim Hall (trumpet) & Roger Smith (tenor sax). Jimmy Hall (Hammond organ) partially hidden at rear right

Les Gofton, Pete Watson and George Muncaster

More Jazzboard memorabilia: -

Adverts for Redcar Jazz Club

Jazzboard photo published in the Sunderland Echo – left to right: Roger Smith, Jimmy Hall, Nigel Olsson, Bruce Lowes, Brian Hughes

Advert for the el Cubana club, Sunderland’

Advert for World Cup Night (1966) at the Club Astec, Sunderland

Jazzboard publicity photo taken at Roker

Flyer for Mister McCoys, Middlesbrough

Ad for the Club Astec, Roker Avenue, Sunderland

Jazzboard newspaper article

Advert for the old Cellar Club, South Shields. No – it wasn’t a gay club. Gay meant something else in 1966!!!

Another ad Advert for the old Cellar Club, South Shields.

Adverts for the Dolce Vita night club, Newcastle

Adverts for the Quay Club, Newcastle

Advert for the new Cellar Club, Thomas Street, South Shields

Another ad for the new Cellar Club, South Shields

Advert for Peterlee Jazz Club, The Argus Butterfly, Peterlee

Advert for the Bay Hotel, Sunderland

Advert for the Locarno, Sunderland – Jazzboard’s last ever gig

Ticket for the Lampglass Cellar, Ashington

Adverts for the 45 Club, Whitley Bay. Jazzboard were using the name – Big Herbert’s Band at the time

Advert for Greys Club, Newcastle. The cabaret act, Lennie Peters later became part of the duo Peters and Lee

Advert for Club 11, Sunderland

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James South – 1967

The hot summer of ‘67 was the Summer of Love. People were wearing flowers and beads – not just in Haight-Ashbury, San Fransisco but also in the north east. Even in isolated Northumberland mining villages like Red Row, the hippy culture was taking hold. Red Row Working Mens Club, where they ran weekly punch ups masquerading as dances, were now advertising their events with a big banner – ‘Psychedelic Freak-outs every Saturday Night’. The local Red Row hard cases who regularly tried to kick the shit out of visiting bands now wore ‘Peace and Love’ transfers on their T shirts (but still kicked the shit out of the bands). Clubs and ballrooms were advertising their dances as ‘love-ins’. I saw the progressive rock band, Family twice that Summer. The band wore kaftans and had plastic flowers attached to their mike stands. The world’s youth was in harmony (except in Red Row) and everyone wanted to be one of the beautiful people, playing beautiful music. For a short period in the Autumn of 1967, James South played beautiful and varied music (or so we thought at the time)!

The band was the creation of Brian Hughes, bassist and Jimmy Hall, Hammond organist, both from the Jazzboard. The name was thought up by Peter Bell, the vocalist, who intended to change his name to James South. James South had the potential to go places but in the event only lasted for three months. During that time the name changed from “The James South Syndicate” to “James South Set” and finally to just “James South”.

Apart from Jimmy and Brian, the line-up was going to be a horn section of myself and the other Jimmy Hall. The rest of the band was to be made up from a Chester-le-Street band; Peter Bell on vocals, a drummer, guitarist plus an additional tenor sax player.

James South in December 1967 (left to right back row): Keith ‘Pongo’ Waring, Roger Smith, Nigel Olsson, Jimmy Hall; front Peter Bell and Jim Hall.

We practiced throughout August and September in an upstairs room at the ‘William IV’ pub in Birtley during which time, the guitarist, drummer and sax player left the band before we’d even played a gig. We were booked to play at the New Cellar Club, South Shields on 4 October 1967 so we had to find replacements in a hurry. The drummer was replaced by Nigel Olsson, the Jazzboard’s original drummer and the new line up was completed by an experienced guitarist called Keith “Pongo” Waring.

James South was basically a soul band but we were also attempting other material that no other local bands were doing at the time. With the exception of Nigel, all the instrumentalists could read music. Brian was able to work out fairly complex arrangements, score the music and turn up at rehearsals with written parts for the band. One of our best numbers, and the one with the most intricate arrangement, was a cover of the Young Rascals “A Girl Like You”. Our opener was “Soul Finger” by the Bar Kays followed by a mix of Soul and Motown standards – “I Was Born to Love Her” by Stevie Wonder, “Beauty’s Only Skin Deep” by the Miracles, “I Can’t Help Losing You” by the Temptations. We also did jazz arrangements of Jerome Kern’s “Ol’ Man River” and Willie Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away”.

James South never achieved the same level of success as the Jazzboard but nevertheless the band played some good quality gigs at places like the Coatham Hotel (Redcar Jazz Club), the Argus Butterfly (Peterlee Jazz Club), the Bay Hotel, Sunderland and the Quay Club in Newcastle. Unfortunately, cracks started to appear after only a couple of months. Brian Hughes left the band suddenly in December to be replaced temporarily by Pongo who switched from guitar to bass. Nigel Olsson announced at a gig at Houghton-le-Spring Rugby Club on Boxing Day that he was leaving James South to join a band called Plastic Penny and would be appearing on Top Of The Pops that week. Everything I Am by Plastic Penny was racing up the charts in December 1967. In fact, the record had been made by a solo singer called Brian Keith using session musicians. A band had to be put together quickly for a Christmas Top of the Pops performance. Nigel and his old band mate, Mick Grabham, were in the right place at the right time and filled the vacancies. They both went on to be permanent members of Plastic Penny and continued playing in the band after Brian Keith had left. Nigel later found true fame as the drummer with Elton John in the early seventies and later as a session drummer. More recently he rejoined Elton John and for a number of years has been a part of Elton’s touring band.

Advertisements for the Bay Hotel, Sunderland

After Nigel’s departure, James South folded in early January 1968.

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The Technique – 1968

By the beginning of 1968 soul music was losing popularity in clubs and dance halls and bands playing the standard Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding and Eddie Floyd type numbers were definitely on the way out. This was bad news for sax and trumpet players. Progressive bands with horn sections such as Blood, Sweat and Tears, the Electric Flag and Chicago had yet to make their mark. My next venture was with another traditional soul band, the Technique, this time not with Jimmy Hall but with a different trumpet player.

On the 8th January 1968 I answered an advert in the Sunderland Echo posted by a band who were looking for a sax player. A day or so later a guitarist named Brian Swalwell came to see me following my response to the advert. Brian played for a band called the Technique (formerly the Five Links) who, according to him, were soon to turn professional and relocate to London. I auditioned with the band and started gigging with them the following week. My first gig with the Technique was at the New Cellar Club, South Shields on the 18th January 1968.

The line up of the Technique was Brian; a vocalist named Stuart Box, Dave Ellison on drums, Davey Graham on bass, Mark Adcock on trumpet and his brother Bob on organ. The band were very competent and had a bit of a following in Sunderland but for some reason didn’t seem to have the same appeal as my previous two bands. Their repertoire consisted of standard soul numbers by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave and the like. Perhaps they were a year or so behind other local bands who, at that time, were slowly moving away from soul. Nevertheless, the Technique had three or four gigs a week and I enjoyed playing alongside Mark. Together we sounded as good as any other horn section in the North East at that time. Mark’s brother, Bob, was an excellent keyboard player and really made the most of his Hammond organ.

Listen to the Technique playing Sock it to em JB

The Technique played regularly at the New Cellar Club in South Shields plus a variety of venues all over County Durham and Northumberland. On 18th February 1968 the band recorded some tracks at Impulse Studios in Wallsend. The studio was owned and run by Dave Wood who was also the main sound engineer. Dave later became involved with Alan Hull and Lindisfarne, raising their profile both locally and nationally.

Top Twenty poster 17th February 1968

One of the best places I played with the Technique was a holiday park south of Berwick upon Tweed called Haggerston Castle. There was a large dance hall with a stage at either end. Each Saturday, two bands would appear at the venue; often one from Scotland and another from south of the border. Coaches full of people were brought to the dance from Scotland and from the Newcastle area, picking up people in other towns on the way. The place was always packed and any trouble between rival Scots and English punters was quickly sorted out by enormous bouncers who were the first in the area to use two way radios.

By March I had some doubts about the Technique’s ability to cut it in London. Not because of the musical ability of the band members but because, with the type of music they were playing, it would have been an uphill struggle to compete with the hundreds of other bands trying to make the big time. I decided to leave to take up the offer I’d had to start a band with some musicians from Newcastle. My last gig with the Technique was on the 21st March 1968.

After I left, the Technique did go to London. Here is a Sunderland Echo article dated April 2004 about singer Stuart Box after he and the band left the north east: -

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The Village – 1968

During the time I was gigging with the Technique in the early months of 1968, Mike “Alfie” Larkin was busy recruiting musicians for his new band. In addition to himself on drums, he got hold of the guitarist, bass player and keyboard player from the disbanded Newcastle group “Bert’s Apple Crumble”. Peter Bell, from James South was to be the vocalist with myself and Jimmy Hall as the horn section.

Village publicity photo (showing the address of the Ivan Birchall agency) left to right – Jim Hall, Keith Penfold, Roger Smith, Alf Larkin, Peter Bell and Dave Winter.

I suggested “The Village” as a name for the new band. I had a mental image of everyone dressing up in blazers and white trousers like Patrick McGoohan from the popular sixties series “The Prisoner”. The name stuck but I couldn’t convince the others about the outfits. So what was the fashion for bands in 1968? Well the Mod era had been and gone. No more button down shirts and hipster trousers. Flower Power was a 1967 phenomenon but brightly coloured shirts and flares were still fairly fashionable. One of the first things we did after we started gigging was to visit a tailors’ shop in Stanley, County Durham and get measured up for some flared trousers in contrasting colours.

Village publicity photo taken in the quay side area of Newcastle

The Village’s first full rehearsal was above a Snooker Club in the Byker area of Newcastle. The first number we practiced was the soul classic ‘Mustang Sally’. Years later when I first saw the Commitments movie I couldn’t believe the similarities in their first rehearsal and ours. Another number we tried was the Vanilla Fudge version of the Supremes “You Keep Me Hanging On”. Neither song made it to our set list but trying both songs helped us decide that we’d stay away from mainstream soul. A few weeks later when we started gigging our repertoire contained a lot of material poached from the Alan Bown Set, a popular club band in 1967 and 1968. I had seen the Alan Bown Set a few times and decided that they would be a good band to emulate. Their brass section (Bown and a sax player name John Anthony (Helliwell) who later played with Supertramp) were superb. Not only did they sound excellent, they also had a great stage presence. Their vocalist at that time was Jess Roden who was later replaced by the legendary Robert Palmer. When I first saw them in 1967 they were doing mainly soul covers but in 1968 they were writing a lot of their own material. Some of Alan Bown Set numbers covered by the Village were “Technicolour Dream”, “I’m Gonna Fix You Good”, Curtis Mayfield’s “I Need You” and their versions of Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” and Dion DiMucci’s “My Girl The Month of May”. Other numbers on the Village’s set list were; “Love is a beautiful Thing” by the Quik, Jimmy Cliff’s “Give a Little, Take a Little”, Sam and Dave’s “You Got Me Humming” and “Get Ready” and “I know I’m Losing You” by the Temptations.

The Village’s transport – an old ambulance painted blue and cream

The Village’s first gig was at Balliol Youth Centre in Longbenton, Newcastle on Friday 22nd March 1968. The line up was Peter Bell vocals, Dave Winter on guitar, Keith Penfold on bass, Mike Larkin, drums and myself and Jim Hall on horns. The keyboard player left after a short while and wasn’t replaced.

The Village stayed together for about nine months, travelling to gigs in the North East and Cumbria in an old ambulance. We averaged around three gigs per week, most of which were through the Ivan Birchall Agency in Newcastle. Some of the better ones were; The Rex Hotel at Whitley Bay (which usually offered two or three consecutive gigs over a weekend), Haggerston Castle, the 101 Club, Carlisle, the Mayfair ballroom in Newcastle and the Club a’GoGo. One of the worst was at the Cellar Club in Hartlepool in September when the whole place erupted in violence and we were all lucky to escape without serious injury.

Towards the end of 1968 there were a few disagreements among the band members resulting in the departure of Dave Winter and Mike Larkin. They were replaced by Ray Coulson on guitar and Brian Gibson on drums, both from the Gateshead area. The band went on for a few more months with the new line up and finally broke up in December 1968.

The Village performing at Haggerston Castle, Northumberland

Village publicity photo

Adverts for the Quay Club, Newcastle

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Sneeze – ‘69 to ‘71

In 1966 I’d been been a member of the Jazzboard when the band had opened for the Who, the Small Faces and Cream. Could anything top that? Well nearly. In 1969 Sneeze supported Free at Durham University. It didn’t seem such a big deal at the time because, at that stage, they hadn’t had any chart success. But looking back it was a great night and definitely one of the highlights of my gigging career. After that gig, Paul Rodgers became one of my all time favourite rock vocalists – he still is. This is how Sneeze came about: -

The Village broke up in December 1968 and out of its ashes came Sneeze. I can’t remember exact details of how the band got together but I think it was the Village’s latter day guitarist, Ray Coulson who started the ball rolling. Sneeze was made up of four members from the Village; myself on tenor sax and Jimmy Hall on flugelhorn as the horn section; Ray on guitar and Brian Gibson on drums. From the Whitley Bay band Coloured Rain came the vocalist Rob Rudd and Hammond organist Pierre Pedersen. The line up was completed by a very able Gateshead bass player named Tom Hill who had previously played in bands with Brian. (A few years later Tom and Brian formed Geordie with Brian Johnson and had a number of chart hits. Subsequently, Brian Johnson found fame as the front man with AC/DC).

The original Sneeze line-up in 1969: Left to right – Tom Hilll (bass), Rob Rudd (vocals), Jimmy Hall and Roger Smith (horns), Brian Gibson (drums) and Pierre Pedersen (Hammond organ) – Ray Coulson (guitar) not visible

Things got off to a slow start with Sneeze. We were doing a combination of numbers from our previous bands, Village and Coloured Rain – basically Soul and pop songs. The singer, Rob, was comfortable with this material but with the exception of working men’s clubs, the type of music we were playing was rapidly losing popularity in the North East in favour of heavy/progressive music.

Rob Rudd didn’t last long as Sneeze’s vocalist. The band needed a new image and a change of musical direction. Several singers were auditioned before Rod Foggon from Alnwick was chosen as the new Sneeze vocalist. Rod had a good voice and a great stage presence. Sneeze ditched all the old soul and pop material and started doing covers of songs by bands such as Blood, Sweat and Tears, Electric Flag, Santana, Steve Miller Band and Jethro Tull. We worked hard on our image; the guitarists both wore white flowing garments and floppy hats. The horn section wore matching light blue flared trousers and black tops and Rod, the front man, usually wore tight fitting trousers and something on top to show off a bare chest.

Brian Gibson and Pierre Pedersen at the bar before a gig at Haggerston Castle, Spring 1969

By the late spring of 1969, Sneeze had a full diary, playing on average four gigs a week. Most of the gigs were supplied by the booking agent, Ivan Birchall who, at that time, covered a lot of the top venues in the North East. The band did not have a manager but on 2nd May things were about to take a bizarre course. That night Sneeze played at the Northern Counties College in Longbenton, Newcastle. At the end of the night the band was approached by an overweight character in his thirties who introduced himself as Don. Don said that he was an agent and wanted to book the band to play in Germany in a few week’s hence. He also promised regular gigs in London plus a record deal. He arranged to meet the band the following day at a small Sunderland studio called Torino Sounds for the purpose of listening to our full repertoire. He even asked us for a lift home in our van because, according to him, his high powered sports car had broken down on his way to the gig. The following day in Sunderland he made even more outrageous promises, saying that the band would be playing in the USA within a month. The strange thing is that the band believed him! Then he asked us to accompany him singing some old Beatles songs and I guess at that stage the penny should have dropped – but it didn’t. Our association with Don lasted several weeks. Needless to say the gigs in Germany and the USA didn’t materialise. And we never got to see his high powered sports car. We later found out that Don had tried to get work as a singer through a new booking agent in Newcastle called James “Tappy” Wright who used to be the Animals road manager. Tappy told him that he couldn’t give him work unless he lost weight and was part of a band. He promised Tappy that he could lose 5 stone in a fortnight and would also get a backing band together. Sneeze were to be the second part of the promise. Sneeze did actually get some work from James “Tappy” Wright (without Don) because of the connection so it wasn’t all bad news.

Adverts for Haggerston Castle, Northumberland. Note the stringent dress code in 1969

The “Don” episode introduced the band to Mickey Meade the proprietor of the Torino Sound Studio. After Don’s departure, Mickey became our manager and supplied the band with new amplifiers and a PA system. The first gig we did with Mickey as the manager was on 26th May at a dance in Barnard Castle. He turned up with a personal bodyguard on hire from a security firm because, according to him, he had received death threats. We all thought that this was bullshit and that he was just trying to make himself look important. After that night the bodyguard was never seen again. Mickey lived for a good few years but, bizarrely, he was murdered many years later on the banks of the river Wear by two hit men hired by his lover who he had allegedly been abusing.

In Sneeze’s early days the band sometimes practiced at Impulse Studio in Wallsend. The proprietor of Impulse was Dave Wood who was involved in the early careers of Alan Hull and Lindisfarne. I had met Dave the year before when I recorded a demo album with a soul band called the Technique. At that time he had been impressed with the brass which had recorded well. Amongst other things, Dave used to record and produce records for solo singers. When a brass section was asked for by the singer or if Dave thought it would enhance the recording, he would occasionally ask Sneeze or just the horn section (me and Jimmy Hall) to record a separate track, which he would add to the original recording. One such track was for a young female singer called Billie Wells who, in 1969, was tipped for stardom. The track was called “Follow My Heart” and although nothing became of it, it is probably the only recording of the original Sneeze still in existence. Billie never quite made it as an international singing star but I believe she is still performing on cruise liners and at various other venues all over the world.

Advert for the Mayfair Ballroom, Newcastle

Early in 1969 Dave Wood was recording and producing records for the singer/songwriter, Alan Hull. Dave asked if Jimmy and I would add a brass part to three of Alan’s songs which he had already recorded. We spent an afternoon writing the arrangement and recording the tracks. I didn’t know much about Alan Hull at the time but when I actually heard his songs I knew there was something special about him. A line in one of the three songs, which I think was about the morning after a night of passion has stayed in my memory ever since. It went – “I watch your striptease in reverse and put my hand into your purse – you said that I couldn’t get much worse” – or something like that. Anyway, Alan hated the brass arrangements on the three songs so our tracks weren’t actually used for anything. Jimmy and I did get paid for the session (£12 each according to an old diary) and because Alan Hull wasn’t that well known outside North East folk clubs we weren’t that bothered. Not long after he teamed up with the local band Brethren and they all found fame and fortune as Lindisfarne.

A few months after the “big Don” episode another “Don” came into our lives in the shape of Don Covay, the American soul singer famous for his 1966 hits “See Saw” and “Mercy, Mercy”. We were booked to play at a new venue in the Northumberland village of Linton, just north of Ashington. The venue was a night club which had been offering free membership to anyone in the Newcastle area who filled out an application form. The gig was cancelled a few days before we were due to play because Don Covay was booked in our place. However, through our agent, Ivan Birchall, we were asked if we could back Don. At that time, there was an issue with the Musicians Union about solo performers from abroad using their own backing musicians in the UK. We reluctantly agreed to this on the understanding that we would receive the same money that we had originally been booked for. Don Covay was travelling from London to Newcastle on the day of the gig and we were told to meet him at Newcastle Central Station that afternoon. We were to drive him to the club in Linton, which would give us three or four hours to rehearse before the performance. We didn’t know what he looked like and were worried that we would miss him in the crowd. We needn’t have worried. He was the only black man in the station and he showed up wearing a white suit, a bright red shirt, carrying a bundle of soul albums including a couple of his own. We managed to learn all the numbers on his set list within a couple of hours and that evening he went down a storm. Strangely, it wasn’t his own hits that went down the best. The number that brought the house down was Don’s version of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’, which we had to play three times to keep the crowd happy.

A few weeks later we got call from our agent. Don Covay wanted us to back him at a gig in Nottingham. This time our agent also booked in Sneeze as a separate act to do a warm up slot before Don’s set. The gig was in a club on the banks of the river Trent in a converted boathouse and, unlike the Linton gig, it was full of ardent soul fans. The progressive music of Sneeze didn’t go down well with the crowd and this time, because we had not managed to fit a rehearsal in before the show, the backing we provided could have been better. However, Don seemed reasonably happy and a friend he had brought with him, who he introduced as Clarence “Frogman” Henry said he liked the band and in particular the horn section; quote – “Hey man – I like that brass!”

The Sneeze horns – Jim Hall (flugelhorn) and Roger Smith (sax)

Was the black soul singer we backed on the two occasions the real Don Covay? Our Don was definitely American, he was a good singer and his renditions of ‘See Saw’ and ‘Mercy Mercy’ sounded just like the records. But that didn’t make him the genuine article. The DJ at the Nottingham club definitely thought he was an impostor. He had a 1966 Don Covay album with a photograph showing the artist as being slightly chubby around the face. Our Don was quite thin and he looked very uncomfortable when he saw us repeatedly looking at the picture on the album and then at him. He could, of course have lost a lot of weight in three years and I have recently seen a photo of Don Covay on YouTube which is just about how I remember the guy we backed. I guess I’ll never know the truth. However, I do know that over five years later I read about the prosecution of a London agent who had supplied phoney American soul singers to English clubs, one being a Don Covay!

Advert for the Change Is club, Newcastle

In 1969 a Newcastle hypnotist called Romark (real name Ronnie Markham) opened a night club called ‘Change Is’ in Bath Lane, Newcastle just off Westgate Road. The club was financed by the comedian Bob Monkhouse. ‘Change Is’ was spread over three floors which included a dance floor with a booth for the house DJ and a small stage area for visiting bands. There was also a cabaret room upstairs where Romark was the resident compere. Sneeze played one trial gig in May 1969 followed by a week’s residency in the first week of June. The cabaret acts appearing at the club at the same time were the Spinners (the English folk band – not their Motown namesakes) and another folk group called the Settlers. In its early days a number of well known bands played at the club including Robert Fripp’s band, King Crimson, who did a week’s residency around the same time as Sneeze. ‘Change Is’ lasted a couple of years but eventually went bust. Allegedly, the late Bob Monkhouse lost all the money he invested in the club. He was reported to have said that Romark had him under hypnosis when he agreed to pour money into the venture.

Some other venues Sneeze played at in the early part of 1969 were: Haggerston Castle, the Locarno Ballroom in Sunderland, Newcastle’s Quay Club, the Cellar Club in Ashington, the Rex at Whitley Bay and the Mayfair Ballroom in Newcastle.

In the summer of ’69 Tom Hill decided he wanted to start his own band and left Sneeze to form a band called ‘Blondie’ with a drummer called Keith Fisher. One of the last gigs the band did with the original line up was at the Town Moor in Newcastle in front of a crown of around 10,000 music fans. Also playing that day were the Junco Partners and another Newcastle band on the verge of success – Ginhouse

Photos taken at the Newcastle Town Moor concert: -

The second Sneeze line-up with vocalist Rod Foggon at Newcastle Town Moor in 1969

Sneeze’s front man – Rod Foggon

Sneeze’s bassist – Tom Hill

Brian Gibson

Ginhouse with vocalist/guitarist Geoff Sharkey

The Junco Partners – Charlie Harcourt (guitar), Bob Sergeant (keyboards) and John Woods (drums)

Tom and Ray were replaced by Gateshead bassist George “Stodge” Otigbah and Mick Balls, a guitarist from North Shields. At the same time the band added new songs to the repertoire including material from Spirit, Chicago Transit Authority, Richie Havens and Keef Hartley. As well as being a first class bassist, Stodge was also an accomplished songwriter so at this stage the band started to include original material in the sets.

Not long after Stodge and Mick joined the band, we were booked to play at Dunelm House, part of Durham University’s student’s union, supporting Free. The other support band that night was Tom Hill’s new band, Blondie. At that time Free had not had any chart success but they were rapidly gaining popularity and already had a huge fan base in the North East, in particular in Sunderland. They hadn’t been on television a lot but I knew all about them and what they looked like because of coverage in the music press (NME, Sounds and Melody Maker). Dunelm was packed that night and Free put on a great show. Our joint dressing room for the evening was a small canteen which had been put off limits to the students. During Blondie’s set, Jimmy Hall and I were sat at a table chatting with Simon Kirke and Paul Rodgers. We were approached by the owner of a local record shop. Turning to me and Jimmy he asked if we would like to put in an appearance at his shop the following day to sign autographs and promote our album. Jimmy diplomatically pointed out that he should be talking to the two gentlemen on the other side of the table. He glanced at Simon and Paul and, realising his mistake, beat a hasty retreat mumbling something about wanting both bands in his shop.

I read recently on Wikepedia that, according to Free’s ex-drummer, Simon Kirke, Andy Fraser had written ‘All Right Now’ in the dressing room at that particular gig after their set had failed to excite the audience. As far as I remember they got a good reception from the Durham students but it may not have been what they were used to. Although I can’t remember what Andy Fraser was up to in the make shift dressing room that night, I guess as well as being mistaken as being one of Free, I must also have been present at a pivotal point in their career!

Sneeze at the Rex Hotel, Whitley Bay

Sneeze’s last gig in 1969 on New Year’s eve was at a notorious pub in Consett, County Durham called the Freemason’s Arms. None of the band wanted to do the gig because of its awful reputation, but our agent insisted and, because the money was good, it went ahead. As well as beer, the pub also served up pies. One of its peculiarities was to have knives and forks fixed to the bar on short chains so that they couldn’t be used as weapons in the frequent fights that broke out there. We had decided to play ‘Auld Lang Syne’ as the clock was counting down for the New Year and I had written down the horn parts for the occasion. There had been no trouble all night and the crowd seemed in a good mood. Just before midnight, Jimmy and I put the Auld Lang Syne music sheets on the Hammond organ and turned our back on the audience so we could read the parts. After playing a verse we noticed that people had stopped singing. When we turned around we saw that the whole place had erupted in violence. All the men in the place were knocking the daylights out of each other. A lot of girls were trying to get on the high stage to escape. We managed to get our girlfriends off the dance floor and into the dressing room upstairs where we boarded ourselves up until the police arrived.

Photos taken at the Mayfair Ballroom, Newcastle in December 1969: -

Jimmy Hall and Roger Smith

Rod Foggon. George Otigbah and Mick Balls in background

Roger Smith

Pierre Pedersen left the band early in 1970. We decided not to replace him and carried on as a six piece without an organ. Unfortunately, Pierre also used to drive the band’s Transit van. Geographically we were quite spread out; Rod lived at Alnwick, Stodge and Brian at Gateshead, Mick at North Shields, Jimmy near Houghton-le-Spring and me at Sunderland. The distance from Rod’s home in the North to Jimmy’s in the South was around 60 miles. Before a gig, most of the band would meet at a pub called the Market Lane on Pilgrim Street, Newcastle (not far from the Tyne Bridge) and wait for the van to arrive. One day when I was walking from Newcastle Central Station to the Market Lane a van stopped and the driver asked me in a brummy accent if I knew if there was any music shops open at that time of the evening. I was carrying my sax case so he probably thought I was in the know. He said he was in a band and that his drummer had no drum sticks for their gig in Newcastle that evening. I told him that there was probably nothing open but that I was in a band myself and our drummer could possibly help out. The occupants of the van squeezed up and I hopped in and directed the driver towards the Market Lane. During the short journey I asked who the band was, to which someone replied “Black Sabbath”. They were not, of course, famous back in those days and were actually playing as a support band that night.

Sneeze in 1970: Left to right – Jim Hall (flugelhorn), Mick Balls (guitar), Rod Foggon (vocals), Brian Gibson (drums), Roger Smith (tenor sax) and George Otigbah (bass)

In view of the logistical problems of dropping people at home after each gig, we decided to look for somewhere central to rent and eventually found a suitable semi in the west end of Newcastle in Clifton Road. Four of us moved into the property on a permanent basis, Jimmy stayed occasionally and Brian decided he would prefer the comfort of his parent’s home in Gateshead. Living together and having our own place gave us a lot more time to practice and learn new material, concentrating on Stodge’s own songs.

Sneeze at their shared home at 21 Clifton Road in Newcastle’s West End. Mick Balls, Rod Foggon, Roger Smith and Jim Hall

Throughout 1970 the band played at places like the Mayfair Ballroom, Newcastle University, Change Is, the Viking at Seahouses, the Rex at Whitley Bay and even a few gigs in Scotland. We shared the stage with some famous bands – the Love Affair, Juicy Lucy and Hot Chocolate. One memorable gig was at a Durham University Students Union dance supporting a little known band at that time called Shakin’ Stevens and the Sunsets. The gig was in a small hall in a narrow street very near to Durham Cathedral. The band was accompanied by their manager who introduced the band in a phoney American accent – “it’s nice to be here at your high school hop”. For the rest of the evening the manager also acted as a compare and sometimes sang and danced on stage, taking the limelight away from Shakin’ Stevens.

Jim Hall and George Otigbah (Stodge) before a gig at Barnard Castle

Also in 1970 we managed to get a trip down to London to record some songs at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studio for a Regional program featuring Newcastle bands.

Early in 1971, some of the band members thought that Sneeze had gone as far as it could go and a joint decision was made to split up. The band’s final gig was at the Rex Hotel, Whitley Bay on 8th March 1971.

More Sneeze memorabilia: -

Advert for the Quay Club, Newcastle

Adverts for Peterlee Jazz Club

Ticket for Northern Counties Dance, Newcastle

Ticket for YMCA Dance supporting Portrait

Rod Foggon at the Mayfair, Newcastle

Ad for the Mayfair Ballroom, Newcastle

Sneeze at the Mayfair, Newcastle

Poster for Newcastle University dance (freshers week)

Advert for the Mayfair Ballroom with the Move

Ad for the Mayfair supporting White Trash

Ad for Mayfair - local bands night

Mick Balls and Jimmy Hall. Photo taken at Barnard Castle before a gig.

Peterlee Jazz Club card - Family and Juicy Lucy

Peterlee Jazz Club card - Steam Hammer, Taste

Ad for the Locarno Ballroom, Sunderland

Sneeze at the Rex Ballroom, Whitley bay

Roger and Jimmy before a gig at Haggerston Castle, Northumberland

Ad for Mayfair Ballroom with the Love Affair

Flier for Shildon Railway Club

Magazine article about Sneeze

Ticket for dance at Alnwick, Northumberland

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Scallywag – ‘71 to ‘72

By 1971 things were starting to change in the local band scene. Whereas a few years earlier, bands had been happy to emulate their favourite artists by covering their material, now they wanted to be like them by writing and performing their own songs. It was considered to be the only way to achieve national success. However, unless you were famous or had a big following in the area, local audiences generally preferred music they knew. At the same time mobile discos were becoming more popular. Although it was a few years away from the full blown discotheque craze, which started around 1973, some venues were starting to book discos in favour of live bands. At the very least it was cheaper and they could give the punters the music that they were familiar with and would dance to.

Scallywag in 1971 (left to right standing): Steve Ross (drums), George Irving (bass/vocals), Trevor Benyon (vocals/guitar) front: Jim Hall (flugelhorn) & Roger Smith (sax).

Scallywag struggled for a year or so trying to achieve success by performing original songs at a difficult time for local bands. To illustrate the problems encountered by local bands at that time, here is an extract from Keith Fisher’s memoirs “Beats Working”. (Keith was the drummer in the successful North East band Beckett): -

“It was around about mid 1970 that what would ultimately prove to be a killer virus began to spread insidiously through-out the (music) industry. It was called Big George, and we all loved him – and he loved us…! He was one of the guys, a true spirit, deeply involved in the perpetuation and development of good music; but, like most viruses, he was exponentially ubiquitous.

What was Big George? He was the first of the mobile-discos! It’s now 1970… pop and rock bands had been gigging around the area for seven years and getting more and more sophisticated. Gone are the days of two Vox AC30’s, a Selmer bass combo and a 4 piece drum kit, reinforced by a vocal column to the sides and maybe a Vox Continental if you were lucky. Yellow (an augmented Blondie) were carrying four Marshal 4 x 12s for Tom and Bob; another for Pierre to support his Leslie; six 4 x 12 columns for vocals; plus the Hammond and Leslie of course; and finally, my monster double-bass-drum kit. We took up more and more space; it required roadies (that had to be paid); and when it was all set up, we would emerge from the dressing-room (had to have a dressing room to get changed in) and play two hour-long sets of very loud and mainly original rock material. We were also getting 15 – 50 quid for this show. At first Big George with his turntables and liquid-oil-light-show would play songs around the group’s two sets – which was great… everybody would get to hear some popular music of the day. Then someone suggested that: as they could not afford a group for their event and they didn’t have the space anyway, why didn’t they simply hire George – for a fifth of our fee? He didn’t need much space to set up, or a dressing room; he would play whatever you asked – all night long – at whatever volume you wanted; plus he had a rapidly growing selection of flashing lights to boot. It doesn’t take a genius to decipher the writing on the wall, does it?”

Long before Sneeze finally split in the spring of 1971, most of the band members had lined themselves up with new projects. By this time Jimmy Hall and I had been playing together for over four years as a horn section and had gained a good reputation in the North East. We were asked to join Macawber, a five piece band from the Throckley area of Newcastle who played their own material. Jimmy declined the offer but the band said that they would still want me as a solo sax player.

Macawber had a following in the west end of Newcastle but were not widely known outside of the Newcastle area. The main singer and song writer was the band’s guitarist, Trevor Benyon. His old school friend George Irving, the bass player helped with the song writing and provided excellent harmonies. They had a solid drummer called Stevie Ross and a front man called Colin, whose voice was nowhere near as strong as the other two.

Scallywag at The Viking, Seahouses

After a few weeks of rehearsal, Jimmy Hall decided that he would like to be part of the band, which had been renamed Scallywag. We set about rearranging Trevor’s songs for a horn section. The front man, Colin, was not included from the new line up. The overall sound worked well but when we actually started gigging, most audiences didn’t really show much interest in the original material. It was only when we did the odd cover, for instance “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks, that things livened up.

However, the band got plenty of bookings, mostly through the Ivan Birchall agency. Some of the gigs were repeat bookings but many were as a result of the hole left by the break up of Sneeze.

Scallywag played at a lot of the venues I had been to with Sneeze, for instance the Mayfair in Newcastle, the Rex at Whitley Bay, the Viking and the Dolphin at Seahouses, the Locarno at Sunderland. But with Scallywag, there were no really prestigious gigs, although we shared the stage a few times with some fairly famous bands at the Mayfair and Viking, such as the Equals (with Eddy Grant).

Scallywag at Seahouses before a gig at The Viking. Left to right; George, Jim, Roger, Trevor and Steve

There were quite a lot of good bands emerging in 1971 and a lot were playing their own material. By and large, most audiences still wanted to hear covers so the popularity of local bands was starting to wane. Nevertheless some bands were still doing well and were still pulling in good crowds. A band that was really popular, in particular in the Sunderland area, was Brass Alley who mainly did a lot of Free covers.

Trevor was intent on becoming famous; either with Scallywag or as a solo singer/songwriter. We recorded two demo tapes, the first at Mickey Meade’s Newcastle studio which was going under the name of “Nationwide” and the second at a small studio called Multichord in Frederick Street, Sunderland. The second session at which we recorded two of Trevor’s stronger songs was by far the better of the two sessions. I scored the songs to include the horn section and, in addition, Jimmy put in a piano part. I also put in a flute part over the top of the horns in one of the songs. The tapes were sent off to record and publishing companies in London. There was some initial interest by a couple of companies but the band never progressed any further than the club/ballroom/college circuit in the North East. Scallywag finally broke up in 1972.

Newspaper clip of a festival in Jarrow. Roger and Jim incorrectly attributed to being members of Raw Spirit

Roger and Keith Patterson from Raw Spirit at the Jarrow Festival

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