Since Ready Steady Gone was launched a few years ago it’s had over 54,000 hits. I’m guessing that most visitors to the site will be around 60 years old and would have been to one or more of the north east clubs featured or, at least, will have seen some of the bands mentioned in Ready Steady Gone. Anyone who frequented the north east clubs in the mid sixties will know that it was much easier to see your favorite bands at close quarters than it is now. One of the great things was that the top bands of the day played at fairly small venues so you could actually get within touching distance of them while they were performing.

If I had to choose my favorite year from that period, I’d have to say that it was 1966. I was in a band called the Jazzboard throughout 1966 and played a total of 132 gigs that year. I have some great memories of the places at which we performed – the Club a’Gogo, the Dolce Vita and Mayfair Ballroom in Newcastle; the El Cubana and Club Aztec in Sunderland, the Cellar in South Shields and Redcar Jazz Club, the McCoys Club and Kirk Levington Country Club in Teesside. Some of the great performers we played alongside in 1966 were The Who, The Small Faces, The Action, Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band, The Pretty Things, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Eyes and Cream.

Cream – Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton

It’s apparent from this site that my musical journey from 1965 to 1972 is well documented. However, it’s not the diaries, photos and posters that trigger off memories of 1966. Rather it’s hearing certain songs from that year. I must have listened to hundreds of songs in 1966 but only a handful bring back really vivid recollections of the places and people. For instance, take the Club a’Gogo. The songs that bring back memories of the Gogo for me are ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’ by Marvin Gaye, ‘Lightning Strikes’ by Lou Christie, ‘This Old Heart of Mine’ by the Isley Brothers and ‘Supergirl’ by Graham Bonney. They’re not particularly outstanding songs but some special moments must have taken place while they were being played for them to be etched on my mind forever.

For the Club Aztec it was ‘Cool Jerk’ by the Capitols, ‘Shotgun Wedding’ by Roy C. and ‘Holy Cow’ by Lee Dorsey. The El Cubana – ‘Summer in the City’ by the Loving Spoonful, ‘I Feel Good (I Got You)’ by James Brown and ‘Hold Tight’ by Dave, Dee, Dozey, Mick and Titch.

Some other records from 1966 that have stood the test of time are: ‘Reach Out I’ll Be There’ by the Four Tops; ‘Gimme Some Loving’ by Spencer Davis, ‘California Dreaming’ by the Mamas and Papas and ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ by the Supremes. A notable album from 1966 is ‘Pet Sounds’ by the Beach Boys.

One of the best films to come out of 1966 and one which captures the atmosphere and flavour of that time was ‘Blow-Up’ starring David Hemmings and Vanessa Redgrave. The main character in the film is a London photographer, believed to be based on David Bailey. The photographer (played by Hemmings), in between fashions shoots and romps with aspiring models, inadvertently takes some photographs of what appears to be the aftermath of a murder.

The film has a great sound track featuring music by Herbie Hancock, saxophonist Phil Woods, and guitarists Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. The Yardbirds make a brief cameo appearance at a party scene.

Blow-Up includes a sequence that was described at the time as ‘the sexiest cinematic moment in history’ – Hemmings’ photo shoot with the model, Verushka.

!966 was also the year that England won the World Cup. In July, Roker Park was one of the venues used for the matches leading up to the Wembley final. There were a lot of Italians in Sunderland’s clubs and pubs who were in town for the football matches. I remember playing at Redcar Jazz Club and supporting the US soul singer Solomon Burke the day after the final. Our manager told us to go on stage and say ‘Good Old England’ over the PA system. We followed his advice and got a bigger cheer than Solomon Burke.

The world cup comes to Sunderland!

Forty six years on – songs from 1966 are still being played on the radio and the film Blow-Up occasionally appears on the box. A song from that year – ‘Cool Jerk’ by the Capitols – has found it’s way onto the set list of my current band – The All-Nighters. So I now have the pleasure of playing a great baritone sax line from a 1966 song to remind me of my favorite year.

If you are a performer with an ambition to become famous, for the past 10 years or so you will have had the opportunity to take a fast track to instant stardom. I’m talking, of course, about Pop Idol and its successor, the X Factor. If you have something resembling talent and can make it past the initial stages that eliminate the cringe-fodder, the weirdos and the no-hopers, you could be in with a chance of realising your ambition.

Even if you don’t get to the finals, you will have undergone professional coaching, met influential showbiz people and have been seen by millions of viewers worldwide. However much people hate the concept of X Factor or the programme itself, there is no doubt that for some lucky participants the TV show has helped them bypass years of hard work.

In the mid sixties, when 17 year old Kim Davis from the north east began her career as a professional singer, ‘fast track’ wasn’t in a performer’s vocabulary. Although Kim definitely had what’s now known as the X factor, It took her nearly 17 years of hard work to achieve a hit single and, tragically, those 17 years turned out to be less than one half of her short life.

Kim and the Kinetics in 1964

Kim Davis emerged as a force to be reckoned with in1964 when she started singing in north east clubs with a four piece backing band, collectively known as Kim and Kinetics. One of the clubs at which the band appeared regularly was the Beach Club in South Shields. With her great voice and dynamic stage presence it wasn’t long before she was recognised as being a potential star. Whilst performing on the club circuit, possibly at the Beach Club, Kim came to the attention of Newcastle club owner and entrepreneur Ray Grehan. Ray had been involved in Newcastle’s Club A’Gogo in its early days and by 1964 he owned a couple of north east clubs – The Scene in Middlesbrough and the Blue Note in Sunderland. Ray Grehan became the manager of Kim and the Kinetics and started promoting them in the north east and beyond.

In September 1964 Kim and the Kinetics became part of the Geordie Sound tour with five other north east bands. The Geordie Sound was designed to showcase north east talent following the Animals success. The show was scheduled to kick off in the north east followed by a number of bookings nationwide. In addition to the north east bands, a number of popular national acts including the Merseybeats and a young Joe Cocker were booked in an attempt to boost audience numbers. The Geordie Sound tour was not particularly successful and did little to raise Kim’s profile either locally or nationally. Following the tour Kim and the Kinetics continued to play at venues in the north east, still under the management of Ray Grehan.

Excerpt from the Geordie Sound Tour souvenir programme

At the beginning of 1965 Ray Grehan bought into a struggling entertainment agency in the Doncaster area called the Chris Wainwright Agency. Around this time I started playing sax for the Kylastrons who, at the time, were getting work through Ray Grehan at his two north east clubs; the Blue Note and the Scene. Ray started providing additional bookings for the Kylastrons and Kim and the Kinetics in the Yorkshire area through the newly acquired Wainwright agency. On several occasions in the early months of 1965 the Kylastrons stayed in the same digs as the Kinetics when both bands were playing in the Yorkshire area. It was rumoured at the time that Ray wasn’t happy with the existing Kinetics lineup. At the end of February Ray approached me during a Kylastron gig at the Blue Note and asked me if I would join Kim’s band as a sax player. As things were going OK with the Kylastrons I declined the offer. Not long after Kim parted company with Kinetics and needed a whole new band.

In the months that followed Kim teamed up with a top north east band – The Del 5. At the time the Del 5 were playing regularly at the Ray Grehan’s Blue Note club. According to drummer Mike Tulloch, the band was approached by Wally Nash who managed the Blue Note for Ray and asked if they would be interested in backing Kim Davis on a professional basis. The band agreed and started performing with her under the new name of ‘Kim D and the Del 5’ in what was to become a very successful partnership.

Kim and the Del 5 – left to right: Bernie Watson (keys), Billy Wilson (guitar/vocals), Colin Woodland (lead guitar), Mike Tulloch (drums), Kim and Sid Cross (bass)

Kim D and the Del 5 toured throughout Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire playing at contrasting venues such as the Scala in Doncaster and Ollerton Miner’s Welfare Club near Mansfield. They were also doing gigs as far away as the Rhondda Valley in South Wales where they received great receptions, in particular when Kim sang a couple of Shirley Bassey songs.

Around the back end of 1965 or early 1966, Ray Grehan arranged an important audition for Kim and the band at the Starlight Rooms in London. The audition was in front of Colin Berlin, who was Tom Jones’ booking agent and the London impresario, Arthur Howes. Unfortunately, the audition failed to achieve a deal for Kim and the band as Berlin and Howes were not happy with Ray Grehan’s terms.

Although neither of the agents signed Kim and the Del 5, the band did subsequently get some prestigious gigs through Colin Berlin, including the Winter Gardens in Bournemouth and Sheffield City Hall. They also toured with Roy Orbison on his 1966 Spring UK tour which also included the Walker Brothers and Lulu. The 33 venue tour opened on 25th March 1966 at Finsbury Park Astoria and closed at the Coventry Theatre on 1st May 1966. The Del 5s drummer, Mike Tulloch remembers travelling on the tour bus with Roy Orbison whilst the Walker brothers travelled separately in a Mark 10 Jaguar. On the second day of the tour Roy fell off a motorbike and had to do at least one gig with his leg in a cast.

Ad for the Roy Orbison tour

After the tour, Kim D and the Del 5 went back to playing the club circuit in various parts of England and Wales. By this time they had released a single on Decca records called ‘Don’t Take Your Lovin’ Away’. The song was written by a Welsh songwriter called Rod Thomas who the band met on one of their tours in Wales – more about the song on this link. In spite of the record being featured as the ‘Hallmarked Hit of the Week’ on DJ Tony Hall’s show for Radio Luxemburg, it failed to take off in the charts. Kim also had some TV exposure without the band on the Tom Jones Show plus some other work for Tyne Tees Television but this, too, failed to launch her as a national star.

Eventually Kim D and the Del 5 parted company leaving Kim without a backing band. At the beginning of April 1968 during one of my gigs with a band called Village at The Carousel Club in Chester-le-Street, I was approached by Ray Grehan for a second time and asked if I was interested in joining a band he was managing. Once again I declined the offer of the work, which I presumed was to be part of Kim’s new backing band. As it happens, the guitarist from my previous band, Keith Pongo Waring started playing with Kim so I would have been in good company. The new band, which was to include a two piece sax section was called the Del 7.

Kim Davis and the Del 7 at Newcastle City Hall – left to right: Sid Cross (bass), Keith Pongo Waring (guitar), Tommy Sloan (drums), Kim, Peter Parkinson (tenor sax), Mick Whittaker (baritone sax)

During the period that Kim Davis was managed by Ray Grehan, she released four singles on various labels: -

Don’t Take Your Lovin’ Away / Feelin’ Blue (Kim D and The Del 5) – 1966 on Decca
The Real Thing / Come On Baby (Kim D) – 1968 on Pye
Until It’s Time For You To Go / I Hold No Grudge (Kim Davis) – 1968 on CBS
Are You Ready For Love / A Taste Of Excitement (Kim Davis) – 1969 on CBS

Click on the tracks below to listen to Kim:-

Don’t Take Your Lovin’ Away
Feelin’ Blue
The Real Thing
Come On Baby
Are You Ready

Although none of the singles were chart hits, a couple of them became popular with Northern Soul fans and can still be found on various Northern Soul compilation CDs.

In the seventies Kim Davis worked around the north east club scene without a backing band. By this time her career as a solo recording artist had come to an end.

Then her fortunes changed. In 1979 she joined a disco/soul band called Eruption, replacing their singer Precious Wilson. Eruption was a British band who had become very successful in Germany after being discovered by Boney M producer Frank Farian. By the time Kim joined the band they had already released a couple of albums and had achieved a number 5 UK chart hit – ‘I Can’t Stand The Rain’.

Kim with Eruption in 1980

Kim appeared on Eruption’s third album ‘Fight, Fight, Fight’ and on the single ‘Go Johnny Go’ which was a big chart hit in Germany in 1980. Tragedy struck the same year when Kim suffered a fatal brain haemorrhage. Some reports state that Kim was killed in a car accident so it is possible that the haemorrhage was brought about by a head injury sustained in an accident.

There are several videos on Youtube featuring Eruption performing ‘Go Johnny Go’ but so far I haven’t found one with Kim as the vocalist. However the following Youtube performance of ‘One Way Ticket’ does feature footage (but not the voice) of Kim and claims to be a rare video of her: -

So there was no instant X Factor type stardom for Kim Davis. Her deserved success was a long time coming and Kim’s way involved a lot of hard work – the K Factor.

Not long ago, an old friend recommended that I should read Jimmy Nail’s autobiography suggesting that I may find some interesting stuff about local north east bands at the beginning of the book. I looked the book up on Amazon and saw that the title is ‘A Northern Soul’. As I’ve recently been playing baritone sax in a Northern Soul band, I decided, based solely on the title of the autobiography and the connection to my current passion, to go ahead and order.

A few days later the book arrived with a portrait of Jimmy Nail on the front looking very deep in thought. The front cover described the book as ‘riveting‘ so I set about reading it straight away.

And there it was on page 61. In a section about Jimmy’s visits to the Mayfair Ballroom, Newcastle in the early seventies and the local bands he used to watch, there was a reference to one of my bands: -

Talking about the bands he used to go and see, Jimmy says; “Sneeze with their cover of Spirit’s ‘I Got A Line On You, Babe’ and Rod Foggon on vocals – he sounded great and really looked the part”.

Of course, Sneeze isn’t the only local Newcastle band that attracted Jimmy’s attention. Others he mentions in the book are; Raw Spirit, Blondie (later to become Yellow) with Keith Fisher on drums, Brass Alley, the Sect and, of course, the Junco Partners.

Rod Foggon with Sneeze at the Mayfair, Newcastle around the time Jimmy Nail would have been in the audience

I remember that Sneeze did a pretty good version of ‘I’ve Got A Line On You’. It’s one of those songs with a distinctive catchy riff – surprisingly a riff that hasn’t found its way into any other rock hits over last four decades. Spirit did the original version but there have been quite a few cover versions by, amongst others, Alice Cooper and Jeff Healey.

The book itself was well worth reading – predictably about a rough diamond with no future who gets a lucky break and ends up not only as popular TV actor but also as pop star with a number one hit record under his belt.

A drummer I used to know in the seventies called Phil had spent some time with Jimmy Nail in London before he became famous so I had already heard stories about drunken brawls in London pubs. In the book Jimmy bares all about his alcohol fueled early life and the trouble it got him into, including a spell in prison for assault.

I’d always regarded Jimmy Nail as a musician who had found his way into acting. However, for most people, having first seen him in the TV series ‘Auf Wiedersehen, Pet’ in the eighties it’s probably the other way round. I only saw a few episodes of ‘Auf Wiedersehen, Pet’ and it wasn’t until the early nineties that I became a fan of Jimmy Nail in his role as the Newcastle detective, ‘Spender’.

A couple of years later and six years after his debut album as a singer, Jimmy released the single ‘Ain’t No Doubt’, which reached number 1 in the charts in July 1992. I always liked this song and the accompanying video which has some great choreographed performance shots in a posh London night club; light years from the Mayfair in Newcastle that Jimmy frequented in the early seventies.

Newcastle in the mid to late sixties had a vibrant night life which, outside of London, was probably the best in the country for wining, dining, dancing, music and gambling. There were around a dozen night clubs with top acts appearing in the city every day of the week. It’s no wonder that London gangsters such as the Kray twins were keen to get in on the action. Those of us of a certain age will remember clubs like La Dolce Vita, Greys Club, the Cavendish and the Club A’Gogo.

But who were the men and woman who owned and ran the north east’s iconic clubs and kept us entertained throughout the sixties? If you had been in the Pink Lane area of Newcastle on a Sunday afternoon earlier this month you may well have seen some of them congregating in and around the Jazz Café.

The Jazz Cafe in Pink Lane, Newcastle

North east photographer and author, Ian Wright who now lives in Las Vegas, had the bright idea of organising a get together for the people involved in the sixties club scene. The reunion took place at the Jazz Café, hosted by Keith Crombie who was involved in the day to day running of the Club A’Gogo back in the sixties.

Some of the other people there were Wally Nash (now a business man living in the USA) who managed the Marimba for Mike Jeffery and later the Blue Note in Sunderland for Ray Grehan; Sandford Goudie who owned the La Strada clubs in Sunderland and South Shields; Trixie Sullivan who was Mike Jeffery’s secretary and personal assistant (at the time he managed Jimi Hendrix) and David Macbeth, singer and one time owner of Greys Club. Another of those in attendance was Marcus Levey, who with his three brothers ran La Dolce Vita before selling the club to the Bailey Organisation in 1965. Marcus now lives in Leeds and is a professional artist.

(left to right) Trixie Sullivan, Ian Wright and David Macbeth

(left to right) Wally Nash, Marcus Levey and Keith Crombie

Germaine Stanger (left), yours truly and Sandford Goudie (right)

There were one or two musicians there including Dougie Vickers who was the drummer in the Invaders, one of the first non-jazz bands to play regularly at the Club A’Gogo from around 1963. Also present was jazz singer Germaine Stanger wife of the late Nigel Stanger. Nigel, along with Chas Chandler was responsible for planning and building the Newcastle Arena (now the Metro Radio Arena). Nigel was also an excellent saxophonist who along with Germaine performed with the Newcastle Big Band. Yours truly got an invite because the Ready Steady Gone site was the catalyst that helped Ian Wright to get in touch with some of the guests. Having said that, I did play regularly as a resident musician at three of the Bailey clubs (including La Dolce Vita) during 1966.

Invaders drummer Dougie Vickers jamming with the Jazz Cafe’s house band

Rumour had it that the ex-Club A’Gogo bouncer Dave Finlay and his brother Tommy were going to put in appearance. In the event they failed to show up, probably much to the relief of the host Keith Crombie. I did overhear a conversation in which one of the guests asked the other if he had been present at the Gogo on the night that Dave Finlay knocked out Keith Crombie’s teeth!

Some of the guests hadn’t seen each other for decades so there was a lot of catching up to do. Amongst those talked about were two men who were heavily involved in the north east club scene in the sixties – Mike Jeffery and Ray Grehan. Mike Jeffery, owner of the Club A’Gogo and manager of the Animals and Jimi Hendrix was killed in a plane crash in 1973. Ray Grehan, who owned various night clubs including the Blue Note in Sunderland and the Crescendo Club at Whitley Bay, passed away about eight years ago. Without the contribution of these two men the club and music scene of the north east would have been considerably different.

The reunion was a great success so full marks to Ian Wright for coming up with the idea and organising the event.

The Junco Partners must be one of the few bands in existence that has been together playing great music for over 45 years, albeit with just one ‘career’ break during that period. Amazingly, five out of six of the original 1964 members are still performing with the band. The length of time the guys have been together speaks volumes about friendship and the respect they have for each others musical abilities.

The Junco Partners in 1964. (l to r) Peter Wallis, John Anderson, John Woods, Ronnie Barker, Dave Sproat and Charlie Harcourt

The first time I saw the Juncos was in 1965 at the Blue Note club in Sunderland. At the time I had been playing in my first proper band, the Kylastrons, for about a month and had seen quite a few bands at the Blue Note. But nothing I had seen so far could compare with the show the Junco Partners put on that night. Their performance had such an impact on me that I still have vivid memories of it 46 years later.

The club was full and by the time the band started the atmosphere in the Blue Note was electric. The band was tight with a superb solid rhythm section and individually the musicians were brilliant. It was mesmerising to watch the two vocalists – John Anderson and Ronnie Barker dancing from side to side and clapping their hands in unison. Overall, it was an exciting performance and the band lived up to all the great things I had heard about them.

Later that year and two bands on, I saw the Juncos for a second time. I was playing with the Sunderland based Jazzboard and in December 1965 we appeared at the Sunderland Art College Ball at Seaburn Hall on the same bill as John McCoy’s Crawdaddies and the Junco Partners. The Juncos were just as enthralling as they had been at the Blue Note when I’d seen them earlier in the year. Towards the end of the night there was an impromptu jam section involving some members of the Juncos and the Crawdaddies, including the two sax players from the Crawdaddies, plus me. I can’t recollect exactly what songs we played but for me the experience of playing alongside the Juncos made it a night to remember. I seem to recall Ronnie Barker collapsing in a drunken stupor before the end of the session but that’s rock ‘n roll for you!

Between 1966 and 1970 I saw the Juncos many times and often played on the same bill as them at the Mayfair, first as a member of the Jazzboard and then Sneeze. Over these years the Juncos line up gradually changed and, in my opinion, with every change a little bit of the magic I had seen in 1965 was lost. That’s not to say that the music had deteriorated in any way – it hadn’t. If anything, the band sounded better and more polished than before. While other local bands were changing their repertoires to keep up with current musical tastes, often not that successfully, the Juncos were, by and large, still playing a lot of the blues material they had been performing since 1964. Throughout the mid to late sixties they were still well respected by local musicians and considered to be one of the best bands in the area. However, whereas in 1964 and 1965 there had been an overwhelming expectation that they would achieve national success, by the late sixties it was apparent that the Juncos shot at fame and fortune had been and gone.

The Junco Partners original six piece line up in 1964 was Ronnie Barker (vocals/harmonica), John Anderson (vocals), Charlie Harcourt (guitar), Peter Wallis (organ), Dave Sproat (bass) and John Woods (drums).The band became a success in Newcastle almost straight away when they took over from the Animals as the resident house band at the Club A’Gogo. In addition to the Gogo, the band played regularly at the most popular clubs and ballrooms in the north east; the el Cubana and Blue Note clubs in Sunderland; the Mayfair ballroom, the Majestic, the Downbeat and Quay Club in Newcastle and Redcar Jazz Club and Kirklevington Country Club in Teesside. With the prospect of gigs further a field, including Germany, they turned professional and looked forward to striving for the same degree of success as their predecessors at the Gogo – the Animals.

In 1965 the band were signed by the Robert Stigwood Agency. Robert Stigwood had been involved in a string of top ten hits in the early sixties and, despite mixed fortunes as a musical impresario in the mid sixties, his skills as a manager and record producer were not in doubt. With Stigwood as their manager they released their first single in August 1965 – ‘As Long As I Have You’ a cover of an Elgin/Ragevoy composition recorded by the US R&B singer, Garnett Mimms a year earlier. Their ‘B’ side was a song that the band featured in their stage set and always went down well with audiences – ‘Take This Hammer’. The single didn’t do that well and only reached number 60 in the UK charts. Perhaps the reason for this was the lack of publicity given to the record and the band at the right time. In a Tyneside publication called ‘Pop Parade’, reporter Albert Watson wrote –

“.. anyone would think there was a conspiracy against the Junco Partners. Not only have they not appeared on television, but their disc, “As Long As I Have You” is not even being advertised in the Trade Press!

“We’ve had loads, of complaints from fans,” the group told me. “They can’t even buy the disc in Newcastle shops! We’re a bit choked about the way it’s being put out.”

The low chart position of the single was not high enough to bring the band to the attention of the nation and with no immediate follow up single, the Juncos had to rely on a busy touring schedule to raise their profile.

(Click below to listen to the single)

As Long As I Have You by The Junco Partners

1966 saw the first change to the Junco’s line up. Keyboard player Peter Wallis was replaced by Bob Sargeant. During the following two years the two front men, Ronnie Barker and John Anderson left the band, handing over vocal duties to Charlie Harcourt and Bob Sargeant.

In October 1969, as a four piece consisting of Charlie Harcourt (guitar), Bob Sargeant (Hammond), Dave Sproat (bass) and John Woods (drums), the Juncos toured as a backing band for the well known blues man – Howlin’ Wolf. The tour commenced with two gigs. The first was at the blues loft in High Wickham followed by a 2am spot at The Lyceum in London’s Strand for Brunel University, with both Fleetwood Mac and Deep Purple on the same bill. Both Gigs were amazing with Peter Green watching from the wings at the Lyceum. Howlin’ Wolf’s voice was so strong that it filled the 3,500 crowd Lyceum with only the help of the Juncos modest PA system. This became even more evident as Fleetwood Mac’s roadies removed their massive PA during the Juncos performance.

Bob Sargeant, John Woods and Dave Sproat – the 3 piece Juncos before the band’s split in 1970

The 21 day tour then continued crisscrossing the entire country as far apart as Southampton University to Cardiff University and Aberdeen Music Hall. Other memorable dates were the LSE, the London Marquee Club, The Bull at Richmond and the University of Lancaster where we were joined by Freddie King. Wolf ignored and completely upstaged Freddie King by crawling on stage on all fours clutching an empty bottle of bourbon as the band opened his set with the great riff from Killing Floor. The audience were treated to Howlin’ Wolf’s best ever performance as he asserted his authority over the young pretender Freddie King. Freddie later slipped on to the stage for a jam towards the end of the set but received no acknowledgement from Howlin’ Wolf who he should not have been let on stage.

Wolf made a point of introducing the Junco Partners to the audience each night and as the Melody Maker review of the Marquee gig acknowledged “He seemed to enjoy working with them and they worked well with him”..

Charlie and Dave in 1969

After recording an album “Junco Partners” in 1970, Charlie Harcourt departed, leaving the band to carry on as a three piece for a short time before splitting up.

I left the north east in 1973 and in doing so, missed out on the rebirth of the Junco Partners in 1977. In fact, it was to be another 32 years before I saw the band again at the launch of the North East Beat Exhibition at Newcastle’s Discovery Museum in 2009. The only difference in personnel to when I had first seen the band in 1965 was that the organ had been replaced by a tenor saxophone and there was an additional guitarist. Instead of the mod gear sported by John Anderson in the sixties, he now wore the long mac which has become his trade mark in recent years.

Front men John Anderson and Ronnie Barker

The band had re-formed in 1977 for the Newcastle Festival and after that began playing regularly at the Cooperage on the Newcastle Quayside. The revived Juncos included some members of the original line up plus Kenny Barker on guitar and Neil Perry on saxophone – (Neil left the band in 1999 for health reasons and was replaced by Justin Radford). An independent single achieved national release in 1978 and caught the attention of Malcolm Gerrie who had produced the television programs The Tube, its forerunner Alright Now and also White Room. A complete episode of Alright Now was made with the Juncos and Eric Burdon, former lead singer with the Animals, who was especially flown in from Los Angeles to jam live in the studio. A singles deal with Roxy Music’s management followed but chart success was still elusive. A cameo appearance as themselves on Jimmy Nail’s drama series Spender in 1993 reminded those of us who knew the band in the sixties just how good they still were.

The 5 original members plus saxophonist Justin Radford

So although the Junco Partners never reached the same heights as the Animals, they continue to perform today with the same enthusiasm and professionalism as they did back in the sixties. Perhaps the only thing missing is the youthful energy of the original Juncos but that has been replaced with a vintage quality that comes with 45 years of stage experience and playing together as a band. Long may they continue to entertain and excite audiences in the north east.

Finally, here’s a great video of the band talking about their experiences with Howlin’ Wolf and performing Smokestack Lightning.

A week or so ago I received some great photos and stories all the way from Athens. Before I go into details about the subject and source of this memorabilia, let’s rewind just over four decades to the point where the swinging sixties had just swung past the half way mark.

In 1965 and 1966 it seemed a certainty that one or more of three popular Newcastle bands would achieve national success. These bands had a huge following in the north east and all three had the musical ability and charisma to make it to the next level. First of all there was the Junco Partners, the resident band at the Club a’Gogo. Not only did the Juncos have a recording contract but they were also managed by the successful London promoter, Robert Stigwood. The second potentially up-and-coming Newcastle band was the Sect – (the subject of my blog dated 24th May 2010 below). Last but not least was the Elcort who probably came nearer to becoming a successful chart band than either of the other two.

The Elcort – back row (l to r) Rob Turner, Kenny Craddock, Paul Nichols: front row (l to r) Dave Eckhard, Derek Rootham, Glyn Sadler

The memorabilia mentioned above was sent to me by the Elcort’s vocalist, Glyn Sadler who will be known to everyone who was connected to the north east music scene of the sixties and also many people who frequented the popular north east venues where the Elcort performed. Places such as the Club a’Gogo, Mayfair, Locarno, Majestic, Quay Club, the el Cubana and the Cellar Club.

Glyn started his musical career as a singer with a Newcastle band called the Bright Lights in 1964. He left the Bright Light and joined the Heatwaves with Kenny Craddock. The Bright Light’s drummer was Brian Short who ditched his drums to become the vocalist after Glyn had left. Brian was later to become the front man with the Sect.

The Heatwaves – (l to r) Kenny Craddock, Mick Shephardson, John Watson, Glyn Sadler, Brian Craddock

Kenny Craddock went on to form the Elcort under the management of Derek Balmer and later asked Glyn to join the band which became known as the New Elcort. After a relatively short time the band signed with Parlophone records and in 1966 released a single called Tammy; a song originally recorded in 1957 by the American film star Debbie Reynolds for her movie of the same name. The band decided to record this song after hearing the Graham Bond Organisation cover it in the Jazz Lounge of the Club a’Gogo. For the B side they recorded Searching, which was chosen at short notice on the day they recorded Tammy.

Glyn remembers what happened after the single was released: -

“When we came back from London Elcort was the flavour of the time and Tammy did well in the charts. Only the NME (New Musical Express) did not print the charts over the weeks when it was doing well due to a strike. We were getting a lot of fan mail and I remember the postman coming to my house with a sack full of post and my mum going crazy. We were mobbed in Northumberland Street and everything was going well. We had a contract for a second record with Parlophone but we couldn’t write anything that was any good. We were sent reel to reel tapes of demos played by people on the piano or acoustic guitars so that we could pick a second single. After hours of listening we found nothing but apparently we let a few songs go that eventually made the charts including Everlasting Love (subsequently a hit for the Love Affair).”

Listen to Tammy by the Elcort

Here’s the Youtube video for the ‘B’ side – Searchin’: -

The Elcort’s manager at the time was Derek Balmer. Although he was good at dealing with the recording companies he wasn’t that familiar with the booking circuit and like most managers who think they have the best group, he sent the Elcort off on a four week promotional tour playing every night (and sometimes twice a night). The band toured throughout the country, from Newcastle to Manchester; from the Cavern at Liverpool to the Marquee and Scotch of St James in London. The band also took up a residency at a club called Sibylla’s in Marble Arch, London, which was apparently owned by one of The Rolling Stones. The residency came to an end one night after Brian Jones turned up at the club with three girls and as a prank pulled the electric plug out of the wall as they were leaving. According to Glyn, he was chased up stairs by the Elcort’s bass player Dave Eckhard who only stopped hitting Jones when he was told who he was.

Here’s a link to an interview that Glyn gave about the Elcort’s appearances at the Marquee Club in London.

The Newcastle agent, Ivan Birchall eventually took over the management of the Elcort along with the Sect. Both bands became good friends and, along with their roadies, played 5-A-Side football together most weekends in the Majestic after it closed for the night but before the cleaners turned up. They also went to each others gigs if one or the other had a night off.

Although Glyn was offered a recording contract as a solo singer (which he declined) he figured that there were too many great singers about for him to make it on a professional level. In contrast, a couple of the guys in the Elcort, Kenny Craddock and Paul Nichols, still had aspirations to make the big time in London. The outcome of these ambitions and Glyn’s preference to stay in the north east was that the Elcort split up. Kenny and Paul teamed up with the Sect’s singer, Brian Short and formed a band called New Religion. Rob Turner and Dave Eckhard joined the Pleasure Machine. Glyn and Derek Rootham joined the Sect. Glyn stayed with the Sect for a couple of years and was then with a band called Elmore Green for a while.

A couple of pictures of the reformed Sect in 1967. The band members in the bottom picture (left to right) are: Alan Atkinson, Glyn Sadler, Tom Duffy, Derek Rootham and Dave Corker.

Elmore Green in 1969 – (l to r) Tommy Jackman, Mick Shepardson, Glyn Sadler, Fred Reeves and Ricky Tocher

New Religion didn’t make it but both Paul Nichols and, in particular, Kenny Craddock went on to bigger and better things. Amongst others, Paul was the drummer with Skip Bifferty, Lindisfarne and Widowmaker (with Steve Ellis from Love Affair). Kenny had a highly successful career as a session musician and musical director, working with many top artists including Ginger Baker, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and Van Morrison. Sadly, Kenny’s career came to an abrupt end when he died in a car accident in Portugal in 2002. His obituary in The Independent is a great testimony to his talent and shows how much he was respected as a musician.

Unlike the Junco Partners who are still performing in the north east, the Elcort’s career was relatively short lived, lasting less than two years. But they still remain one of the most remembered local Newcastle bands of the sixties. Who knows what might have happened had they found a suitable song to follow up their one and only single – Tammy?

In the sixties there weren’t many Newcastle bands that made it to the top. After the Animals in 1964, there was a long gap of 6 years before Lindisfarne achieved chart success with their second album, ‘Fog On The Tyne’. Lots of individual musicians from the Newcastle area have found fame and fortune but famous Newcastle bands were thin on the ground.

The Sect (originally with the Jack Wright Agency)

That’s not to say that there weren’t good north east bands around in the sixties that deserved to make the big time or, indeed, tried to make a go of it. After the Junco Partners took over the Animals residency at Newcastle’s Club a’Gogo, a lot of people expected them to achieve the same success as their predecessors and be the next band from the city to hit the charts.

Then there was the Sect. Bands that make it to the top usually have more than just musical ability. They often have at least a couple of members with charisma and good looks. Back in 1964 and 1965, Newcastle band, the Sect had their fair share of both. The band built up a great reputation in the north east and had a large following of mainly female fans. They played at the best venues in the city, such as the Mayfair, Majestic, Club a’Gogo and the Quay Club. They also played at the el Cubana and Blue Note in Sunderland, the Cellar Club in South Shields plus other venues all over Northumberland and County Durham.

The Sect – left to right; Tom Duffy, Brian Short, Dave Corker, Alan Atkinson and Steve Gatiss

The roots of the Sect lay in a band formed in 1963 by guitarists Alan Atkinson and Steve Gatiss plus bass player Dave Stubbington. Mel Mason (vocals) and Ian Pringle (drums) joined the lineup and the band started performing under the name of Tony King and the Chessmen. After a while, Mel left leaving the band to continue as the Chessmen. The band had a busy schedule playing all over the north east, sometimes doing 5 or 6 booking a week.

An early incarnation of the Sect, Tony Knight and the Chessman; l to r – Steve Gatiss, Mel Mason, Dave Stubbington, Alan Atkinson, Ian Pringle

In 1965 the Chessmen became the Sect. Later that year there were several changes to the lineup including the departure of drummers Ian Pringle, his replacement Dave Burn and bassist Dave Stubbington.

The next Sect lineup was – Brian Short (vocals), Alan Atkinson (rhythm guitar), Steve Gatiss (lead guitar), Tom Duffy (bass) and Dave Corker (drums). Unlike the Junco Partners who played mainly blues based material, the Sect were a bit more mainstream. They covered music that was good to dance to and that was popular in the clubs and ballrooms. A few songs I can remember them doing were; Land Of A Thousand Dances, The Way You Do The Things You Do and It’s All Over Now Baby Blue.

The Sect got their shot at fame and fortune in 1966 when songwriter and producer Tim Rice saw the band performing in the north east. The band was invited to a recording session at the Abbey Road Studios in London by Tim Rice who, at the time, was a producer for EMI. They recorded an upbeat version of Bob Dylan’s ‘It’s All Over Now Baby Blue’ and ‘Walk Away Renee’ which had been written and recorded by the American band the Left Banke a year earlier but had not charted in the UK. In the event, neither track was released by EMI.

Sect publicity flier

Around about the same time, the Sect came to the attention of Ivan Birchall, the manager of the Majestic. The band had supported Unit Four Plus Two at the “Maj” and had impressed Ivan with their performance and the reaction they got from the crowd. This gig was followed by more at the Majestic supporting the likes of the Kinks, Hollies, Small Faces, Georgie Fame and many more. Ivan became the Sect’s manager and left the Rank Organisation to set up his own business in the city. The business became the Birchall Entertainments Agency – (see my blog dated 21/4/10 below).

The Sect’s closest rival in terms of local popularity was another Newcastle band, the Elcort. The Elcort, who were also aiming for national recognition, released a record on Parlaphone in 1966 – ‘Tammy’ and played several gigs at London’s Marquee club. The band was fronted by Glyn Sadler and included a couple of other well known north east musicians, Kenny Craddock (keybord) and Paul Nichols (drums). In 1967 Brian Short left the Sect to form a band called New Religion with Kenny and Paul from the Elcort. The effect of this move was that a number of bands on the books of the Birchall Entertainments Agency, including the Sect and the Elcort, disbanded or reshuffled their personnel and reformed with new identities. The new Birchall ‘A’ list bands to emerge from the melting pot were the New Religion, Funny Farm, Pleasure Machine and with their name unaltered but with different personnel (including Glyn Sadler from the Elcort) – the Sect.

After New Religion, vocalist Brian Short went on to join London based Black Cat Bones, whose line up had included Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke before they left and joined Free in 1968. Brian sang on the band’s 1969 album ‘Barbed Wire Sandwich’ which was released on the Decca Nova label in November 1969.

After Black cat Bones split up, Brian recorded his solo album ‘Anything for a laugh’. In spite of some excellent songs and a memorable title track, ‘Anything for a laugh’ failed to win critical acclaim and Brian never achieved national recognition.

The Sect continued to perform locally for another four or five years with the odd change in personnel. Although some individual members went on to successful careers in music, the Sect never quite made it on a national level as a band. However, they continue to be one of the best remembered bands to have performed in the north east music scene in the sixties.

Vocalist/saxophonist Eddie Martin with the Sect in 1972

The Blue Note was opened in September 1964 by a business man named Ray Grehan, who was involved in several other music ventures in the North East. The main room in the club was housed on the first floor of a large building, which was part of a terrace of houses and shops on the South side of Roker Avenue, not far from its junction with Church Street North. As well as local bands, such as the Junco Partners, well know national bands also appeared at the club regularly – the likes of the Mindbenders, Alex Harvey Soul Band and the Pretty Things.

Advert for the Blue Note’s opening night in 1964

I played at the Blue Note a couple of times with the Kylastrons, early in 1965. On one of these occasions I saw the Junco Partners for the first time. At that point in time they were the best band I had seen. They were all great musicians and the two singers, Ronnie Barker and John Anderson gave the band a charisma and energy that no other North East bands could touch.

At some stage during its lifetime, the Blue Note started attracting adverse publicity in the local press. It was frequently raided by the police for under aged drinking. It was one of the first establishments in the area to have a condom machine installed in the gents toilet. The bad press was not due to the existence of the machine but because the resident DJ, John Harker, encouraged club goers, over the house PA, to go to the toilet and get their “goodies”. The consequence of the police raids and the press involvement was that the Blue Note closed down, probably because it failed to get its license renewed.

174a Roker Avenue, the home of the Blue Note and Club Astec – how it looks today

After the Blue Note, John Harker went on to be a popular DJ in many of the North East’s clubs. He appeared in the eighties TV music show, ‘The Tube’ as resident DJ. Sadly, John died in 2008.

I’m not sure of the exact date when the Blue Note actually closed its doors but it reopened as an unlicensed venue in the spring of 1966 and its name was changed to Club Astec. Business was brisk in the summer of 1966, in particular during the period that some of the World Cup games were being played at Roker Park. I played regularly at the Astec with the Jazzboard and a lot of the crowd from the el Cubana came to see us at the club. Another popular Sunderland band that performed regularly at the Astec were Revolutionary Spirit. However the club lacked the atmosphere of its predecessor, the Blue Note and attendances fell off. The Club Astec did not last too long as an unlicensed venue.

Some adverts for the Club Astec: –

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)