Month: November 2018

Aquarius sold for £20,000 to Goodhews April 1974

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Matt Thomas… Is this what I remember as Saturday’s?

Samantha Blake… yes x

Peter Thomson… Blimey that’s £500 more than I paid for my first house!

Chris Pook… Wonder what its like in there now?

Steve Thorpe… Saw Suzi Quattro there!

Peter Thomson… I saw The Sweet, Blackfoot Sue, Marmalade, Kiki Dee and probably others. Sweet stand out – Blockbuster was either at number one or about to be. Had some outrageous offers for my ticket.

Leigh Wieland-Boys…  I have posted this before – this is a photo of the opening night of Saturdays circa 1975 when they had waitresses

Alan Pepper… Plenty a good time had there in the seventies ! With Steve Maxted on the double decks ! Highlights of mine were Hot Chocolate Johnny Johnson and the bandwagon and Donnie Elbert. Went out with a fiver came home ears ringing worse for wear girls phone number (if lucky) and still some change in my pocket Ha Ha .

 

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing Try A Little Sunshine -The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1969 Various Artists 3cd set

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TRY A LITTLE SUNSHINE-The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1969    Various Artists
This is the latest instalment in the excellent Grapefruit Records series of late 60’s compilations, see other Smart Sounds earlier reviews for the others. As ever the presentation is superb 3 CD’s in cardboard sleeves housed in a strong clamshell box with a 44 page booklet. All the booklets in this series have been informative but I have to say this made me aware of musicians I knew of, but not all the permutations of bands they had moved through, a really interesting read. So to the music, all 72 tracks of it! I think calling this set ‘psychedelic’ is a tad of a misnomer, although psyche sounds do abound, experimental may be a better description but no matter.
Kicking off with the song that gives the collection its title by The Factory (not to be confused with our very own local Factory) ‘Try A Little Sunshine’ is certainly a definite ‘psyche’ number with its snarling guitar which sounds like it could have been recorded by the Electric Prunes in 1967 at the height of psychedelia, a great start. Followed by obscure band SHY LIMBS with a Hammond drenched mid tempo number owing a lot to Procol Harum but very good in its own right. Indeed Procol Harum crop up at track 16 with the epic ‘Salty Dog’ which as I aforementioned is not considered psyche but was certainly  experimental and led the way along with other bands into the transition that became rock music as opposed to pop music. Throughout this collection there is a smattering of big ‘names’ albeit with lesser known tracks ‘The Move’, ‘Spencer Davis Group’ ‘Status Quo’ and ‘Barclay James Harvest’ to name a few. However its the obscure and long forgotten that make this a treasure trove of delights to listen to Wild Silk ‘Vision in a Plaster Sky’ and Consortium’s ‘The Day the Train Never Came’ are two brilliant examples on Disc 1, Consortium did manage to have a minor hit (top thirty) with a personal favourite ‘All the Love in the World’ (not contained here). Disc 2 is also full of delights from the excellent Fleur De Lys ‘Liar’ (the musicians that also played on Ruperts People’s Reflections of Charles Brown) to Dave Davies ‘Creeping Jean’, Ralph McTells ‘Summer Came Along’, the ever excellent Grapefruit with ‘Deep Water’ and personal favourites Nirvana ‘It Happened Two Sundays Ago’ ( a duo I have written extensively about in previous reviews), are just some of the highlights. Disc 3 opens with some personal vivid memories for this reviewer as I supported this band 3 or 4 times, the last being at Staplecross if memory serves, its the wonderful Jason Crest (from Tonbridge) with the occult laden ‘Black Mass’ ( a song that their record company Philips thought ‘distasteful’! immediately making it interesting to us (then) young guns! Certainly brought the era back in all its glory. Following this and by coincidence another band i’d worked with in the shape of Orange Bicycle and  ‘Last Cloud Home’, a band that made some of the best harmony pop songs ever with a distinctive feel. And speaking of harmony pop also on this disc is Tony Rivers in the shape of Harmony Grass ‘What A Groovy Day’ another class act. The Spectrum. The Deviants, The Onyx all deliver some great tracks. And then there’s Status Quo with their ‘pop psyche’ take on the old Everly Brothers ‘The Price of Love’ the single that bridged the gap between their hippy period and their next incarnation with ‘Down The Dustpipe’. So overall a broad ranging compliation, beautifully remastered and full of hidden gems to savour and enjoy. Well done again Grapefruit Records! Enjoy.
For more information go to… https://www.cherryred.co.uk
Til next time……….. Colin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRv-jAMh5Wg

Dave Nattress… Nice article. Was getting well into Psychedelica by then, but never seen these albums. “All the love in the World” by Consortium, a personal old pop favourite of mine too. Used to have the single but it’s long lost. I saw them play the De La Warr in Bexhill once at a “Beat Rave” – would have been 1969. Th track can be found on the www – you tube etc.

Who remembers Hastings Musical Exchange in Claremont Hastings?

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Adverts from Hastings Music Files supplied by Phil Little

Who remembers Hastings Musical Exchange run by Ernest Ballard? Anyone got any photos of the shop?

Ernest Ballard… Thats over 20 years ago now

Terry Pack… I bought a Vox amp and 2×15 cabinet there in 1973 or 74. My friend and I carried them to Hastings station and took them back to Bexhill on the train.

Phil Gill… I bought a Marshalll Powercel bass cabinet from Leisure Music in Hastings in 1977. It had a 15” speaker with a scoop, it was 4’ tall, 3’ wide and 2’ deep and weighed a ton. I didn’t drive or have a car. I have no clue how I managed to get it home.

Terry Pack… My cabinet had castors on it, but it didn’t like rough surfaces. Nonetheless, I carted it the 1/2 mile from my mum’s in Reginald Road to the Salvation Army Youth Club in Station Road every Sunday for a rehearsal with Rob Welch and Ivan Priddy (and for a while Kim Carter with my trio/quartet ‘Red’. I was younger than the others, and much less schooled (Kim had grade 8 piano, I think, Ivan had had lots of tuition and Rob was alarmingly intellectual and an aficionado of Robert Fripp). Despite all of this, I was the leader/bassist/singer of a rather good band.

Phil Gill… Fabulous. My cabinet got me the sack from The Escalators. I used it on all the England gigs, (with my Selmer Treble & Bass 50 valve amp), including all the support gigs we did with The Enid. All of those were in big rooms at provincial theatres or university gigs, so there was plenty of room to site the backline towards the back of the stage, and it sounded great. Fast forward to The Escalators ska band at The Windsor Castle pub in London. It was a really tiny stage and I was right in front of my cabinet. It sounded great on stage, but the design of it meant that the sound didn’t develop until it hit the back of the room. Consequently, 50 feet away at the back of the room, British Movement skinheads (it was a Ska band ) were being pinned to the back wall by the sheer force of the bass. Our friend Ray went ballistic, (his pal Johnny Gus was there), lots of head slapping ensued and the following day I was an ex-Escalator. Killer bass sound though.

Ernest Ballard… Great story that one Guess the memory is better than keeping the job in the band. So funny Phil

Terry Pack… My set up for The Hollywood Killers was a Fender head with two 18s(!?) and a Fretless Rickenbacker 4001. A year later with The Enid I was using a 100 watt HiWatt into two Orange 4/12s. We bought six of these from The Bay City Rollers. They were made of incredibly thick plywood and weighed a ton. We also had a homemade mixing desk and multi core that weighed tons and were really difficult to move. The desk had to go in and out of the cellar at The Lodge. The crew loved it.

Kim Carter…  I had forgotten about those band practices at the Youth Club in Bexhill. I remember buying a Farfisa Organ at the Musical Exchange, plus a Moog Satellite synth.

Mark Hardwick… Ernie used to drum with us in a band (The Riverboys)

Ernest Ballard… Hey hey Hello Mark. The Riverboys. Yes forgot I played in this great Rockabilly band

Masons Music – est 3rd April 1978, closed 4th November 2016

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Hastings Pier, 187 Queens Road, 190 Queens Road, Grove Road Ore, Ponswood Ind Estate St Leonards.

Alan Esdaile… Now time for me to get a proper job.

Matt Thomas… I drove past earlier – something drew me to the place today.Sorry it’s come to this. End of an era as Masons Music closes it doors for the last time today, up until last year I had spent nearly 30 years at the place so very sad for me to hear today.

Chris Coleman… That must be a record

Jim Breeds… Really? Gosh. Best wishes for the next venture!

Colin Norton… Sorry to hear this, Alan! Hope that everything works out for you!

Tony May… Oh what a year this has been for you and for me. So sorry to hear this but not surprised in the current climate. If you can please pass on my condolences to all who have lost their jobs today. I may have left a long while ago but part of me shall always belong to Masons Music and the legacy that its existence played in what we all used to recognise as the music industry. Best wishes to you Alan – I will be in touch soon.

Jo Turner… Sorry to hear that

Virginia Davis… Good luck in your next venture

Diane Barton… Have the best memories 🙂 Fun times xxx

Ian Mantel… Every week on pay day in early 80’s I bought records.

Simon Payne… Masons Music played an important part in many of our Hastings lives. Sad to hear of it closing it’s doors today. Sad news Alan, I wasn’t with you long but still remember it fondly. Good luck for the future.

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Pam Dor to Astral to Toffs Club 1976

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Andre Palfrey-Martin Collection

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Andre Palfrey-Martin Collection

Mick Knights…..Seem to recall it was the Astral first, which morfed into Toffs, which was an attempt to go up market, one question on the membership application form was “what car do you drive” I seem to remember putting Thomsons Taxis down!!!

Phil Gill….Toffs run by Margarite “Molly” Russell, the members only den of iniquity where I spent many happy late night hours in the late ’70s? Oooh, the stories I could tell…

Chris Meachen….. I remember ‘Toffs’ used to provide a ‘meal’ as a condition of their licence;- usually consisted of a kind of curried goo mostly filled with baked beans…

Andre Palfrey-martin…..Pamdor closed and the whole market changed it became Toffs in 1976

Danielle de Rijk….Does anyone know a dj who was working there sometimes with the name Bruce Furber? He must be about 54 years old now and he used to live on the Sedlescombe Road in St. Leonards. I’m a researcher for a Dutch television program who reunites friends all over the world, so please contact me if you have information about Bruce. mail: danielle.derijk@kro.nl

Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman staybright autograph 1969 supplied by Josie Lawson

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Josie Lawson… Alan Freeman’s autograph from my autograph book. I met him when he was doing a staybright session. I only had a small diary with me at the time. He signed in red biro on my date March 1969…first word Staybright.  I left school at near 16 years in 1964 and went onto work at Plummers now known as Debenhams but due to eye 👁 probs had to leave in 1966. I went into work at estate agents in George Street, but always came back that way to go home for lunch. At that time I lived in and flat in Cornwallis Gardens. I passed through outside Debenhams to go for lunch, I can only think that is where I saw him. If I remember right, staybright was used in a laundry powder TV adverts.

Dennis Torrance… His Sunday night pop charts who could not remember pop pickers he was good and did a horror film with Peter Cushion

Nick Shute… It was on the other night!…dr.terrors house of horrors….not arf!

Alan Pepper… Not arf pop pickers !! What a legend he was . Anyone else got an autograph with a interestng story to it ?

Leigh Wieland-Boys… What a coincidence Josie, I worked at Plummers & also lived in Cornwallis Gardens – circa 1971/2, then lived there again in 1977, but I didn’t meet Fluff!

Tony Davis… Leigh, the memories, the people and of course the music.

Terry Pack… I don’t have an autograph, but I do have a story. I was playing at The Marquee Club in Wardour Street with The Enid in 1976 and Alan Freeman introduced us before the gig. He was a fan of the band an he frequently played tracks from our albums on his show.

No Home Jerome… My brother in law gave me this. It was from a party in 1977 to celebrate the first 10 years. I think it was fluff that gave it to him.

Nash Sunley… My claim to fame, I delivered his news paper every morning to his penthouse flat in the 60.s

Musicman Dee… Not arf.

Jim Breeds… All I can add is that I have some cassettes of his 1970s Saturday afternoon Radio 1 shows that might or might not still play.

 

How to you store your lp’s and other formats? asks Mick Bean

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Mick Bean… So did you store your LPs? In “A B C” order, number them, genres, favourites to the left/right or like me a bloody great pile in the corner?

Alan Esdaile… LP’s in A-Z order but so many singles had them in label order.

Judy Atkinson… LPs alphabetical by band, but the compilation ones in a pile on top – and they’re still in the cupboard under the turntable

Matt Thomas… I have OCD so I’ll leave that for you to decide

David Wilkinson… Ask Chris Gentry – I have 400 Motown vinyl albums and 600 other albums. 2 sections, both arranged in alphabetical order. Otherwise I’d never find anything, However CDs are just a mess located all over the house !!! ha ha ha

Mark Randall… Are you saying this young bit of totty suffered with haemorrhoids ?

Spyke – White Rock Theatre1968

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supplied by Jinks The Group website. https://pet842.wixsite.com/confeds-to-jinks

SPYKE – 1968 L-R Paul Burton – Peter (Ginger) Millington, Chris Sayer – Playing in support of Bob Miller and the Millermen – ITT Annual Christmas Dance – White Rock Theatre.

John Storer… My Mum and Dad went to this

Robert Searle… Was Terry on drums Pete

Peter Millington… No, Robert .We were a trio for about a year then a duo after Paul left then I managed to convince Chris that a drummer would be a good idea. Spyke played without a drummer for about 2 years. I have to say, playing bass and holding a consistent beat in front of the ITT dancing crowd of 1000+ was testing. Good training though.

Yvonne Cleland… Lovely Chris x

John Kingdon… What a memory, dear old Chris, God Bless him and Henry both sorely missed.