Clik on the front cover to open. Then enlarge and use the arrow to scroll through to about the middle section.
Lewes Musical Express featuring 60’s gigs in Lewes. Excellent publication, issue 3 features a centre section called Back In The 60’s, with some big names appearing at Lewes Town Hall, including The Move & Pink Floyd.
supplied by Valerie Churms, Hastings & St Leonards Pictures & Videos
Valerie Churms… The old Hastings Gas offices in Queens road. destroyed in 1970. Don’t know what happened.
Tim Moose Bruce… Gas leak
Jeremy Peter Harrison… This photo is later- we went decimal in 1971. The Ford Granada was launched in 1972. I thought the gas site was demolished to build Safeway’s?
Jim Breeds… it was
Jon McCallion… Bought one of my early cars from that garage in the picture. It was a Volkswagen Beetle 1600. A guy called Malcolm owned The garage at the time. 1976
Alan Vale… I moved to where I am now late 1986 and I whatched over time they demolished the old gas works, built Safeways which is now Morrissons. I think that Gulf garage was a Shell garage when I arrived. Now a block of flats
Dave Nattress… A Granada, Mk 3 Cortina and petrol prices a gallon I’m guessing!
John Gale… Why are Cds so tightly wrapped in cellophane?? Not good for old gits like me with arthritis,,,, Another reason why vinyl is best
Alan Esdaile… I’m glad it’s not just me then.
Jim Breeds… You’re also tightly wrapped in cellophane!!!??? :Taking coronavirus precautions a bit too far, I think
Peter Millington… It may be to stop the unscrupulous twits from stealing the contents and putting the box back on the shelf!
John Gale… Not if you buy online, which I do but via Hive so that my favourite bookshop/ records hop gets a cut, It’s just too much for my old hands
Graham Sherrington… The sleeve could just have a security sticker over the edge. Coconuts here in Florida are wrapped in Plastic film. And so are single large potatoes!!!
Martin Richter… vinyl is better – mainly because i can’t read the sleeve notes on CD’s !
Richard J Porter… I use a sharp craft knife inserted carefully in the crack where the case opens then simply peel back.
Mick O’Dowd… Everything seems to be packed in unbreachable shrink wrap these days!
Andy Davies… Well a sharp knife is all you need for the cellophane, decent knees are needed to keep getting up to turn the record over.
Dave Nattress… They sure can be a pain to open and “Be Careful With That Axe Eugene” – Pink Floyd was it, or the the knife, so as not to scratch the cover especially with those in the cardboard packets. But…actually it’s every damn thing these days – shrink-wrapped, like my morning half a packet of ginger nuts to be dunked in the coffee, try and open the packet – you need a sharp knife carefully gauged between a couple of bickies. Sign of the times I guess to stop people tampering with food-stuffs etc. etc. – as happens or like someone said, opening packets and pinching stuff etc.
Alan Esdaile… Thanks very much to John Winch for his recent posts and photos. Here’s one of John from 1990. Anyone confirm the venue?
Eugene Hughes… Jurgen Klinsman!
Rick Bonner… 80s days.
What a great concept this 3CD set is, congratulations all at Grapefruit Records. Right from the first Beatles album issued other bands rushed to make cover versions of their songs and make a quick buck. Remember ‘Girl’ St Louis Union’ & ‘Michelle’ The Overlanders for instance, But as The Beatles became ever more experimental with ‘Rubber Soul’, ‘Revolver’ & of course ‘St. Pepper an increasing number of bands also experimenting with their own sounds started making all sorts of covers in a myriad of styles. This new collection focuses on the psyche/rock/baroque/ efforts of the established and newcomers alike. Kicking the whole proceedings off on Disc1 is Camel turning ‘Mystery Tour’ into a prog rock 6 minute opus, a great start. But it’s track2 Deep Purple’s version of ‘Help’ that makes cpmplete sense of the compilations title. Deep Purple deliver ‘Help’ very much in Vanilla Fudge style all heavy and ponderous and equally wonderful. So not only do you peel back the layers (like an onion) of a bands take on The Beatles original you are also peeling back the Vanilla Fudge approach by Deep Purple! That makes it sound complicated but its not, its very playful and a source of delight throughout the whole 3CD set. You not only get to hear all the different takes of the original songs, there being some 68 tracks there are some songs covered by more than one artist. Thus you can also have the fun and enjoyment of comparing for instance ‘I Am The Walrus’ by Affinity, Spooky Tooth, Lol Coxhill & Octopus. This all makes for a huge amount of listening pleasure and in a lot of cases a voyage of discovery unearthing bands i’ve never heard of amongst the more familiar names to be found. But never fear you will not be left in the dark about a band that’s completely unfamiliar to you, Accompanying is a superb 40 page booklet with mini-biogs on each track, as someone who writes in a similar fashion i stand in awe of the author’s (David Wells) knowledge and research. I’d love to have the space to write and indeed the time to guide you through every track, but that not being possible here are some personal highlights. Disc1 the aforementioned Deep Purple ‘Hush’ Affinity ‘I Am The Walrus’ Kippington Lodge ‘In My Life’ ‘Sounds Nice ‘Flying’ & Orange Bicycle (a band i’ve worked with several times) ‘You Never Give Me Your Money/Carry That Weight. Alongside these you will find more well known tracks by The Tremeloes, The Hollies & Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers. Disc2 Spooky Tooth ‘I Am The Walrus’ The Frugal Sound ‘Norwegian Wood’ The Majority ‘A Hard Days Night’ Bo Street Runners ‘Drive My Car’ familiar names on this disc include Plastic Penny, Big Jim Sullivan, Don Fardon, Stone The Crows & The Shadows. Disc3 Jason Crest (again a localish band i’ve worked with) ‘Come Together’ Affinity ‘A Day In The Life’ The Eyes ‘Good Day Sunshine’ The Ice ‘Day Tripper’, again more familiar names include Circus, The Sorrows, Hardin & York, Tomorrow & finishing the whole collection off the one and only Dame Vera Lynn! Could the list get more eclectic! Running to nearly 4 hours its incredibly good value for your money too. With things being the way they are at present we are missing out on ‘live’ events and locally we have of course had our treasured Beatles Day in the past, a shared event we all miss. This package gives you the opportunity to have your very own ‘Beatles Day’ in the comfort of your own home savouring all these different bands playing your favourite fab four songs. When i was writing my syndicated newspaper column i used to grade new releases 1 – 5 stars, a practice i eventually dropped. Was i still grading i would, with no hesitation whatsoever give this the full 5 stars. Seldom have i had as much fun stepping through the looking glass and discovering so many gems as i have done here. Stay safe everyone. Enjoy.
For more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk
Til next time…………………Colin 
Colin Bell… I forgot to mention when i wrote the review there will be a new 2CD collection of local band (Tonbridge) Jason Crest released in the next few weeks, First time ALL their recordings in one package. They played Hastings Pier and other local venues in the late 60’s early 70’s. I’ll review the comp in due course. Take care everyone.
Pete Fisher… win a chicken?!!
Tony Court-holmes… dead or alive ?
Paul Coleman… The Kult! I thought they were a great band & they did actually release a record called “No Home Today” which I thought was good. Might even have got into the charts.
Led by by 2 brothers, Mick & Pete o’Driscoll who were friends of my brother, Martin. They were Ninfield boys if I remember right. They certainly played at the memorial hall there. Late 60’s I’m guessing. They had a great local following & used to lay on coaches for their fans to go to their gigs. Great times.
supplied by Jan Warren
Dave Nattress… Great photo – takes me back to the late 60’s and early 70’s – my underage drinking in various small venues where the Kult played loads of gigs around Bexhill. They were THE original local heavy/progressive/rock band back then and really should have become big.
Jan Warren… I been waiting for someone to mention The Kult, as you did in a post of a Hastings Pier gig from 1967 – I’ve had this B & W photo of The Kult since the late 60s, I remember the guy, 2nd left lived in Bexhill ……. does anyone have any more news of these guys??!! I hope we get some response as it would be interesting to know what happened to these guys??!!
Chris van Rock… Interesting ….. as the southern death cult became ‘ the cult ‘ in later times.
Alan Esdaile… Bob Searle will be able to tell you more about this photo Jan. Chris, Southern Death Cult (and then Death Cult I think, remember the Mickey ears) and The Cult have no connection with The Kult.
Chris van Rock… Yes I know , just the reuse of the name
Michael O’Driscoll… Photo taken shortly after I left and Bob took over bass. On the left is John Hale (Custer) who still lives in Essex.(drums). Next to him is Bob Searle who still lives in Hailsham.(Bass). 3rd from left is Pete O’Driscoll ( my brother) who lives in Scotland and just completing yet another house (Vocals) and on the right is Richard Melhuish (Sunshine) Lead guitar.He has lived in California, USA since the band split and has played in several outfits there. I was more than likely on the camera. When we became the Cult first, people changed the writing on the posters so we became The Kult. There was a band of youngsters in the west country who went under the name of The Kult and I think a couple of bands in the EU now have the same name. My younger son, Dan runs several businesses including Serenity Drums (they will hand make anything from a snare to a complete kit) and they export them around the world. He is a drummer or singer depending on the band he is with at the time. His 4 year old son is learning Guitar and his 18 month old daughter has drum lessons from him on Sunday mornings. She drums with her tongue hanging out like Mick Fleetwood. GOOD TIMES…….Happy New year to you all X
Chris van Rock… Brilliant memories
Robert Searle… Nice one Mick.
Dave Nattress… Nice for Michael O’Driscoll to post these interesting comments. The Cult/Kult were the band we followed back in those days in and around Bexhill. Jan, look around the SMART site and the www – there are certainly a few posts, photo’s and one (at least) recording to be grabbed. Personally speaking, the Cult/Kult was the local band from way back when that I had hoped to get some information on for such a long time and it’s been great to see the posts about them.
Jan Warren… Thanks for your comments Dave, I lived in Bexhill back then too so I’m always interested in memories/pics from the 60s and 70s!! 🙂
supplied by Bob Shipway
Bob Shipway… Shaft Mk1 (L-R) Pete Shaw, Andy Knight, Colin Pearce, and Bob Shipway. Not sure of the date or location.
Andy Knight… What were we doing, you look v happy on drums! Dave and I singing, mad or what, Jim hiding, looks like Hastings Pier to me or maybe Lees Cliff ?
Bob Shipway… yep very happy indeed. I thought it may be Hastings Pier. Yes, mad, and good, times. I can remember swapping onto drums so you could sing at the front on a couple of songs but can’t for the life of me remember what they were.
Alan Esdaile… Rare to see Andy out front. Does look like the pier.
Robert Searle… Remember seeing Dave and Shaft at the Regent
Andy Knight… Will look that date up, not sure about Pete Shaw, prob Dave?
Supplied by John Winch
Earl Grey… I’ve got a feeling this was 2000 and I was there. It was an all day thing so my memory may have been compromised by beverages
Alan Esdaile… Thanks Earl but looks like it was 1999 as that was a Saturday.