Mr Big – Hastings Pier 7th Feb 1976 & 28th May 1977

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seppuku

 supplied by Sarah Harvey

Sarah Harvey…..This may remind you who they were…its quite a nice song!

Alan Esdaile…..Good song, they supported Queen on one of the tours. Also another band called Mr Big in the 80’s but no connection.

Pete Fairless…..Yes, I have that single

John Storer…..My only recollection of this gig was that the band were far more “pop” than their debut album suggested and that free badges were handed out, each bearing a band member drawn in superhero comic style. I got the whole set! Woo! One of those gigs where I spent more time in the bar than watching the band.

Mick O’Dowd….I believe OZO failed to show. Anyone know who replaced them if any.

Jim Munday…I remember going to the 1977 gig. That was after their one and only hit.

Dave Nattress… Romeo – a truly beautiful single. It was an “our song” – excuse me and all that – girlfriend of the time – can I have the last almost 40 years back please. Got the 2 albums on Vinyl and then Japanese issue CD’s. The band could rock and some of the tracks kick A**.

Martin Waghorne… I remember that night on the pier.

Ralph Town… Am I right in thinking that SEPPUKU is ritual suicide in Japanese,or am I seeing something on the pic that isn’t there?

Julie Hedger… Yes ritual suicide

Shelley – 1960-1968

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photo biog… supplied by Len Smith Eastbourne Bands from 1960 on

Witch Doctor gig – 30th April 1966

David Kirkwood… Hi, I met Andy Machecknie many years ago in Geraldton West Australia. He told us of his time in Shelley and their time in Norway. Is he back in England or still in WA? Would love to hear what he is up to.

Who and where is this? Hastings 1972.

Any ideas who this is? Photo from a Hastings tourist brochure and listed as  a modern disco. 

Jim Breeds… I think it’s Hugh Grant

John Gale… Aquarius Club maybe?

Janette Morfey… I think its the Queens Hotel on the seafront

John Gale… That did cross my mind . I saw groups there in 1979 and it looked very similar .

Martin Richter… John, my first thought

John Gale… Martin, saw the Teenbeats there in 79 . In fact the fasions in that photo would have matched a 1979 Teenbeats gig.

Martin Richter… John, certainly 🙂 looks like Sean Hodd at the front ?

John Gale… Could be, and looks like my mate Dave ‘Sam’ Browning in the white TShirt behind the suited guy

David Martin… The Witchdoctor ?

Jan Warren… My first thought was the Regent Hotel (basement) which later became Scalliwags?!

Stuart Moir… To big for it to be the Regent as we played in the basement, agree it could be the Witch doctor or Queens Hotel, can’t recall how big the Aquarius was but that looks like my Ludwig super classic kit as the colour is right Oyster blue ripple and the top toms were 12″ and 14″, the band always moaned about the over tones and would never accept that they would not hear them when playing all together but were necessary in the overall body of the final product .

 

Wellington Place Underpass Hastings – painting by Derek Clemans

© Derek Clemans

Derek Clemans… It is an old one I know but it is still a favourite.of mine. I was walking back from an evening in the old town and watched this posh bird walk past this homeless person. He asked,” have you any change”, she looked at him with disgust and made a derogatory remark. His head went down. I then bought him a McDonalds and sat and spoke to him. He is still homeless to this day but I have befriended him and often help him. He is too long homeless now to now go back to a ,”normal life”,but he is happy.

Kevin O’Doherty… good karma to you

Paul Cullen… It shows that there are still good people out there.

Jim Jim & The Jims – The Chatsworth Hotel – 29th April & 3rd June 1979 and Harry R & The Jumpjets photos

jim chatworth

Phil Gill….There was Jim, Jim, Jim. Jim, Jim….and I forget the other bloke’s name.

Andy Qunta….I think Phil has the definitive answer! I played in the band and I doubt if I could name them all! I seem to remember one night there was about 11 of us on stage!

Terry Pack….Raymond J Fenwick, Pete Prescott, Andy (Caine) Cunningham, Andy Qunta, Dermot Murphy, Peter James Shaw, Wesley Magoogan and me.

Pete Prescott….also tony qunta.wesley (along with tich turner ) was an occasional guest.dermot was the original bass player.terry joined just after we started playing the chatsworth jan 1980.

Terry Pack… Tone, of course!

Pete Shaw… One burning issue…How did we get the “Jim Jim and the Jim’s” name…Well folks, answers on a postcard please….and I will reveal all…and remember, points mean prizes!!

Pete Prescott… it will be interesting to see if your account is the same as mine. It involves Andy Cunningham (now Caine). it was a jims line up that recorded the first single i sang on “shine it on me” jan 9 1980 at park gates catsfield.ray pete shaw terry andy q and me.b side mailbox.it became the b side to forcefields smoke on the water in 1986.ray cut another version of it for the album.nowhere near as good.i sang it with barry st john.she was amazing ! and the stories . . . !

Terry Pack… I first met Andy Caine (Cunningham) in Leisure Music in around 1974-75. I was trying a bass, and a big, spotty face with a David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust haircut appeared: ‘ You’re really good. Want to join a band?” It said. I went to his house in Ore, and from there to his mate’s house, where he had a Fender Strat and Marshall stack… in his BEDROOM! His mate couldn’t really play, and Andy could only bash out the riff to The Jean Genie, so I declined. When I next met him, he’d been camped out at Ray Fenwick’s place for a year, listening to Chet Atkins records, and could play pretty well. Of course, NOBOBY, least of Andy himself, knew what a great singer he would become.

Andy Qunta… We had a percussion player with us occasionally too, or maybe it was only once, not sure. Anyway, his name I believe was Mike Tanner! Fun guy!

Terry Pack… Mike Tanner was in a band with Will Thomson and Wesley I think, and possibly Roger Carey.

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cassette recorder – did you have one of these?

Dennis Torrance… Brilliant got my first one from curry’s queens road used to put 🎤 by transistor radio

Josie Lawson… I have a similar one even now. I bought it a couple years ago so that I could go through my cassette tapes to see if I could find my homemade shows I did on my cassettes also I have a few copies I was always made of the hospital radio shows I was interviewed. I thought I might be able to then have transferred to cd rom cds to listen too in my computer, what do you think, do you reckon that could be done?

Tony Ham… Pixels in Rye will put cassette recordings on cd.

Mick Guy… Also useful for the \BBC micro!

Andy Pilkington… there making a comeback to, even Argos now selling them

Tiffany Barton… Once played with one and it broke down the tape kept sticking and reels of mess came out then I gave up and it ended up in a car boot sale. Its a beautiful thing. I regretted breaking it. Then I got one of these & was listening to Soul & Motown of course.. Why did the tape keep tangling up?

Pete Prescott… I still have them and use them in my Micra. Some of my tapes are over 45 years old. Most still sound amazing ! Love them !

Nick Prince… Recordings of Pirate Radio and Radio Luxembourg on mine….

Wendy Belton… Used to record the top twenty on one of these on Sunday evenings in the 70s. Still have the recorded cassettes ok and maybe even one of these players in the loft!

Nick Prince… Me to… back in the days when Tony Blackburn did the charts

Keith Cowper… Had one for recording all my music rehearsals

Pete Prescott… I found a tape of Andy Caine and I working on a couple of songs (we were put together to see if we could write by Ike Nossell ) one was good.

Jeff Belton… I had one these, and that’s what I used to practise being a DJ. Alot of fun !

Ian Brown… Definitely had one of those I used to sell them I’m the audio department at boots in Blackpool I think they were made by Ferguson

Tony Ham… I used to record John Peel’s show, happy days.

Will Cornell…I had one too of course…recorded almost the entire 1974 Philadelphia Folk Festival and those cassettes lasted years…even with the batteries going dead they were great tapes. I did not know until recently the acoustic guitar intro to “Street Fighting Man” comes from a cassette recorder like this….and I still wonder why the shortwave radio that had a built in timer cassette recorder did not take off. I guess SW was at it’s final days anyway. Being able to record something that broadcast while you were asleep woulda been real cool.

Dave Nattress… Yes for sure. Several over the years. First portable one was Mono, Philips job, poor sound etc. took it in the car before I got the first car cassette player for the Ford Anglia!! That had a poor sound also – speakers on back shelf. Then at least 2 more. ITT stereo (apparently), used to take it to band rehearsals – Damaris, Samisen, Prisoners. Keep meaning to look for the old tapes in the loft. Many pre-recorded cassettes and home recorded for car back then. They play OK in the TEAC cassette player/recorder – so called Hi-Fi. Also got walkman somewhere and a portable dictating recording type job that takes standard cassettes. Tried to record a few gigs but totally awful sound – used to have to conceal it when getting into the gigs back then!! Tried The Blue Nile at Albert Hall for one – waste of time, sound reproduction awful.

Terry Hardwick… Had one for Christmas lasted years

Cliff Wootton… Used to carry one of these to record concerts in the pier ballroom. Might still have some tapes in the archive somewhere.