Day: 17 April 2023

Trolley bus outside White Rock Baths supplied by Ted Cogger

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Supplied by Ted Cogger

Ted Cogger… At the end of Robertson Street out side white rock baths Hastings

Martin Richter… all the way to Cooden!

Peter Houghton… Thank you for sharing this!

Allan Mitchell… Awesome‼️ Picture.

Anne Murray… What year was this?

Alan Esdaile… Not sure Anne, could be early sixties? Anyone know.

Paul Sleet… Strange isn’t it, that we had electric buses all those years ago, and we changed to diesel. Now we are going backwards.

Tim Harris… Points to those who know the song where the lyrics come from Their Mums and Dads smoke Capstan non filters Wallpaper lives cause they all die of cancer.

Pauline Sims… Great picture

David Wilkinson… Original Omnibus Company model 40102

David Wilkinson… There’s a Hastings trolley bus preserved at East Anglia Transport Museum in Lowestoft.

Carol Acott… Waited there for a bus a few times back in the day

Clare Bennett… I saw 👀 plenty of those in Hastings

Peter Ellingworth… Before October 1957, as that’s when the Maidstone & District logo on the lower side panels replaced the Hastings Tramways one. I think it is between 1950 and 1956 – if I remember correctly, the guy on the left of the two having just alighted from the bus and obviously off to the old White Rock swimming baths, ran a second hand book shop in the Old Town’s George St. – I remember seeing this picture enlarged displayed in the shop window, and talking to him about it some years ago. As an ex-Hastings resident, I would recommend a visit to the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Coville, Lowestoft, where they have superbly restored Hastings TB BDY 809 to full working order. To ride around on this after so many years felt surreal – I thought I had entered the gates of heaven – and this was the TB that was the last to run when the local ‘Great and Good’ were given a run round after lunch in Bexhill, the day after public services ceased at just after 11pm on Sunday 31st.May 1959.
It was one of five or so sold to Maidstone Corporation and continued to run on their system until that closed in 1967. Incidentally, the Hastings system was unique except for either Rotherham or Huddersfield I think in having 18″ instead the normal 24″ spacing between the positive and negative electric overhead running wires, apart from a short extension added in 1947 from The Vic pub at the top end of Battle Road to facilitate a turning circle ( where the ‘Observer’ office now is). Had Hastings Corporation exercised their right to purchase the system in 1955, I believe Hastings Tramways had plans to wire up the then new estate developments ( Bromsgrove, Hollington, and off Rye Road) and the old 76 circular route. Given that the last trolleybus system in the uk closed in 1972 ( Bradford, who also purchased some redundant Hastings TB’s), it would be interesting to consider how long the Hastings system would have lasted from its relatively early demise had the system been purchased.

Peter Ellingworth… Rambling on….. An excellent read on the Hastings trolleybuses is ‘Trams and Trolleybuses in Hastings, St. Leonards -on-Sea and Bexhill ‘ 1905-1959 by Robert J. Harley, and published by Adam Gordon (ISBN 978-1-910654-14-9) which has a wealth of detail and photos. Obtainable through the usual channels ( e-bay etc.), possibly Hastings Library has a copy. It sorted out why I had always wondered as mentioned above Hastings was pretty well unique in the narrower spacing between the positive and negative overhead electric running wires – simply because at its inception in 1928 from tramway conversion it was one of the, if not the, biggest UK systems at the time and utilised a lot of the former tramway equipment, this gauge being standard norm at the time. To convert over while the kit still was within its working life simply would not have made economic sense.
I remember Derek Waters, former depot manager at Silverhill, and the late David Padgam ex M&D employee and the go-to local transport guru, telling me that Hastings was also pretty unique in that they also made a lot of the overhead fittings in house.  It was a much liked and efficient system. By the way, those of you who remember the myriad of poles that carried the overhead wiring from tramway days, latterly used for lamp posts, had in true Victorian -Edwardian style a finial on the top of the posts- most were still in place until a few years ago- in fact I believe one still stands at the top if the High Street, will check out next time I’m down- well, being that sad, I have one of the finials in my conservatory which I bought for a quid scrap value from the Corporation yard when they had a blitz on removing them all some years ago, because of I believe a then EU ruling that all lamp posts had to be able to be collision impact absorbent which the old poles were not.

 

Hastings Old Town Folk Club – The Lord Nelson 1965

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Shared from Bill Palmer

Bill Palmer… Folk Club on a Sunday upstairs at the Lord Nelson, East Bourne Street, Hastings. Cool man.

Chris Hardy… I was an 18 yr old trainee reporter on the Hastings & St Leonard’s Observer for about 6 months ‘65 – ‘66. I went every Sunday to the Lord Nelson, remember Martin Carthy .. and Bert Jansch. I played blues-folk guitar & sang having started learning at school – pop, rock n roll, Guthrie, Leadbelly, Jack Elliot, Dylan .. That small, dark upstairs room at the Nelson, small stage in the corner, no mics or amps .. We were dead silent for ‘Whispering Bert Jansch’ who crouched over his guitar and sang head down .. Crashed my Vespa into a roundabout on the way home after one session, too many beers & too young. Soon after I was gone. Wonderful to read about this place I’d forgotten but also vividly recall.

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing Liquid Gold: Dance Yourself Dizzy – The Collection, 3CD Digipak

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LIQUID GOLD    ‘DANCE YOURSELF DIZZY’   THE COLLECTION  (3CD)
I should start this review honestly with a confession…I mostly loathe late 70’s ‘disco’ as spearheaded by anything off Saturday Night Fever! However, there is always the exception. When i saw this Liquid Gold collection listed in the Press Release for April i thought let’s have a re-visit to those days, mostly to be honest because Adrian Baker the man who arranged, wrote, produced & played guitar on the bands recordings was a friend of a friend of mine & i remember thinking how much talent he had when meeting him back in the 70’s not long before he got involved with Liquid Gold. Adrian subsequently went on to great success in the USA working with Frankie Valli & The Beach Boys as well as with his Gidea Park band. So to this sparkling new collection spread over 3 CD’s which gathers together (as far as I’m aware) for the first time all the bands output from the late 70’s to the early 80’s. The bands genesis can be traced back to session regulars Ellie Hope & bassist Ray Knott who formed a band called Babe Ruth releasing albums in the early to mid 70’s. Ellie also had some moderate success with her sisters in soul side band simply named ‘Ellie’. Ellie & Ray then recruited 2 new members Wally Rothe & Syd Twynham & became Dream Coupe before finally settling on the more glamorous & descriptive name Liquid Gold. With a recording deal with Creole/Polo Records they were off & running. CD1 of this new set doesn’t run the tracks in chronological order of release but it’s of no matter as it opens with the funky groove of ‘Could Be Tonight’ (UK version) I should mention the band had separate releases of their material between the UK & the USA but the good news is that full versions of both of their sole album are included in this set. What would become their follow up single to their biggest hit comes up next in the shape of ‘Substitute’ & i confess I’d forgotten just how infectious & catchy a number it was, it climbed to No 8 back on release in 1980 & this extended album version really gets you in the groove. Up next is their silky 1979 single ‘Mr Groovy’ which narrowly missed being a hit (& deserved to be). I’m struck by just how much better they sound now than i seem to remember. They really do kick a driving groove that makes you want to get up & dance. That is exactly what i find myself wanting to do when their signature song hits me next, the one we’ve all been waiting for, dance anthem ‘Dance Yourself Dizzy’ here in it’s UK album version with it’s extended intro. Across the set you will find no less than 7 mixes of the ‘Dizzy’ single, album, 12inch, instrumental etc. That may sound like overkill but personally i enjoyed them all! with my preference going to the original 12inch mix. Ok i admit to a bit of ‘dad dancing; in my living room…also included on Disc1 is the bands debut single ‘Anyway You Do It’ from 1979 which just missed the Top 40 but set out the bands credentials which became more polished as they progressed. And so it’s on to Disc2 kicking off with ‘My Baby’s Baby’ a track from 1979 i confess I’d forgotten about over the years, but another slice of upbeat dance that scored over in the USA where it reached No 5. There is more diverse tracks on Disc 2 apart from different mixes of the tracks already mentioned it also includes amongst it’s highlights C’Mon And Dance’ ‘Don’t Panic’ & my particular favourite ‘The Night, The Wine & The Roses’ which was the follow up single to ‘Substitute’ & although it only managed to reach a fairly lowly No 32 on its release it really was a worthy effort, even if it does partly re-tread ‘Dizzy’. By the end of Disc2 i feel thoroughly energised by the music & have re-evaluated my opinion of Liquid Gold from my original thoughts from back in the day when ‘Dance Yourself Dizzy’ was a good floorfiller for me when doing my live DJ gigs. I now appreciate having listened & dug deeper how accomplished vocally & musically they were. Ellie has a very strong distinctive vocal & the music is of a higher quality than i previously assigned it. The band have this Nile/Chic style sound going on, i don’t like comparisons generally but i mean it as high praise in this case. When they are not grooving on uptempo dance numbers Ellie’s softer vocal on tracks like ‘One Of Us Fell In Love’ & particularly ‘Where Did We Go Wrong’ is very satisfying & appealing. The final DIsc3 rounds up many mixes of ‘Dizzy’ & the other aforementioned tracks like ‘Substitute’ & ‘The Night, The Wine & The Roses’ in their instrumental form & also delivers 2 solo releases from Ellie, 1983’s  ‘Lucky’, a smooth dance number & her 12inch version of ‘Don’t Feel Sorry’ another Chic like groover. The compilation altogether boasts 46 tracks over it’s 3 discs & is accompanied by an informative booklet in its digipack packaging. It must be getting on for 50 years now since i last saw Adrian all those years ago, all i can say is he did a much better job with Liquid Gold than i appreciated back in the day, i get it now. Enjoy.
for more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk
Til next time….stay safe….Colin  

 

Alan Esdaile… I was a bit surprised to read two of them were in Babe Ruth.

Colin Bell… Ellie & Ray were only members for just a year in ’75-’76

Kevin Jones… I had the great pleasure to work with Ellie Hope in the mid 80’s on an album project and I can confirm that she was (and probably still is) an incredible singer and a lovely lady.

Colin Bell…That’s good to hear Kevin, i never had the pleasure of meeting the lady, but she sure has a great voice!

Mick O’Dowd… Remember Babe Ruth. Didn’t realise that LG had such a large back catalogue. Loved Dizz as it was a floorfiller guaranteed!

Austin Farmery… I ordered this 3xCD Liquid Gold Collection a few weeks back from Cherry Red and recieved it yesterday. I always liked Liquid Gold back in the day but WOW hearing this compilation is real music to my ears !! I realise now that I missed out on a lot of theirs and Ellie’s output but I am certainly gonna make up for it now. I would love to thank everybody that was involved in the making and production etc of this truly wonderful collection. To Liquid Gold, Thank You For The Music

George Murdie… Loved this song 1 of my fav’s

Lord Nelson – Hastings Old Town Folk Club – June 1964.

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Jim Breeds… Martin Carthy! Wow. Would have loved to see him in 1964. I’ve seen him countless times up and down the country, but back in ’64 would have been an eye opener!!

Fred Marsh… who was landlord then a bit early for Shipley?

Tony Court-holmes… Arthur and Beryl I believe

John Winch… Hastings Folk club at the Nelson when WILF was landlord. His daughter started the club with somebody else and I think Shirley Collins and a lady from the book shop in High Street used to guest there. I played there as paid guest act a couple of times later, Then, when I moved to Hastings from Brighton, I tried to revive it but the Folk Club scene was nearing an end then and it died a quiet death. Early days in the Nelson when Jeff Coates and Bruce Astly did Sunday lunchtimes there and I used to come over from Brighton and play banjo with them (when I was allowed, and, it was made clear, without a share of the pot.) until I did the Sunday lunchtime gig at the Standard for a couple of years or so. How many times did I sit outside on the terrace playing the guitar with Johnny Sanderson singing Summertime? Great days in the Nelly.

Mick Knight… Yes upstairs at the Nellie, went to my first one when I was 15. I keep telling Obie that makes me the longest regular!!

Lynn Graham… Oh the memories of Johnny and Bruce

Peter Kampman… Those renditions of summertime have lived with me ever since

Linda Gowans… The Folk Directory 1965:

 

Cream Addicts Anonymous Fan Club letter 1969. Who else belonged to this?

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Cream_Clapton_Bruce_Baker_1960s

Last Cream Fan Club Newsletter0001-1

Last Cream Fan Club Newsletter0002 Last Cream Fan Club Newsletter0003

supplied by Andy Knight

Chris… Hi there, I don’t know if you still have an interest in the cream addicts annonymous but I was a member in those tremendous days and I still have my membership card to prove it. It must be quite a rarity as I’v never seen another one. Best wishes to all the sixties fans. Chris

Jan Warren… Yeah, love Cream!

Dave Nattress… Cream,  never heard of this, great band from my time way back in Bexhill Down Secondary Modern, got all their stuff – vinyl and CD and Steve Wright on R2 played the wonderful “White Room” this afternoon, followed by “All along the Watchtower” by Mr Hendrix of course – didn’t catch any more but think it was a reader’s top 5 tracks or something like.

Alex Wallace… Hey, I found a postcard signed by the band, in my dad’s stuff on the back it says cream addicts anonymous and the address.

Robert Searle… Seen them three times,at their first gig at the Marquee, and twice at the Saville Theatre.

Jim Wolfeb… Looking through my old memorabilia I found some newsletters from Cream Addicts Anonymous. Are these worth anything?

Steve Maxted… in my early DJ days, I was there at their gig at Lewisham University. Very memorable

Yves Binoche… I used to help Anne stuff envelopes with the CAA newsletter, visited her at her various Notting Hill addresses, and when she was an enthusiast for the irish band Taste who we used to see at the Marquee on Sunday nights.  She later had some influence on one of King Crimson’s albums or songs can’t remember which.  I used to have all the CAA literature (I even wrote for it one time), and unless it is buried in a box somewhere, and I have too many of them, I have lost it all.  I wonder what happened to Anne?  She had such vitality, and a deep love of music.

Lee Ginty… I was member 014 of cream addicts anonymous and saw them many times in London from late 66 til their farewell Albert Hall concert November 68…..