Big Dee Irwin and Blues By Five – Hastings Pier – 11th July 1964

Blues By Five photos supplied by David Ozholl

please note the advert is wrong and the band were Blues By Five not Strangers Five

Blues By Five biog… By 1963, Ron and Len were then joined by Dick Bryce on drums, Mick Wright on Bass, Bill Blisset on Keyboards and Noel Chartres McManus on Sax (2). This was the Birth of Blues by Five.   From spring to summer ’64, they Toured Britain backing American singer Big Dee Irwin (“Swinging on a Star”), starred with The Hollies – Little & Large – Shane Fenton and Screaming Lord Sutch.  David Ozholl (aka Dave Jones) joined the band in summer 1964 on lead and rhythm guitar after Ron dropped out through illness during their tour with Big Dee Irwin. Early gigs with the new line up included a season at the famous Blackpool north pier, working with Johnny and the Pirates, The Tornados, Heinz, Marty Wilde… In November 1964, they took part of the Brenda Lee/Manfred Mann UK tour. They had one single release on Decca in December 1964: the ‘A’ side was a powerful rendition of John Lee Hooker’s R&B classic “Boom Boom”, the B side was an original “I Cried” written by Rolling Stones Manager Andrew Loog Oldham and arranger Mike Leander. This is now a sought-after 45. David Ozholl played lead guitar on the band’s recording of “Boom Boom” [see the press cutting above] (3)
During 1965, they kept touring UK, supporting PJ Proby in April. By June 1965 they underwent a working tour of Cyprus, Malta and North Africa entertaining the troops, playing in their own right and backing several others including Michael Cox,Twinkle and Little and Large. The Band broke up after supporting The Spencer Davis Group in September 1965.

Queens Rd Confectioners Hastings

supplied by Leigh Kennedy

Leigh Kennedy… Queens Road, entrance to Cricket Ground.

Alan Esdaile… I remember it when it was a toilet.

John Wilde… me too.

Sparrow Baker… It then became a betting shop. My friend had the ambition to go in there wearing dark glasses and a white stick and piss on the counter.

Ju-ju Davies… my mum used to hurry me past there as a child because of the smell!

Mike Waghorne… Alan, my thoughts when I saw the photo, wasn’t that a toilet years ago.

Julie Findlay-jones… Mike, me too.lol

Lucy Knight… Is this where the Turret Grill is now?

Ju-ju Davies… yes

Andrew Bantock… I remember using it as a radio studio for the 28 day station Radio Cracker in the early 90s.

Tony Court-holmes… used to be able a single cigarette in there back in the day , we had it tough back then

Nick Prince… When I was on the management team at the Cannon Cinema in the late 1980’s it was a bookies.

Janet Brophy… I remember that

Jacqueline Marsh… I remember it too

Amanda Russell… Also the bus depot was there…

Sandra Francis… I still miss FADS that was on the other side. Nowhere in town with a decent selection of wallpaper now

Robin Gibb in train crash, back from Hastings November 1967

Eric Harmer… Didn’t he live in Icklesham for a while ?

Barry Newton… Married to an Icklesham girl, Molly, Eric. l knew her sister. We used to get donations from the Bee Gees for raffle prizes, signed LP album etc

Paul Phillips… I use to work with her brother Pete Hullis at Hollingsworths

David Edwards… He went out with the daughter of a bricklayer from there

Mick O’Dowd… Molly actually lived in Icklesham when I lived there. A few years later there was a charity auction at the Village Hall and one of the lots was one of Robin’s satin tour jackets. It didn’t sell and I was offered it but declined as it wouldn’t fit me.

Eric Harmer… Tragedy

Julie Davies… My sister was married to Molly’s nextdoor neighbor in Icklesham they were selling some of the stage clothes and my mum bought one of Barry Gibbs jackets from them. This was around 1977.

Andy Qunta… Round about 1973, I think, I had a job picking blackberries. A lady on the other side of the bush was talking about her son-in-law, Robin from The Bee Gees. I mentioned I was in a band called Factory. She said if I gave her a tape she would pass it along. Eventually we got a letter from their record company, thanking us for it, but explaining we weren’t quite what they were looking for. Very nice of Molly’s mum, and Robin Gibb, for trying to help out some guy in a blackberry field!

Julian Deeprose… Blackberry Fields Forever