Bonita’s Disco at Christmas and the ever changing names

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Andre Palfrey-Martin Collection

Alan Esdaile…Anyone remember the chicken & chips in a basket?

Leigh Wieland-Boys….Oh yes! Tried eating the green napkin, in my inebriated state thought it was lettuce! Happy days

Nicola Dobson….Yes I remember very well used to go.there a lot!

Jim Hobbs….Yes indeed, the chicken & chips were (as I recall) a requirement of the dumb licensing laws of the day. The club floor would become slippery because of the discarded food, lol. Happy days where my DJ career began all those years ago.

Mick Knights….Did anyone succeed in gaining entry via the Queens bar toilets, I tried a couple of times but was always intercepted by a particularly large bouncer!

Mick O’Dowd…..Certainly do! Or was it cockroach and chips in a basket. Not bad at 60p though. Had some great nights here when I took over from Colin Bell

Andre Martin….Jim – the trouble was, the gravy used to run thro the weave in the basket and go everywhere – lol. alternatives to chicken, I remember at “The Garden” in Penzance where I gigged many times in the 70s, the alternative was a proper Cornish Pasty as the bar snack, these were enormous, the filling was true to the proper pasty, the crimped edge, if thrown, was known to decapitate a punter at 50 ft !! – Happy Days.

Tony Court-holmes…..forgot about there

Jim Breeds….I went to the disco under Queen’s Hotel several times in the mid 70s. I don’t remember it being called Bonita’s though – did it have a name change? (Memory banks failing).

Redstar Richter….lol – a *million* name changes!

Yvonne Cleland….I’m sure I remember it being called ‘Underground’ – or something like – after Bonitas. Before Emmas/Lazybones. Of course, I’ve lost a couple of brain cells since those days……….

Alan Esdaile….t was called ‘Emmas’ and I think ‘Lazybones’ . Andre or Jim Hobbs should know some other names? Anyone else?

Peter Millington….t started life as The Flying Machine, played there too in The Confederates. Very dark and seedy

Jim Breeds….Undergound. Yes. Thank you Yvonne. And Yes. After the Nellie or whichever pub we’d ended up in at closing time. Dark, loud and “yes please, make mine a double”.

Panoramic Festival with Tindersticks – De La Warr Pavilion 2002

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This was a brilliant gig, Tindersticks played outside at the back of the De la Warr and with the sound of the sea, it was perfect.

Joe Knight….brilliant voice enjoy song & tape !!!

Stuart Huggett…..We reviewed this whole weekend of De La Warr gigs in my fanzine at the time (one of Tindersticks’ supports was an excellent early-ish gig by James Yorkston And (one of) The Athletes. Apparently one of my friends has a good bootleg of Tindersticks’ set too.

Yvonne Cleland…..We stood outside the barrier – there were loads of people along the seafront there – to hear Courtney Pine’s set. He played a blinder, and the half hour encore was all reggae-influenced. It was glorious to hear, and a warm balmy evening. The sound must have carried all over Bexhill.

SMART 8 Reminder

SMART 8 Reminder – The next coffee meet is this Friday 10th January 2014 at the White Rock Hotel 3.30pm.  An informal get together where we chat about music memories. Everyone’s welcome to join us and if possible please bring along any photos, cuttings etc.

Mick Mepham….Will be there if poss and a happy new year to y’all.

Sarah Harvey….Hopefully be there.

Mick Mepham….Al, do you want me to bring the posters again?

Alan Esdaile….Great if you can Mick and especially anything we have not seen. Thanks.

Mick O’Dowd….Come on down! Be there or be square for a fabaroonie time! Sorry. Too much Lucozade!

Jim Breeds….Have fun this afternoon.

Alan Esdaile….Hi Jim, pity you could not make it. Another great afternoon with lots of new people. Thanks to everyone who turned up and I will post a report over the weekend.

Jim Breeds….One day …

 

Phil Everly – R.I.P.

Ron Tennant….The Everly Brothers….the greatest singing duo ever. So sad to hear that Phil(the youngest at 74) has passed away.They are absolute LEGENDS!! R.I.P. Phil & thank you (& Don) for the music!

Paul Dove…..Sad loss , the Everly bros were a big influence in my early years , R I P Phil Everly

Andre Martin….Alan what a classic….

Alan Esdaile….Loads of good tracks to choose but this track is brilliant.

Andre Martin….I have resisted – otherwise it would have just been such a collection, because they were producing such excellent records way back from the 1950s

Transistor Radio memories

Gary Kinch…..been thinking about his old tranny, Transistor Radio that is 😉 . My parents got it for my 13th birthday in 1970. For a couple of years I used to take everywhere tucked into my coat pocket. The earphone which was one of those mono pink things with a glass ear piece was always stuck in one ear’ole or the other. 208 on the medium wave was the station of choice….The music was ‘kin brilliant, such a diverse selection. Hits that I particularly remember hearing on that tranny: Band of Gold Tears of a Clown Lets stay together My sweet Lord 25 or 6 to 4 Lola  Let it be All Right now Abraham, Martin & John Let’s work Together  …..just some. As I remember Luxembourg used to fade out somewhere between 9 and 10 PM. Was there some Jamming signal used? I can’t remember all the deatils but I do remember the music. Happy new year to all.

Barry M Dyke…..DLT did The Aquarias once…..But perhaps we shouldn’t mention that…..

Andre Martin….DLT aka THC [The Hairy Cornflake] the trouble is where does one stop, you will soon not be able to even mention Noddy !!

Gary Kinch…..Yep, remember Kid Jensen and Tony Prince on the old tranny

Jim Breeds….The 208 signal faded in and out because of atmospherics Gary. The jamming was restricted to the pirate stations. 208 was not a pirate. At night the radio waves do not propagate the same way that they do during the day. I used to have my “tranny” (same clarification needed as above!) on under my pillow when I was supposed to be asleep. And yes to remembering those DJs mentioned above bot on Luxembourg and later on Radio 1.

Alan Esdaile…..Used to listen to Radio Luxembourg, London & Caroline. Likewise my transistor was constanting stuck to my ear and din’t want to miss any new records and took it with me everywhere. I think back to hearing tracks like ‘Days of Pearly Spencer’, ‘Itchychoo Park’ , ‘Angel Of The Morning’, etc. A number of stations used to fade in and out and then go completely dead. The only problem being, if you had the radio under the bed covers, it would suddenly blast out in the middle of the night! I think it was Radio Essex that used to appear from time to time?

Andre Martin…..One station that you could sometimes pick up in the cold weather winter months was AFN – American Forces Network, they had a transmitter in Holland that relayed to the US in the low countries from their main studios in Frankfurt and from the US – that was throughout the 60s.

Sarah Harvey….Do you remember the ‘208 Power Play’…. on the hour every hour…. a new record every day featured. My transister spent most of it under my covers with me listening to Kid Jensen’s Dimensions from 1 am! School rather got in the way those days.

Andre Martin….Here are a couple of memories of Radio Luxemburg and the 208 Roadshow that came to Hastings on 1st August 1975 and the local press write up about ” The Royal Ruler – Tony Prince”

John Wilde…..Radio Lux was the best. Many long nights spent tuned to 208.

Mick O’Dowd…..Luxembourg was the first station I got into even thought the quality of the signal was erratic. I remember Horace Batchelor’s amazing infrared draw. Send details to K-E-Y-N-S-H-A-M that’s etc.Didn’t the Bonzos make a song called that? Also Garner Ted Armstrong and his nightly sermon on Caroline. The “Kiss In The Car” licence from Johnnie Walker. The Emperor Rosco hijacking the Jamo Thomas classic ” I Spy For The FBI” into Rosco For The FBI. The emotionally moving time when the end of Caroline was near with the story of Caroline sailing up the Thames to adulation and freedom was broadcast. Anybody got a recording of this? What about you Kev the Witch? I believe you are quite knowledgeable on Pirate Radio.

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Andre Palfrey-martin collection

Jim Breeds…..I have an album (“When Pirates Ruled The Waves”) of old clips of the pirates – that famous bit about caroline sailing up the thames may be on it. Will have a look tomorrow.

Andre Martin….I think that the sailing up the Thames coincided with the 1970 elections, when Caroline returned to the airwaves using it old wavelength, and the message was VO by Johnny Walker. Be interested to hear again.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone. Looking forward to catching up at the next SMART coffee meet, Friday 10th January, 3.30 at the White Rock Hotel.

Julie Findlay Jones…..Happy New Year to you Alan. xxx

Gary Kinch…..Oh yes!!!…….Hapy new year to you and all.

Andre Martin….Have a good one matie and see you next week

Leigh Wieland Boys…..Happy New Year to you too, Leigh

Graham Burfield……Happy New Year

Geoff Peckham….Yes, a great 2014 to all x

Eva Neuke…..Happy New Year to you, Johnny! May the next year be good to us!

Jeanette Steve Jones…..Many thanks & Happy New Year to you too. Won’t be around for the January meeting, but … Please let me know the date of the February group greet:)

Andy Qunta…..Same to you, Alan! Cheers!

Sarah Harvey….Happy New Year!

Mick O’Dowd….Happy New Year to all my fellow anoraks! See y’all at The White Rock Hotel on the 10th! Be there or be square as they say! Fab!

Hastings past gigs – memories wanted for new magazine

A new magazine is being launch shortly by Andy Gunton and one of the features will be a series of articles about past gigs in Hastings, that have been memorable, eventful or interesting in some way.

The first gig covered will be the Sex Pistols on Hastings Pier, supporting Budgie, on 3rd July 1976. So if you were at that gig, have your own memories, good or bad, please let Andy know. Also if anyone out there has photo’s, flyers etc from that gig.

Other obvious future contenders include Jimi Hendrix & Pink Floyd (Syd Barrett’s last gig).

If anyone else has suggestions as to which other gigs to cover please contact : andygunton@hotmail.com