eighties

photo supplied by Clive Pierce

Jim Bell (Red Ferrari), John Wilde (Izzi Peptone),  Clive Pierce and Ric Hool

Clive Pierce… I would just like to clear a few inaccuracies up In relation to my short spell with The Breathers. I was contacted quite out of the blue by Simon Davies, who had been one of the A&R managers at a subsidiary label of EMI called Cobra Records. I was in a group called CRAZE who were signed to Cobra. Everything was going well until for reasons unbeknownst to me, Simon and his co A&R partner Tony Squires decided to jump ship leaving all the artists signed to Cobra floundering. We were passed on to EMI Harvest but we weren’t anyone’s baby anymore so consequently were neglected and through this Craze split. I was asked by Simon if I would like to try out for the vacant drummer position in The Breathers so off to Hastings I went to meet the guys in the group and to see if we could click. I found them all very amicable and was made to feel part of the group almost immediately after my audition. It is true that I did consider at this stage to becoming a session drummer and had started to earn quite good money but I absolutely hated every minute of it. I was 18 years old and was playing sessions on tracks that I had no affinity with whatsoever, so The Breathers were a breath of fresh air ‘pun intended’. Even though I gave The Breathers my best shot I was still in love with CRAZE so just slipped slowly away but with no hard feelings. Lovely guys and Izzi was an absolute character. Rick was very accommodating and friendly. I stayed at his place in Hastings while we rehearsed for a mini tour of the North and even stayed at his parents house up in Newcastle….I love the folk from the North East. One thing i must say that did not sit for me very well concerns the single they released. I have no idea why their original drummer Steve Demetri left but I have to take this chance to say that it was him and not I who played the drums on Living In An Age Age even though I am credited on the sleeve as doing so. It was done without my consultation and it was too late to have my name removed after they had gone into production. That was just not right and embarrassing for me.I would have been livid if it was the other way round. If I had my way Steve’s name would have been on the sleeve and not mine. Anyway….thank you guys for the fun. Clive.

Phil Gill… That poor man has no shirt. I’d have given him back one of those he gave me in 1976 if I’d known.

Alan King… I lost mine on the 3:35 at Lingfield perhaps he did too

Ric Hool… Clive Pierce was a crisp drummer, sharp to The Breather’s material and if I never said so before, thanks Clive. Yes, Steve Demetri was the drummer on Livin In The Age Age. Once heard, you couldn’t mistake Steve’s unique style. It’s gracious of Clive to put the record straight. That tour Clive mentions, I think, went into Scotland – Edinburgh, Bathgate, Glasgow… Every gig outside of Hastings was virtually always north and most often a long, long drive so putting a tour together, though we never made money, put enough petrol in the van to keep us going. Friends were made along the way who put us up overnight and, as Clive mentions, when possible, staying with family was a luxury. Motorway eating was far too expensive but as soup was the cheapest item on the menu we got through a lot of it. John (Izzi) and I, in desperate times of hunger, used to scan the tables to see what other customers were leaving and make a dive for the scraps as soon as those tables were deserted. Typical of most groups trying to make it: Lords on stage; Beggars off stage. Best Ric

John Wilde… Hi Boys. Great to see posts from Clive and Ric.Thank you Clive for your keen presence all those years ago. They were great times. So, thank you Ric for inviting me on board. We were a tight unit, I wish I had paid better attention and focussed more on the music instead of preening my feathers. I wish both Ric and Jim (Red Ferrari) all the best and Clive, thank you for your graciousness.

Janie Watson… Would you by any chance be the Johnny Wilde who used to dance amazingly onstage at The Cobweb, c1969/70? Usually to Grooving With Mr Bloe? Apologies if not!

John Wilde… yep that was me. Great times.

Stuart Moir… They were the good times when the gear was perched on beer crates

Tony Davis… Strange to see this now. During my recent local music show on Hastings Rock Radio I decided to dig out some legacy tracks and was extremely grateful to Julian Deeprose for letting me have a copy of Age Age. It was great to here again and if anyone has any other Breathers tracks I would love to play them. Great days

Dave Allan… Hi, I also covered some gigs in the drum seat for the lads when they were working up’t North. I’d previously worked with Jim & Ric in a band called Telephone with Brendan Healey and Chris McPherson (don’t mention that Renault 4 🙂 )and then ultimately with Brendan in a band called The East Side Torpedoes. Sadly Brendan’s no longer with us, but it would be great to hear what Ric and Jim are up to these days. Take care everyone. Dave