john wilde

Masons Music Record Shop Bag

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Supplied by Mo Elms

The logo was designed by ‘John Wilde’. I wanted something that covered all the different musical tastes we catered for. At the time we were selling to lots of  Mods,  Psychobilly, Punks, Rock etc. I think he did an excellent job of getting the image right.

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Malcolm McDonald… When we had some decent record shops in Hastings.

Andy Ives… Malcolm, Masons was my favourite back in the day

Tony Ham… I carried many of those bags, crammed to bursting point, from the shop to the railway station, the handles were stretched to their limits and cutting off the circulation to my fingers by the time I got home!

Andy Ives… Classic bag remember it well wish I still had one

David Wilkinson… Sadly none on ebay !!!

Allan Mitchell… Very impressive!

Will Cornell… Oooooh what I wouldn’t give for a Tshirt with this on it, Alan

 

Expandis – Hastings Carnival 1983

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supplied by John Wilde    David Miller, John Alexander Wilde and Philip George Thornton.

Phil Gill……Photo taken a split second before the bus ploughed into the stage.

and from 1981 – Moment Of Passion

Yvonne Cleland… My mum could have made two pairs of trahsers out of those strides 🙂 🙂

John Wilde… Great memory, thanks Alan. Oh if only I had saved that gear. Loved those pants! Great times.

David Miller… Loved that day, that event and that performance.

Phil Thornton…  was going for the ‘space priest’ look which has fallen out of favour in recent years … cant get hats like that anymore ! Just noticed I’m playing an acoustic 12 string !! I must have been going through a phase !

Phil Gill… Eko Ranger 12? I used to have one of those…. I’ll say no more.

Andy Qunta… Those are surely award-winning trousers that John is flaunting!

 

 

Mr and Mrs Wilde 1971 Glastonbury

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supplied by John Wilde

John Gale… Back when it all started. No glampers, no stupid flags, no rich kids leaving all their expensive camping gear behind, just folk having a great festival enjoying the music. Even over the last 15 years ,that festival has just slipped a million miles from its origins. Great photo though

Mike Waghorne… That would be my immpresion of John and his wife ” can’t remember her name” when we were friends back in the 70’s fond memories !

Gin Genie… Brilliant photo. I worked there from 1997 -2001 doing post festival welfare. I get what you are saying but it is still a special festival in here

Glenn Piper… So John, even you were young once

Tracy Birrell… Nice to see.

Pauline Hillier… Love this John.  Anne told me she watched you yesterday !! Handsome beast !! 😉xxx

Kate Hillier Jones… the girl makes me laugh

Andy Qunta… Love it!

Phil Gill… Fabulous.

John Gale… Watched that the other night. Very good, a few clips that I’ve never seen before.

Mike Waghorne… The faces I remember of john & his wife all those years ago !

Jeanette Wilde… where did all the time go. We’re not really old are we

Alan Esdaile… well maybe a bit older!

 

The Breathers at The Crawdaddy Club and other photos by Allan Morrow

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Photos © Allan Morrow

Steve Demetri, John Wilde, Jim Bell, Ric Hool

Ric Hool… The Crawdaddy Club. This was the first public outing of ‘No Beginner’. I’m pretty sure the gig was recorded – wonderfully RAW! Getting back to ‘No Beginner’… This, Roger (Carey – and Hi!) is the song with the chorus
indelibly imprinted on your grey cells: my apology. Every song written for The Breathers was special so in one sense
‘No Beginner’ is no exception… but it is. But before I launch into that, I have to make known that as the group’s
lyricist and tunesmith, I brought some raw fudge that The Breathers cooked into what became fabulous songs. We never ‘played’ them; we were inside them punching them out in every performance: rehearsal and actual.
Jim, Steve and John were right there and right into it. Back to ‘No Beginner’…

The Chorus:
‘You’re a breather
A soul survivor
A racing driver
A man of action
A space ship captain
An outright winner
And no oh oh oh oh beginner’

Checked out each group member but as soon as John released it on stage there became a realisation of those words moving out to the audience in the very first word of the chorus: You’re That word; that song found complete connection. It said, you are all these things… and more. It shared a limitless inspiration. ‘No Beginner’ was the ever-developing live song, in the vocal of an ‘in the moment’ singer: Izzi Peptone. Fun; engagement; field holler; call and reply, absurdism primed for exploration.

‘You’re a breather
An ice-cream cornet
A nest of hornets
A ghostly spectre
A train inspector
A Surrealist painting
An actress fainting
A rhino charging
A misspent farthing’

To infinity… The Breathers should have taken it there… and beyond. Ric Hool

John Wilde… spot on Ric, those songs were a call to Action! I would love to hear them again.

Alan Esdaile… Action!

Grant Young… I’d love to hear these recordings

Jim Bell… Good news, I’m looking to restore all of the Breathers catalog over the summer holidays.

 

Man Friday – New Broom early 80’s – Paul Austin R.I.P.

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photo by John Austin …. Dennis Wootton, Paul Austin, Roger Carey & John Wilde on drums.

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card supplied by Roger Carey and photo when they formed in 1974 from Paul Austin 

John Austin… Anyone Remember Man Friday ? aka Paul Austin, Roger Carey, Dennis Wootton, Think John Wilde was the drummer, use to play The New Broom, back in the day

Chris Baker…..Dennis Wootton! Now there’s a blast from the past!

Yvonne Cleland…..Will plays with him from time to time. He’s still about!

John Wilde… Not me folks.

Paul Austin… Dennis and me played guitar, John Wilde (not the one above) played drums and later on, Roger joined us playing bass guitar.

Peter Thomson… The New Broom, back in the day(!) was my local, and Graham Barrett’s. Don’t ever remember seeing a band in there but then we used to avoid it if we could…

Pete Millington… Roger Carey I remember  “lusting” after that Gretsch Bass when I first saw it at St Helen’s Hospital Social Club – must have been about 1975/6.

Martin Richter… are they xmas jumpers or am I having a flashback ?

Barry French… Saw Man Friday several times, great band. Since Man Friday Paul went on to play in an early Slam lineup. Dennis has continued to play in many bands on a variety of instruments (Drums,Bass,Saxophone & Guitar). Den & I often bump into Paul & talk about the old days.

Barry French… I have recently had the sad news that vocalist/guitarist Paul Austin has recently passed away. During the 1970s Paul played with Man Friday & more recently he played guitar in an early Slam line up. Paul also performed solo singing & playing his guitar, he was also instrumental in organising some gigs at the Tivoli Pub along Battle Road, which consisted of six or seven of us getting together under the banner of “The band with no name” Paul was a great supporter of local music & was often down the Old Town cheering on the local talent. Always an unassuming Gentleman, Paul will be much missed .

Dennis Wootton… I will miss Paul greatly he has been a great friend over the years this was the gig at the Tivoli with Will Powell on drums who sadly is no longer with us.

photos supplied by Dennis Wootton

Roger Carey… This is very sad news, will miss Paul greatly too, would run in to him in the Old Town from time to time and he Den Wootton and I had a nice get together last summer. The “Man Friday ” band was the first pop flavored band I played for and we had some fun gigs in the mid 70s as well as that reunion pictured above…

 

 

The Breathers – Jim Bell’s photo collection 3

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Supplied by Jim Bell

Ric Hool, Steve Demetri, John Wilde, Jim Bell.

Alan Esdaile… Second photo is at the recording of ‘Living In The Age Age’.  Not sure who the guy with glasses is but seem to recognise the guy in the red shirt? What had you done to your arm John?

James Bell.. They were exciting and creative times. I would like to say thanks Alan for putting this group together, it’s wonderful looking back. From this the remaining Breathers have all being in contact, and are going to try and get together sometime in 2022. One thing though, Can’t remember Kermit being in the band. Cheers Jim

Ric Hool… Hi Jim, you might recall, the frog had a failed auditioned: he had no ‘Kermitment’…

James Bell… Ric, That made me laugh out loud. X

Roger Carey… Good pictures! I remember attending one of The Breathers’ first gigs at the Carlisle upstairs- they had a contemporary modern approach at the time with shorter snappier songs and looked good doing it!

John Wilde… Ric was a good song writer.

Roger Carey… John, Still recall that chorus “you’re a breather, a man of action, a racing driver “etc!

Alan Esdaile… Roger, so do I!

Tony Qunta… Great band!

Phil Gill… The guy in the red shirt is Jim Tatham, he and Digger were roadies/sound men for Tich Turner’s Escalator, and presumably, The Breathers.

The Breathers – Jim Bell’s photo collection 1

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supplied by Jim Bell.

Ric Hool, Jim Bell, John Wilde, Steve Demetri

Diane Knight… I remember them rehearsing in our studio in Fairlight Avenue…one recording went on all night.. pretty sure it was the same verse

James Bell… they were long rehearsals sometimes. The same verse was probably me getting it wrong.!!!! Thanks for being understanding, you guys were always supportive. Have a great Xmas jimx

Ric Hool… Rehearsing wasn’t optional with The Breathers. Chanced acts of creativity – there are those who will call them ‘mistakes’ – were pounced upon and used to flavour an established number differently, or else be the seed of a new song. Rehearsals were never solely concerned with dotting an ‘i’ and crossing a ‘t’ – they were much, much more than that. The Fairlight Studio was haven and heaven for us. Thank you for indulging us Diane.