Philip John… Back in the day we experienced great problems zipping Pete into his boots. They were an extremely tight fit and he had to lay on his back whilst we pulled the zips up over his jeans. This was made even more difficult because the small tags on the zips were really difficult to grip. Finally i came up with the brilliant idea to fit split rings to the tags,much easier to pull on. This worked well for the first few gigs then one night i was in my usual position behind the drums when i spotted Pete gesticulating furiously to me and pointing to his crotch area then I noticed he was moving round the stage with tiny steps like some kind of bizarre geisha girl. Oh shit I thought his boots were stuck together with the split rings. I dashed over to him ,dropped to my knees and with a small torch clamped in my teeth began to wrestle with the rings as he wriggled furiously to get his legs apart. Well you can imagine what this looked like from the audience’s point of view. Finally I tore the rings apart and staggered to my feet torch still firmly gripped between my teeth then to a huge round of applause I returned to my position behind the drum riser.
Pete Prescott… Great story ! Please tell the one about the spray paint !
Judy Atkinson… Ian Hunter was a guest on Johnny Walker’s Sounds of the 70s a couple of weeks ago
Joe Knight… Brilliant band
Andy Qunta… That should have been in This Is Spinal Tap!
Andy Gunton… Not a good way to start the new year. Very sad to hear the news of the death overnight of Mick Bolton. A lovely man & a fine pianist too, who many local people will have seen playing around the Hastings area. In the past he’d played with Mott The Hoople, Dexy’s Midnight Runners & Linda McCartney, amongst others.I had the pleasure of working with Mick on several occasions, something I have very fond memories of. R.I.P Mick, you will be sadly missed
Alan Esdaile… Very sad news. Such a warm and genuine person and a great musician.
John Wilde…Farewell Mick.
Nick Shute… So sorry to hear this sad news…..rip Mick
Caroline Moor… very sad news
Janine Hemsley… So so sad. Thoughts are with Mick’s family.
Wendy Weaver… Sad news. R.I.P. Mick
Ricky Long… Sad, Rip Mick great guy
Willie Wicking… So Sorry to hear this, a lovely genuine guy it was only last year we were seeing the New Year in with him at the Grapevine in Rye. Thoughts with his family & friends R.i.P Mick
Nick Bloomfield… I will remember him though singing this song which is one of his own compositions. I was very fortunate to record ‘Serpentine Summer’ which is a lovely song about the Hyde Park Concert in 1969.
Elaine Roberts… RIP Mick – a great musician and a lovely, unassuming man. Condolences to all his family and friends – he will be much missed
Carole Prescott… So very sad. Such a lovely man. Condolences to Carol and all other family & friends. Such a shock.
Andy Qunta… Very sorry to hear about Mick. RIP.
Colin Norton… Very sad to hear this news. RIP Mick
Dave Nattress… Not another! I did not know Mick but have read widely of him and the local connections. After the passing of Kevin Hoad recently to lose another notable member of the music community is truly awful.
Iain Cobby… Fond memories of sing along with Mick at the Grapevine with Messrs T Davis, C Rigden and P Merison on nights out in Rye. What a really nice guy. The place won’t be the same without you Mick. RIP
Phil Little… Barry Jones and I played some of our best ever gigs with Mick Bolton since 2011. He was a really great intuitive player and will be irreplaceable to us. Thoughts and Condolences to Carol and Richard. RIP Mick.
William Third… So sad to hear it, what a lovely person as well as a wonderful musician, he will be greatly missed.
Pam Staffell… Memorial bench for Michael on the seafront. It was Carol’s desire today of getting a memorial bench on Hastings seafront that prompted me to suggest “Go Fund Me” Thank you X
Pam Staffell… Hello everyone. I am so pleased with how this fund is doing. Thank you all for being so generous and kind. It isn’t an easy time right now to be asking for money, so an extra big thank you to you all on behalf of Carol and Bobby. I know the money raised so far will buy a standard bench – there are many styles for Carol to choose from. There is also engraving to be paid for. Plus any administration which Hastings Council asks for! That is how I came to the fund aim of £1500. We have done so well, in these two days, so I am confident the goal will be reached! Thank you again X
Pam Staffell… Hello everyone! I hope you are all well. As I write this it is snowing outside. Sunny days ahead – and news to share with you all. This morning we heard that a Seafront Bench would be available. Also today, thanks to everyone that has donated, the goal of £1500 has been reached. A huge thanks on behalf of Carol and Bobby who will be able to sit on the bench. And now there will be a seat for you all too, to come and spend some time on “Mick’s Bench”. Thank you all again X
Pam Staffell… Hello again to you all. Sorry, it has been a while since the last update. The bench is going ahead, although we haven’t been given a date of installation yet. We’re looking at options for what to do with the amount that is outstanding, such as a plaque on Hastings pier or memorial trees from friends and family, but that with things closed or delayed due to Covid it might take a while to sort that out. I will, of course, keep you updated as soon as I have more information. Take care Pam X
Pam Staffell… Hello everyone and I hope you are all well. Tonight, I am so pleased to finally be able to give you the news that Mick’s Memorial Bench is finally in situ. I have only been told it is in Sea Road Hastings – its exact position, I yet to have confirmed – (but if someone should visit first, please do update with the location). Thank you again everybody for your kind donations. Look forward to sharing the bench with you one day! For Mick X
Nick Bloomfield… Here are the photos of the bench that myself and many other people contributed to for the musician Mick Bolton (born in Wigan) who died on the 1st January this year. Mick who played with Mott The Hoople and Dexys Midnight Runners among others was an extremely talented keyboards player. I filmed him on many occasions and I have to say that he was a sweet and self effacing man too. There’s something nice about having a name on a bench looking out to sea…
photos: Nick Bloomfield
Pete Prescott… A lovely guy!
Chris Jolly… A lovely man and a terrific keyboard player…
Derek Johnson… Great Tribute well done everyone involved
Tony Davis… miss just stopping for a chat with him in the park. Such a nice guy
Willie Wicking… Lovely Gesture Lovely Guy great musician
Join ex-roadies Phil John and Crystal Taylor along with special guest Mick Bolton (ex-keyboard player with Mott the Hoople and Dexy’s Midnight Runners) for an evening of tall tales and amusing anecdotes taken from their twenty or more years on the road in the 70s & 80s with numerous different bands including Mott the Hoople, Queen and David Bowie. Using period film clips and photographs they allow you an insiders view of what it was like to be front stage, back stage and behind the wheel at a time that many people consider to be ‘The Golden Age of Rock ’n’ Roll’. Hosted by Andy Gunton.
Mick Bolton… I’ve just started a new website. It’s crammed full of stuff about gigs I’ve done and bands I’ve played with in the last 50 years – and about what I’m up to now. Wait a minute – did I just say 50 years? How did that happen? Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy it. Let me know what you think.
Alan Esdaile… Looks good Mick. Some great photos.
Pete Fisher… Fantastic website Mick. Fascinating read, and some great photos! Particularly enjoyed the anecdotes – the backstage pass episode rang a bell with me, as when I was on tour playing guitar for a well-known German reggae artist, he left his pass in the tour bus, and security wouldn’t let him into the hall. I grabbed the star of the show and made him stand next to the poster on the wall outside, so the security guy could spot the similarity, and then he reluctantly let him in! The stories about Pete Overend Watts’ boots, him having to be being pushed up onto the stage, and also being freed from his tangled boot zips on stage are worthy of a Spinal Tap scene! The “Hello Columbo!” scene is a classic, of course also reminiscent of the Tap’s “hello Cleveland!”!!! I’ll be back for another browse, and checking out some of the albums you played on which slipped under my radar…keep rockin’!
Mick Bolton… Looking forward to sharing a stage for the first time in 43 years with Ariel Bender, my colleague in Mott The Hoople – aka Luther Grosvenor of Spooky Tooth and Stealer’s Wheel. I won’t be the only SMART member taking part in the MTH convention in Hereford, the band’s home town on June 11th. Andy Gunton will be conducting interviews – no doubt quizzing us about the then little-known band who supported us on the tour that ended with the concert shown in the poster – one of their road crew Crystal Taylor will also be there. The organiser is Philip John who was a long-serving crew member. Closer to home – I’m looking forward just as much to the gig with Simon Shaw at the Gecko Bar & Grill in St Leonards this Sunday 5th June 2016 at 5pm.
Alan Esdaile… Can’t make it to Hereford but look forward to seeing the recordings.
Mick Bolton… How many friends can you get into a caravan the size of a postage stamp? The Paul Brady Band 1986 – outside the sheer unashamed luxury of our dressing room at a German festival. Stephen D Fletcher, Jennifer Maidman, Paul Brady, Timothy Goldsmith, Mick Bolton, Geoffrey Richardson – and probably the tour manager Milo Lewis behind the camera. Reminds me of an episode of Father Ted.
Tim Bruce… Or an episode of Cradle To The Grave….
Mick Bolton… I had no idea at that time that I would ever move to Hastings, though I’d visited the town on day trips and loved it. I remember Paul Brady talking about two of his former musicians who lived here – I thought ‘why would a musician want to live in a place like Hastings, so far from London?!’ They were Kenny Craddock (whom I replaced on Hammond organ) and Liam Genockey who later rejoined him and has worked with him for many years. Most of the band, including Liam, also played with The Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Geoff Richardson has been a member of Caravan for many years.
Mick Bolton… Thanks for sharing this to the group Alan. Some photos of Dexys Midnight Runners – had a great time recording and touring with them in ’84 and ’85 – with Vincent Crane (of Atomic Rooster) on piano and me on Hammond organ. I believe Dexys played on the pier, though that was before my time with them. There’s quite a story behind the track ‘The Way You Look Tonight’. Kevin Rowland had left the studio to do a photo-shoot or something. Just for a bit of relief from the rigours of recording, I started playing some old pub songs on the piano and some of the others were messing around singing and playing along. Kevin walked in and said ‘do you know this one?’ We ran through it just once and he said ‘OK, let’s record it.’ None of us learned any parts, we just improvised through it, including the crescendo and the ending. It’s become a real favourite with Dexys fans – maybe because it sounds so spontaneous – so I’m pleased to have been the accidental instigator of this track. This is a different band from the touring band, including Woody Woodmansey on drums.
John Austin… Saw them on the pier ! Brilliant !
Alan Esdaile… 12th June 1980 they appeared on the pier.
