Mars – featuring Mick Mepham Prom-In-Aid 1986

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photos by Neil Cartwright

Michael Mepham….Wa-heyyyyyy, pix of me that I didn’t have before!!!! Top is Paul Tanner/guitar, Next are, from left, Liane Carroll – keys, Robin Heggie – bass and yours truly – guitar. Next l to r me, Garry Blakely and Steve Cooke – violins and Robin Heggie during the finale, Hands Across The Water. Next – me, Bottom, the late, lamented Michael Bettel – drums and percussion. Lovely chap and a great drummer. Died way too young.

Michael Mepham….Mullets a-gogo! Garry and Steve stepped in to play the string parts as cellist Ian couldn’t make it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t filmed or recorded, as far as I know, as the camera ran out of film before the track. The whole audience sang the chorus and we thought that maybe they’d be able to hear it in Africa. Great gig. Also, as I remember it, the event raised £3000 in the day. Fantastic for Hastings in 1986! Ian Dobson presented most of the bands and Joe Macilvenny not only sang with Better Days but also organized most or all of it. Marvellous memories of that gig.

Liane Carroll….awww….memories!!! x

Alan Esdaile….The photo at the top looks like the mike stand is going through Paul Tanner’s stomach.

Mick Mepham…..A bit like the church lightning rod that falls off the top of the church in the Omen and transfixes the priest ……

Queen Of Clubs Disco (Queens Hotel) with Johnnie Stuart – November 1975

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Alan Pepper… I vaguely remember this nightclub under the Queen’s Hotel .Was it Bonita’s before this ?
Dancing to Barry White in stack heeled shoes oxford bags cheesecloth shirt. I know…… WHAT A TART !!!

Kevin Burchett… it was bonitas before becoming the queen of clubs and the dj Johnnie Stuart was one of the resident djs in scalliwags for a while. anyone got any more info about Johnnie Stuart?

Alan Esdaile… I think it started as The Flying Machine, also Lazybones, Emmas and JR’s. Any others?

Hat Trick – 1978 supplied by Roger Carey

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Ken Copsey…..I remember seeing Roger Carey playing that bass back in the day. It always amazed me the biggest bloke playing fantastically on the smallest bass. Seeing this picture now allows me to identify it as a left handed Burns Sonic bass strung for right handed playing. I now own one myself but needless to say I can’t play it to Rogers standard!

Sarah Harvey….The Christmas Fancy Dress Ball was where I believe Hat Trick played two gigs in one evening….the first was at The Kings Head in the Old Town and later on in the evening at Ore centre. I seem to remember the band dressing up as Santa Claus that night….. my fancy dress nowadays would be rather different!

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”.