the box

Bernard Jeffery & Charlie Tumahai from Be Bop Deluxe late 70’s

by

bernard jeffreyscharlie tumahai

supplied by Bernard Jeffery

Bernard Jeffery…..late seventies rehearsals with Charlie Tumahai From Be Bop Deluxe in The Box Hastings. The Hollywood Killers.

charlietumahai

© milesago

http://www.milesago.com/Features/tumahai.htm

Bernard Jeffery… Above, great piece about a great musician and a great bloke.Mentions the time I played with him in the Hollywood Killers back in the late seventies.

Tim Phillips… Interesting article. Be Bop Deluxe was one of my favourite bands in the mid 70s. I can remember riding my motorbike to Eastbourne to see one of their gigs with my then girlfriend (who went on to be lead singer of The Mobiles). I think the gig was at The Congress. The ride back to Hastings to take Anna home was one of the coldest motorbike rides I can remember smile emoticon

Bernard Jeffery…  I loved all of their albums and saw them live many times so it was a real buzz to play with Charlie and meet the rest of the band at Hollywood Killers gigs

Dave Nattress… Be Bop Deluxe were fabulous – I have all their stuff on Vinyl and CD and love Sunburst Finish and Modern Music.  Samisen – where’s Sarah H, do you remember we did “Ships in the Night”.  Indeed Tim, it was the Congress as I was there.  I do remember they were really, really loud.  RIP Charles, your contribution holding the bass down whilst Bill Nelson went off on his space-missions was vital.  I stumbled across a great Bio of Bill Nelson and Be Bop Deluxe, published in 2008, written by Paul Sutton Reeves – “Music In Dreamland”  “Bill Nelson and Be Bop Deluxe”.  A long read but worth it.

Tim Phillips… Yes, I agree that Be Bop Deluxe were really loud at The Congress. I had a motorbike with straight through exhaust pipes which sounded incredibly loud (probably made me quite unpopular in Bexhill). On the ride home I couldn’t hear my bike because my ears were still ringing from the concert lol.

 

Jim Penfold & The Hollywood Killers – TV Photo at The Box 1978

by

A great picture from Jim Penfold & The Hollywood Killers from the website

www.hollywoodkillers.com

I remember doing some dates with them including Guildford Civic Hall. Should have been chart stars ‘The Arrows’ headlining but they cancelled and were replaced by new boy band ‘Stevenson’s Rocket’.

Jim wrote: “Great memory!! Yes I remember it well…..

Unknown

534860_10200862897432755_216080697_n

 1377444_718181434862774_1222109353_n

Jim Penfold…..The tv photo was taken at the Box in 1978…..we (the Hollywood Killers) are all posing behind a TV set with no screen! Me, Neil ‘Chilli Willi’ Aplin,Berni Schmirnoff, Alexander Moylegrove lll and Pete Poodle…..we first rehearsed and recorded demos Goodbye Suicide….here’s the original 7″ single remastered

Yvonne Cleland…. Min x

Chris Baker…Min… Simon P Medhurst! Lovely bloke, excellent musician. Genius gold and silversmith, wonderfully creative electronics engineer. Much missed.

Yvonne Cleland…. Quite hard being in a band with him though. He’d often turn up 2 hours late or not at all, depending on what he was doing at the time and who with! 😀 Enjoyed playing with him and had fantastic fun making weird and wonderful sounds. Happy days.

Conan Howard… Bernie you look so young there. Conan (Len)…Samisen

Bernard Goffredo… I loved Min knew him since I was fourteen and me and Pete Fisher would go and jam at his country cottage. Playing with him in the Hollywood Killers was fun but challenging as you never knew what he would do especially when he would use his homemade electronics on his miked up sax.

Pete Fisher… I’ve been trying to remember where and when that was Bernard – your memory’s better than mine in this case! I remembered spending a weekend at a country cottage and as well as jamming, attempting to record something. I seem to remember us being upstairs while Min was downstairs manning the tape deck. There were no headphones as I recall and Min had rigged up a monitor speaker that he also used as a foldback to talk to us. I don’t think anything came of it due to technical challenges…

Meaux Meaux Polymorphous… Very fond memories of Min! Is that Robin Heggie?

Bernard Goffredo… Yes that’s Robin

Geoff Peckham… Min’s cottage was at the top of a field near Rolvenden. I used to spend weekends with him there during the winter of ’69/’70. We played a lot of ‘free jazz’, indulged in Bob Luck cider and others and planned to form a band. We did actually do a handful of gigs, but they were rather loose affairs! I really liked Min. After a quite ‘closed’ upbringing, meeting him when I was 17 really opened my eyes/mind!

Tony Qunta… Great character! I remember some very long free jams at Min’s place. One which Min recorded had at the time we were playing seemed to sound the best thing I had ever heard! Listening back a few days later with ‘things back to normal’ 😁 it didn’t sound anything like we remembered it!

Geoff Peckham… Tony, are you referring to those jams we had during all night gatherings at Vaughan’s place in Burwash? I remember Min recording some. Would love to hear them now but, as you say, I’m sure they’re not as thrilling as they were at the time!

Samisen Return to Rock A Nore – The lost recordings 1976

by

Sarah Harvey… Recorded at THE BOX in Silverhill. Samisen ‘Rock-A-Nore’ in 1976!! The background to this song was actually based on Conan Howard’s (Bass Guitar) story about where he lost his virginity rather than any sentimental connection with the iconic Hastings area. I am a prog rocker at heart and I write songs and have done since the 1970s…..and here is the proof!! In the 1970s I wrote many prog rock songs, and most of them were in the epic prog-rock style. In those days that’s what you did as a band. One day I will rework them and perhaps perform them…. who knows. This video depicts the various line-ups of my very first band SAMISEN. The song was recorded at THE BOX in Silverhill in 1976!! ‘Rock-A-Nore’ is a prog rock piece written by Sarah Harvey and Conan Howard based on Conan’s story about where he lost his virginity rather than any sentimental connection with the iconic Hastings location.
– Graham Barrett (Vocals – RIP)
– Sarah Harvey (Lead Guitar – Happy Maureens)
– Ralphy (Rhythm Guitar and backing vocals)
– Bernie Smirnoff (Drums – Kingbathmat)
– Conan Howard (Bass Guitar)
I am proud of the songs I have written down the years

Jan Warren… Me too Sarah, I am Prog and Psychedelic Rock too, I remember meeting you at the SMART meet in Hastings, hope to meet you again soon!

Conan Howard… sorry SARAH, you only helped to write this, as it was my original idea.. CONAN HOWARD , as proved by all the bass work.. now go to the back of the class and sit on the naughty step you bad girl … love Conan x

Sarah Harvey… Conan has become such a grumpy old wotsit in his old age 😂 I did say we co-wrote it and ok, if you want the rights to the original idea I won’t get my lawyer on to you this time. 😜 xxx

Peter Thomson… Always enjoyed hearing (and watching) you lot knock this one out.

Conan Howard… must admit though Graham Barrett did come up with all the words,, good old Graham ,bless you where ever you are now. WHAT a Hoot  SARAH ,good stuff indeed . all meant in good fun.. I have the right to be grumpy at 70 years old , what else is there? love Conan xx

The Box Recording Studio – Silverhill

by

1377329_10201636722674118_885735076_n

photo by Chris Meachen

featuring Phil Gill & Steve Demetri.

Mick Mepham… Is that Andy Q on the right Phil?

Phil Gill… No Mick, it’s Ashley Pepper – Tony Q is in the room though.

Tony Qunta… Couple of questions Phil – what was the rehearsal we were doing? And is that alien creature on the wall about to eat you?

Phil Gill… It was rehearsals for Charlie Hutchinson’s album, Feels Like Rain. That alien creature looks like a huge flying penis with antennae. If I’d known there would be pictures on the internet 35 years later of me being attacked by a giant flying knob, I probably would have stood somewhere else.

Steve Cooke… The guitarist on the right in the Box pic is Mick Hartwell – lovely guy.

The Box Recording Studios – band unknown?

by

supplied by Neil Cartwright.

1380405_10151889736734287_1390296962_n

 

Neil Cartwright…A photo from inside The Box – probably 1981. The dark-haired guitarist could have been called Nigel, the other was possibly Mick, and I think he was a teacher. Mick Burt was certainly on drums, and we battled through standards like ‘Freebird’ and ‘Wishing Well’. Some time later, we practiced down there with Trevor Lewis – a gifted songwriter with a beautiful voice. Any idea of the band?

Michael Mepham…..That might be Mick from Stone Junction on the right. I think the other guy might be named Brian.

Yvonne Cleland….That looks like Mick Hartnell on the right

Sam Rosewell….That is Mr Hartnell – he was an English teacher at Hillcrest when I was there in the 80s.