The Artists – 1969

10th January 1969
THE BANDWAGON

American coloured group, The Bandwagon, who rocketed to fame with “Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache”, come to the NewMarket Discotheque on Friday for the first show of 1969. The Bandwagon are led by 23-year-old Johnny Johnson, although each member of the unit is able to sing lead. He is joined by Arthur Fullilove (21), Terry Lewis (22) and Billy Bradley (23). Talking about their act, Johnny says, “We really like to get into a groove becuase we feel that when people pay to see us they want to see a good gig. Something really visual. We have most of our movements worked out together, but then at the end we kinda give ourselves freedom to ad-lib and be a bit more individual”. Their first trip to Britain has been a bit of an eye-opener for them. “The cars look old-fashioned” states Johnny, “somewhat like America in the 30’s, but there’s nothing old-fashioned about the music here. It’s fantastic.” “The reaction to us has been great, and now we’re staying on in the New Year and also taking in Continental dates. We’re definitely a bigger name in Britain and Europe than in the States, so you can appreciate how we need to stay on here while things are going so well. The good thing is that we’ve just released our follow-up to “Heartache” – it’s called “You”. We shall probably use the last few weeks of our stay here to promote the new single. I don’t know. But it’s an idea. That follow-up single is an important one, and I know some visiting artistes have missed out when the’yve gone back to the States and haven’t been able to back up their initial success.”

Probably better known as Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon, here was another band from the USA who played the Newmarket just 3 months after scoring a Top 5 hit in the UK. Johnny Johnson (real name John A.Mathis) was born in Florida but moved to New York as a kid and later sang in a number of local groups, including one called The Bandwagon. After coming to the attention of producer Denny Randell of Epic Records, the vocal group underwent some personnel changes and in March 1968 recorded “Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache” a song that had been co-written and produced by Randell. It received a lot of local airplay in Philadelphia but was more successful in Europe and the UK, consequently the band toured both and eventually, in October 1968, the single climbed the UK charts, finally reaching the heady heights of No.4. By 1969 this 4-piece vocal group had disbanded but Johnson, using a succession of additional vocalists to suit his purposes, continued with his name now permanently promoted to leader. Just like both The Flirtations and The Fantastics before them, Johnson quickly understood that his new audience was in Britain and he soon made London his base. With Tony Macauley given the job of providing Johnson with material they enjoyed two more Top 10 hits in 1970 (“Sweet Inspiration” which got to No.10 and “(Blame It) On The Pony Express”) and continued to release material during the 70’s, recording for both the Bell and ABC labels. However their version of 70’s soul soon became a little predictable and out-dated and their commercial success waned though they were later re-discovered by a new generation of Northern Soul enthusiasts. Johnson later retired from the music business altogether, partly due to ill health, and at one point was working as a school bus driver. He died in 2023 at the age of 80. “Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache” was later released by Dexy’s Midnight Runners as the B-side of “Geno” in 1981.

NIGHT TO REMEMBER
Yes, it was just that at the New Market Discotheque when the Bandwagon came along and presented one of the most polished acts I’ve seen. Putting everything into it, the four coloured gents, led by Johnny Johnson, offered an energetic programme of good soul music, featuring strong vocals, good harmony and infectious movements. Supported by The Grand Union, an excellent British group who had their first single issued on Friday, they whipped up excitement with such material as “Stoned Soul Picnic”, “Love In Them Hills” and, inevitably, “Breakin Down The Walls Of Heartache”, yet strangely enough they did not air the follow-up, “You”. There’s no doubt that The Bandwagon proved themselves firm favourites with the large and enthusiastic audience, but I’d estimate that at least half of the fans there were folk from outside the Bridgwater area. Those of you who didn’t attend missed a terrific evening.

17th January 1969
THE SONIC INVADERS
24th January 1969
JUST THAT

2 bands of which there is precious little information. The advertisement for The Sonic Invaders informs us that they were “A brilliant All-Coloured Soul Band” but a quick Google serach reveals nothing whilst “Just That”, according to Mike Guy were an “up and coming soul band from Salisbury”.

31st January 1969
THE MAGIC LANTERNS

Terry Clare, who runs the New Market Discotheque, has made a change of booking for this Friday and has now managed to secure The Magic Lanterns, a British 5-piece, whose record “Shame, Shame” has been bubbling under the charts for ages. Already successful twice over in the Hit Parade, The Magic Lanterns are bidding for a hat-trick with “Shame” – a strong American song which is their first recording under the direction of Top Twenty wizard Steve Rowlands. It has brought a first-time smash for the group in the United States, where the number rocketed into the charts not so very much long ago and earned them much praise from folk in the music world. About two years ago The Lanterns made the charts ripple with “Excuse Me Baby” and “Knight In Rusty Armour”. Then management of the Camp label plus The Magic Lanterns passed to Double R. Productions who have invested a lot of hard work and faith in the lively singing style of this experienced quintet. All five members of the unit come from the Warrington area of Lancashire and they bow in as Jimmy Bilsbury (21), singer; Harry Ward (21), lead guitar; Bev Beveridge (23), rhythm: “Ozzy” Osborne (21), bass and Peter Garner (21), drums. Four-part harmony vocals are their trademark, especially on the many songs written by Bev Beveridge and Jimmy Bilsbury, so you can expect to hear plenty of this when they make their Bridgwater debut on Friday.

A group that contained some very interesting and influential band members, though sadly none of them appeared at the New Market Discotheque. Hailing from Warrington in Lancashire they formed in 1962 as The Sabres but changed their name to The Magic Lanterns a few years later. Their early line-up included Kevin Godley & Lol Creme of 10CC fame, though it’s just possible that their tenure in the band was extremely short-lived. Having signed to CBS Records they enjoyed a No 44 hit in 1966 with the whimsical “Excuse My Baby”, a song that was later covered by Chicory Tip, which gives some indication of where they were at musically at this time. In 1968, they were snapped up by one of the most influential and important record labels of all time, those denizens of good musical taste, Atlantic Records, home of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Led Zeppelin and Crosby Stills & Nash, a decision that, with the benefit of hindsight borders on the bizarre. However, at least initially, it appears to have been a move that benefited both parties as during that same year, the single “Shame, Shame” reached No 29 on the Billboard Top 100 and No.3 in Canada. However, for some reason, the single failed to chart in their country of birth, as did their follow-up and by 1970 they had moved on to Big Tree Records, a label that gave us Lobo, Dave & Ansel Collins and Hot Chocolate. During that same year their main singer-songwriter, Jimmy Bilsbury left the band and the group slowly disappeared from view though they did succeed in achieving two more Billboard Top 100 hits in the States in 1971 and 1972 respectively before releasing their final 45 in 1973. Two more factoids about this elusive group is that during their Atlantic residence, songwriter for hire Albert Hammond, he of “Free Electric Band” fame and a man responsible for the The Hollies “The Air That I Breathe”, Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”, Whitney Houston’s “One Moment In Time” and Leo Sayer’s “When I Need You” was a Magic Lantern, at least for a short while though by the time the band had succeeded in making their New Market appearance, it would appear that he had already left. Factoid No 2 is that, contrary to rock n’roll myth, John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne, the bat biting Black Sabbath vocalist was NOT a member of the Magic Lanterns though bassist Mike “Ozzy” Osbourne most certainly was.

7th February 1969
THE MID-ROD ENDS
14th February 1969
THE LURK(E)S
21st February 1969
THE FANTASTICS

February 1969 saw The NewMarket adopt a “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” attitude with repeat performances from that hardy Street band The Mid-Rod Ends and a 3rd visit for the Fantastics. Even The Lurks (or “Lurkes” according to the Newmarket advertisement – a Soul band from Bristol) had apparently appeared before according to Mike Guy though this is the first example of them appearing in the local press. The Orange Bicycle also made a 3rd Bridgwater visit during February with a gig at the Hinkley Point Sports and Social Club, supported by local band The Re-Action. Elsewhere it was reported that the Discotheque had taken on a new DJ – Mike Henderson – and that the once popular Raves at the Sydenham Community Centre were in danger of folding. Talking to the Bridgwater Mercury Terry Clare had refuted claims that punters were losing interest in live performances by supplying audience figures ranging from 250 to 400 for a really big group.

26th February 1969
DUSTER BENNETT

HAPPY NEWS – BLUES FANS
Don’t forget that tomorrow Bridgwater Tech are offering a blues concert at the New Market Disco, tickets 7 shillings for Student Guild members and 8 shillings for non-members. Star of the event is Duster Bennett who, since his emergence earlier this year, has proved to be a most popular figure on the college and university circuit. His originality lies in the fact that he is a one-man band and is proficient on drums, guitar and piano. Originally from Welshpool, Montgomeryshire, where he was born on 23rd September 1946, Duster and family moved to Kingston in Surrey when he was two years old. The first instrument Duster became involved with was the mouth organ, and for some time he studied the classical side and the work of Larry Adler. He was entirely self-taught, as he is on all the instruments he now plays. The piano was the second musical diversion he made, again not initially in blues style, but with a leaning to jazz. But he found what was to be his future path when, at the age of 17, he took up the guitar. From an early interest in country blues he immediately started in this vein, emulating at that time such artists as Blind Boy Fuller and Tommy Johnson. Over a number of years, his love for the blues strengthening, he became a member of various country blues and jug bands, but they always found it difficult to obtain work and so he returned to manily playing for his own amusement. He also had difficulties in finding the right musicians for his bands and so decided that he should start to combine his talents and form a one-man band. Appearing with Duster will be relatively new Bridgwater area group Kwarto Feelay.

Bennett was signed by Mike Vernon to the same Blue Horizon label that originally gave us Fleetwood Mac, possibly the best ever British Blues band. In fact Bennett’s debut album, released in 1968 and entitled “Smiling Like I’m Happy” featured the band on 3 tracks whilst Bennett played a Les Paul that was given to him by Peter Green. He was to make a further 3 albums for the label and was championed by John Peel, making countless appearances on his “Top Gear” program. In 1970 he became a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. His final album “Fingertips” was issued in 1975 on the somewhat obscure Toadstool label and by then his style had changed to incorporate soul, R & B and funk. Sadly, in 1976, at the tender age of 29, after appearing at a gig with the great American artist Memphis Slim, Bennett fell asleep at the wheel of his van and was killed in a head-on collision.

Mike Guy, who seemed more enamoured by the support band than the main attraction, enters into the vernacular of the day in order to express his enthusiasm.

Although not a wild admirer of blues by any means, I could fully acknowledge the technical wizardry of Duster Bennett, who turned many on with slow and fast numbers. His harmonica and guitar playing was something which had to be heard to be believed and the purists refused to let him leave, applauding at the end of the opus. I do hope that the students will arrange another evening like this as soon as they can. You’re a really groovy crowd and togeter you brought to the current scene a special kind of audience atmosphere that has not been observed before.

28th February 1969
THE BEDROCKS

On the final Friday of February, Bridgwater punters were given 2 options to choose from, both of which have a slightly tentative Beatle connection. Whilst the psychedelically-challenged band Rainbow Ffolly (responsible for the decidely un-trippy Parlophone single “Drive My Car” in 1968 – NOT the Fab Four creation, but a song that bore the same title as the opening cut from “Rubber Soul”), the NewMarket stuck to it’s regular Friday night policy of booking mostly coloured artists, and on this evening they welcomed a 6-piece aggregation of West Indian immigrants from Leeds who apparently took their name from The Flintstones! Originally called The Bedrock Sunshine Band, they offered an amalgamation of ska and reggae as well as boasting a soulful brass section and having signed to Columbia they issued a cover of Macca’s “Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da” in 1968, which was recorded at Abbey Road and produced by Beatle engineer and Pink Floyd producer Norman “Hurricane” Smith. Due to it’s authentic Carribean rhythms, It received a lot of airplay, but it was in direct competition with Marmalade’s poptastic version and suffered accordingly with the latter’s take on McCartney’s jaunty ditty going all the way to No.1. Despite this, The Bedrocks still managed to reach No 20 in the singles charts but soon discovered that it was probably the song that had got them there as they were unable to follow it up with anything resembling a chart hit. At the time of their appearance their follow-up “The Lovedene Girls” (an old Rugby song which somehow unsuccessfully manages to make the less than obvious link between ska and music hall) had just been issued and after a 3rd single, a cover of Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World” sank without trace, the band soon followed suit. (Lead guitarist William Hixon had both of his legs amputated in 1970 having been hit by a drunk driver.)

I must say how enjoyable their programme proved to be – pure, undiluted Ska as opposed to all the pseudo bluebeat so often heard nowadays. The boy’s sang and played with polish and, with a line-up of sax, trumpet, guitars, organ and drums, crisply punched home such numbers as Amboy Dukes “High Life In Whitely Woods”, “Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da” and of course, “The Lovedene Girls”. During a backstage chat, I found them to be the same happy fellas they are in public and discovered they were based in Leeds and have been in existence for some 10 years – which shows that it’s never too late to achieve fame. While The Bedrocks were generating a Caribbean atmosphere, London unit Rainbow’s Ffolly were earning for themselves a good reception at the Sydenham Rave. They brought all their own lighting equipment and flourescent effects, and offered a string of current pops, styled midway between The Move and The Marmalade. Unfortunately the attendance figure was down again (to around 120) but this was probably due to the intense competition created by The Bedrocks.

7th March 1969
P.P. ARNOLD (Time Cycle)

It’s always nice to be able to welcome a girl vocalist to the town in a pop world dominated by male groups, and on Friday we’ll be able to do just that when the New Market Disco presents none other than that “Angel Of The Morning”, Miss P.P. Arnold. The individual singing style of this coloured star was first brought to the attention of British fans in November 1968, when The Ike & Tina Turner Review toured the country with The Ikettes and had such record success as “River Deep, Mountain High”. Lead singer with The Ikettes was P.P. Arnold, or Pat as she is known in the music business, and with the Review returning to America she stayed in England and signed with Immediate Records. “The First Cut Is The Deepest” was released and smashed straight into the charts. With a string of television engagements to consolidate her initial success, Pat was to travel Europe in two major promotion campaigns where she achieved equal fame in each country she visited. Two more records were issued which were to reveal her versatility, and a series of concerts throughout Britain and many continental countries was arranged, which created demand for an album to further reveal Pat’s voice. Together with such record producers as Andrew Loog Oldham, Mick Jagger, Mike Hurst, and Small Faces Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, a number of songs became an album, “The First Lady of Immediate”. Since then, it is true to say that Pat has not been able to match the Hit Parade popularity she found with “Deepest”, but nevertheless she has cut some very fine singles, among them “The Time Has Come”, “If You Think You’re Groovy” and “Angel Of The Morning”. If you like Pat, go along on Friday and give her your support.

Unquestionably, a lot of people did like Pat and subsequently The New Market was fairly full on this particular evening. However, with 10 minutes to go before she was due to take the stage, Miss Arnold was very much NOT in the building though her backing band, TNT were. In an interview conducted with Dave Chapple many years later, Terry Clare explained that he attempted to find out what had happened to his star turn and having obtained Pat’s phone number from her agent, rang her to discover that she was at home. The reason for her non-appearance was a malfunctioning car which had apparently broken down en route to the venue. How she had managed to get home under these circumstances was a question she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, answer. Terry, quite rightly, made it known that having signed a contract, the gig would have to be re-arranged and negotiations occurred as to when this might be. Miss Arnold suggested that she should be able to atone for her non-appearance with a performance in a couple of months time. Terry, understandably peeved, suggested that this was not satisfactory and, sticking to his guns, finally got Pat to agree to return after a few weeks absence. In the meantime, her backing band were expecting to be paid for at least making an effort to turn up. This was met with a resounding “no”. Mike Guy takes up the story.

Time Cycle have been widely praised for stepping in at the eleventh hour to replace star singer P.P. Arnold when she failed to appear at the New Market Discotheque, Bridgwater. The lads, who were hurriedly rounded up from various parts of the district, received a heroes welcome from an understanding and completely sympathetic audience. Relating the course of events which could easily have proved catastrophic, Discotheque organiser Terry Clare said he received a phone call at 7.15 p.m. to say Miss Arnold would not be appearing. “I discovered Time Cycle had a free night and while we tried to trace everyone in the group, I explained to the youngsters coming in what had happened and reduced the admission price from 10s to 6s. Taking over the story, Time Cycle drummer Paul Berryman told me; “We were all collected from various places within an hour and went on stage at 10, doing a 60-minute performance. Then later we returned and did a further half-hour.” For the first time, the group featured two girl singers, Jean Haggett and her twin sister Jill of Woolavington, who went down quite well. Terry, who would like to apologise to the fans for the non-appearance of P.P. Arnold, said he had been given to understand that the artiste had missed several other engagements in the past. He wished to congratulate Time Cycle and said he was endeavouring to re-book P.P.Arnold for later on, when patrons would be charged half-price to see her. So there we are. Thank goodness this was a tale with a happy ending.

The irony of this story, and there are two, is that this was the 2nd time that P.P.Arnold had been booked to play the New Market but due to completely different reasons, at this point she had yet to make an appearance. On the 1st occasion, Arnold was booked to play by the previous promoters Westside Promotions in February 1968. However due to Westside’s decision to move their gigs from a Monday to a Friday evening, they apparently pulled the plug on Arnold’s performance as it was due to occur in the week that the change was made. Is it possible that Arnold and her agent had taken this into consideration when choosing to veto this gig? As it happens, the New Market story where Miss P.P. is concerned does have a happy ending but fast forward to 2024. Now a veteran of the music scene, she is booked to play the local McMillan Theatre in Bridgwater as part of her “Soul Survivor – An intimate evening of Music and Conversation” tour. The result? The show gets cancelled. Well I guess 1 out of 4 isn’t bad.

14th March 1969
MARV JOHNSON

Mike Guy was obviously under the impression that booking Johnson was something of a coup (see below). The fact that he was one of the very few Tamla Motown artists to ever play Bridgwater is something but despite the fact that he was in the charts at the time of his appearance with his biggest ever hit, in Motown circles he wasn’t what you could call a major artist but he was certainly an important one, historically speaking. Born in Detroit (of course) he started his career in the doo-wop group Junior Serenaders before being discovered by Berry Gordy. This, incidentally, was BEFORE Gordy had founded Motown. Johnson’s “Come To Me” from 1959 (co-written by Johnson & Gordy) effectively became the first record released by Tamla (as it was called then) though due to a lack of national distribution, it came out on the United Artists label. With Berry Gordy producing, it sounds about as far removed from a classic Motown song as it’s possible to get but this was way before the label had developed it’s influential style. This arrangement led to Johnson signing to UA permanently though he continued to record at Hitsville USA and with Gordy overseeing Johnson’s career he achieved some impressive results. Also in 1959 “You Got What It Takes” and follow-up “I Love The Way You Love”, got to No 10 and No 9 respectively in the Billboard charts whilst the first of those two songs also reached No 10 in the UK. (“You Got What It Takes”, which is a more well-known song than you might think, was actually written by blues man Bobby Parker, but Gordy “appropriated” it – which means that he stole it and is now credited as having written it. Parker was conveniently airbrushed out of the picture and received no royalties despite it’s huge success) After “(You’ve Got To Move) Two Mountains” (No 20 in America in 1960) had given Marv his 2nd gold disc, he was retained by his label for a few years but despite doing well in the R & B charts, the law of diminishing returns eventually resulted in him being released and in 1964 he re-joined Motown where he was employed as a jack of all trades – songwriter, performer and producer. Despite being on the label during it’s heyday, Johnson never achieved another hit in America, in fact none of his singles dented the Top 100, including “I’ll Pick A Rose For My Rose”, released in 1969. In the UK however, it was a different story and after the song was picked up by a legion of Northern Soul aficionados it reached No 10 in the UK chart. Johnson continued with Motown for awhile but was eventually released from his contract during the 70’s. In the 1990’s he made a comeback by recording for the MotorCity label, owned by a Northern Soul enthusiast, but in 1993 Johnson sadly died from complications after a stroke.

Marv Johnson, Tamla Motown hit recorder of “I’ll Pick A Rose For My Rose”, which is till high in the charts, has been snapped up by Terry Clare of Bridgwater’s New Market Discotheque for an appearance there this Friday. Terry heard of Marv’s visit to Britain several weeks a go and it was swift business dealings which allowed him to pull off this all-time scoop for pop fans in the area. The visit of the coloured singer, who flew into this country just yesterday (Monday), is exciting for two main reasons. It will be the first time an artiste from the legendary Motown label will be seen in Bridgwater, and when Marv comes to town it will be only the second night of his three-week tour of British clubs and ballrooms. The previous evening he is due to take part in BBC1’s “Top Of The Pops”, followed by a performance at the Assembly Hall, Worthing, and then he will be travelling to Bridgwater before any other live dates! I need hardly say that there will be an exceptionally large audience at the New Market, particularly as the event has been publicised in the musical Press; so you would be well advised to arrive early to be certian of watching him. Not only will this be of interest to young people from the immediate locality, but also from a large part of the West Country. Marv will join a growing and impressive list of big-name attractions that have topped the bill at the New Market in recent months. They include The Moody Blues, The Equals, Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon, The Bedrocks and P.P. Arnold. In fact, we’re now getting back to the days of the old Top Twenty Club when you can be certain of seeing chart celebrities in the very town in which you live.

Marvellous Marv
It was a night to end all nights when Tamla Motown star Marv Johnson came to the New Market Discotheque. His impeccable singing, total sense of rhythm and smooth stage movements stunned every single fan in the venue, and he received terrific audience participation, the likes of which I have not witnessed in Bridgwater for a long while. Marv is the complete professional, a man who puts all he has into his show, and who certainly gave this large gathering it’s money’s worth. He swung smoothly through a gorgeous set, including “And I Love Her”, a new interpretation of “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” plus his first real smash of a few years back, “You’ve Got What It Takes”. To close with, he offered an extended version of his most recent winner, “I’ll Pick A Rose For My Rose”, which had the entire house applauding wildly and chanting for his return. There is so much one will remember about this evening, but perhaps more than anything it will be the greatness of the artiste which will live on in our minds. Backing Marv was the excllent Eddie Thornton Outfit. Eddie being an ex-member of Georgie Fame’s Blue Flames, who played some authoritative music that owed quite a bit to their interest in jazz.

The Locomotive of “Rudi’s In Love” fame are the Friday night attraction at the New Market Discotheque. They’ll spotlight their new approach, which leans more towards progressive pop than Ska.

21st March 1969
THE LOCOMOTIVE

The Locomotive are a Birmingham band with a chequered history who, like many bands before them, changed their style of music either to suit the prevailing trends or simply due to changes of personnel. Formed in 1965, they were originally called The Kansas City Seven and as the name suggests were ostensibly a jazz band that had been taken from a number of different Brummie groups. Original members included Chris Wood, who went on to become an original member of Traffic and drummer Mike Kellie who later turned up in Spooky Tooth. After changing their style to incorporate soul & R&B, by the following year Wood & Kellie had departed whilst one of the new members of the group was a keyboard player called Norman Haines. Haines had worked in a record shop in an area of the city that was predominated by people of West Indian descent, consequently he became interested in ska music and having eventually become the band’s leader, he began to change the style of the group to reflect his interests. The band’s first single, released on the Direction label, featured a version of Dandy Livingstone’s “A Message To You Rudy” as it’s B-side, pre-dating the 2-Tone revolution by a good 10 years. With Jim Simpson, the only original member of the band, leaving to become the manager of Black Sabbath (he made an unsuccessful attempt to take Norman Haines with him), in 1968, having moved to Parlophone, the Haines-penned “Rudy’s In Love” reached No 25 in the UK singles chart. However Haines prowess as a keyboard player eventually led to another musical change with the band adopting a more progressive style and at the time of playing the New Market they seemed to be a band in limbo. With the venue currently in the habit of booking soul and ska bands, I have no doubt that they were obtained on the strength of their Parlophone hit. Colin Heath of Time Cycle stated that they were a “ska band from Birmingham”. But there were suggestions by Mike Guy (see below) that their performance might not be exactly what some punters were expecting. They recorded an album at Abbey Road with Gus Dudgeon entitled “We Are Everything You See” that was as about as far removed from ska as was humanly possible. In fact there is a chance that this record had already been cut by the time they played Bridgwater. It was not released until 1970, mainly due to the uncertainty as to how their fans would take the new direction they had chosen. Haines left in 1969, the album was released to positive reviews (it contains a track called “Mr.Armageddon” that has appeared on a number of trendy compilations) but nobody bought it. They changed their name to Steam Shovel and then, in 1970 to The Dog That Bit People but to no avail. I guess you can’t fault them for trying.

28th March 1969
THE SKATALITES

One of the most oft-requested records at the New Market Discotheque is an instrumental version of the theme from the film “Guns Of Navarone”. It was done by an aggregation known as The Skatalites and on Friday you’ll be able to hear them performing it in person when they head the bill at the New Market. Since it was released in 1965, “Navarone” has sold in the region of half-a-million copies and is still being bought today. The group have also had several albums issued by Island and in about four weeks will have a new 45-er out, probably on Decca. The Skatalites are no longer just a Caribbean rock steady attraction, however. They now lean more towards soul and display their musicianship on sax, trumpet, lead, bass, organ and drums. Tony Jackson is their soloist, who formed the group when he came in the country some four years ago after having had about three number ones in his native Jamaica. The seven-piece – five negroes and a white bassist and drummer – are in demand throughout Britain’s clubland and on the Continent, especially in Germany and Italy. They have also acted as session men on numerous discs which subsequently became Top Ten hits. So they obviously know their stuff – as you can discover at the New Market Discotheque on Friday.

Despite the big build up to this gig, it would appear that The Skatalites did NOT appear at the NewMarket on the 28th March 1969. Mike Guy explains;

The Skatalites arrived so late for their New Market gig that they weren’t allowed to perform. Quite right, too.

Not to worry, as it wasn’t long before they (and, P.P. Arnold as it happened, albeit independently) were to make their Bridgwater debuts.

The Freddy Mack show come to the New Market this Friday and from the line-up it should really be something. There are no less than eight musicians, three girl singers, one French vocalist who sings in 3 languages, and Freddy himself, who dances as well as sings! It’ll be the first West Country date for Freddy’s newly-formed aggregation. Don’t forget that seven days later the New Market welcomes hit parader Desmond Dekker.

11th April 1968
FREDDY MACK SHOW

Freddy Mack appears to have been quite a colourful character, equally well-known as a professional boxer as a musician. He was born on a cotton plantation in South Carolina and as a kid he befriended future heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson who introduced him to Cus D’Amato’s famous gym in New York. At one point, Mack was ranked the 3rd best light-heavyweight boxer in the world and after he gave up the ring he acted as a sparring partner for both Henry Cooper and Billy Walker. In 1966, after a period living in Rome, Mack retired in the UK and having rubbed shoulders with boxing fans Richard Burton and Rex Harrison, became a bit part actor, famously appearing as an extra in “Cleopatra”. (In later years he also appeared in both The Sex Pistols “The Great Rock N’Roll Swindle” and various episodes of the Scottish detective TV series “Taggart”.) He next turned his attention to music and in the Mid-60’s fronted an R&B/Soul revue show that eventually became known as either The Freddie Mack Sound or The Fantastic Freddie Mack Show. This not only included two bands, a variety of lead vocalists and go-go dancers but featured in it’s line-up, a variety of top flight British musicians. Drummer B.J. Wilson and bassist Alan Cartwright both eventually appeared in Procol Harum, whilst saxophone players Jimmy Jewell and Dick Morrissey enjoyed high profile careers as session musicians. As for Mack’s 1969 line-up, it’s anybody’s guess as to who was on his payroll at that time but later during that same year Mack’s own career was placed in jeopardy when he was arrested for being an illegal alien though somehow he managed to avoid deportation. Mack was a true survivor and in 1974, after calling himself “Mr.Superbad”, he signed a deal with K-Tel Records and released several albums under this name. In 1979, having relocated to North Lanarkshire, he re-invented himself once more, this time as a popular DJ, and held down a regular Saturday night residency on Radio Clyde before moving on to both East End Radio in Glasgow and in 2002/2003 hosting his “Superbad Saturday Night” programme on Clan FM. His popularity was such that when he finally died in 2009, several Scottish newspaper publications included his obituary. The final word comes from one of his musicians, a keyboard player called Brian Morris. “He couldn’t sing a note but commanded the audience like he was a magnet.”

A spaniard who can play Flamenco guitar, an Italian who had a continental hit in his own right last year, a Frenchman, three coloured girl vocalists, two British girl dancers – these are just some of the people who form the new Freddy Mack Show which made it’s debut at the nitery. In fact, there are 14 of them altogether in this extraordinary line-up, and when you learn that Freddy himself used to be a professional boxer, the mind boggles even more. Unfortunately, the promise of seeing something really different didn’t materialise in their performance. The programme was too negative and samey, while Freddy’s attempts at satisfying as many tastes as possible slowed the pace right down. Perhaps we should try and see them in a few months time when they have found their particular groove. At the moment I feel they are still searching for it.

18th April 1969
DESMOND DEKKER & THE ACES

Desmond Dekker, “The King Of Blue-Beat” who had his first hit in 1967 with “007”/”Shanty Town” and who now, of course, is riding high again with “Israelites”, can be seen at the New Market Discotheque this Friday along with his group The Aces. Born in Jamaica 27 years ago, this likeable, quiet man has been to the top of the Caribbean Top 20 no less than 40 times since he entered the business seven years ago. He has also been awarded the coveted Golden Trophy for the best song of the year for the past five years in Jamaica, and had two number one L.P.’s. In fact, his name hasn’t been absent from the Jamaican charts for a single day in the past three years. Despite his enormous popularity, Desmond is a retiring man and leads a very easy going life back home in his beach house in Kingston – the only visible fruit of his success as an artiste and composer. He works only during the weekends in Jamaica, spending the rest of the time swimming and composing. “I’m not much of a talker” he admits, “but once I get up on stage, or even in a television studio, there’s no holding me. I’m like two different people. With the kids cheering me on, and the lights out, I just let go of my inhibitions. But even on stage I hate talking. I always sing my introductions. Revealing that he might settle in Britain for several months, Desmond says “I really do love singing, and what’s more, I would play three clubs in one night if they asked me. But I wouldn’t like people to think my act consists only of blue-beat. I do a lot of Tamla and soul numbers. I’m even trying to write some songs with a Motown sound, and it’s very difficult. For Bridgwater, he is expected to include in his gig Stevie Wonder’s “For Once In My Life”, and may also promote a new dance – The Reggae – that has recently taken Jamaica by storm. For those who want a record souvenir of the occasion, the Trojan label have just issued a 14s 6d album of his called “This Is Desmond Dekker” (TTL 4). Once you have recovered from the shock that they have spelt his surname wrong on the cover (Dekkar!) I think you will find it quite enjoyable at the price. Admittedly, these seem to be early waxings and the quality on several of them is not too hot, but they do convey all the colour and basic simplicity of Ska music. Among the tracks are “007”, “Sabotage”, “Unity” which is extremely good, and “It Pays”.

Desmond Adolphus Dacre was born in Kingston, Jamaica on the 16th July 1941. Dekker was both a tailor and a welder in his youth and it was as the latter that his workmates encouraged him to pursue a career in singing. After two unsuccessful auditions in 1961, he eventually signed with Leslie Kong’s Beverley label but it took another 2 years before he was able to release anything. During this period of inactivity, Dekker recommended a young musician and fellow welder called Bob Marley and in 1962 Marley recorded his first tracks for Kong. Dekker’s debut, the self-penned “Honour Your Mother And Father”, appeared the year after and was an immediate success. It was his 4th single however, “The King Of Ska” (with background vocals by The Maytals) that made him into a national star and soon afterwards, he formed The Aces which included 4 of his brothers as backing vocalists. Early singles concentrated on such subjects as family, education, religious morality and Jamaican culture but in 1967 he became involved in the sudden national interest in Rude Boy culture, which reflected the people of the ghetto. Not as hard core as some of the other Jamaican artists who had highlighted the plight of the under priviliged, Dekker’s “007 (Shanty Town”) established him as a Rude Boy icon and also became an international hit, reaching No 15 in the UK charts. Several single releases, all of which were hits in his country, followed but the next 45 to make an impact was 1968’s “Israelites”, which not only reached No 1 in the same week as his NewMarket performance but was the first song of Jamaican origin to make an impact in the USA, reaching the Billboard Top 10.

More British hits followed with “It Mek” reaching No 7 in 1969 and the Jimmy Cliff penned “You Can Get It If You Really Want” almost eclipsing his previous big hit by reaching No.2 in 1970. After producer Leslie Kong died in 1971, Dekker’s career floundered for awhile though he was featured prominently in the soundtrack for the Rude Boy film “The Harder They Come” (featuring Cliff in the lead role) in 1972 and with Bob Marley spearheading an international interest in reggae, “Israelites” was re-issued in 1975, reaching, for the 2nd time in 6 years, the UK Top 10. Having re-located to England in 1969, the Brits continued to embrace the Kingstonian, treating him as if he were one of our own. Consequently, various attempts were made to resuscitate his career, including a bizarre stint on Stiff Records which resulted in two albums, the wonderfully named “Black And Dekker” in 1980 and the Robert Palmer-produced “Compass Point” which appeared the following year and there was also a collaboration album with The Specials in 1993. In between this spurious activity, Dekker was declared bankrupt in 1984 but in 2003, he headlined Jools Holland’s “Hootenanny” New Years Eve special. Sadly, Dekker died of a heart attack just 3 years later at the age of 65 at his home in Croydon. The Aces, his backing band, decided to continue his legacy by touring on a regular basis, and are still going strong with the current line-up featuring some of the musicians that had recorded with Dekker in the 90’s.

Desmond Dekker broke all attendance records at the NewMarket Disco. People came from many parts of the county to see him and his backing unit, The Aces, demanding an encore which lasted some 20 minutes. A number of supporters were unable to get in and the management wishes to apologise to those who had to be turned away..

It is no exaggeration to suggest that this was not only the peak of the NewMarket’s concert performances but it’s probably one of the most successful and most important gigs in Bridgwater’s live music history. The number of people who attended varies depending on which source you read, but the general rule of thumb is that approximately 600-650 people were crammed into the venue, well in excess of the capacity of the hall, but due to it’s two sizable bars, these punters would have been scattered throughout the pub, which could accommodate far more than the hall could hold. The advertisement may spell his name correctly, but the banner “From The USA” is a little confusing as is the price of entry with Terry Clare suggesting that admission was increased to 12s 6d owing to the fact that Dekker’s latest single, “The Israelites”, had reached the No 1 spot in the UK charts the day before the concert took place.

25th April 1969
THE COLOURED RAISINS (advertised in the Mercury as “The Coloured Raisings Show”).

A 2nd appearance for a band who first appeared at the NewMarket in early January 1968. On this occasion they were fresh from a recent tour with Stevie Wonder.

Incidentally, the seven-piece Coloured Raisins Show were a fine attraction at the New Market. Concentrating on Tamla and soul material, they did well in a programme that included Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and a good version of “To Love Somebody” by the Bee Gees. A highlight was the duets by the lead male singer and his female counterpart on such numbers as “Tramp”.

2nd May 1969
THE SKATALITES

The Skatalites finally made their debut in Bridgwater at the beginning of May (hence the “Will Definitely Be Appearing” comment in the ad above.) Still can’t spell their name right though.

The Skatalites are not so much a group of musicians but a musical institution. The origins of the band go back to 1955 when a loose aggregation of jazz players, amongst them Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, and Don Drummond began working in Jamaica – not as a collective but as a selection of independent musicians. Between them, from 1962 onwards, they began to appear on a bewildering amount of record releases, consequently their paths crossed on a fairly regular basis. They became, effectively “The SoundJamaica” but despite being in constant demand they were never credited for their work and were paid poor wages at lowly session rates, a situation that became a bone of contention. In 1964, a family called the Tawani’s, who owned several theatres, wanted to hire them for live shows but could only do so if they formed a band and after a meeting at the Odeon Theatre and with the help of the calypso musician Lord Tanamo, The Skatalites were born. Their first gig, in May of that year, at a club called the Hi-Hat, was supposed to be a rehearsal but so many people turned up to watch them play it was decided to charge admission. As a band they were used by nearly all of the best Jamaican producers on countless records with Prince Buster, Leslie Kong and Coxsone Dodd all utilising their services (they appeared on The Wailers “Simmer Down”, produced by Dodd in 1963) but live performances were now giving the group an extra source of revenue. However, the band didn’t last very long. As early as 1965 they had ceased to exist as a live act. This was partially due to the fact that trombonist Don Drummond, responsible for 1964’s huge hit “Man In The Street” was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend after she was discovered with 4 stab wounds to the chest in Drummond’s flat at the beginning of 1965 (he was jailed one year later and certified insane.) At this point the band effectively split into two supergroups, Roland Alphonso & The Soul Vendors and Tommy McCook and The Supersonics but this is where it gets a little confusing. It would appear that they continued to record under their musical collective as a discography reveals that albums bearing the original band name were issued every year from 1964 to 1969 and in 65 the aforementioned “Guns Of Navarone” was recorded. Credited to The Skatalites by all and sundry, the 45 of that record reveals that it was actually performed by “Roland Alfonso with The Studio 1 Orchestra” but my guess is that it was easier to go with a brand name that was rapidly being associated with all that was good about Jamaican music. (Incidentally it is worth mentioning that it took 2 years for this song to become a hit in the U.K., reaching No 36 in the spring of 1967. It also features Reggae pioneer Lee Perry on “vocals”.) One thing we do know is that the version of The Skatalites that played Bridgwater bore little resemblance to those pioneering musicians that provided the bedrock of Ska. The original musicians didn’t get back together again until 1974 and of these, the last to survive was saxophone player Lester Sterling who died in 2023 whilst Don Drummond died as early as 1969. Their have been countless reunions over the years and even more personnel changes. Wikipedia lists 30 musicians who have passed through their ranks since 1964 but curiously, Tony Jackson, mentioned in Mike Guy’s Mercury post, is not amongst them. Wikipedia isn’t always right of course but ignoring the spelling error in the Newmarket’s advertisement, one wonders whether the band that played this gig were nothing more than a tribute band (before it became a lucrative market) that were “holding the fort” until the group’s reunion 5 years later. Mike Guy’s suggestion from their non-appearance in March that the 1969 line-up “lean towards soul” kind of backs up this claim. As for the original members, they will never be forgotten for creating a historic discography of music that is still played today.

The Skatalites went down well at the New Market showcasing their instrumentalists and then bringing on their singers. Afterwards, many patrons asked to see them again so Terry Clare has re-booked them for a future date.

6th May 1969
The people who run Bridgwater’s three main beat dance centres have replied to criticisms made by several local groups that too much recorded entertainment is being presented with the result that it is effecting their bookings. Terry Clare (New Market Disco) told me; “A lot of local groups play so-called progressive music. What I’d like to know – and probably waht the public in general wants to know – is where have they progressed from and where are they progressing too? It’s been my experience in the past, with groups that play “progressive music” and blues, that people just don’t want to know them. When fans pay good money to go to a dance, they want to dance unless a group is so brilliant that everyone feels compelled to stand and listen. They don’t want to hear something they can’t enjoy and which just seems to be a musical exercise for the artistes”. Terry ended up by stressing that his attendance figures proved record shows were equally as popular as “live” stage concerts. Roy Brogan, the warden of Sydenham Community Centre (home of the raves and the Disco-Acentago) said; “By their attendance, teenagers are showing that they prefer records here to “live” shows”. Stating that on average 50 more youngsters came along to the Disco-Acentago than they did to the Raves, he gave a reminder that record programmes cost less to put on. Consequently, more money could be raised to plough back into the many other organisations within the Centre. Roy added; “Most of the Bridgwater groups are of inferior quality anyway to those we can get from outside”. General secretary of Bridgwater Y.M.C.A. Mr. Trefor Thomas, revealed that there quite a number of his patrons who also preferred records, becuase they know they were getting professional sounds on a disc by top groups. But he did make the point that the younger fans liked to see something happening in front of them on a stage. And so the controversy goes on….

9th May 1969
THE GLOBE SHOW

The beginning of the world was slightly before our time, but the beginning of The Globe Show (who star at the Disco on Friday) was only a matter of 15 months ago. For in January 1968, parts of various little satellites (groups) converged to form one major planet – andThe Globe was born. By April this Southampton aggregation – and there are eight of them in it altogether – were playing up and down the country, and by June were on a tour of Britain and Germany with Patti Labelle & The Bluebelles. The Globe Show were acclaimed by Pattie, and when they were chosen to tour Europe with Ben E.King, he also felt them to be his ideal British band, describing them as “a very soulful, swinging and very talented outfit”. Signed to the Page One label, who have so far issued two singles by them – “Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da” and only three weeks back “Yes Or No” -The Globe Show were recently heard in an edition of the Radio One Club. The line-up is; John Drever (vocals), Bruce Roberts (lead), Cliff Barks (bass), John Cartwright (drums), Ron Taylor and Barrie Palmer (tenor horns), John Rennie (baritone sax) and Tony Lowe (trumpet). So if you’re a soul addict, it could be that this is the gang for you.

As it turns out, the two singles mentioned in Mike’s resume were the only 45’s released by this band (their version of Macca’s “Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da” is particularly lame and was probably released in competition with about a dozen other versions of the same song.) Confusingly, they are also known as Chris Shakespeare’s Globe Show, despite the fact that he is not included in the roll call of musicians mentioned above. Of the musicians that ARE listed, guitarist Roberts seems to have enjoyed a stellar reputation as a session musician whilst him and two others (Cartwright and Gower) formed the nucleus of the vastly under-rated Jess Roden Band in the early 70’s though even more confusingly Cartwright is listed as a bass player and NOT a drummer.

When Globe Show manager Dave Hunter heard that his group had been booked for a gig at Bridgwater (at the New Market Disco) he took more than routine interest in the engagement for Dave’s eldest brother married a Bridgwater girl and the couple live in Bristol Road. Becuase of his hectic life, Dave doesn’t get to see them very often so as soon as he arrived in the town he paid a visit to their house and after a grand reunion invited them along to see the group in action. You might think that The Globe’s indirect connection with Bridgwater and Somerset ends there but this isn’t so because their drummer, John Cartwright, has a married sister, Shirley, living at Castle Cary. And instead of making a night journey back to Southampton, a few of the boys were planning to stop at her place, while some of the others had overnight accomodation at the Hunters home, 214 Bristol Road. The Globe Show are one cut above the average soul combo group and it was a pity more fans did not turn up to appreciate their fine musicianship. Touring with such stars as Patti Labelle and her Bluebelles, Gene Pitney and Ben E.King has given them invaluable experience, allowing them to stand out on their own now as a fully accomplished, authoritative act. Although without one of their tenor horn players, Ron Taylor, who is recuperating after a hernia operation, the outfit were still able to produce a nice big fat sound. Punchy brass work blended well with John’s enveloping drumming and the insidious guitar style of Bruce Roberts and Cliff Barks, while John Drever made an exciting vocalist. They did two sets, opening with a polished instrumental version of “Soul Thing” (learnt only hours before), and later were to include such numbers as the Otis Redding classic “I Can’t Turn You Loose” and “Tighten Up”. I also noted their completely original interpretation of Jim Webb’s “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” which was given a groovy up-tempo feel, and the slow, funky reading of “I Who Have Nothing”, which could be considered for their next single. What impressed me the most about The Globe’s however, was that they managed to maintain variation throughout their long numbers (James Brown’s “Get It Together” being an example). Many groups often falter on extended material, deteriorating into a cacophony of monotonous riffs. But The Globe Show kept right on top of things.

16th May 1969
THE PYRAMIDS

Seven coloured chaps comprise The Pyramids, one of President Records ska units, who are this Friday’s guests at the nitery. A major draw throughout the country, they have to date had three singles put on the market including “Train To Rainbow City” which crept into the charts and has frequently been spun at the New Market. If their album is anything to go by, they present a fairly varied programme ranging from the Caribbean styled “All Change On The Bakerloo Line” and “Train Tour” to beautiful romantic ballads like “Mexican Moonlight”.

What appears to be, on the surface, just another ska band (and at this point in the NewMarket’s history there were an awful lot of them) The Pyramids are in fact another name for Symarip, one of the very few ska bands from the UK and generally regarded as the first skinhead reggae band in existence. They were originally called The Bees, and after becoming The Pyramids, arrived at their rather distinctive name by simply reversing the previous one (losing a “D” along the way). Between 1967 and 1974 Symarip released a bewildering 64 singles for at least 11 different labels and under 4 different names (26 of those singles, one every 2 weeks, were released in the year of their NewMarket appearance alone whilst they were also known as Seven Letters during that year and even released a couple of 45’s as Simaryp – same name, different spelling). Their most well-known singles are “Skinhead Girl”, “Skinhead Jamboree” and in particular “Skinhead Moonstomp” the latter of which was based on the song “Moon Hop” by Derrick Morgan. I think it’s fair to say that we know who their target audience were. In 1971 they moved to Germany and played a version of Afro Rock under the name Zubaba. Most certainly this was a band with a personality problem. During the 2-Tone craze, “Skinhead Moonstomp” was re-issued and reached No 54 on the UK charts. The band split up in 1985 but after Trojan Records released a “Best Of” in 2004, Frank Pitter and Roy Ellis, two original members, re-formed in 2005. Pitter, who holds all copyright and trademark rights for the name “Pyramid Symarip” is still with the band and hopefully performing at a stomp somewhere near you.

New Market Disco try again with P.P. Arnold on Friday. “She’s guaranteed to be here” says Terry Clare “and fans will be allowed in at a reduced rate”.

23rd May 1969
P.P. ARNOLD

Patricia Ann Cole was born into a family of gospel singers on the 3rd October 1946 and began performing when she was just 4 years old. She was married into a troublesome relationship at the tender age of 15 and had 2 children. In 1965, a friend of hers, Maxine Smith, had discovered that Ike & Tina Turner were looking for backing vocalists to replace The Ikettes and had submitted a request for an audition along with Patty and another singer, Gloria Scott. They were hired on the spot but after Patty attended a concert in Fresno before agreeing to join, she was assaulted by her irate husband upon her return. Patti decided to leave the children with her parents and left immediately to join the Turner Revue. With Tina Turner taking her under her wing, in 1966 she provided her first lead vocal on an Ikette song (“Whatcha Gonna Do (When I Leave You))” and sang backing vocals on “River Deep Mountain High”. Her stint as an Ikette only lasted until the fall of 1966. A UK tour with The Rolling Stones found Mick Jagger encouraging her to strike out as a solo artist and, staying in England, he was instrumental in getting her signed to Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate label. Whilst in the UK she was given access to the cream of the English pop scene. One of her first Immediate recordings was the Mick Jagger produced “Come Home Baby”, which not only featured her duetting with Rod Stewart but included the stellar line-up of Keith Richards on guitar, Ron Wood on bass, Nicky Hopkins & Keith Emerson on keyboards and the Georgie Fame brass section! The song, which was not released at the time, eventually served to extricate Stewart from his Immediate contract.

Her debut single was the definitive version of Cat Stevens’ “First Cut Is The Deepest” and she enjoyed a particularly fruitful partnership with The Small Faces, appearing as a backing vocalist on both “Itchycoo Park” and “Tin Soldier” and being given the excellent Marriott/Lane composition “(If You Think You’re) Groovy” in 1968. After Immediate folded the following year, she released two Barry Gibb-produced singles for Polydor in the early 70’s but instead of continuing her solo career, Patty took to the stage and in 1970 appeared alongside P.J.Proby in the stage musical “Catch My Soul”. Her ability to attract the good and the great continued. It seems as if everyone wanted to work with her. For awhile, her backing band were The Nice whilst Steve Howe of Yes also played in one of her groups. Her close association with Steve Marriott led to performances with Humble Pie and she became a very much in demand backing vocalist, appearing on Nick Drake’s “Poor Boy” and recordings by Dr.John, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills’ Manassas, Nils Lofgren and Eric Burdon. After touring with Eric Clapton he produced some sessions for her that remained unreleased but it was during these recordings she met CSN&Y bass player Calvin “Fuzzy” Samuels and with him they had a son, Kodzo. During the 70’s Arnold & Samuels felt out of place in the UK music scene and returned to America but two weeks after the relationship ended, her daughter died in a car accident and Patti removed herself from the spotlight, only returning in 1978.

Since then, the list of people she has appeared with reads like an A-Z of the music scene. After coming back to the UK, she worked with Steel Pulse, The Kane Gang, Boy George, Billy Ocean, Peter Gabriel (she sings backing vocals on “Sledgehammer”), The Beatmasters (her collaboration with them “Burn It Up” reached No 14 in the UK singles charts in 1988), The KLF, Roger Waters, Graham Parker, Primal Scream, Ocean Colour Scene, Oasis and Paul Weller. She also appeared on the 1970 original recording of “Jesus Christ Superstar” and in 1984 was part of the cast of “Starlight Express” whilst 10 years later she was in the award winning musical “Once On This Island” (it won the Laurence Olivier award for “Best New Musical” in 1995.) Having released two solo albums in 1968 (“The First Lady Of Immediate” and “Kafunta”) she finally succeeded in following those up with the album “The New Adventures Of…P.P.Arnold” in 2019 and despite the fact that she is currently 77 years of age, a live album of the 2019 tour, the widely acclaimed “P.P.Arnold In Liverpool” was issued only last year. Miss Arnold may well be a product of the Watts neighbourhood of Los Angeles but her greatest successes have been in this country which almost makes her one of our own. A timeless performer, a brilliantly soul singer and a much loved artist.

Had a natter with Pat Arnold before she went on stage at the New Market Disco and she revealed that she was hoping to have her next single ready by about August. “The First Cut Is The Deepest” hit artiste, who hails from Los Angeles, hasn’t had a new record for quite a while, so this should be worth waiting for, especially since she is going to cut the disc in America. With Pat was her new husband and manager, James Morris and “Tara”, a huge golden labrador who insisted on trying to nibble my pen during the interview! They and her two children by her former marraige, Kevin (now six) and Deborah (five) live in a 30-room Georgian mansion set in 10 acres of ground at Tilford, near Farnham, in Surrey. When it comes to pure, uninhibited heart-tearing soul, Pat Arnold is a fine exponent and she definitely pulled out all the stops for Bridgwater including in her programme “Ain’t Got No – I Got Life” “To Love Somebody” “River’s Invitation” by Percy Mayfield, “Save Me” “Yesterday” and inevitably “First Cut” and “Angel Of The Morning”. Her backing contingent, TNT, provided solid accompaniment, but their roadies get a brickbat for the disgraceful p.a. troubles which delayed Pat’s appearance by over 30 minutes.

An appearance by Geno Washington and The Ram Jam Band, the commencement of folk song nights, and another dance organised by the students of Bridgwater Technical College – these are the latest happenings confirmed for the town’s New Market Discotheque. Geno Washington and his aggregation, still one of the biggest attractions on Britain’s club circuit, headline this Friday’s dance in a deal clinched by Disco organiser Terry Clare only last week. The news will be wildly received by hundreds of soul fans who are expected to pour into the nitery from all over Mid-Somerset and beyond. The folk song nights begin the following Monday (2nd June) in answer to repeated requests for this type of entertainment to be re-started in Bridgwater. They’ll run experimentally at first, on Monday nights in the New Market Slade bar and admission will be free. But it is important to remember that this is aimed at the purists who really understand, love and appreciate folk music. And since it is vital that as strong an atmosphere as possible should be created, it is hoped that the venture will be well supported. Don’t be bashful, folksters. Bring along your acoustic guitars and you’ll be welcome to start a sing-song. A featured artiste has already been set for the first two Mondays – a girl by the name of Adrienne, who sang at the age of 8 in a public bar of a small hotel in Bristol. Her audience then was about 4 or 5 regulars and two very embarrassed parents, who thought she was still safely playing in the children’s playroom. Since that modest beginning, audiences in many clubs and concert halls have enjoyed the performance of this versatile young singer. Her material is drawn from a wide and varied field, combining the traditions of folk songs with the essential qualities of the entertainer. Accompanying herself on guitar, Adrienne is as much at home with the simplicity of light-hearted and humorous songs as she is with the sincerity of many traditional and contemporary ballads. Two weeks back she did three televison shows in Ireland, and has done a lot of television and cabaret spots in the United Kingdom. So it sounds as if the folk fans are in for a treat on Monday. Now that Tech College dance. It’s going to be held on Wednesday 18th June, and will star blue-beat swingers Prince Buster and The All Stars – and not The Idle Race. If it’s successful as the College’s other New Market Disco dance earlier this year, it should be another good evening.

Geno Washington and The Ram Jam Band were scheduled for the New Market last week and as a result there should be considerable interest in the area over their new Pye single out in four days from now and called “My Little Chickadee”.

30th May 1969
GENO WASHINGTON & HIS RAM-JAM BAND

I guess it was only a matter of time before Geno rocked up at the NewMarket as he was an exceptionally popular live performer in the UK from the mid-60’s right up to the present day. He was an American stationed in East Anglia with the US Air Force during the early 60’s. Frequent visits to London saw him standing in as a vocalist during a number of gigs and after being spotted at a nightclub by guitarist Pete Gage in 1965, he was asked to join his band and The Ram Jam Band were formed, their name having been taken from a pub called The Ram Jam Inn based in Stretton. The band, a mod favourite, were primarily a powerhouse live unit and having signed to Pye Records, it’s not surprising that their most successful albums, both of which reached the Top 10, were live records. The first of these, “Hand Clappin, Foot Stompin, Funky-Butt … Live!”, was in the charts for a total of 38 weeks during 1966 and 1967 whilst the 2nd album “Hipsters, Flipsters, Finger Poppin’ Daddies” reached No.8. Despite their success in the LP charts, hit singles never really happened for them, with a succession of 45’s threatening to reach the Top 20 without ever reaching their target. 2 singles, “Water” and the excellent “Michael (The Lover)” both reached No 39, and these were as high as the band were able to achieve. Having establsihed themselves as one of the Top 10 highest paid bands in the UK (according to Disc & Music Echo in 1968), they split up in the year of their Newmarket appearance with Washington going solo before returning to the States to study meditation and hypnosis. Recordings with The Beach Boys (Washington’s passion for meditation obviously found a kindred spirit in Mike Love) came to nothing and even though 3 albums were issued towards the late 70’s he didn’t make any serious attempt to return until 1980 when Dexy’s Midnight Runners reached No 1 with their homage to him. Even then he was initially reluctant to return as he was more intent on completing his hypnotism degree. He did return to the stage however but has also developed a series of sidelines including a number of acting roles (he actually played himself in a 2007 episode of “Midsomer Murders”) and a book, “Blood Brothers”, a war exploitation story. Since 2005 Washington and his latest brotherhood of Ram Jammers have continued performing to Northern Soul enthusiasts everywhere.

The Nashville Teens, whose greatest success, “Tobacco Road” was recently re-pressed, are back at the Disco this Friday. And on Monday, there’s the second experimental folk song night at the New Market Hotel, once again spotlighting Adrienne.

6th June 1969
THE NASHVILLE TEENS

Having enjoyed Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band, New Market disco patrons can see blue-beat outfit The Cats this Friday, whose “Swan Lake” record has been receiving much attention….

13th June 1969
THE CATS

Previously known as The Hustlin Kind, The Cats were a ska/reggae band from Mile End, London. Originally an instrumental band, after changing their name to The Cats in 1968, they recorded 10 songs at a studio in the Old Kent Road. One of these, a reggae version of “Swan Lake”, took The Cats into the UK Top 50, and in doing so, they became the first British reggae band to have a hit in their own country. Subsequent single releases failed to chart and the band finally called it a day in 1970. However, they must have made an impression on the collective consciousness of those North London Nutty Boys Madness as they included a version of “Swan Lake” on their debut album “One Step Beyond” in 1979, 3 years after The Cats had re-recorded the single (with a “Disco” version on the “B”-side) in the hope of a revival, but to no avail.

Don’t forget Bridgwater Tech’s dance at the New Market Disco tomorrow (Wednesday). Social secretary Nick Littlewood informs me that owing to technical difficulties concerned with the identification of the real Prince Buster, the college will now be having The Bandwagon. “Unfortunately, all tickets printed have billed the former name to appear, but these will be valid for entrance to see The Bandwagon Nick stresses…

Wot’s this, a Prince Buster imposter? Shame about the man’s non-appearance but obviously there were more than one of them doing the rounds in the UK at this time.

18th June 1969
THE BANDWAGON

“Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache” with a depleted rank sounds almost an impossibility. But when you’re a member of The Bandwagon you have enough power to overcome any odds, as the coloured hit group proved at the New Market Disco on Wednesday, when they starred at Bridgwater Technical College’s second big dance of 1969. Reduced to a duo – Johnny Johnson (lead vocals) and Billy Bradley (harmonies) – they whipped up enough excitement to compensate for the lack of Artie Fullilove, who is still back in the States attending to personal matters, and Terry Lewis, who went sick at the beginning of the week with laryngitis. Thy started going places with “You”, their only moderately successful follow-up to “Walls”, quite early on in their 45-minute spot, and later were to feature gorgeous versions of such American favourites as The Temptations’ “I Wish It Would Rain”, “Cowboys To Girls” by The Intruders and The Vibrations “Love In Them There Hills”. But for me, it was their lengthy improvisations which really brought out the controlled and remarkably disciplined technique of The Bandwagon. On “Walls”, for example, they expanded it to maximum effect as a closer, so that when they left the stage they had the audience wishing for more. Since The Bandwagon first appeared at the New Market in January, they have been busy playing in many parts of the country and on the Continent – and they’ll be remaining in Europe for some while to come, as well. The boys are due to start a month’s round of engagements in Germany later this week, and on their return to England will headline a tour with Jackie “Higher And Higher” Wilson and The Flamingos who have a current chart record with “Boogaloo Party”. With them, as always, will be their very capable British backing group, The Grand Union, who did a good job again on Wednesday warming things up and presenting an unbelievably tight sound on The Impressions “You’ve Been Cheating”, the Vanilla Fudge’s setting of “You Keep Me Hanging On” and their own arrangement of Sonny and Cher’s “Bang Bang”. The company told me afterwards that they had liked their audience – and judging from the clapping and shouts of encouragement, the students liked them too! Although numbers were down, many did go along to once again generate their own particular friendly atmosphere. Their social secretary, Nick Littlewood, was confident that Tech dances would be held at regular intervals at the New Market, and thought another would take place either late in September, or early in October. Meanwhile, I suppose it’s back to those exams!

Groups of a Foundations status may eventually be secured for Bridgwater’s New Market Discotheque if fans support the new schedule which has been in operation at the venue for the past three weeks. Under the different arrangements – which don’t affect the Thursday disc drive – live shows have been moved to Saturdays, with Friday nights being turned over to all record happenings. No publicity was given to the switch at the request of Disco organiser Terry Clare who wanted it to “take it’s own course”. But having now gained an impression of how the change is working out, Terry was able to tell me at the weekend that the plan looks like succeeding. Attendance figures had doubled for the record get-togethers, and he was expecting to sign a couple of bigger attractions for the Saturday stage concerts. Up to the present he had had “high class” amateur units on Saturdays, including Force West, and although audiences had been smaller for those evenings, he felt that was becuase people were not sure beforehand of the admission prices and were afraid they might be charged in the order of 10s. “In fact the whole aim of this move was to give the fans a better deal and better value for their money” he said. “I want to try and keep the Saturday admission charge down to around 6s 6d. if I can, and eventually I hope to go one better than the former Friday night set-up in offering the national groups at a low cost to the public”. For these fans anxious about the changes and what they mean, Terry had this assurance to issue; “The New Market Disco is still going strong and there is no need to worry”.

One can understand why the decision was made to move the live concert performances to a Saturday night but, having established themselves as THE most vibrant venue in Bridgwater, with a succession of impressive and imaginative bookings, for awhile at least, the NewMarket went through something of a lull. This situation was not helped by the fact that, for some reason, the venue chose not to advertise their gigs in the local newspaper.

26th July 1969
THE EYES OF BLOND

Despite the fact that this band has their own website there is not a lot to see here. From Norwich, they were originally called the Circuit 5 but changed their name in 1966 after running a competition in the local press. During their early incarnation they were heavily influenced by Motown and American soul but after band member Phil Dimitri began to incorporate his own material into the mix they embraced all things flower power and became “progressive”. They went professional in September 1969 (2 months after their Newmarket appearance) but as far as I can tell, despite this move, they failed to secure that lucrative recording contract and split in 1971 reforming in 1997. End of story.

Rumours that the Disco will take a breather while organiser Terry Clare takes a two week holiday at the end of the month are completely untrue…

New Market Disco man Terry Clare and his wife are already holiday-making in Tunisia, but the venue keeps open meanwhile and has long-standing Bristol outfit Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs this Saturday. The name may be old, but their approach is certainly not. I’m given to believe, recent Disco guests The Staffords (from the Midlands) stunned many through their fine close harmonies in a blues-pop bag…

2nd August 1969
JOHNNY CARR & THE CADILLACS

A real blast from the past, and it’s surprising though slightly heartwarming to discover that this band were still going in 1969. For the record, Johnny Carr & The Cadillacs played Bridgwater’s Top Twenty Club more times than any other artist. File under nostalgia. As for The Staffords, mentioned in Mike’s post above, file under obscure.

9th August 1969
THE KYND

Mike Guy suggests that this band “are said to be in a Mamas And Papas/Beach Boys bag” but this doesn’t really tell us much about who they were or where they came from. The web-site Discogs, a redoubtable source when dealing with obscurity, tells us that a South African Garage Band under that name recorded two singles in 1966, but I’m guessing that this is not The Kynd we are looking for. One band who fit the bill a little better recorded a single in 1969 (the year of their Newmarket appearance) entitled “Mr.America” but this lot were so obscure they released it on their own “Kynd Company Records” label. Also, one cursory listen to the track in question puts them firmly in the garage rock bracket, about as far removed from harmony pop as you can get. Adding more confusion to this mystery is that Mike states that the band contained an individual called Marc Roman. Discogs mentions someone under that name who played in a band called Rastus in 1971 whilst there was also a DJ called Mark Roman (real name Graham Wallace) who started out on Radio London before moving to Radio 1 for a short while. But despite the fact that he released a single called “Cuddly Toy” in 1968, I’m almost certain he’s not the man we are looking for, which means that I am sadly none the wiser.

“So many Disco patrons demanded return visit of close harmony unit The Kynd with Marc Roman, that they are being booked again for a future date. Also coming back to the niterie shortly – The Skatalites and Lucas and The Mike Cotton Sound.”

23rd August 1969
TOAST

And the obscurities keep coming. Mike Guy suggests that The Toast were “a blues outfit holding the record for the longest playing group”, a somewhat cryptic comment that either suggests that they were formed in the late 1800’s or performed a set that was 5 hours long. The dearth of information regarding NewMarket gigs at this point was becoming something of a problem. The band initially announced for this gig were erroneously billed as the band who were due to play the week after……

26th August 1969
A publicity handout stating that The Foundations will be coming to Bridgwater on Friday started a mystery last week. The news sheet was issued by Pye’s Press Office, which had mailed to journalists, information concerning the hit attraction’s latest release, “Born To Live, Born To Die” and then listed dates for the group during August – one of which simply read “29th, Bridgwater”. The mystery was soon solved though. Rod Harrod, The Foundations’ agent said, “We originally included the New Market Disco, Bridgwater, in a tour of the West Country clubs and ballrooms but this has been changed and on that night the group will now be appearing at Plymouth Guildhall. They were looking forward to playing in Bridgwater as they like exploring new territories, and they hope a new date there can be arranged at some other available time.” But Rod added that they could not give a performance in Bridgwater before next spring at the earliest. They have film commitments, followed by a long American tour and then they will be spending Christmas in Australia before touring the Far East throughout January & February. Terry Clare, organiser of the New Market Disco, explained: “It is true I was offered The Foundations for Friday, but since I have moved group nights from Fridays to Saturdays I did not want to upset and possibly spoil the working of the new arrangements by reversing things. I tried to book the group for the following Saturday, only to learn it was impossible to get them on any other night. However, I already said I want to present groups of their calibre, and can promise I will have The Foundations here as soon as they are able to make it”.

30th August 1969
THE DIPPS

“(The Dipps – Bristol) present commercial pop, blues and progressive music.”

6th September 1969
AMBROSE SLADE

In what was a rather fallow month if one was hoping to see something new and exciting at the venue (there was no gig on the 27th due to the Bridgwater Fair), this gig at least from a historic point of view, is of tremendous significance. Mike Guy called them “a top-quality close-harmony outfit from the Midlands who have undertaken a lot of radio and television work”. This may well have described the band as they were at this point in their history, but it was what they BECAME that makes this performance important. The band began as two distinct groups operating in and around the Wolverhampton/Walsall area. The Vendors included both Dave Hill & Don Powell whilst Noddy Holder was in a band called Steve Brett & The Mavericks. After The Vendors changed their name to The N’Betweens and embraced a change of musical direction, the two bands met up on a ferry in 1965 en route to seperate gigs in Germany and Holder was asked if he would like to become an N’Betweener. After initially declining the invitation, once back in sunny Wolverhampton he changed his mind and with multi-instrumentalist Jim Lea (an ex-member of the Staffordshire Youth Orchestra) also on board, the line-up coalesced into it’s infamous 4-piece line-up (sans platform heels) In 1966 they cut a promo single for Highway Records (a cover version of Otis Redding’s “Security”) and even succeeded in getting Kim Fowley to produce a 45 (“You Better Run”) for Columbia. But by 1967, having embraced all things R&B and Tamla Motown, they were still without a recording contract, despite the odd sporadic recording session (including a cover of The Honeybus song “Delighted To See You”, recorded at Abbey Road)

Having created a good reputation as a live band they were recommended to the head of A&R at Philips Records, Jack Baverstock. He agreed to sign them but only if they moved to London and changed their name. Initially reluctant to give up their identity due to their increasing popularity on the concert circuit, they eventually agreed and decided upon a new monicker that was thanks (or no thanks) to Baverstock’s somewhat eccentric secretary who was in the habit of providing names to certain parts of her fashion attire. Ambrose Slade were respectively the names given to the lady’s handbag and shoes and The N’Betweeners were no more. Signed to Fontana Records they released their debut album “Beginnings” in mid-1969 but judging from the album’s material, one gets the impression that this was a band without any real musical identity as amongst a handful of self-penned songs (one of which, an instrumental called “Genesis” was one of two failed singles from the LP) there are also cover versions of songs by Frank Zappa, The Moody Blues, Steppenwolf, The Idle Race, Marvin Gaye, Ted Nugent’s Amboy Dukes and The Beatles.

Enter one Chas Chandler, an ex-Animal and the man who “discovered” and consequently managed Jimi Hendrix. Chandler didn’t like the album but thought that the group had potential. It was Chandler who suggested that they start writing their own material. He also moved them from Fontana to Polydor Records and finally suggested that they needed a change of image. The image that they chose was somewhat controversial, but it was easily obtained by a collective change of clothing (particualrly in the boot department) and a pair of scissors. They became a skinhead band (and in fact were sporting this look when they played the New Market). Other bands had done this before, but that was mostly an attempt to side with the “mod” movement of the Mid-60’s. A Mod image was passe by 1969 so Ambrose Slade, it would seem, did it in order to give the impression that these were “tough” guys that you would mess with at your peril. The publicity worked as, at the time, the bovver boy look enjoyed an unwelcome affiliation with Football hooligans and in Holder and Powell, in particular, they had a couple of band members who looked like the kind of blokes that you wouldn’t want to meet in a darkened discotheque. It wasn’t until the following year that the handbag (i.e Ambrose) was dispensed with but it was still a little while before they became the darlings of the glam rock era. As for the NewMarket, it wasn’t quite the last we had seen of them.

13th September 1969
THE KYND
20th September 1969
LUCAS (with the MIKE COTTON SOUND)

23rd September 1969
How justified were the BBC in banning “Je T’aime” by Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg and “Wet Dream” by Max Romeo? If they didn’t want people to hear them, haven’t they done more harm than good by drawing attention to the discs through the ban? Well, Bridgwater fans will have a golden opportunity to judge the controversy for themselves at a “live” Saturday concert which is shortly to be held at the New Market Discotheque. I’m afraid it doesn’t mean the delicious Miss Birkin is coming to town (not yet anyway) but Max Romeo most certainly is – and one of the songs he’s sure to include is “that record” in the words of the Radio 1 boys. Full details of Romeo’s visit will be given in due course, but it can be said now that this is to be his only appearance in the immediate area, an appearance which will also herald the return of bigger names to the venue’s billboards. Disco organiser Terry Clare said; “We slowed up a bit for the Summer becuase of the light evenings, people going away on holiday etc. but we are getting down in earnest again to booking a strong line-up for the months to come”. Already set for late November are the American harmony group The Platters, whose hits have included “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and “The Great Pretender” and patrons can be certain of more well-known attractions helping to chase away the cold weather blues on Saturday nights.

4th October 1969
BODY & SOUL

“Described as being a good blue beat/soul attraction. There are four coloured musicians and two whites, and brass is incorporated in the line-up.“

11th October 1969
FORCE WEST
25th October 1969
THE SKATALITES

1st November 1969
MAX ROMEO

Max Romeo, that controversial ska man, comes to Bridgwater’s New Market Discotheque on Saturday for the first big show of the winter. And the visit ties in very nicely with the release of his follow-up single “Mini-Skirt Vision” which at the time of writing has not been banned by the BBC! Max is almost certain to preview his new recording as well as singing the disc which brought him to England early this year for promotional work which caused such a huff. He will also be bringing along fellow Jamaicans Freddie Note and The Rudies. Bluebeat, rock steady, reggae, call it what you will, found early favour with local fans, so Max can be sure to find the venue packed since this will be his only gig in the immediate area. The 19-year-old performer, whose hit single has been in the charts for 23 weeks and is still selling, was made a star in Jamaica, long before he came to our attention. He had a number of smashes in his native country, the most notable of which was “The Twelfth Of Never”, also waxed by Johnny Mathis, Cliff Richard and many others. Likewise The Rudies, who accompany him on all his British club and ballroom dates, are famous recording artistes in their homeland with such successes as “Give Peace A Chance” and “My Girl” to their credit. A five-piece – Freddie Note is their lead vocalist – they will be warming things up on Saturday before Max begins his spot. Other numbers which Max is expected to include are Pat Kelley’s “How Long Will It Take”, currently heading the best sellers list issued by their agency Pama, and “Moom Hop” by Derrick Morgan, which is getting a lot of plays on Radio Luxembourg. Max will be checking in at the New Market Disco exactly one week after a scheduled appearance by another top bluebeat group – The Skattalites.

Billed as “The One We Will Not Ban!”, Max Romeo wasn’t 19 years old, as Mike pointed out, when he made “That Record!!” (A record so shocking that it’s title is not even mentioned in the article) but was in fact a comparative veteran of 25. And the record in question? “Wet Dream”, a single that had been a big hit in his home land in 1968 and which spent 6 months in the British charts, reaching No.10, it’s highest position, in June 1969. The song (which contained “overtly sexual lyrics”) was not the only thing that was banned in this country, as some venues refused to book him on account of it (Max suggested that it was written about a leaky roof – nice try Max) So the New Market’s proud boast of having obtained his services was not an idle one used to drum up local interest. Maxwell Livingston Smith worked on a sugar plantation as a teenager and won a talent contest at the age of 18. In 1965 he joined a band called The Emotions and in 66 they had their first hit with “(Buy You) A Rainbow”. Romeo (as he was now known) tried his luck as a solo artist before returning to the fold and even played with a band called The Hippy Boys which included the Barrett rhythm section that had served Bob Marley so well. It was, however, “Wet Dream” that made Romeo famous. Other records followed in 69 including “Belly Woman”, “Wine Her Goosie” and the aforementioned “Mini-Skirt Vision” but none had the same impact as “Wet Dream”. He eventually hooked up with legendary producer Lee Perry and his music became more overtly political with 1972’s “Let The Power Fall” being used by the Jamaican PNP party during that year’s general election. Arguably his most highly regarded album is “War In A Babylon” released in 1976 though he has issued some 25 albums in total whilst Wikipedia lists over 70 singles released between 1969 and 2022. Now 80 years old, he appeared as a backing vocalist on The Rolling Stones “Emotional Rescue” album in 1981 (Keith Richards returned the favour) but despite the fact that his career has had many highlights, he will probably always be known as the man who made “that” record.

He may have caused a big stir with that hit record of shis, but away from the controversy Max Romeo is really a very inoffensive and amiable bloke. In fact, his personality exactly fits the description of his music – happy, effervescent, unhibited. Certainly, these were the qualities he brought to the New Market Discotheque, Bridgwater. Supported by his excellent backing group, The Rudees – Earl Don (guitar), Audley White (bass), Sonny Binns (organ), Danny (drums) and Freddy Notes (vocalist) – Max banished the Winter doldrums, and even if he did include the X-branded chart stormer nobody minded. “I don’t feel bad about what the BBC did” he told me. “If they wanted to ban the disc then that was their decision. But it was all a misunderstanding. In Jamaica nobody complained about the lyric, whereas over here some people took it to mean something else”. Now, though, that is in the past and Max is getting down to promoting the new single, “Mini-Skirt Vision”, waxed in Britain and thankfully given the freedom of the airwaves by Auntie Beeb. According to the 19 year-old, the music he specialises in is here to stay, but be careful which word you apply to the peculiarly jerky sound from Jamaica. You might use, say, reggae to sum it up, yet there are subtle variations within the music. Apparently, bluebeat came first, followed by ska, rock steady and then reggae, which is Mr.Romeo’s bag and a modern and slightly refined version of bluebeat. Next to arrive will be the Moon Hop. Max also predicted that more Jamaican artistes would soon be coming to this country to help ensure that the boom is sustained. “Irrespective of what label we record for, we’re just one huge family and the music which evolved from our tears is your happiness” he ironically added.

Simon Dupree and The Big Sound secured for Bridgwater YMCA’s “Royal Ball” on 20th November.

The Newmarket was, one imagines, still providing it’s weekly Saturday fix of live concerts (though the slightly annoying habit of only advertising or promoting concerts of note still proliferated at this point in time – not much use to us music historians!) But changes to Bridgwater’s live venues were occurring at this time with several of them deciding to concentrate on discs and DJ’s as opposed to live performances. However, there were still the occasional gigs of interest that were not centred around the Lower Bath Road pub and this was one of them.

20th November 1969
SIMON DUPREE & HIS BIG SOUND

There’s much more to Simon Dupree and The Big Sound than hits the ear from their singles. Discs such as “I See The Light”, “Broken Hearted Pirates” and their latest, “The Eagle Flies Tonight” are all catchy, sing-along compositions that make one want to jump and dance. But get away from their commercial 45’s and one finds that the Portsmouth/Southampton group are really in an American contemporary rock bag. I suspect this may have come as a surprise to many of their local fans watching the unit in action at Bridgwater Y.M.C.A on Thursday, although few could have denied that they are professionals who conquered every number they aired. With a line-up of brass, drums, lead, 12-string guitar, organ, mellotron, tenor sax and trumpet, the group certainly lived to their title and although we would have liked to have heard more of the material with which we associate them on record, it was quite an experience just to be able to observe their techniques. Their opener was Love’s “Alone Again Or”, complete with those fantastic Tijuana brass passages, and later they were to include the driving, insistent “Ground Hog”, “Beg, Borrow And Steal” (a rocker featuring way-out mellotron effects) and the slower “Aren’t You Glad”. Also on the bill were Bridgwater’s Time Cycle, who again contributed a lively, powerhouse set, and it was appropriate that they should be supporting attraction to Simon and The Big Sound becuase they have the same punchy combo style – on a smaller scale, of course.

There certainly was much more to Simon Dupree & The Big Sound than just a Top 10 hit single and a spate of singles though this was more to do with what they became as opposed to what they were. They were formed around the 3 Shulman brothers (Derek,Phil & Ray) and started life as The Howling Wolves before becoming The Road Runners, names which reflect their early musical influences which were strictly R&B though if anything they were more influnced than soul and Stax music. In search of a flashy name they became Simon Dupree & And The Big Sound in early 66. Signing to Parlophone, early singles failed to capture the public’s imagination so. much to the band’s dismay, it was agreed by both management and record label that they should be re-born as a psychedelic band. The extremely silly “Kites”, a novelty single that the band hated, reached the Top 10 in 1967, but instead of this 45 placating the decision to embrace all things trippy, further singles (including “Broken Hearted Pirates” which included an un-credited Dudley Moore on piano) failed to capture the public’s attention. After keyboard player Eric Hine fell sick, a young player called Reginald Dwight joined them on a tour of Scotland in 1967 and almost became a permanent member of the band. After one album “Without Reservations” was released also in 67, the following year, under the name of The Moles, they released a single called “We Are The Moles (Parts 1 & 2)” that for some inexplicable reason caused something of a stir when rumours began to circulate that it was a “lost” Beatle record with Ringo Starr on vocals. What happened next was a little surprising to say the least. Still unhappy at being told to turn their back on their beloved soul music they split in 1969 – not that surprising under the circumstances. But the Shulman brothers decided to put together another band in it’s place. A prog rock band. However, not just ANY prog rock band, but Gentle Giant, a group who, I think it’s fair to say, are one of the most unique bands in popular music history. As someone once suggested “musical chaos – unless you are paying attention”. Let’s leave it at that.

29th November 1969
THE PLATTERS

I’m not entirely sure how I have managed to go from Gentle Giant to The Platters in a few lines but here we are. This was a somewhat surprising choice of artist for the New Market to make. Having settled into a groove (literally) of booking soul or reggae artists, this was a throwback to another age entirely. A group that, by 1969, were more suited to the cabaret circuit than a Bridgwater pub. A hugely influential vocal group who, having formed in 1952, had their last major hit in the UK as long ago as 1960. After Buck Ram became their manager in 1953, they recorded a version of “Only You” for Cincinatti’s King Records in 1954 but after Ram had secured a new deal with Mercury the following year, it was re-recorded and became the first of several Top 10 hits. Follow-up “The Great Pretender” became their first No 1 and from then on, for a 3-year period, The Platters were seldom out of the charts (they had 40 chart hits in just 3 years). “My Prayer” in June 1956, “Twilight Time” in April 1958 and “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” in October of that year all reached No.1 making them one of the most successful, and consequently, influential vocal groups of all time. Apart from the fact that their style of performance was eventually superseded by modern sounds (they still did exceptionally well to maintain their career under such competition) thing started to unravel in 1959 when the four male members of the group were arrested on drung and prostitution charges (no-one was convicted but the damage was done). The following year, lead vocalist Tony Williams left to start a solo career (resulting in a law suit between manager Ram and the record label) and the group continued to splinter to such an extent that at one point there was more than one set of Platters touring on the circuit. (One of the last of the original members to leave, in 1964, was female member Zola Taylor, a comparative rarity in vocal group terms). It’s hard to say what kind of line-up they would have had in 1969 but it’s a good guess that it bore little resemblance to the classic group of the 50’s (despite the fact that the last of the original members, Herb Reed, departed during the year of their NewMarket performance.) This was very much an example of the hits outlasting the various individuals that had been responsible for recording them.

New Market Discotheque ravers showed their full appreciation of The Platters.

6th December 1969
MARV JOHNSON

Patrons of Bridgwater’s New Market Discotheque gave Marv Johnson another good reception on his return visit…

The Pyramids star again at Bridgwater’s New Market Discotheque on Saturday and check in at a time when stories are rife that they are also mystery group Symarip, of “Skinhead Moon Stomp” fame, and another aggregation called Clive Williams and the Heatwave. The name game puzzle began a few weeks ago when “Skinhead Moon Stomp” came out on Treasure Isle (part of the Trojan company). The artistes were billed on the label as Symarip and it din’t take long for people to work out that this is an almost perfect anagram of “Pyramids”. Since then, the record has become a Top Thirty hit, but when I contacted Trojan’s Press Officer, Cindy Hughes, she denied that the Pyramids had made it. In the last fortnight or so, a waxing of the old Bobby Vee success “Take Good Care Of My Baby” has been issued by Revolution and attributed to Clive Williams and the Heatwave. Again, some people are claiming these are the Pyramids. And on Friday, three 45-ers written and produced by the Pyramids were released on the President label by Jay Boy, the peculiar names on the labels also being taken by some as nom-de-plumes of the Pyramids. They are the Alterations with “Work It Up”, a catchy opus incorporating male soloing and chirpy chanting embellishments; The Bed Bugs and “Freedom Sound”, which is slightly slower but similarly presented and has a bass line reminiscent of “Long Shot Kick The Bucket” and the Rough Riders introducing “Boss”, a nagging instrumental with an out-of-the-ordinary narrative. But at least there can be no dispute over yet another new President single, “I’m A Man”, which is accredited to the Pyramids themselves. Also composed and produced by the group, it’s an infectious, repetitive thing with a wailing main vocal, ensemble warbling from the other members and bubbly instrumentation. Consisting of seven young West Indian men at the last count, the Pyramids (and we’ll keep to that name for the sake of clarification) first appeared at the New Market Discotheque in May of this year, when reggae had still to bresk big chartwise but was already being lapped up in earnest by the venue’s patrons. Needless to say, they went down well and so it is not surprising to hear that they have been asked back – even if they do come shrouded in a cloud of mystery!

13th December 1969
THE PYRAMIDS/SYMARIP

The Pyramids ended weeks of speculation that they have been working under different pseudonyms when they gave a Press conference before going on stage at Bridgwater’s New Market Discotheque. They freely admitted that they are Symarip, hitmakers of “Skinhead Moon Stomp”, and about five other groups recording for various labels. The boys were certainly in the mood for talking and told me they had bought themselves out of a contract with President becuase they were dissatisfied with the way they were being handled. They were doing no promotional work on “I’m A Man”, their latest President single billed as The Pyramids, and neither were they having much to do with about three or four other sessions they had made for the company and which had been released as singles under assorted group names. Indeed, they were concentarting on “Skinhead Moon Stomp”, the disc they cut privately while the President row was continuing which was issued on the Treasure Isle label (belonging to the Trojan-B and C-Island combine) and which has given them their biggest hit so far. The Pyramids agreed that the situation raised problems for dancehall owners when it came to poster billing, but stressed that they hoped to have it all sorted out very soon. They were thinking of staying with Treasure Isle and might retain the Symarip title. Well, whatever is going on behind the scenes, the seven-piece, incorporating brass, are still the proficient reggae crowd they always were. They presented many of the well-known Caribbean smashes, including “Long Shot Kick The Bucket”, “The Horse”, “Sweet Generation” and “Live Injection” (the newie from The Upsetters), and also featured several Tamla Motown numbers. A surprise visitor was me old friend Lincoln Gordon of The Equals who had decided to drive down from London in his car to see them in action becuase he had a free night. The Equals have for a long time been stablemates of The Pyramids and likewise have a new disc out on President, “Rub A Dub Dub”, which they are not promoting. “It’s not that we think it’s a bad waxing” said Lincoln. “But we meant it to be an album track and wanted to give the fans a double L.P. for Christmas. President thought otherwise and released it as a single. We shan’t be playing it, even if it climbs into the Top 20, and in fact are taking a rest before touring again in the New Year.”

20th December 1969
THE RUDEES