The Artists – 1969

7th January 1969
American coloured group, The Bandwagon, who rocketed to fame with “Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache”, come to the New Market 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 because 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 they’ve gone back to the States and haven’t been able to back up their initial success.”

10th January 1969
THE BANDWAGON

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.

On Friday, choose between The Sonic Invaders (all coloured group with girl singer) at the New Market Disco and The Baloons with Bridgwater’s Re-Action at Sydenham Rave. (14th January 1969)

17th January 1969
THE SONIC INVADERS

1969 was an exciting year for the venue but hidden among the big names there were many artists who were as obscure as the follow-up to a Zager & Evans No 1 record. This is one of them…..

Time Cycle, Bridgwater’s longest standing beat group, declined that December recording date at Westside’s Sound Studios, Shepton Mallet, on the basis of the material made available to them to record. They are now waiting until they have something more original in the offing. Recently, they shared a Glastonbury Town Hall gig with an outfit called Heaven. In the course of the evening their singer Wally Hall was approached by members of The Midrod Ends – who are shortly turning professional – and asked if he would join them. Up to now, Wally has decided against this. (21st January 1969)

Also included in the “Pop Topics” article dated the 21st was the news that Sydenham Rave was welcoming back DJ Larry Boyd every fortnight on a Friday. The proceeds were to go towards securing bigger artists at the venue for the future. “Ravers will be given the chance of suggesting what attractions should be booked”. Boyd, of course, has history as he and his band The Davericks supported Johnny Kidd & The Pirates for the very first Top Twenty gig on the 29th August 1960.

New Market disco showcases Just That, up and coming soul band from the Salisbury district. (21st January 1969)

24th January 1969
JUST THAT

Intriguingly, there was a 60’s band from the Salisbury area called “Just Us”. Coincidence? Apart from that nugget of information the only other item that a quick Google search brings up is the Salisbury branch of a well-known food delivery chain.

The last Sydenham Rave was very successful and was attended by some 180 fans. It established a new record in that there were, for the first time, more “guys” than “dolls” present…. This Friday’s Rave presents Peggoty’s People, fully pro outfit from Gloucester and word has it they’ve a great line-up which includes a pretty good looking girl singer…. (28th January 1969)

Plenty happening at the New Market Disco next month. Terry Clare plans to bring you The Fantastics again (21st) and surprise, surprise The Bedrocks of “Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da” fame (28th). Bridgwater Tech are also putting on a blues evening there (26th) but more of this later….(28th January 1969)

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 Me 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 exemplary 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.

Flynn are dead. Long live Eureka! Yes, that’s the name chosen for the new group at North Petherton who are out to make a big impact on the beat scene…..Street-based attraction, The Mid-Rod Ends for New Market disco this Friday…The Thursday dances at the YMCA continue to be popular, and this week is group week once again. For the evening, Mr Trefor Thomas, general secretary, has booked a top Dorset aggregation, The Package Deal. (4th February 1969)

7th February 1969
The Mid-Rod Ends

The newly professional Mid-Rod Ends (or at the very least about to become professional) return for their 5th performance at the New Market but without Time Cycle’s vocalist Wally Hall, as he had recently turned down the opportunity to join the band.

11th February 1969
Shock news that the future of the Sydenham Rave is sadly in danger was given to me at the weekend by Community Centre warden Roy Brogan. It means that unless more of you give your support, it will collapse and die altogether. Roy explained that attendances had fallen off so badly during the last eight months that the committee was seriously considering closing down The Rave. Less than 100 fans turned up at the last one and not enough money was taken to even pay the group. Every effort has been made to sustain interest in the event, which not so long ago was Bridgwater’s best supported beat dance. It has been a showcase for local groups and up-and-coming regional and national attractions like The Orange Bicycle, money has been spent on new lighting and a “Coke Bar” installed in the hall. Two more trial Raves are scheduled, but if the size of the audiences does not grow significantly there will be no option left but to end it, which would be a shattering blow the to the borough’s best scene. Meanwhile, a “Save the Rave” campaign has been launched. If you want the Rave to continue, go along and give it your support before it’s too late. The matter rests entirely in your hands – but remember that a Raver’s Friday night could in future consist of hanging around street corners with nothing to do. And that’s not much of an alternative is it?

Well there is always the Newmarket…..

This Friday, the Rave presents a double bill, five-piece Exeter group The Rejects and Bridgwater’s own Time Cycle, who will be making their first appearance at the venue for almost a year….Also for St. Valentine’s Day, The Lurks, a coloured outfit from Bristol, make a quick return to the New Market because they went down so well….. (11th February 1969)

14th February 1969
The Lurks

This may well have been the 2nd time in quick succession that this band had played the New Market (they were advertised as The Lurkes in the Mercury) but this is the first time that they had been mentioned within the local newspaper’s pages.

18th February 1969
Following last week’s disclosure that the Sydenham Rave is in danger of folding through lack of support, I’ve been examining the present state of Bridgwater’s beat dances and have found no evidence to suggest that fans are losing interest in them generally. Bridgwater YMCA, which alternates stage shows with discotheque sessions on Thursdays, is “riding on the crest of a wave at the moment” in the words of general secretary Trefor Thomas. It reckons on packing in some 200 young people for records, and up to as many as 250 for “live” attractions. “We were thinking of dropping groups a while back, not because of small attendances but because of the widely varying quality of groups”. Mr.Thomas went on “We found that some of the cheaper artistes gave better entertainment than some of the more expensive ones. But in the end we decided to retain group nights for the time being”. At the New Market Discotheque, where several chart names have appeared, Terry Clare also claimed good business and listed audience figures ranging from 250 to 400 for a really big group. Quite a rosy picture then, but one which doesn’t help the plight of the Rave. Whatever may be the cause of the trouble, let’s hope it is resolved soon because no one would want this well-run event to die.

When Time Cycle performed at Westover School, Bridgwater, last week, a decibel meter was used on their set to discover the exact level of sound – and the needle went right off the clock! The boys agreed to continue the gig at reduced power and eventually managed to get the level down to between 80 and 85 decibels. Time Cycle tell me they were only playing at half volume to begin with, as is their usual custom, but will tone things down in a return visit there on 11th March to keep the powers that be happy. (18th February 1969)

Bridgwater Tech holding a blues evening at the New Market Disco on Wednesday week (26th), starring one-man band Duster Bennett, plus new Bridgwater area outfit Quarto Feelee and the disco’s own DJ Mike Henderson….Bridgwater YMCA has The Sheridan’s from Bristol on Thursday….whilst Hinkley Point Sports and Social Club are presenting The Orange Bicycle and The Re-Action are at Bridgwater Rugby Club on the same night….(18th February 1969)

On Friday, New Market Disco offers The Fantastics once again, while Sydenham Community Centre spotlights another record hop under the new title “Disco-acentrego”. (18th February 1969) Disco-a-what-go?

21st February 1969
The Fantastics

Well we mustn’t start shouting too soon, I suppose, but the fact is that some 180 young people turned up at the latest Sydenham Rave – almost double the the number for the previous one. And warden Roy Brogan remarks that if this kind of support were to continue there would be no danger of the Rave having to close down. So you know what to do if you want to keep it. The Rave in question spotlighted The Rejects, a three-piece from Exeter, and the Borough’s own Time Cycle. As far as The Rejects were concerned, their singing came a close second to that of The Orange Bicycle. (25th February 1969)

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 mainly 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.

26th February 1969
DUSTER BENNETT

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.

Bridgwater Technical College’s dance at the New Market disco on Wednesday a good draw with the venue being packed with students and young people. Topping the bill was blues man Duster Bennett, with Bridgwater outfit Kwarto Feelay as supporting attraction. Considering that they have only been on the road for a few weeks with their present line-up, the five-piece did very well. They showcased a cross-section of popular music, taking in pop, soul, rock and blues, and they managed to keep the pace going for the entire duration of their hour-long act. 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 together 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 were ffreaking out at the Sydenham Rave, the New Market 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 Caribbean rhythms, It received a lot of airplay, but it was in direct competition with Marmalade’s pop-tastic 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.

RAINBOW FFOLLY

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 a fluorescent 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. If you missed Rainbow’s Ffolly you may be able to catch them again because they could be back on 9th May in answer to numerous requests for a return engagement.

As for these psychedelic pranksters, they began life when a couple of brothers, Jonathan and Richard Dunsterville from Farnham Common formed a band called Force Four in the early 60’s, a group that used the Everly Bros vocal harmonies as their musical template. Eventually based in High Wycombe, they picked up a couple of band members whilst in college, namely drummer Stewart Osborn and bassist Roger Newell, and Rainbow Ffolly were formed. (The curious name was apparently in tribute to Wally Ffolks, creator of the “Flook” cartoon strip) After recording a 5-track demo tape at a recording studio owned by brothers Malcolm and John Jackson, the Jackson Two talked the band into completing an album’s worth of material (12 songs in total) in just two weeks.

Out of it came the album “Sallies Fforth”, and after the producers had agreed a deal with EMI, it was issued by Parlophone in 1968, despite the fact that, at this point, the band had yet to issue a single with which to promote the record. The Jacksons also decided to take a leaf out of The Who’s book by connecting the songs together “with jingles and sound effects”. (A ruse that worked to perfection on The Who’s “Sell Out” album released in 1967). Unfortunately they decided not to tell the band of this decision and consequently the group were left with a product that was extremely difficult to replicate on stage. Nevertheless, the album became the “Record Of The Week” on BBC’s Saturday Club. As a follow-up, a single that wasn’t on the album called “Drive My Car” (which owes a little to Roger Miller’s “Dang Me”) was thrust upon the public. This incidentally is NOT a cover version of The Fab Four’s song, but was written with the sole intention of creating something original that shared it’s title with one of The Beatles songs but which was a completely different entity. They performed some high profile gigs (including a concert at The Playboy Club) and even though these concerts generated press interest, neither the album or the single sold in enough quantities and they split up. The Wikipedia entry for the band suggests this happened in “late 1968” but we know different. They re-formed in 2016 for a follow-up album called, strangely enough, “Ffollow Up” but this too disappeared without trace. Bassist Roger Newell eventually ended up in Rick Wakeman’s band and says “The best thing about Ffolly,” was that it was entertaining and amusing. We were one of the earliest theatrical bands and entertainment was very high on the agenda. We took our music seriously but we were eager to take the mickey out of ourselves. We were of one mind on that.” I am guessing their performance at the Rave would have been quite interesting and almost certainly a whole lot of ffun.

I’m not entirely sure as to how Mike Guy managed to be in two different places at the same time but it seems he managed this feat as apart from telling us how good The Bedrocks were, he was able to report on what was happening at Sydenham as well.

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 at this point she had yet to make an appearance due to two completely different reasons. 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 Pat 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.

Chaos from Newton Abbot, and local group Eureka have been booked for the next Rave on Friday…Rave would also like to add some girls to do a dance spot during the all-record hops… (11th March 1969)

Marv Johnson, Tamla Motown hit recorder of “I’ll Pick A Rose For My Rose”, which is still 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 ago 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 certain 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.

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 Motor City label, owned by a Northern Soul enthusiast, but in 1993 Johnson sadly died from complications after a stroke.

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.

Eureka (formerly known as Flynn) were due to spend all of Sunday cutting a disc for Reverberation at their Andover studios. Will let you know how they fared. They go to Ludgershall, near Andover, this Thursday – the same evening that Roman Remains of Bristol make their Bridgwater YMCA debut….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. (18th March 1969)

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 “progressive rock” 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.

Record chiefs are reported to have been pleased with the way things went on Eureka’s recording session. The local group were cutting their first demo disc at Andover for Reverberation and it may result in the single being accepted by a record company for national release. Eureka spent from 11.30 in the morning until 6.45 pm taping two numbers, and were said to have completed the session more swiftly than most other groups who have used the studios. Drummer Mike Watson’s father told me, “Reverberation will try and sell the demo to one of the companies, and the boys will be sent the master copy of the disc”. Before travelling to Andover, the group made their first Bridgwater appearance at the Sydenham Rave, where they played such groovers as “I Can Hear The Grass Grow” and “Blue Suede Shoes”. Also in the concert was Chaos, a popular unit from Newton Abbot comprising lead, bass, drums and main vocalist. They incorporated into their gig a self-penned composition with the fantastic title “Your Face Is Like A Smashed Crab”. (25th March 1969)

Re-Action scheduled for Bridgwater Rugby Club on Thursday…Highly respected West End quintet, The Portrait, Rave it up at Sydenham on Friday…Marv Johnson thinks next Motown people to make it will be The Monitors, The Elgins and Bobby Taylor…. (25th March 1969)

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.

28th March 1969
THE SKATALITES

Despite the big build up to this gig, it would appear that The Skatalites did NOT appear at the New Market on the 28th March 1969 making this the 2nd “no show” gig in less than 4 weeks. 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.

No New Market Discotheque on Good Friday (although you will have your records at Sydenham) but Terry Clare plans to present Time Cycle on Easter Monday….(1st April 1969)

It was revealed in the 8th April 1969 edition of the Bridgwater Mercury that apart from working for the local paper, Mike Guy was also moonlighting as a DJ at the Sydenham Community Centre, which would explain his passion for the venue. Mike also reported on the success of the “recent innovation” of “the formation of a Go-Go dancing troupe.” Six girls (“trained” by Larry Boyd) danced to two songs “and the whole idea proved such a success that we shall probably keep it in the show”

The latest in the Rave series presented West End group The Portrait whom many held to be better than The Orange Bicycle. A quintet proving rather similar to The Tremeloes they offered excellent close harmonies….this Friday The Rave has The Violin Shoppe, a five-piece from Dorset. (8th April 1969)

Ethiopia’s Answer followed in Eureka’s footsteps by cutting a demo disc at Reverberation’s Andover studios. Numbers taped were “Painter Man”, a beat opus associated with The Creation, and the bluesy “Rock Me Baby” which was recorded by Ben E King. Fingers crossed for both groups that it will take them places…(8th April 1969)

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. (8th April 1969)

11th April 1969
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 waxing’s 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 New Market 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 New Market’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. Incidentally, even though “Israelites” was recorded and originally released in Jamaica in 1968 (under the title “Poor Me Israelites”), it wasn’t released in the UK until March 1969. The New Market really did strike it lucky where this single is concerned as it was only at the very top of the charts for one week, and by coincidence, that was the week that he made his appearance in Bridgwater.

Suggestion that the Radio One Club could be broadcast from Bridgwater’s Classic Cinema has been made by Miss Doreen Jeffree, hostess of the venue. She wrote to the BBC and in reply the chief producer of the programme, Derek Chinnery, has promised that if there is any possibility of visiting Bridgwater in the future the Corporation will certainly investigate the Classic. He does point out however, that they have never run one of the editions in a cinema as they usually like to have space for dancing and provision for light refreshments in the hall. However, Miss Jeffree told me this week; “We could easily take up the first few rows of seats in the front so that the young people could move around.” Her suggestion seems an extremely good one to me. The nearest Radio One Club to Bridgwater is at Bristol, which is a bit inconvenient for local supporters without transport, especially since the programme is transmitted at lunch time. Seeing that they are opening up fast all over the country and that one of their objects is to show that not everything happens in London, there is no real reason why we shouldn’t have a club here. The decision now rests with the BBC. (22nd April 1969)

In answer to many requests, Bridgwater YMCA presents return of Bristol’s This Side Up on Thursday…Rave brings back Lot 39 with Mel Taylor this Friday, and they are a unit who received a warm ovation last time, especially for their comedy turns. (22nd April 1969)

(At) Sydenham Rave, The Violin Shoppe from Dorset proved very professional, I hear, but apparently the material was not quite right for the audience. It consisted mainly of commercial blues and way-out Tamla songs like “You Keep Me Hanging On”. Also, the group had a bit of bad luck with their equipment. On a happier note though, the attendance was good. (22nd April 1969)

The New Market has The Coloured Raisins Show this Friday….(22nd April 1969)

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 New Market 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”.

Several local groups this week launched an attack on the increase in dances that consist only of recorded entertainment. Time Cycle drummer, Paul Berryman, told me yesterday “There are far too many of them about now. Not enough use is being made of groups”. And another stixman, Mike Watson of Eureka said “It’s hitting groups’ bookings, particularly local outfits. There do not seem to be many live shows at all around here now”. Mike added that he had been chatting to Ethiopia’s Answer the other night and they also expressed concern about the number of disc shows being put on. (29th April 1969)

The Skatalites “definitely coming” to the New Market this Friday says Terry Clare… (29th April 1969)

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 Sound Of Jamaica” 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 musicians that played this gig were nothing more than a tribute band (before it became a lucrative market) masquerading under The Skatalite brand name 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….

Rainbow’s Ffolly from London return there on Friday and if they get as good a reception as Lot 39 did, the journey will be more than worthwhile. Lot 39 with Mel Taylor mostly showcased pop standards, but incorporated a strong version of “Get Back” besides their own comedy routine. (6th May 1969)

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 – and The 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. (6th May 1969)

9th May 1969
THE GLOBE SHOW

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. Because 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 accommodation 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.

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.

13th May 1969
For the past two weeks this column has carried The Discotheque Controversy. It all began when some of the groups in and around Bridgwater claimed that record shows were beginning to take over from “live” entertainment, constituting a threat to their livelihood. Then last week, Bridgwater’s three leading dance promoters replied to the allegations and made it clear they were successfully promoting what the fans wanted. Several interesting points arise from the arguments on both sides. As I feel about it, surely there is room for both canned and “live” beat dances to exist in the town without one over-ruling the other. Nobody ever wants to see “live” pop killed by records; it would be a very sad day if it did come to that. For every record show staged at the three main dance centres in the Borough (New Market Disco, YMCA and Sydenham Community Centre) there is a group night. O.K., there may be more disc shows presented now than there were a few years ago – but equally there are more “live” beat concerts as well. This is because Bridgwater’s pop entertainment world has developed, and developed comprehensively as was only correct. From the depressing vacuum caused by the death of the Top 20 Club has sprung up a scene that many other towns of our size can envy. In defence of local groups, I must say that naturally it would be nice to see them getting more bookings in Bridgwater. They are a grand crowd, willing to spend a lot of money, time and effort in forming an act which they feel will please the public. But since there are always only a handful of them in existence one cannot expect dance promoters to keep on booking the same names. They must, in the end, draw on outside talent in so doing giving the fans a chance to see “name” attractions every so often. This leads me on to say that one has to be careful when comparing the quality of local groups with those bigger aggregations from away. Technically, one should not judge the amateur with the professional or even semi-professional group. The amateur outfit will often not be signed to an agency, and therefore may not have had found as much work from which to gain experience. And their equipment may not be as extensive or refined. Regarding material, I do feel there is a surprisingly good cross-section of music contained in the various repertoires of local groups. Just think, we have for example the largely commercial material offered by Time Cycle and Re-Action and the hard, heavy, more way-out Blue Cheer approach of Ethiopia’s Answer, while folk is also represented to a certain degree. If our groups do want to draw any comfort, they might do so from the fact that two new record dances were recently discontinued after failing to get off the ground. This in itself has confirmed a long-held belief of mine that any new discotheque is going to have a job to become established here. Fans are obviously thinking twice before supporting a new venture and must consider they are being adequately catered for by the clubs now running. Or else, they are travelling to dances in other places.

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 Tour 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”. (13th May 1969)

16th May 1969
THE PYRAMIDS

What appears to be, on the surface, just another ska band (and at this point in the New Market’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 New Market 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”….Same night, The Tekneek make their debut at Sydenham Rave. A London-based unit, they have guested regularly on the Jimmy Young and Tony Brandon Radio 1 shows, and not long ago backed “Little Arrows” star Leapy Lee… (20th May 1969)

The Tekneek’s CV looks somewhat uninspiring……..

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 that same year. 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 brilliant 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.

The Pyramids pleasantly surprised to find so many folk know how to do Caribbean dance, The Reggae at New Market Disco. One up for Bridgwater! (27th May 1969)

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. Two weeks back she did three television 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. (27th May 1969)

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

I guess it was only a matter of time before Geno rocked up at the New Market 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 established 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.

Reviewing a single waxed by a group who actually come from Bridgwater is something of an occasion, and even though The Re-Action’s “You Baby”/”Jumpin’ Jack Flash” is more or less a private recording, it is still an exciting event. Made at Reverberation’s Andover studios, the best side of the disc in my mind is “You Baby”, an appealing medium-paced ditty which the boys found on a Lovin’ Spoonful album. “Flash” is of course The Stones tearaway winner of exactly a year ago. The public at large won’t hear this disc, which I feel is a pity. I understand that apart from tremolo on the vocals, the engineer wizards added no extra effects. It was in other words a straight take. As I reported when news first broke of this recording, the session was completed in only four hours. Re-Action’s journey to Andover was certainly worthwhile…Next week it is planned to review a Reverberation 45-er recently made by another local group, Eureka. (3rd June 1969)

Friday night Sydenham Community Centre presents return visit of The Portrait in answer to many requests, they’re a London-based outfit and scored last time for their Tremeloes-type singing. Previous group attraction. Tekneek (also from London) were mobbed at the end of their gig. A three-piece, they put on a quality show, and many will have heard them on Tony Blackburn’s Radio 1 programme this week… (3rd June 1969)

Surprise holiday visitors at home of Roy Brogan’s (Sydenham Community Centre’s warden) were Orange Bicycle, in Bridgwater to play not at the Rave this time, but for the Grand Gala pop dance at Blake Hall… (3rd June 1969)

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”. 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. (3rd June 1969)

6th June 1969
The Nashville Teens

After several fine performances there, Sydenham Ravers among those particularly saddened by the news of Rainbow Ffolly’s split. (10th June 1969)

Also included in the 10th June edition of “Pop Topics” was the promised review of Eureka’s single “See My Baby”/”Johnny B Goode” which, according to Mike, was not available for purchase in any music shops, which kind of defeats the object somewhat. “Although the opus is not world-shattering by any means, at least it’s happy, commercial stuff which has a healthy beat and is therefore good for dancing to” was Mike’s conclusion.

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….(10th June 1969)

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 group, 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.

Theft of a turntable and 11 records from the discotheque of the New Market Hotel, Bridgwater cost a 30-year old man £10 at the Borough Magistrates Court. (17th June 1969)

Blues fans were apparently satisfied with The Nashville Teens at the New Market Disco…..Anyone wishing to take over the folk song night which the management of the New Market Hotel started will be welcome to do so. And Terry Clare says if it really gets off the ground, he’s prepared to book a good folk group at least once a month….(17th June 1969)

Had the task of introducing a London group called The Portrait at the Sydenham Rave and a real pleasure it was to do so too. For the contingent, as I soon discovered, have a nice clean, sensible and controlled approach to their work and get straight on with the job of entertaining. The lads told me they were shortly going for a BBC radio audition, and on the strength of their Sydenham showing they certainly deserve to pass the test. (17th June 1969)

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… (17th June 1969)

Wot’s this, a Prince Buster imposter? A real 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!

You heard right. There will be three local groups on one bill at Sydenham Rave next month. Time Cycle, Re-Action and Ethiopia’s Answer will all be helping to make it a night of nights and the dance is going to be in the form of a mammoth pyjama rave… (24th June 1969)

Sonic Invaders, that all-coloured group come to Bridgwater’s YMCA on Thursday….Sydenham Rave has The Sketch from London, the following night… (1st July 1969)

8th July 1969
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 New Market 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. Hence the reason why the above mentions the appearance of Force West at the venue but it’s the first we have heard about it. As The New Market had already been operating on a Saturday for 3 weeks, the Bristol band would have appeared either on the 21st June, the 28th June, or alternatively on the 5th July.

Ethiopia’s Answer – “Painter Man”/”Rock Me Baby” (Reverberation). The third reverb demo single to carry the name of a local group on the label and it’s certainly as good in it’s way as those by Eureka and the Re-Action. “Painter Man” as many of you will know is a number written by The Creation, a catchy medium-paced jogalong that seems to suit the Bridgwater outfit well. “Rock Me Baby” (associated with B.B.King) falls into the blues bag. This side of the disc is perhaps the one that the purists would go for although both tracks would, I feel, appeal to wide section of the record buying public. (8th July 1969)

Come Saturday, you may like to trek along to the New Market Disco and see The Albert Road. Line-up includes a girl vocalist too.. (8th July 1969)

12th July 1969
THE ALBERT ROAD

This band had actually played Bridgwater before, performing a gig at the YMCA on the 17th October 1968. Mike Guy had suggested on that occasion that they were a seven-piece aggregation from Bristol so unless they had changed their line-up in the meantime, this is what you would have got on this particular evening.

Fans have an opportunity to show their appreciation of local groups on Friday, when three Bridgwater area units appear on the same bill at a Mammoth Pyjama Rave presented by Sydenham Community Centre. Starting at 8 p.m. there will be virtually non-stop beat from Time Cycle, The Re-Action and Ethiopia’s Answer involving one of the most complex and ambitious staging operations ever undertaken for a pop concert there. It is planned to open with The Re-Action on the stage, then switching to Ethiopia’s Answer, who will be on a specially built platform at the other end of the hall. While they are playing, Time Cycle will be getting ready on the stage to do the closing spot which, like the others, should last about 50 minutes. With coloured lights and the performances taking place in different parts of the venue, the net effect should be somewhat reminiscent of that seen on BBC TV’s “Top Of The Pops”, although on a much smaller scale of course.. The Pyjama Rave is just part of a bid by Community Centre warden Roy Brogan to make the “live” dances more interesting. Two weeks later he will offer the U.S. Flat Top-Cat Road Show, a 10-piece all-coloured outfit with an American singer, for the end-of-season Rave. The Raves will start up again on 5th September with a big national attraction to be disclosed later. Asking that people give more support to the Raves, he told me that the patrons didn’t seem to realise the event was often featuring top quality artistes. Most of the groups booked lately had been from the London area, and all were on the fringe of the “big time”, while recent performers Rainbow Ffolly, Tekneek and The Portrait had since broadcast regularly on Radio 1 shows. (15th July 1969)

19th July 1969
THE STAFFORDS

I think this band played The Newmarket on this date but I can’t be 100% certain. They were mentioned in despatches in Mike’s “Pop Topics” post on the 29th July as having appeared at the venue and this is the only date that seems to fit. Another example of only discovering that a band had played the venue after the event.

New Market Disco has Midlands close harmony group The Eyes of Blonde…. 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… (22nd July 1969)

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.

Three Bridgwater groups were immediately booked to appear again one one bill at a future Sydenham Community pop dance following their success at the Mammoth Pyjama Rave. The event, in which The Re-Action, Ethiopia’s Answer and Time Cycle provided virtually non-stop music, was a tribute to the good relationship that exists between local groups, the patronage of the fans, who gave The Rave it’s best attendance figures in months, and the smooth organisation of Community Centre warden Roy Brogan and his helpers. (29th July 1969)

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… (29th July 1969)

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.

The only niterie not with closed doors at the moment is the New Market Disco. Go along there this Saturday and you can see The Kynd, featuring Mark Roman who are said to be in a Mamas And Papas/Beach Boys bag. (5th August 1969)

9th August 1969
THE KYND

Despite Mike Guy’s suggestion above, 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 of guys 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.

Kwarto Feelay bow out in style tomorrow (Wednesday) night when they make their last appearance before splitting up. And ironically, perhaps, they will be a supporting attraction to a name group – The Herd – for a Harvest Home dance at East Huntspill (12th August 1969)

When the microphones started giving trouble during the speeches at East Huntspill Harvest Home, the Vicar (the Rev. E.D. Eynon Williams) commented “If this happens tonight, The Herd will be the unheard”.

Saturday’s entertainment at the New Market Disco headlines Omega, a commercial pop aggregation from North Somerset who were previously at the venue in March…. (12th August 1969)

16th August 1969
OMEGA

Another obscurity though at least we know this time where they were from…. kind of. As for playing previously in March I cannot see how they would have squeezed them in as every Friday night for that month featured a live gig of some description or another (despite the fact that two of the artist’s booked didn’t turn up)

Re-Action are out to win a national record company deal with a view to turning professional. Their manager Rob Darch has so far written to two concerns – Pye and EMI – giving details of the group and mentioning their first demo disc made earlier this year at Reverberation. Already, replies have been received in both cases. Secretary to Pye’s A & R controller Cyril Stapleton asked that the demo be sent direct to Mr.Stapleton who would consider the group for an audition. And C.J. Dalton, of the A&R department of EMI also requested the privately made recording. Mr.Dalton added; “If after hearing it I think I can help you and therefore help EMI I will be happy to meet you so that the matter can be fully discussed”. Hundreds of groups write off for similar auditions each year so Re-Action cannot be more than even cautiously optimistic. Nevertheless bass guitarist Walter Koloska said “We are keeping our fingers crossed and feel we might stand a better chance with Pye than EMI because they are a smaller company and seem keen to enrol new groups”. (19th August 1969)

On Thursday, YMCA has “West Coast Music Co.” Some members of which used to be in Stormy… Saturday sees The Dipps (Bristol) at the New Market Disco….”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.” (19th August 1969)

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 1930’s or performed a set that was 12 hours long. The dearth of information regarding New Market 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”.

Terry Clare, obviously not fully recovered from his holiday, announced a wrong New Market booking for last Saturday. Instead of The Dipps (Bristol), who feature commercial pop, blues and progressive music, it should have been The Toast, a blues outfit holding the record for the longest playing group. The Dipps are due at the venue this Saturday. (26th August 1969)

30th August 1969
THE DIPPS

The only info available regarding this band appears to be the brief synopsis provided by Mike Guy above though “commercial pop, blues and progressive music” seems to cover most bases without giving too much away.

2nd September 1969
Sydenham Community Centre launch a new series of pop dances for the Autumn and Winter on Friday, starting with a Rave starring national group The Locomotive, who had a hit earlier in the year with “Rudi’s In Love”. But no-one is being optimistic about the success chances of these Raves. Last season they were often plagued by low attendances, and unless there is much better support this time they may well have to be stopped within a few months. I know it is not a cheerful thing to have to say at the opening of a new series, but this was the situation when the Raves were rested for the August holidays and it will be there to face up to on Friday. Warden Roy Brogan said; “It depends entirely on the fans. I have booked groups for four Raves and depending on the turn-out for these four I will decide whether they should be continued”. After The Locomotive, the Centre presents The Tekneek and Ethiopia’s Answer (19th September), the Mad Hatters Rave with Time Cycle, Ethiopia’s Answer and Re-Action (3rd October) and Force West (17th October). As during last season, the stage shows will alternate with the Disco-Acentagoes, which have strangely attracted larger audiences as a rule. Why the Raves should suffer from lack of support is difficult to explain, especially when one remembers that Bridgwater YMCA and the New Market Disco do not seem to have the type of problem with their counterparts. Perhaps the situation is to be found in the kind of demands made by Rave patrons, which are now answered by Roy. One oft repeated question is “Why can’t we have bigger groups at the Centre?” Roy replies; “We do from time to time, but if the regular Raves are not supported, thereby giving us a little profit, we cannot afford to book many national attractions on which we always show quite a large loss”. Another question relates to the price of admission. Says Roy; “Although the cost of presenting the Raves has increased enormously, it is a fact that the admission charge for the regular Rave has remained unchanged for more than two years at 5s. We pledge to offer the Raves at as cheap a price as possible and there is very little increase for admission to our national bookings. With a bit more support, there would be no need for any increase whatsoever.

Rave will have to compete with Eureka’s farewell performance in Bridgwater on Friday while the New Market Disco headlines Ambrose Slade, a top-quality close-harmony outfit from the Midlands who have undertaken a lot of radio and television work… As already stated, Eureka give their last concert in the town on Friday before leaving the area. It is at the Bridgwater Rugby Clubhouse…(2nd September 1969)

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 moniker 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 clothing make-over (particularly in the boot department) and a pair of scissors. They became a skinhead band (and in fact were sporting this look when they played Bridgwater.) 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 New Market, it wasn’t quite the last we had seen of them.

Lunchtime beat shows with an atmosphere similar to the Radio 1 Club are under consideration for the Classic, Bridgwater. Lasting two or three hours, they would feature groups from all over the West Country as well as talent spots, records, requests and disc jockeys. The plan received enthusiastic support immediately from Miss Doreen Jeffree (hostess of the theatre) and now has official backing from the company which controls the venue – Classic Cinemas Ltd. To those beat groups who have previously complained of being offered few bookings in the town, this could be the golden opportunity they have been waiting for. But if this project is to get off the ground it must, needless to say, have the support of both musicians and fans. Ethiopia’s Answer have already said they would take part…(9th September 1969)

Disco-Acentagoes re-open at Sydenham Community Centre on Friday…following night sees The Kynd with Marc Roman on a return visit to the New Market Disco.. (9th September 1969)

13th September 1969
The Kynd

The trials and tribulations of the Sydenham Rave continue…

The fortnightly Raves at Sydenham Community Centre are to end early next month after a run of nearly three years. In their place will be more Disco-Acentagoes, with “live” shows being cut to one every six weeks. These dramatic, but far from unexpected decisions were taken following the opening dance of the new season where a loss of about £40 was made on the show starring The Locomotive. Roy Brogan, warden of the Community Centre said; “We are very sad about finishing the Raves and the decision was taken with extreme reluctance. But we have lost money on every one of them lately and you just can’t afford to go on like that. The young patrons have shown that “live” shows just aren’t for them at the moment. They prefer “canned” entertainment and as a community centre we are here to provide what the general public requires”. So, the 17th October Rave which was to have featured Force West has been scrapped completely. And after this Friday’s show which brings back Tekneek from London together with our own Ethiopia’s Answer, the final Rave will be the Mad Hatters night on 3rd October, with local units Time Cycle, Ethiopia’s Answer and Re-Action. The passing of the Raves means an end of an era in many respects. Nearly every local group was given a start at them, including Time Cycle (then Mother’s Little Helpers), the old Haze, Re-Action, etc., and even the title Rave was adopted by several other promoters in the area for their dances. As previously reported, the Raves have of late spotlighted aggregations heard on various Radio 1 programmes working up to the present and groups of the calibre of The Locomotive, whom I saw. The organist, drummer and guitarist obviously knew their stuff, yet somehow they weren’t right for the audience. Granted, those who did turn up enjoyed dancing to their hit “Rudi’s In Love” and their latest single “I’m Never Gonna Let You Go”, yet I had the feeling they would have welcomed more material to which they could have moved instead of so much progressive, “unknown”, music. From all angles then, it was a most unhappy start in the Autumn. Goodness knows, the Centre has tried to please by booking every type of group within it’s means, but when it comes to the crunch it’s the public who dictates what is to happen, and therefore, as the warden implies, this terrible decision is really that of you, the fans.

It seems to me, with the benefit of hindsight, that it’s the fans that were constantly being criticised for the lack of support yet had anyone asked them what music they would prefer to listen to? Regarding the Locomotion gig they were a band who were moving away from their interest in ska and were becoming rapidly more progressive in their approach. Maybe this was simply the wrong band to book under the circumstances…..

Lucas and The Mike Cotton Sound return to the New Market Disco… (16th September 1969)

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 because 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. But before the Winter dance schedules begin properly, Terry and the majority of other local promoters are conscientiously keeping this week free in view of the Fair. There will be no discotheques or stage shows at the New Market for just this week; neither will there be the customary Thursday dance at Bridgwater YMCA.

Re-Action have joined Ethiopia’s Answer in their support for the Sunday pop show plan at Bridgwater’s Classic Cinema. “They are all for it” said their manager Rob Darch (23rd September 1969)

Re-Action are to cut an E.P. at the Andover studios of Reverberation Records, the company for whom they made their first demo disc, “You Baby”/”Jumping Jack Flash”, earlier in the year. Rob Darch, manager of the Bridgwater group, said the boys would be travelling up on Friday, 17th October, and hoped to complete the tapes during an all-night session. Motive behind the venture, which they are paying for themselves, is to give two major record companies a more comprehensive idea of the varied styles which they are capable of handling. Both EMI and Pye have expressed interest in Re-Action after hearing the demo, but although they said they liked it they wanted to judge from a greater amount of material before respectively deciding whether to give the boys an audition. The four tracks which will go on the EP are; “Goodbye Clare” (described as a Beatles type up-tempo song), “I Need You” (which is in the “You Baby” vein) a beaty number not yet finished or titled, and the bluesy “Expensive Girl”. The first three were penned by lead guitarist and vocalist Steve Dunn and their former rhythm guitarist Chris Gorvin, “Clare” being inspired by the train journey home from the group’s Summer holiday in Ostend. The fourth is a composition by bassist Walt Koloska and was written only recently. “”I Need You” is a comparatively old original which they had almost forgotten about” Bob revealed. “It was brought to light when Steve’s Mum began singing it about the house one day and she thought it was a song performed by Sandie Shaw”. (30th September 1969)

After appearing at the New Market Disco, Bridgwater, The Kynd return to the borough this week for Thursday’s YMCA dance…New Market Disco has Body And Soul on Saturday, 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.“ (30th September 1969)

4th October 1969
BODY & SOUL

Apart from Mike Guy’s description of their musical CV, absolutely no idea.

Force West, that excellent close harmony contingent from Bristol, return to the New Market Disco, Bridgwater, this Saturday in answer to many requests. (7th October 1969)

11th October 1969
Force West

After giving the finest performance I’ve yet seen by any local group during the final Rave at Bridgwater Sydenham Community Centre, Time Cycle left me in no doubt that they should be awarded a recording contract right now. (14th October 1969)

Formal application has been made for a licence to run the previously mentioned Sunday beat shows at Bridgwater Classic Theatre…..Don’t be alarmed if you see Time Cycle rolling up for a gig in an ambulance. It’s their new mode of transport… (14th October 1969)

Another local dance hall is cutting down on the frequency of live shows because it is claimed that patrons prefer to hear records rather than groups. The dance hall is at Bridgwater YMCA where discotheques and stage concerts have previously alternated on Thursday’s. Now discotheques will predominate withy group bookings being reduced to one per month in the New Year. Only three live shows have definitely been arranged for the rest of 1969 – 30th October, 20th November (when a big outfit is promised to tie in with the Royal visit) and 18th December. There may also be a fourth on New Year’s Eve. Said general secretary Mr. Trefor Thomas; “Young people are more discriminatory today about their pop entertainment I find, and want music they can dance too. But although we will be having fewer concerts we hope to find better class groups for them; attractions like The Kynd who went down so well recently that we have asked them to come back. (21st October 1969)

Bridgwater Sydenham Community Centre regrets that owing to the price factor, Orange Bicycle will not be returning there for the next group evening on 14th November as originally planned. New Bristol outfit Celestian will appear instead… (21st October 1969)

25th October 1969
The Skatalites

Simon Dupree and The Big Sound secured for YMCA’s “Royal Ball” on 20th November. Time Cycle will complete the bill. “YM” has a Bournemouth outfit called Actress for this Thursday’s dance…. (28th October 1969)

28th October 1969
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 “Moon 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.

1st November 1969
MAX ROMEO & THE RUDIES

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 his, 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, uninhibited. 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.

The 11th November edition of “Pop Topics” also included an interview with Adam Faith who was “taking part in a radio broadcast from Bridgwater”. Faith discussed his desire to return as a singer having recently taken a 2-year sabbatical.

Re-Action had to postpone their demo EP recording session at Reverb last month because their agency wanted them to do an engagement on the day in question. They may now make the disc on Wednesday 17th December. (18th November 1969)

The pop opera which Ethiopia’s Answer are writing is based on “thoughts of another man’s life”… Don’t forget the Royal Ball at Bridgwater YMCA on Thursday with Simon Dupree and the Big Sound. Their new is waxing is “The Eagle Flies Tonight”. (18th November 1969)

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, as previously noted, 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 because 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 selection of 45’s 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 interested in soul music and the recordings being issue by the Stax label. In search of a flashy name they became Simon Dupree & The Big Sound in early 1966. Signing to Parlophone, early singles failed to make an impression 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 song 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” with an un-credited Dudley Moore on piano) also failed to capture the public’s attention. After keyboard player Eric Hine fell sick, a young musician called Reginald Dwight joined them on a tour of Scotland in the same year as “Kites” made the charts and he almost became a permanent member of the band, despite harbouring an interest in going solo. 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. This gained the band some notoriety amongst Beatle aficionados but it still did not result in any significant chart action. At this point, the band were still unhappy at the direction that their music had taken, so they split in 1969 – but the Shulman brothers decided to put together another band in it’s place. Not a white soul aggregation but 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 groups in popular music history. As someone once suggested “musical chaos – unless you are paying attention”. Let’s leave it at that.

Incidentally, the booking of Dupree was to tie in with the opening of the new YMCA headquarters at Friarn Meadows by the Duchess of Kent. I bet she didn’t hang around for the concert.

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) things started to unravel in 1959 when the four male members of the group were arrested on drug 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 New Market performance.) This was very much an example of the hits outlasting the various individuals that had been responsible for recording them.

Tamla star Marv Johnson whose latest single “I Miss You Baby” has climbed to Number 24 in the charts returns to Bridgwater’s New Market Discotheque on Saturday…I hear that the students of Bridgwater Tech are holding another dance at the same niterie on 10th December, featuring Time Cycle and Ethiopia’s Answer. (2nd December 1969)

6th December 1969
Marv Johnson

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 didn’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 break big chart-wise 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!

New Market Discotheque ravers showed their full appreciation of The Platters. (9th December 1969)

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.”

Obsession, the name of Bridgwater’s newest beat group have been signed up by Westside Promotions of Street within days of launching themselves on the Mid-Somerset pop scene… Re-Action offering to give a free show at the Classic Theatre, Bridgwater, if the venues discotheque plan materialises. Other local groups to follow their example? Bridgwater YMCA has MacArthur Park, formerly known as The Kynd, for it’s Christmas dance on Thursday. (16th December 1969)

Time Cycle scheduled for The New Market Discotheque Christmas Eve… Actress from Bournemouth, did excellent versions of “Never My Love” by The Association and The Byrds “(So You Wanna Be) A Rock N’Roll Star” at Bridgwater Community Centre…(23rd December 1969)

Patrons of Bridgwater’s New Market Discotheque gave Marv Johnson another good reception on his return visit… On Saturday, The New Market Discotheque, Bridgwater, presents return visit of The Rudies, who back Max Romeo…. (30th December 1969)