The People's History of Pop


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Hi Kath, I was one of the dancers on that BBC programme.....it was called cool spot and ran for a number of weeks........ I can list the artists, some of whom I became friends with ...... Spencer Dav

Yes Mick,there were some Daft Buggers about,.......came out of the 'Boat' one night and a Forest player of the 60s offered to race me over the Trent for a 'Fiver'......him swimming and me running,....

Not very exciting compared to everyone else's memories of pop music in the '60's, cos I never went to a concert, but I did participate in Hot Ice at the Ice Stadium. The Beeb taped 6 shows, lots of po

Albert Lee, great with Emmylou.

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The lunchtime show was Go Man Go which included the Oscar Rabin band till his death in 1959 when it became Dave Ede and the Rabin band. There were different comperes used like Alan Freeman, Diz Disley and Dan Moss. It ran from 1959 to 1963.

The Bernard was probably Bernard Hermann ( not Rabin) who conducted the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra for Make Way For Music, another lunchtime show. Also Parade Of The Pops featured Bob Miller and The Miller Men.

The Musicians Union had a strict policy about the amount of music that they would allow on radio from records rather than live bands.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Man_Go_%28radio_show%29

More or less I think. Thanks for the info. Memory plays tricks. Certainly remember Bernard Hermann and the NDO. And I was very niaive back then After all I was only around 11-13.

Col

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Some awesome posts, memories etc. in this thread!

I left off having discovered the 'Boat Clubs' and the Beachcomber.

Here's a list of everyone I can recall seeing with a somewhat tentative idea of where. Please don't hold me to it too closely.. ( The clubs were more or less all on the same pattern) This would be 1967-1970.

Jethro Tull. (Boat) Mostly played blues. Ian Anderson stood there in tennis pumps looking absolutely filthy even by the standards of the time. Picking scruffy, snotty Gobharps, Flutes etc., out of a plastic bag at his feet.

Jeff Beck. Beachcomber. twice, possibly three times. Rod on vocals. Jeff smashed a guitar.

Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band. Junior Walker and the All Stars. Palais. Both excellent.

Linda Lewis with Ferris Wheel. (Brit?)

Tim Rose, Long John Baldry, Cliff Bennet and Rebel Rousers. ( Not Boat. Brit or Union)

Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation. (Boat)

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. (This one has me really foxed. They mention 'Nottm Boat Club' in various documentaries, but my memories are more Union. Really not sure, but I saw them at least three times. Totally awesome. Full on. Funny.. Consummate musicians.)

Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds/ Zoot Money's Big Roll Band (Beachcomber)

Status Quo (Matchstick Men days.) Union or Brit.

Bee Gees. ( Beachcomber.. while 'New York Mining Disaster' was in charts)

Love Affair. ( Beachcomber.. similar)

Garnett Mimms ( Beachcomber)

About all I can remember. There will be more.

Next up I'll try to recall some of the local and not so local bands we dragged kicking and screaming into the 360 Club Bulwell. :)

Col

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Bit of Geno live. :)

And a whole album of Fleetwood Mac

:)

Dig on this!! :)

Col

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One of the few chart bands that we had at Digby College in the mid 60's were The Fortunes . Very professionaI set .

I was playing the 45s on a single turntable in the break , via a crappy Linear amp and 2 cheap Fane speakers. Suddenly something blew and lost all sound . Booing ensued .

Fortunately one of the band was still on stage and seeing me panicking, let me plug the deck into his guitar amp . Saved the day .

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Col, I may be wrong, but as far as I know, Jeff Beck only played the Boat Club. Tim Rose, the Boat too. Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, the Beachcomber. Status Quo, the Brit, Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac were Boat also.

I may be mistaken, as alcohol intake at the time, and an increasingly failing memory has taken its toll eventually. LOL

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#63

Was actually at the Portland buildings Notts uni with a mate when Paul McCartney and wings showed up, my mate and I had assignations of being roadies, and had helped set up the advertised band (can't remember their bloody name , maybe Sons of Adam ?, but Paddy Flynn or Roger Lymn played lead guitar) when suddenly a big rumor started spreading that McCartney and his new band was here to do an impromptu performance.

We watched the whole set in awe that no one knew they were performing. Linda left a little to be desired at that time on vocals. But a great show all the same.

When we told people later they didn't believe us !

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# 117, Banjo, it would have been Sons of Adam if Paddy Flynn and Roger Lymn were in the group. I put a photo of them (and me) on a thread about Nottingham 60's groups a few months ago. Used to follow them all over the place in those days, they played a lot at Dancing Slipper and Rainbow Rooms.

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Re#118. Thanks hippo, it wasn't long after Aynsley had left the Jeff Beck Group.

Victor Brox was his singer. Fantastic.

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Yes, I've heard of her. Victor was a brilliant blues singer. One of the VERY best.

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Col, I may be wrong, but as far as I know, Jeff Beck only played the Boat Club. Tim Rose, the Boat too. Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, the Beachcomber. Status Quo, the Brit, Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac were Boat also.

I may be mistaken, as alcohol intake at the time, and an increasingly failing memory has taken its toll eventually. LOL

I to could be mistaken Fly, but am as certain as I can be that Beck played the Beach on one occasion. The Beach as I recall it had a lower and narrower stage. Beck broke two or three strings and keep passing his guitar back to his roadie for a string change before ( at least apparently) 'losing it' and 'whanging' a perfectly good Fender off the right hand wall till the neck and body parted company.

That said I did see Beck at the Boat also. I can see Rod in pink and white pants (possibly pyjama pants) with a matching pink vest with white piping. He was a bit of a lad... :)

I dunno why I think I saw Fleetwood Mac at the Brit. It's just the way I remember the room. Tim Rose pissed me off, with his guitar high up under his chin and a kind of 'Look at me I'm a musical God" approach, not to mention claiming to write Hey Joe, which neither he nor Hendrix wrote. As I recall he didn't go down well.

Long John fell out with the audience in the Brit or Union or wherever. ( I get the two mixed up now) because they didn't like 'Let the Heartaches Begin'. A bit unfair I thought. I have him doing a couple of old blues on 'R&B at the Marquee' by Alexis Korner and he could certainly sing.

Also remember Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation definitely at the Boat. They built up to a big 'First Set Closing Drum Solo' which ended before it began with Aynsley glumly announcing. 'Fucking skin's broke on me snare'...

Do any of those clubs still exist. Do they still do music? They were amazing.

One night, after being at one or other of the clubs, me and my mates were proceeding in a disorderly but harmless fashion over the bridge towards Arkwright St singing at the tops of our voices.. "I KNOW YOU WANNA LEAVE ME BUT I REFUUUSE TO LET YOU GOOOOOOO!!!!" When the local Officers of the Law pulled alongside and shouted even louder. " SHUT UP AND GO HOME!!!!!!!"

Happy days.. :)

Col

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Remember Rod in pink, what a tosser. I think one club still exists but I've not frequented them for over 40 years.

The good old days when you could get away with virtually anything.

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I must say I am enjoying all peoples recollections, it's like a window for me looking into local concerts of legendary artists..by the time I got to see these acts they were playing huge stadiums and the intimacy had gone.

Anyone recall set lists?...thanks again,Ian.

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Local and not so local bands.

We ran the 'disco' at the 360 Club Bulwell for some years. If I recall correctly we started early 1968. As well as doing 'disco' nights, with DJ credits split between myself, Dave Cartwright, the late Patch Prewitt from Hucknall and a few others whose names escape me, we also booked in numerous bands.

As I type this, I have in my view my 1969 Lett's Pocket Diary. I won't bother with dates, but will list band names and add their origin where known, if outside Nottm. May just jog a few memories. I'd love to hear from members of any of these bands, or any who can recall them. I won't list repeat bookings.

Land of Love

Clockwork Toys (Booked many times and also worked with them elsewhere. Excellent band)

Mickie's Monkeys (Sheffield?)

Emery Chase

Pete and Billy Campbell and the Mighty Sparrows. (First of several bookings of this superb duo with their excellent support band. Soon out of reach on price. Bill did a few singles and appeared on 'Opportunity Knocks' or somesuch.)

Flavour

The Nerve. (Previously known as 'Lovin', they put out a few singles for Fontana. Their biggest hit was 'Magic Spectacles' )

Whichwhat. (Terrific all round band. Covered 'In the Year 2525', 'Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Hearts' and 'Gimme Gimme Good' Lovin' before asserting themselves and becoming one of the UK's great 'lost' psychedelic bands. Dig around on 'the Tube',.. it's all there.)

Mark Bristol 5

Tiny Davis and the Litter

The Grass

Mint

Pheonix City

Decoy Soul Band

Sons and Lovers

Mosaic Sunset

Baker Street Limited (Later called 'Samson' and released 'Are You Samson' LP on Immediate)

Favourites

Red Wine Fair

Phoenix City Truth

Root and Jenny Jackson. (Yes! Really!!!)

Roy Gee and Stax Explosion (Coventry)

Tiddleywinks

Pepper's Machine

Woody Kern

Heart's Art

Carl's Fables (Many.. many times..)

Octopus

Klan

O' Hara's Playboys

St Louis Union

Undermilkwood

Sounds Union

Sure there were more. Some diary pages not filled and I went well into 1970 too.

Ringing any bells?

Col

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I must say I am enjoying all peoples recollections, it's like a window for me looking into local concerts of legendary artists..by the time I got to see these acts they were playing huge stadiums and the intimacy had gone.

Anyone recall set lists?...thanks again,Ian.

I have an abiding memory of 'Rod' launching into 'How many more years. will you wreck my life?'

Can only seem to recall Fleetwood launching into powerful full on stuff, but I'm sure they did the more introspective stuff because that was where I realised what an ace guitarist Green was.

Col

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Remember Rod in pink, what a tosser. I think one club still exists but I've not frequented them for over 40 years.

The good old days when you could get away with virtually anything.

Yebbut.... at the time he was one of few who could sing.

Clapton couldn't sing for toffee, Beck not at all.

Col

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Yes, Rod definitely was the only one who could sing.

Shotgun Express and Steam Packet were both fantastically talented groups.

St Louis Union were certainly on in Nottingham on a quite regular basis I believe. Definitely at the Boat I recall, but I may be wrong.

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Thanks for all the memories... I'll mention as many people and places as I possibly can over the next few weekends, especially on Sunday 7th February... We have a plentiful supply of 50s & 60s stories and we're now on the search for a few more 70s & 80s experiences!

Do you have any memorabilia from the music scene in Nottinghamshire through the 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s? Posters, tour programmes, ticket stubs, autographs, photos (especially which show the interior of clubs), records, anything taken (ahem) from venues – infact ANYTHING AT ALL - which represents these eras? We're hoping to stage an exhibition of Nottinghamshire pop memorabilia in the near future.

Keep listening to the "People's History of Pop" with Mark Dennison again Friday morning from 10am - this week in the 70s - and also to my nostalgia and nonsense, every Sunday afternoon 12-4pm.

You can email me directly if you'd prefer: paul.robey@bbc.co.uk

It'd be useful to have a contact number and/or email address.

You can find out more about this project and how to upload your pictures at www.phop.co.uk

Thanks again!

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