Rock and Roll at the Locarno


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Welcome mickyp - look forward to reading your posts...........

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I'm the 'Futurist' that LizzieM referred to earlier. Joined the Fabulous Beatmen in the 60s as lead singer and spent 4 months at the Top Ten in Hamburg. Came back to tour the UK and released two recor

My head is buzzing with the fondest of memories of the Locarno - which we always still called 'the Vic'. I believe that the first time I attended was a Saturday afternoon session in the back end of 1

Having only last night discovered this amazingly nostalgic site myself - I've extended an invitation to my Brother Steve plus good friend Richard (Rock) Wheatley who played lead guitar with Tony and t

Many thanks, Carni and Blondie...Happy days.

Good to connect - I thought these memories had gone for ever and such a joy to learn that they live on, just as vividly, with others.

Strange to think that we must all have been in each others company over half a century ago, yet not realised it, of course...

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Welcome to Nottstalgia mickyp, you'll enjoy this site!

A good friend of mine is an ex Beatman (who went to Hamburg) He's a Nottstalgian but hasn't really posted since joining. His 'handle' (if that's the term used) is Futurist.

I knew Roger Lymn back in the 60's as I was a Sons of Adam groupie!! My friends and I followed them around the local scene in the mid 60s. I saw him on the telly a few months ago, local news about the HS2 proposed route passing through the middle of his house, poor soul.

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That's right, LizzieM. Rog is a good friend and we keep in touch and meet up quite regularly - about every three weeks I come over on the train from near Cromer and we go for a drink at the Canal Side along with my Brother Steve (now Sutton Bonington) - we all worked on the Railway - plus Dave Morris, from Gedling. Any one reading this and is interested in joining us next time is most welcome :)

Anyway, back to the Sons of Adam... Paddy Flynn, their lead guitarist has been in touch a time or two recently and, of late, moved from Long Eaton to his Sister's in London - he plays more jazz style guitar, now. Harry Hopewell played bass and they had a black singer by the name of Leroy and Phil Sutton played rhythm. I

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The drummer, I remember, with the Beatmen was Phil Severn who I believe left this world some years ago, as has Barry Herald their saxophonist, Iunderstand? :(

The Beatmen still reassemble from time to time in different guises but still with Paul Mountain (Bulcote) on bass.

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My head is buzzing with the fondest of memories of the Locarno - which we always still called 'the Vic'.

I believe that the first time I attended was a Saturday afternoon session in the back end of 1960; my girl friend of three years had unceremoniously dished me on going to teachers training college and I was desperately seeking solace. Boy, did I find it!

The Locarno just had to be the nearest thing to heaven on earth - from then onwards I attended every one if its sessions I could - lunchtimes, Sat afternoon AND evening, Sunday club and any additional week nights. If it had been open 30 hours a day then I would have been there for 40 of those hours.

One hot summer Saturday night I was turned away from the door by this young, self-important doorman, Mick at the cash desk, for not having a jacket - yes, I should have known better. I caught the first available Trent bus back to Burton Joyce, donned my coat and caught the next bus back. Luckilly they ran from Huntingdon Street bus station. I picked up where I left off at the cash desk.

When the place closed I thought I would die but then started going to the Palais, instead, where I met my first wife on 16th Feb, 1966.

To tie the marital/romantic ends up, I met Judy - the one who abandoned me to go to college in 1960 - and I met up again 28 years later in 1988, moved in together in the Spring of that year and finally married in 1998. Were we a bit impetuous?

Sorry, much, much more to follow about 'the Vic, later...

Forgive any typographical errors - I'm literally typing this with one finger on my mobile phone...

Catch you soon...

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I'm pleased there was a happy ending to your story of lost love, mickyp. Best wishes to you both....

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So am I, Michael, so am I - the pleasure's all mine, believe me, but very kind of you to say.

My only worry is that, with so many pent up memories to unleash on the world, I'm at serious risk of monopolising the threads. Stop me when you've had enough...

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I earlier referred to the Vic as being the closest thing to heaven on earth for me ; there was one particular lunch time, however, which was closer to hell...

Things had started off quite normally except for a guy of mixed face (may I use that terminology?) who was walking round swiftly in an agitated manner. Suddenly he reappeared in the middle of the dance floor, shouting, with a very bloodied nose that, it would seem, was a given signal for things to kick off big time. It was a veritable free for all and there seemed no two sides in the 'dispute' - anyone and everyone was launching out and punching anyone; one could not exaggerate the drama or the spectacle - to liken it to a bar room brawl in a Western would have been an understatement to top all understatements.

Manager Lloydy, with his Scottish Assistant Manager, were dragging unconscious and injured victims off the dance floor - a leg apiece - and dumping them outside on St Anneswell Rd while others bent down and punched or kicked said victims in the face while they were in transit to the outside world.

Meanwhile, others - maybe the associates of the Pownalls (referred to by others much earlier in this topic) who I recognised as regulars you kept out if the way of, stood on the balcony throwing tables and chairs, shoulder-high to get maximum impetus, on to the dancefloor and mêlée some fifteen or twenty feet below

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Does anyone else either remember this or, possibly, know what it could all have been about? Had it had any formal 'organisation', it could have been described as gang warfare but it appeared to have been every man for himself....

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#159. Mickyp, I live in the next county to you - Cambridgeshire. We're in a village near Ely. I suppose I finally left Nottingham when my parents came to live with us in 1981. Still drive past the old house and surrounding area (Woodthorpe) when we are on the way to somewhere else, usually. Really pleased you're enjoying Nottstalgia...

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Will do KatyJ :)

MargieH, I travel through Ely quite often by train on my way to Nottm. I also worked that line a lot when I was working as a guard on balast trains near Prick Willow and Queen Adelaide. Give me a wave sometime, if your near the track, lol.

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Mickyp, # 155

Sons of Adam drummer was Mick Maltby (or may have been really Franks) as he did use both names. He continued with Sons & Lovers and I saw them play a few years ago at the Festival Inn, Trowell. I did see him in Sainsburys in Arnold not that long ago!

Paddy Flynn was my favourite and I remember going to his house in West Bridgford with my mates to see him and we were thrilled when he came out to talk to us. Sounds so pathetic now, LOL. I thought Harry's surname was Barnes. The lead singer had the fancy name of Troy but can't imagine that was his real name ....... it's possible for a child to have that name now but not in those days. I still have several photos of the group, will see if I can find and post.

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Mick Malby or Franks - thanks for that Lizzie - yes, it rings a vague distant bell now.

You're probably right about Harry as well - I think he was a butcher at the time - but, of course, Alvin Lee of the Jaybirds, and later Ten Years After, had the real name of Graham Barnes - could there be a crossover here? I believe he lived in Woollaton and went to Glen Bott - is that right?

Leo Lions was the bass player for both but Clancy (Dave Quickmire) the superb Jaybirds drummer refused to join Ten Years After. Clancy plays/ has player in various recent Nottm bands including the Beatmen - as they come and go - or John Landon

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Alvin Lee's real name was Graham Barnes, and he did attend Glen Bott and lived just off Middleton Blvd. he sadly died in Spain last year after heart surgery. When he was with the Jaybirds, my mates and I often traveled in their bus. Great days indeed.

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Roger Lymn, Clancy, John Landon, Paul Mountain, Walt Savage (Sons and Lovers keys) all come and go and break up and reform in various combos - almost impossible to keep up with.

My Brother - Steve Peters, a jazz double bassist but a frustrated rock guitarist/keys player - played with Rog and some in the Elderly Brothers 5 or 6 years ago and Roger's recent band of note was the Rocking Relics but that blew apart......

Bill Brasier, ex Beatmens lead guitarist, lives or lived in Bleasby and is a volunteer on the GC Railway at Loughborough and they have a band, too.

Paddy Flynn was a good mate and we both lived in Calverton for a while and more recently he taught guitar out of the music shop in Long Eaton. Sadly his long term partner died last year which understandably left him quite devastated. Like I said elsewhere, Paddy and I were reunited after a long period of losing contact when he phoned me out of the blue last year. I also mentioned that he moved to his Sister's 'daan the Smoke' earlier this year...

... and breathe...

Wow, Fly2, in the Commercial van?

Did you know another dear mate of mine - Bob Mugglestone - he came from Woollaton and his Dad was an estate agent?

Bob then had a vacuum cleaner repair and sales shop on Hartley Road. We lived close to each other on Mansfield Lane, Calverton, but Bob is now in Gedling.

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It was the old bus, not the Commercial van.

Mugglestone doesn't ring a bell, sorry.

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