Riff 1 Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 Does anybody remember the late 70s outfit Gaffa? We used to go down the Imperial on a Thursday night and watch them. It cost 50p to get in, and your hand would be stamped so you could get out to the toilet and back in again! And (God help us) we walked back down Alfreton Road and Hartley Road to my house on the Ainsley estate. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Carol Dickens 3 Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 yes I remember Gaffa, Wayne Evans is still playing - in the Last Pedestrians, Mas Y Mas and probably some other band. I remember going to the Imperial in the mid to late seventies regularly to see Desperate Dan on a Friday night. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
denshaw 2,871 Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 Another good band you might have seen in the Imperial is Sisco. Den. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
.... 23 Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 I was a regular at Thursday night Gaffa gigs at The Imperial Cooler Bar. Many great nights down there. I still have some vinyl by them, an album, Neither Use Nor Ornament and a couple of singles. Remember some of the songs? Heart are Trumps (and all girls are sissies) The Rotor First Teenager on The Moon Great stuff! I've seen Wayne in The Lost Pedestrians a few times. Before it's recent refurbishment they had a Sunday night residency in The Bell Inn. Pretty good too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zab 47 Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 I remember Gaffa well, we used to go down to the Imperial quite a bit and Gaffa were one of the two bands we tried not to miss - the other was Slender Loris. As a band, I don't think you could get more Nottingham than Gaffa, cracking songs with a great sense of humour. 'Will Sandy ever walk again?' 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sussexred 25 Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 Slender Loris were brilliant and are still around : see here (several Nottingham mentions) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sussexred 25 Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 Another good band you might have seen in the Imperial is Sisco.Den. That would be Cisco :-) Can't get enough of that funky stuff Cisco have got an umbrella!!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Riff 1 Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Didn't Sisco have a lead singer that used to have a bottle of MILK at the side of his mike stand to soothe his shredded vocal chords? And wasn't one of their songs 'Good Company'? A play-on-words of the famous rock band. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Riff 1 Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Yes - some other songs I remember were: Painkiller, Adult Entertainment, Man With A Motive, Attitude Dancing, Woman's Problem, Never Again, Different Story, Trackless, Heart Of The Matter. Wayne lived on the Ainsley Estate like me, and I believe he was in a late 60s group called Tadpole Lane, along with a guy on guitar called Richard, who lived a few doors away from me. We used to marvel at Clive (Myph) Smiths guitar playing, he had a really great sound, like a Nottingham version of Jeff Beck. Keyboard player John Maslen had a Korg synth out of which he used to extract the weirdest noises. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Riff 1 Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Waynes great lyrics - 'I've given up the world and my paper round - to be - the First Teenager On The Moon' Brilliant!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Riff 1 Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Some other bands I remember seeing at the Imperial included: Loose House, The Cutouts, Harry and The Atoms, etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Riff 1 Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Babysitting off the Neither Use Nor Ornament LP is hilarious. Its basically a story of a girl babysitting and her attempts to sneak her boyfriend in for hanky panky while the family are out. Very funny. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
.... 23 Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Gaffa lyrics were often hilarious! From Back to Villainy 'More front than the Co-op - more bottle than Shippo's brewery' Sometimes poignant. About a pensioner being forcible moved to a high rise flat: The furniture from the owd ouse, looks wrong here in the flat 'e 'ed to leave behind a lot of it, had to leave behind 'is dog 'cause them upstairs shopped 'im and the caretaker copped him Now this is his high rise handshake for all them donkey's year Down on the allotment grows a fresh crop of concrete He's never seen the neighbours, through the walls he hears their problems As he sleeps closer to God That is if there still is one? Tell me how good is that? This band were great and I was always disappointed that they never made it big. Very talented lads and extremely entertaining. You could always be sure of a great night out watching Gaffa. http://farm1.static.flickr.com/124/3537197...831cd6a.jpg?v=0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/53808520@N00/...57594473023682/ Wayne: http://www.kakiseni.com/assets/images/uplo...-festival-7.gif Clarendon College gig: http://www.dreamtargets.com/gaffa01.htm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Riff 1 Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 haha the top two photos are mine! Mick Barratt had left and John Maslen was on drums. In the second one Dawn Foxall is on vocals. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Riff 1 Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Wayne is the original undiscovered lyrical talent. I can remember his mum always coming to the gigs at the Imperial, this little old lady standing there with all us lot with spiky hair and leather jackets on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
.... 23 Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Nice one Riff! There's so little evidence of Gaffa these days we have to rely on our memories, great ones they are though. Remember the nickname Wayne used for Mick Barratt? 'Carrington Fats'! :-) I recall when Wayne Evans finally replaced his old 'Frog' bass with a brand-spanking new regular-shaped one. I was most disappointed. His remark the first night he played it: 'It's alright but it's like playing a ****ing Bullworker' Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Riff 1 Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 He's still got The Frog! Yes, he used to call Mick that! We used to annoy John by screaming 'Ey Mazzo' at him from the side of the stage. Wayne once told us a funny tale of being driven to a gig in a van, where the driver had taken Magic Mushrooms! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
.... 23 Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 So 'starter for ten' do you remember the Gaffa roadie, what his nickname was and why? :-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Riff 1 Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Cheyanne Ali? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
.... 23 Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Yes! Cheyanne because he was an Indian. :-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 I remember Dawn Foxhall very well !! she went on to sing with The Marcel Marceau's Oh Riff do us a favour and stop quoting the previous post each time (Especially when it's your own !!), simply click on fastREPLY and go from there Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Riff 1 Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Theres a load more shots of Gaffa from the late 70s on here: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?...;albumId=577889 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Riff 1 Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 ooops sorry my apologies!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
.... 23 Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Thanks for those pics, Riff - great seeing a few images of the lads again, fair takes me back. Do they belong to you? If so would you mind if I used one or two of them in a blog? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zab 47 Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 There's a great story (or is it legend) about Gaffa gig in London and among the punters were the Pistols - apparently Sid took a shine to Wayne's frog shaped bass and really wanted it. The story goes that Wayne smacked him across the head with it to make the point that he didn't want to part with it - no idea if it's true but it makes a great story. As for Slender Loris - I actually persuaded them to reform and play at my 50th. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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