BIRMINGHAM STREETPRESS

One of the influences on the creation of HOBO came from Birmingham. There had been good interaction at the

Coventry Arts Umbrella with Birmingham bands like Tea and Symphony and Ghost playing for our band nights and Lyndie Brimstone and I had tried to organise a second Music Marathon at the Umbrella for which we got quite a bit of interst from Birmingham band via an advert in Friendz - the national underground paper. Unfortunately the Marathon was called off owing to complications with the local authorities.

During the summer of 1971 we stayed in a communal house in Vicarage Rd, Kings Heath, with some of the Birmingham musicians. This was an opportunity to explore Birmingham and make contacts for use on the Coventry music scene. While there I frequented Henry's Blues House in Digbeth - where Black Sabbath had won their record contract in 1970 and Coventry band Indian Summer had won their RCA Neon contract earlier in 1971. I explored Cannon Hill Park

and the Midland Arts Centre (where I wrote an extensive poem / song which in the 80's I took on tour with the Teesside Poly Eucilidean Mushroom Band, an installation with music, extended anti-war themed poem, slides and songs, laying the Town Hall in Middlesbrough, Stockton Dovecot Arts Centre, Teesside Poly and Sheffield Art College. Surrounded by muscians like Glaswegian John Hadley and Steve Brimstone (folk singer Derek Brimstone's son) I began playing guitar and putting music to my own lyrics.

I was impressed by Birmingham's underground press. First there was the brilliant Birmingham Grapevine, found on all the newstands in the Bullring Centre, with it's through Whatz On pages (so useful in such a big place) and it band reviews. I felt Coventry needed something like that and the Whatz On guide was always part of Hobo. I also met the guys who produced the Birmingham Streetpress. John Keetley, Derek Kitchen and Julian etc. John Keetley was very supportive and encouraging towards the creation of a Coventry magazine. They showed me

around the Arts lab where they produced the layouts. The lab had good photographic equipment, golf ball typewriters. I saw how they produced the layouts. Each page was A3 but reduced down to A4 photographically so as to get more in and give more space. Although the magazine was produced in Birmingham, it was actually printed in Mosside in Manchester.

After I moved back to Coventry, or rather Shilton (a village just out of Coventry), I began selling copies of Streetpress in Coventry and gathering information on bands and venues for Streetpress. Not that any of my info was published in Streetpress - there was so much coming from Birmingham but the guys did want a connection with Coventry.