4 posts tagged “birmingham”

July 1st Thurs - Stayed at Lyndie's - we decided to move to Birmingham for the summer, in the Ascension (band -singers) communal house, Vicarage Rd. Kings Heath.
July 2nd Fri - Music Marathon was supposed to be this weekend but we were moving to Brum  next day instead. Too many forces working against it. Love Zeus (Tony Cross / Loz Netto / Al Docker etc at Belegrade Theatre. Went to see it, got in free of course!
July 3rd Sat - Free Hyde Park Concert with Humble Pie and Grand Funk Railroad but we moved to Birmingham. DJ Steve Varney took us through in his Disco Van. We all went to the Bull in Moseley in the evening.
July 4th Sun - Mick and the Varney's and others came through from the Umbrella. Music sessions.
July 5th Mon - Wrote a couple of lyrics and the start of saga poem.
July 6th Tues - Went to the Bull in Moseley in the evening. Exploring Birmingham in the day.
July 7th Weds - Went to Cov to get my things from home.
July 8th Thurs -  Went exploring Brum and to the Bull in the evening.
July 9th Fri - Stayed in writing
July 10th Sat - Sue came through from Stirchley. She was to become a life-long friend.
July 11th Sun - Went to the Midland Arts Centre - Cannon Hill Park for the first time and then to the Bull in Moseley.
July 12th Mon - Went exploring Birmingham again.
July 13th Tues - Went shopping in Brum with sue and to her house. We jammed on some Donavan songs that she knew. Turquoise and others.
July 14th Weds - Went to Cov, to Lyndie's home in Kenilworth. Then to the Lanch, Golden Cross and Tally Ho with Hilary (AKA Egg), back to Brum.
July 15th Thurs - Hillfields Festival in Cov. Fresh Maggots at Circles in Cov. John Hadley and Crumb and Steve Brimstone came to stay at the house. They had been down on the musical beaches of Cornwall where Donovan had held court. They played a lot in open tuning. The musical sessions went on all night.
July 16th Fri - Went various places in Birmingham with Sue. All night music sessions again - started to learn a few things in Open E, Open D and Open G guitar tunings. Hopeless at tuning to them myself though. Great sitar type sounds and John Hadley had a beautiful Melodic song in Open G called Wish I wouldn't waste my time with you dedicated to someone who was stringing his along.
July 17th Sat - Went to the Bull in Moseley with Lanch and Mick who come through from the Umbrella.
July 18th Sun -  Guitar sessions with John Hadley and Steve Brimstone.
July 19th Mon - Typing and writing songs - guitar sessions in the evening.
July 20th Tues -  Typed songs and went to Moseley Village.
July 21st Weds - Went to Cov - Met Mick and Lance - also Mick Green of the Mick Green Blues Band. Went to Cross, Lanch Tally Ho. Catch up on Coventry.
July 22nd Thurs - Typed songs and wrote a couple with John Hadley.
July 23rd Fri - Went to Moseley and the Cannon Hill Park Arts Centre with Lance and John Hadley. Pete King doing the disco there. Then for a walk in Kings Heath Park (ATV did the Gardening programme from there).
July 24th Sat -  Decorating the house. Landlord upset because we didn't paint the walls white!
July 25th Sun - Lyndie cooking Brown Rice meals for everyone. Wrote another song with John Hadley.
July 26th Mon -  John and Crumb left. Went to Brum with Steve Brimstone.
July 27th Tues -  Typing songs, practicing guitar
July 28th Weds - Walked around Moseley, Cannon Hill park, Stirchely, Selly Park exploring. Wrote the firt part of Cannon Hill Soliquey which was added to annually for many years on subsequent vists and became a multi-media installation in 1981 when I moved to Teesside - with the Euclidean Mushroom Band at Teesside polytech.
July 29ths Thurs - Went to Selly Park with Steve Brimstone. Writing songs, playing music in the evening.
July 30th Fri - Went to check the Birmingham Poetry Society out. Bought some of their magazines. Lyndie helped me type lyrics and poems up to submit to the next edtion.
July 31st Sat - Meanwhile back at theUmbrella club - Poet Geoff Pegg holding his farewell party. Wasn't able to go. Did gardening  in Brum.

August 1 Sun -  Gardening at Vicarage Rd Birmingham.
August 2nd Mon - Became a member of the the Midland Arts Centre - Cannon Hill Park.
August 3rd Tues - Stayed in writing.
August 4th Weds - Stayed writing songs.
August 5th Thurs - Walked to Selly Park - round by Cadbury's. Thundered. Musician Mus came around.
August 6th Fri - Vandergraffe Generator at Mayfair. I bought the album in Cov in 1970 but didn't go to see them - a money thing! Went to Cov with Jan - to Umbrella, Golden Cross, Plough, Village, Wimpy bar and back to Brum in the evening.
August 7th Sat- Stayed in working on lyrics and poems.
August 8th Sun - Went to  the Arts Centre Cannon Hill Park - Disco with Jan and Staeve of Ascension. Met Richard. Lyndie went to London.
August 9th Mon - Stayed in writing / playing guitar.
August 10th Tues - Went to see Gypsy at Henry's Blues House in Birmingham. Gypsy didn't turn up but were replaced by Creation. Surprised to see Al Docker was roadying for them.
August 11th Weds - Went to see a performance of Tommy at the Cannon Hill Arts Centre. No not the Who - they used the album but acted it out with out any words. All the action took place in and around the audience who were standing throughout. You didn't know where it was going to happen next. Steve's band Ascension were on next - Steve was a good vocalist. Charlie (who used to play with Ghost and Hannible (Jim Simson bands) played bongos with them.)
August 12th Thurs - Ascension came around to the house - Lyndie down in Reading for the festival.
August 13th Fri - Lindisfarne at Mayfair in Brum. Didn't go.
August 14th Saturday- Crumb at party in upstair's flat.
August 15th Sun - Free concert at Cannon Hill Arts Centre - we all went - Edgar Broughton, Tean and Symphony, Stepmother, Brewer's Droop. Meanwhile Comus were on at Henry's Blues House in evening + 2 guys on piano, guitar and flute. Al Docker with Creation. Tea and Symphony and Edgar went with Steve of Ascension and Crumb. John Hadley and Steve Brimstone came back from their travels that night. Lyndie and Sue came to the Blues House too.
August 16th Mon - Watched Monty Python in the upstairs flat.
August 17th Tues -  Pete Brown at Henry's Blues House - Went with Crumb to see him.
August 18th Weds - Lyndie typed my poems on her typewriter for submission to the Birmingham Poetry Society Magazine. Played guitar - Sue came around.
August 19th Thurs -  Lyndie typed some of the song lyrics too.  Pete King came over from Covnetry - gave me stickers for a Coventry Concert to sell.
August 20th Fri - Argument in the house - Crumb and John were told that if they stayed anylonger - they would have to contribute to the rent. Something along those lines. We watched Dracular on the TV in the upstairs flat. The guy in the upstairs flat had the only TV. He was a Beefheart Fan with broad Brummie accent, had very long hair and wore a Beefheart style top hat! He also worked at ATV in the daytime doing the mixing for Bob Monkhouse's Golden Shot!
August 21st Sat -  Crumb left early in the morning. Muffin brought Lyndie a Ralph McTell album around. I played Electric guitar. Most of the acoustics were tuned to open E or Open G tuning most of the time. Crosby Stills  and Nash were an incfluence on that. Also Steve Brimstone and John Hadley had been down to the beaches in Cornwall where Donovan had held court in the 60's - jamming and playing songs there.
August 22nd Sun - Sue came around - we went for a walk around Kings Heath and Cannon Hill Park and had fun.
August 23rd Mon - Stayed in writing and revising work. Watched Monty Pythin in the evening. Lyndie went back down to London.
August 24th Tues - Went to Henry's Blues House with Steve Brimstone to see Trapeze. Tried to sell tickets for a Covnetry Concert.
August 25th Weds - John asked me to help him write some lyrics to one of his open tuned songs - we worked on that. Sue came around in the evening - we had fun.
August 26th Thurs - Went to Cov with Lyndie. Went to see Keyboard player Tony Cross. Lyndie went to see her mother in Kenilworth. I went to the Umbrella and then to see Brandy - Charlie's group (I think Charley was a guitarist / or bassists with Al Docker's group Tsar - Charlie Bullen I think. I stayed over at Al Docker's flat in Cov.
August 27th Fri - Met Lyndie at the Wimpy bar. Looked for house in Cov - need to move back soon - Lyndie still at Brooklands Annexe during term time and summer nearly over. Sue was going to move over to Cov too but the house had gone. Watched Tony Cross's group at the Lanch - (may have been Love Zeus - Al Docker and Loz Netto were in this). Went to Umbrella and then back to Birmingham late evening.
August 28th Sat -  Went to a gig at the Bull in Moseley with Sue.
August 29th Sun - Went to Sue's place in evening  - worked on her art project for college.
August 30th  Mon - Sue came around for Dinner. Barry Bowerman and Graham came over from Cov. Went with Sue to the Arts centre and then for a Curry in the Star of Pakistan. Saw Strife and Linda Lewis and Toad Catching Rabbit at Arts Centre. Very impressed with Linda Lewis.
August 31st Tues - Lyndie went to Cov. Wrotesome songs and poems.

September 1st Weds - Things getting heavy in the house - not a good atmosphere.
September 2nd Thurs - Read Hobbit.
September 3rd Fri - Lyndie cut my hair (not too short though!)
September 4th Sat -  Read various books while in Birmingham eg - Brave New World; John Wyndham books; 1984; volumes of modern Love poetry which included poems by Pete Brown (Cream lyricist). Birmingham poetry magazines.
September 5th Sun - Reading and writing.
September 6th Mon - Went into Brum with Steve Brimstone - to the museum and art gallery. We listened in the evening to Dando Shaft's new LP on RCA Neon - Brilliant. I knew all the songs from seeing them live so often. Steve Knopinski (Ascension) had hair cut!.
September 7th Tues - Lyndie moved back to Cov staying temporarily at Barry Bowerman's / Ron Morgan's place - Whitefriars Gatehouse. Dando Shaft doing a self-composed opera at the Belgrade Theatre for 3 weeks. Went to a gig with Steve Knopinski and Steve Brimstone. Can't remember where or who we saw - not noted in the diary.
September 8th Weds - Barry Bowerman trying to get us a place back in Cov through a landlord he knew.
September 9th Thurs -  Went to the museum with Steve Brimstone. In the evening went to Bromsgrove with Steve Brinmstone and Jan and Lyndie to see Steve's Father - Derek Brimstone for the first time at the Marlbrook. Derek was an excellent guitar player and a great sense of humour. He came back to the flat for tea with two of the Farriers.
September 10th Fri -  Went down the launderette with Steve and then played guitar in the evening - I was still very much learning at this stage but there were some great guitar playing influences in the house! If only I could emulate them!
September 11th Sat - Free concert at Highbury Park, Kings Heath with Brewer's Droop and Tea and Symphony, Patto, If. The two Jans from Covnetry were there - one now living in Birmingham. Mus, Muffin and Pete King all there.
September 12th Sunday - Walked around Highbury Park with Steve Brimstone - went to the Bull in evening.
September 13th Mon - Stayed in writing, practising guitar.
September 14th Tues - Went went through to Cov - house hunting.
September 15th Wed - Had hair cut some more as it was hard to get a place if you had long hair!
September 16th Thurs -  Went to Cov with Steve Brimstone - tried hitching but no joy - got bus in the end. Stayed at Whitefriars Gate in Cov as Barry Bowerman's guest.
September 17th Fri - Took Steve Brim around Cov and home to my mum's. Steve went back to Brum to see his dad's friend folk singer Colin Scott perform. I went to see Dando's Shaft opera at the Belgrade Theatre - You Must be Joking. Stayed at Whitefriars gate again.
September 18th Sat -  Went flat hunting and with Steve Brim to the Umbrella club. went to a jumble sale at the Butts with Steve Brim - he bought a great jacket and cap and a fiddle all for 10/-. Went to Cross and stayed at the Gatehouse.
September 19th Sun -  Went home for Sunday dinner - Willenhall Wood. Flat hunting in Earlsdon. Went to Cross and Rose and Crown with Lyndie and Barry Bowerman. Met Heather from the Umbrella - Heather's let me stay at her place. House hunting not going well.
September 20th Mon - Heather came flat hunting with us in the morning - she knew some places. Went to the International Centre for coffee - below the old Cov Cathedral. Met Lyndie and Bruce there. Lyndie back to college. Went to Umbrella - practiced piano. Heather beginning to organise the Poetry and folk sessions at the Umbrella as Liz Lovatt. Now I could play guitar somewhat - I agreed to do some music and poetry spots. Later in 72 I would do the Humpoesic Happenings as a follow on. Heather's sessions were great and got me started performing with the guitar in some measure. Still wasn't singing my own songs - otheres but playing guitar and reciting some of my poems / lyrics at this stage.
September 21st Tues - Heather lent me Lord of the Rings. Went to International Centre with Heather - met the others for coffee - still all looking for a communal house to rent. Went to the festival cafe.. Evening practicing piano at the Umbrella. Met Asngie at Umbrella. Stayed at Mick's pad that night.
September 22nd Weds - Went to the Lanch to get the phone number for the band Heron. Possible for the Umbrella now back in Cov. Terry Watson - Organiser of the Arts Umbrella suggested I enrol at Cov Music collge after catching me doodling on the piano - so went down to see about enroling. For whatever reason that I can't remember know - didn't enrol. We went to International centre and then back to Brum - still bring things back slowly.
September 23rd Thurs -  Went to Selly  Park with Steve Brim. Steve bought a flagalette - playing some folk tunes on it.  Went to the Bull in Moseley village for a drink in the evening.
September 24th Fri -  Went for a very early morning walk with Steve Brim around Highbury Park as it was dawning. Wrote some images and notes that later found their way into an extended poem / performance piece based on Cannon Hill Park. Read part of Lord of the Rings - first chapter was so hard to get into - not as easy to read as the Hobbit. Steve advised me to skip the first - static descriptive chapter and come back to it later. The advice worked - it got me into it. lyndie was still looking for a place in Cov but it didn't work out.
September 25th Sat - Cleaned rooms out and packed rest of stuff. Steve Brim decided to move back home as no place in Cov was forthcoming.
September 26th Sun - Went to Cov by train with Lyndie and Steve brim. Went to umbrella. Al Docker  just moved in to Ron Lawrence (bassist of April and later Sniff and the Tears) cottage at Shilton. Al asked if I wanted to share the cottage with him. I arranged to go through and have a ook. Meanwhile we all stayed at Al and Steve Varney's house in Henrietta St. They were DJ's at the Umbrella and later Al Varney would play bass for Fission.
September 27th Mon -  We went to the Gay Gannet for breakfast. (This was a  cafe in the centre of Coventry and the word Gay didn't have the same connotations back then that it has now!). Went to Wlasgrave library, International Centre (one of the new meeting places in old Cathedral), the Rendezvous Cafe (Can't remember where that might be now!). Went home for lunch. Met Jackie and Louise in town.
September 28th Tues- Went home to Willenhall for food - took Steve Brimstone to hitching point at the top of the London Rd. went back to town - met up with Jackie and Louise and then went to Al Dockers Cottage to view it. In evening Al and I went to the Lanch to see Don Rendall 5 and Ra Ho Tep. Decided to move to Shilton. Steve Brimstone and Lyndie and some of the other Birmingham people would all end up living there at some stage over the next year but for now it was just myself and Al Docker at Shilton. There was a piano that was used by April, in the dining room and great walks to Bulkington, Bedworth and Ansty. However instead of walking 3 miles home to Willenhall, it was now 6 miles to walk home if I came home after the buses finished. It was nothing to walk those distances then and often I would use the time to write my lyrics.
September 29th Weds -  Slept at home in Willenhall and met Al Docker in town 2.30 - went back to Shilton with him - had drink in the pub opposite - the locals semed nice and friendly. We went in with Ron and Pat Lawrence.. In evening went to the Umbrella - met Lyndie there.
September 30th Thurs -  Went to Brum to see Steve and Jan. Lyndie staying at the Gatehouse again. Went to the Intenational centre with Heather. To official move to Shilton the next day.

 

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.

At somestage in 1972 I got a letter from Streetpress to say they had developed a new magazine specialising in

poetry, called STREETPOEMS. I hitched down the M6 to Moseley only to find they guys that ran it lived the other side of Brum in Bearwood. Not to worry, they would give me a lift.Scared stiff as I am of motorbikes, I found myself clinging for life to the seat as we rushed along the ringroads of Brum.

Streetpoems ethos was inspirational and one  I took with me to Teesside in the 80's where I developed a range a creative writing activities around the magazine Outlet.

"Streetpoems was started with the idea that there's a little bit of poetry in everyone. You don't always see it and if you're in the publishing business sometimes you have to coax it out of people. Not everything we've put into print so far has been 'excellent' poetry, destined for the halls of fame, but that's not the point of our magazine. Streetpoems is interested in a whle range  of styles and scribblings which tend to be ignored by more established and sophisticated publications. In other words , a lot of what we've published so far has been written by people who wouldn't call themselves poets or writers, but they still have something to say in their own way. Our intention is to provide them with an audience."

Their layouts were out of this world too and I still rate them even in this digital age with cool 'Spot Graphics' by Tony Viney and, like Streetpress itself, had the Large Cow Comix by Hunt Emerson. I loved the spot graphics and wished we could have had that for Hobo. Streetpoems continued up to, I think, 1977. The Arts Lad would float the magazine until enough copies were sold to pay for the printing. It was put together by Derek Kitchen, John Keetley, Mick d'Pembroke, Roland and Sue, Paul Fischer and Martin Reading (although that list may not be relevant for every issue.)

Roland and Sue were very supportive of our developing Coventry activities and I took copies of Streetpoems around the Coventry. With the demise of Broadgate Gnome in 1971 there was a need for another Coventry magazine that would act as a central focus and promote events and creativity. As I went around selling Streetpress and Streetpoems I knew we had to create one in Coventry even though money and resources weren't as easily available as in Birmingham. Also at that stage I'd never produced a magazine before and to learn new skills.

Meanwhile Roland was also a musicians and like my poems. I never had any in Streetpoems but Roland worked on one of my lyrics - All the Hell of the Fair which I'd written after going to the fair on Hearsall Common in Coventry.

Extract - "Shoot your blues away on a sixpenny shotgun
               Win a coconut and blow your mind.
               I wander by in my helter-skelter confusion.
               Ponder at the scenes life puts me through.

              All the pain of the fair
              All the hell of the fair...."

The energy and creativity of the Birminghman Streetpress group was truely

inspirational as was their friendliness and support. (The way things should always be!). If the the two magazines weren't enough, they embarked on organising inspiration mixed media gigs in Birmingham.

In June and July of 1972, I had stopped organising the band nights at the Coventry Arts Umbrella club and developed monthly experimental poetry and folk nights that I called the Humpoesic Happening (Humpoesic was a word I made up in 1969 in response to a competition in (I think) Record Mirror. Roger McGough and Scaffold wanted a word that conveyed what they do - Humour , Music and Poetry. Humpoesic was my offering although I never sent it in. Instead I used it to title my experimental mixed media nights. More of them in the forthcoming section on the Umbrella.

I got a letter from Streetpress (here) saying some of the guys were coming

through to play at it - especially Roland and Sue of Streetpoems. They never made owing to transportation problems. I'm not sure which way round it was, if the Streetpress gigs were going already or they started after but they were supportive of them.

The first Streetpress gigs were at The Birmingham Arms in Digbeth (Not far from New Street Station.) and called Popeye's.  A guy called Frankie was the main organiser with John Keetley. I played at a couple of them in 1973 prior to creating Hobo in June 1973. Graham Bond was on one of the gigs and I went along with a make shift band I called Trev and Don't Talk Wet. It consisted on me and my acoustic and members of Fission providing loose acoustic backing - Johnny Adams on acoustic lead, Ant Callaghan and Simon Lovegrove on percussion and all on backing vocals. More on the section on Johnny Adams below and the song he wrote about it. The venue was well attended and packed with electric and acoustic music and poetry. Well known names and unknown. One one occasion I bust a string mid song and someone rushed me a dobro guitar on - totally different sound - I continued and the next line was something todo with a new guitar string coincidentally. The audience thought I made it up to keep the proceedings going and cheered! That taught me a valuable performance lesson! Making a mistake or breaking a string doesn't throw me now - I just improvise and use it to engage the audience more!

Letter Extract from Birmingham Streetpress 20th Aug 1972 regarding the Humpoesic Happening.
"Dear Trevor: Hi! ...it's certainly nice to hear from you, especially as you seem to be generally getting it on.

Well, sadly we missed your Scene (the Humpoesic Happening) last Wedsnesday. I'd passed the message around but most of us were away....still we attempted to get a motor together so at least a few performers, musicians, poets might make the trip over. As it happened that failed too and eventually Roland and Sue from Bishopton Rd. decided to go by train and thereby represent the people after all. Yet fate struck once more that evening. No sooner had they arrived at New Street, guitar and all, then it became claer that they weren't going to make Coventry before 10pm. So they turned round and came home. It is a shmae we couldn't join you this time - we shall though, when it happens again. ..as an epilogue to all this  - we hope very much that a fine time was had by all. Another step towards togetherness.

We're grateful to you for doing quite a job inspreading the Streetpress word. We've gotta pull in more  material from the surrounding localities ...particularly Covnetry. please keep on talking and doing what you can to help us, provided you still want to and have the energy to spare!!" John Keetley. (from all your brothers an sisters here)

(John also gave me a contact for poet / publisher Nick Toczek to send my poetry to in the same letter.)

Around May 73 the Birmingham Arms was due for demolition and a new venue was established at the Fighting Cocks in Moseley. Two type of events here  - the Streetpress gigs and a more acoustic / poetry night which John Keetley organised for the Birmingham Poetry Society. The first one I went to was jsut to watch although I had my guitar with me. On the way back. penniless as usual, I hitched into Birmingham Centre - but strange for Birmingham - no traffic. Sods law. So I sat on the curb singing Hitchin' a Ride by Marmalade (well it worked!). Just when I thought I wasn't going to get a lift, along came Daventry folk singer John Golding (just like in the fairy tales!) who took me all the way home in Coventry. I'd never met John before and he wouldn't have stopped but for the fact I had a guitar with me. Afterwards I went to some of John folk gigs in Coventry and somewhere he is mentioned in Hobo! Thanks John! the next one I was playing at and by then Bo (John Bargeant) of Roguestar Promotions was promoting me. He was working with me on my sound and introduced me to a Bowie styleophone keyboard and got me practising through his PA, using reverb and things. John took me to the gig in a taxi and told people how good I was with my band while I was playing. I didn't have a band at that stage but that's promoters for you. The management thing didn't last long and John and started Hobo soon after and that became the main focus until John got the job of Road Manager and went with Khyyam on their European tour.

These Birmingham gigs influenced the creation of the Hobo Workshop in Coventry and most anything gigwise I've organised since, including the current Writers Cafe I organise in Stockton on Tees.

Another regular artist at the Streetpress gigs was humourist John Dowie who later made a record with Joy Division.