19 posts tagged “coventry music scene”
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Read about Horace's New Book HERE
"We work on the principle of Mutual Aid and devote our time to actively promoting an alternative to the big business of the Music Industry. We have no paid employees but rely on a collective of experienced people who believe in the ethic of cooperation. This is a project that has been 40 years in the making, which is now made possible by new technology.."
The Gnome are aiming for four releases each quarter and to develop from there (keep an eye on their site for details and developments) - Gnome Label and Gnome Fest
More details on these can be found on the Gnome Label site Here
"Songs from the Coventry Underground Is a collection of the earlier songs from poet and performer Trev Teasdel.
This is the guy that played an important role in the development of Coventry musical conciousness. He kept an alternative voice alive with the production of Hobo magazine that continued the trail from where the fading footprints of the Gnome could still be identified. Taking over the booking of live bands at the Arts Umbrella, he continued the policy that allowed many of the new local bands an airing as well as bringing in some excellent but not often seen names from outside of the City.
He also created one of the cornerstones of the Coventry Music scene, with the inception of the open jam sessions at the Holyhead Road Arts centre.
He left Coventry to study and has since been as active as ever, with an impressive workload of teaching new writers, running poetry magazines and venues from his Teesside home while still writing and performing his own material.
But that's not the only reason for choosing his work for this release. He is a master craftsman of his artform. His lyrics are carefully honed with the
Aside from that, his work reverberates with the angst and expectations that many living in Coventry at the that time will have felt. Often written on long walks home up the London Road after the last bus, or in teabreaks while working at the GEC. The collective lyrics paint a picture of youthful exhilaration and myradiacl inspirations with echoes of revolt. Some might suggest that they could have been written in and about any city in those times. No they could only come from one place....Our Coventry.
You can listen to excerpts from the tracks which include - The Wild Boys, Clique, The End, The Urge, Hot Snacks (Machine), Solid Action, The Mix, Vietnamese Babies, Squad, Riot Act, Protege, Homicide.
This is from the illustrious Two Tone Period in Coventry when Coventry was buzzing with musical life and bands. See the Alternative Sounds supplement with more info on the bands shortly - watch this space.
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My route in to the Marquee was through the National Jazz Federation, which was set up by Harold and Barbara Pendleton, who were both jazz enthusiasts, mainly to act as an agency for Chris Barber and other 'trad' bands and to run the Marquee Club (at that time in Oxford Street). Later they founded the Reading Jazz and Blues Festival, which in those days, was exactly that...jazz and blues. They had a tiny office just off (I think) Dean Street, where Chris's sister Audrey also worked. I met them through my involvement with the "Jazzhouse" and the New Jazz Orchestra, which was runner-up at the 1964 festival's newcomers competition. Some time later, they asked if I would like to be a 'night manager' at the Marquee. Naturally, I jumped at the chance. Harold and Barbara worked mostly at the NJF offices, a short walk away in Dean Street, which were quite modest, just 2 or 3 rooms over (I think) a restaurant.That's where they ran the admin, booked the bands etc. I didn't see them at the club much, though they would sometimes show up on Humph's night. (Humphrey Lyttelton Band). I ran the Monday night session with Long John Baldry and the Steampacket, as well as Wednesdays, which featured the Humphrey Lyttelton Band. (The You Tube from 1965 features The Brian Augar Trinity and Long John Baldry. A very fresh faced Rod Stewart is there too providing backing vocals!) The atmosphere in the club was always pretty good, whatever the size of audience, though it could get very hot and sweaty when it was full. As 'night manager', I had to oversee the whole evening, ensure the box office was set up, cash float, etc... check that the band was ready to go on at the right time, cash up at the close, pay the bands, etc... Lock up and go home. Everything except the catering. The bands were nearly always booked by John Gee, the club manager or through the office, in the case of American visiting musicians. Some of the artists could be quite difficult. I frequently had problems on the Monday night, when Long John Baldry and the Steampacket played. Baldry and Rod Stewart always seemed to end up arguing over the money and sometimes the keyboard player Reg Dwight, later to re-invent himself as Elton John, would also get involved. I often had to practically throw them out, so I could catch my last train. Never had problems with Humph's band, who all behaved like the professionals they were. The Marquee was an extremely important step on the way to my music biz career. I made some very influential contacts, which I sustained over the next years or so. It provided me with excellent experience in dealing with bands etc.... plus it meant I could pretty much always get my bands on there when I wanted. As they say... it's who you know, as much as what you know! Remember, Harold, Barbara and John also ran the Reading Festival at that time, so my relationship with them paid big dividends later on. Though I only worked there a few months... it certainly played a big part in my getting into the music biz.
Cov musicians Jim Pryal and Kevin Harrison e mailed me this morning with new of the legendary Cov Punk singer /
front man - Gus Chambers, who passed away at the age of 52 on October 13, 2008. Sadly it was believed he took his own life.
The news has impacted on the Cov scene with Pete Chambers (who wrote a tribute in the Coventry Telegraph) saying that tributes and messages were pouring in from friends and Cov musicians and many others who had worked with him or have known him and his music.
Gus Chambers was singer with the Coventry punk band - SQUAD having stepped into the shoes of Terry Hall who left to join the Specials. By 1981 he was fronting 21 Guns who made a single for the Neville Staples record label - Shack Records. Their single was Ambition Rock (although I think there was another single too which I have in the loft somewhere - (not having a record player to play it on anymore!) - Will dig it out and see at some stage.).
"Gus later moved to America and formed Sons of Damnation, finally joining the no messing high-energy metal band Grip Inc. They were formed by former Slayer drum-king Dave Lombardo. They released three brooding albums in the mid to late 90s - Power of Inner Strength, Nemesis, and Solidify - and finally came back with a fourth entitled Incorporated in 2004, which was greeted as a true return to form by the critics." says Pete Chambers.
Pete also says of Gus "his punk-crazed stage antics were quite opposite to the real man - Gus was a thinker, and a great believer in fairness and racial equality, though to some, he was just a punk. Of late, Gus was part of the sonically-superb Mantra Sect. "I've been very lucky in my career," said Gus. "I have had the privilege of playing in front of thousands of people at festivals like Rock in Rio and the Dynamo Festival in Holland. Nothing though brings back fonder memories than playing in front of maybe 20 or 30 people in The Hand and Heart or the back room of The Swanswell."
In 2002 Gus contributed to punk site giving a good insight into the development of the punk scene in Coventry -
You can view it HERE
In the article he tells how he was advised by a mate in 1976 to go and see Roddy Radiation and the Wild Boys (Roddy obviously later went on to the Specials) and from then on was hooked. He says that punk in Coventry "started out very small and not many places to go, there was about 15 to 20 Punks all coming from different walks of life but getting together to be a part of the scene. The only pub that allowed punks in at the time was a gay pub and the student union bar at the Lanch Poly sometimes let us in, non students would get hassle etc."
The pub was the Rose and Crown - "the punk scene started to grow very quickly and was being accepted which lead to more pubs in Cov becoming punk friendly, some pubs let us put our own records on their juke boxes, a punk disco started at the weekend at the Rose and Crown, the Bear Inn become a big punk hang out, a mainly metal disco up stairs in The Golden Cross started to play punk rock and a couple of night clubs started to have punk rock nights. The first one was The Cottage, Wednesday was punk night sometimes letting local bands play. Monday nights at Mr Georges became a great venue for live bands, a lot of national acts played there plus many local bands had the chance to play ,this helped play a big part in building the local scene. Local bands started to hire out back rooms in pubs, places like The Heath, The Hand and Heart, and up stairs in the Domino played a big role in keeping music live also musicians who didn't have a record out, had no management and all that other record biz bull had the chance to book a gig and play( after all thats what punk rock was all about .) Early punk and new wave bands which contributed to the local scene in Cov. were The Flys, Roddy Radiation and the Wild Boys, The Squad, The Urge, The Automatics( later to become ska band The Specials ) The Vietnamese Babys, Gods Toys, The Pink Umbrellas ( fronted by 80ts pop Icon Paul King ) and a couple of years later came Riot Act, Oi band Criminal Class and various ska bands, The Selector. Swinging Cats."
A quick Google of his names shows there are quite a few tributes on the net to Gus Chambers - here are a couple -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gus_Chambers
http://www.bravewords.com/news/99042
Probably the best tribute to and way of remembering Gus Chambers is through his music, and, thanks to the Brave words site, I've found a quite a few videos of Gus singing with Grip Inc and one with Mantra Sect. Here are a few below but you can find of Grip Inc on You Tube.
GUS CHAMBERS dynamic vocals with GRIP INC......
"The clip features performance footage that was shot on May 8, 2008 at The Three Tuns in Coventry. MANTRA SECT bassist Wendy X said in an online posting, "What Gus did at the beginning while we were rehearsing was very typical of him! I thought he would ask me to change that bit but he loved the clip being on there. He made us laugh a lot."
Here is the full copy of Martin Bowes Alternative Sounds Fanzine from (I think) May1979. Martin's magazine contains
documents well the lively Coventry Music Scene that developed in the wake of Two Tone.
(Note the letters page should be in this collection where the X Certs page has come up twice. Not sure how to get it back in sequence but you can read it here anyway!
Ted always seemed to be a really nice and good humoured man and was the first percussionist I saw live playing tablas. I loved Indian classical music but had never seen anyone actully playing them at that stage and so I was particuarly fascinated by how he intergrated their sound with Dando's intermix of celtic and bulgarian fiddle playing and the jazz / folk elements of the guitars and bass. Ted's percussion playing was part of the intermix that gave Dando it's original sound and approach to folk based music.
Ted's daughter has told me that he was a wonderful father.
As I can't really elaborate on his life as a whole and his later musical and creative adventures, the best way to
here is a piece written by Pete Willow for the Coventry Telegraph -
"COVENTRY lost one of its great folk icons when "Bongo" Ted Kay died last weekend after a long illness.
Ted played tabla and percussion for cult folk band Dando Shaft in the 1970s.
He appeared with various local line-ups and teamed up in the
mid-90s with Dando's multi-instrumentalist Martin Jenkins and singer Kalinka
Vulcheva to form the celebrated Anglo-Bulgarian crossover band The
Vulcheva-Jenkins Incident."
Ted played in bands before and after Dando Shaft which I will add here as I find out which ones - Meanwhile I've added
some Music press ads for Dando Shaft and also to
mention that they played Whitley Abbey school in Cov c 1971 with Gentle Giant among the many gis they did nationwide / internationally.
Here is another Youtube of Dando Shaft - a short but sweet live snippet - (there's another vid on one of the other Dando posts on this site - Here
(Paul Sampson (LINK TO HIS MY SPACE) would go on to produce The Primitives and Catatonia)
Check out the Reluctant Stereotypes My Space HERE)
Pete Chambers takes up the story -
Following on from the success of Two Tone Paul King's band KING burst into the charts. With the help of some material from The Coventry music historian and journalist - Pete Chambers (author of Godiva Rocks / The Two Tone Trail and The Beatles - Sent to Coventry) here is a post about King with some You Tube and some of the background and the bands emergence from the Reluctant Stereotypes.
In the BBC Coventry local radio programme Pop into the Past - Pete Chambers wrote on the website
"As the 2-Tone dream began to fade in the early 1980s, Coventry
folk began to wonder what would be the next big thing
to emerge from the city. Enter Paul King, a flamboyant front man who along with the band's insightful manager Perry Haines had a bold blueprint for success.
Although slightly less iconic than 2-Tone (Paul called it multi-tone) they would still create their own fashion statement and tantalise us with some clever lyrics, and some high quality music.
Created from the remains of the ever-so-good Reluctant Stereotypes, The Raw Screens honed and perfected their act and then switched their name to King.
From a rather slow start the momentum increased and in January 1985 Coventry was back on the music map with the anthemic Love & Pride. It was a song designed to be instantly in your face, even beginning with its own chorus for maximum impact.
Although it would famously stay at number two in the charts throughout February, held back by Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson of all people, it was a song that gave the overall scheme and intent of the band in just one record. All the meticulous planning was paying off and a support slot with Culture Club had done the band no harm at all.
For me they were almost the perfect pop band. With the enigmatic Paul King using all he had learnt at
Coventry Drama School up front, with painted Doc Martens aglow, he made the stage his own. When you watched King it was always hard to take your eyes off Paul, such was his presence.
It wasn’t all Paul King however, Jim Landsbury also cut an interesting figure with his guitar hero dynamics and Mick Roberts with some nifty keyboard work, was the musical backbone of the band. Listen to King now and see just how underrated he actually was. Finally Tony Wall was always there, holding it all together on his trusty bass guitar.
The whole King experience was to last a little over a year although in that time they would enter the charts again with four more powerpop songs (including Won’t You Hold My Hand Now and Alone Without You).
When it was over and our multi-coloured Martens began to look a
little passé, Paul embarked on a solo career and Coventry was left with another
fine musical legacy."
From Wikipedia (HERE) -
"After the demise of The Reluctant Stereotypes, singer Paul King formed "The Raw Screens" who perfected their act and style to what King and his manager Perry Haines called multi-tone, and then in 1983 relaunched the group as self-named Eighties band King"
As lead singer, King was famed for his cockatoo haircut and spray painted Doc Marten's Boots - a look described "like the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But, hell, the girls loved him;"[3] while
Burgess produced and drummed on most of the band's songs. The band released two UK Top 10 albums on CBS both produced and mixed by Burgess, who also played drums on most of Steps in Time. The CBS albums were both certified Gold and produced five hit singles, the most successful being the UK no.2 hit Love & Pride."
Singles
- "Love & Pride" (1984) UK #84
- "Love & Pride" (re-release) (1985) US #55 UK #2
- "Won't You Hold My Hand Now" (1985) UK #24
- "Alone Without You" (1985) UK #8
- "The Taste Of Your Tears" (1985) UK #11
- "Torture" (1986) UK #23
- "I Know" (1987) - Paul King solo UK #59
- "Follow My Heart" (1987) - Paul King solo Failed to chart
[edit] Albums
- Steps in Time (1984) - King
- Bitter Sweet (1985) - King
- Joy (1987) - Paul King
Another full issue of Coventry's Alternative Sounds magazine from the Two Tone period edited by Martin Bowes of the band Attrition. Albeit the cover may now be regarded as sexist, the contents are a good reflection of what was happening on the Coventry music scene while The Specials and Selecter were racing up the charts.
The full issue presented here as a Collection
This is a scanned version of issue 6 of Coventry's Alternative Sounds Fanzine produced in the Two Tone Period c1979 / 80 Edited by Martin Bowes later of the band Attrition.
The full issue is in the Collection here.
WORK IN PROGRESS!!
Several threads here which I will try and unravel as we go on. There are disco units and DJ's who operate at different venues throughout the area and fixed discos that operate at one venue and there are the venues of course. Some venues have several events with discos, bands, folk clubs etc. This will be illustrated with business cards and flyers etc. Pictures will be more or less in collections on this post (if it works out - a bit experimental!)
Disco Units and Solo DJ's in Coventry 1970's
Axis Disco - Places - Mercers Arms (Henry's Blueshouse)
Big Sounds Disco - Bear Inn, High St. Coventry Fridays c 1974
Clouds Disco (Advertised in Hobo) Thinking of Holding a party or a dance. Largest Mobile Unit in the Midlands - over 4000 singles and LP's. Biggest lights around / Any occasion at competative rates. Tony - Tell etc....
Courtaulds Social Club Weds c1974
Sportsman Arms Fri C 1974
A. Clark Promotions / Light Shows.
Dream Disco and Lighting
Ceasars Disco, Weddington Hotel, Weddington Rd, Nuneaton c 1974 Mon
FROM HOBO MAGAZINE No 3 FEB 1974 - News -
"Dream discotheque appears at first sight to be just another disco unit, but alas they have a phew innovations up their trouser legs. No not a new form of contraceptive but a lighting computer for discos. Designed and patened by Rob Dalton B. eng M.I.E.E. C.E. M.I.E.E.E. (U.S.A.).
This is one of the most advanced in Europe and has taken about two years to develop. The
AND FROM HOBO Number 4 summer 1974 - Small Ads
"DREAM DISCO AND LIGHTING COMPUTERS Rob Dalton, 20, Constable Rd. Rugby 3372 - Dream now have 3 lighting computers for hire, complete with all necesary lights, a whole range of liquid wheels, cassetts and graphic effects, projectors, strobes, U.V. P.A. etc. Our own unigue, high powered road shows are available for larger bookings. We are also offering a technical support service for those who are having trouble with their gear, sound or lights."
Glade Sounds Disco
Did the disco for Walrus Gumboot and Coventry Technical College c 1974
Marvel Lights and Disco
Paul Hooper - Dive Bar (Lady Godiva) Jorden Well.
Pete Waterman -
Soul Explosion - Baginton Oak Thursdays c 1974
Tiffany's / Locarno Ball Room - Dance Music Mon / Fri c1974. Longstanding DJ at this venue from late 60's to c 1975
Tree Tops, Foleshill Rd. Thurs C 1974
Mr Georges Nightclub Fri C 1974
Walsgrave Hotel - (Fro Friars Promotions)
Mercers Arms (Friars)
St. Osburgs
Charterhouse Disco (Jolly Roger), Terry Rd. Pete Waterman and Mark Brown star in the Ship Shape disco Fri C 1974
Rouguestar - Disco / Promotion - John Bargeant (Bo) / Co-founder of Hobo / Road manager with Khyyam c 1973. Promoted various artists including Khyyam and singer songwriter Trev Teasdel prior to John (Bo) and Trev starting Hobo Magazine in June 1973.
John also ran Moonraker Disco who did the disco for the Hobo Workshop at the Golden Cross c 1975. Using silent movie footage as the records were playing. Trev Teasdel sometimes did the DJ sessions for the Workshop or on a Sunday evening but mainly John.
Silk Disco Advertised in Hobo Graham Wood, Jim Silk Twynham and Paul.
Chums - Bear Inn, High St. Progressive Rock Thurs c 1974 - Relatively 'eavy Underground club
Plough Club, Plough, London Rd. c 1970
Cheylesmore Community Centre
Skeleton Disco
Sounds of Venue Disco
Coven 74 Club Radford. Progressive music Weds c 1974
Spode Sounds
Mobile Disco, Steve and Matt - Stoke Coventry.
Village Disco
DJ Melve Preece - Colin Campbell band nights and discos and The Climax (c 1974) Thurs Fri Sat Sun
On my first vist to the Coventry Arts Umbrella for the Transcendental Cauldron in Oct 1969, a guy called Arol (who
Fast forward to Thursday 25th February 1971 Medicine Head (whose record His Guiding Hand) on John Peel's Dandelion Label I had just bought), were playing at Henry's Blues House at the Mercers Arm in Cov. Drummer Steve Harrison gave me a lift and we met up with the two Jan's and Louise and Jackie who were friends from the Umbrella band nights.
Peter Hope Evan's ( the Blues and Jew's Harpist with the duo) was off ill and a mysterious electric guitarist was playing with him.
John Fiddler asked from the stage if there was anyone in the house who could play Jew's Harp. I would never in a million years have volunteered my self on stage (especially as I had only read a few poems out at the Umbrella up to then!) but the Jan's volunteered me, and up I had to get! I didn't consider myself good enough to replace Peter but they wanted a few good vibes coming through the microphone so I did what I could.
When I got on the stage, the roadie opened a box of the largest Jew's Harps I'd ever seen and invited me to
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