After Indian Summer split up in 1971, after the release of their RCA Neon album named after the group, Coventry keyboard player and vocalist Bob Jackson (Wikapeadia)went on to play with John Entwhistles band Ro Ro and then join Alan Ross in the band Ross - recording on the RSO label and then played in Pete Brown's band. By 1974 Bob had replaced Peter Ham in Badfinger (and was retained after Peter Ham withdrew his resignation. Badfinger disbanded following Ham's suicide in 1975. Jackson remained in contact with Badfinger's bassist Tom Evans, and the two joined "The Dodgers" in 1976. The Dodgers released a handful of singles and one album by 1977, the year Jackson was released by the band due to management disagreements. (Bob Jackson story).

It started as a demo session for John Wilson and Dave Powell but then Tom Evans and Bob Jackson harmonized very good with the other two musicians, so that they decided to form a band together. Dave Powell made the proposal to call the band the DODGERS. They selected two songs out of their sessions for the first single, which was released in March 1976. Another two songs were released in June as the second single of the DODGERS. Shortly after the release of the second single Dave Powell left the group.

Tom Evans bass / Vocals / Bob Jackson keyboard / guitar / vocals / John Wilson Guitar / vocals / Dave Powell drums / PCS

Singles  - 1976 - Dodgers - Don't Let me Be Wrong (by John Wilson) b/w Get to You (Bob Jackson / Tom Evans) Island.

Just want to Love You (John Wilson) b/w Don't know what you're doing (Bob Jackson) Island

Down (John Wilson) b/w Don't know what you're doing (Bob Jackson) Island

Love on the Rebound (John Wilson) b/w Come out Fighting (Bob Jackson / Paul Hooper) Polydor

Anytime Bob Jackson / John Wilson) b/w Little Darlin' (Roger Lomas) Polydor

Bob Jackson called his old friend Paul Hooper to join the DODGERS but as he was not immediately available, Terry Williams joined the group for some commitments in July.

New Line up - Tom Evans - bass / vocals / Bob Jackson - Keyboard Guitar Vocal / John Wilson Guitar / Vocal

Terry Williams Drums / PCS

Then Indian Summer's Paul Hooper replaced Terry Williams on Drums.

In 1978 they produced their album - Love on the Rebound - Polydor

The Coventry musician Roger Lomas (Ex member of the hit 60's group The Sorrows) replaced Tom Evans but played guitar instead of bass - John Wilson took over on bass.

Now it was almost completely a Coventry band with the exception of John Wilson.

After a wrangle with the manament over their behaviour - Bob Jackson was also fired and then Joined the Searchers as a guest musician - recording and touring with them. Currently Bob is with the reformed Fortunes.

Read whole history of Bob Jackson's musical career HERE

One day in March 1974 (I think it was in the Coventry Journal Office (opposite The Coventry Evening Telegraph), I met

Adrienne Harwood and Steve Kouchi. They'd been interviewed for an article in Coventry Journal for a new Awareness group they were forming and giving out leaflets in the precint. I liked the idea and offered space in Hobo (if we could keep it going given our lack of finance to get it printed).

We were planning another magazine around 1974 called Trenchcoat that would deal with more social issues had available resources worked out better, and we thought they could have space in that magazine. Hobo was then going to be a part an important cultural section of Trenchcoat. Unfortunately Hobo folded in 1975.
However there was an entry in the Hobo News section of an unpublished issue of Hobo (unpublished because the printers had reduced the size to unreadable proportions and we couldn't put it out. It was redone and updated.

The piece read
SOMETHING TO SAY
Every Monday at the Lanch Polytech in room B 315,  a meeting of the People's Awareness Group will take place.
Anyone who is interested in getting things together in this fair city - who has any ideas - who can help or is just intersted - bring them and yourselves and your friendz, friendz friendz...
People awareness need you...
A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

Below are some lyrics to in relation to the ideas -

MR BUSINESSMAN - RAY STEVENS c1968
Itemize the things you covet
As you squander through your life
Bigger cars, bigger houses
Term insurance for your wife
Tuesday evenings with your harlot
And on Wednesdays it's your charlatan
analyst, he's high upon your list

You've got air conditioned sinuses
And dark disturbing doubts about religion
And you keep those cards and letters going out
While your secretary's tempting you
Your morals are exempting you from guilt and shame
Heaven knows you're not to blame

refrain:
You better, Take care of business Mr. Businessman
What's your plan?
Get down to business Mr. Businessman if you can
(Before it's too late and you throw your life away) 1st time

Did you see your children growing up today
And did you hear the music of their laughter
As they set about to play
Did you catch the fragrance of those roses in your garden
Did the morning sunlight warm your soul,
Brighten up your day
Do you qualify to be alive
or is the limit of your senses so as only to survive
Hey yeah.....

Spending counterfeit incentive
Wasting precious time and health
Placing value on the worthless
Disregarding priceless wealth
You can wheel and deal the best of them
And steal it from the rest of them
You know the score, their ethics are a bore

Eighty-six anesthetic crutches prop you to the top
Where the smiles are all synthetic
And the ulcers never stop
When they take that final inventory,
Yours will be the same sad story everywhere
No one will really care, no one more lonely than
This rich important man, let's have your autograph
Endorse your epitaph

refrain

Summer in the City
The Lovin' Spoonful
(John Sebastian - Mark Sebastian - Steve Boone)

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright

And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city

Cool town, evening in the city
Dressing so fine and looking so pretty
Cool cat, looking for a kitty
Gonna look in every corner of the city
Till I'm wheezing like a bus stop
Running up the stairs, gonna meet you on the rooftop

But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright

And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city

------ instrumental break ------

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright

And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city

Coventry's Dave Cooper (Dando Shaft) showed this awareness in his lyrics as exampled here -

LAZILY SLOWLY -  

Lazily slowly, flows that old river

I’m of a mind to dream a little while

For tomorrow comes with the morning

And there’s no time for troubles

Or bursting of bubbles tonight.

 

All the good guys, they’re on my side

And that old river, she’s playing tunes.

Come lay by me, I don’t mind sharing

We’ll dance with the water

Until we are caught by tomorrow.

 

In the morning there are soft sounds

Maybe the echo of some siren sounds

Will come creeping through your window

You reach for the sunrise

Your innocent eyes, they might open.

 

Lazily slowly, flows that old river

I’m of a mind to dream a little while

For tomorrow comes with the morning

And there’s no time for troubles

Or bursting of bubbles tonight.

RAT RACE (Roddy Radiation) THE SPECIALS (Written in the Lanch Union bar Coventry)

You're working at your leisure to learn the things you'll need

The promises you make tomorrow carry no guarantee
I've seen your qualifications, you got a Ph.D.
I've got one art O-level, it did nothing for me

Working for the rat race
You know you're wasting your time
Working for the rat race
You're no friend of mine

You plan your conversation to impress the college bar
Just talking about your mother and daddy's Jaguar
Wear your political T-shirt and sacred college scarf
Discussing the world situation, but just for a laugh

You'll be working for the rat race
You know you're wasting your time
Working for the rat race
You're no friend of mine

Working for the rat race
You know you're wasting your time
Working for the rat race
You're no friend of mine

Just working at your leisure to learn the things you don't need

The promises you make tomorrow carry no guarantee
I've seen your qualifications, you got a Ph.D.
I've got one art O-level, it did nothing for me

Working for the rat race
You know you're wasting your time
You're working for the rat race.

Check out Another Tree Will Grow by

Indian Summer (You can listen on their My Space)

In the 1980's Music Collectives proliferated, but the Diggers in Coventry were experimenting with prototypes much earlier, and the Hobo Workshop in 74 - 5 was partly inspired by reading about it in the Broadgate Gnome.

Here is a review of a Tribal Rock gig at the University of Warwick in 1971 - followed  by some  of the earlier background, as supplied by members of the Broadgate Gnome recently.

UNIVERSITY: WEDNESDAY 2nd Dec - From the Broadgate Gnome

The fate of the TRIBAL ROCK CO-OPERATIVE'S free show at the Airport Lounge of Roots Hall, Warwick University seemed in jeopardy when, almost, at the last minute, Student Union Officials realised that the room was double booked. The Golden Screw - A Rock Opera, was due to be held and in fact was. Tribal Rock agreed to operate around the Opera by starting 6pm and hoped to work all the groups in, some before and some after. the Opera.

However, on the night, the Rock Opera rehearsal lasted until 5.30pm so it was impossible to get anything going before the Rock Opera. However, the audience (which was starting to grow) recieved a special treat with ROY BUTTERFIELD and NEOL DAVIES  (both shortley to be JOHN GRAVENOR'S new band) began working out with members of ROGUE, the Univeristy based outfit. Neol and Roys brilliant twin guitars were just beginning to go places when it was time for the Golden Screw.

The Golden Screw lived up to it's name, involving Such Stuff! A theatre group and Hard Grind, a pop group, it managed to bore and even nauseate quite a number of people who had paid their two and six (an admission fee hastily pegged down from 4/- when the double booking error was realised.

However the crowd got their money's worth when Indian Summer (My Space!) came on to get things going shortly after 10.O Clock, which they did remarkably well. Thus started an extremely magnificient set, which set the mood for the night with some very good vibes.

After the audience heartily expressed appreciation for Indian Summer, on came Rogue whose peaceful electric jazz was a beautiful contrast. Then came WHISTLER with what was the best set I've ever seen them do. It's a shame. It's a shame they are having percussion problems. The gig was brought to a close with ASGARD (who like Whistler) could only do a short gig because of time hassles but a very professionla set. The other groups present that were unable to perform took it all in good heart...

At the time of going to press, the venue for the next monthly  Tribal Rock Concert is not known, but it thought that it might include SKUNK, a five piece band from the Tribal Rock Co-operative South. Should be worth seeing whenever it is.

...................

PLOUGH - FRI 27TH NOV. (Also from the Broadgate Gnome)

Due to Wandering John's inavailablility for the Plough Gig, Sphincta put ELF on ( which comprises three members of the five piece outfit known as ROGUE. We will be seeing a lot of them in the future.

They got into some really good things in the jazz idiom, although spoiled for me by some check shirted, loud-mouth, that did nothing but verbal all through the whole set. Their brilliant syncopations seemed to go over the heads of the majority of the audience, who, nevertheless, were glad that there was a group on and not just records, as is usual for the last minute on non arrival of the groups.

.......................

This concerns the bands that played or rehearsed at the Umbrella between 1969 and 1972. It's not all inclusive, just the

one I know about.

(CBR Card opposite - one of the sources of bands. Their office was near the Umbrella.)

I got involved with the Umbrella from October 1969, after seeing an ad in the Butts Tech for the Transcendental Cauldron Underground festival. Al Docker, a drummer / songwriter and workmate at DF Gibbs got me involved. He put the bands on at the time and I used to do the door and go the rounds of music agencies, networking in pubs like the 'Dive Bar' (Lady Godiva and the Golden Cross, Jaguar, Lanch etc.). After he left to concentrate on his band Tsar, I took over his role around the autumn 1970 until summer 1971.Later in 1972 I took over the Poetry and Folk evenings creating the misxed media Humpoesic Happenings blogs below this.

Some of the bands that played or rehearsed during this period were - Last

Fair Deal, Asgard, Whistler, The Chris Jones Aggression, Whistler, April, Cliff Cowling Trio, Love Zeus, Railroad, Nack ed en, Rogation Sunday, Acorn, Jessica's Theme, Fresh Maggots, Children, Wandering John, Gentle, Tea and Symphony, Ghost, Judas Goat, Don't Pick a Flower Unless You're Sure, Toadstool,  Dando Shaft, Tsar, Rocking Chair, Ra Ho Tep, Indian Summer Slitnitza , Dent Beaufoy, Gothic Horizon. I tried to book Medicine Head (see story), Al & Steve Varney ran the disco with Pete Webb. This went under various names - Purple Haze, Alestapeda, Al's Heavy Rock or progressive disco, Atom. Al Varney later became a bass player and played with Fission in 73.

 More will be written about the bands in the forthcoming band directory but here are a few personal snippets from the Umbrella during that period.

Asgard -

I first saw Asgard at the Umbrella Oct 69. Neol Davies orginally played lead guitar for  them but left to  form Mead. Asgard were a Pink Floyd styled group with Bill on Farfiza Organ, Terry on Drums and a bass player (Can't  remember the surnames ).  They used to rehearse in the Umbrella theatre, and I used to watch them. They did a cover of Carful with that Axe Eugene and Set the Controls for the heart of the Sun but also their own material. I saw them at Warwick University Arts Fest, the Lanch and Pete Waterman's Walsgrave Gig also. They split up c 1970. Bill taught me to play  Set the Controls on guitar and one day some one came in to the reheasal and said 'Bloody hell the sun's hot!" and Terry quipped back "You shouldn't touch it then!". Later, 3am while walking the 3 miles home to Willenhall I recycled his quip into a song. I often wrote songs on the way home to pass the time, using a Jew;s harp to get the melody and jotting the words down on bus tickets. We'd been listen to Black Sabbath, who were out at the time, and a black cat crept out of the shadows and ran across the London Rd. I looked up at the sky and black menacing clouds were crawling across the sky - It inspired a heavy rock lyric called Black Lizard Stream. The quip is recycled in the bridge (the line is italics). The song, written in symbolic language, describes the feeling of wanting something so badly but when the opportunity arrives, you blow it, get embarrassed or get burnt - it might be love, it might anything. The quip was a useful image to use therefore. Here's an excerpt-

BLACK LIZARD STREAM by Trev Teasdel

Black cats creep out of the shadows

Liquid black and evil faced

Black clouds crawl over the sky

Like turtles over the sand

Pin-stripe pain within my frame

I have lost my way

We have lost our way.

(Skipping some here to go to the bridge -)

Bridge

The mountain peaks they touched the sun

But promptly burnt their hands

A herd of hills leave their homes

Searching for a match to strike

And I’m so low, I’m bound to go

Cos I have lost my way

We have lost our way.

APRIL -

April were Coventry's answer to Fairport Convention but with their own style. I loved their sound. Sandy Denny is a hard act to follow, but Bill Jackson's voice  on Who knows Where the Time Goes did the business! other covers included James Taylor's Carolina On My Mind. Mostly they did their own songs. I loved listening to them and while laid off from the GEC and living near by in Brunswick Rd., I used to open the Umbrella for them to rehease and got to hear them lots!  They played in BIrmingham at the Swan, The Lanch, Warwick Uni, The Walsgrave. I booked them for the Umbrella but they split up days before. What a great shame - this was a very talented band. Ron Lawrence, bass player, used to play an 8 string bass using a bow for special effects. Ron later played bass with Sniff and the Tears in the 80's along with Loz Netto. Ron lived in a cottage in Shilton. In the autumn 1971 Al Docker and I moved in after they vacated. Al formed a new Coventry super group with Ron called Runestaff (after the Michael Moorcock novel). The band consisted of Al Docker - Drums; Ron Lawrence

Bass; Bill Jackson (Ex April) Piano / Vocals / acoustic guitar; Roy Butterfield (Ex Indian Summer) on lead guitar; Al

Hatton (ex bass with Indian Summer) on acoustic guitar. And they reheased in our dining room. I'm probably the only non member apart from Ron's wife Pat, who was the technician, to hear them as they never got to the giging stage. Great shame they split up - it was begining to sound really good.

RAILROAD

Around Jan / Feb 1971 Drummer Steve Harrison (who I knew from Junior School) asked me to write some lyrics for his new band Railroad. yhey were a blues / roack band consisting of Mick

Green on lead / Rhythm guitar, Tony (Mojo) Morgan (later in EMF (Coventry version) who won Battle of the bands in 1980) on bass (I also knew Tony from secondary school and he'd written music to one of my first lyrics The Elusive Metallic Idol (about the rat race) Coventry's a Car town - hence the opening phrase! An Extract..

There’s a maze of minds

Designing all kinds of cars.

There’s a surfeit of time to kill

So the people do what they will

Living in flats, so very high

Working so hard till they finally die.

I wrote some fresh lyrics for them, liking the idea of the poet / lyricist with a band like Pete Brown (lyricist for Cream) and Pete Sinfield (lyricist with King Crimson). They were the ones I looked up to (apart from Paul Simon, Dylan and Joni Mitchell). Railroad asked me to try vocals with them. I booked the Umbrella for the rehearsal in advance and phoned Pete Waterman to see if he  knew anyone who could loan us a PA ! It was the first time ever tried vocals with a band and it wouldn't be until later in the year that I played guitar and could write my own music and sing solo. Ultimately the band didn't gel and split up. Here are excerpts from the specially written lyrics - I think I was trying to steer them into a sort King Crimson mode!

BENEATH THE PHAEIC SKY by Trev Teasdel (Excerpt) 

The Black Knight's spectre prowls the battlement

Beneath the phaeic sky, sounds his sad lament.

The phantom pillion rider groans

as he leaps a lazing stile.

The faceless henchman totes his gun

and points it with beguile.

And the shivers of my uncertainty

Cloud my mind so I can't see.

And a full lyric about the illusion of life (Glaik is an archaic word for illusion)

GLAIK (The Illusion of the Lake) by Trev Teasdel

I tried to catch the sun

but it was only a reflection in the water.

I was only seeking treasure

But I ended up 'kissing the gunner's daughter'

The velvet coated bard I followed

was just a caird who was in a play.

I looked up to the sky to see

they had blackened the 'eye of the day' 

chorus Glai - Aye Aye Aye ack (3 times)

           The Illusion of the lake.

I went to see the archimage 

but he turned out to be just a javel.

I pulled the bedclothes back

to see a snake unravel.

I almost made the rainbow's end

when it suddenly turned wan

I gledged upon a peacock

who suddenly lost his fan.

NACK ED EN

Prior to Railroad, Drummer Steve Harrison was playing with a group called Nack ed en.  He took me down to the Binley Oak where the were rehearsing and asked me to bring some lyrics. The group consisted of Loz Netto lead / Rhythm guitar (Loz was with Sniff and the Tears later in the 80's),

Neil Richardson bass (Neil was previously in a band who played the

Umbrella - Acorn / Rogation Sunday)

and afterwards Drops of Brandy - who were big on the national Rank circuit. I went done the next sunday to the rehearsal only to find  Steve had been replaced on drums by Brad (John Bradbury) (later of the Specials). This was the first time I'd met Brad. I was disappointed for Steve but had to admit Brad was a brilliant drummer. I arranged for them to rehease at the Umbrella and often sat in on their pratices. I noticed how Brad worked with a band. He was never one for long boring drum solos that often were more about ego than skill. His solos employed brevity, were were skillfully deployed and enhanced the song rather than distracted from it. He was very technically proficient and yet amazingly creative with it. This was rare! Listen to his solo in Gangsters. At the Umbrella practices I noticed how he worked with bands. It often led to disputes but Brad was concerned for the structure of the song, the tightness of the band, the trasition between sections of the number. A lot of drummers offered the thrash bang approach where as Brad was seemed more concerned with the sense of the number, enhancing it with skilful embellishments. After the Oak session, we ended up in the Dive bar. Guitarist Chris Jones

was there and Brad and Chris looked through the lyrics Steve had asked me to bring in. Chris wanted me to write sonme lyrics for his band Chris Jones Aggression - we set up a meeting but I think the band were falling apart about then - Chris moved on to a Jazz Rock band called Wave, based at the Earlsdon Cottage.. Unfortunately bands split up and reform with great regularity at this stage and nothing came of it all. I think Nack ed en played a few gigs but the bass player joined his old band mates and manager in a new band Drops of Brandy doing 10 cc style covers and they became hot on the Rank circuit for a while. Loz became a good friend - on one occassion we went to see ELP at the Lanch - after the show we met Greg Lake and Carl Palmer outside the Lanch at the Hot dog stall. Loz was interrogating Greg about his work with Robert Fripp. It wasn't the best

moment to do that, Greg had just split with King Crimson, but he did focus on the positive and respected Fripps work. Carl Palmer told us he was from nearby Nuneaton. On another ocassion I went to the Warwick Uni Arts Festival with Loz. The Pink Fairies and local bands - Whistler, Asgard were on too. Loz and I went into the band's dressing room - Loz was after a go on their guitars. It was there he gave me a few lead guitar lessons. Meanwhile the Pink Fairies were having fun in the loos putting a condom over a switched on tap! By the time the condom was about to explode, two academics walked in in suits in time for a cold shower!

An extract form one of the lyrics they read - An early one I'd written in 1968 after leaving school -

Mr Opulent V Mary Annabella (Trev Teasdel 1968)  

Mary Annabella wears a face she does not own

and her teeth are in a jar on the table in her home.

She walks the dog around the street

hoping she might meet

Mr Perfect and his family called 'Elite'

All mod-cons are incorporated in the kitchen that she admires..

LOVE ZEUS - Loz Netto moved to Love Zeus after Nack ed en broke up in 1971. Love Zeus was very much an umbrella Club band with Tony Cross (who was on the Umbrella's executive overseing all the music events) and was a classically trained keyboard player. Al Docker on drums, Loz Netto on Guitar, a female violinist, as for vocalist - it may bhave been Paul Feltwell or Paul King (can't remember now and now documentation) - but both had been at Brookland's Annexe Drama college. It may have been too early to be Paul King. This group played the Umbrella and a prestigious gig at the Belgrade Theatre. The Again the group didn't last long and soon split up.

In August 1970 (see ticket above) Al Docker booked Birmingham band

Tea and Symphony who we had heard on John Peel and who

recorded on Harvest. They were booked through the near by CBR Music agency in Queen Victoria Rd. They played in the Umbrella's little theatre and had a great lightshow. Another Birmingham band was -

Ghost -

UPDATES NOV 07

Bands organised by Cliff Cowling until Al Docker Took over 1969-1970 and then Trev Teasdel 1970-1971

May 1970 Postcard

July 1970 Trad B Jefferson & April

July 1970  Asgard

August 1970  - Steve Tayton and his Jazz Quartet

Fri Aug 14th 1970 Vic's Heavy Rock Jam session (See Transcendental Cauldron post)

Fri Aug 21st Tea & Symphony and April (Groups wishing to practice should see Al Docker)

Fri 18th Sept  1970 Ghost and Asgard (Contrasting Styles)

Live Music May 1971

Live Music by Al Docker's group Tsar with Atom Disco (Al and Steve Varney) - Al Varney later became the bassist with Fission c1973. A piece in the Umbrella programme read "A freaky night for anyone who wants to listen to some good sounds!"

April 1971 Toadstool - John Brown's folk duo.

May 11th 1971 Don't Pick a Flower - John Leopold's folk duo. Poetry and Folk session. Contemporary and own songs.

May Tues 18th 1971 Poetry and folk with ROGER WILLIAMSON

Oct 19th 1971 Heron (London based contemporary folk group)

Members joining at this time Early 70's (although some of them had been coming to events a while before becoming members.

Jan Gage and Jan Coombs (Helped with publicising bands when Trevor was organising them in 1970 / 71)

Rosemary Jones (involved with the Folk and Poetry) Charles Bullen (Guitarist with Tsar) (Joined Sept 1971. Also Andrew Court and Nick Day.

Sectretary of the Programme Committee in 1971 was Lindy Watson (now Lyndie Brimstone) and on the committee were Esther Breakwell, Jim Ashworth, Maggie Heath, John Pinder and Gaynor Penton.

Other regular members at that time include Tes Walker, Malvin Preece (later DJ at the Village), John Scott, Jim Porter, Mick Cuttifoot, Lance Goodey, Sally Birch, Jenny Bowden, Doug Deakin, Pete Webb, Heather Lovatt

.