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Eel Pie Island Boatyards

183:848437206 (Michele Whitby) — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 13:57:03 GMT

Many hundreds of boatyards once existed along the tidal shores of the Thames between Wapping and Teddington Lock.

Today less than twenty remain along that same stretch of river. Nine of these are in the Borough of Richmond, including the Eel Pie Island sites which currently house four separate businesses, Eel Pie Island Slipways, Eel Pie Boatyard, Phoenix Wharf Slipway and Cruisemaster Marine.

Once described by Horace Walpole as ‘A seaport in miniature, enlivened by a navigation of boats and barges’, Twickenham’s connection with the Thames has been reinforced by Eel Pie Island’s boatyards for well over a century.

The land now occupied by Eel Pie Island Slipways and Eel Pie Boatyard has been in continual boatyard use since 1892. The completion of Richmond Lock and Weir in 1894, maintaining a navigable level of water, even at low tide, helped make the island an ideal place for river-related services.

1892

William Sargeant establishes The Thames Electric & Steam Launch Company on the north-western riverside grounds of the Eel Pie Island Hotel, then owned by the famous Pears Soap family.

1893

Frederick Simms and Gottfried Daimler set up the Daimler Motor Syndicate. Newly invented petrol engines are trialled on the river before being permitted on roads. Simms went on to found the RAC.

1894

The completion of Richmond lock and weir allows a navigable depth of water to be retained upstream between high tides.

1895

Kirbey Bowen joins Sargeant, pioneering the building of electric launches and charging stations.

1896

Bowen buys the freehold for the boatyard land and business.

1904

The Ivy Castle site, overlooking Ham, is set up as a marina by the Auxiliary Motor Installation Co.

1907 – 1935

Joseph Mears (co-founder of Chelsea FC) buys the Twickenham facing site, running London’s largest fleet of around thirty passenger boats from Eel Pie Island. Some of his fleet can still be seen on the Thames today.

1945

Harold & Arthur Green set up Thames Launches Ltd, building boats for worldwide buyers and winning international awards for design and construction.

1950 – 2000

The Lion Boathouse site is managed by Sandy Scott, who also ran Hammerton’s Ferry until the late 1980’s. It is now fully residential.

1953

Frank Thornton-Glide offers motor boats for hire from the Ivy Castle site. They were nicknamed the ‘Yellow Perils’ by disgruntled river users!

1956

Walter Caisley, notable for his attempts to run a passenger service using hovercraft, joins Thames Launches.

1961 – 2005

Sims & Sims. World famous rowing sculls for Olympians and Oxford and Cambridge teams, as well as umpire’s launches are built on this site. It has since become Syd’s Quay office development.

1973 – 1983

Thames Launch Works & Impala Marine become Strong Marine, which for various reasons, including increased competition, declining demand and alleged unscrupulous business practices, went into receivership.

1975

The slipway on the Ivy Castle site is sold to Richmond Council. Leased to Cruisemaster Marine, it offers a small slipway and hard-standing for boat maintenance, overseen by master boat builder Dave Johnston.

1983

Eel Pie Island Slipways is established by Ted Leppard and Len Bowman.

1985

Henry Gastall sets up Eel Pie Marine Centre, providing DIY boat building and servicing facilities, as well as renting affordable spaces to artists and small businesses.

1996

A huge fire destroys much of the Marine Centre site, leaving around half of it in need of redevelopment.

1997 - present

The Montgomery-Smith family, and partners, set up Eel Pie Boatyard on the undamaged part of the site, running it in much the same way as it was pre-fire with artists studios in amongst the working yard.

2000 - present

Henry Harrison redevelops the fire site into Phoenix Wharf. Predominantly office space, it does have part of the original slipway still in use as a boat repair facility.

2003 - present

Eel Pie Island Slipways is managed by Waterman, Royal Bargemaster, Doggetts Coat winner and Olympic rower, Ken Dwan, providing essential servicing facilities for passenger boats and larger river craft. The Dwan family have worked on the Thames for over 500 years.

The story of the islands yards has been largely untold up until now. The Eel Pie Island Museum hopes to encourage an appreciation of the history and significance of Twickenham’s remaining boatyard sites.

‘So often I hear people enthusiastically telling stories of how the Rolling Stones played ‘over there’ as they point out the island to visitors. It would be great to hear them talk about the boatyards with similar pride. They are, after all, a defining part of Twickenham’s riverside.’

Michele Whitby

http://www.epislipways.co.uk/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Dwan

https://thamesfestivaltrust.org/heritage-programme/the-worlds-oldest-boat-race/discover-the-history/

https://eelpieboatyard.co.uk/

http://www.digital-works.co.uk/news/boatyards/

The Story Behind Eel Pie Island's Music Heritage

183:848437206 (Michele Whitby) — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 13:13:06 GMT

Eel Pie Island became a hotspot for thousands of youngsters in the 50s and 60s.

Feared by parents as a den of iniquity and forbidden to many, this only encouraged them across the Twickenham Thames to revel in new-found teenage abandon and lap up the revolutionary sounds provided by like-minded musicians.

‘Eel Pie Island changed my way of looking at life. An alternative way, different, and very enjoyable!’

Annie Nightingale

Opened in 1830, the Eel Pie Island Hotel was once a thriving destination for day-trippers, even warranting mention by Charles Dickens in ‘Nicholas Nickleby’. The ballroom built in 1898 alongside the Hotel, offered ‘Tea Dances’ with classical and, later on, big band style music to the nimble-footed crowds spinning across its famous sprung dancefloor.

By the time entrepreneur and entertainer, Michael Snapper, purchased the hotel in 1951 those glory days were long gone, so when local trumpeter Brian Rutland came looking for gig venue in early ‘56 Snapper readily agreed. Bringing a ready-made crowd along with their upbeat sounds, the Grove Jazz Band heralded a huge revival of the island’s popularity.

Rutland’s time at the helm was short-lived; Within weeks Arthur Chisnall, who worked for Snapper in his Kingston Antiques Emporium, had taken over. A self-styled social worker who sought to study ‘trend-formers’ in mid-50s Britain, he had noticed the number of students snapping up the Jazz records in his shop. Reasoning that Trad Jazz was a crucial ingredient in these teenagers’ make-up, he saw the Eel Pie Hotel as the perfect venue to further his studies and set up his ‘social experiment’. After a couple of months of informal get togethers the Eel Pie Jazz Club was legitimised, introducing memberships and entrance fees. ‘EELPILAND’ was born, with Ken Colyer’s band playing the first official gig on the 10th August 1956.

‘Word spread fast on the teenage grapevine. Within a very short space of time there were hundreds of art students, beat-niks, jazz buffs and plain old pleasure seekers who, having discovered Eel Pie Island, never really went away for the next eleven years!’ Arthur Chisnall

The subsequent success of the club presumably helped persuade Michael Snapper to finance the construction of a footbridge, replacing the old chain-link ferry, which up to that point had been the only, and sometimes precarious, means of access. The ‘Grand Opening’ of the bridge on 9th February 1957 culminated in a performance by Cy Laurie in the club.

All the big names in the world of British Trad Jazz performed on Eel Pie Island; As well as the aforementioned Ken Colyer, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Sandy Brown, Terry Lightfoot, Alex Welsh and many others became regular features at the club. During 1957, there was a short-lived foray into Folk music, but by-and-large, it was Trad Jazz that ruled the roost.

O ctober 1962 saw a nod to prevailing tastes, when a ‘Rock and Twist’ night was promoted, on a previously unused Wednesday, with a bill including Screaming Lord Sutch and Cliff Bennett and The Rebel Rousers. This marked a shift away from the Trad Jazz nature of the club, and R&B bands began to appear on two out of the three club nights.

An unusually quiet April Sunday in 1963 prompted Chisnall and his doorman, Stan Piper, to go in search of their missing clientele. They discovered The Rolling Stones packing them in at The Railway Hotel in nearby Richmond, resulting in a five-month Eel Pie residency for the band. Their last island gig in September that year was proof that they were well on their way to superstardom - ‘The hall and grounds were solid and there were queues over the bridge. The whole bloody island was overflowing’ Arthur Chisnall

Cyril Davies, who along with Alexis Korner, was reckoned to be a ‘Godfather of British Blues’ was a key performer, as well as helping the nascent Yardbirds establish themselves by using them as a support group. Upon Davies’ untimely death in January 1964, Cyril Davies All Stars vocalist, Long John Baldry, took leadership, renamed the band The Hoochie Coochie Men, and honoured a pre-contracted island gig. That same night, a young Rod Stewart was recruited, following the famous encounter at Twickenham Station when Baldry heard a ‘raspy voice coming from a bundle of rags with a nose sticking out.’

‘Eel Pie Island was a fantastically exciting destination and the place that I really began to understand the power of rhythm and blues, when it’s done right.’

Rod Stewart

During 1964, David Bowie, then still Davie Jones, played with The Manish Boys on a number of occasions, while Jeff Beck was featuring in The Tridents’ line-up. Many venerable US bluesmen, such as Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Memphis Slim, Champion Jack Dupree, Little Walter, Jesse Fuller, and the young Buddy Guy on his first European tour, played to eager island audiences.

A number of Soul/R&B acts appeared from 1965 onwards, usually fronted by black ex-US servicemen like Herbie Goins, Geno Washington, Ronnie Jones and John L Watson. Rod Stewart returned with Long John Baldry, Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger, in ‘super-group’ Steampacket.

Whilst the Artwoods, featuring Ronnie Woods’ elder brother Art and a pre–Deep Purple Jon Lord, racked up a record number of appearances, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers were also serial offenders, showcasing Mayall’s astonishing series of lead guitarists, with one of them, Eric Clapton, returning in an early Cream gig in August 1966. A year later, Pink Floyd were bamboozling punters with both their music and light show, exemplifying the wind of change blowing through music in 1967, along with proponents of the UK Blues Boom, like Ten Years After, Chicken Shack and Savoy Brown.

‘It was a fantastic place, but I do remember the trouble we had trying to haul John Mayall’s Hammond across that bridge!’

Eric Clapton

Although the club had been immensely successful, little money had been ploughed into upkeep of the building, and due, amongst other things, to the dilapidated state of the ballroom, the club’s licence was revoked in 1967. With Arthur Chisnall facing unachievable costs for renovation, his only option was to leave. He continued with the social activities he’d always pursued, such as helping people to further their education, establishing some of the first adventure playgrounds, and a healthy involvement in the BIT Information Service, all now from home, rather than the island.

Following some superficial repairs and a lick of paint, the ballroom reopened in June 1968 as a venue for sporadic concerts for the likes of The Nice, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Joe Cocker, and a Who gig where somewhat surprised punters were given a preview of the ‘rock opera’ Tommy.

After a brief interlude as home of the Richmond Arts Workshop, with Grenville Sheringham booking an early incarnation of Hawkwind, regular gigs returned in autumn 1969, when Caldwell Smythe established Colonel Barefoot’s Rock Garden. Twice weekly new ‘progressive’ bands held court, with the ballroom timbers shaking to the volume of Deep Purple, Free, Mott The Hoople and Black Sabbath, and witnessing the experimentation of early Genesis and Van Der Graaf Generator. However, in the face of local authority pressure, and the presence of a commune occupying the degenerating hotel, Smythe walked away and years of ground-breaking music ended with a final gig by Quintessence on November 21st 1970.

With planning permission for redevelopment already in place, the Eel Pie Island Hotel met its sad end in March 1971, burning down in questionable circumstances, to be replaced with housing. As a venue, it had outlived its contemporaneous rivals such as The Ealing Club, The Cellar Club in Kingston, and the Attic/Zambezi/Ricky Tick clubs in Hounslow, as well as those further afield like Liverpool’s Cavern, and was firmly etched into the hearts and memories of countless punters and musicians.

To many, ‘The Island’ was a life-changing part of their youth, as participants of the first youthquake, the revolutionary music, counter-culture, sense of discovery and freedom it offered was a magical catalytic mix of time and place.

‘It was just so special. Other gigs were just gigs, but the Island was something else. We took an almost corporate pride in playing there. You’d look out from the stage and that sprung floor would be rockin’. People would not just be piggy-backing, but double piggy-backing. It wouldn’t happen today – Health and Safety would close it down. But it did happen and thank god it did. We’re poorer for the fact that we’ll never have another Eel Pie Island.’

Derek Griffiths, Artwoods guitarist.

For a complete list of bands who played on the island please view the roll calls .

The current day Eel Pie Club was founded in 2000 by Gina Way, Warren Walters and Tom Nolan, putting on many acts who once appeared on the island.

One time member of the Eel Pie Hotel commune, Weed, has collected a wealth of memories, pictures and related links on his website . It is well worth a visit if you’d like to take a bigger bite of the Pie!

Artists Community

183:848437206 (Michele Whitby) — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 10:52:53 GMT

A variety of artists and craftspeople have occupied workshop spaces within Eel Pie Boatyard for over thirty years.

Formerly known as Eel Pie Marine Centre, the site was acquired in the mid ‘80s by Henry Gastall wanting to offer ‘little spaces for people to work in’ alongside the boatyard activities.

Described by Henry as ‘an adventure playground for adults’, it rapidly became a thriving hub of resourceful talent with a diverse pool of skills that included painters, jewellers, photographers, carpenters, graphic designers, blacksmiths, glass makers, sculptors, stone masons, potters, guitar makers and textile workers.

By the mid '90s the Marine Centre enterprises were thriving. Well established in their various trades, with a blossoming reputation for high quality work, the occupants began hosting annual ‘Open Studios’ events, inviting the public across the bridge to buy direct from the makers. (Such was the interest in supporting these creative endeavours, ‘Par-ici’, a shop specialising in locally made wares, many from Eel Pie Island, operated in central Twickenham from 1996 – 2012.)

However, disaster struck in the early hours of Sunday 3rd November 1996 as a huge fire raged through Eel Pie Marine Centre, engulfing buildings and boats in soaring flames; By dawn all that was left was a smouldering heap of burnt-out livelihoods.

The fire received considerable media attention, partly because it was the biggest blaze the area had seen in years, and also because of Eel Pie Island's earlier notoriety. Within hours an appeal was launched to find workspaces, tools, and financial aid.

The Eel Pie Trust was quickly established and over the following months s all manner of fund-raising events were organised, including gigs, raffles, theatrical productions and an auction of over one hundred lots consisting of a fabulous array of donated items including many items signed by celebrities. The appeal raised in excess of £40,000 which was distributed to assist in rebuilding lost livelihoods. Arthur Chisnall, who had once run the islands music venue, eagerly got involved saying ‘I've been waiting twenty years for you lot to come along!’

Over the following months people gradually re-established themselves, but obviously not all back on the Island - the heart and soul of a unique place had been consumed by flames and the site was now under threat from omnipresent developers. The blaze had left an 'L-shaped' part virtually unaffected by the fire, and a large central area of ash and rubble.

The land was eventually sold in two lots. The central part, bought by Henry Harrison, became an office complex with little evidence of the boatyard and small-scale creative uses that once flourished there. Henry’s son, Blaine, with his band The Mystery Jets, managed, albeit briefly, to bring music back to the island until a noise abatement order forced them to stop their gigs. Thankfully this didn’t stop the band going on to achieve great things.

The 'L-shape', bought by four previous tenants, is still run by the Montgomery-Smith family as Eel Pie Boatyard, operating in much the same pre-fire way. First and foremost a functioning boatyard, a number of small creative spaces exist alongside the boat activities. Although usually closed to the public, the artists still host bi-annual Open Studios offering a chance to buy their work and soak up some of its unique atmosphere. To many it represents the last remnants of the spirit that was the Eel Pie Island of the 60s.

Follow the Eel Pie Artists Facebook Page .

Trevor Baylis 1937 - 2018

183:848437206 (Michele Whitby) — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 10:42:15 GMT

‘Achievement is more important than qualification’ - Trevor Baylis

As a regular at the ‘Eelpiland’ jazz club, Trevor Baylis had fallen for the decadent charm of Eel Pie Island long before he had made enough money (as an underwater escapologist in the Berlin Circus) to buy a plot of land there and build his dream house in the 1970s. A professional swimmer, stuntman and circus performer, Trevor had also studied mechanical and structural engineering in his spare time.

The home he built for himself was a bachelors paradise that saw its fair share of raucous parties! Aptly named ‘The Haven’, it featured an indoor swimming pool, outdoor jacuzzi, impressive workshop housing his ‘boys toys’… and a miniscule kitchen!

Having witnessed life-changing accidents amongst his circus friends, Trevor was already inventing a range of products to assist the disabled. A 1991 television program highlighting how lack of access to information was contributing to the devastating spread of AIDS in Africa, lead him straight to his in-house workshop to come up with a solution.

The result was the ‘Clockwork Radio’, powered simply by winding it up. The world of information and entertainment available from tuning into a radio became available to thousands without electricity or money for batteries. The radio proved to be life changing for many, including many employees at the BayGen factory. Set up in South Africa in 1995, 30% of its workforce consisted of disabled and disadvantaged people. Describing seeing the factory signage for the first time, Trevor said ‘It was just an ordinary sign, but I was prouder of it than anything. I looked at it through a smear of weeping and wished that my dear old mum and dad could have lived to see that their guileless faith in me had been justified’

The invention made Trevor rather famous, which, as a born showman he lapped up; TV and radio appearances were aplenty, including a regular slot on C4’s ‘The Big Breakfast’, and he was a very popular ‘After Dinner Speaker’. He received an OBE in 1997 and CBE in 2015, was holder of two Guinness World Records and winner of countless awards. He met many influential people including Nelson Mandela and Princess Diana, who gave him the pith helmet that he regularly wore with great pride.

Trevor’s last public engagement was opening the Eel Pie Island Museum on 23rd February 2018. He passed away at home on 5th March, having taken every opportunity to spend time in the museum chatting to delighted visitors.

‘Trevor was a great supporter of the Eel Pie Island Museum, behind me all the way, spurring me on as we encountered endless hurdles trying to get the project off the ground. He even accompanied me to City Hall when I went to pitch for funding from the Mayor of London. We were delighted to have him cutting the ribbon at our opening night. I would have been heartbroken if he hadn’t got to see it after all the support he gave to me.’

- Michele Whitby

Read about Trevor on Wikipedia or watch him on the Big Breakfast Show .

1956 Roll-Call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 13:17:00 GMT

1956

sees Brian Rutland obtain the use of the Eel Pie Island Ballroom in April, courtesy of owner Michael Snapper

Whilst I have seen mentions of The Hugh Douglas Orchestra , a dance band very popular in the area, playing at such venues as St Mary’s Hall, and Twickenham Palais as well as Eel Pie Island Hotel during the 1940s and early 1950s, by and large music was no longer being played in the ballroom. However, having outgrown the capacity of the Barmy Arms, Brian Rutland’s Grove Jazz Band performs the first of a series of (informal) gigs there, after having approached owner Michael Snapper over the use of his ballroom ‘literally gathering dust’. However, after a few months, Brian turns up to find Arthur Chisnall has booked Ken Colyer in his place, thereby gazumped

Jazz Parade in Twickenham – Brian Rutland and The Grove Jazz Band – 1956

The following ‘roll-call’ of performers at Eel Pie Island has been compiled mainly from the contracts held by the estate of Arthur Chisnall, who operated the club between 1956 and 1967. When Arthur Chisnall took on the booking of bands, John Winstone (working with Chisnall) wrote to local Student Unions notifying them that “the inevitable party will be held at Eel Pie Island this Friday 1/6/56, with the Terra Buona Jazz Band playing for dancing, followed by a Skiffle Group, who will play until their audience has fallen exhausted”, and advising of a 1/6 entrance fee, 2/6 for a membership ‘Passport’, with the heavy hint that very soon entrance would soon be by Passport only due to the physical limitation of the venue, obviously expecting oversubscribed attendances by the near future. These fees were initially to provide the rent for the venue. After a short while, due to police pressure, the venue became legitimised as a club, “Eelpiland”, following the introduction of those memberships and entrance fees, which allowed for payment for the performers, rather than the previous crates of beer. It is from that point that records exist, in the form of contracts and flyers that have allowed the following roll-call to be compiled, though there are numerous gaps. Unlike similar pieces of work written about other venues, such as The Cavern and The Marquee, as far as the Island is concerned, typically no adverts appeared in either the local or musical press, so that avenue for research is largely unavailable: publicity about forthcoming events was limited to word of mouth and some discreetly distributed flyers. Please note that the comments appearing against any act are no-one’s opinions but my own, though facts have been sourced from all over, and I apologise if any of said comments appear to be teaching any grannies to suck eggs, but I am aiming at a broad audience. Grateful thanks are due to Susanne Fischer for the kind use of Arthur’s ephemera.

Fri. Aug 10 ^th – Ken Colyer ’s Jazzmen

The first act to appear professionally at Eel Pie Island, in 1956 on this, the official opening of the Eel Pie Island Jazz Club, or ‘Eelpiland’, and its ‘Guest Register’

The post 1956 Roll-Call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1957 Roll-Call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 14:52:00 GMT

1957

sees Eel Pie Island Jazz Club’s “Grand Gala Opening Night” celebrating the opening of Michael Snapper’s footbridge to the Island, with Cy Laurie headlining. Others featured during the year include Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen, Mr Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band, Kenny Ball’s Jazzmen, Merseysippi, Dick Bishop’s Skiffle Group and Mitz Mitton…..

January 1957

Fri. Jan 4 ^th – Mick Mulligan

George Melly at Eel Pie? Probably, given he’d first been enticed to the Island to see Cy Laurie the previous year, with Melly equating ‘Eel Pie Island’ with ‘Honky Tonk’ and ‘Gut Bucket’ linguistically and thematically…

Fri. Jan 11 ^th – Crane River Jazz Band

A kind of ‘supergroup’ of their day, any number of performers listed below passed through the ranks of the Crane River Jazz Band, most notably Ken Colyer, Sonny Morris, and Monty Sunshine

Sat. Jan 12 ^th – Alex Welsh

Sat. Jan 19 ^th – Sandy Brown

During 1957, Sandy and old schoolmate Al Fairweather (who features later in his own right), both alumni of Edinburgh’s Royal High School, recorded and released the seminal “McJazz” album, which, as far as Melody Maker’s critic Steve Race was concerned, was “one of the twelve greatest Jazz recordings of all time” – heady praise indeed. Sandy went on to perform on the Island many times over the next few years, before leaving ‘trad’ for a more mainstream direction. He died in 1975 in front of his TV, watching Scotland lose to England at rugby, but with a whisky in his hand

February 1957

Fri. Feb 1 ^st – Crane River Jazz Band

Sat. Feb 2 ^nd – Omega Jazz Band

Arthur Chisnall’s choice won out in a stand-off with the Cy Laurie Agency’s preferred Alec Revell Band – see next entry

Sat. Feb 9 ^th – Cy Laurie , Bill Brunskill’s Jazzmen, The Alpha Jazzmen

Though Terry Lightfoot had been down to play, o ther accounts quote this evening as Eel Pie Island Jazz Club’s “Grand Gala Opening Night – A Three Band Session” with Cy Laurie as headline, together with Bill Brunskill’s Jazzmen, and The Alpha Jazzmen. This was, in fact, to mark the opening of the new footbridge over to the Island. Over and above this particular activity, there had been a power struggle going on between Arthur Chisnall and the Cy Laurie Agency surrounding the running of the club: whilst Chisnall ultimately won out, tonight had been promoted by the Cy Laurie Agency, hence Laurie’s appearance tonight – I guess Terry Lightfoot’s New Orleans Jazzmen had been Chisnall’s intended performers (for details of that power struggle, Michele Whitby describes the whole episode in full in her book “Eel Pie Island”)

Fri. Feb 15 ^th – Clyde Valley Stompers or Merseysippi (the flyer is hedging its bets)

Sat. Feb 16 ^th – Ian Bell

Fri. Feb 22 ^nd – Alex Welsh

Sat. Feb 23 ^rd – Piltdown Seven

Thu. Feb 28 ^th – Ken Colyer

March 1957

Sat. Mar 2 ^nd – Ian Bell

Fri. Mar 8 ^th – Crane River Jazz Band

Fri. Mar 15 ^th – Dave Carey

Sat. Mar 16 ^th – Sandy Brown

Fri. Mar 22 ^nd – Crane River Jazz Band

Sat. Mar 23 ^rd – Ian Bell

Fri. Mar 29 ^th – Crane River Jazz Band

Sat. Mar 30 ^th – Sandy Brown

April 1957

Fri. Apr 5 ^th – Ian Bell

Sat. Apr 6 ^th – Dick Bishop’s Skiffle Group & Omega

A rare concession to skiffle being the main musical action here: Dickie Bishop recorded with Chris Barber, and ‘Omega’ was the Omega Brass Band, a marching band at that, who used to feature Ken Colyer within its ranks, and whose elusive only recording of themselves was issued with Ken Colyer as “Colyer Plays Standards”

Fri. Apr 12 ^th – Ian Bell

Sat. Apr 13 ^th – Avon Cities

The previous year, in 1956, the Avon Cities Jazz Band had headlined at the Beaulieu Jazz Festival, which had been the first open-air festival of its kind held in the UK

Fri. Apr 19 ^th – Sandy Brown or The Gateway Jazzmen from Carlisle

Who actually showed up to play tonight? It looks from the flyer that options were being kept open: perhaps Sandy Brown was on the subs bench in case the Gateway chaps couldn’t make it from the far North West, though they were able to make a TV appearance on “Six Five Special” the following year

Sat. Apr 20 ^th – Ian Bell

Fri. Apr 26 ^th – Rob Thornton

Sat. Apr 27 ^th – Alex Welsh

May 1957

Fri. May 3 ^rd – Crane River Jazz Band

Sat. May 4 ^th – Ian Bell

Fri. May 10 ^th – Rob Thornton

Sat. May 11 ^th – Acker Bilt [sic]

While they may have misspelt his name on the flyer, Mr Acker Bilk had his huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic some five years later with “Stranger On The Shore”, when he could also be found sharing the bill on an occasional ‘Riverboat Shuffle’, organised as an alternative night’s entertainment by Liverpool’s Cavern Club, with a bunch called The Beatles

Fri. May 17 ^th – Crane River

Sat. May 18 ^th – Sandy Brown

Fri. May 24 ^th – Casey Bottom

Sat. May 25 ^th – Purest In The West

Both Casey Bottom and Purest In The West are bracketed together on the flyer, so whether that meant both played on both days is unclear

Thu. May 30 ^th – Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen

A live album was recorded tonight, and while, no doubt, the album itself is rare, the CD reissue is just as much so, being out of print at the moment. The CD, at least, is entitled “The Classic Years Volume 2”. The fact that tonight was recorded may explain why it was a Thursday night performance, which rather bucks the Friday / Saturday trend prevalent at this point

Fri. May 31 ^st – Alex Welsh

June 1957

Sat. Jun 1 ^st – Omega Jazz Band

Fri. Jun 7 ^th – Ian Bell

Sat. Jun 8 ^th – Alex Welsh

Fri. Jun 14 ^th – Terry Lightfoot

Sat. Jun 15 ^th – Ian Bell

Fri. Jun 21 ^st – Mike Peters

Sat. Jun 22 ^nd – Mitz Mitton

Responsible for the wonderfully titled read “Don’t take the pith (helmet): A safari through the jungles of jazz”, coming out in 2008, which draws on his years in the jazz business, with the likes of The Omega Jazz Band, and Alan Elsdon. In fact, proceeds from the book went to the Alzheimer’s Society in tribute to his erstwhile boss, Elsdon

Sat. Jun 29 ^th – Alex Welsh

July 1957

Fri. Jul 5 ^th – Alex Welsh

Sat. Jul 6 ^th – Mitz Mitton

August 1957

Fri. Aug 16 ^th – Graham Stewart

Sat. Aug 17 ^th – Merseysippi

Referred to in 1962 by John Lennon as “the old buggers” – Lennon’s Quarrymen supported Merseysippi in January 1958, in what was Paul McCartney’s Cavern debut – and a Liverpool institution since 1949, the Merseysippi Jazz Band headlined on the opening night of that city’s esteemed venue back in January, and performances proliferated thereafter, though not, it appears, in this neck of the woods

Fri. Aug 23 ^rd – The Storyville Jazz Band

The Storyville Jazz Band were still playing on the Island ten years after tonight, so some sort of long service award should be due. The band provided an early outlet for a young Peter Baker’s talents on drums: later, he would be known as Ginger, and people would learn to beware him!

Sat. Aug 24 ^th – Acker Bilk

Thu. Aug 29 ^th – Ken Colyer

Fri. Aug 30 ^th – The Storyville Jazz Band

Sat. Aug 31 ^st – Ian Bell

September 1957

Fri. Sep 6 ^th – The Storyville Jazz Band

Sat. Sep 7 ^th – Sandy Brown

Fri. Sep 13 ^th – Jubilee

October 1957

Fri. Oct 25 ^th – Jubilee

Sat. Oct 26 ^th – Ian Bell

November 1957

Fri. Nov 1 ^st – Sonny Morris

Sat. Nov 2 ^nd – Sandy Brown

Fri. Nov 8 ^th – Ian Bell

Sat. Nov 9 ^th – Alex Welsh

Fri. Nov 15 ^th – Temperance 7 and Jamaican Steel Band

Sat. Nov 16 ^th – Terry Lightfoot

Fri. Nov 22 ^nd – Mike Peters

Sat. Nov 23 ^rd – Bruce Turner

Having left Humphrey Lyttelton’s band, Bruce Turner formed his Jump Band, and as such represented a more swing / mainstream approach to jazz, as opposed to the Trad style which was prevalent in virtually every other act appearing at the Island at this point. On his debut with Lyttelton’s band in 1953, his alto sax work was unappreciated by the band’s fans, who unfurled a banner bearing the legend “Go Home Dirty Bopper” – he had developed a be-bop style during the Forties.

Fri. Nov 29 ^th – Don Steele’s Jazzmen

December 1957

Sun. Dec 1 ^st – “Grand Opening of the Hacienda Ballroom” (From invite)

The invite (from owner Michael Snapper, actually) only describes the performers as “A well known Dance Band” and “Also a celebrated Caribean [sic] Steel Band”. Who were these mystery bands? And how did this differ from the “Grand Opening” back in February?

The post 1957 Roll-Call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1958 Roll-Call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 15:14:00 GMT

1958

sees Mick Mulligan, Mike Peters, Sandy Brown, Al Fairweather, Terry Lightfoot, and Wally Fawkes all performing at Eelpiland, together with a “Jazz Parade” starting at Twickenham Green featuring Acker Bilk and Sonny Morris, but also skiffle from the City Ramblers and folk from Sandy and Caroline Paton from the USA, and Scotsman Robin Hall ..

January 1958

Fri. Jan 17 ^th – Acker Bilk

Sat. Jan 18 ^th – Mick Mulligan

Fri. Jan 24 ^th – Mike Peters also Sandy Paton and Caroline (American Folk Singers)

This deviation from jazz featured Sandy and Caroline Paton who were indeed American folk singers: in his obituary appearing in The Guardian in 2009, Sandy was bracketed with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Bob Dylan, as examples of US folk merchants breaking over here in the late 50s and early 60s. Sandy went on to co-found the influential Folk-Legacy record label in 1961. Incidentally, Sandy and Caroline’s first son was born during this year-long sojourn in the UK: “a free baby, courtesy of the National Health Service”, as Sandy put it. Thinking about it, as they had no work permits, it may have been a bit risky to have been advertised and they almost certainly would have been paid “under the table”

Sat. Jan 25 ^th – Sandy Brown

Back in December, Sandy Brown was augmented for a six month stint by a sax player who would become synonymous with saxophone in both jazz and R&B circles in the 60s, not to mention jazz-rock fusion even later. His name? Dick Heckstall-Smith, who was certainly the first fellow I saw who could play two saxes at the same time

Fri. Jan 31 ^st – Al Fairweather

Tonight, it appears Al Fairweather appeared without usual oppo Sandy Brown, with whom he’d started with back in Edinburgh as members of the Royal High School Gang: at one stage they played at Edinburgh’s Oddfellows Hall, where one of their buddies, one Tom Connery, was the bouncer – Tom went and changed his name to Sean, and look what that did for him!

February 1958

Sat. Feb 1 ^st – Les Six Orleanais

This predominantly French outfit (led by Claude Luter) had at some point featured the controversial figure of Sidney Bechet, who beat Louis Armstrong to the studio in the 20s, was jailed and deported from the UK in 1921, returned to France with the Revue Negre (featuring Josephine Baker) that got as far as Russia in 1926, jailed and deported from France in 1929, had a hit with “Summertime” in 1939, and, disillusioned by prospects in the US, eventually moved back to France in 1950. That French imprisonment followed the accidental wounding of a woman passerby during a shootout which was apparently a duel called by Bechet after being accused by another musician/producer of playing the ‘wrong chord’. The challenge was accompanied by the assertion, by himself, that “Sidney Bechet does not play the wrong chord”. All very interesting, but I believe Bechet’s association with Luter ended in 1955, so it’s unlikely he was on show today, unfortunately

Fri. Feb 7 ^th – Dick Charlesworth

Sat. Feb 8 ^th – Acker Bilk

Fri. Feb 14 ^th – Trad & Folk Song

That’s all it says on the flyer. Maybe it was a return visit from Sandy and Caroline Paton, only this time discretion having led to some anonymity?

Sat. Feb 15 ^th – Sandy Brown

Fri. Feb 21 ^st – Ray Galliers Prelude Six

Sat. Feb 22 ^nd – Al Fairweather

March 1958

Mon. Mar 10 ^th – Elesto Cortez and Robin Hall

This was Eelpiland branching out in a different direction: tonight is billed as “Eelpiland presents International Folk Music every Monday 8 to 10:30” and for tonight the aforementioned Sandy Paton “will be introducing ELESTO CORTEZ (Nigerian songs) and ROBIN HALL (Scottish songs) with visiting artists from floor”. Admission to what is billed as its opening night is free, with “Spiritual and Caffeic refreshment available”. While certainly Robin Hall became something of a household name due to his TV appearances in the 60s with Jimmy McGregor, it is not clear whether this folk venture endured much beyond tonight

May 1958

Fri. May 9 ^th – Ian Bell

Sat. May 10 ^th – Sandy Brown

Fri. May 16 ^th – Acker Bilk

Fri. May 16 ^th – Cy Laurie

Fri. May 16 ^th – Dave Carey

An unusually rich bill for a Friday: must have been something special about tonight

Sat. May 17 ^th – Bruce Turner

Fri. May 23 ^rd – Brian Taylor

Sat. May 24 ^th – Sonny Morris

Fri. May 30 ^th – Mike Peters

Sat. May 31 ^st – Brian Taylor

June 1958

Fri. Jun 6 ^th – Sonny Morris

Sat. Jun 7 ^th – Alex Welsh

Fri. Jun 13 ^th – Acker Bilk

Sat. Jun 14 ^th – Mick Mulligan

Fri. Jun 20 ^th – Brian Taylor

Sat. Jun 21 ^st – Terry Lightfoot

Fri. Jun 27 ^th – Sonny Morris

Sat. Jun 28 ^th – Sandy Brown

July 1958

Fri. Jul 4 ^th – Brian Taylor

Sat. Jul 5 ^th – Acker Bilk

Fri. Jul 11 ^th – Mike Peters

Sat. Jul 12 ^th – Bruce Turner

Fri. Jul 18 ^th – City Ramblers

The City Ramblers were a skiffle outfit who had not come through the ranks of trad jazz, but who were initially a barely proficient trio (after ditching early member John Pilgrim on washboard and pet monkey Saki(!?)), often found busking outside Charing Cross station. Two years before tonight, they had embarked on what appears to have been a fairly chaotic tour of Germany and Scandinavia with Woody Guthrie-inspired American ‘cowboy singer’, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, and cutting an EP in Copenhagen, before cutting their losses and returning to London, with Elliott electing to stay in Germany with his wife June. A year later, and they were playing at the Moscow International Youth Festival, so they certainly put the miles in. Incredibly, the City Ramblers embarked on a revival recently, appearing at Herne Hill Music Festival, and are still gigging as City Ramblers Revival, featuring original member Hylda Sims , whose first guitar was gifted to her by Ivor Cutler when she was a teenager

Sat. Jul 19 ^th – Brian Woolley

Fri. Jul 25 ^th – Acker Bilk, Sonny Morris, Dixie’s Marching Band and The Riversiders

This was a ‘Jazz Parade’ (on behalf of the Borough of Twickenham Fair) starting at First Cross Road, Twickenham Green, according to the flyer. Seeing as there were a number of ‘Jazz Parades’ during this era, what my imagination is struggling to come to terms with is how was the inevitable bottleneck handled at the other side of Eel Pie Island’s bridge, when all (performers and acolytes) had to pay their toll to the little old ladies?

Sat. Jul 26 ^th – Al Fairweather

August 1958

Fri. Aug 1 ^st – Sonny Morris

September 1958

Fri. Sep 12 ^th – Don Steele

Sat. Sep 13 ^th – Micky Ashman

Double bass player Micky Ashman graduated through the ranks of Humphrey Lyttelton and Chris Barber before stepping out with his own band

Fri. Sep 19 ^th – Mike Peters (Esq.)

I don’t know how Mike Peters earned the “Esq” soubriquet for tonight particularly, as he was well known to the Eel Pie fraternity by now, but I do know he seems to have been the only person around with a camera in those black and white days, one of only a few to document Eel Pie Island photographically, so he gets my vote for that at least!

Sat. Sep 20 ^th – Acker Bilk

Fri. Sep 26 ^th – Dave Nelson

Sat. Sep 27 ^th – Graham Stewart

October 1958

Fri. Oct 3 ^rd – Terry Layton

Sat. Oct 4 ^th – Terry Lightfoot

Fri. Oct 10 ^th – Ian Bell

Sat. Oct 11 ^th – Alex Welsh

Sat. Oct 25 ^th – Graham Stewart

Fri. Oct 31 ^st – Dave Nelson

November 1958

Sat. Nov 1 ^st – Acker Bilk

Fri. Nov 7 ^th – Brian Taylor

Sat. Nov 8 ^th – Wally Fawkes

While clarinet is his instrument of choice for tonight, it was the pen for his other day job, as satirical cartoonist Trog, in creating “Flook”, which ran in the Daily Mail for 35 years. The pen-name ‘Trog’ came from his earlier jazz band, Wally Fawkes and The Troglodytes

Fri. Nov 14 ^th – Micky Ashman

Sat. Nov 15 ^th – Sandy Brown / Al Fairweather

Fri. Nov 21 ^st – Mole Ben

Sat. Nov 22 ^nd – Micky Ashman

Fri. Nov 28 ^th – Pete Wells Benefit

Sat. Nov 29 ^th – Diz Disley & Brian Woolley

December 1958

Fri. Dec 5 ^th – Dick Charlesworth

Sat. Dec 6 ^th – Graham Stewart

Fri. Dec 12 ^th – Brian Taylor

Sat. Dec 13 ^th – Acker Bilk

Sat. Dec 13 ^th – Riversiders

Sat. Dec 20 ^th – Terry Lightfoot

Wed. Dec 24 ^th – Graham Stewart (late night)

Fri. Dec 26 ^th – “Members night”

Sat. Dec 27 ^th – Micky Ashman

Wed. Dec 31 ^st – Alex Welsh (late night)

The post 1958 Roll-Call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1959 Roll-call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 11:13:00 GMT

1959

sees guitarist Diz Disley bucking the trend, a ‘SKINTS BALL’ with Cy Laurie, Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzband, and Terry Lightfoot’s Jazz Band, as well as a ‘JERKS JUMP’ featuring Bill Brunskill’s Jazzband as well as The Riversiders. In between, Kid Shillito, Micky Ashman, Mr Acker Bilk, Bob Wallis’ Storyville Jazzmen, Alex Welsh, Kenny Ball, and Dick Charlesworth and His City Gents are on show ..

February 1959

Sat. Feb 7 ^th – Micky Ashman

Sun. Feb 8 ^th – Dis [sic] Disley

Described by George Melly as “having the face of a satyr, en route to a cheerful orgy”, Diz Disley was a comparative rarity, being a jazz guitarist in these times of trumpet, trombone and clarinet. Inspired by Django Reinhardt, he continued his fruitful career long after tonight, playing with such diverse musicians as Stephane Grappelli, Dave Swarbrick and Nigel Kennedy (must be something about violinists)

Sat. Feb 17 ^th – Graham Stewart

Sun. Feb 18 ^th – Dis Disley

Sat. Feb 21 ^st – Crane River Jazz Band

Sun. Feb 22 ^nd – Dis Disley

Sat. Feb 28 ^th – Bruce Turner

March 1959

Sun. Mar 1 ^st – Dis Disley

Sat. Mar 7 ^th – Micky Ashman

Sun. Mar 8 ^th – Dis Disley

Sat. Mar 14 ^th – Sandy Brown

Sun. Mar 15 ^th – Dis Disley

Sat. Mar 21 ^st – Mick Mulligan

Sun. Mar 22 ^nd – Dis Disley

Sat. Mar 28 ^th – Graham Stewart

April 1959

Fri. Apr 3 ^rd – Ken Colyer & Neil Millett (Celebration Dance)

Sat. Apr 4 ^th – Crane River Jazz Band

Sat. Apr 11 ^th – Micky Ashman

Sat. Apr 18 ^th – Brian Woolley

Sat. Apr 25 ^th – Mike Daniels

May 1959

Sat. May 2 ^nd – Terry Lightfoot

From this point (unless otherwise stated), the following entries are largely from contracts, together with the agreed fee, though it has been pointed out that during the purely jazz phase of Eelpiland, there was inevitably a skiffle act that would typically play during the main band’s break between sets, and of course these skifflers would be neither contracted nor advertised at all: they would quite often be members of the main band anyway.

Sat. May 9 ^th – The Graham Stewart Seven (£25)

Fri. May 15 ^th – Terry Lightfoot’s Jazz Band

Fri. May 15 ^th – Mike Daniel’s Delta Jazzmen

Fri. May 15 ^th – Cy Laurie

All the above for this night appeared under the banner “SKINTS BALL”, whatever that was meant to mean, according to the flyer

Sat. May 16 ^th – Bill Brunskill’s Jazzband (£10)

Trumpeter Bill Brunskill first played with Cy Laurie, and up until the late 90s was still leading his band, usually at The Lord Napier in Thornton Heath. Back in 1957, in a date on the Island that I’ve been unable to trace, he was supported by the mighty First Molesey Skiffling Scouts, who featured a 13-year old Mick Avory on drums, who went on to the even mightier Kinks. In 1995, Bill was the subject of a TV documentary, “ Whatever Happened To Bill Brunskill? ” , presented by George Melly

Sat. May 16 ^th – The Kid Shillito Jazz Band (£15)

Sounding like a middleweight boxing contender, Kid Shillito is still tooting his trumpet in John Shillito’s Select 4, or Select 6, all over the shop – mainly Devon – even now, latterly as The Riviera Ramblers, specialising in “Le jazz hot”. Later in the year he would join Micky Ashman’s band, who have a number of credits here, both before and after tonight

Fri. May 22 ^nd – Bob Wallis’ Storyville Jazzmen (£15)

Fri. May 22 ^nd – Mr. Acker Bilk’s Paramount Jazz Band (£25)

There is a clause on Bob Wallis’ contract (above) for tonight stating that “This is a shared session with Acker Bilk (Club Anniversary)” with Mr Bilk starting at 7:30 and Bob to start playing at “9:00 prompt” . This was the 3rd anniversary of the club, and advertised as such on the flyer

Sat. May 23 ^rd – Brian Woolley’s Jazzmen (£25)

Sat. May 30 ^th – Micky Ashman and his band (£25)

June 1959

Sat. Jun 6 ^th – The Kid Shillito Jazzband (£25)

Sat. Jun 13 ^th – Terry Lightfoot’s New Orleans Jazzmen (£25)

Sat. Jun 20 ^th – Alex Welsh and his band (£25)

Fri. Jun 26 ^th – Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen (£25) (Celebration Dance)

Fri. Jun 26 ^th – The Kid Shillito Jazzband (£15)(Celebration Dance)

Sat. Jun 27 ^th – Micky Ashman and his Jazzband (£25)

July 1959

Sat. Jul 4 ^th – Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen featuring Doreen Beatty (£25)

Sat. Jul 11 ^th – The Graham Stewart Seven (£25)

Sat. Jul 18 ^th – Al Fairweather / Sandy Brown All Stars Band (£25)

Fri. Jul 24 ^th – Ian Bell’s Jazzmen (£25)

Fri. Jul 24 ^th – Bob Wallis’ Storyville Jazzmen (£25)

“Parade from Twickenham Green to Eel Pie Island”, with the club session starting at 8pm

Sat. Jul 25 ^th – Micky Ashman and his Jazzband (£25)

August 1959

Sat. Aug 1 ^st – Dick Charlesworth and his City Gents (£25)

Sat. Aug 8 ^th – Mr Acker Bilk’s Paramount Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. Aug 15 ^th – The Kenny Ball Jazzmen (£25)

Kenny Ball appears in his own right, having had previous with both Charlie Galbraith and Terry Lightfoot, both familiar to Eel Pie Island, and still two years away from his massive “Midnight In Moscow” hit

Sat. Aug 22 ^nd – Graham Stewart’s Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. Aug 29 ^th – Micky Ashman and his Jazz Band (£25)

September 1959

Sat. Sep 5 ^th – Alex Welsh and his Band (£25)

Sat. Sep 12 ^th – Al Fairweather / Sandy Brown All Stars Band (£25)

Sat. Sep 19 ^th – Terry Lightfoot’s New Orleans Jazzmen (£25)

Sat. Sep 26 ^th – Mr Acker Bilk’s Paramount Jazz Band (£25)

October 1959

Fri. Oct 2 ^nd – Bill Brunskill and his Band (£17)

Fri. Oct 2nd – Sonny Morris

Fri. Oct 2nd – The River Siders (sic)

While we have the contract for Bill Brunskill, an additional flyer provides the names of Sonny Morris and The River Siders. The latter were not professionals, so no contract was necessary for their appearance. The flyer also proclaims “Late Night Session: Extension Applied for”

Sat. Oct 3 ^rd – Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen featuring Doreen Beatty (£25)

Sat. Oct 10 ^th – Ian Bell’s Jazzmen (£25)

Sat. Oct 17 ^th – Brian Woolley’s Jazzmen (£25)

Sat. Oct 24 ^th – The Storyville Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. Oct 31 ^st – Micky Ashman and his Band (£25)

November 1959

Sat. Nov 7 ^th – Micky Ashman and his Band (£25)

Sat. Nov 14 ^th – Kenny Ball’s Jazzmen (£25)

Thu. Nov 19 ^th – ‘Jerks Jump’

“Dancing to four popular jazz bands, including The Bill Brunskill Group , and The Riversiders ”, according to a flyer, the event having been organised by Kingston & District Student Charities Committee, hence the Thursday

Sat. Nov 21 ^st – Mr Acker Bilk’s Paramount Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. Nov 28 ^th – Sonny Morris and his Jazzmen (£25)

December 1959

Sat. Dec 5 ^th – Bill Brunskill and his Band (£25)

Sat. Dec 12 ^th – The Storyville Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. Dec 19 ^th – Dick Charlesworth and his City Gents (£25)

Thu. Dec 24 ^th – Dave Nelson’s Marlborough Jazzband (£15)

According to the contract, this was a shared session, with Dave’s boys doing sets 1 and 3. Who played the second set?

Sat. Dec 26 ^th – Kenny Ball’s Jazzmen (£25)

The post 1959 Roll-call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1960 Roll-call

Tue, 05 Apr 2016 11:12:00 GMT

1960

brings to the stage the Neil Millett Jazz Band, Dave Nelson’s Marlborough Jazz Band, the Jazzmen of both Eggy Lay and Charlie Gall, The Clyde Valley Stompers, the Sims / Wheeler Vintage Jazz Band, The Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen featuring Doreen Beatty, Ian Bell’s Jazzmen, Graham Stewart’s New Orleans Jazz Band, plus appearances by the usual suspects like Acker Bilk, Cy Laurie, ..

January 1960

Sat. Jan 2 ^nd – The Storyville Jazz Band (£25)

Sun. Jan 3 ^rd – Neil Millett Jazz Band (£5)

Neil Millett’s band had to start at 9:00 for only a half hour set (hence the paucity of the payment), and had to wear band uniforms. This suggests they were the half-time entertainment, but for whom?

Sat. Jan 9 ^th – Micky Ashman and his Band (£25)

Sat. Jan 16 ^th – Mr Acker Bilk’s Paramount Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. Jan 23 ^rd – The Riversiders (£11)

“Band uniformity of dress to be worn”. It seems that only The Riversiders, Neil Millett’s Jazz Band – above –and Dave Nelson’s Marlborough Jazz Band – below – warranted this particular sartorially threatening clause. In addition, The Riversiders (or more properly The Riverside Jazzmen) had a residency on the Island during the early 60s on Sundays. The fact that I’ve not been able to include any of these is down to the fact that The Riversiders were not a pro-outfit, therefore contracts for payment obviously don’t exist, though they did get an occasional pay-day, as is the case tonight. This was explained to me by Alan Cresswell from the band when he visited the Museum in 2025: also, they were the band playing to an empty hall in early 1963, which led Arthur Chisnall and doorman Stan Piper to go searching for “our people”, finding them being entertained by The Rolling Stones at The Station Hotel in nearby Richmond, which led to Chisnall signing them on a five-month residency: “That was the end of us”, mused Alan. Richard Quinnell, who played sousaphone with The Riversiders, got in touch to tell us that, over and above the multiplicity of gigs their residency gave them, he, together with two other members, morphed into the Riverside Washboard Serenaders, in a stripped down line-up: furthermore, they reformed over 40 years later without original clarinettist Alan Cresswell, but with his children instead, producing a CD to go with one recorded years earlier in their original line-up

Sat. Jan 23 ^rd – Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen featuring Doreen Beatty (£25)

Sun. Jan 24 ^th – Dave Nelson’s Marlborough Jazz Band (£11)

“Band uniforms to be worn”, and they played two sets, with the second scheduled for between ”9:05 and 10:15-10:30, depending on popularity”

Sat. Jan 30 ^th – Graham Stewart’s New Orleans Jazz Band (£25)

February 1960

Sat. Feb 13 ^th – Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen featuring Doreen Beatty (£25)

Fri. Feb 19 ^th – Ken Colyer (£25)

Sat. Feb 20 ^th – The Storyville Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. Feb 27 ^th – The Clyde Valley Stompers (£25)

March 1960

Sat. Mar 5 ^th – Sonny Morris’ Jazzmen (£25)

Sat. Mar 12 ^th – Dick Charlesworth and his City Gents (£25)

Sat. Mar 19 ^th – Micky Ashman and his Band (£25)

Sun. Mar 20 ^th – Dave Nelson’s Marlborough Jazz Band (£8)

“Band uniforms to be worn”

Sat. Mar 26 ^th – The Storyville Jazz Band (£25)

April 1960

Sat. Apr 2 ^nd – Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen featuring Doreen Beatty (£25)

Sat. Apr 9 ^th – Graham Stewart’s New Orleans Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. Apr 16 ^th – Sonny Morris’ Jazzmen (£25)

Sat. Apr 23 ^rd – Terry Lightfoot’s New Orleans Jazzmen (£25)

Sat. Apr 30 ^th – Eggy Lay’s Jazzmen (£25)

The curiously named Eggy Lay had played clarinet with Cy Laurie

May 1960

Sun. May 1 ^st – The Pete Ridge Jazzband (£15)

Sat. May 7 ^th – Micky Ashman and his Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. May 14 ^th – Sims / Wheeler Vintage Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. May 21 ^st – Mr Acker Bilk’s Paramount Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. May 28 ^th – Terry Lightfoot’s New Orleans Jazzmen (£25)

Sun. May 29 ^th – Charlie Gall’s Jazzmen (£15)

Glaswegian Gall was a co-founder of the Clyde Valley Stompers, who appeared here in 1957, then his own Jazzmen when he came down to London, before heading over to Canada and forming the Toronto Metro Stompers. While with his Jazzmen, he was apparently supported at a gig at The Cavern by a bunch known as The Quarrymen

June 1960

Sat. Jun 4 ^th – The Storyville Jazz Band (£25)

Wed. Jun 8 ^th – The Riverside Jazzmen (from promotional ad)

Sat. Jun 11 ^th – Sonny Morris’ Jazzmen (£25)

Sat. Jun 18 ^th – Kenny Ball’s Jazzmen (£25)

Sun. Jun 19 ^th – Ian Bell’s Jazzmen (£10)

Sat. Jun 25 ^th – Mike Peters’ New Orleans Jazzband (£25)

July 1960

Sat. Jul 2 ^nd – Micky Ashman and his Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. Jul 9 ^th – The Storyville Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. Jul 16 ^th – Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen featuring Doreen Beatty (£25)

Sat. Jul 23 ^rd – Sonny Morris’ Jazzmen (£25)

Sat. Jul 30 ^th – Kenny Ball’s Jazzmen (£25)

Sun. Jul 31 ^st – The Pete Ridge Jazzband (£15)

August 1960

Sat. Aug 6 ^th – The Storyville Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. Aug 13 ^th – Kenny Ball’s Jazzmen (£25)

Sat. Aug 20 ^th – Dick Charlesworth and his City Gents (£25)

Sat. Aug 27 ^th – Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazzband (£25)

September 1960

Sat. Sep 3 ^rd – Sims / Wheeler Vintage Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. Sep 10 ^th – Kenny Ball’s Jazzmen (£25)

Sat. Sep 17 ^th – The Cy Laurie Band (£35)

The influential self-taught clarinettist Cy Laurie, who started his own club in Ham Yard, which later became famous as The Scene, a Mod club of the 60s. Whilst Laurie had appeared at the Island on numerous occasions in its early days (providing George Melly with his singing debut on one occasion, probably back in 1956) this is the first documented performance here since the great ‘Bridge Opening Gala / Eelpiland Power Struggle’ of February 1957

Sat. Sep 24 ^th – Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen featuring Doreen Beatty (£25)

October 1960

Sat. Oct 1 ^st – Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazzband (£25)

Sat. Oct 8 ^th – Dick Charlesworth and his City Gents (£25)

Sat. Oct 15 ^th – The Cy Laurie Band (£25)

November 1960

Sat. Nov 5 ^th – The Cy Laurie Band (£25)

Sat. Nov 12 ^th – Dick Charlesworth and his City Gents (£25)

Sat. Nov 19 ^th – Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen with Doreen Beatty (£25)

Sat. Nov 26 ^th – Trevor Jones’ Jazzmen (£25)

December 1960

Sat. Dec 3 ^rd – Terry Lightfoot’s New Orleans Jazzmen (£25)

Sat. Dec 10 ^th – Mike Peters’ New Orleans Jazzband (£25)

Sat. Dec 17 ^th – Kenny Ball’s Jazzmen (£50)

Sat. Dec 31 ^st – Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen featuring Doreen Beatty (£60)

The post 1960 Roll-call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1961 Roll-call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 11:11:00 GMT

1961

sees the Pete Ridge Jazzband with Little Mo, the Avon Cities Jazz Band, New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale, The Temperance Seven Band (fresh from chart success), Bjorn Stokstad & his Norwegian Jazz Band (honestly), Terry Pitts’ Jazz Band, Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band, Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Band, Ken Oriole’s Jazz Band all hit the stage ..

January 1961

Sat. Jan 7 ^th – The Storyville Jazz Band (£50)

Sat. Jan 14 ^th – Sims / Wheeler Vintage Jazz Band (£50)

Sat. Jan 21 ^st – Micky Ashman and his Jazz Band (£50)

Sat. Jan 28 ^th – Dick Charlesworth and his City Gents (£50)

Dick Charlesworth would later embrace R&B with his Big Blues band, embarking on a series of dates at The Marquee in 1964. Strangely, he doesn’t seem to have brought that to the party at Eel Pie Island

February 1961

Sat. Feb 4 ^th – Terry Lightfoot’s New Orleans Jazz Band (£55)

One of the more familiar Jazz names on this roll-call, Terry Lightfoot’s band had a couple of minor hits during 1961

Sun. Feb 12 ^th – The Pete Ridge Jazzband with Little Mo (£20)

Trumpeter Mike Cotton would form his own ‘Jazzmen’ combo out of the ashes of Pete Ridge’s band, taking Little Mo (aka Maureen Parfitt) with him, before they morphed into The Mike Cotton Sound when they saw which way the R&B wind was blowing

Sat. Feb 18 ^th – Avon Cities Jazz Band (£40)

The Avon Cities Jazz Band came from, you guessed it, Bristol. Formed in 1949, they kept going until 2000. Trumpeter Geoff Nicholls and soprano sax player Mike Hitchings were ever-presents throughout that period. Not so much long service awards due, but lifetime achievements I would have thought

Sat. Feb 25 ^th – New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale (£35)

March 1961

Sat. Mar 4 ^th – The Cy Laurie Band (£45)

Sat. Mar 11 ^th – The Temperance Seven (date supplied by John Gieves-Watson)

Sat. Mar 18 ^th – New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale (£35)

Sat. Mar 25 ^th – Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen with Doreen Beatty (£50)

April 1961

Sat. Apr 1 ^st – New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale (£40)

Sat. Apr 8 ^th – The Temperance Seven (date supplied by John Gieves-Watson)

Sat. Apr 15 ^th – Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazzband (£50)

Thu. Apr 20 ^th – Mr. Acker Bilk’s Paramount Jazz Band (£75)

This appears to be the last sighting of the soon to be huge Mr Bilk, and clearly he went out with a bang, eclipsing all previous payments . Alan Cresswell, previously mentioned in connection with The Riversiders, was playing clarinet alongside Acker at this point, literally, as a photo on display at the Museum testifies. When he visited us in 2025, he brought his photo album along, which includes said photo, along with another several taken at the same gig in 1961, most likely tonight

Sat. Apr 22 ^nd – Mike Peters’ Florida Jazz Band (£40)

Sat. Apr 29 ^th – Vintage Jazz Band (£50)

By this time, clarinettist Ian Wheeler had left for Chris Barber’s band, leaving Ken Sims in sole command. Sometime during 1960/61, Long John Baldry was lending his vocal talents to the Sims Vintage Jazz Band

May 1961

Thu. May 4 ^th – Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen (£50)

Sat. May 13 ^th – Mac Duncan’s Jazz Band (£40)

Sat. May 20 ^th – Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazz Band (£50)

Sat. May 27t ^th – Mike Peters’ Florida Jazz Band with Johnny Silvo (£40)

June 1961

Sat. Jun 10 ^th – New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale (£40)

Sun. Jun 11 ^th – The Temperance Seven Band (65 Guineas) (from letter of confirmation of verbal agreement from the band’s agents)

What a cultured payment style, one that would today be recognised as £68.25 (not taking inflation into account, clearly). Needless to say, these were the only performers paid in such a fashion: perhaps it helped that they’d been driven crazy by hitting the heady heights of number one in the hit parade earlier in the year, thus providing George Martin with his first such success as a producer, a while before some Liverpudlian moptops did. Incidentally, ‘Whispering’ Paul McDowell, responsible for the band’s ‘vocal refrains’ had to leave the Experimental Theatre Club revue, of which he was also a member, who had been performing “****” (Four Asterisks) at the Edinburgh Fringe, as a result of that chart success in order to tour with the band. His replacement in the revue was one Terry Jones, who would light up our lives as a Python much later

Sat. Jun 17 ^th – Ken Barton’s Oriole Jazz Band (£25)

Sat. Jun 24 ^th – Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazz Band (£50)

July 1961

Sat. Jul 1 ^st – Bjorn Stokstad & his Norwegian Jazz Band (£65)

A true rarity: Bjorn was a clarinettist, and the band was what it said on the tin. “Bjørn Stokstad, norsk jazzmusiker og arkitekt; fra ca. 1960 ansett som Norges ledende klarinettist i tradisjonell stil. Startet sitt eget orkester i 1962.” See?

Sat. Jul 8 ^th – Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen with Doreen Beatty (£50)

Sat. Jul 15 ^th – New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale (£40)

Sun. Jul 16 ^th – The Temperance Seven Band (65 Guineas) (from letter of confirmation of verbal agreement from the band’s agents)

Sat. Jul 22 ^nd – Terry Pitts’ Jazz Band (£45)

Terry Pitts, as star trombonist, recorded with Cy Laurie in 1958, and again ten years later in 1968, but this year (1961) put out a single “A Drop Of The Hard Stuff” under his own name

Sat. Jul 29 ^th – Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band (£40)

Alan Elsdon was a trumpeter and flugelhornist, no less, having also played with Cy Laurie, as well as with Terry Lightfoot. After this set tonight, Alan’s crew were due to hot-foot it up to Ken Colyer’s club for an all-night session

August 1961

Sat. Aug 5 ^th – Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazz Band (£50)

Sat. Aug 12 ^th – Mike Peters’ Florida Jazz Band (£40)

Sat. Aug 19 ^th – Vintage Jazz Band led by Ken Sims (£50)

Sat. Aug 26 ^th – New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale (£40)

September 1961

Sat. Sep 2 ^nd – Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band (£40)

Sat. Sep 9 ^th – Bob Wallis’ Storyville Jazzmen (£60)

Bob Wallis’ Storyville lads had just scraped into the Top 50 with “I’m Shy Mary Ellen I’m Shy” which doesn’t appear to sound like a jazz number so much as a music hall one. Mind you, they display remarkable longevity, being one of the last jazz bands to play on the Island, a month before its closure in 1967, though, tellingly, for half the fee paid tonight

Sat. Sep 16 ^th – Mike Peters’ Florida Jazz Band with Johnny Silvo (£40)

I remember Johnny Silvo as more of a folkie than anything, but I guess he was cutting his teeth on jazz/skiffle/blues at this point, and indeed guested with Dick Charlesworth and Monty Sunshine at various times

Sat. Sep 23 ^rd – Terry Pitts’ Jazz Band (£45)

Sat. Sep 30 ^th – Len Baldwin’s Dauphin Street Six (£35)

October 1961

Sat. Oct 7 ^th – Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen with Doreen Beatty (£50)

Sat. Oct 14 ^th – New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale (£45)

Sat. Oct 21 ^st – Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Band (£65)

These featured trombonist Max Collie, who, when the band returned to Australia, stayed on and joined the London City Stompers

Sat. Oct 28 ^th – Ken Sims’ Vintage Jazz Band (£50)

November 1961

Sat. Nov 4 ^th – Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band (£40)

Sat. Nov 11 ^th – Len Baldwin’s Dauphin Street Six (£35)

Sat. Nov 18 ^th – Terry Pitts’ Jazz Band (£45)

Sat. Nov 25 ^th – New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale (£45)

December 1961

Sat. Dec 2 ^nd – The Clyde Valley Stompers Ltd (£55)

Sat. Dec 9 ^th – Ken Sims’ Vintage Jazz Band (£50)

Sat. Dec 16 ^th – Mike Peters’ Florida Jazzmen (£40)

Sat. Dec 23 ^rd – Len Baldwin’s Dauphin Street Six (£35)

Sat. Dec 30 ^th – Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazz Band (£50)

The post 1961 Roll-call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1962 Roll-call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 11:10:00 GMT

1962

sees jazz continue to proliferate through the likes of Forrie Cairns and the Clansmen, Len Baldwin’s Dauphin Street Six, Cyril Preston’s Excelsior Jazz Band, but importantly, in October a “Rock and Twist Night” is hosted on a Wednesday, featuring beat / R&B bands for the first time: Mike Berry & The Outlaws, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, and Screaming Lord Sutch are on show. The writing was on the wall……

January 1962

Sat. Jan 6 ^th – Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band (£40)

Sat. Jan 13 ^th – New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale (£45)

Sat. Jan 20 ^th – Len Baldwin’s Dauphin Street Six (£35)

Sat. Jan 27 ^th – Ken Sims’ Vintage Jazz Band (£50)

February 1962

Sat. Feb 3 ^rd – Terry Pitts’ Jazz Band (£45)

Sat. Feb 10 ^th – New Orleans Knights led by Eric Allandale (£45)

Sat. Feb 17 ^th – Forrie Cairns and the Clansmen (£40)

Forrie Cairns also played in The Clyde Valley Stompers

Sat. Feb 24 ^th – Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazz Band (£50)

March 1962

Sat. Mar 3 ^rd – Ken Sims’ Vintage Jazz Band (£50)

Sat. Mar 10 ^th – Terry Pitts’ Jazz Band (£45)

Sat. Mar 17 ^th – Len Baldwin’s Dauphin Street Six (£35)

Sat. Mar 31 ^st – Eric Allandale’s New Orleans Knights (£45)

April 1962

Sat. Apr 7 ^th – Eric Silk and his Southern Jazz Band (£40)

Sat. Apr 14 ^th – Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Band (£65)

Sat. Apr 21 ^st – Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band (£40)

Sat. Apr 28 ^th – Terry Pitts’ Jazz Band (£45)

May 1962

Sat. May 5 ^th – Len Baldwin’s Dauphin Street Six (£35)

Sat. May 12 ^th – Ken Sims’ Vintage Jazz Band (£50)

Sat. May 19 ^th – Micky Ashman’s Ragtime Jazz Band (£50)

Sat. May 26 ^th – Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band (£40)

June 1962

Sat. Jun 2 ^nd – Eric Allandale’s New Orleans Knights (£45)

Sat. Jun 9 ^th – Cyril Preston’s Excelsior Jazz Band (£35)

Sat. Jun 16 ^th – Charlie Galbraith’s Jazz Band (£35)

Sat. Jun 23 ^rd – Mike Cotton’s Jazzmen (£40)

Sat. Jun 30 ^th – Len Baldwin’s Dauphin Street Six (£40)

At this time, the Dauphin Street Six featured Viv Prince on drums, who went on to influence Keith Moon with both his drumming style and wild on-stage behaviour, generally misbehaving all over the place, eventually getting sacked by The Pretty Things for his unreliability, that after being thrown off a plane in New Zealand that was to take the band home following a tour there

July 1962

Sat. Jul 7 ^th – Eric Allandale’s New Orleans Knights (£45)

From being pretty much a regular at Eel Pie, trombonist Eric Allandale seems to have disappeared after tonight (gaps in documentation notwithstanding, as described below) until an unlikely re-emergence with The Foundations in 1967, though he did also play with Terry Lightfoot and Alex Welsh

Sat. Jul 14 ^th – Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen with Doreen Beatty (£50)

Sat. Jul 21 ^st – The Clyde Valley Stompers (£50)

The Clyde Valley Stompers were shortly to bother the hit parade with “Peter And The Wolf”, which hit the heady heights of #25, and were later to guest on The Morecambe and Wise Show, before disbanding in 1963. As with Charlie Gall, mentioned back in May 1960, most of the band then seems to have emigrated to Canada

Sat. Jul 28 ^th – Eric Silk and his Southern Jazz Band (£40)

August 1962

Sat. Aug 4 ^th – Dave Keir’s Jazz Band (£35)

Sat. Aug 11 ^th – Eric Silk and his Southern Jazz Band (£40)

October 1962

Wed. Oct 17 ^th – Tony Holland and the Packabeats

It appears Beat Music has made an entry in the annals of Eel Pie Island, and though The Packabeats were primarily an instrumental outfit, they were always billed with their vocalist, Tony Holland. When The Packabeats appeared at the Pipeline Convention (dedicated to instrumental groups – Holland wasn’t allowed) in 2004, it was the first time they’d played onstage since 1964

Wed. Oct 17 ^th – Mike Berry and the Outlaws

Mike Berry’s “Tribute to Buddy Holly” was banned by the BBC for being too morbid! He had a couple of other hits before The Beatles rather consigned him and his ilk to musical history, though he stormed back with a No 9 chart hit in 1980, “The Sunshine Of Your Smile”. Berry then pursued an acting career, where he became a familiar face on TV’s “Are You Being Served”, and other small screen roles. He also appeared at One Kew Road recently, site of the original Crawdaddy Club in Richmond

Wed. Oct 17 ^th – Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers

Cliff Bennett’s crew would enjoy chart success in 1966 with their version of Paul McCartney’s “Got To Get You Into My Life”, but even at this early stage had a few singles under their belt. They featured Chas Hodges of later “Rockney” fame , but curiously tonight, he was still playing with Mike Berry’s Outlaws, but shared the stage, sort of, with future Chas’n’Dave drummer Mick Burt who was on duty with The Rebel Rousers tonight! Meanwhile, Bassist Frank Allen joined The Searchers in 1964, and has been with them ever since.

Wed. Oct 17 ^th – Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages (all Oct 17 entries from contemporary poster)

Always the eccentric, David Sutch mucked about on the fringes of music, commercially unsuccessfully for years, despite what sounds like an entertaining stage show, leaning heavily on Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ ‘shock-rock’ style of presentation: his Savages later decamped to form Cyril Davies’ All Stars; he stood for Parliament as a representative of the National Teenage Party during the 60s, before famously forming The Official Monster Raving Loony Party in 1983 to most electioneers’ amusement; he recorded “Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends”, which a BBC poll in 1998 described as the worst album of all time, despite boasting the talents of Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Jeff Beck, Noel Redding and Nicky Hopkins

While there are obvious gaps between some dates, generally the evidence is fairly comprehensive, but there are a wholesale bunch of missing contracts for the next year or so, meaning the remainder of 1962, the majority of 1963 and a large chunk of 1964 is undocumented. As this is a particularly interesting period in the club’s, and the nation’s, musical development, with R&B starting to feature alongside jazz, perhaps someone got to these contracts before me. What is clear, however, is that at some point between August 1962 and April 1963, the club policy became one whereby regular Wednesday and Sunday performances were introduced, featuring R&B groups, with Saturdays remaining the province of the jazz bands: perhaps that October 17 ^th bill (above) represented the earliest use of a Wednesday for the ‘Rock and Twist Club’ as the poster proclaims, being a comparatively strong line-up. Unfortunately that lack of contracts means initially I could not directly reference The Tridents (who featured Jeff Beck within their ranks), The Muleskinners (with Ian McLagan in tow), The Birds (who included Ronnie Wood), The Others , David Bowie’s Manish Boys phase, and who knows how many others, including idiosyncratic Scotsman Ivor Cutler , of whom I’ve seen photographic evidence of an appearance. Fortunately, In 2015, Ronnie Wood published his diary from 1965, “How Can It Be?”, but while there are numerous entries concerning Eel Pie Island, none of them involve his lot The Birds playing, Ronnie only being there to watch brother Art – Ali McKenzie, however remembers their first Island date, then known as The Thunderbirds , being in late 1964, supporting Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers , while their second was supporting Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds , thus necessitating a shortening of their own name to just The Birds . Nick Warburton has come to the rescue, not least from the Bowie perspective, with his own listing of dates on the Island for garage bands during the 60s, which you can find on www.garagehangover.com/eel-pie-island/ : entries from that source are the ones below which do not quote a performance fee. Paul Lucas of The Tridents has come forward with his own diary entries for their dates, so that’s rectified too. Also, the emergence of letters confirming payments made by Arthur Chisnall, as well as some of his accounts, have helped confirm / confuse the issue! Thanks are also due to Christopher Hjort (author of “Strange Brew: Eric Clapton and the British Blues Boom 1965-1970″) for verification / second opinion on the John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers entries, as well as John H Warburg for his input on the same, additionally providing me with the source sites for a number of Strawberry Hill Boys appearances, as support to The Stones in 1963

The post 1962 Roll-call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1963 Roll-call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 11:09:00 GMT

1963

sees the big change as R&B hits the Island big-style, taking over Wednesday and Sundays, leaving Saturdays for jazz. The Rolling Stones are given a five-month residency; Cyril Davies’ Rhythm & Blues All-Stars feature with Long John Baldry; The Yardbirds are in evidence as well as Georgie Fame’s Blue Flames, Manfred Mann, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, and Jimmy Powell’s Five Dimensions provide early glimpses of Rod Stewart ……

April 1963

Wed. Apr 24 ^th – The Rolling Stones

Probably the first time The Stones played on the Island (certainly in their own right: recently reports have come to light of an interval appearance, possibly on a Back O’Town Syncopators date, which would almost certainly have been earlier than tonight, though this is doubtful, as there is no mention of such an event in Bill Wyman’s meticulous autobiography, “Stone Alone” , but Laura, whose Dad played in the BoTS, contacted us to say that he had told her that while they played one time, the Stones were collecting beer glasses, and did play during the interval – she even suggests it was Jagger – maybe it was ‘some’ Stones before they were Stones?). They would total some 24 appearances between now and September 25 ^th . Doorman Stan, who used to stamp people’s wrists on entry to the club (usually with names of obscure countries – he was a cartographer), visited the museum in 2015. He recalled how Arthur was wondering where the club’s clientele had disappeared to and so the two of them visited the Station Hotel in Richmond, and found the outfit that was drawing them in there. Thereafter, the Stones suddenly were granted a five month residency at Eel Pie Island. I guess that means that for a large part of 1963, you could see the Stones on a Wednesday at Eel Pie Island, and at the weekend at The Station Hotel, later the Craw Daddy , meaning you could get legitimately “Stoned” in the borough twice a week for those five months! A mere 46 years after tonight, this date was chosen for the unveiling of the “Music Legends of Eel Pie Island” heritage plaque on the riverside, overlooking the Island, outside The Barmy Arms

May 1963

Wed. May 1 ^st – The Rolling Stones

Wed. May 8 ^th – The Rolling Stones

Wed. May 15 ^th – The Rolling Stones

Sat. May 18 ^th – Original Downtown Syncopators (from ad in Jazz News & Review)

Wed. May 22 ^nd – The Rolling Stones

Sat. May 25 ^th – Eric Silk’s Southern Jazz Band (from ad in Jazz News & Review)

Wed. May 29 ^th – The Rolling Stones

June 1963

Sat. Jun 1 ^st – Eric Allandale’s New Orleans Knights (from ad in Jazz News & Review)

Wed. Jun 5 ^th – The Rolling Stones

Sat. Jun 8 ^th – Dauphine Street Six (from ad in Jazz News & Review)

Wed. Jun 12 ^th – The Rolling Stones

Sat. Jun 15 ^th - Eric Allandale’s New Orleans Knights (from ad in Jazz News & Review)

Wed. Jun 19 ^th – The Rolling Stones

(Rolling Stones dates from April 24 ^th to June 19 ^th from Bill Wyman’s “Stone Alone” and initially

http://www.tamworthbands.com/1963/rollingstones/1963gigs.htm )

My guess is that never in a million years would the Rolling Stones imagine that exactly 55 years after this appearance (their ninth at Eelpiland) they would still be active as a musical concern, never mind playing to an audience of 55,000 at the rather bigger venue in Twickenham that is the Rugby Stadium

Sat. Jun 22 ^nd – Mickey Ashman and his Ragtime Jazzband (from flyer and from ad in Jazz News & Review)

Sun. Jun 23 ^rd – The Yardbirds

A still-at-schoolkid called Top Topham took to the stage as support with his band: they had settled on the name of The Yardbirds t onight in the dressing room above the stage, according to Topham – they had to be called something, deciding on Charlie ‘Yardbird’ Parker as inspiration (Keith Relf had been reading Kerouac‘s “On The Road“ at the time) . The Yardbirds actually played the interval session between two Cyril Davies sets tonight, and Davies would continue to help The Yardbirds with both support gigs and the loan of equipment for the remainder of the year. Of course, come October, young Top had been packed off back to Epsom Art School, unable to persuade his parents that his future lay in music , and his place had been taken by a certain Eric Clapton. When the Stones relinquished their residency at The Crawdaddy (by now relocated to Richmond Athletic Ground) in September in order to go touring, The Yardbirds took their place

Sun. Jun 23 ^rd – Cyril Davies All Stars (from http://www.carlolittle.com/dates63.htm )

This appears to be the beginning of Cyril’s association with the club. Legendary drummer Carlo Little was a founder member of The Savages who backed Screaming Lord Sutch, played in early incarnations of The Rolling Stones before Charlie Watts came on board, and is credited with influencing Keith Moon’s style, having given him lessons for the extra pin-money that would bring. He then joined Cyril Davies’ outfit. Fortunately for us, he also kept a diary of his playing exploits which has yielded this entry, as well as a few others during this period (the above link will take you to these records). He continued to do session work and tour throughout the 60s and beyond before reforming the All Stars in 2000. Following his death in 2005, the current Eel Pie Club organised a Carlo Little benefit at York House in Twickenham the following year, which featured, amongst others, Phil May and Dick Taylor from The Pretty Things, and 50s survivors Vince Eager and Wee Willie Harris. As for the mighty Cyril Davies and his blues harp, he was an inspiration to R&B enthusiasts and converts far and wide. Future Downliners Sect’s Don Craine remembers how he turned up to see Screaming Lord Sutch, and noticed how, while The Savages were indeed present, the good Lord was not, and in his place was the bank-managerly figure of Cyril Davies, familiar to Don from the Ealing Club, and thus, apparently, Cyril’s Rhythm and Blues All Stars were born: a wee while earlier than tonight, obviously

Wed. Jun 26 ^th – The Rolling Stones (£45)

Sat. Jun 29 ^th – Doug Richford (from flyer and ad in Jazz News & Review)

Sun. Jun 30 ^th – The Yardbirds

Sun. Jun 30 ^th – Cyril Davies All Stars (from http://www.carlolittle.com/dates63.htm )

July 1963

Wed. Jul 3 ^rd – The Rolling Stones (£45)

Sat. Jul 6 ^th – Back o’Town Syncopators (from flyer and ad in Jazz News & Review)

From north of the border and led by one Alexander Murray Smith, the Syncopators recorded a version of Ron Grainer’s “Steptoe & Son” theme, aka “Old Ned” (an undoubted inspiration for Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive”), as well as Rangers FC’s anthem “Follow Follow” in 1962, an iTunes version of which has found its way onto the internet

Wed. Jul 10 ^th – The Strawberry Hill Boys (from http://www.strawbsweb.co.uk/tline/1963.asp )

The Strawberry Hill Boys were local lads, led by Dave Cousins, who specialised in Bluegrass music at this point. They went on to shorten their name to The Strawbs in 1967, featuring Sandy Denny on their first album that same year, recruited Rick Wakeman in 1971, and became rather unlikely chart heroes in 1973, having further recruited Dave Lambert on guitar, and glamming up a bit

Wed. Jul 10 ^th – The Rolling Stones (£50)

Fri. Jul 12 ^th – The Muleskinners

Fri. Jul 12 ^th – The Rolling Stones (£65 according to Stuart Thorpe who “co-made” the booking)

(from http://www.tamworthbands.com/1963/rollingstones/1963gigs.htm )

Tonight is subtitled ”Twickenham Design College Dance”, which explains the ‘unusual’ Friday performance, as well as its absence from Eric Easton’s letter (see September 25 ^th below), as The Stones had been booked directly by the College. Future Small Face Ian McLagan relates how he booked the Stones for the Twickenham Art School [sic] dance after having seen them here (and helping them lug their gear back across the bridge), and that his band The Muleskinners supported them. Recently coming to light is the fact that the poster for tonight’s gig (intriguingly inviting punters to “Come to the Klondike”) was designed by Colin Fulcher, later known as Barney Bubbles, who, like McLagan, was also studying at Twickenham, and would go on to design a myriad album covers from 1970 onwards

Sat. Jul 13 ^th – Original Down Town Syncopators (from flyer and ad in Jazz News & Review)

Sun. Jul 14 ^th – The Yardbirds

Sun. Jul 14 ^th – Cyril Davies All Stars (both today’s entries listed as ‘unconfirmed’ by www.garagehangover.com but Cyril Davies verified by http://www.carlolittle.com/dates63.htm )

Wed. Jul 17 ^th – The Strawberry Hill Boys (from http://www.strawbsweb.co.uk/tline/1963.asp )

Wed. Jul 17 ^th – The Rolling Stones (£55)

Sat. Jul 20 ^th – Eric Silk (from flyer)

Sun. Jul 21 ^st – Cyril Davies All Stars (from http://www.carlolittle.com/dates63.htm )

Wed. Jul 24 ^th – The Strawberry Hill Boys (from http://www.strawbsweb.co.uk/tline/1963.asp )

Wed. Jul 24 ^th – The Rolling Stones (£55)

Sat. Jul 27 ^th – Dick Charlesworth (from flyer)

Sun. Jul 28 ^th – Cyril Davies All Stars (from http://www.carlolittle.com/dates63.htm )

This appears to be Carlo Little’s last appearance with Cyril Davies on the Island, as he returned to duties with Screaming Lord Sutch a couple of weeks after tonight

Wed. Jul 31 ^st – The Rolling Stones (£55)

August 1963

Wed. Aug 7 ^th – The Strawberry Hill Boys (from http://www.strawbsweb.co.uk/tline/1963.asp )

Wed. Aug 7 ^th – The Rolling Stones (£55)

Wed. Aug 14 ^th – The Rolling Stones (£55)

Sat. Aug 17 ^th – Mickey Ashman (from flyer)

Wed. Aug 21 ^st – The Rolling Stones (£55)

Sat. Aug 24 ^th – Original Downtown Syncopaters (from flyer)

Wed. Aug 28 ^th – The Rolling Stones (£55)

When we had a pop-up version of the Museum during 2015, Ken Wormald gifted us a shot he’d taken of the Stones at the Island, which we incorporated into the display. On confirming who was actually in the photo, with the suggestion that one character was Brian Jones, Ken scoffed “No, he wasn’t there that night: that happened a lot”. Bill Wyman’s “Stone Alone” backs this up, as he has “without Brian – ill” for tonight, as he has for the September 4 ^th date below “without Brian 2 ^nd set – ill”. According to Wyman, to compensate, they drafted in Ian Stewart and miked his piano, putting it through an amplifier to improve its sound

Sat. Aug 31 ^st – Dauphine Street Six [sic] (from flyer)

September 1963

Wed. Sep 4 ^th – The Rolling Stones (£55)

Sat. Sep 7 ^th – Eric Silk (from flyer)

Wed. Sep 11 ^th – The Rolling Stones (£55)

Sat. Sep 14 ^th – Back O’Town Syncopaters (from flyer)

Wed. Sep 18 ^th – The Rolling Stones (£55)

Sat. Sep 21 ^st – Alan Elsdon (from flyer)

Wed. Sep 25 ^th – The Rolling Stones (£55)

Rolling Stones dates between Jun 26 ^th and Sep 25 ^th are all from confirmation letter from their then manager, Eric Easton. Witnesses at this last Stones gig (where Arthur Chisnall maintained “never mind the ballroom, the whole bloody Island was overflowing”, with queues stretching back beyond the footbridge) remember how Mick told everyone that they were going on tour the following week, and if that didn’t work out, he’d see them soon: of course “that” did, and “he” didn’t: they never came back. T his would be one of their last club gigs, or at least the last residency they played, with their immediate future on the ‘theatre/ballroom’ circuit, and a national tour with The Everly Brothers and hero Bo Diddley. To put the Stones’ tenure at the Island into context, by this point they had racked up 24 appearances during 1963, compared with 27 at the Station Hotel/Crawdaddy, 25 at Windsor’s Ricky Tick Club (over 1962 and 1963), 22 at Ealing Jazz Club (again over 1962 and 1963), but the total falls well short of that at Ken Colyer’s Studio 51 which comes in with a mighty 41 gigs

Sat. Sep 28 ^th – Original Downtown Syncopaters (from flyer)

Sun. Sep 29 ^th – Cyril Davies & The Velvetts [sic] (from flyer)

The Velvettes (Hazel Futa, Patience “Princess” Gowabe, and Eunice Mamsie Mthombeni, together initially with Peggy Phango who left to pursue a solo career) were three female singers who had come to England on tour performing in “King Kong”, a musical from South Africa, and stayed on after its completion, presumably preferring to remain rather than return to the apartheid at home. Not to be confused with Motown outfit, The Velvelettes, which I initially did when first getting involved in the Eel Pie Island Music project in 2013

October 1963

Wed. Oct 2 ^nd – The Temeraires

Temeraires’ drummer Nigel Ridgway contacted us to say his band supported Georgie Fame at the Island on a number of occasions. Unfortunately, this is the only date we’ve found (so far) for Mr Fame, and as Nigel reckons they would have been first on at this one, who am I to argue? For a fiver, recalls Nigel

Wed. Oct 2 ^nd – Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames (from flyer)

Georgie Fame swopped his piano for a Hammond organ when an American GI gave him “Green Onions” by Booker T & The MGs, and gained some sort of, ahem, fame by all his Top 10 hits becoming chart-toppers (“Yeh Yeh”, “Getaway” and “The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde”). Subsequently, Georgie has played with loads of big names, and is still busy these days: with his sons in tow, he played at Twickenham Stadium’s Live Room in 2010 as part of the tenth birthday celebrations of the current Eel Pie Club

Sat. Oct 5 ^th – Back O’Town Syncopators (from flyer)

Sun. Oct 6 ^th – The Downliner Sect [sic] (from flyer)

Don Craine’s Downliners Sect, formed as an attempt to meld the music of Cyril Davies with the sex appeal of The Stones: his words, not mine. Still, while not achieving a great deal in this country, sales-wise, they did take their “Little Egypt” to the top of the Swedish charts

Wed. Oct 9 ^th – Student Grant Benefit: Cyril Davies with Long John & The Velvetts [sic], also The Road Runners (from flyer)

The ‘Long John’ is, of course, featured vocalist Baldry. The Road Runners were an early foray into R&B by the Shulman brothers from Portsmouth who would gain fame and fortune as Simon Dupree & The Big Sound with “Kites”, and become prog-rockers Gentle Giant. Then again, there were any number of groups known as The Roadrunners, and up in Liverpool, there was just such a bunch tearing up the boards there, who George Harrison reckoned The Stones weren’t as good as! So which Roadrunners tonight? I have no idea . And this just in…..Daryl T Allen contacted us to say that Derek Shulman told him he never played on the Island, so that rules out the Pompey outfit. With the Liverpool lot somewhat unlikely, Daryl further suggests it may have been the Bo Street Runners before they changed their name (like I said, there were lots of Roadrunners about that time), that option gaining credibility when I saw original Bo Street Runner vocalist John Dominic participate in a Cyril Davies Tribute Night at the current day Eel Pie Club in March 2018 – dozy sod that I am, it didn’t occur to me at the time to verify this . The Bo Street Runners were sort of notable, in that they won the TV ‘talent competition’ “Ready Steady Win!” in 1964. Winning got them a contract, which meant a record release, but that never translated into sales. Singer Mike Patto joined them later, but they ended up being wound up. Their story is continued on February 26 ^th 1967, when they played at the Island as the Chicago Line Blues Band

Sat. Oct 12 ^th – Clyde Valley Stompers (from flyer)

Sun. Oct 13 ^th – Cyril Davies (from flyer)

Wed. Oct 16 ^th – Jimmy Powell and The Dimensions (from flyer)

Sat. Oct 19 ^th – Bob Dwyer’s Hot Six (from flyer)

Trombonist Bob Dwyer later joined Steve Lane’s Southern Stompers, and was interviewed for the 2013 documentary, “Rock’n’Roll Island”

Sun. Oct 20 ^th – Cyril Davies (from flyer)

Sat. Oct 26 ^th – Original Downtown Syncopators (from flyer)

Wed. Oct 30 ^th – Jimmy Powell and The Five Dimensions (£30)

Early sightings of Rod Stewart on stage may have occurred at this point, as he was briefly employed as Powell’s harmonica player, until he started contributing backing vocals and got the sack. Was Jimmy scared of the competition? In any case, Jimmy and his Dimensions apparently backed Millie (Small) on her smash hit “My Boy Lollipop” the following year, which no doubt helped foster the urban myth that Rod Stewart provided the harmonica solo, but Dimension Peter Hogman claims that credit, while Jimmy Powell himself was responsible for the harmonica on PJ Proby’s “Hold Me”

November 1963

Sat. Nov 2 ^nd – Eric Silk (from flyer)

Sun. Nov 3 ^rd – Cyril Davies All Stars (£60)

Cyril (or ‘Squirrel’, as he was affectionately referred to by fans) Davies is still on a comparable fee to The Stones at this point

Sat. Nov 9 ^th – Charlie Galbraith (from flyer)

Sun. Nov 10 ^th – Cyril Davies All Stars (£60)

Wed. Nov 13 ^th – Monty Sunshine’s Jazz Band (£50)

Sun. Nov 17 ^th – Cyril Davies All Stars (£60)

Wed. Nov 27 ^th – John Mayall Blues Breakers (£25)

This would be the first incarnation of Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, featuring Bernie Watson on guitar, and John McVie, even then, on bass. Incidentally, the contract for tonight was made with Charlesworth Presentations, an agency run by Dick Charlesworth of City Gents frequency here, so clearly he had more strings to his bow than merely leading a jazz band It’s likely that tonight featured the first appearance of local outfit The Others, as bassist Rob Tolchard recalls having blagged a support gig for this particular Mayall lineup

Sat. Nov 30 ^th – Eric Silk and his Southern Jazz Band (£35)

December 1963

Sun. Dec 8 ^th – Manfred Mann (date from “Mannerisms: The Five Phases of Manfred Mann” by Greg Russo)

Manfred Mann were shortly to become pop stars , when “5-4-3-2-1” stormed the charts after being adopted as the theme tune for Ready Steady Go, though it had been recorded back in August. Despite playing on the record, it was after playing at the Island, probably tonight, that bassist Dave Richmond was told his services would not be required the following night, at which point guitarist Tom McGuinness walked on stage at The Ealing Club with a bass for the first time. Dave Richmond went into session work, wielding his mighty Burns Bison Bass, and cropped up on “Je T’aime, Moi Non Plus” in 1969, as well as lots of other Serge Gainsbourg stuff

Fri. Dec 20 ^th – The Muleskinners (from ticket)

It’s another Twickenham College do tonight, and as in July, Ian McLagan’s Muleskinners are in attendance, seemingly the main attraction this time, and Colin Fulcher (aka Barney Bubbles) is again involved, at least in the design of the tickets. The theme for tonight is to “Come Cossack” according to Barney’s artwork, with the accompanying legend “Christmas Dance”, except in Cyrillic script

Tue. Dec 31 ^st – Cyril Davies All Stars

Brian Corsie (currently with The PigsFoot Stringband) got in touch to fill in this little gap: he and his wife recall this New Year’s Eve date being one of their first together, and their first exposure to British R&B. While Davies was billed, his illness prevented his appearance, and, sadly, he was to die about a week later, but Long John Baldry led the band tonight, and Brian is fairly certain Charlie Watts was sitting in on drums, though as he was on duty with The Stones at Lincoln Drill Hall tonight, it seems unlikely

As for 1962/63, there is another significant gap in available documentation between this point and May 1 ^st 1964.

The post 1963 Roll-call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1964 Roll-call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 11:08:00 GMT

1964

sadly sees the passing of Cyril Davies, while Long John Baldry takes over and renames the All-Stars as The Hoochie Coochie Men, and features Rod Stewart. Pre-Jeff Beck Tridents become regulars, though not as much as the Downliners Sect who almost move in. The Manish Boys play a couple of times before being joined by David Bowie (still plain old Davie Jones at this time). Oh, and The Artwoods arrive……

January 1964

Wed. Jan 8 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men

On the death, on January 7 ^th , of Cyril Davies, Baldry assumed the mantle of leader of Davies’ All Stars, and renamed them The Hoochie Coochie Men, honouring a scheduled gig by Davies on this, the next day. Rod Stewart would become a regular participant in Hoochie Coochie Men gigs, having famously been recruited by Baldry on the strength of an impromptu harmonica session at Twickenham railway station, following tonight’s first Hoochie Coochie Men appearance on the Island. This was possibly not the first time Baldry had encountered Rod, as I’ve heard testimony of one night at the Island when there was a power cut, and my witness recalls seeing Cyril Davies, Long John and Rod doing an “unplugged” gig on the steps outside the club

Sun. Jan 12 ^th – The Animals (from drummer John Steel’s diary, via Stephen Tow’s “London, Reign Over Me”)

According to John Steel, The Animals had played at the Olympia Ballroom during the afternoon, then Eel Pie Island “for the first time” this evening (obviously there must be further dates relating to Newcastle’s finest), where attendees included Peter Grant (who would become their promoter, though he was more famous for taking charge of Led Zeppelin’s affairs some years later) and Mickie Most (vaunted producer during the 60s and 70s, who also took them on that night)

Wed. Jan 15 ^th – The Downliners Sect

Wed. Jan 22 ^nd – The Downliners Sect

Wed. Jan 29 ^th – The Downliners Sect

February 1964

Wed. Feb 12 ^th – The Downliners Sect

Sat. Feb 22 ^nd – Original Downtown Syncopators (from Melody Maker ad)

Sun.Feb 23 ^rd - Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (from Melody Maker ad)

Wed. Feb 26 ^th – The Downliners Sect

This was billed as a “CYRIL DAVIES BENEFIT”

March 1964

Wed. Mar 11 ^th – The Downliners Sect

Thu. Mar 19 ^th – The Downliners Sect

This rare Thursday operation was down to it having been organised by the Chiswick Polytechnic’s Student Union

Wed. Mar 25 ^th – The Downliners Sect

April 1964

Wed. Apr 8 ^th – The Downliners Sect

Wed. Apr 22 ^nd – The Downliners Sect

All above Downliners Sect dates between Jan 15 ^th and Apr 22 ^nd courtesy of Don Craine

May 1964

Fri. May 1 ^st – The Others (from ticket)

The lack of contracts over 1963/64 means that this is the only date I can verify for The Others, a local band from Hampton, who went down well with the locals. Had a solitary single, a cover of Bo Diddley’s “Oh Yeah” which sold zilch, but provided the template, arrangement-wise, for Chicago’s Shadows Of Knight to have a hit in the States with it two years later. This latter recording found its way onto Lenny Kaye’s legendary “Nuggets” compilation in 1972, and in a curious squaring of a circle, The Others had regrouped by 1968 as Sands, and recorded “Listen To The Sky” which found its way onto “Nuggets II” when that CD follow-up to its vinyl predecessor was released. A further incarnation as Sun Dragon resulted in an album, for which the boys were bulked up musically by Messrs Lord, Paice and Blackmore, who would appear on the Island in their own right as that Deep Purple pop group in 1970

Wed. May 6 ^th – Jimmy Page sat in on a jam session with Jeff Beck , Bill Wyman and Ian Stewart , together with Stu’s friends “Wint” on drums, and “Knocker” on harmonica

The advertised performers are not known at this time (from a Rolling Stones database, and quoted on a Led Zeppelin message forum , and not least from Bill Wyman’s autobiography “Stone Alone”)

Wed. May 20 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

This appears to be the first documented date on the Island for “art-school R&B terrorists”, The Tridents (that description was used by David Wells in his liner notes for a Jeff Beck retrospective CD, “Shapes Of Things” in 2003). Originally formed by the Lucas brothers from Chiswick, John (rhythm guitar) and Paul (bass), they had played at Eel Pie during 1963, and their line-up also included Lesley Jones on lead guitar, and Lindsay Bex on drums

Mon. May 25 ^th – Manish Boys (from www.bowiewonderworld.com )

A certain David Bowie, formerly Jones, has yet to join The Manish Boys, but would they be playing on a Monday?

Wed. May 27 ^th – The Downliners Sect (£30)

Sun. May 31 ^st – Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

Some time after being billed as Scotland’s answer to Tommy Steele, and light years before “The Faith Healer”, “Next”, and his Vambo character in the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Alex became a regular at Eel Pie dispensing his Soul stuff. Geoff Coxon, later with The Others, remembers his then outfit, The Smokestacks, supporting Alex: could it have been tonight?

June 1964

Wed. Jun 3 ^rd – The Downliners Sect (£30)

Sun. Jun 7 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£65)

Wed. Jun 17 ^th – The Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

Thu. Jun 18 ^th – Manfred Mann (On a Thursday?) (from “Mannerisms: The Five Phases of Manfred Mann” by Greg Russo)

Sun. Jun 21 ^st – Manish Boys (from www.bowiewonderworld.com )

Sun. Jun 21 ^st – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£65)

Wed. Jun 24 ^th – The Downliners Sect (£30)

Sun. Jun 28 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£65)

July 1964

Wed. Jul 1 ^st – The Downliners Sect (£30)

Sat. Jul 4 ^th – Terry Lightfoot’s Jazzmen (£45)

Wed. Jul 8 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

According to Paul, this date may have been shared with Jeff Beck’s outfit at that time, The Nightshift , who themselves played at the 4 ^th National Jazz and Blues Festival at Richmond Athletic Ground on August 7 ^th , shortly before Beck joined The Tridents

Sat. Jul 11 ^th – Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band (£45)

Wed. Jul 15 ^th – The Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

Sat. Jul 18 ^th – The Original Downtown Syncopators (£35)

Formed in 1962, The Original Downtown Syncopators played regularly at Eel Pie Island, and originally featured Ron Geesin on piano, who would, amongst many other things, later collaborate on orchestrations with Pink Floyd on their “Atom Heart Mother” album

Wed. Jul 22 ^nd – The Downliners Sect (As per Don Craine)

Sat. Jul 25 ^th – Alex Welsh and his Band (£45)

Sun. Jul 26 ^th – Davie Jones & Manish Boys (from www.bowiewonderworld.com )

With The Manish Boys having already played a number of gigs during the summer in their own right, David Bowie is now in tow, but has yet to change his name. Recently on Radio London (2020), Robert Elms posed the question as to how Bowie played here and also at the Finchley Jewish Boys Club on the same day (as the source site claims): I can only assume that the Boys Club was an afternoon affair!

August 1964

Sat. Aug 1 ^st – London City Stompers (£20)

Wed. Aug 5 ^th – Alex Harvey and The Soul Band (£50)

Sat. Aug 8 ^th – Brian Green’s New Orleans Stompers (£20)

Sun. Aug 9 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

Sat. Aug 15 ^th – The Original Downtown Syncopators (£35)

Sun. Aug 16 ^th – The Artwoods (£40)

Art Wood maintained that his band played at Eel Pie Island more times than any other outfit. This appears to be true in terms of R&B bands, but some of the Jazz regulars may dispute that claim. Guitarist Derek Griffiths remembered how Arthur Chisnall informed them one night that they had broken the attendance record, which would stand for a while – not bad considering the earlier Stones appearances. In 2014, their collected recorded works were re-released, “Steady Getting’ It: The Complete Recordings 1964-67”. In 2019, “Art’s Gallery” was released, featuring long-deleted BBC sessions, which have been restored from a fan’s home taping of the session broadcasts!

Wed. Aug 19 ^th – Davie Jones & The Manish Boys (from www.bowiewonderworld.com )

Wed. Aug 19 ^th - Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (from concerts/fandom/wiki/Long_John_Baldry)

Sat. Aug 22 ^nd – Alex Welsh and his Band (£30)

Sun. Aug 23 ^rd – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

Wed. Aug 26 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£60)

Sat. Aug 29 ^th – Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band (£30)

Sun. Aug 30 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Original guitarist Mike Jopp stood in on lead guitar until Jeff Beck was available, though Beck may have been on show tonight

September 1964

Wed. Sep 2 ^nd – Davie Jones & The Manish Boys (from www.bowiewonderworld.com )

Wed. Sep 2 ^nd – Alex Harvey and The Soul Band (£50)

Sat. Sep 5 ^th – Brian Green’s New Orleans Stompers (£25)

Sun. Sep 6 ^th – The Artwoods (£40)

Wed. Sep 9 ^th – Alex Harvey and The Soul Band (£50)

Sat. Sep 12 ^th – Original Downtown Syncopators (£35)

Sun. Sep 13 ^th – Memphis Slim (Peter Chatman) (£40)

This is the legendary American blues artist, who by this time had permanently relocated to Paris. His compositions were published under the name Peter Chatman, hence that reference on the contract

Wed. Sep 16 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Jeff Beck is definitely in tonight’s line-up, possibly using his first ever fuzz-box, as designed and built by bassist Paul Lucas. On a recently unearthed interview from 1979, David Bowie revealed that it was The Tridents, with Jeff Beck, that he specifically came to see at the Island

Wed. Sep 16 ^th – Alex Harvey and The Soul Band (£50)

Sat. Sep 19 ^th – Charlie Galbraith All Stars (£35)

Sun. Sep 20 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

Wed. Sep 23 ^rd – Alex Harvey and The Soul Band (£50)

Wed. Sep 23 ^rd – The Downliners Sect (£50)

Sun. Sep 27 ^th – The Barbarians Prince Khan (£5)

I have no idea either, but The Barabarians, with or without Prince Khan, had played at The Marquee two days earlier, supporting Gary Farr and the T-Bones

Sun. Sep 27 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

Wed. Sep 30 ^th – Little Walter (£35)

The celebrated US blues harpist, this was during his first of two European tours

Wed. Sep 30 ^th – Alex Harvey and The Soul Band (£50)

October 1964

Sat. Oct 3 ^rd – Alex Welsh and his Band (£40)

Sun. Oct 4 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sun. Oct 4 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

Wed. Oct 7 ^th – Davie Jones & the Manish Boys (from www.bowiewonderworld.com )

Wed. Oct 7 ^th - Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (from concerts/fandom/wiki/Long_John_Baldry)

Sat. Oct 10 ^th – The Original Downtown Syncopators (£35)

Sun. Oct 11 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

Wed. Oct 14 ^th – Alex Harvey and The Soul Band (£50)

Fri. Oct 16 ^th – Second Thoughts

Fri. Oct 16 ^th – The Tridents

Before Paul Lucas got in touch, thanks to Linda Smith and her diary, this was the first time I could finally place a Tridents’ gig! It was an Ealing College date, hence the Friday

Sat. Oct 17 ^th – Alex Welsh and his Band (£45)

Sun. Oct 18 ^th – The Bluesounds (£10)

Sun. Oct 18 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

Wed. Oct 21 ^st – Alex Harvey and The Soul Band (£50)

Fri. Oct 23 ^rd – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Fri. Oct 23 ^rd – The Second Thoughts

(from http://thestrangebrew.co.uk/articles/the-second-thoughts )

The Second Thoughts spawned future “Rainbow Chaser” Patrick Campbell-Lyons of Nirvana and ‘Speedy’ Keen of Thunderclap Newman. The source site also quotes an appearance at Ealing Technical College on the same date, but while there are other instances of gigs on ‘non-Eelpiland’ days for college dances and so on, it’s most likely, given the previous week’s ‘Ealing College’ bash, that tonight is a repeat, and that both references relate to the same single performance on the Island, and not actually in Ealing! .

Sat. Oct 24 ^th – Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen (£35)

Sat. Oct 24 ^th – Terry Lightfoot’s Jazzmen (£45)

Sun. Oct 25 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries, though Paul says they were supporting Alex Harvey, who appeared here on Oct 28 ^th )

The BBC came down to Eel Pie Island to record The Tridents tonight, for German radio. According to Paul Lucas, the wrong bass amp was miked up. None of this material saw the light of day until it appeared on Jeff Beck’s “Beckology” career retrospective released in 1991

Sun. Oct 25 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

This would have been the last Hoochie Coochie Men gig with Rod Stewart in the line-up on the Island, as his own solo career was beginning to take shape, and the fact that the Hoochie Coochie Men were in terminal decline by this point, though they struggled on until at least April the following year

Wed. Oct 28 ^th – Alex Harvey and The Soul Band (£50)

November 1964

Sun. Nov 1 ^st – The Soul Agents (from http://www.mybestcv.co.il/TextPage_EN.aspx?ID=8303888 )

These guys were shortly to enlist the services of one Roderick Stewart, now presumably at a loose end

Wed. Nov 4 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Wed. Nov 4 ^th – Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

Sat. Nov 7 ^th – Monty Sunshine’s Jazz Band (£35)

Sun. Nov 8 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sun. Nov 8 ^th – Davie Jones & The Manish Boys (from www.bowiewonderworld.com )

David Bowie (né Jones) was so enamoured with his Eel Pie Island experiences, he namechecked it on the cover of his 1973 album, “Pin Ups”

Sun. Nov 8 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

Wed. Nov 11 ^th – Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

Sat. Nov 14 ^th – Original Downtown Syncopators (£35)

Sun. Nov 15 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

Sat. Nov 21 ^st – London City Stompers (£35)

Sat. Nov 21 ^st – Dave Hunt’s R&B Band featuring Hamilton King

This is probably a dubious entry, given that Saturday was always given over to jazz, and unlikely to feature an R&B band alongside the London City Stompers. Dave Hunt’s R&B Band, incidentally, initially occupied the residency spot at The Station Hotel (soon to become The Crawdaddy) in Richmond, which was then famously taken by The Rolling Stones in 1963, and featured one Ray Davies within their ranks, for a spell, prior to him forming The Kinks

Sun. Nov 22 ^nd – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sun. Nov 22 ^nd – The Art Woods (£40)

Sat. Nov 28 ^th – Howlin’ Wolf

Thanks to a lovely lady, Jennie Wyrill, who brought her diary into the museum, we have this entry. Whether it was this night or not, another visitor, Collin Flower, recalls seeing Howlin’ Wolf, with Bill Wyman in the audience: Bill was invited up on stage by the Wolf, and proceeded to join said blues man, despite manager Andrew Loog Oldham’s protestations that he couldn’t do so, as he wasn’t contracted to play! Also present tonight, was 14-year-old John Beale, who visited the Museum in 2026, telling us that his ‘job’ tonight (other than collecting empty glasses), on behalf of the club, was to ‘look after Mr Wolf’, by supplying him with regular beers. John remembers Wolf’s trick of virtually swallowing the whole of his harmonica inside his capacious mouth, retrieving it and dipping it into his beer, before polishing off said pint. A man of many talents, clearly

Sun. Nov 29 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sun. Nov 29 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

December 1964

Sat. Dec 5 ^th – Alex Welsh and his Band (£45)

Sun. Dec 6 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries) played interval?

Sun. Dec 6 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

Wed. Dec 9 ^th – The Downliners Sect (As per Don Craine)

Sat. Dec 12 ^th – London City Stompers (£35)

Sat. Dec 12 ^th – Monty Sunshine’s Jazz Band (£35)

Sun. Dec 13 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Wed. Dec 16 ^th – Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

Fri. Dec 18 ^th – The Muleskinners (from full-page advert in The Griffon, Twickenham College’s in-house newspaper, gifted to the Museum by Roy Hooker)

Almost a year after providing musical frolics for students of Twickenham College, Ian McLagan’s Muleskinners are back for a repeat performance. The artwork for the advert was again possibly provided by Barney Bubbles

Sat. Dec 19 ^th – Original Downtown Syncopators (£35)

Sun. Dec 20 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

Wed. Dec 23 ^rd – Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

Thu. Dec 24 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Being Christmas Eve, this is likely to be the date that John Anderson, interviewed in 2013 for the “Rock’n’Roll Island” documentary, remembered as the one where the whole crowd tried to ‘cossack-dance’ to The Tridents’ rendition of “Hava-Nagila”, whereupon Jeff Beck kept playing ever-faster until everyone fell over, trying to keep up

Sat. Dec 26 ^th – Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen (£35)

Sun. Dec 27 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£75)

Wed. Dec 30 ^th – Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

The post 1964 Roll-call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1965 Roll-call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 11:07:00 GMT

1965

in which Rod Stewart returns initially with The Soul Agents, and again later with Steampacket, together with Long John and Julie Driscoll. Other soul/R&B revue acts like Herbie Goins & The Nightimers and Jimmy James & The Vagabonds follow suit, while venerable US blues legends Memphis Slim, Champion Jack Dupree, Jesse Fuller and Buddy Guy are on show. John Mayall and John Dummer both fly the flag for British blues……

January 1965

Sat. Jan 2 ^nd – Alex Welsh and his Band (£45)

Sun. Jan 3 ^rd – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£90)

Wed. Jan 6 ^th – The Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

Sat. Jan 9 ^th – Monty Sunshine’s Jazz Band (£40)

Sun. Jan 10 ^th – The Artwoods (£50)

Wed. Jan 13 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sat. Jan 16 ^th – Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen (£40)

Sun. Jan 17 ^th – Rod Stewart and The Soul Agents (£60)

The Soul Agents were a combo from Southampton. Their gimmick, apparently, was to perform in bare feet, a la Sandie Shaw: whether they dared that tonight is not known. Rod played with these guys over this winter, between his stint with Baldry’s Hoochie Coochie Men and Steampacket

Wed. Jan 20 ^th – The Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

Sat. Jan 23 ^rd – London City Stompers (£35)

Sun. Jan 24 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Wed. Jan 27 ^th – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (£40)

Roger Dean was now present on guitar, with Hughie Flint, later of the eponymous McGuinness Flint, on drums. Old stager John McVie was still the bassist

Sat. Jan 30 ^th – Original Downtown Syncopators (£35)

Sun. Jan 31 ^st – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

February 1965

Wed. Feb 3 ^rd – The Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

Sat. Feb 6 ^th – Terry Lightfoot’s Jazzmen (£45)

Sun. Feb 7 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sun. Feb 7 ^th – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (£50)

Sun. Feb 14 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sun. Feb 14 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£90)

Wed. Feb 17 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Wed. Feb 24 ^th – Buddy Guy with Rod Stewart and The Soul Agents (£90)

This was during US blues guitar legend Buddy Guy’s first visit to the UK . As I understand it, Rod would do a set with The Soul Agents, then vacate the stage for Buddy Guy, meaning the two did not actually perform together

Sun. Feb 28 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sun. Feb 28 ^th – Jesse Fuller (from Tridents bassist Paul Lucas’ diary)

March 1965

Sun. Mar 7 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£90)

Wed. Mar 10 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Jeff Beck left the band in March to join The Yardbirds, probably making his debut with The Yardbirds on March 5 ^th : when Beck did leave, he didn’t bother telling the band, just failed to show up, according to Paul’s brother, rhythm guitarist John Lucas!

Wed. Mar 17 ^th – Alex Harvey and his Soul Band (£50)

Sun. Mar 21 ^st – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Mike Jopp would be back on lead guitar after Beck’s defection

Sun. Mar 27 ^th – Champion Jack Dupree (solo) (£45)

Another US blues legend, this time on piano, Dupree had settled in Europe by 1960, though that does not explain why he chose to live in Halifax during the 70s and 80s. The name came from his earlier boxing career, and his first recording “Warehouse Man Blues” was released in 1940. Interrupted by service in the US Navy during the war, and two years of incarceration by the Japanese as a POW, “She Makes Good Jelly” signalled his return in 1945. His biggest hit was “Walkin’ The Blues” in 1955 with Teddy McRae, which lead to national tours, and eventually a European one in 1959, where he played an unofficial (and unpaid) gig with Alexis Korner at the London School of Economics. He went on to record with all manner of younger British guitarists, such as Tony McPhee of Groundhogs fame (“Dupree’n’McPhee”), Mick Taylor, Eric Clapton, John Mayall, as well as The Band. His last release, appropriately entitled “One Last Time”, came out posthumously in 1993, a year after his death in Germany

Wed. Mar 31 ^st – Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

April 1965

Sun. Apr 4 ^th – Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men (£90)

Sun. Apr 11 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sun. Apr 11 ^th – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (£50)

Apparently, this would have been five days after Eric Clapton’s first appearance in the Bluesbreakers, so it would be safe to say he’s onboard tonight. They were busy bees today, fulfilling a booking at the Blue Moon Club in Hayes for the same night

Wed. Apr 14 ^th – Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

Sun. Apr 18 ^th – The Artwoods (from Ronnie Wood’s diary )

Wed. Apr 21 ^st – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Wed. Apr 21 ^st – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (£40)

Sun. Apr 25 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

May 1965

Sat. May 1 ^st – Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen (£40) from AC’s accounts)

Sat. May 8 ^th – Brian Green’s New Orleans Stompers (£25) (from AC’s accounts)

Sun. May 9 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Wed. May 12 ^th – Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

Wed. May 12 ^th – Memphis Slim with Alex Harvey Soul Band (£90)

For tonight, Memphis Slim elects to be backed by Alex Harvey’s band, who also played a set in their own right

Sat. May 15 ^th – Original Downtown Syncopators (£35) from AC’s accounts

Sun. May 16 ^th – Rod Stewart and The Soul Agents (£40)

Sat. May 22 ^nd – Alan Elsdon (£40) from AC’s accounts

Sun. May 23 ^rd – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

Sun. May 23 ^rd – Graham Bond Organisation (from Tridents bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

John Anderson (interviewed as part of the “Rock’n’Roll Island” documentary) had a band, The Traces, who got a slot for young unknowns, and he remembered backing Graham Bond. He did a Chuck Berry solo and got slapped on the back by a certain Eric, along with the accolade “Great solo kid”: whilst “all the guys were encouraging to us kids”, John remembers one particular musician who thought they had no talent, and were wasting their time – step forward Reginald Dwight. I have no idea whether that might have been tonight, but as John’s passing was revealed to us in October 2015 while the Museum was in full swing, I’d like to record this as a possible. RIP John

Fri. May 28 ^th – The Tridents (from bassist Paul Lucas’ diaries)

This is the last documented gig by The Tridents

Sat. May 29 ^th – Alex Welsh and his Band (£45) from AC’s accounts

Sun. May 30 ^th – Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

Sun. May 30 ^th – Memphis Slim with Alex Harvey Soul Band (£90)

June 1965

Sat, Jun 5 ^th – Monty Sunshine’s Jazz Band (£40) from AC’s accounts

Sun. Jun 6 ^th – John Lee and the Groundhogs (£50)

Tony McPhee formed The Groundhogs – named after the John Lee Hooker song, “Groundhog Blues” – and while the John Lee in question is not actually Hooker, but singer John Cruickshank’s stage name of John Lee, it was no disadvantage to be so named when they did appear as Hooker’s backing band, initially in 1964, and Hooker requested them thereafter. All of which means, however, that the bill does not necessarily mean John Lee Hooker was actually performing tonight

Sat. Jun 12 ^th – Colin Kingwell (£25) from AC’s accounts

Colin Kingwell formed his first “Jazz Bandits” in 1956, an entity that survived until 2016 when Colin gracefully retired. The band subsequently continued as the New Orleans Jazz Bandits. When a party was organised for Arthur Chisnall’s 80 ^th birthday in 2005, it was Colin’s Jazz Bandits that provided the musical interludes at Whitton’s Winning Post pub. Sadly, Colin died as recently as March 2021

Sun. Jun 13 ^th – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (£40)

Wed. Jun 16 ^th – John Lee and the Groundhogs (£50)

Sat. Jun 19 ^th – Terry Lightfoot’s Jazzmen (£45) from AC’s accounts

Sat. Jun 26 ^th – London City Stompers (£35) from AC’s accounts

Sun. Jun 27 ^th – Alex Harvey Soul Band (£50)

July 1965

Sat. Jul 3 ^rd – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£35) from AC’s accounts

Sun. Jul 4 ^th – The Artwoods (from Ronnie Wood’s diary)

Fri. Jul 9 ^th – Rod Stewart and The Brian Auger Trinity (from http://thebritishsound.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/steam-packet-family-tree-performance.html )

Like the rogue Stones entry in 1963, tonight was organised by Twickenham Tech hence the Friday, and was their second ever outing. They were rather a prototype Steampacket, though they were billed as “Rod Stewart and The Brian Augers Trinity” on the flyer, similar to their first outing just over two weeks earlier at The Birdcage Club in Southsea, but by the time they played at Exeter a week after tonight, they would be billed as Steampacket, as the lineup would then be completed by the inclusion of Long John Baldry and Julie Driscoll. Barney Bubbles once again was on hand to design the tickets for tonight: attendees are exhorted to “Come dressed WHITER THAN WHITE for graphic design Twickenham summer dance with high active ROD STEWART and BRIAN AUGER’S TRINITY to force grey out and white in, Eel Pie Island Steam Laundry”: was this the inspiration for, or the origin of, the Steampacket monicker?

Sat. Jul 10 ^th – Brian Green’s New Orleans Stompers (£25) from AC’s accounts

Sun. Jul 11 ^th – John Lee and the Groundhogs (£50)

Sat. Jul 17 ^th – Climax Jazz Band (£35)

Wed. Jul 21 ^st – Beaux Oddlot (£10)

This lot came out of someone called The Strollers, who swopped red sharkskin-tooth suits and bow-ties for long hair, black polo-necked jumpers and boots, with a revamped style based on The Pretty Things, Kinks and Stones. Main man guitarist Vic Triggle is still active with Wirral-based fundraising organisation, The Cheshire Cats

Wed. Jul 21 ^st – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (£50)

Sat. Jul 24 ^th – Alex Welsh Jazz Band (£45)

Sun. Jul 25 ^th – Alex Harvey with The Soul Band (£50)

Wed. Jul 28 ^th – The Billy Woods 5 (£30)

Sat. Jul 31 ^st – Alexander’s Jazzmen (£20)

Sat. Jul 31 ^st – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£20)

Cornetist Carl Spencer and his Washboard Kings clocked up a sizeable number of appearances from tonight up until the demise of Jazz on the Island. Following numerous radio appearances, and recordings, including one in 1967 with Bill Oddie on vocals, Carl called it a day in 1972, getting into the musical instrument distribution business. However, he got itchy fingers in 1997 and formed Spencer’s Nighthawks, featuring four of the original Washboard Kings. You can’t keep a good man down, clearly

August 1965

Sun. Aug 1 ^st – The Creed (£7.10.0d)

Sun. Aug 1 ^st – Long John Baldry, Rod Stewart, Brian Auger & Julie Driscoll (£100)

The contract’s worth to the performers hits £100 for the first time, as Steampacket take to the stage. Also, this appears to be the first time a woman had been named on a contract since Doreen Beatty with Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazz Band in 1962. While the contract was made with the above named individuals, the band name “Steampacket” is also referenced (“Please note billing Steam Packet”), so I guess that’s how they were billed. Despite flourishing on the live circuit, this immensely popular combo succumbed to money and management problems by the following year (with all main protagonists signed to different labels, no meaningful recording ever took place, only a set of demos, now widely available, though decried by the performers themselves these days), with Rod joining the ersatz-Steampacket outfit Shotgun Express (who featured Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Bardens and Beryl Marsden), Auger and Driscoll consolidating their act which would culminate in “This Wheel’s On Fire” and a slew of albums, and Baldry taking on Bluesology (including Reg Dwight on piano) as his new backing band, before Baldry himself succumbed to success in Balladland, with “Let the Heartaches Begin”, which lost him his bedrock of R&B fans whilst endearing him to the charts!

Wed. Aug 4 ^th – “ The Fairies ” [sic] (£10)

Featuring John ‘Twink’ Alder on drums, this outfit are not to be confused with the latter day Pink Fairies, though Twink did play with them as well, following stints with Tomorrow (who make an appearance here in 1967) and The Pretty Things

Sat. Aug 7 ^th – New Sedalia Jazz Band( £25) from AC’s accounts

Sun. Aug 8 ^th – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (£50)

Wed. Aug 11 ^th – 5 Dimensions (£30)

Sat. Aug 14 ^th – Monty Sunshine’s Jazz Band (£40)

Sun. Aug 15 ^th – The Billy Woods 5 (£40)

Wed. Aug 18 ^th – The Artwoods (£40)

Sat. Aug 21 ^st – Brian Green’s New Orleans Stompers (£25)

Sun. Aug 22 ^nd – Steampacket (£100)

Though the contract is made out to Long John Baldry, Rod Stewart, Brian Auger Trinity, and Julie Driscoll as named individuals again

| Sat. Aug 28 ^th – Colin Kingwell (£25) from AC’s accounts

September 1965

Wed. Sep 1 ^st – The Micky Finn (£12.10.0d)

Guitarist Micky Waller and Danny Peyronel on keys would eventually surface as Heavy Metal Kids, backing Gary Holton, of TV’s “Auf Wiedersehen, Pet” semi-fame less than a decade after tonight

Wed. Sep 1 ^st – The Billy Woods 5 (£30)

Sat. Sep 4 ^th – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£35)

Sat. Sep 11 ^th – London City Stompers (£35)

Sat. Sep 18 ^th – Chris Barber (£100) from AC’s accounts

Whilst this is the only confirmed entry I can find for Chris Barber, I’ve no doubt he graced the Eel Pie Island Ballroom’s boards on many an occasion, and in any number of line-ups. One of the most influential musicians in the 50s and 60s, he straddled the musical worlds of jazz, skiffle, blues and R&B, helping the careers of Lonnie Donegan, and Ottilie Patterson (later his wife). He was influential in bringing over any number of legendary US blues artists, like Big Bill Broonzy and Muddy Waters, to name just two, to play before an unexpectedly enthusiastic British audience, all of which helped kick-start the British Blues Boom

Sat. Sep 25 ^th – Charlie Galbraith’s All Stars (£35)

Sun. Sep 26 ^th – John Lee’s Groundhogs (£50)

Wed. Sep 29 ^th – John Lee’s Groundhogs (£50)

October 1965

Sat. Oct 2 ^nd – Temperance Seven (£60)

The Temperance Seven have obviously got over their guinea-related payment fixation (see Jun 11 ^th 1961). Art Wood’s (and Ronnie’s) eldest brother Ted was a later member of The Seven, so may have been on duty tonight, a day before young Art

Sun. Oct 3 ^rd – The Artwoods (£60)

Wed. Oct 6 ^th – Dave Antony’s Moods (£15)

Dave Anthony was one Tony Head, who also had connections with a 1964 outfit called The League Of Gentlemen, who themselves featured a certain Robert Fripp on guitar, many years before Fripp reprised the name following a stint with someone called King Crimson. As for The Moods, following what looks to be a large number of appearances at Eel Pie, and presumably other mid-60s hotspots, they eventually relocated to Italy, surprisingly. Curiously, the contract for this and all other dates by The Moods quotes Dave Antony without the ‘h’, which was rather prescient as the band did drop the ‘h’ on that Italian relocation, as their Milan-based management thought the pronunciation would prove problematic for inhabitants of that land: this fact has been verified by The Moods’ guitarist Tim Large, who further underlines that this was against the band’s wishes, and who helpfully points out that Roger Peacock had replaced Tony Head as being Dave Anthony! The original Dave Anthony, or rather, Tony Head, ended up working with The Fleur de Lys, and recording with South African songstress, Sharon Tandy, as Tony And Tandy

Wed. Oct 6 ^th – Jimmy James & The Vagabonds (£30)

As well as numerous black American blues artists being presented to the Eel Pie fraternity, there was also a plethora of US soul singers, usually present on these shores courtesy of Uncle Sam’s armed forces, backed by more home-grown talent, such as Geno Washington et al. However, Jimmy James here bucked that trend and was actually from Jamaica, opting for a Soul oeuvre rather than his native Reggae, though he did get an early Ska recording out within weeks of relocating to these shores in 1964

Sat. Oct 9 ^th – Monty Sunshine’s Jazz Band (£40)

Wed. Oct 13 ^th – The Rick’n’beckers (£7.10.0d)

Wed. Oct 13 ^th – Herbie Goins & The Nightimers (£40)

Herbie Goins was one of those US soul merchants mentioned above, who, having previously been featured vocalist with Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, took over as lead singer of The Nightimers when Ronnie Jones (featured later in this roll-call) left. Joe Moretti, supplier of the immortal guitar riff on Johnny Kidd & The Pirates’ “Shakin’ All Over”, was a regular player with The Nightimers

Sat. Oct 16 ^th – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£35)

Sun. Oct 17 ^th – The Sidewinders (£10)

Wed. Oct 20 ^th – The Billy Woods Five (£30)

Sat. Oct 23 ^rd – Steve Lane’s Southern Stompers (£25)

Back in the 50s, Cyril Davies cut his teeth with these guys for about four years, before ploughing furrows further afield, musically speaking

Sat. Oct 23 ^rd – Alex Welsh Jazz Band (£45)

AC’s accounts do not mention the contracted Terry Lightfoot’s Jazz Band

Sun. Oct 24 ^th – Dave Antony’s Moods (£30)

Sun. Oct 24 ^th – Jesse Fuller (£100)

American one-man band Jesse Fuller gets £100 all for himself , reflecting his popularity: apparently it was Fuller that broke The Artwoods’ attendance record at the Island. I assume the ‘fotdella’ – a foot-driven bass instrument, invented by himself (Google it if you don’t believe me) – was in evidence tonight

Wed. Oct 27 ^th – The Artwoods (£40)

Sat. Oct 30 ^th – Climax Jazzband (£35)

Sun. Oct 31 ^st – The Creed (£10)

Sun. Oct 31 ^st – John Lee & The Groundhogs (£50)

November 1965

Wed. Nov 3 ^rd – John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers (£45)

While Eric Clapton was getting as far as Greece on his projected ‘round-the-world’ jaunt, Mayall used a whole bunch of stand-ins, including John Weider, John Slaughter, Geoff Krivit, and no less a guitar player than Peter Green, all for about five minutes each, and in fact Peter would appear to have been in tonight’s line-up, leaving the next day on the prodigal’s return. Not only that, but Jack Bruce is now in the line-up, adding his considerable bass and harmonica talents to The Bluesbreakers

Sat. Nov 6 ^th – New Sedalia Jazzband (£25)

Sat. Nov 6 ^th – Champion Jack Dupree (£35) from AC’s accounts

Unusually, this Saturday seemingly presents both jazz and blues on the same bill

Sun. Nov 7 ^th – Dave Antony’s Moods (£40)

Wed. Nov 10 ^th – The Micky Finn (£35)

Sat. Nov 13 ^th – Terry Lightfoot’s Jazzband (£45)

Sun. Nov 14 ^th – The Worrying Kynde (£10)

‘Fig’ Fagan from the band got in touch recalling supporting The Artwoods and John Mayall on other occasions. Also, having to unload their equipment on the mainland and transporting it over to the Hotel in a handcart

Sun. Nov 14 ^th – Herbie Goins & The Nightimers (£50)

Wed. Nov 17 ^th – The Artwoods (£50)

Sat. Nov 20 ^th – Brian Green’s New Orleans Stompers (£25)

Sun. Nov 21 ^st – The Creed (£10)

Sun. Nov 21 ^st – John Lee & The Groundhogs (£50)

Wed. Nov 24 ^th – The Right Track (£7.10.0d)

Wed. Nov 24 ^th – Dave Antony’s Moods (£35)

Sat. Nov 27 ^th – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£35)

Sun. Nov 28 ^th – The Artwoods (£60)

December 1965

Wed. Dec 1 ^st – The Just Four (£7.10.0d)

Wed. Dec 1 ^st – The Herd (£35)

The original Herd, before wholesale changes to their line-up were made the following year: this was verified by original drummer Mick Underwood, who visited us at the Museum

Sat. Dec 4 ^th – Ken Colyer’s Jazzband (£40)

Sat. Dec 11 ^th – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£35)

Sun. Dec 12 ^th – The Curfew (£7.10.0d)

Wed. Dec 15 ^th – John Dummer Blues Band (£7.10.0d)

Drummer Dummer patiently dragged his blues band around for years until hitting commercial paydirt with Darts over a dozen years after tonight

Wed. Dec 15 ^th – Stormsville Shakers

(from http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html )

These had backed Larry Williams, of “Bony Moroni” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” fame, as well as Johnny Guitar Watson this year. They featured Philip Goodhand-Tait, who would be marketed as a piano-playing singer / songwriter in the early 70s, rather like Elton John . When psychedelia hit town in summer ‘67, the Shakers became Circus

Wed. Dec 15 ^th – The Rick’n’beckers (£30)

Wed. Dec 15 ^th – The Vagabonds (£35)

Sat. Dec 18 ^th – Brian Green’s New Orleans Stompers (£25) from AC’s accounts

Fri. Dec 24 ^th – New Sedalia Jazz Band (£30) from AC’s accounts

Fri. Dec 24 ^th – Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen (£60) from AC’s accounts

Sun. Dec 26 ^th – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers

This gig was listed in Record Retailer (thanks to Christopher Hjort for that snippet), and confirmed by Jennie Wyrill who was there, though it may have been mis-sold as a Saturday gig

The post 1965 Roll-call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1966 Roll-call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 11:05:00 GMT

1966

sees the prolific John Mayall showcase Eric Clapton and any number of temporary replacements before Peter Green joins, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band command the biggest fee paid so far at the club. The Herd are popular at the Island, even before Peter Frampton joins them. While Clapton returns with his supergroup Cream, further appearances include Jimmy Witherspoon, Jimmy Cliff, Alan Price ……

January 1966

Sat. Jan 1 ^st – The Green Leaf Band (£20)

Sat. Jan 8 ^th – Alex Welsh Jazz Band (£45) from AC’s accounts

Sun. Jan 9 ^th – Herbie Goins and The Nightimers (from Jennie Wyrill’s diary)

Sat. Jan 15 ^th – Eric Silk and his Southern Jazz Band (£25) from AC’s accounts

Sat. Jan 22 ^nd – Brian Green’s New Orleans Stompers (£25) from AC’s accounts

Sat. Jan 29 ^th – Mike Daniels Delta Jazz Band (£40) from AC’s accounts

February 1966

Sat. Feb 5 ^th – New Sedalia Jazz Band (£25) from AC’s accounts

Sun. Feb 6 ^th – Jimmy James & The Vagabonds (£45)

Jimmy James and his cohorts were down for two separate sets tonight

Wed. Feb 9 ^th – The Soul Show (from Record Mirror ad via Nick Warburton)

Featured tonight are E lkie Brooks, Keith Powell, The Marionettes , and The Excels

Sat. Feb 12 ^th – Steve Lane’s Southern Stompers (£25) from AC’s accounts

Sat. Feb 19 ^th – Alan Elsdon (£40) from AC’s accounts

Sat. Feb 26 ^th – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£40) from AC’s accounts

March 1966

Wed. Mar 2 ^nd – The Train (£25) from AC’s accounts

Sat. Mar 5 ^th – TiaJuana Jazz Band (£25) from AC’s accounts

Sun. Mar 6 ^th – The Five Proud Walkers (£10) from Colin Forster of the Walkers, via Nick Warburton

Sun. Mar 6 ^th – The Big T Soul Show feat. The Carols (£40)

Wed. Mar 9 ^th – Heart And Soul (£25) from letter accompanying payment

Sat. Mar 12 ^th – Monty Sunshine’s Jazz Band (£40)

Monty Sunshine replaces the contracted Ken Colyer’s Jazzband according to AC’s accounts

Sun. Mar 13 ^th – Dave Antony’s Moods (£40)

Wed. Mar 16 ^th – The Artwoods (£60) – only paid £40 plus £6 for ad to appear in Club Calendar Mar 19

Sat. Mar 19 ^th – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£40)

Sun. Mar 20 ^th – John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers (£55)

With Jack Bruce having hied it over to Manfred Mann, John McVie is back on bass, having initially been elbowed on account of his drinking habit. Apparently tonight’s gig merited a rare advert in the Melody Maker

Wed. Mar 23 ^rd – The Curfew ((£10) suggested by letter accompanying payment

Wed. Mar 23 ^rd – The Graham Bond Organisation (£75)

A stalwart of the British R&B/Jazz scene, Bond graduated from a brief stint in Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated before ultimately forming the Organisation (such an appropriate, if obvious, name given his Hammond-based tendencies), initially with Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and John McLaughlin. By now, however, Bruce was long gone, and McLaughlin’s guitar was replaced by Dick Heckstall-Smith’s sax, while Jon Hiseman came in for Ginger Baker, who had absconded with Bruce for pastures new. The fee paid tonight gives a clue as to how highly Bond was regarded. Incidentally, the band used a large rowing boat to ship Bond’s Hammond over to the Island, rather than have to lug it over the bridge!

Sat. Mar 26 ^th – Monty Sunshine’s Jazz Band (£40)

Sun. Mar 27 ^th – Body And Soul (£10) from letter accompanying payment

Sun. Mar 27 ^th – The Artwoods (£40) (£60 according to AC’s accounts)

Wed. Mar 30 ^th – Mark Four (£25)

When bassist John Dalton later left to join the rather better known Kinks, The Mark Four themselves regrouped as the fondly referenced Creation, in which guitarist Eddie Phillips discovered the art of playing the guitar with a violin bow, long before Jimmy Page did the same trick. On the other hand, of course, he may have performed his party trick tonight

April 1966

Sat. Apr 2 ^nd – Steve Lane’s Southern Stompers (£25) from AC’s accounts

Sun. Apr 3 ^rd – John Lee & The Groundhogs (£50)

Wed. Apr 6 ^th – The Artwoods (£40)

Sat. Apr 9 ^th – Brian Green’s New Orleans Stompers (£25)

Sun. Apr 10 ^th – The Jimmy Cliff Show (£50)

Having been signed by Chris Blackwell to his Island record label, strangely, given Blackwell’s own Jamaican roots and later promotion of Reggae as a musical genre, Jimmy Cliff was initially marketed for the ‘rock’, or more properly given the era, R&B audience, and thus was backed by the likes of The New Generation (featuring a young future Fairport mainstay, Dave Pegg), and The Sound System, who included a very young Ayshea in their ranks, some years before setting young lads’ pulses racing on TV’s “Lift Off”. Confusingly, I have seen references to The Soul System (precursors to The Attack) backing Cliff, but that appears to be someone getting their “Sound” and their “Soul” confused, as this is not so, having been repudiated by one of the band recently. As for Cliff, of course, Reggae indeed became the making of him in 1969/70 with “Many Rivers To Cross” and “Wonderful World, Beautiful People”, as well as a bunch of other hits, before becoming a Jamaican ‘superstar’ following his role in the movie “The Harder They Come” in 1972, and is still going strong today

Wed. Apr 13 ^th – Micky Finn (£25)

Sat. Apr 16 ^th – Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band (£40)

Sun. Apr 17 ^th – The Anzacs (£10)

Sun. Apr 17 ^th – Jimmy Witherspoon (£60) from AC’s accounts

Wed. Apr 20 ^th – John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers (£40)

Two nights before this, a callow youth called Mick Taylor got the courage to ask Mayall if he could stand in for an obviously no-showing Clapton at a gig in Welwyn Garden City. I doubt he got the same chance tonight, though, but his time would come. On another occasion, recalled by Top Topham, when Clapton was late in showing, Robin Trower (later guitarist with Procol Harum before becoming quite big in his own right) got up on stage until he arrived

Sat. Apr 23 ^rd – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£40)

Sun. Apr 24 ^th – Mike Stuart Span (£10)

Sun. Apr 24 ^th – The Herd (£40)

Wed. Apr 27 ^th – Dave Antony’s Moods (£35)

Sat. Apr 30 ^th – Terry Lightfoot’s Jazzband (£45)

May 1966

Sun. May 1 ^st – A Q Blues Band (£10)

Sun. May 1 ^st – The Artwoods (£60)

Wed. May 4 ^th – The Alan Price Set (£50)

Was “Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear” in the Set’s set? I ’m being flippant, but I’m sure “I Put A Spell On You” would have been

Fri. May 6 ^th – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£30)

Fri. May 6 ^th – John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers (£40)

This apparently is the day following the photoshoot that yielded the famous ‘Beano’ shot for the “John Mayall Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton” LP cover. However, the presence of The Artwoods on the bill the same night (see below) suggests one of the bands did not appear: my money would be on The Artwoods indeed getting paid their dues tonight, though all three contracts for tonight were dated February 9 ^th 1966, and it being a Friday, there may have been something special going on (there’s a mention on all three contracts of “Special Concession Fee”)

Fri. May 6 ^th – The Artwoods (£40)

Fri. May 6 ^th – Champion Jack Dupree (£25) from letter accompanying payment

According to the same letter, Jack’s backing band, The Vagabonds were paid £50 in cash. Obviously a big night!

Sat. May 7 ^th – Bill Nile’s Delta Jazzband (£25)

Sat. May 7 ^th – Tia Juana [sic] Jazzband (£25) (See Sat May 21)

Sun. May 8 ^th – Deakin Lewis Band (£10)

Sun. May 8 ^th – The Vagabonds (£50) see above: also from AC’s accounts

Wed. May 11 ^th – Don Shinn’s Soul Agents (£25)

Rod Stewart having left the fold, organist Don Shinn steps up to the plate. Doesn’t carry the same gravitas, really, though, to be fair, Rod did rate him, according to his autobiography. He had a couple of albums out in his own right at the end of the 60s, and went on to feature in Dada (alongside Elkie Brooks and Robert Palmer) and recorded with Renaissance . The letter accompanying payment by AC states “The Soul Agents seemed to have great difficulty in exceeding two three quarter hour spots with their programme. I think we ought to delete them from the list”!

Sat. May 14 ^th – Monty Sunshine’s Jazz Band (£40)

Sun. May 15 ^th – The Seventh Sun (£10)

Sun. May 16 ^th [sic] – Herbie Goins and the Nightimers (£50)

Someone’s typing finger must have slipped when entering the date, clearly. At some stage this year, The Nightimers featured future jazz and fusion guitarist John McLaughlin

Wed. May 18 ^th – A Q Blues Band (£10)

Wed. May 18 ^th – Dave Antony’s Moods (£35)

Wed. May 18 ^th – John Lee’s Groundhogs (£40)

Sat. May 21 ^st – Tiajuna [sic] Jazzband (£25)

“This cancels contract for Saturday May 7”

Sat. May 21 ^st – Bill Nile’s Delta Jazzband (£25)

The Tia Juna [sic] Jazzband were contracted to play tonight, though the contract is annotated with “This cancels contract for Saturday May 7”, so they must have swopped dates with Bill Nile’s Deltas from two weeks earlier, who was paid for tonight

Sun. May 22 ^nd – The John Dummer Blues Band (£10)

Sun. May 22 ^nd – The Jimmy Cliff Show (£50)

Wed. May 25 ^th – Deakin Lewis Band (£10)

Wed. May 25 ^th – The Artwoods (£40)

Fri. May 27 ^th – Jimmy James & The Vagabonds ( from advert in Beat Instrumental, via Nick Warburton )

This advertised date from Beat Instrumental for a gig on a Friday suggests a College do

Sat. May 28 ^th – Spencer’s Washboard Kings ((£40) (from payment letter)

Sun. May 29 ^th – The Foot Prints (£10)

Sun. May 29 ^th – John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers (£55)

June 1966

Wed. Jun 1 ^st – The Vibro (£10)

Wed. Jun 1 ^st – The Worrying Kynde (£25)

Sat. Jun 4 ^th – The Temperance Seven (£60)

Sun. Jun 5 ^th – Deakin Lewis Band (£10)

Sun. Jun 5 ^th – Champion Jack Dupree & The 5 Proud Walkers (£50)

The Walkers got £20 of this, according to the payment letter

Wed. Jun 8 ^th – A Q Blues Band (£10)

Wed. Jun 8 ^th – Jimmy Witherspoon (£50) from payment letter and from AC’s accounts

Sat. Jun 11 ^th – The Delta Jazzband & Big Band (£40) Mike Daniels Big Band from AC’s accounts

Sun. Jun 12 ^th – The John Dummer Blues Band (£10)

Sun. Jun 12 ^th – Dave Antony’s Moods (£40)

Sun. Jun 12 ^th – The Artwoods (£60)

Sat. Jun 18 ^th – Steve Lane’s Southern Stompers (£25)

Sun. Jun 19 ^th – The Anzacs (£10)

Sun. Jun 19 ^th – The Jimmy Cliff Show (£50)

Wed. Jun 22 ^nd – The Kleek (£10)

Probably not to be confused with phonetically similar The Clique, who had two well-regarded singles the previous year, produced by Kinks manager Larry Page, and who could be seen as precursors to The Troggs. Which is a shame

Wed. Jun 22 ^nd – The Graham Bond Organisation (£80)

Sat. Jun 25 ^th – Mike Peter’s Jazzband (£25)

Sun. Jun 26 ^th – The Tea Set (£10)

Formed for a contest to write a song called “Join the Tea Set”, this outfit won, thus gaining the name and a recording contract, apparently . It may have been the presence of this group on a bill in 1965 that caused another lot due to play at the same event, also calling themselves The Tea Set, to change their name to Pink Floyd

Sun. Jun 26 ^th – The Artwoods (£65)

Wed. Jun 29 ^th – Nocturnal (£10)

Wed. Jun 29 ^th – Herbie Goins and the Nightimers (£50)

July 1966

Sat. Jul 2 ^nd – The Washboard Kings (£40)

Sun. Jul 3 ^rd – Saints and Sinners (£10)

Sun. Jul 3 ^rd – The Mark Leman [sic] Five (£50)

The Mark Leeman Five sadly lost their eponymous leader in a motor accident a year before tonight. Roger Peacock had come in from The Cheynes as vocalist, but he would depart the following year to join Eel Pie regulars Dave Anthony’s Moods. Drummer Brian Davison would reappear a couple of years later with The Nice. However, AC’s payment letter details only £30 paid for a “replacement band”, so it’s likely The Mark Leeman Five were not on view tonight, with Soul System being referred to in Arthur Chisnall’s accounts

Wed. Jul 6 ^th – Deakin Lewis Band (£10)

Wed. Jul 6 ^th – Dave Antony’s Moods (£35)

Fri. Jul 8 ^th – The Stormsville Shakers

(from http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html )

A Friday date is unlikely, as this was not the norm, unless it was one of those pesky college gigs

Sat. Jul 9 ^th – Monty Sunshine’s Jazz Band (£40)

Sun. Jul 10 ^th – The Seventh Sun (£10)

Sun. Jul 10 ^th – John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers (£60)

Wed. Jul 13 ^th – The Tea Set (£10)

Wed. Jul 13 ^th – The Worrying Kynde (£25)

Sat. Jul 16 ^th – Ken Colyer’s Jazzband (£40)

Sun. Jul 17 ^th – The Vibro (£10)

Sun. Jul 17 ^th – Champion Jack Dupree & The 5 Proud Walkers (£50)

Sun. Jul 17 ^th – The Artwoods (£65)

Wed. Jul 20 ^th – A Q Blues Band (£10)

Wed. Jul 20 ^th – The Mike Cotton Sound & Lucas (£35)

Lucas was Bruce MacPherson Lucas, another US soul-merchant trying his luck over here. By this time, Mike Cotton had further moved on to a soul/Stax vibe, and at some stage, a certain Reginald Dwight failed an audition for the changed line-up as well as a Joe Cocker. A music mag described Lucas as “the nearest thing to James Brown to be seen in England”: praise indeed, but that seems to refer to his charismatic stage presence rather than his vocal abilities

Sat. Jul 23 ^rd – The London City Stompers (£25)

Sun. Jul 24 ^th – The Deakin Lewis Band (£10)

Sun. Jul 24 ^th – The Artwoods (£65)

Wed. Jul 27 ^th – The John Dummer Blues Band (£10)

Wed. Jul 27 ^th – The Herd (£35) from payment letter

Sat. Jul 30 ^th – Alex Welsh and his Band (£45)

On the day that England won football’s World Cup, I just wonder what the atmosphere was like later that night when Alex Welsh took to the stage on the Island

Sun. Jul 31 ^st – The Kleek (£10)

Sun. Jul 31 ^st – Dave Antony’s Moods (£40)

August 1966

Wed. Aug 3 ^rd – The Tea Set (£10)

Wed. Aug 3 ^rd – The Anzacs (£25)

Sat. Aug 6 ^th – Eric Silk (£25) from payment letter and from AC’s accounts

Sun. Aug 7 ^th – The Charge (£10) from payment letter

In the early days of the Eel Pie Project, George Hill contacted us, telling of his band The Charge playing at the Island, and that it included Phil Collins on drums at some point. Given that Collins would have been 15 at this point, it may be fanciful to assume he’s on display tonight, but then again, he’d been playing drums since the age of five, so why not? George also verified that they supported The Artwoods, amongst others

Sun. Aug 7 ^th – The Artwoods (£65)

Wed. Aug 10 ^th – Wynder K Frog (£10)

The curiously named Wynder K Frog was former Fairies’ (on view here a year earlier) keyboard player Mick Weaver’s brainchild, and he adopted the name as his own in numerous session-based instances. Alan Spenner and Neil Hubbard became sometime Greaseband members, and trod the Pub-Rock boards with Kokomo. Guitarist Hubbard was even involved in Kevin Rowland’s Dexys resurrection in 2013

Wed. Aug 10 ^th – The Graham Bond Organisation (£80)

Sat. Aug 13 ^th – Bill Nile’s Delta Jazzband (£25)

Sun. Aug 14 ^th – Soul System (£40)

AC’s payment letter for this gig details no fee payable to the contracted John Dummer Blues Band (£20) as they did not arrive, owing to “transport problems”, however Soul System were paid £40, presumably as replacement, as the contracted Jimmy Cliff (£50) also does not figure in the letter; also Soul System from AC’s accounts

Wed. Aug 17 ^th – The V.I.P.s (£10)

This outfit later included one Keith Emerson within their ranks the following year before he went off and formed The Nice, appearing here with that band in 1968, and further created the prog-behemoth of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer in 1970. Remaining VIPs later became Art, and further spawned Spooky Tooth, under which name they’d be back on the Island two years later. Whilst the contracts drawn up by Arthur Chisnall invariably quoted times that the band were expected to arrive at the venue, usually 7.00pm, and also “bands arriving late at venue will suffer a reduction of fee pro rata”, both tonight’s VIPs and Wynder K Frog a week earlier had additional clauses specifying that each “group [had] to be away by 10.30pm”. What did that say about them, I wonder. Also, it’s noticeable that the arrival time clause never seemed to feature in contracts for the Saturday Jazz bands….

Wed. Aug 17 ^th – Five Proud Walkers (£25)

The Five Proud Walkers in their own right, not backing Champion Jack Dupree tonight, only command half the fee as a result. Drummer Richard Hudson and bassist John Ford would later serve in The Strawbs, via Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera

Sat. Aug 20 ^th – The Washboard Kings (£40)

Sun. Aug 21 ^st – A Q Blues Band (£10)

Sun. Aug 21 ^st – The Jimmy Cliff Show (£50) AC’s payment letter states that “Sunday 21st Jimmy Cliff did not arrive” but does feature in AC’s accounts, which is all very confusing

Wed. Aug 24 ^th – Seventh Sun [sic](£10) from payment letter

I have been informed that these are Seventh Son

Wed. Aug 24 ^th – The Cream (Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Peter Baker) [sic] (£60)

It’s not often that individual band members get an individual name-check on the contract: must have been something special about this lot . In reality, at the time the contract was drawn up, they hadn’t yet settled on a name, and at a number of their earliest gigs, they were billed as their respective names, sometimes prefixed as “The Cream”, referring to their reputational standing. And, in a self-fulfilling way, so they became. Tonight was only their 11 ^th gig, coming a mere 26 days after their debut

Sat. Aug 27 ^th – Collie’s Rhythm Aces (£25) from payment letter and from AC’s accounts

Sun. Aug 28 ^th – The Deakin Lewis Band (£10)

Sun. Aug 28 ^th – Jimmy Witherspoon & Dick Morrissey Qt (£80)

Jimmy Witherspoon was an American “jump blues singer” who came over, and while touring (just over three months before tonight, actually), recorded a live set at The Bull’s Head in Barnes, with Dick Morrissey’s Quartet, “Spoon Sings and Swings”. I imagine that was tonight’s fare. As an eminent sax player, Dick Morrissey became a busy bee in jazz-fusion circles from the 70s onwards with If, and Morrissey-Mullen, and has probably played with more artists than I’ve had hot dinners

Wed. Aug 31 ^st – John Dummer Blues Band (£10) from payment letter

Wed. Aug 31 ^st – Dave Antony’s Moods (£40)

September 1966

Sat. Sep 3 ^rd – The Bob Wallis Storyville Jazz Band (£30)

Sun. Sep 4 ^th – The Object (£10)

Sun. Sep 4 ^th – Sounds Unique (£40)

Sun. Sep 4 ^th – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (£60)

By now, Clapton having jumped ship, Peter Green was filling his boots on guitar, but apparently John Mayall and chums fulfilled a date at The Marquee tonight, so, given there are two other acts booked, above, it’s likely this one didn’t take place

Wed. Sep 7 ^th – The Charge (£10)

Wed. Sep 7 ^th – Herbie Goins and the Nightimers (£50)

Sat. Sep 10 ^th – Brian Green’s New Orleans Stompers (£25) from payment letter and from AC’s accounts

Sun. Sep 11 ^th – The Naz (£10)

Sun. Sep 11 ^th – The Artwoods (£65) from AC’s accounts

Wed. Sep 14 ^th – The Carpet Baggers (£10) from payment letter

Wed. Sep 14 ^th – The Herd (£35)

The future “Face of ‘68” (courtesy “Rave” magazine) Peter Frampton is now in The Herd’s line-up at the precocious age of 16 . While The Herd had played here before, and were cited by many as one of the best acts remembered, that was as an R&B outfit. With success eluding them, their label Fontana got rid of their manager and half the band, brought Frampton in, and co-opted songwriters / producers Howard and Blaikley, and the rest is pop history. Well, it was for a while

Sat. Sep 17 ^th – The Washboard Kings (£40)

Sun. Sep 18 ^th – A Q Blues Band (£10)

Sun. Sep 18 ^th – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (£60)

With Jimmy Cliff also being contracted this would have meant two headline acts on the same night, which is unlikely, though the Mayall reference was obtained by Christopher Hjort from Micky Waller’ diary, and he was a sometime drummer in Mayall’s band. Fortunately, AC’s payment letter does include John Mayall, with no mention of Jimmy Cliff: also it’s John Mayall according to AC’s accounts

Wed. Sep 21 ^st – The Convention (£10)

Wed. Sep 21 ^st – Dave Antony’s Moods (£40)

Wed. Sep 21 ^st – Stormsville Shakers

(from http://www.stormsvilleshakers.com/bandhistory.html )

Unlikely given the other two names already contracted, unless someone pulled out

Sat. Sep 24 ^th – New Sedalia Jazz Band (£25)

Sun. Sep 25 ^th – The Deakin Lewis Band (£10)

Sun. Sep 25 ^th – The Anzacs (£30)

Wed. Sep 28 ^th – The Objects (£10) from payment letter

Wed. Sep 28 ^th – The Artwoods (£45) from payment letter which implies that the contracted Coloured Raisins did not appear tonight, also Artwoods from AC’s accounts

October 1966

Sat. Oct 1 ^st – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£40) from payment letter and from AC’s accounts

Sun. Oct 2 ^nd – John Dummer Blues Band (£10)

Sun. Oct 2 ^nd – Dave Antony’s Moods (£45)

Wed. Oct 5 ^th – The Tea Set (£10)

Wed. Oct 5 ^th – Seventh Sun [sic](£10) from payment letter with no mention of The Charge nor Graham Bond, both contracted to appear, implying they did not appear; also no Bond from AC’s accounts

Wed. Oct 5 ^th – A Q Blues Band (£25)

Sat. Oct 8 ^th – Mike Peters Jazzband (£25)

Sun. Oct 9 ^th – The Artwoods (£65)

Contemporary poster quotes Soul System playing

Wed. Oct 12 ^th – The Kleek (£10)

Wed. Oct 12th – The Alan Bown Set (£30)

A contemporary poster quotes Alan Brown [sic] Set playing, which would have really been The Alan Bown Set, featuring the eponymous former John Barry Seven trumpeter, as well as Jess Roden on vocals, who would later be replaced by one Robert Palmer. The Set’s first album featured their take on “All Along The Watchtower” which apparently led to Jimi Hendrix deciding to record it for himself. Confusingly, the payment letter states that The Alan Bown did not arrive, so “no fee is due” but Alan Bown does appear in AC’s accounts

Sat. Oct 15 ^th – Alex Welsh Jazzband (£45)

Sun. Oct 16 ^th – Savoy Brown Blues Band (£10)

Sun. Oct 16 ^th – Soul System (£40)

Contemporary poster quotes The Artwoods playing: did they swop dates with Soul System for the previous Sunday? In any case, The Soul System evolved into The Attack, who are rather better known, or not, as being purveyors of wedding reception staple “Hi Ho Silver Lining”, but being beaten to the punch chartwise by Jeff Beck’s purloined version. Guitarist Davey O’List went on to join Keith Emerson in The Nice and various subsequent projects, including being a founder member of Roxy Music, while drummer Alan Whitehead popped up in “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” merchants Marmalade

Wed. Oct 19 ^th – The Deakin Lewis Band (£10)

Wed. Oct 19 ^th – Ronnie Jones and The Blue Jays (£40)

Ronnie Jones was another American soul-singer. Tonight he borrows The Blue Jays as backing band, rather than the usual Nightimers from Herbie Goins: Jones had been The Nightimers’ singer before leaving in 1965 and being replaced by Goins. The Graham Bond Organisation were contracted to appear for £80, but there is no mention in AC’s accounts, so presumably Ronnie Jones was a replacement. Meanwhile, in 2015, a CD compilation of Ronnie Jones was issued entitled “Satisfy My Soul: The Complete Recordings 1964-1968”

Sat. Oct 22 ^nd – London City Stompers (£30)

Sun. Oct 23 ^rd – The Scots of St. James (£10)

Scots indeed, as Onnie McIntyre and Allan Gorrie featured in this line-up, later to taste success in the Average White Band during the 70s

Sun. Oct 23 ^rd – Jack Dupree & The Five Proud Walkers (£60)

The Five Proud Walkers did a set on their own, before backing Mr Dupree on his, though a contemporary poster suggests it was solely the Walkers tonight

Wed. Oct 26 ^th – The After Eight Blues Band (£10)

Wed. Oct 26 ^th – The Artwoods (£50) Only paid £45 according to the payment letter

Sat. Oct 29 ^th – Bill Nile’s Deltas (£30)

Sun. Oct 30 ^th – Embers West (£10)

Sun. Oct 30 ^th – Dave Antony’s Moods (£45)

November 1966

Wed. Nov 2 ^nd – The Coloured Raisins (£10)

Future billing as “Those great soul stars of TV and radio” and “straight from the Stevie Wonder Tour” but not for a couple of years after tonight. Then again, Philip Hodges wrote to the museum, describing them as “a very average soul band”, with the gig being memorable because “the usually well-mannered audience ‘encouraged’ them off and screamed for the return of the support band”, who happened to be Ten Years After, so, clearly not tonight. Intriguingly, the only references to The Coloured Raisins are either as a reggae band who went on to become Black Velvet, who themselves appear on the island during the Colonel Barefoot’s era in 1970, or as a band who seem to crop up in similar roll-calls to this one, but with little info. I have seen a reference to fearsome batsman Gordon Greenidge being involved with them at some time. I’ll continue searching…

Wed. Nov 2 ^nd – Herbie Goins and the Nightimers (£50)

Sat. Nov 5 ^th – Alan Elsdon’s Jazzband (£40)

Sun. Nov 6 ^th – Exile Blues (£10)

Sun. Nov 6 ^th – Free At Last feat. Alexis Korner & Cliff Barton & Hughie Flint (£40)

Hughie Flint was added in by biro on the contract

Wed. Nov 9 ^th – Rhythm and Soul Band (£10)

Wed. Nov 9 ^th – The Anzacs (£25) No mention in the payment letter

Wed. Nov 9 ^th – Butterfield Blues Band (£120)

The payment ceiling is shattered for US blues harpist Paul Butterfield’s Blues Band, also featuring Mike Bloomfield on guitar. On this visit to the UK, Butterfield recorded with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, resulting in an EP

Sat. Nov 12 ^th – Ken Colyer Jazzmen (£40)

Sun. Nov 13 ^th – Syrian Blues Group (£10)

Sun. Nov 13 ^th – The Artwoods (£65)

Wed. Nov 16 ^th – Crimes People (£10)

Wed. Nov 16 ^th – A Q Blues Band (£25) No mention in payment letter

Wed. Nov 16 ^th – Dave Antony’s Moods (£40)

Sat. Nov 19 ^th – The Gothics (£15)

Sat. Nov 19 ^th – Collie’s Rhythm Aces (£30)

Max Collie having assumed leadership, this is a renamed London City Stompers

Sun. Nov 20 ^th – Tea Set (£20)

Sun. Nov 20 ^th – Five Proud Walkers (£60) Only paid £30 according to payment letter

Wed. Nov 23 ^rd – Fantastic Footprints (£10)

Wed. Nov 23 ^rd – The Artwoods (£45)

Sat. Nov 26 ^th – Steve Lane’s Southern Stompers (£25)

Sun. Nov 27 ^th – Savoy Brown’s [sic] Blues Band (£10)

While the contract gets the act’s name wrong, that’s understandable, unlike when a single of theirs cropped up on a jukebox in a pub in Isleworth that I frequented in the early 70s, credited to “Savory Brown”

Sun. Nov 27 ^th – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (£60)

John Mayall’s revolving door has spun round once more, with Hughie Flint vacating the drummer’s stool, and being replaced by Aynsley Dunbar – who had previously worked with the Merseysippi Jazz Band, though I would hazard a guess not on their own entry in this list, as that was back in 1957 – with Flint having joined Alexis Korner’s Free At Last outfit

Wed. Nov 30 ^th – Something Else (£10)

Wed. Nov 30 ^th – The Graham Bond Organisation (£80)

December 1966

Sat. Dec 3 ^rd – The Savoy Jazz Band (£30)

Sun. Dec 4 ^th – The Stalkers (£10)

First of a number of early outings for singer David Byron and guitarist Mick Box who evolved into Spice, who turn up on the island in 1968 and 1969, before becoming “Very ‘Eavy, Very ‘Umble” hard rockers Uriah Heep

Sun. Dec 4 ^th – The Mike Stuart Span (£35)

There was no-one called Mike Stuart in this band

Wed. Dec 7 ^th – John Dummer Blues Band (£10)

Wed. Dec 7 ^th – Dave Antony’s Moods (£40)

Sat. Dec 10 ^th – Mike Daniels Delta Jazz Band & Big Band (£40)

Sun. Dec 11 ^th – The Laymen (£10)

Sun. Dec 11 ^th – The Artwoods (£65)

Wed. Dec 14 ^th – Savoy Brown Blues Band (£10)

Wed. Dec 14 ^th – John Mayall Bluesbreakers (£50)

Sat. Dec 17 ^th – Brian Green’s New Orleans Stompers (£25)

Sun. Dec 18 ^th – Exiled Blues (£10)

Sun. Dec 18 ^th – The Herd (£40)

Fri. Dec 23 ^rd – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£75)

Sat. Dec 24 ^th – A Q Blues Band (£40)

Sat. Dec 24 ^th – The Artwoods (£100)

Wed. Dec 28 ^th – Mike Cotton Band with Lucas (£40)

Sat. Dec 31 ^st – New Sedalia Jazz Band (£35)

Sat. Dec 31 ^st – Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen (£90)

The post 1966 Roll-call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1967 Roll-call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 19:29:00 GMT

1967

sees, most notably, gigs that blew everyone’s minds by Pink Floyd, but also those by Paul Kossoff, later of Free, supporting Alexis Korner’s Free At Last outfit, Julie Driscoll returning with Brian Auger, David Essex trying his luck, The Foundations mere months before hitting number 1, Carl Douglas, Ten Years After and Family (who would both go on to wider recognition), John Lee Hooker, and an early Fairport Convention……

January 1967

Sun. Jan 1 ^st – Savoy Brown Blues Band (£10)

Sun. Jan 1 ^st – Mike Stuart Span (£35)

Wed. Jan 4 ^th – The Footprints (£10)

Wed. Jan 4 ^th – The Artwoods (£45)

Sat. Jan 7 ^th – The Gothics (£25)

Sun. Jan 8 ^th – The Black Cat Bones (£10)

Sun. Jan 8 ^th – Free At Last (£45)

A significant gig, given the two bands on show, though not necessarily unique, as Free At Last was Alexis Korner’s current blues-based outfit; Korner took the nascent Free under his wing, basically providing them with their name; support band Black Cat Bones featured future Free guitarist Paul Kossoff – and a year later, drummer Simon Kirke; and Free’s fifth studio album some six years later was called….”Free At Last”. Convoluted, but connected

Wed. Jan 11 ^th – John Bryan Fraternity (£10)

Wed. Jan 11 ^th – Herbie Goins and the Nightimers (£55)

Sat. Jan 14 ^th – Bill Nile’s Deltas (£30)

Sun. Jan 15 ^th – The Battery (£10)

Sun. Jan 15 ^th – The Artwoods (£45)

Wed. Jan 18 ^th – Dave Antony’s Moods (£40) An unnamed in terval group were paid £10

Sat. Jan 21 ^st – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£40)

Sun. Jan 22 ^nd – The Stalkers (£10)

Sun. Jan 22 ^nd – Savoy Brown Blues Band (£25)

Wed. Jan 25 ^th – New Jump Band (£10)

Wed. Jan 25 ^th – Alex Harvey with The Mox (£40) from both contract and payment letter

Alex had parted company with his previously ever-present Soul Band by tonight, having become disillusioned with the lack of success of his ‘showband’ outfit, and keen to try something new, which, of course, was rather in vogue at this point in the 60s. Just who was / were The Mox? I have found a reference to ‘The Giant Moth’, an outfit Alex toyed with, I guess, in 1967, when things were going lysergic-shaped, and this may have been an early outing for the line-up that included two members of Kilmarnock’s Anteeks, along with Mox . Peter Davis references “the extraordinary Mox” in his article “Rockin’ Around The Town” (reproduced in “The British Beat Explosion” which was produced as part of the Eel Pie Island Music project in 2013), but I had so far found nothing on the character, other than that he played harmonica , though thanks to Alan Iorr, who has pointed me in the direction of John Neil Munro’s “The Sensational Alex Harvey Band” biog, drummer George Butler from the aforementioned Giant Moth has described Mox as playing anything “that extracted wind”, and looked like Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, owing to his long red hair and beard. Also, according to the biog of Amboy Dukes (written by their drummer Mick Jerome – see April 12 ^th for their own entry), when they covered “Judy In Disguise”, “…the harmonica featured was played by a guy we knew as “Moxy” who we met in the pub!” which sounds like the same guy, who can now be identified as Irishman Mox Gowland

Sat. Jan 28 ^th – Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen (£40)

Sun. Jan 29 ^th – The Laymen (£10)

David Holmes got in touch to tell us that The Laymen were a seven-piece soul band, coming out of Brighton, who played the Top Rank circuit, supporting the likes of The Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, Zoot Money and Spencer Davis, all organised by David

Sun. Jan 29 ^th – The Gass (£40)

This relatively exorbitantly remunerated outfit featured Bob Tench on guitar and vocals, later to feature in a Jeff Beck line-up, and become a Streetwalker with Family’s Chapman and Whitney . In 1969, Gass were recruited by Jack Good to be the backing band for his stage production of “Catch My Soul”. Tench was still to be seen, up until his death in 2024, at the Bull’s Head in Barnes with Papa George

February 1967

Wed. Feb 1 ^st – Blues City Shake Down (£10)

Peter Ross featured in this outfit on harmonica, and went on to work with Caleb Quaye’s Hookfoot, as well as with Richard Thompson: five years later he would team up with ex-T2 guitarist prodigy Keith Cross and release “Bored Civilians” as Cross & Ross. This album has been reissued in 2014

Wed. Feb 1 ^st – Brian Auger, the Other Thing with Duelly [sic] Driscoll (£45)

Clearly Steampacket are no more, but is this the line-up that would be responsible for “This Wheel’s On Fire” the following year? Otherwise, what exactly is ‘the Other Thing’? In any case, top marks for the typo for Julie Driscoll, who was not exactly unknown in these parts by this time. Not only that, but they were namechecked in a review in the following week’s ‘Beaver’ as “Bill Ogre’s Trinity”. Tsk!

Sat. Feb 4 ^th – Brian Green New Orleans Stompers (£25)

When the Rank Organisation’s cameras came calling in 1967 to film one of their “Look At Life” documentaries (in this case, subtitled “Who Needs Eel Pie Island?”), it was Brian Green’s Stompers who were on stage. Was that tonight?

Sun. Feb 5 ^th – The Battery (£10)

Sun. Feb 5 ^th – John Mayall Blues Band [sic] (£65)

Wed. Feb 8 ^th – The Footprints (£10)

Wed. Feb 8 ^th – Graham Bond Organisation (£60)

Sat. Feb 11 ^th – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£40) Only paid £30 per payment letter

Sun. Feb 12 ^th – Cross Ties Blues Band (£10)

These featured ‘Lonesome’ Dave Peverett and Chris Youlden who went on to join Savoy Brown (featured here in their own right): ‘Lonesome’ further went on to form Foghat, who became rather big on the other side of the pond

Sun. Feb 12 ^th – The Herd (£40)

Wed. Feb 15 ^th – New Soul Concern (£10)

Wed. Feb 15 ^th – Mike Cotton Sound with Lucas (£45)

Sat. Feb 18 ^th – Collie’s Rhythm Aces (£30)

Sun. Feb 19 ^th – John Bryan Fraternity (£10)

Sun. Feb 19 ^th – David Essex and Mood Indigo (£45)

Seven years before making anyone a star and topping the charts, Essex was doing the rounds with Mood Indigo

Wed. Feb 22 ^nd – Apostolic Intervention (£10 but “NOT PAID” as “did not intervene” according to AC’s payment letter)

One of whom ‘did not intervene’ was a young Jerry Shirley on drums, who would later find employment in Steve Marriott’s Humble Pie

Wed. Feb 22 ^nd – The Artwoods (£45)

Sat. Feb 25 ^th – Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band (£40)

Sun. Feb 26 ^th – Chicago Line Blues Band (£10)

Initially I thought this outfit came out of The Bo Street Runners, who I remember seeing win a “Ready Steady Win” competition on TV intended to unearth the new Beatles: Ron Wood’s Birds could only come fifth out of six bands! That band became a limited company, went bust, and thus the name became the property of HM’s Official Receiver, hence this new identity. Tim Hinkley and Mike Patto would later team up with Ollie Halsall to form the respected but unsuccessful Timebox, and later progressive heroes Patto, though not with drummer Viv Prince, once of the Pretty Things, whose future lay elsewhere. Well, despite the scrupulous research reproduced above, I have been corrected by Geoff Everett, who got in touch to point out that this was actually his band with the same name, who, though less successful than the Hinkley version, did go on to support The Artwoods, and later Deep Purple, and that the Hinkley lot had changed their name by now, and that they would have got paid more than the £10 that Geoff’s lot received. Thanks Geoff, always appreciate first-hand info!

Sun. Feb 26 ^th – The Locomotive (£40)

The original line-up of The Locomotive featured Chris Wood, who by this time had gone on to bigger things with Traffic, and drummer Mike Kellie who joined The VIPs, who became Art, who then became Spooky Tooth, but who later turned up in The Only Ones of “Another Girl Another Planet” fame in 1978. The Locomotive would have their own minor hit a year after tonight with “Rudi’s In Love”

March 1967

Wed. Mar 1 ^st – Five Proud Walkers (£10)

Following the Damascene experience of supporting Pink Floyd, the Walkers had become Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera a mere four months after tonight, appearing in their new guise here the following year

Wed. Mar 1 ^st – The Pink Floyd (£75)

Still employing the definite article at this point

Sat. Mar 4 ^th – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£40)

Sun. Mar 5 ^th – The Battery (£10)

Sun. Mar 5 ^th – The Artwoods (£65)

Wed. Mar 8 ^th – The Tribe (£10)

The Tribe included future members of such diverse acts as The Bonzo Dog Band (Dennis Cowan) and The Sweet (Frank Torpey)

Wed. Mar 8 ^th – Savoy Brown Blues Band (£30)

Fri. Mar 10 ^th – Chaos Blues Band (£10)

Fri. Mar 10 ^th – The Little Joe Set (£45)

Sat. Mar 11 ^th – Keith Smith Band (£30)

Sun. Mar 12 ^th – Doctor K’s Blues Band (£10)

Featured Ashley Hutchings on bass at this point, before he left to form Fairport Convention later in the year, as well as Geoff Krivit on guitar, who it appears was one of those substitutes employed by John Mayall in 1965 when Eric Clapton went AWOL to Greece

Sun. Mar 12 ^th – Champion Jack Dupree and Five Proud Walkers (£50)

Wed. Mar 15 ^th – Worrying Kynde (£10)

Wed. Mar 15 ^th – Jimmy Cliff and the Shake Down Sound (£30)

Sat. Mar 18 ^th – Steve Lane Southern Stompers (£25)

Sun. Mar 19 ^th – Black Cat Bones (£10)

Sun. Mar 19 ^th – Mike Stuart Span (£35)

Wed. Mar 22 ^nd – The Footprints (£10)

Wed. Mar 22 ^nd – The Artwoods (£45)

Sat. Mar 25 ^th – Bill Nile’s Goodtime Band (£35)

Sun. Mar 26 ^th – The Stalkers (£10)

Sun. Mar 26 ^th – Carl Douglas and the Big Stampede (£40)

Yes, this is Carl Douglas some seven years before he took up Kung Fu Fighting. As if to redress the balance in credibility terms, as recently as 2014, a retrospective CD, “Crazy Feeling”, was released, comprising his material around this time, to good reviews from the music press

Wed. Mar 29 ^th – John Bryan Fraternity (£10)

Wed. Mar 29 ^th – The Pink Floyd (£75)

The following week would see the Floyd scheduled to be on Top Of The Pops for the first time unveiling “Arnold Layne”, except it didn’t rise as high as expected, so the appearance was binned

April 1967

Sat. Apr 1 ^st – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£40)

Sun. Apr 2 ^nd – The Artwoods (£65)

Wed. Apr 5 ^th – Freddy Mack and the Mack Sound (£60)

A larger than life character, Freddy Mack was unsuccessfully trading punches (legally) with Jack Bodell less than two years before tonight, being a light-heavyweight contemporary of Floyd Paterson, no less, and who travelled to the Helsinki Olympics as Paterson’s ‘alternate’ (also having sparred with the then Cassius Clay). He also got to carry Elizabeth Taylor into Rome in “Cleopatra” in an occasional movie stint, and has a small part in The Sex Pistols’ “Rock And Roll Swindle”, but at this point he was fronting an ever-changing line-up of British jazz and R&B musicians that are far too numerous to detail here. Indeed, for his LP, self-effacingly entitled “The Fantastic Freddy Mack Show”, he drafted in Island stalwarts The Artwoods, not that that stopped it flopping. He managed to avoid deportation back to the US, and ended up north of the border, being heard regularly as a DJ on various Scottish radio stations. Also, if you remember the TV ad for K-Tel’s “Superbad” compilation album in the 70s, well Mack was ‘Mr Superbad’. An impressive CV!

Sat. Apr 8 ^th – New Sedalia Jazz Band (£35)

Sun. Apr 9 ^th – Down and Oute [sic] (£10

Sun. Apr 9 ^th – The Locomotive (£40)

Wed. Apr 12 ^th – Chaos Blues Band (£10)

Wed. Apr 12 ^th – Amboy Dukes / Checkmates ? (£35)

Nothing to do with Detroit’s red-blooded Ted Nugent’s boys, according to one source, this lot were from Nottingham.…..or Reading, as per a load of other sources, so that’s more likely. That’s Amboy Dukes, of course, and that’s what’s typed on the contract, but annotated in biro with “Checkmates” (Emile Ford’s backing band), so who was actually on view tonight?

Sat. Apr 15 ^th – Ken Colyer’s Jazzband (£40)

Sun. Apr 16 ^th – Dr K Blues Band (£10)

Sun. Apr 16 ^th – Free At Last (£45)

By this time Alexis Korner’s outfit featured Marsha Hunt on vocals, who, having married Soft Machine’s Mike Ratledge to enable her to get a visa extension in the first place, took this job to earn her fare back to the US. She didn’t use it for that, but joined Ferris Wheel a year later before becoming the poster image for the musical “Hair”. She went on to a modelling career, relationships with Marc Bolan and Mick Jagger, and ultimately became a novelist, but I remember her best for her reading of Dr John’s “I Walk On Gilded Splinters” which got her on Top of the Pops in 1969

Wed. Apr 19 ^th – McGregors Engine (£10)

A ‘Luton supergroup’, apparently, but who numbered both Mick Abrahams on guitar, and Clive Bunker on drums within their ranks, both of whom would soon feature in a combo called Jethro Tull . “Mick McGregor, the support group were paid…” according to the payment letter

Wed. Apr 19 ^th – The Anzacs (£30)

Sat. Apr 22 ^nd – The Gothics (£25)

Sun. Apr 23 ^rd – The Battery (£10)

Sun. Apr 23 ^rd – Savoy Brown Blues Band (£30)

Wed. Apr 26 ^th – Syrian Blues Band (£10)

Wed. Apr 26 ^th – The Artwoods (£45)

Sat. Apr 29 ^th – Brian Green did not appear according to payment letter

Sun. Apr 30 ^th – The Naz (£10)

Not to be confused with The Nazz of early Alice Cooper, or The Nazz of Todd Rundgren. However, it may be a very early outing for Keith Emerson’s new combo, The Nice. Apparently they were calling themselves The Naz when they started backing PP Arnold, and it was at her suggestion that they renamed themselves The Nice. Unfortunately, I have The Naz playing on the island back in September 66, which may have been too early to have been Emerson’s outfit if both dates apply to the same group. Still, you never know…

Sun. Apr 30 ^th – Jesse Fuller (£110)

May 1967

Wed. May 3 ^rd – 1-2-3 (£10)

This gig came in the midst of a number of Saturday headline dates at The Marquee, and they were apparently a ‘protoprog’ act that got nowhere, but featured a radical revision of Paul Simon’s “Sound of Silence” in their set. David Bowie, no less, described them in an interview in 1967 as “three thistle and haggis voiced bairns [who] had the audacity to face a mob of self-opinionated hippies with a brand of unique pop music which, because of its intolerance of mediocrity, floated, as would a Hogarth cartoon in Beano”: he has a way with words, that Bowie. In any case they evolved into Clouds and would again appear on the Island in 1969. A recent Sky Arts documentary, “Trailblazers: Prog Rock” included a lengthy interview with Billy Ritchie from 1-2-3, which posited that he was an innovator on keyboards, and as such paved the way for Prog giants such as Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman et al. The band suffered by being signed by Brian Epstein, and subsequently fell through the gaps on his death shortly after

Wed. May 3 ^rd – Heart and Souls (£30)

Sat. May 6 ^th – Alan Elsdon Jazz Band (£40)

Sun. May 7 ^th – Chicago Line Blues Band (£10)

Sun. May 7 ^th – The Artwoods (£65)

Wed. May 10 ^th – The Coloured Raisins & King Ossie Show (£40)

Sat. May 13 ^th – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£40) Paid £50 according to payment letter

Sun. May 14 ^th – The Foundations (£10)

From being paid only £10 for tonight, to hitting number 1 with “Baby Now That I’ve Found You” some five months later sounds like a somewhat meteoric rise . Actually, during this period it is likely Arthur Brown was sharing vocal duties with Clem Curtis, so it’s intriguing to think Islanders may have had a sneak preview of the God of Hellfire, though on his own admission he’d had favourable reaction at Eel Pie Island in 1965 when his Arthur Brown Set had a support slot (date unknown)

Sun. May 14 ^th – The Herd (£40)

Wed. May 17 ^th – Freddy Mack Show (£60)

Sat. May 20 ^th – Bill Nile’s Goodtime Band (£35)

Sun. May 21 ^st – The Battery (£10)

Sun. May 21 ^st – Lucas and the Mike Cotton Sound (£50)

Wed. May 24 ^th – Down and Outs (£10)

Wed. May 24 ^th – The Artwoods (£45)

Sat. May 27 ^th – Collie’s Rhythm Aces (£30)

Sun. May 28 ^th – The Stalkers (£10)

Sun. May 28 ^th – Savoy Brown Blues Band (£30)

Wed. May 31 ^st – Black Cat Bones (£10)

Wed. May 31 ^st – Jesse Fuller (£60)

June 1967

Sat. Jun 3 ^rd – Spencers Washboard Kings (£50)

Sun. Jun 4 ^th – Dr K Blues Band (£10)

Sun. Jun 4 ^th – The Amboy Dukes (£40)

Wed. Jun 7 ^th – The Battery (£10)

Wed. Jun 7 ^th – Cock a Hoop (£25)

Sat. Jun 10 ^th – Keith Smith Climax Band (£30)

Sun. Jun 11 ^th – Blues City Shakedown (£10)

Sun. Jun 11 ^th – The Artwoods (£65)

Wed. Jun 14 ^th – The Freddy Mack Show (£75)

Sat. Jun 17 ^th – Mike Daniels Delta Jazzband (£35)

Sun. Jun 18 ^th – Ten Years After (£10)

Sun. Jun 18 ^th – Carl Douglas and The Big Stampede (£40)

Wed. Jun 21 ^st – Dr K Blues Band (£10)

Wed. Jun 21 ^st – The Artwoods (£45)

Fri. Jun 23 ^rd – Julian Covay & The Machine

Fri. Jun 23 ^rd – Carl Douglas and The Big Stampede

As this is a Friday, I had thought this possibly a dubious entry, especially as Carl Douglas had played here only five days before, but never rule out that ‘local college dance’ syndrome. In any case, both dates were advertised in “Fabulous 208” magazine, of all places: turns out it was organised by Ealing Technical College, and reported on in the Middlesex County Times!

Sat. Jun 24 ^th – Ken Colyer Jazzmen (£40)

Sun. Jun 25 ^th – A.Q. Blues Band (£10)

Sun. Jun 25 ^th – Herbie Goins and The Nightimers (£75)

Wed. Jun 28 ^th – Pink Floyd

This is nearly two weeks after the release of “See Emily Play”, but given the presence of John Lee Hooker, below (and at that fee) it is unlikely The Floyd played

Wed. Jun 28 ^th – John Lee Hooker (£75)

With John Lee’s Groundhogs now disbanded, at least temporarily, this really is the John Lee Hooker. I have found a reference to Pink Floyd appearing on the Island tonight, but a combination of the facts that “See Emily Play” had been released only two weeks before, and that John Lee Hooker was booked as a headline act, suggest that The Floyd were absent tonight, though they were here a week later: that other source must just be a week out, as the contract for the next Floyd gig has this date, but crossed out, and replaced in biro with the following week’s date. As for John Lee Hooker, AC delayed payment as he only appeared for “half of the performance” – the subsequent payment letter shows he was paid £50

July 1967

Sat. Jul 1 ^st – Steve Lane Southern Stompers (£25)

Sun. Jul 2 ^nd – Black Cat Bones (£10)

Sun. Jul 2 ^nd – Ten Years After (£25)

The fastest guitar-slinger in town comes to the Island, with Alvin Lee still two years away from his Woodstock apogee

Wed. Jul 5 ^th – The Battery (£10)

Wed. Jul 5 ^th – Pink Floyd (£100)

While Pink Floyd played three times on the Island during 1967, it is not clear which particular instance flummoxed local author Judy Astley, when she turned up to find the walls of the ballroom adorned with lots of white sheets. She didn’t get a proper reply from Arthur Chisnall when she asked him, but the answer would be revealed when the band came on, accompanied by their revolutionary light-show. I suspect the Floyd preferred the idea of projecting said light-show onto a ‘clean’ surface, which the cartoon-infested walls certainly wouldn’t have been. Guy Lewis contacted us, remembering it well “Halfway down the room were two stepladders, and on the top of the stepladders a projector shining through round glass slides containing coloured oils: a guy had a small blow lamp, which, together with revolving slides, made an amazing ‘psychedelic’ pattern on the sheets behind the band – very hi-tech. A girl next to me suddenly blurted out “Eh Mavis, I think I’m going to freak out!”. (Obviously that means that the sheets were behind the band rather than on the side walls, as I initially supposed)

Sat. Jul 8 ^th – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£50)

Sun. Jul 9 ^th – The Stalkers (£10)

Sun. Jul 9 ^th – Alex Harvey Soul Band (£35)

While the contract implies Alex has his Soul Band back , it seems more likely that this is another appearance by The Giant Moth (see January 25 ^th ), as he persevered with them until he was co-opted into the backing band for the Hair musical, lured by decent money and regular work

Wed. Jul 12 ^th – Syrian Blues Band (£10)

Wed. Jul 12 ^th – The Rogues Gallery (£30)

Sat. Jul 15 ^th – Bill Niles Band (£35)

Sun. Jul 16 ^th – Bruno’s Blues Band (£10)

Bruno’s Blues Band evolved into Steve Miller’s Delivery, under which name they would appear on the Island in 1970

Sun. Jul 16 ^th – The Heart and Souls (£40)

Wed. Jul 19 ^th – Ruby Jaines (£10)

Wed. Jul 19 ^th – Savoy Brown Blues Band (£35)

Sat. Jul 22 ^nd – Eric Silk Southern Jazz Band (£25)

Sun. Jul 23 ^rd – The Freddy Mack Show (£75)

Wed. Jul 26 ^th – Harvey Struart [sic] Blues Band (£10)

Wed. Jul 26 ^th – The Family (£35)

Leicester’s finest, in their original line-up, with Roger Chapman’s bleating to the fore, no doubt

Sat. Jul 29 ^th – Alan Elsdon’s Jazz Band (£40)

Sun. Jul 30 ^th – The Last Word (£10)

Sun. Jul 30 ^th – The Tomorrow [sic] (£30)

Despite a great pedigree, featuring future Yes guitarist Steve Howe, Tomorrow were rather overshadowed commercially by singer Keith West’s involvement with the Teenage Opera project, which in itself merely yielded that single ‘Grocer Jack’ chart hit. Strangely enough, in August 1965, Keith West had come to see The Syndicats at Eel Pie, who at that point featured Howe in their ranks, and asked him to join his band, The In Crowd, who were a soul covers outfit. Steve said “yes”, at which point, they became Tomorrow, with a rather different musical style, as witnessed tonight

August 1967

Wed. Aug 2 ^nd – Craig King & The Midnight Train (£10)

Wed. Aug 2 ^nd – The Heart and Soul (£40)

Sat. Aug 5 ^th – Spencer’s Washboard Kings (£50)

Payment letter has Spencer’s Washboard Kings receiving £50 rather than The Gothics Jazz Band who had been booked for £25

Sun. Aug 6 ^th – The Black Cat Bones (£10)

These proto-Free bluesmen evidently impressed Champion Jack Dupree, as they backed him on a Blue Horizon-label album “When You Feel The Feeling You Was Feeling” the following year. Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke then left to form Free, while the remainder, plus replacements and latter-day vocalist Peter French, became Leaf Hound in 1970

Sun. Aug 6 ^th – The Freddy Mack Show (£75) from payment letter

Wed. Aug 9 ^th – Fairport Convention (£10)

This would be the original Fairports’ line-up with Judy Dyble on vocals

Wed. Aug 9 ^th – Root and Jenny Jackson with the Hightimers (£30)

Root Jackson is cited as an inspiration by much more recent acts such as Mica Paris, Jamiroquai and Soul II Soul. With cousin Jenny, he toured with people like Percy Sledge and Ben E. King, and later formed the Black Music Association in the UK. Originally from Trinidad, they were actually based in Huddersfield!

Sat. Aug 12 ^th – The Gothics Jazzband (£25) from payment letter

Sun. Aug 13 ^th – Hopscotch (£10)

Those Scots of St James have recruited another, Hamish Stuart, and become Hopscotch, but they’re still not the Average White Band yet

Sun. Aug 13 ^th – The Artwoods (£65) from payment letter

Wed. Aug 16 ^th – The Battery (£10)

Wed. Aug 16 ^th – The Web with J. L. Watson (£30)

J.L. Watson was the obligatory black US singer recruited by The Web to reinforce their soul outfit credentials

Sat. Aug 19 ^th – Bob Wallis Storyville Jazz Band (£30)

Sun. Aug 20 ^th – The Chickenshalk [sic] (£10)

Following their debut at The 7 ^th National Jazz & Blues Festival at Windsor exactly a week before tonight, Christine Perfect had not yet joined Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack (for it is they, despite the misquoted name) at this point, prior to hitting gold with “I’d Rather Go Blind”. At that point she left, forming her own short-lived band (with original Yardbird Top Topham, incidentally), and then joining hubbie John McVie in rival blues outfit – at that time, obviously – Fleetwood Mac. Meanwhile, Stan became famous for having the world’s longest guitar lead, as he’d venture out amongst the crowd, still soloing away

Sun. Aug 20 ^th – Champion Jack Dupree (£40) from payment letter, but band list for August has CJD & Velvet Opera as backing

Wed. Aug 23 ^rd – John Jefferson Group (£10)

Wed. Aug 23 ^rd – Sweet and Sour (£25)

Sat. Aug 26 ^th – Collie’s Rhythm Aces (£30)

Sun. Aug 27 ^th – Morgan’s Roots (£10)

Sun. Aug 27 ^th – Ten Years After (£25)

Wed. Aug 30 ^th – Down and Outs (£10)

Wed. Aug 30 ^th – The Artwoods (£45) as per band list for August

This appears to be the final Artwoods appearance at Eel Pie Island. Later in the year, they would undergo an ill-advised makeover to become St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, trying to cash in on the brief ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ fashion that sprang out of that year’s hit movie. Under that name, they released a version of “Brother Can You Spare A Dime”, and that was it

September 1967

Sat. Sep 2 ^nd – Steve Lane Southern Stompers (£25)

Bob Dwyer, trombonist with the Stompers, is still plying his trade with his Bix and Pieces band

Sun. Sep 3 ^rd – Savoy Brown Blues Band (£35)

Wed. Sep 6 ^th – Mr. Soul and The Transaxion (£10)

Wed. Sep 6 ^th – Heart & Souls (£40) This looks to be final payment letter from AC

Sat. Sep 9 ^th – Spencers Washboard Kings (£50)

Sun. Sep 10 ^th – Aynsley Dunbar (£35)

Wed. Sep 13 ^th – The Artwoods (£45)

Sat. Sep 16 ^th – Humber Jug Band (£10)

Sat. Sep 16 ^th – New Sedalia Jazz Band (£25)

Sun. Sep 17 ^th – Ten Years After (£30)

Wed. Sep 20 ^th – Freddy Mack Show (£75)

Sat. Sep 23 ^rd – Red Onion Jazz Band (£40)

Sun. Sep 24 ^th – The Artwoods (£65)

Wed. Sep 27 ^th – The Darlings (£30)

Sat. Sep 30 ^th – Ken Colyer (£40)

Eelpiland as run by Arthur Chisnall ceased to operate in September 1967, following the Police’s revoking of the venue’s licence, while Chisnall himself was presented with an estimated bill for repairs that totalled £2,000 (£31,000 in today’s money), which was plainly an amount well above Arthur’s paygrade. The club probably closed its doors from September 6 ^th , meaning all contracts after that date (above) were not honoured (but are included for posterity), and jazz would never again feature. Owner Michael Snapper allowed it to reopen in July 1968, initially presenting gigs put on by “Southbank Artistes” amongst others, then Richmond Arts Workshop (organised by Grenville Sheringham, after he’d seen an interview with Michael Snapper in the local paper, in which Snapper had expressed his wish that the Hotel be put to community use, and hence rented the place for the Arts Workshop, with the subsequent gigs being organised to cover the Workshop’s costs), and a variety of other sporadic enterprises, before it was renamed Colonel Barefoot’s Rock Garden in Autumn 1969 when Caldwell Smythe took over its running. However, records of who played at the venue in its interim guise are hard to come by, other than some surviving posters, and individual testimonies that name-check The Who, The Nice, and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Again, thanks are due to Nick Warburton and his site for the bulk of the next two years’ entries , and Caldwell Smythe himself who has confirmed a number of appearances during the Rock Garden phase, if not the dates.

The post 1967 Roll-call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1968 Roll-call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 19:28:00 GMT

1968

sees only sporadic gigs, following the closure of Arthur Chisnall’s Eelpiland the previous September: jazz is now history, but finally, after all these years, The Who appear. Other gigs include The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, The Nice, The Moody Blues, Joe Cocker & The Grease Band, Spooky Tooth, and of course, the obligatory John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers appearance, now with Mick Taylor on guitar……

July 1968

Wed. Jul 31 ^st – Spice

As previously mentioned, The Stalkers of 1966 resurface as Spice, featuring David Byron and Mick Box, who, a year later, would become Uriah Heep

Wed. Jul 31 ^st – Spooky Tooth

A number of this band had appeared on the Island in 1966 as The V.I.P.s (Mike Harrison on vocals, Greg Ridley on bass, with Mike Kellie on drums), and, together with latter member Luther Grosvenor on guitar, became Spooky Tooth in 1967, via an incarnation as Art. Ridley would go on to Humble Pie, Grosvenor to Mott The Hoople, and Kellie to post-punk outfit The Only Ones

August 1968

Wed. Aug 7 ^th – Spice

Wed. Aug 7 ^th – Blossom Toes

The year before this, Blossom Toes came out with “We Are Ever So Clean”, a quintessentially English psychedelic album on Giorgio Gomelsky’s ill-fated Marmalade label (Gomelsky being the man behind The Crawdaddy club in Richmond, of course). Guitarist Jim Cregan would become the man behind the wonderful acoustic solo on Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel’s “(Make Me Smile) Come Up And See Me” in 1975, and thereafter plied his trade with Rod Stewart’s post Faces ensemble: recently he was further plying his trade with a bunch called Apart From Rod, who specialise in that material, albeit minus Mr Stewart . He’s still ploughing that furrow in 2017 appearing as Cregan and Co., performing “The Rod Stewart Songbook”

Sun. Aug 11 ^th – Doctor K’s Blues Band

Wed. Aug 14 ^th – Juniors Eyes

Wed. Aug 14 ^th – Skip Bifferty

Geordies from the frozen north who became Heavy Jelly, initially a “Time Out” joke, but two of whom, Micky Gallagher and John Turnbull, became a pair of Ian Dury’s Blockheads, though not before they’d contributed to the soundtrack of Michael Caine’s “Get Carter”

Sat. Aug 17 ^th – David Booth

Billed as David Booth and His Canned Sound, so a DJ maybe, though “plus guest group”

Sun. Aug 18 ^th – The Downliners Sect

Wed. Aug 21 ^st – Jade Hexagram

Blessed with a suitably ‘1968-styled’ moniker, this outfit had a strong following in Europe, leading to them playing at The Playboy Club in Berlin, and at the 1967 Gothenburg Teenage Fair, which was apparently quite a big deal, Swedish-wise , though they were deported the day after, following their hiring of a lady who went further than only going topless on stage, and who turned out to be the daughter of the Mayor of Copenhagen. They had initially turned up in London after having dazzled the “switched-on freaks of Cwmbran and Newport”. On their arrival, “often clad in monk’s cowls on stage, their music became more far-out, as they abandoned their more Dylanesque material”

Wed. Aug 21 ^st – The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

While Arthur played here a couple of times, there was at least one occasion when his headgear set the stage curtains alight: you can guess during which number, though I’ve yet to see any evidence of curtains ever being present at the venue ” , though it appears that latterly a second stage was set up at the entrance to the hall, which did sport curtains, so maybe it rings true. Carl Palmer is now occupying the drummer’s stool

Sat. Aug 24 ^th – David Booth

As per the previous week

Sun. Aug 25 ^th – Gethsemane

Billed as a “Blues Night”, and having ditched the obviously unwieldy moniker “In The Garden Of Gethsemane”, this much catchier named crew featured future Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre

Wed. Aug 28 ^th – East Of Eden

Wed. Aug 28 ^th – The Nice

Local author Judy Astley remembers Keith Emerson doing the dagger trick, sticking them into his keyboards, thus jamming them into ‘play’ mode, then ending up off the stage, having to run round the side to get back on, and being prevented doing so by some sort of steward, who, on hearing the organ still playing, refused to believe Emerson was the organist in the band. Incidentally, those daggers may well have been the Hitler Youth ones gifted to Emerson by then roadie Lemmy

September 1968

Wed. Sep 4 ^th – The Action

A seminal mod band dating back to 1965, their popularity on the circuit never translated into sales, and despite covering soul hits such as “Land Of A Thousand Dances”, “Harlem Shuffle” and “I’ll Keep Holding On” never reached the charts. After several changes of personnel and musical direction, they became Mighty Baby, appearing on the Island under that name just over a year later. Founder member Alan ‘Bam’ King later formed one-hit wonders Ace

Wed. Sep 4 ^th – The Nice (from http://thenice.org.uk/gig-list/)

Sun. Sep 8 ^th – Dynaflow Blues

Mel Wright from Dynaflow Blues contacted us during the project with this info and the fact they were paid the grand sum of £10 for their efforts: his lot were responsible for starting The Blues Scene nearby at The Crown in St. Margarets on a Saturday night, where occasionally Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke sat in. Tonight, however, regular blues-harpist Chris Elvin had left, so Duster Bennett stepped in. Most of the Dynaflow Blues band came out of Shakey Vick’s Big City Blues Band, and while guitarist Rod Price’s next venture was with Black Cat Bones and three decades with Foghat. Mel’s next venture, The Nighthawks, appeared on the Island sometime in the following year

Wed. Sep 11 ^th – The Moody Blues

This is no longer The Moody Blues of “Go Now” fame, but in the process of becoming those of “Nights In White Satin” fame

Sat. Sep 14 ^th – Gracious

Wed. Sep 18 ^th – The Downliners Sect

Wed. Sep 18 ^th – Family

Wed. Sep 25 ^th – Village

A short-lived venture led by Peter Bardens, who had played with Mick Fleetwood and Peter Green in The Peter B’s, Rod Stewart in Shotgun Express, and would later do more successful things with prog outfit Camel

Wed. Sep 25 ^th – Eclection

Sat. Sep 28 ^th – Gracious

October 1968

Wed. Oct 2 ^nd – Terry Reid

More famous, possibly, for being the vocalist who didn’t sing in Led Zeppelin (he was offered the job by Jimmy Page, but chose to honour his contract with Mickie Most as a solo performer: at least he recommended Jimmy ask Robert Plant), Reid nevertheless has been an undervalued artist for most of his career

Wed. Oct 2 ^nd – Joe Cocker & The Grease Band

This gas fitter from Sheffield is about to become enormous, albeit with a little help from his friends

Sat. Oct 5 ^th – Gracious

Sun. Oct 6 ^th – John Thomas Blues Band

Wed. Oct 9 ^th – Freedom

Guitarist Ray Royer and drummer Bobby Harrison had played on Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade Of Pale” but were given the boot by Gary Brooker, thence forming Freedom, clearly celebrating their new found status. They released a couple of German 45s and provided the film score for a Tinto Brass movie (!) before wholesale changes to their line-up in 1968 brought them here to the Island, as well as support gigs on Black Sabbath and Jethro Tull tours. After four albums or so, they split in 1972, with Harrison teaming up with Micky Moody (of this parish) to form Snafu

Wed. Oct 9 ^th – Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera

Elmer Gantry had previous at Eel Pie Island as vocalist with The Five Proud Walkers, and surfaced some six years after tonight in an ersatz Fleetwood Mac, formed to fulfil a contractual tour that the originals were unable to do because of their internal shenanigans, which ended in legal chaos when audiences failed to recognise any bona-fide Mac members on stage. This outfit then evolved into Stretch, one-hit wonders, whose “Why Did You Do It?” was precisely about that experience. Eddie Parpworth, whose band The Stumble supported Velvet Opera, probably tonight, recalls how Elmer Gantry’s ‘fancy’ band-van’s driver mistook the high tide that evening as merely covering an equivalent bit of road, rather than the slipway that was actually concealed: cue ‘fancy’ van nosediving into the additional depth, and several velvet-clad musos escaping from the rear door, now at 90 degrees to its normal position! I imagine those velvet togs were rather ruined by Old Father Thames…

Wed. Oct 16 ^th – Proteus (from advert in MM)

Wed. Oct 16 ^th – Spirit Of John Morgan (from advert in MM)

Wed. Oct 16 ^th – July

July produced one of the most sought-after British psychedelic 60s albums, having started as a skiffle band in Ealing in the early part of the decade, and after embracing R&B as The Tomcats. During a relocation to Spain (scoring an unlikely series of four charting EPs, performed in Spanish no less), they were known as Los Tomcats, strangely . Even stranger, that Spanish material was released in 2016 as “Running At Shadows: The Spanish Recordings 1965-66” . Founder and singer Tom Newman has a local connection, in that he grew up on a barge moored at Richmond, but achieved a degree of fame in 1973 when he produced Mike Oldfield’s "Tubular Bells" at The Manor Studio, which he’d helped co-found with Richard Branson

Wed. Oct 16 ^th – Colosseum

His days of The Graham Bond Organization long behind him, sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith returns with Jon Hiseman’s progressive jazz-rock pioneers

Wed. Oct 23 ^rd – David Booth

Wed. Oct 23 ^rd – Proteus

Wed. Oct 23 ^rd – Gethsemane

Wed. Oct 23 ^rd – The Alan Bown!

Wed. Oct 30 ^th – Proteus

Wed. Oct 30 ^th – East Of Eden

While gaining an atypical hit record with “Jig-a-Jig” a full three years after tonight, violinist Dave Arbus is arguably more famous for his contribution to The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” just after that. Perhaps tonight was the start of that fruitful relationship

Wed. Oct 30 ^th – The Who (£345 according to Kevin Hodge, whose father booked them)

Today’s entries are from a particular poster advertising this gig specifically. Despite Pete Townshend having lots of local history and co-opting the Eel Pie name for both his studio and book publishing company, Arthur Chisnall never booked The Who, fearing an invasion of scooter-borne Mods, but they did appear at Eel Pie Island during the ‘post-Chisnall’ era, when Townshend used the gig to try out some material he’d written for a ‘rock opera’ to be called “Tommy”. Witnesses suggested he stick to the three-minute single formula. According to Kevin Hodge, who lived in the hotel at the time, and whose father booked them, they were paid £345 for tonight. Kevin’s father had been installed as Caretaker at the hotel during 1968, and was also a carpenter, as was his brother: it appears the two of them spent the first part of 1968 repairing the dancefloor, and and after a lick of paint had been applied, it was this that had allowed the return of music to the Island in July, with the venue now being open for business again, though the Hotel/Pub never reopened

November 1968

Wed. Nov 6 ^th – Proteus (from advert in MM)

Wed. Nov 6 ^th – July (from advert in MM)

Wed. Nov 6 ^th – The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown (from advert in MM)

Wed. Nov 13 ^th – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers

The post 1968 Roll-call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1969 Roll-call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 19:22:00 GMT

1969

again sees only occasional activity on the Island, but increasingly “progressive” acts like Edgar Broughton, Van Der Graaf Generator, Stray, Hawkwind (put on by the Richmond Arts Workshop run by Grenville Sheringham), before Caldwell Smythe reinvents the venue as Colonel Barefoot’s Rock Garden with the likes of Mighty Baby, Wishbone Ash, Audience, Cochise, Egg, If, and Pete Brown’s Piblokto……

January 1969

Fri. Jan 17 ^th – Marque’s Group

Fri. Jan 17 ^th – Pancake now known as Steppes

Gary “Legs” Harvey got in touch in early 2021: he was the bassist in the Pancake Blues Band, who at this point were obviously attempting rectify that poor decision on the band’s name! Gary and Richard Stevens then formed Nearly, before becoming involved in the first incarnation of Rococo, who became a respected band locally. Not for Gary and Richard, however, as they emigrated to New Zealand and started another Rococo there

Fri. Jan 17 ^th – Shaemushaemushaemus

Fri. Jan 17 ^th – Muskrat Ramble

Fri. Jan 17 ^th – Jo-Ann Kelly

All the above acts featured on the bill for a Benefit Ball for the Release organisation, organised by Richmond Area Free Press. This was advertised in Vol 1, No1 of the aforementioned Richmond Area Free Press magazine, which espoused virtues in common with the more famous ‘underground’ press prevalent at the time, such as Oz, and featured record reviews, poetry, “agitprop” information, as well as information on local events and a community service guide. It is not clear at this point how many issues RAFP went on to achieve, but this Issue No 1 has been loaned to the Museum by Garry Rutherford (the friend of one of our volunteers), who was in the line-up of the Muskrat Ramble band (on vocals and keyboards) who played on tonight’s bill. Jo-Ann Kelly went on to become one of the significant people still treading the boards in the British Blues scene during the early 70s. Mostly her stuff was acoustic Blues, and, of course, being a woman rather marked her out as a rarity in a predominantly male genre. Jo-Ann’s brother Dave Kelly helms The Blues Band, along with Paul Jones, the ex-Manfred

Fri. Jan 31 ^st – Van Der Graaf Generator

Fri. Jan 31 ^st – The Nice (These two entries are from an advert in the Richmond & Twickenham Times via Andrew Humphreys. The advert has a headline of “REOPENING AT EEL PIE ISLAND”)

February 1969

Sat, Feb 1 ^st – Happenings Plus

Sat. Feb 1 ^st – Andromeda (These two entries are from an advert in the Richmond & Twickenham Times via Andrew Humphreys.)

Fri. Feb 7 ^th – Ian Whitcomb with Turnstyle

Ian Whitcomb had hit the heady heights of #8 in the American Billboard charts in 1965 with “You Turn Me On”, where he remained thereafter as nothing he did sold in the UK. When he did return to the UK, he embarked on a successful writing career, but tonight he has Turnstyle in attendance

Fri. Feb 7 ^th – The Pretty Things

At this point, The Pretty Things would have been promoting the previous year’s epic “S.F. Sorrow” album to little commercial avail, leading to guitarist Dick Taylor’s departure a few months later . Unfortunately, despite the poster in existence that confirms this date, Jackie Elvy contacted our Facebook page to tell us that she arrived on a freezing night for this one, only to be told that the gig had been cancelled, as the band couldn’t get their gear over the bridge, which was iced over. This has since been backed up by Len Woolford, who visited the Museum in June, further pointing out he didn’t get his 12/6 back. So maybe that explains why Phil May reckoned they never played on the Island! “BOB DYLAN’S UNDERGROUND FILM” was promised in the Richmond & Twickenham Times advert for this evening, but is not mentioned on the poster from which this information was originally gleaned

Sat. Feb 8 ^th – Van Der Graaf Generator (from http://www.vandergraafgenerator.co.uk/vdgglive.htm )

Sat. Feb 8 ^th – Pegasus

Fri. Feb 14 ^th – Edgar Broughton

Fri. Feb 14 ^th – Juniors Eyes

Junior’s Eyes were responsible for the intriguingly titled album, “Battersea Power Station”, but later this year, guitarist Mick Wayne guested (amongst others) on David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” single and I think all of the Eyes were on Bowie’s resultant eponymous first album

Fri. Feb 14 ^th – Roy Harper

June 1969

Sat. Jun 21 ^st – Hawkwind Zoo

Sat. Jun 21 ^st – Stray

The Hotel was closed (again) at this time, but Grenville Sheringham had rented it to house the Richmond Arts Workshop. Both Hawkwind Zoo and Stray rang Sheringham wanting the chance to play at the Island. Despite not knowing them, Sheringham agreed, they played for free (to Sheringham), and the gig acted as Sheringham and three friends’ 21 ^st birthday party, with about 400 punters turning up. It was advertised as “A Midsummer Nights Dream”, with the handbill promising “Entertainments include music, dancing, and possibly a police raid”. I guess this persuaded the Arts Workshop to continue to put gigs on for fundraising purposes

August 1969

Thu. Aug 7 ^th – Spice (from www.uriah-heep.com/newa/giglists.php )

New paragraph

It seems likely that Caldwell Smythe’s tenure as Colonel Barefoot himself started at this point, though John Lethbridge, who worked the Mass Spectrometer Light Show, asserts it was not until December 29 ^th (see below) that the Colonel “steamed in”, citing the fact that Richmond Arts Workshop gigs were on Wednesdays and Fridays, and that Smythe changed the nights of operation to became Fridays and Saturdays.

October 1969

Fri. Oct 3 ^rd – Mighty Baby

Mighty Baby evolved from the ashes of The Action, who appeared here early in 1968

Fri. Oct 10 ^th – Grope

Fri. Oct 10 ^th – Stray

Fri. Oct 17 ^th – Medicine Hat (sic)

Could this have actually been Medicine Head, purveyors of an album called “Dark Side Of The Moon” before someone else was? Assuming it was, as they were certainly on the circuit at this point, their demo of “His Guiding Hand” was released as a single on John Peel’s Dandelion label in 1969, and while they went on to chart success with four singles, none of their subsequent albums repeated that success. Their final album was recorded in Pete Townshend’s Eel Pie Studio in 1976, and they broke up a year later. Both members continued in the music biz, and guitarist John Fiddler is often to be seen performing around these parts, like at Strawberry Hill Music Day a year or two back. Having said all that, when John Fiddler visited the Museum recently, he confirmed that there was indeed an outfit calling themselves Medicine Hat, (named after the town in Canada), so this could indeed have been them: Medicine Head do have an entry for the following February

Fri. Oct 17 ^th – Steve Miller’s Delivery

Nothing to do with “The Joker” provider of later years

Fri. Oct 24 ^th – Hawkwind Zoo (from http://www.hawklord.com/hw/HWgiglist.html )

Hawkwind have yet to find their “Silver Machine” and go “In Search Of Space”, but they are led by Eel Pie Island habitué of the early 60s Dave Brock (who schooled a young Eric Clapton in some early guitar chords back then). According to the ‘pooterland’ site (see below), they are still actually billed as Hawkwind Zoo tonight: it would be a wee while later that they dropped the “Zoo” tag

Fri. Oct 24 ^th – Stray

Fri. Oct 31 ^st – Snake

Fri. Oct 31 ^st – If

I suppose you could argue that If represent the return of jazz to the Island, but their jazz-rock leanings are probably a million miles from the trad arbiters of yore, though Dick Morrissey and his tenor sax had been here with his quartet back in August 1966, playing with Jimmy Witherspoon

Fri, Oct 31 ^st – Egg (£3 as per Caldwell Smythe)

(from http://calyx.perso.neuf.fr/bands/chrono/egg.html – site since closed )

Tricky time signatures from these Canterbury progsters, who I much preferred to their overblown oppos, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and who were led by Dave Stewart (not the Eurythmic one) who had chart success with both Barbara Gaskin and ex-Zombie Colin Blunstone in the 80s. As Caldwell Smythe recalls paying Egg only £3, that suggests they were supporting If tonight

November 1969

Wed. Nov 5 ^th – Rapture

Wed. Nov 5 ^th – Clouds

Fri. Nov 7 ^th – Tara’s Harp

Fri. Nov 7 ^th – Pete Brown’s Piblokto

Pete Brown was Jack Bruce’s lyricist, but evidently his vocal style didn’t impress his own band, The Battered Ornaments, as they sacked him the day before they played on the bill at Hyde Park, supporting the Stones. However, he bounced back with Piblokto, who featured respected Scots guitarist Jim Mullen

Wed. Nov 12 ^th – Fat Daughter

Wed. Nov 12 ^th – Alexis Korner (£75 as per Caldwell Smythe)

Caldwell Smythe was managing Alexis Korner at this time

Fri. Nov 14 ^th – Tobias Wragg

Fri. Nov 14 ^th – Warm Dust

On the heels of If’s jazz-rock leanings come Warm Dust, who weren’t to set the world alight, but did feature Paul Carrack, later of one-hit wonders Ace, and later credits with stints in Squeeze (notably “Tempted”) and Mike & The Mechanics, Mike Rutherford of Genesis fame’s spin-off band

Wed. Nov 19 ^th – Strawberry Blues

Wed. Nov 19 ^th – Virgin Hearse

Wed. Nov 19 ^th – Radha Krishna Temple

“Hare Krishna Mantra” strains from George Harrison’s Buddhist buddies, supported by someone called Virgin Hearse? Wow! Former lead guitarist Keith Simpson has been in touch to point out that Virgin Hearse were a blues/rock group from Oxford, and not a person, which I may have implied! They did a couple of demos for Polydor and EMI, but that was it

Fri. Nov 21 ^st – Train

Fri. Nov 21 ^st – Battered Ornaments

Pete Brown’s former band featured Chris Spedding, a respected session guitarist who would later feature in a number of TV appearances as a greased-up biker for “Motorbikin’”, as well as that of one of The Wombles in full Womble gear. Variety, as they say…

Wed. Nov 26 ^th – Tara’s Harp

Wed. Nov 26 ^th – Greatest Show On Earth

The name doesn’t appear to have worked in their favour, particularly, though they did get to #1 in Switzerland with “Real Cool World” in 1970. However, they did feature within their ranks bassist extraordinaire, Norman Watt-Roy who, of course has featured in Ian Dury’s Blockheads line-up since “New Boots And Panties”, and was also working with Wilko Johnson until the latter’s demise in 2022

Fri. Nov 28 ^th – Hawkwind Zoo

Fri. Nov 28 ^th – Mandrake

Or Mandrake Paddle Steamer to give them their full name

Sat. Nov 29 ^th – Nemesis

Sat. Nov 29 ^th – Amazing Gas Medicine Show and Junk Band

December 1969

Wed. Dec 3 ^rd – Old Nick’s Train Set

Wed. Dec 3 ^rd – Edgar Broughton Band

Fri. Dec 5 ^th – Cochise

Fri. Dec 5 ^th – Andwella’s Dream

Andwella’s Dream were from Northern Ireland, and were responsible for one of the most valuable albums around: despite failing to sell on its release, “Love And Poetry” commands about £1000 these days, in mint condition, of course. And mine is . Despite suitably psychedelic origins, guitarist/vocalist Dave Lewis went on to write “Happy To Be On An Island In The Sun” which was taken into the charts by Demis Roussos in 1975. Now there’s a name I didn’t expect to be mentioning here

Sat. Dec 6 ^th – Dawn

I’m betting this is NOT Tony Orlando’s lot and that were no yellow ribbons being tied round any old oak trees in the hotel grounds

Wed. Dec 10 ^th – Skin Alley

Skin Alley were responsible for one of the better tracks, “Living In Sin”, on the CBS sampler, “Fill Your Head With Rock”, released the following year. They featured one Thomas Crimble, who went on to play bass in Hawkwind

Wed. Dec 17 ^th – Stray (from advert in Surrey Comet)

Sat. Dec 20 ^th – Wishbone Ash

At this point, Wishbone Ash had only been together for two months, but their novel use of twin lead guitars held them in good stead when their first album was released just a year after tonight. They’d peak in 1972 when “Argus” was voted Melody Maker’s album of the year

Sat. Dec 20 ^th – Audience (both above from http://www.saxmusicplus.com/audienceareback.com/69-05.html )

Round about now, Audience, meanwhile, were commissioned to write the film score for the critically acclaimed East End Skinhead flick, “Bronco Bullfrog”. Paul Griffiths visited the Museum in September 2021, and remembers seeing this “heavy prog” band from Bournemouth supporting Wishbone Ash on this day. He does not recall Audience…

Sat. Dec 20 ^th – Elias Hulk

A “heavy prog” band, perhaps?

Wed. Dec 24 ^th - Shades

Fri. Dec 26 ^th – Fat Daughter

Iain Miller, guitarist with Fat Daughter, informed us “We played the island several times, and once with Alex's Korners blues band. Great memories, especially transporting Marshall stacks, a split Hammond M100 and Leslie cab, and the rest, over the narrow bridge, many trips using the designated mini van.."

Sat. Dec 27 ^th – Nexus

Sat. Dec 27 ^th – The Houseshakers

Wed. Dec 31 ^st – Screw

Wed. Dec 31 ^st – Egg

Entries for 1969 otherwise obtained from www.garagehangover.com courtesy of Nick Warburton and itself sourced from Melody Maker and Mick Capewell’s Marmalade Skies, or from http://www.pooterland.com/index2/chronikles/1969/1969.html (Oct 3 ^rd to Dec 5 ^th apart from the first Hawkwind and Egg entries, which I knew about already) as spotted by Phil Emerson. The entries between December 24 ^th and January 3 ^rd are from a poster sent to us by Iain Miller, guitarist with Fat Daughter who played on December 26 ^th . The poster also informs us that “JASON THE MAD DJ” was responsible for “SOUNDS”, and that the light show was provided by “MASS SPECTROMETER”.

The post 1969 Roll-call appeared first on Eel Pie Island Museum .

1970 Roll-call

duda-owner-ionos@ionos.com (Duda Owner IONOS) — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 19:08:00 GMT

1970

represents the last hurrah for the Eel Pie Island Hotel. While the commune establishes itself in the Hotel proper, the old ballroom still manages to see appearances from acts such as Mott The Hoople, Genesis, Taste, Free, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Groundhogs and many other heroes of the ‘Underground’. Quintessence may have been the last performers before the venue closes for good, and goes out literally in a blaze of glory

January 1970

Fri. Jan 2 ^nd – Stray

Sat. Jan 3 ^rd – Junior’s Eyes

Fri Jan 9 ^th – Rare Bird (from http://www.45worlds.com/live/artist/rare-bird/2)

This heavily keyboard-oriented band were flying high by the time of this appearance on the Island, as their single “Sympathy” was about to enter the Top 30 a few weeks later. They had started with the name Lunch, and initially included Chris Randall, one of the Museum’s volunteers, on bass

Sat. Jan 10 ^th – Shades ( from advert in MM )

Fri. Jan 16 ^th – John Dummer Blues Band (from advert in MM)

Sat. Jan 17 ^th – Wishbone Ash (from advert in MM)

Fri. Jan 23 ^rd – Eire Apparent

These were Belfast Boys who must have thought that they’d cracked it, having their only LP produced by Jimi Hendrix, and also including him playing on it: unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way

Sat. Jan 24 ^th – Van Der Graaf Generator

Van Der Graaf Generator were a darker progressive band than most, but typified a prevalence of musically intricate, but commercially unsuccessful outfits at this time. The number of different line-ups is impossible to detail here, but the constant Peter Hammill has consistently been quoted as an influence on all sorts of folk

Fri. Jan 30 ^th – Warm Dust (from advert in MM)

Sat. Jan 31 ^st – Shades (from advert in MM)

February 1970

Fri. Feb 6 ^th – Toe Fat

Back in 1962, Cliff Bennett had appeared on the first ever ‘non-jazz’ bill when Wednesdays became the norm for ‘Beat’, Pop or R&B groups. By this time he’d reinvented himself as a ‘heavy rocker’ with Toe Fat, who produced one of the ugliest album covers ever

Sat. Feb 7 ^th – Siren

Maverick songster Kevin Coyne featured in the ranks of Siren, but achieved a degree of cult status in the mid-70s under his own name

Sat. Feb 7 ^th – Medicine Head

It definitely says Medicine Head on the poster for tonight

Sat. Feb 7 ^th – John Peel

The esteemed DJ brings his record collection to the Island, along with two of his Dandelion label signings, Siren and Medicine Head

Fri. Feb 13 ^th – Mighty Baby (from Melody Maker via Clive Whichelow)

Sat. Feb 14 ^th – Principal Edwards Magic Theatre (fromhttp://s335571041.websitehome.co.uk/Pe/site/gigs70.asp )
It was probably the most crowded the stage had been in years for this 14-strong performance art collective

Fri. Feb 20 ^th – Free
This still some months away from their massive “Alright Now” hit

Sat. Feb 21 ^st – Stray

Fri. Feb 27 ^th – Mandrake

Sat. Feb 28 ^th – Glass Menagerie

This was on the heels of a European Tour with John Mayall, but they split up not much later. Singer and organist Lou Stonebridge went on to play with the likes of McGuinness-Flint and The Blues Band, while guitarist Alan Kendall joined Cliff Bennett’s Toe Fat before replacing Vince Melouney in The Bee Gees in 1971, and stayed with them until 2003. That means he featured on “Saturday Night Fever”!

March 1970

Tue. Mar 3 ^rd – Little Free Rock (from http://www.illingworth70.freeserve.co.uk/lfr_giglist.htm )

Fri. Mar 6 ^th – Truth (from advert in MM)

Fri. Mar 6 ^th – Shades

Sat. Mar 7 ^th – John Dummer Band

Sat. Mar 7 ^th – May Blitz

These were a short-lived power-trio that recorded a couple of albums before disbanding in 1971. Drummer Tony Newman had played with Jeff Beck, but went on to Three Man Army, before being decommissioned by the arrival of Ginger Baker in that band

Fri. Mar 13 ^th – White Lightning (from advert in MM)

These are advertised as “formerly Truth”, who had played under that name the previous week

Fri. Mar 13 ^th – Writing On The Wall

Sat. Mar 14 ^th – Climax Chicago Blues Band

Fri. Mar 20 ^th – Sam Apple Pie

A jobbing boogie/blues-rock outfit, Sam Apple Pie would appear at the first ever Glastonbury Festival later this year. The singer, Sam Sampson, used to take to the stage wearing a stove-pipe hat

Sat. Mar 21 ^st – Stray

Fri. Mar 27 ^th – Toe Fat

Sat. Mar 28 ^th – Shades

April 1970

Fri. Apr 3 ^rd – Easy Leaf

Alan Gardiner of Easy Leaf got in touch, recalling “We were late arriving and instead of using the trolleys to take the equipment over I drove the Dormobile van over the footbridge! To be honest we should have died but we made it.” I can only surmise it was a very narrow Dormobile…

Fri. Apr 3 ^rd – Little Free Rock

Sat. Apr 4 ^th – White Lightning

Sat. Apr 4 ^th – Mott The Hoople (£115 as per Caldwell Smythe)

This is Mott when they were a jobbing rock band, years before Bowie gifted them a lifeline. According to Caldwell Smythe, the place was totally packed out for this one

Fri. Apr 10 ^th – Genesis

Fri. Apr 10 ^th – Jan Dukes De Grey

Differing fortunes for tonight’s double bill: while everyone knows about Jan Dukes De Grey and their 1971 opus “Mice and Rats in the Loft”, whatever happened to Genesis? Seriously though, Jan Dukes De Grey were bonkers enough to insist that they needed to be seated, cross-legged in a meditation tent in order to be recorded properly, a whim which producer David Hitchcock indulged them, though not to any discernible difference to his ears, whereas, of course, anyone who witnessed Peter Gabriel’s increasingly unhinged stage outfits in his latter Genesis days may have been inclined to think he was just as bonkers. Whatever, this looks to have been a very early Genesis gig, coming off the back of a residency at Ronnie Scott’s, after they’d honed their act in a three month tour of the nation’s colleges, including a couple of appearances at nearby Twickenham Tech in Egerton Road (the poster for tonight states they were appearing “By Demand”, indicating an earlier – date unspecified – gig on the Island back in December had gone down well). They got £5 for the Island gig (though Caldwell Smythe disputes this, stating that all support bands got no more than £3 an appearance, as he was being offered money by bands’ managers to put them on), and £50 for the college one. Either way, you can see where the money was in those days. Four months after tonight, local lad Phil Collins would join Genesis on drums

Sat. Apr 11 ^th – Cracious [sic]

I assume this is meant to be Gracious!, whose exclamation mark was added into their name when their first album cover was being designed this year

Sat. Apr 11 ^th – East Of Eden

Fri. Apr 17 ^th – White Lightning

Fri. Apr 17 ^th – Taste

Rory Gallagher brings his Irish blues-rock trio to town, and though they would split up shortly after the Isle of Wight Festival in August – where this scribe witnessed them come back for at least five encores – Rory forged a respected career for years after

Sat. Apr 18 ^th – Stray

Stray had the dubious distinction of being managed by one Charlie Kray at some point, but guitarist Del Bromham holds the distinction of being one of very few musicians to have played on the Island, as well as the present-day Eel Pie Club, as he does regularly with his Blues Devils

Fri. Apr 24 ^th – Smile

While this could have been an early outing for Brian May and his homemade guitar before global superstardom some years later, it turns out that there was another Smile treading the boards, who were a low-key acoustic duo, and tonight probably featured these

Fri. Apr 24 ^th – Climax Chicago Blues Band (£125 as per Caldwell Smythe)

Coming out of the blues-fuelled boom of the late 60s, Peter Haycock and Colin Cooper touted their Climax Chicago act around for years before finally landing a hit in 1976 with “Couldn’t Get It Right”. Following innumerable line-up changes and at least a score of albums recorded, there is still an outfit treading the boards under the name

Sat. Apr 25 ^th – Shades

May 1970

Fri. May 1 ^st – Alma Mater

Fri. May 1 ^st – Principal Edwards Magic Theatre (from http://s335571041.websitehome.co.uk/Pe/site/gigs70.asp )

“Featuring their 31 Stone Rock’n’Roll Roadie” according to the poster

Sat. May 2 ^nd - Custer’s Track

“Featuring their 31 Stone Rock’n’Roll Roadie” according to the poster

Sat. May 2 ^nd – Boris

It says “Ex-Colosseum” on the poster, but I can find no reference to these using that connection

The above two entries are as according to the poster for May, while below…?

Sat. May 2 ^nd – East Of Eden (from http://www.digitdesign.macmate.me/eastofedentheband/GIGS.html )

Fri. May 8 ^th – Iron Maiden

Not the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal merchants popularising spandex and big hair during the 80s, this lot were a comparatively tamer outfit from Basildon

Fri. May 8 ^th – Ginger Johnson & His Drummers

Fri. May 8 ^th – Little Free Rock (from http://www.illingworth70.freeserve.co.uk/lfr_giglist.htm )

Fri. May 9 ^th – Genesis

Fri. May 9 ^th – Julian’s Treatment

Genesis sure picked their support slots: following on from Jan Dukes De Grey in April, this time their second on the bill to this outfit, centred around keyboardist Julian Savarin, whose eventual album was a kind of opera about an Atlantis-styled lost civilisation on the planet Akron, whereby the last Earthman encounters Altarra, who is “the embodiment of all womankind”. What tosh we had to put up with during the nascent prog era…

Fri. May 15 ^th – Tiny Clanger (from advert)

Fri. May 15 ^th – Black Sabbath (£250 as per Caldwell Smythe)

(from http://www.setlist.fm/venue/eel-pie-island-hotel-london-england-63d6d667.html )

A matter of weeks after tonight, Black Sabbath went into the studio and dashed off “Paranoid” in about 20 minutes flat, as an afterthought for their new album, and look what happened after that . According to Caldwell Smythe, there was a good crowd present for this

Sat. May 16 ^th – Nemesis (from advert)

Sat. May 16 ^th – Shy Limbs (from advert)

Shy Limbs had featured Greg Lake in their line-up, but he’d departed a year or so earlier for King Crimson

Fri. May 22 ^nd – Writing On The Wall (from http://www.writingonthewallband.co.uk/gigs.html )

Willy Finlayson came south from Scotland with Writing On The Wall, and has been hereabouts ever since

Sat. May 23 ^rd – Shades

Fri. May 29 ^th – Third Ear Band

Third Ear Band’s initial line-up, instrumentally, was violin, cello, oboe, and perscussion. It would be interesting to know how that went down at the island. Nevertheless, following a couple of albums, and a large revolving door of varied musicians, including Simon House (who went onto Hawkwind and David Bowie), and Keith Chegwin (!), they did a lot of soundtrack recording

Sat. May 30 ^th – Savoy Brown

Sun. May 31 ^st – May Festival (entrance 15/-)

A one-day festival featuring Quatermass ( a power-trio dominated by Hammond organ, formed by Ex-Big Three bassist Johnny Gustafson, Mick Underwood on drums (having previous with Ritchie Blackmore in The Outlaws) with J Peter Robinson on keyboards) , Ginhouse, Stackridge, First Light, Jet Harris & Last Supper (for the first time, an ex-Shadow appears on the Island) , Marc Brierly, Flare and Castle . A poster depicting this line-up was sent to us in April 2024, by Colin Norton, who played in the Castle line-up

June 1970

Fri. Jun 5 ^th – Metropolitan Grease Force

Fri. Jun 5 ^th – Alma Mater

Fri. Jun 5 ^th – Wild Angels

These were a retro rock’n’roll outfit, harking back to the 50s, perhaps obviously. The year before, they’d backed Gene Vincent on his comeback tour

Sat. Jun 6 ^th – Ginger Johnson’s African Drummers

If you’ve ever seen “The Stones In The Park” film, the drummers that came on stage during “Sympathy For The Devil” were this lot. A noted Nigerian percussionist, Ginger Johnson also played with all manner of Eel Pie alumni, including Georgie Fame, Brian Auger, Long John Baldry, Graham Bond, Hawkwind, and even Genesis apparently. His own band was actually called His African Messengers

Sat. Jun 6 ^th – Little Free Rock

Sat. Jun 6 ^th – Edgar Broughton (£150 as per Caldwell Smythe)

This bunch of hairy underground merchants had unbelievably charted with their rallying cry, albeit at #31, “Out Demons Out”. According to Caldwell Smythe, again a good crowd was in evidence for this

Fri. Jun 12 ^th – Black Velvet

Black Velvet evolved out of The Coloured Raisins, who had appeared on the Island back in 1966. However, as Black Velvet, they had a great single out round about now, “African Velvet”, which I heard a lot at the time, but have only ever since heard it once, on Greater London Radio when that was around. Only recently has the song surfaced on YouTube

Fri. Jun 12 ^th – Thunderzone

Apparently these are White Lightning who appeared here back in April, following a name-change . Not only that, but it is also Caldwell Smythe’s band, and apparently Chris Blackwell of Island records fame came to see them, and promptly offered a three LP deal, as well as a spot down the bill for a US tour, all of which was scuppered by the band’s (unnamed) “ego-tripping lead guitarist, and his idiotic Harley Street doctor / employer / advisor”: obviously went down well with Caldwell

Fri. Jun 12 ^th – Deep Purple (£325 as per Caldwell Smythe)

Ritchie Blackmore and chums are only two months away from their huge “Black Night” hit, and tonight represents a return to Eel Pie Island for keyboard wiz, Jon Lord, last seen here with The Artwoods. It has recently emerged that this also represented a return to the borough for Blackmore himself, as he’d played as a 13-year-old in a skiffle band, The Vampires, at the nearby King’s Head (later The Bird’s Nest, at the top of Water Lane) way back in December 24th 1958: this nugget courtesy of Bob Danks, who was in said Vampires. Unless there was an earlier date by Deep Purple, it would be this one that Caldwell Smythe reckons he lost heavily, given the payout: poorly attended? One 16 year-old attendee that night recalled (albeit with hindsight) “crossing the footbridge on to Eel Pie, and through a Harry Potter-esque mist was this decrepit old hotel with a ballroom”. The gig was “pivotal” as far as Tony James was concerned, and led to him forming his first school group. Six years after tonight, he had formed Generation X with Billy Idol during the punk explosion’s early days. Another 16 year-old present was my old chum Mick, who dates back to the early 70s, and who visited the Museum in 2022, remembers being at this one, and that there were stages set up at either end of the dancehall. There was also a playing area set up to one side. As you can see, there were three bands on the bill tonight, and Mick remembers all three playing the last number together, and that is was a deafening finale! He was also on a first date, that sadly ended up with him getting a beating by a bunch of Skinheads on the way home, outside what was then The Black Dog in London Road: at least he’d managed to get past The Bird’s Nest unscathed, which represented an achievement, but the prospective girlfriend was less than impressed, and there never was a second date

Sat. Jun 13 ^th – Junction

Sat. Jun 13 ^th – Semper Vivum

Sat. Jun 13 ^th – Gypsy

At the end of the following year, this scribe witnessed Gypsy at a John Peel In Concert recording: out of Leicester, I concluded that they were decent enough guitar-led outfit, with some good, tight vocal harmonies, not a million miles away from CSN

Fri. Jun 19 ^th – Rapture

Fri. Jun 19 ^th – Free

I can only imagine the place is rammed for this one: “All Right Now” was at this point heading up the charts for the first time. Well, it would have been, had they appeared, but for seemingly that reason, Free pulled out of tonight’s gig, presumably having larger fish to fry. While that is from Alan Winter’s personal testimony, and he did share a place with Simon Kirke, then again, John Marks recalls seeing Free twice at the island, the first time for 2/6 (or 12½ pence in new money) but that the entry was ramped up by Caldwell Smythe for this one because of their chart success, causing consternation to Paul Kossoff, as Free were not getting paid any more . Caldwell Smythe further muddies the waters by confirming that Free did not show for this one tonight, though he did pay them £250 on another occasion when it was packed out

Sat. Jun 20 ^th – Bone

Sat. Jun 20 ^th – Steve Miller Delivery [sic]

Steve Miller’s Delivery, as they should have been billed, contained a number of musicians associated with the ‘Canterbury Scene’, also including saxophonist Lol Coxhill, and Miller himself appeared in a later line-up of Caravan, having, interestingly, guested on yesterday’s (scheduled) headliners Free’s debut, “Tons Of Sobs” in 1969

Fri. Jun 26 ^th – Tiny Clanger

Fri. Jun 26 ^th – The Amazing “Shades” (£30 as per Caldwell Smythe)

Amazingly, Shades have become just that, and acquired additional quotes around their name since April. Then again, as they were good buddies with Caldwell Smythe, who gave them regular gigs on the Island, I guess that was to help to elevate their status

Sat. Jun 27 ^th – Blood Son

Sat. Jun 27 ^th – East Of Eden

This was a busy night according to Caldwell Smythe, though as they had three dates here in just over two months, it’s not certain whether his comments apply to tonight: maybe all of them?

July 1970

Fri. Jul 3 ^rd – Jody Grind

Based around keyboardist Tim Hinkley, Jody Grind were by this time veering toward a rock-oriented direction, thus away from their jazz-leaning beginnings. Following the release of the dubiously entitled “Far Canal”, which was a commercial flop, they disbanded, with Hinkley and drummer Pete Gavin going on to join Vinegar Joe, who boasted the vocal talents of both Elkie Brooks and Robert Palmer

Sat. Jul 4 ^th – Nemesis Blues Band

Sat. Jul 4 ^th – Black Cat Bones

By this time, this line-up of Black Cat Bones (having been away for a few years) would be the one that would soon change their name to Leafhound, and record and release one of the rarest albums ever (“Growers of Mushroom”). And of course, singer Pete French is once again fronting a modern line-up of that band, and regularly appearing at the present day Eel Pie Club

Fri. Jul 10 ^th – Tony Dee & The Memphis Index

The poster promises “Another Rock’n’Roll Night”

Sat. Jul 11 ^th – Spirit of John Morgen (sic)

John Morgan was the organist in this band, holding onto R&B values while the rest of the world was diving into progressive waters

Fri. Jul 17 ^th – Noir

Fri. Jul 17 ^th – Mick Pickett’s One Man Band ( from advert in MM)

Despite Noir appearing on the poster for forthcoming gigs, they do not appear in the advert for tonight

Fri. Jul 17 ^th – Thunderzone

“The heaviest 3-piece in the world” according to their (probably Caldwell Smythe’s) blurb, and I don’t suppose the reference is to their combined tonnage

Sat. Jul 18 ^th – Sweet Slag (from advert in MM)

Sat. Jul 18 ^th – Stray

Fri. Jul 24 ^th – Five Long Tears (from advert in MM)

Fri. Jul 24 ^th – Pink Fairies

The darlings of the “Underground”, who sprang out of Mick Farren’s band, The (Social) Deviants…RIGHT ON

Sat. Jul 25 ^th – Flesh (from advert in MM)

Sat. Jul 25 ^th – Groundhogs

After a gap of a number of years, this is the Groundhogs more associated with the album “Thank Christ For The Bomb” rather than their earlier 60s liaisons with John Lee Hooker

Fri. Jul 31 ^st – Lady Fee

Fri. Jul 31 ^st – Clark Hutchinson

Andy Clark and Mitch Hutchinson specialised in lengthy hard rock improvised jams flavoured with an Eastern influence: I’ve seen this described as “Indo-Prog / Raga Rock”. Whatever floats your boat, I guess, but they did recruit a bassist called Stephen Amazing. Really

August 1970

Sat. Aug 1 ^st – Black Widow

The poster promises “There will be no restrictions made on this group’s act”. That’ll be down to the promised use of satanic and occult imagery in their stage act, then. Best known for their “Come To The Sabbat” track, drummer Romeo Challenger joined at some point during this year, but would achieve pop success with Showaddywaddy years later (think “Three Steps To Heaven”: that’s him doing the ‘step count’)

Fri. Aug 7 ^th – National Head Band

National Head Band include Lee Kerslake on drums, who had played in The Gods with Mick Taylor, but who would later pitch up in Uriah Heep

Fri. Aug 7 ^th – Noir

A “heavy black group” according to the poster

Sat. Aug 8 ^th – Ginhouse

This lot won the 1970 Melody Maker Talent Contest: much good it seems to have done them

Sat. Aug 8 ^th – Stackridge

Stackridge originally had a bassist known as Jim ‘Crun’ Walter, which was particularly apposite as the the original little old ladies collecting the bridge toll were inevitably referred to as ‘Min’ and ‘Henry’, as in “Crun”, as in the Goons’ characters. I recall Stackridge betraying a degree of levity not particularly prevalent in those prog-oriented years, and while ‘Crun’ went off bricklaying for a while, he’s since returned, and there was a Stackridge reunion in 2017. A month after tonight, Stackridge opened (and also closed, but not at the same time) the very first Glastonbury Festival

Sat. Aug 15 ^th – Berlin

John Edwards, known to me from the mid-70s from his work with local heroes Rococo at The White Bear, but known to millions as “Rhino”, having occupied the bass slot with Status Quo for 36 years, got in touch to point out that he was in this outfit, obviously at a tender young age!

Sat. Aug 15 ^th – Steamhammer

Steamhammer boasted the talents of Martin Quittenton on guitar, who’d later turn up as a writing partner of Sir Roderick of Stewart on “Maggie May”

The above two entries are as according to the poster for August, while below…?

Sat. Aug 15 ^th – Fusion Orchestra (from www.fusionorchestra.com/history.html )

Fri. Aug 21 ^st – Maya

Fri. Aug 21 ^st – Tiny Clanger

Sat. Aug 22 ^nd – The Few

Entries for both Aug 21 ^st and Aug 22 ^nd supplied by Clive Whichelow from his huge collection of back copies of Melody Maker. Oh, and he was a member of The Few

Sat. Aug 22 ^nd – African Drummers

This is all that’s shown on the Melody Maker ad, but assume these to be Ginger Johnson’s outfit as described in the entry for June 6 ^th

Sat. Aug 22 ^nd – Little Free Rock

Led by Peter Illingworth from Preston, this ‘psychedelic hard rock’ trio were originally called Purple Haze, changing their name for obvious reasons. They played regularly at both The Roundhouse and The Marquee Club, and for a while featured Peter Green within their ranks. Mr Illingworth himself had previously appeared on the Island with David John & The Mood in 1964

Fri. Aug 28 ^th – Ginger

Is this the oft-appearing Ginger Johnson?

Sat. Aug 29 ^th – Thunderzone

September 1970

Fri. Sep 4 ^th – Patto

These would become a cult band in the best sense of the phrase – a bizarre, idiosyncratic outfit who sold very little, but were highly respected, having an exciting live act, and boasted the mercurial talents of guitarist (and vibes player) Ollie Halsall

Fri. Sep 4 ^th – Supertramp

We are several years away from “Breakfast In America” here

Sat. Sep 5 ^th – Bram Stoker

A heavy quartet, though coming from Bournemouth, formed in Brighton, and who nevertheless managed to get rather pigeonholed with the “Progressive-Classical-Rock-Gothic-Psychedelic Rock” label, as you do. Their sole release was the fearsome looking “Heavy Rock Spectacular” album, but apparently guitarist Pete Ballam’s legendary “Doppler” (a spinning speaker cabinet) had to be seen – and heard – to be believed

Sat. Sep 5 ^th – Alan Bown

Fri. Sep 11 ^th – Toe Fat

Sat. Sep 12 ^th – Howl

Sat. Sep 12 ^th – Tir-na-nOg

A duo who were proponents of intricate Celtic-influenced acoustica

Sat. Sep 12 ^th – Principal Edward’s Magic Theatre

Fri. Sep 18 ^th – East Of Eden

“AT LAST” it says on the poster, so I guess these were welcome returnees

Sat. Sep 19 ^th – Duster Bennett

A respected blues performer (one-man-band style with guitar, bass drum and harp), often Duster was aided by Peter Green and Top Topham, and recorded a number of albums on the Blue Horizon label. Sadly Bennett died in a traffic accident driving home after appearing with Memphis Slim in the Midlands six years after tonight

Fri. Sep 25 ^th – Stray

Sat. Sep 26 ^th – Shades

October 1970

Sat. Oct 24 ^th – Blonde On Blonde (from Dave Thomas of the band)

Named after the 1965 album of the same name by Bob Dylan, these actually played at the same Isle of Wight Festival that was headlined by the aforementioned Dylan a year earlier in 1969. The date was provided by Dave Thomas who played harmonica, bass, and guitar on two of their three albums

Fri. Oct 30 ^th – Little Free Rock (from http://www.illingworth70.freeserve.co.uk/lfr_giglist.htm )

November 1970

Sat. Nov 14 ^th – Fusion Orchestra (from www.fusionorchestra.com/history.html )

Following auditions for a front man on vocals, the impressive Jill Saward was recruited, and tonight was only her second gig with Fusion Orchestra. She would later achieve chart success with Shakatak

Sat. Nov 21 ^st – Quintessence (from http://www.mooncowhq.ch/Quintessence/chronology.html )

Indian trance and Eastern mantras land on the Island, direct from Notting Hill Gate

=========This is the last documented gig performed on Eel Pie Island=============

As I point out, perhaps obviously, there are a number of gaps in this roll-call, and certainly the presence of a contract for an artist for a given date is no guarantee the date was fulfilled, though it seems that Arthur Chisnall was fairly rigorous in updating contracts to reflect such changes, and of course, the same principle applies to poster-driven information. Naturally, if anyone out there can help fill in some of the blanks, please do not hesitate to get in touch, through the Contact page on this site.

Pete Watt

Music Historian

Eel Pie Island Museum

Postscript: Various folk have got in touch since this Roll-Call was first compiled, giving us personal reminiscences, but invariably, they hadn’t been as much of an anorak as I have been, in meticulously recording when they occurred. Nevertheless, Simon Fallon remembers The Bee Gees , and them performing “New York Mining Disaster 1941”, and David Mansell remembers playing on the island with The Shades Of Blue , as support to John Mayall, and that it was the night the film crew from Berlin were in evidence, and as Mayall was so late, the crew filmed The Shades instead: I’d love to get a fix on that date! Steve Milton remembers chatting to The Overlanders on the lawn before they went on. George Hill got in touch to tell us of his band, The Charge , who played as support for, amongst others, Pink Floyd, The Artwoods and The Herd: The Charge also featured a young Phil Collins on drums for a while. Other names which have been mentioned include Stubby Kaye, Buck Clayton, George Chisholm, The Dutch Swing College (!), Muddy Waters, Zoot Money and his Big Roll Band, Jimmy Reed, Sonny Boy Williamson, Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band, The Grebbels, and Sour Milk Sea . Additionally, since we opened a pop-up Eel Pie Island Museum at Twickenham Library in June 2015, visitors have included someone whose name I didn’t catch who played in The Sugarshacks , supporting The Downliners Sect; Eddie Parpworth, whose The Stumble racked up 28 weeks as a support band in 1968, backing the likes of the Nice, Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera, as well as someone called 1812 Revolution ; Adrian Hawkins, whose band Horse played in 1970, previewing their album “For Twisted Minds Only” (which coincidentally was re-released in 2016). Trevor visited the Museum, telling tales of managing an outfit called Them: unfortunately an Irishman over in Belfast had the same idea, and fared rather better, so this Them became Themselves . As usual, none of the aforementioned can supply dates, so they get an honourable mention here instead! John Marks remembers Peter Green doing a farewell gig for the commune (1970?), outside the hotel, with Hell’s Angels in attendance as the obligatory security, with them peppering skinheads’ scooters across the reach on the Ham side with powerful catapults. Another source recalls that this particular event took place on the summer solstice in 1970.

In December 2016, Caldwell Smythe got in touch, and while he was unable to provide dates, he did submit a list of bands he remembered, together with amounts paid (in some cases). A number of these are already detailed in the Roll-Call, but additionally Caldwell cites Atomic Rooster (£150) , Caravan, Keef Hartley Band, Junior’s Eyes, The Idle Race, Juicy Lucy, Love Sculpture, Rare Bird, The Strawbs, Uriah Heep (very busy) , Tuesday’s Children, Yes (£125, and packed out) , Spooky Tooth (£175 and a good crowd), and Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation (£175 and busy). 60s survivors from the early days, The Nashville Teens are also mentioned in dispatches. Further appearances by bands who played during the Chisnall era, such as Family, Fairport Convention (£200 and very busy), and Savoy Brown Blues Band (£125) are mentioned as well as a busy night when John Peel brought his record collection along.

Subsequently, in 2017, Neil O’Reilly got in touch, recalling playing on the Island early in 1965, drumming for an outfit called the Westsiders , (who supported Ronnie Wood’s then outfit, The Birds at the 100 Club that year), and Music Heritage UK put out an interview with Dave Brock, wherein he recalls playing with his band the Dharma Blues Band during jazz bands’ intervals on a Saturday, long before his Hawkwind outfit appeared. Mark Pickthall remembers The Pink Fairies “playing on the lawn” in 1970, which sounds like it could be linked to the Peter Green outdoor gig, not unsurprisingly, given The Fairies’ tendencies towards free / underground gigs.

The Eel Pie Island Museum finally opened in more permanent premises in February 2018, so I can add The Target , who were Wilson Pickett’s backing band when he toured over here. Tim Boulting remembers seeing Genesis supporting Free , with stages set up at either end of the ballroom, easing the changeover, I guess. No date for that one, but it does tie in with Caldwell Smythe’s info that suggests that bill did take place: perhaps the December 1969 gig noted in the April 10 ^th 1970 Genesis gig.. In 2022, John Edwards, aka “Rhino”, bassist with Status Quo, quite apart from telling us of his role in Berlin on the Island in August 1970, further echoes Tim Boulting, remembering Free, supported by Genesis: he’d talked to Mike Rutherford about this, with Mike recalling they got paid £7 for the gig, and that the microphone, for some reason, ended up in the river.

Christopher Hjort requested info on The Muskrats , a short-lived blues outfit consisting of Peter Green (on bass!), Dave Bidwell (later Savoy Brown and Chicken Shack) on drums, and Roger Pearce (later John Dummer Blues Band) on guitar. They only lasted between February and September 1965 but both Roger and Peter are adamant they played a support gig on the Island. Catherine Lang has answered a shout-out on the fact, and has confirmed they did play.

Gillian contacted us, recalling seeing Son House at Eel Pie. She remembers it was a “lovely hot evening”, and she was standing behind Eric Clapton. This would have been June or July 1970, which is when he toured Europe (he had toured in October 1967, but that would have been after Chisnall had closed the original Eelpiland club).

A lady visiting the Museum in June 2019 remembers seeing Little Stevie Wonder as a support act! This would have been in ‘63/64, but unfortunately, she couldn’t recall who it was he supported. We do know that he was brought back to the UK in early 1966 to promote “Uptight (Everything Is Alright)”, and undertook a tour of “small club dates”, so that sounds a possibility, especially as we know of appearances at both The Marquee and The Ricky Tick in Windsor in February 1966, and Eel Pie Island would sit well in the company of both venues.

Bruce Gubbins visited the Museum in August 2019 with information about The Hugh Douglas Orchestra , mentioned at the very beginning of this chronology, of which his father was a member. Apparently, there was no Hugh Douglas involved, but the band-leader was Doug Greening, with said father Ernest, but known as “Gubby”, taking on the leader’s duties at some stage (Ernest’s stage name was Eric Gibbs as his day job was with the LCC, ie the London County Council, who disapproved of their employees having second jobs). Bruce remembers that they played at the Clarendon Hall (York House) regularly: I don’t know whether that equates to the Twickenham “Palais” I previously referenced.

Peter Illingworth, who played lead guitar in David John & The Mood , contacted us in October 2019, remembering supporting Long John Baldry & The Hoochie Coochie Men in late 1964, and that LJB borrowed his guitar on that occasion, and also that Diz Disley was in The Hoochie Coochie Men at the time. Peter recalls “humping the gear over the bridge and that the place was packed. Steaming in fact. The floor was bouncing.”

In November 2019, a certain Tim Hill visited the museum, pointing out that it’s a photo of him with his band The Turnkeys that appears in Michele Whitby’s “Eel Pie Island” book, captioned “unknown singer giving it his all”. Unfortunately, he has no recollection of who they were supporting that night, or when it actually was. Always grateful for fragments. What has emerged very recently (2025) is an Italian documentary filmed in 1965 by RAI at the club, which does indeed feature The Turnkeys , and was obviously shot the night that that original photo of Tim was taken. Unfortunately, the doc does go on to feature the main band, but they are, thus far, unrecognisable to me!

Thanks to Des O’Byrne at the Grayshott Folk Club, who’s been into the Museum a couple of times, I have this from Alan Turner: “I was the drummer in Gary Farr and the T-Bones and we played Eel Pie Island many times. We had to park our van on the opposite bank and wheel our equipment over the little foot-bridge on a trolley! The problem was, our organist was Keith Emerson (ELP fame) and getting his Hammond on a trolley and wheeling it over was nightmare, it fell off many times although it never actually fell in the Thames!!” Not the first time the difficulty in ferrying a Hammond across to the Island has been referenced!

We got a wonderful festive gift when re-opening the museum on January when Mikey J Champion sent us a veritable glut of posters from the Colonel Barefoot’s Rock Garden era: Mikey used to work the Aural Plasma light-show set-up. Many thanks for that Mikey, and those updates are now included here!

In May 2020, Alan Hauser contacted our website with his recollection of him and his two turntables being hired for the Island to carry out mobile disco duties: he recalls two particular gigs, Rare Bird and King Crimson , and thinks they were consecutive weeks. Says Alan “My memories are that there were only about 20-30 people there. Very much in the commune phase; mostly residents disinterestedly wandering in and out. People insisted we only play 'In A Gadda De Vida', which meant we had nothing to do for the 17 minutes duration. And then to play it again... Big blow heaters unsuccessfully trying to warm the place. Being propositioned and pestered by a stoned gay hippie which was an eye-opener for a suburban teenager.”

In an interview in Record Collector (October 2022), Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers admitted “We played Eel Pie Island once”, only this was with his first band, Emil & The Detectives , though a recent podcast suggests this was on a boat moored there, rather than in the ballroom.

In February 2023, a visitor to the Museum recalled seeing the Small Faces on the Island, but was unable to say when. As ever, I am only too happy to accept ‘personal testimony’ as verification that someone, up to now previously undocumented, did indeed play at Eel Pie! In the same vein, a visitor in April 2024 claimed his friend witnessed Bo Diddley .

In August 2024, Mike Sharp (aka DuCann) visited, regaling us of tales of his band The Bluebirds supporting Cyril Davies in 1963.

Also in August 2024, Jane Haynes revealed on the Eel Pie Islanders Facebook page that she saw Them (the Irish ones, not the locals mentioned earlier), complete with Van Morrison , which would have been 1964 or 1965. I always knew they must have played on the Island, but never had a confirmed sighting until now!

In August 2025, Patrick Begley came in with his tale of being roadie for the hardly-remembered Hardly Thomas some time, possibly 1968, whereby he drove a gear-laden Land Rover across the bridge. I would have loved to have seen that! Apparently, future Soft Machine guitarist John Etheridge was in the ranks of the aforementioned Hardy Thomas .

Naturally, if anyone out there can help fill in some of the blanks, please do not hesitate to get in touch, through either our Facebook page (Eel Pie Island Museum) or through this site.

Keep them coming, folks!

Pete Watt

Music Historian ("Head Muso")

Eel Pie Island Museum

2024

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