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NEWLiiNE Words & Music UK © Lankybeat 2010 • Privacy Policy • Terms Of Use |
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Bill Hart: Founder of LANKY BEAT 17 February 2010 |
LANKY BEAT
*New..
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Bands on this page..
Shyms -Tynfoil - Something Catchy
Pepper
Humbug
The Answers
The Rumble Fat Band
Rainbow Cottage
The Summers
Harlem Johns Reshuffle
The Senators
The Chuckles
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PEPPER
Wigan
"I think the version of Pepper mentioned on the Band Index Page must have been a re-formed version?
The original Pepper were going at the same time as Pokie - ie: 1976.
I remember that if Pepper were in the crowd watching Pokie, we used to say over the mike that if the audience didn’t enjoy us that we were called Pepper, if they did we were called Pokie.
We were great friends and rival groups of the day.
Elvis..
Brian on Guitar and Les on Bass. George was on the drum kit and used to get off his kit and do a version of Brewers Droop, very funny. Brian, the guitar player sadly died but he has a son, Paul, who plays bass and I believe may have joined the reformed group in 1979? (comments anyone?)
Graham Le Russel went on a solo career and later did a recording of 'Pal Of My Cradle Days'/'Let The Little Girl Dance'. The record did really well at the time and sold many of them around the local clubs. I have not heard from any of them since."
Garry Hughes: Bass player - Pokie: May 2010
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HUMBUG
George Monks: Lead Vocal. Dave Lawson: Drums. Geoff Shepard: Guitar.
Malc’ Mather: Guitar. Garry Hughes: Bass
In 1973 Kevin Gough left Edward John Concern to start a family and the group disbanded. This was a sad moment but the group moved on.
Changes aplenty..
Re-forming later with a new guitar player, Malc Mather, who had worked with
Bits on show?
A voyage to everywhere UK..
Humbug were contracted to Leyland Enterprises (LE Agency) and began on a voyage to everywhere UK. Playing everything from Workingmens Clubs to Private Girls Schools and Holiday Parks. Working 6˝ days a week (every other Wednesday off). Crikey it was horrendous. We worked the Riverside Wigan Rugby League Club every Tuesday and Thursday nights after Copper Kettle threw in the towel.. never quite sure if they did us a favour or not!!!
Good memories..
Garry Hughes May 2010
Bolton
The Answers Brick in the Mathew Street Wall of Fame - Liverpool
"A three piece with as much punch as you could ever imagine. Dennis had a Fender Jazz? Bass that he must have attacked with a chainsaw, couldn’t tell what make it was in the end, but crikey could he play it, with a Vox Supreme amp and 2 x
Top Of The Pops..
Brian went on to join Rainbow Cottage, and did some recordings down at Williams Leylands place in Hindley. He was so gentle in the way he played and sung, but he was very special. I think he might have written the song 'Seagull' which they played on Top Of The Pops -Live - I believe. I think I was there when they mastered it, I don’t know how or why?"
Garry Hughes: May 2010.
RAINBOW COTTAGE
Kibbo's
Wigan
Pip Stokes: Lead Guitar. Steve Morris: Drums. Graham Hill R-I-P: Bass Guitar.
Tony Houghton: Rythmn Guitar.
The Kibbos were 'Cottage's' first incarnation in the mid-sixties. Four great lads with one unique connection: They were all left handers or 'keggy handers'.
Top Of The Pops..
As the decade wore-on they morphed into Rainbow Cottage and the first steps towards professionalism. Such was their passion to hit the big-time the band took to the road, left their traditional northern stomping ground and went for it! They travelled extensively for many years after the 60's with the highlight of their career being an appearance on Top Of The Pops and Crackerjack in the mid 1970's singing the song 'Seagull' written by Brian Gibbs of the 'Answers'.
Bill Hart: June 2010
"I can tell you that I did write 'Seagull' which was recorded by Rainbow Cottage at Lansdowne Studio, London in 1976. The song reached No33 in the British Singles chart and the band appeared on Crackerjack and Top of the Pops in March 1976. 9 March for Crackerjack and 10 March for Top of the Pops."
Brian Gibbs: June 2010
Papa Jenks Bar..
"The band did two summer seasons in Blackpool at Papa Jenks Bar (They didn't do a third season but the group who replaced them was a little unknown group at the time called Smokie - Living Next Door To Alice).
Very, very sad about Graham Hill's demise. I along with many other people attended his funeral at Wigan Parish Church. I also wonder if 'Tears Before Bedtime' as been mentioned or not? Even though it was a duo Graham Hill was also connected to Rainbow Cottage as Brian Gibbs will probably confirm.
David Darbyshire June 2010
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RUMBLE FAT BAND
Manchester
Three of the original members from 1968 are Joe Carroll, Keith Davies and Stuart Bunyan.
2010 line-up with added support from various Sax Players, Guitarist and Drummers.
Stuart Bunyan: May 2010
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THE SUMMERS
The Electones: Weather: Surf Side: Six:
Blackburn
Barry I'anson: Lead Vocal. Tony Jordan: Keyboards-Guitar.
Jim Hopwood: Lead Guitar. Pete Taylor: The Singing Drummer.
Pete Eddleston: Bass Guitar.
"My name is Peter Eddleston and I was bass guitarist with The Electones, Summers, Surf Side, Six, Weather. I really enjoyed your piece about us - below.
Pete Taylor was the singing drummer - he now lives in South Africa, but was over here
two weeks ago. Needless to say we had a boozy re-union.
We all sang and we all took our turn at singing at least one lead. We worked unbelievably hard at rehearsals we were very strict task masters, we didn't allow much artistic freedom we had to perform on stage as rehearsed and we accepted this willingly. The Casino chain was a good source of gigs. I think there was about six of them, infact we were spotted at the Bolton Casinoby Marty Wilde and we began a long association with him.
As the Electones, the band played a memorable night-of-nights at The Co-oporative Hall, Darwin. The night was the 25 January 1963 and the top of the bill was an up-and coming band from Liverpool: The Beatles.
Going to Wigan Casino on Monday nights was always going to be an anti-climax to the weekend just gone. But if it is seen as an extension of that same weekend it always did seem to round it off in pretty good style. The Bands played for cheaper fee's on weekdays including Mondays. The attendance figures were also down so the general atmosphere was low key rather than Saturday night 'uppy.
Musical Gold
Tonight however, the Casino was to be sunkissed with pure musicalgold. I had no way of knowing beforehand what these guys were actually like. Introduced as The Electone's, they ripped into Surfin USA, I Get Around, Fun-Fun-Fun and many more the Beach Boys current chart topping hits including some of Frankie Vallie & The Four Seasons stuff and Jan & Dean's equally well-known surf-type songs. Laid-back and with overt, consumate ease, they blasted their way into a whole new twilight zone of live musical performance. With five-voice harmonies and the drummer singing high falsetto's - what was being done live here and now - was until now, completely and uttlerly unheard of. The best you would get would be three voices; a lead singer and two on backing vocals singing counter melodies (Please - Mr Postman).
These guys were breaking live vocal rules big style and the next few Monday nights - indeed any nights - were never quite the same after that. This one almighty Wigan Casino debut paved a new way forward for me and my lasting love of close rock 'n roll harmony has been there ever since.
The Shyms played on the same bill many times with them and we became quite pally, pally. Later, I'd heard that they had gone off to London for recording sessions as 'The Summers' only to return north later on to come back as 'Weather' (I suppose up here we have plenty of that!).
I saw them again at a maquee gig in Standish and the drummer had microphones hooked up to each drum to give him a a bigger sound. This too was obviously another brand new first!
Bill Hart: June 2010
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THE HARLEM JOHN'S RESHUFFLE
TNT & The Dynamites: Stax of Soul: The Soul Brothers.
Oldham
Lead Vocal: Stuart Widdle
A Harlem Johns Reshuffle Brick in the Mathew Street Wall of Fame - Liverpool
The HJS invented 60's live white northern soul-music, much as UB 40 re-invented their version many years later.
Pop music was finding new markets in the late 60's some went blues, other went heavy, these guys went soul-music 24 carat gold. Stuart would sing and walk - walk and sing. Along the full width of any stage he sashayed all night long. And rarely did he ever eyeball his adoring audiences either. Just side to side as the brass section complimented the bass/drum/guitar engine room big-sound style. "Tight"- he would bellow between his pin-point accurate vocal deliveries -"TIGHT".
Played..
I played resident drums at Orrell British Legion near Wigan when Stuart and his small band arrived one Saturday night in the mid 70's. Under a new and unfamiliar name, the music (and the walk) were unmistakeably the same. For sure, I'll never forget how "tight" I played with these guys that night.
HJR morphed into Stax of Soul and then The Soul Brothers Band which still performs today..
Bill Hart: June 2010
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Do you know anymore about this band or any others?"
Then get in touch right away!
08450 94 87 95
