Musical Local Heroes

[Futtocks]

Whether it is a town, a village, a borough, a suburb or whatever, who's the greatest (or just your favourite) musician or band from there? Cities give a too-broad choice, so I want local talent for local people.

Bonus points if the drummer still owes you five quid.

Googling through my neighbourhood (Hendon, London), the only band I can find from here is the mighty Snuff. So I don't have to agonise over my choice.

[Robin Evans]

Rovrum...Arctic monkeys ...."you're not from New York you're from Rotherham"...

Saxon.... Swinton (,South Yorkshire) and Barnsley... I worked with biff's sister.

Tony Christie comes from Conisbrough just down the road and jive bunny had its studio only a mile away in parkgate....

[CanaBull]

New Model Army, briefly shot the breeze with Justin Sullivan while we were getting tyres at a place on Leeds Road in Laisterdyke.

[John Drake]

55 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

Bonus points if the drummer still owes you five quid.

My sister and brother in law bought their house from Shutty, the drummer of Bradford chart-toppers Terrorvision.

Terrorvison also did the pre-match entertainment at Odsal one time in the early days of Bullmania.

When we wrote about that in Rugby League World, Shutty emailed us to say thanks for the mention!

They were a great live band, btw. Saw them play many times. When they arrived on stage, the singer Tony Wright always introduced the band by saying 'We're Terrorvision. From Bradford!'

Do I get the bonus point? 

[Stirlin]

Barry John Prendergast......aka John Barry of Bond film scores and many others , born and bred in Fulford , York where I was schooled.

Cyanide from the punk era and The Mood a lesser known band from the new romantic era , still a mate of lead singer/bass player John Moore , still giging.

[Bleep1673]

I went to the same school as half of Joy Division / New Order.

[voteronniegibbs]

1 hour ago, John Drake said:

My sister and brother in law bought their house from Shutty, the drummer of Bradford chart-toppers Terrorvision.

Terrorvison also did the pre-match entertainment at Odsal one time in the early days of Bullmania.

When we wrote about that in Rugby League World, Shutty emailed us to say thanks for the mention!

They were a great live band, btw. Saw them play many times. When they arrived on stage, the singer Tony Wright always introduced the band by saying 'We're Terrorvision. From Bradford!'

Do I get the bonus point? 

Saw them at Donington monsters of rock, Tony was on tv back in those days on programmes like never mind the buzzcocks, he prefaced every answer with "is it metal?"

 

I ain't from Bradford so your bonus point is safe

[JohnM]

Musical local heroes: this is real local community stuff.

I'm seriously connected with the Louth Jazz Club aka New Orleans Club

www.louthjazzclub.org.uk

Louth Jazz Club - YouTube

The club has been going for more or less 60 years and serves a  clientele from Grimsby/Cleethorpes/ Louth and beyond.

We are probably the only remaining jazz club of this sort with a grand piano, too.

We are currently shut of course but can weather the financial drought. Up till March this year we had live New Orleans jazz 50 Saturdays a year, and maybe 15 other nights featuring blues bands. We attract professional bands from Denmark, Hungary, Holland and our resident pro band features players from the local area, Hull, Beverley, Lincoln, Boston etc. I know they are pros because I'm the one who has to pay them.

We have 240 members, mainly elderly  60s, 70s 80s from the surrounding area for whom the club is as much a social club as it is a jazz club. Even though we are at the top of a 20-step flight of stairs in an old warehouse, our members manage somehow to gain entry!.  The Officers, committee members and other helpers are 100% unpaid volunteers - indeed, it costs us money to be volunteers.

The irony is, I'm not really a fan of New Orleans Jazz but I am happy to play my part in keeping this institution going.

Forgot to add, Barbara Dickson used to rehearse at the club from time to time when she lived in the area, Dave Tomlinson, ex keyboard player with Vissage (for a short while) plays at the club occasionally as Dave Formula and the Finks.  Robert Wyatt lives in Louth, too, and Bernie Taupin comes from nearby Market Rasen. Indeed Saturday Nights Alright for Fighting tells of his Saturday nights as a yoof in the town.

[Wiltshire Rhino]

Often see Andy Partridge, of XTC fame, walking about the Old Town of Swindon.

In fact one time I was driving through Old Town and had to stop at a Zebra Crossing to allow a man to cross. In the car, me and my mates were singing along to "This is Pop!". The man crossing was Andy Partridge. He just looked and smiled at us. 

A slightly embarrassing, but also cool, moment.  

[Northern Eel]

Black Lace were from Batley/Dewsbury area, I think. Not much of a claim to fame! 

[Number 16]

15 hours ago, John Drake said:

My sister and brother in law bought their house from Shutty, the drummer of Bradford chart-toppers Terrorvision.

Terrorvison also did the pre-match entertainment at Odsal one time in the early days of Bullmania.

When we wrote about that in Rugby League World, Shutty emailed us to say thanks for the mention!

They were a great live band, btw. Saw them play many times. When they arrived on stage, the singer Tony Wright always introduced the band by saying 'We're Terrorvision. From Bradford!'

Do I get the bonus point? 

One of the best live bands. 

[GUBRATS]

Georgie Fame 

Pete Shelley , founder of the Buzzcocks 

And a random one for RL fans to search out on YouTube 

The lottery winners , from Leyth have a video featuring two local RL legends , search it out people 

[Bearman]

Don Fardon was lead singer with a group from Coventry. They were the best group in Coventry in the 60's.

My daughter worked with his wife and he came to a couple of Coventry Bears games. Whilst on holiday in Spain my wife were invited to their villa for an afternoon.

The stories Don told of the antics of some of the people in the 60's were amazing.

He told me that he inadvertently went into Dusty Springfields dressing room and caught Dusty inflagrante with the female producer of "Top of the Pops".

He told me as a reward for not saying a word he had 3 bookings in consecutive weeks on TotP' s.

He was booked for a charity gig in Monaco by Princess Grace  herself. He turned up to the poshest hotel in Monaco in scruffy jeans with his guitar on his back. The Head bouncer went to manhandled him and would not believe thst the likes of him would be booked into that hotel. The man changed his tune when Don told him to check with the Princess as she had booked the hotel for him.

Before I left I thanked Don and said  I had a great afternoon. I said it was the best exhibition of name dropping I had ever encountered especially as it was real. The best bit of name dropping was when he dropped Princess Grace and Frank Sinatra into the same sentence.  Frank Sinatra was also on the bill and Don said he was one of the most obnoxious people he had ever met.

Don also had a minor hit with "Belfast Boy" a song about George Best whom was a mate of Don's. PJ Proby was a good mate of Don's too.

 

[gazza77]

On 22/12/2020 at 17:03, John Drake said:

My sister and brother in law bought their house from Shutty, the drummer of Bradford chart-toppers Terrorvision.

Terrorvison also did the pre-match entertainment at Odsal one time in the early days of Bullmania.

When we wrote about that in Rugby League World, Shutty emailed us to say thanks for the mention!

They were a great live band, btw. Saw them play many times. When they arrived on stage, the singer Tony Wright always introduced the band by saying 'We're Terrorvision. From Bradford!'

Do I get the bonus point? 

Great live band Terrorvision. I believe Tony runs a cafe in Otley nowadays. 

[Kimbo]

On 23/12/2020 at 19:37, Bearman said:

Don Fardon was lead singer with a group from Coventry. They were the best group in Coventry in the 60's.

My daughter worked with his wife and he came to a couple of Coventry Bears games. Whilst on holiday in Spain my wife were invited to their villa for an afternoon.

The stories Don told of the antics of some of the people in the 60's were amazing.

He told me that he inadvertently went into Dusty Springfields dressing room and caught Dusty inflagrante with the female producer of "Top of the Pops".

He told me as a reward for not saying a word he had 3 bookings in consecutive weeks on TotP' s.

He was booked for a charity gig in Monaco by Princess Grace  herself. He turned up to the poshest hotel in Monaco in scruffy jeans with his guitar on his back. The Head bouncer went to manhandled him and would not believe thst the likes of him would be booked into that hotel. The man changed his tune when Don told him to check with the Princess as she had booked the hotel for him.

Before I left I thanked Don and said  I had a great afternoon. I said it was the best exhibition of name dropping I had ever encountered especially as it was real. The best bit of name dropping was when he dropped Princess Grace and Frank Sinatra into the same sentence.  Frank Sinatra was also on the bill and Don said he was one of the most obnoxious people he had ever met.

Don also had a minor hit with "Belfast Boy" a song about George Best whom was a mate of Don's. PJ Proby was a good mate of Don's too.

 

Don was a local legend as a pub owner too. I believe he owned the Alhambra for a while, but I knew him from when he took the Plough at Eathorpe over from my mate's parents. I lived in nearby Frankton, and the Plough was one of our regular haunts. Some fantastic nights in there 

I also worked with Connie Golding for a while at Coventry Climax. Sister of Lynval Golding. It was right at the start of 2-Tone.

[Bearman]

30 minutes ago, Kimbo said:

Don was a local legend as a pub owner too. I believe he owned the Alhambra for a while, but I knew him from when he took the Plough at Eathorpe over from my mate's parents. I lived in nearby Frankton, and the Plough was one of our regular haunts. Some fantastic nights in there 

I also worked with Connie Golding for a while at Coventry Climax. Sister of Lynval Golding. It was right at the start of 2-Tone.

That's right.

The Plough was famous for its foot long eclairs and it's strawberries and cream in massive cocktail glasses. It also featured its " Brontosaurus mixed grill ( you have been warned)". Most people seemed to walk away with doggie bags.

Don also owned the Kings Head at Napton at one point.

[Padge]

On 22/12/2020 at 16:00, Futtocks said:

Whether it is a town, a village, a borough, a suburb or whatever, who's the greatest (or just your favourite) musician or band from there? Cities give a too-broad choice, so I want local talent for local people.

Bonus points if the drummer still owes you five quid.

Googling through my neighbourhood (Hendon, London), the only band I can find from here is the mighty Snuff. So I don't have to agonise over my choice.

My younger brother was at college with Richard Ashcroft, he likes to drop into conversations that Richard Ashcroft taught him to play guitar, my usual response is he didn't teach you very well that's why you are always skint and he isn't.

Limahl I am embarrassed to admit was brought up about a mile away from me.

 

[Futtocks]

5 hours ago, Padge said:

My younger brother was at college with Richard Ashcroft, he likes to drop into conversations that Richard Ashcroft taught him to play guitar, my usual response is he didn't teach you very well that's why you are always skint and he isn't.

Limahl I am embarrassed to admit was brought up about a mile away from me.

I'd be more embarrassed by admitting to a Richard Ashcroft connection, to be honest. 

[Robin Evans]

One of the best gigs I ever went to was at Wombwell reform club.... local band called bliss...1978. Did all their own stuff and proper rocked. Their bass player left to form another local band... so bliss disbanded.

Andy Bliss, the guitarist went on to play with David Essex for many years as well as acquiring a name for himself as a session musician.

I thought they'd blast the big time. They didn't. But 42 years on the electric atmosphere they created that night still lingers in my memory..

 

[Jeff Stein]

Not local to me, but local in the description, there is a band on Jersey called Sergeant Pipon's Lonely Heart Club Band. All their songs are original and about the island. I have seen them a couple of times at the beer festival there and they do draw a good crowd of enthusiastic islanders.

[Adelaide Tiger]

On 23/12/2020 at 17:33, Northern Eel said:

Black Lace were from Batley/Dewsbury area, I think. Not much of a claim to fame! 

A colleague who started working in our Council team after reorganisation in 1986 said that she sang vocals on that classic Black Lace song Agadoo and said it was recorded in a small studio in Cas.

The only musical act that I know from Cas was the Poole family who regularly performed on Stars on Sunday with Jess Yates back in the 70’s.

[Padge]

I used to work with a guy, John Donoghue, at BICC in Leigh who told a tale of lending his 'smart' jacket to Georgie Fame (Leyther) for a gig in Leigh before he made it big. John's whinge always was that he legged it to London the next day with his jacket and he never saw it again.

John has a son Jason who if he still collects programs has some I donated to him via his dad.

[Mumby Magic]

Trying to work put the most successful Bradford artistes. Between Smokie and Gareth Gates. Other notables Kiki Dee, Zain Malik and Terrorvision.

[Robin Evans]

Here is some musings of l'angelo mysterioso ..... aka Chris Westwood..... he still enjoys his music.

 "Now and again I scan TRL, mainly to see what you, Padge, Phil, Gingerjohn and a few others are up to. There's a thread on AOB about local musical heroes. I can't believe the Bradfordians have left out John Verity, sometime lead guitarist of Argent, and a highly regarded session musician. Can you mention him?  And what about Bill Nelson"?

I can't understand why I didn't bring Bill Nelson up..... again. Sunburst Finish remains in my top three albums ever.

[unapologetic pedant]

On 22/12/2020 at 16:00, Futtocks said:

 Snuff. 

Used to enjoy their inserts between tracks. Things like "Shake `n` Vac" and Bran Flakes` "They`re tasty, tasty, very, very tasty".