A Tale of Two DJs

Last Saturday Brian Matthew presented his last regular ‘Sounds of the 60s Show’ on Radio Two. I believe he is to be replaced by Tony Blackburn, but his 60s show will run from 6-8am rather than 8-10, so I wonder how many regular listeners they will lose? Brian Matthew has had a remarkable run as you can see from this NME article of 57 years ago! Incidentally, I agree with him about the magnificent Sarah Vaughan in particular, but you’re not likely to hear her on the radio very often

Meanwhile, 50 years ago this month, Radio London started a new show called “London After Midnight”, with a new DJ, from Liverpool via USA. It would change its name to the Perfumed Garden and for many of us was a seminal influence on our changing listening habits through the summer of ’67. I don’t think he liked Sarah Vaughan (or jazz) though.

 

Louder Times

To keep Mr Watts’ brain working well, here is that afore-mentioned combo of Rod, Marc, Graham and Graham who between them played in a heck of a lot of different outfits around Pompey over the years – and Rod & Marc are still together to this day in Tuxedo Junction! Rod’s the one looking you straight in the eye.

They were called the Academy and as mentioned, would play an all-nighter with Chris Farlowe & the Thunderbirds at the Birdcage in March 1967

I like the outfits, subtly ‘uniform’, but here’s a question to get Rod (or maybe Marc) thinking. Unlike many Pompey bands of the 1960s, I’ve no idea what material these guys played …

Quiet Times

Fifty years ago, the Birdcage had got 1967 off to a lively start with a mixture of Pink Floyd, Geno, the Who, and regular Ska record nights, but around the end of February, there were hints that the future was not so bright.

The Ska nights stopped almost as soon as they started, replaced by ordinary ‘Disc Nites’ on Fridays and Sundays, and live groups appeared only on Saturday nights, with the In Crowd on 18 Feb, the Knack a week later and Boz & the Boz Band on 4 March. The week after that, a band called the Hamilton Movement never arrived and the same thing happened with the Eyes of Blue on 18 March – so over five weekends, just three relatively unremarkable bands appeared. Fortunately Rod Watts, Marc Tuddenham, the Grahams, Barnes & Hunt came to the rescue for an all-nighter on 25 March – helped out by a chap from London, called Chris Farlowe

Ed Barber RIP

I pinched this photo from today’s Guardian, obituary page. Ed became a well-known documentary photographer, mostly of ‘ordinary’ people, often with a broadly left-wing political view. So, you ask, why on the Pompey Pop Blog? Because Ed was born in Pompey in May 1949, grew up here and went to the old Southern Grammar. In the late 1960s he was a drummer playing with one or two local blues bands, one called Chicago’s Insolence (maybe with guitarist Colin Dowsett?). Sharing his fondness for the blues, I knew Ed briefly, although I never saw  him after he sold his drums, bought a camera, studied as a mature student and moved to London, where, from the scale of this obituary, he clearly made some kind of impact.

See the whole thing:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/23/edward-barber-obituary

 

And the answer is …?

Sent from Graham Laker (cheers) who said: “Here’s a good one for you – from the latest ‘Private Eye’ – stumped me at first – but only for a few minutes – clever one!”

Stumped (how I love these cricket terms) me too! I haven’t a clue – but I’m pretty sure it’s not Gerry Marsden and Garcia spells it with a J. If you know the answer, tell the rest of us

 

Alan Aldridge RIP

He died last week. He made all kinds of interesting illustrations, including some images of the Beatles (see them on line). Here are Lennon & McCartney:

Scarlet Town gig

Barley Mow, Thursday night, 9-11 (ish). Another year older, and my first paid gig of 2017. I’ve done a couple with the Skiffle Orchestra but this one is for folding money. We’ve got a new flautist called Sue Too, but Sue One can’t play fiddle cos she’s broken her finger, so more clarinet for any Acker fans out there.

More Cream Sir

I’ve stuck this on Facebook as well but I’m having such fun with it, so in case you don’t see that:

CREAM part two – reply to Ross Hannan etc. To start, we know that Ginger Baker collapsed and was hospitalised on Saturday 8 October and I don’t think Cream played in Pompey on Sunday; or were even booked to play.

I have been to Portsmouth Library today to check through the Archives and it pretty much confirms what I said originally. I guess if you knew Rikki & the Birdcage, the easiest thing is for me to ask you to imagine that Mr Farr booked Cream for 9 October (as in the poster) and then spent all his newspaper advertising budget on the Move (Friday), Herbie Goins (Saturday), Records (Sunday), Ike & Tina Turner (Sunday week) and Errol Dixon replacing Garnett Mimms on Saturday week, (because Mimms had cancelled his UK trip).

OK? now stay with that imagination – Rikki books Cream for the Sunday (remember it’s records night) but (a) doesn’t advertise it and (b) neither he nor the local paper mention that Ginger collapsed after one number. None of that is going to happen is it? Meanwhile, on November 4/5 the local ‘paper carries this advert: “Cream, Cream, Cream, Clapton’s gang makes ONLY appearance in Portsmouth area at New Spot, Thorngate, Gosport, Monday next” (7 November). The emphasis on ONLY is mine, but would they claim that, if Cream had played Eastney a month before?

Then in Spinner’s Pop page on 1 December: “A second chance to sample Cream is at the Saturday all-nighter with the In Crowd and Wrong Direction” plus Birdcage adverts for the gig and on the following week (unusually, a Friday), Spinner reports that “Ginger Baker missed Cream second-half performance in hospital”. So I’m pretty convinced that the 9 October gig never was and I’m wondering whether Ginger collapsed after one song in the SECOND set on 3 December and some of you got there late?

Happy Birthday to You

One of Pompey’s top mods Mr Barry Thane is becoming a regular star of this show. Today is his birthday so here’s that photo – eyes down – of Barry at the Birdcage; quite possibly on that October night in 1966 before the Sunday when Cream did, or didn’t play Pompey for the first time*

*I’m off to the library now to see what I can discover.

Top DJ in the News

From the Pompey News last week. Since it’s in the early 1970s I was probably there somewhere. What I love about it is the make-up of the crowd. For some years the ‘authorities’ used to talk of attracting more women and getting back to the days of the ‘family crowd’. Hah! This was originally in The News as a ‘Spot the Bird’ competition.