This page is my best recollection of my involvement with various bands working out of Birmingham from the mid 1960's up to the present day. I only have rudimentary records of these experiences and, inevitably, memory fails me when trying to fill in all the names and details of those involved.
I would be very happy to receive more information about the people and bands whose names I cannot presently recall.
Each Band has its own page with (usually) personnel line-ups, a brief history, key events and embedded images.
E-mail to : em89@bcs.org.uk
Three different "groups" composed mainly of my classmates at King Edward VI Camphill School.
Picture : A Band 1964-5.....St. Paul's Church Hall, B'ham
Picture : A Band 1964-5.....St. Paul's Church Hall, B'ham
The first real band - heavily influenced by the early Beatles recordings in particular their covers of Chuck Berry material.
Picture : The Garden Party.....Wake Green Road, Moseley, B'ham
Picture : The Garden Party.....Wake Green Road, Moseley, B'ham
A semi-professional band gigging the Birmingham Clubs and Dance Halls.
Picture : The Plaza, Handsworth
Picture : The Plaza, Handsworth
A heavy rock trio destined for obscurity.
Picture : Open Air Gig - Calthorpe Park, Birmingham
Picture : Open Air Gig - Calthorpe Park, Birmingham
Picture : Rehearsal - Midlands Arts Centre
A surf band working out of a flat in Moseley
A really good band with lots of potential that never got off the starting blocks.
A spin-off from the previous band that started out with high hopes
Picture : Patches rehearsal - Midlands Arts Centre
A mediocre semi-pro heavy rock trio
Picture : Corwen station
A mediocre semi-pro pop band with me on bass guitar
My first professional job as a musician and a thoroughly bad experience all round.
Picture : Relaxing - Summer 1972 - Restinga Smir, Morrocco
Picture : Open Air Gig - Summer 1972 - Restinga Smir, Morrocco
Picture : Relaxing - Summer 1972 - Restinga Smir, Morrocco
Another heavy rock trio - with aspirations far beyond its musical abilities
Quite a few line-ups culminating in a very successfull semi-pro pub band.
Picture : Sound Check - Venue (London - UNKNOWN)
Picture : Polydor Promotional Hand-out
Picture : Amsterdam - 1973
Picture : Mongrel - The Three-piece band
Picture : The Crown and Cushion, Perry Barr - 1974
A one-off scratch band?
Usefull experience playing disco/funk.
An ill-fated exercise fraught with people problems.
Picture : Leyland University
Picture : Me wearing Pete Stringfellow's jacket
A nice little rock band that rehearsed diligently, did one gig, then fizzled out
Picture : Big Bear publicity shot
Picture : Big Bear publicity shot
Picture : Steve bows out at the Marquee
Picture : Big Bear publicity shot
Picture : Me and Mel signing albums in HMV Birmingham
Picture : Gig outside the Gaumont Birmingham
Picture : Big Bear publicity shot
Picture : A gig somewhere
Picture : A gig somewhere
The following is an incomplete gig list for 1977 and 1978 which I've pulled out of my Musicians Union diaries. Up to about 15 years ago I still had all of the Big Bear date sheets. For some reason I decided that I no longer had any use for these and threw them out - an action which I now regret. Muscles gigs : 1977-1978Lots of potential doing rock / blues covers in the style of Dire Straits, Robert Palmer - killed off by more amateurish histrionics.
This was effectively Woodroffe's "house" band and was part way towards having a full set at the point that I joined. Paul's rhythm playing was not driving the band as it should - fresh from the ultra hard-driving funk of Muscles I managed to inject a degree of attack to the sound and concluded rehearsals with them at a hall in Edgbaston. The plan was to build a following at a residency at the Barrel Organ. Unfortunately, at the first gig Mickey Barker arrived late which caused an explosive argument between him and Curtis - this spilled over to the other members of the band who each declared to me that they had left the band. Not surprisingly I was unable to continue as a one-piece.
This page is still under construction
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