I remember it happening but I didn't go. I usually don't like those kind of things. I think someone told me it was because the band had broken up and neither Glenn nor Chris could see any chance of them reforming. How wrong they were… 😄
Yes, indeed! As I played the Kershaw session, I was amazed I could remember the exact chord sequences for the opening of every song. Ron was a bigger influence on me than I realised! Thanks for watching and for commenting!
Yes! I remember putting them on in 1973/74. Their manager lived in Bishops Stortford and subsequently became a very bi cheese in the music industry, unlike me! I wish I could remember his name…
One of my greatest memories was watching London based band BETHNAL supporting Hawkwind at Newcastle city hall, They were amazing. I still have the program and the ticket at home,. I've collected just about everything they ever did. 2 great studio albums and a live session album, not much of them on video, There's a great quality 'old grey whistle test ' video BETHNAL -Soldier Boy + Bartok "Live BBC studios" (OGWT) Tunes from their 1st studio album. It just seems like yesterday since I saw them, can't believe it was September 1978 when I was 17.
Thanks for that great story. Believe it or not, I put Bethnal on a couple of times when they first started. Their agent at the time was a guy called Barry Collings, who usually represented sleazy nightclub acts and blue comedians. Him suddenly doing Punk was a big surprise and he threw himself right into it. He's still going now, I see, (mostly representing tribute acts)…
Yes, I'm always surprised when I remember I don't like them. I always thought their singles were never as good as anything by The Beatles, Small Faces, Kinks, etc, and my prejudice was confirmed when I met Rog in the 1970s in a very strange context… 😄😄😄
Hard to see much Velvet Underground in suburban balladeers Squeeze. The 1980s were the decade of reflection (or reflexivity if you want to get post modern), with bands recycling everything from bebop to zydeco, rockabilly to gospel. Pop had run out of ideas and nothing since has persuaded me otherwise. Sadly.
When I saw Squeeze at the Brecknock in about 1976, there was a lot more Velvet Underground in them than may be apparent in later days. And their debut EP sounds like Velvet Underground would have sounded if they'd lived in South-East London a few years later… 😎😄
Yes, Alice and The Barflies were a good band (many a happy Sunday lunchtime show at The Cricketers), and largely forgotten today. I have a long list of bands I'll be covering over the coming weeks and months. The Barflies are on the list… 😄
I'm a Canvey boy and used to drive Lew Lewis Reformer about in my dads van when his own one was off the road. I played drums in a band called Screaming Abdabs, and we had a singer from Basildon name of Alison Moyet , who we would pick up at the Fortune Of War pub on the way up the A-127 when I was driving Reformer about. Drummer Buzz Barwell (RIP) would get the ump because he would then have to sit in the back. Happy Days!
I remember the Screaming Abdabs well, and I'm sure I booked you a few times, including, I think, for a GLC Anti-Racism Benefit somewhere (Clapham Common?). Were the Lew Lewis days when (the late lamented) Dean Kennedy was around?
@@JimDriver I think I vaguely remember the Clapham Common gig, we all drunk quite a bit in that band, and as it's 45 years ago now, everything's a bit vague. The Reformer days were 79 & 80 really, and Dean was very active at that time, fronting an excellent band called The Rubies, with his brother Warren, and still on the road with The Feelgoods & The Hot Rods. Warren tour managed Sinead O'Connor for many years till her untimely death last year, and is back out with ABC as I type. Dean has been gone 5 years now, really flown by. All of us in this post used to drink in The Jellicoe pub when able (Including Alison) and there were some legendary Saturday evenings took place! The Pub burned to the ground a few years back now, as they have a habit of doing in Canvey and Southend!
Not as yet. I vaguely remember seeing them on a bill with Infra Riot, but the Oi side of things was never really my bag. I'm too old now: it's the Cliff Adams Singers for me these days and 'Sing Something Simple' as I sip my Ovaltine and try and find my dentures… 😄
Haha, I used to love seeing Morrisey Mullen at the Cricketers. We'd also come up Sunday lunchtimes to see Hard Lines, another jazz funk group who were local to me in Kent. Came to see many other bands there just from reading the events posters inside. Miss those days, would also go to the Rock Garden occasionally but we had a pub not far from us in Kent that was legendary (IMO) on the pub rock scene, The Frog and Bucket at Ide Hill, between Sevenoaks and Edenbridge. I seem to recall they live music every evening, except Monday, and Sunday lunch times as well. Can't remember all the bands but Bad Influence, The Hamsters, Nicky Moore Blues Band, Hard Lines, Moonshot Blues Band, Mick Clarke and dozens of others played there, and every Sunday night was a band called Gambler, they were the perfect way to close out a normally very boozy weekend, lots of ZZ Top, Hendrix, Kinks, Stones etc covers and invariably finishing up with Lazy Sunday Afternoon with the entire packed pub on backing vocals. Great, great days!! I really lament the loss of all these great live music venues, it is just not the same anymore!
Great memories: thanks for sharing them (it makes up for the pain of recalling those MM gigs at the Cricketers! 😄😄😄). I remember the Frog and Bucket; I'm not sure I ever made it down there, but we often shared many of the same bands back then. Yes, those days were great and sadly, they'll not be returning any time soon!
Colin Jerwood of Conflict was a formidable front man. 5th dan black belt, ex painter and decorator from Eltham and did security work on the side. There's no way Skrewdriver would have been able to put one over Conflict
I did tell the full story in one of my other videos, but the fuller version is: Conflict were loading in their gear, a van pulled up, around a dozen skinheads armed with baseball bats got out and kicked the living shit out of the three or fo guys who were in the road then drove off. The gig had to be cancelled. This was early on conflicts career and I think Colin was still at school. If you want any more details, ask him… 😎
Yes, I totally agree! They are mentioned in several other videos but I must do one including more details about when the best bands of the pub rock era… Thanks for commenting and for watching!
Morrissey-Mullen were NOT one of the worst 5 pub rock bands - it's just that YOU didn't like them! 🤣 It's also very telling that you chose a very - ahem! - 'television-friendly' song of theirs to represent their entire body of live work.
@@JimDriver they were excellent musicians, of course. But they also generated a wonderful atmosphere in the room whenever I saw them play (at the Torrington, mostly). At the tender age of 16, they were one of my gateway bands into jazz, for which I'll be eternally grateful to them!
L00king at the line ups at the cricketers I cant believe I never went there 0nce despite living 400m away in D0rset r0ad sw8 f0r 7 years between 1983-90. D'0h!
Hamsters....hmmm.. seen them a few times, very solid and competent, but the set too "samey" for me, and relying a bit too much on sheer volume. Nowhere NEAR as bad as that horrible skinhead band!!
Each to his own, as I say. Plus, these videos are meant to be entertaining and purely my own opinion. I’m hoping anyone who finally disagrees will start their own channel and make videos telling me what an idiot I am. Thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment. Cheers!
Yes, great venues and I've been to all of them. In the 90s, I'd try and get up to the Torrington on a Friday or Sunday night to support George Blevins, who'd been booking gigs there since the late 1960s. Happy days… 😎😄
I remember the Roll-Ups. I think I saw them at the Windsor Castle in the Harrow Road in the early 1970s. I can't remember the music though I have retained an impression of one band member, who I seem to remember was tall and thin with wispy blonde hair. (Or it may have been a dream!) Cheers!
HaHa, great video ,good subject ,too!!! Yes ,Jazz funk in that era was a real anti climax.....long-time-ago, my band supported the ,Happy Mondays, in Spain, the manager of the club asked me (being British) to tell them to stop stealing bottles of whisky ,as drinks were free for performers anyway......i loved most bands in the 70s ,good or bad ..but in the 80s most bands i found disappointing...👍285...Wishing you all the best ,Jim...
Cheers! That's very kind of you! The Happy Mondays were pretty much a cliché of Madchester scallies and I think they knew no better. Thanks for sharing your tales of the time. Happy daze indeed… 😄😄😄
Never got to see John Mayall tho had chances l have some of his CDs tho, 0:20 paying for an Autograph is somewhat unreal l have Peter greens Desmond Dekker Link Wray Many more besides The only Autograph l paid for was Ted Nugent and Keith Emerson Yeah the Beatles name is you watch The Cult film The wild one there is a clip where a female Biker gang where called The Beatles.
Mayall was always on my radar as someone I should like, but didn't. Part of it was the revolving door of his backing musicians, and part of it was his fake-sounding Slim Harpo voice, which I usually couldn't get past.
Yes, I can see where you're coming from. Conversely, I thought his voice was one of his greater assets! I couldn't stand Clapton because I always thought his playing lacked "soul". It's a funny old world… Cheers!
During my Mod Revival teenage days, I saw Secret Affair there..I don't remember much about the concert apart from the fact they played Time For Action twice. I also remember that Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson and Terry Hall, Neville Staples and Lynval Golding from The Specials were in the audience.
Yeah The 🐹 Hamters were Massive in The 80s played The Horn of plenty St Albans once a week always a full house l never appreciated them Conflict l Liked them until they Ripped me off on their Mail order site l grew up in Hemel Hempstead in the early 80s there was a Local pub Rock act called the Chiltern volcanos There was another band called The Late Road Lunatics.
That was a surprise at #1. Surely The Hamsters are due the title of "Hardest Working Pub Band", their schedule was bonkers, could be London one night and then Edinburgh the next with the 3rd night in Cardiff.
Just think how it was in the 60s in a commer Bedford or Thames van band just took any gig so could be Scotland back to London than Scotland again never new who you would meet in star cafe on a1
in about 2001 i was minding my own business in my van gawping at a magazine whilst waiting for the elderly ex Trinidadian & lady customer to return to her cabin at an ideal location along a gravel road on the coast of The Solent. i looked up to see a very tall guy pushing a kiddie & pushchair plus black Labrador . “ Alright ? “ I enquired to this guy “ yep ! “ he smiled cheerfully then made brief small talk about the weather & he winked then carried on . On her returning I asked Marieann “ is that your rock star neighbour with kid & black lab “ she immediately fumed “ if his Labrador has shit on my front porch again , it’s going straight back & if he’s not careful, through his letterbox ! “ My point is , the apparent Bassist of Dire Straits seemed way more sociable than half the population of strangers one would encounter in SW new forest & had unknowingly to me clocked the saucy magazine which was propped upon my steering wheel ( it was Rear View - sold at Jet in Shirley) but it still didn’t have me listening to their sound . The only pub band in our small town in the 1980s was Stukas Over Disneyland feat Adam whom later became Adamski but our entertainment was cowpunks The Cropdusters ( previously Peeping Toms )bless them & the epic Sunny Jim Cyanide although there was a rival folksy band 6 miles west had supporters whom would best be described as “ the waistcoat brigade “ cos they were snobs . Thankyou for your work 😁👍🐢
Thanks for sharing your very interesting stories and for the kind words! Funnily enough, the Cropdusters played a few times at the Cricketers and are on my list of "Underrated Pub Rock" outfits. Please keep watching…
Another band I loved from those days, The Rumour, backed Graham Parker, but put out records on their own. Their first, Max, was total gold. They were made up of fellows from Brinsley Schwarz, Ducks Deluxe, and their friends. Wonderful band, needed a more consistently wonderful songwriter.
Ah, memories. I still have quite a few 45s and 33s from '76-'79 -- bought the Feelgoods through Sneaking Suspicion, dropped them when Wilco left, caught up with their later work on CD 'cause there's some good stuff in there -- just doesn't sound quite right without him. BTW, The Pirates revival at the same time is nice too. Saw the Hot Rods in '78 after getting their records since '76, and I was knocked out (loaded). Barrie was performing without a shirt, covered in sweat, and beautiful, and I was right up against the low stage. I'm not gay, but I just had to reach up and touch him. It was too much of an Iggy Pop moment.
Those were incredible times! The energy of those live shows and the raw talent of performers like Barrie made those memories unforgettable. I have a few snapshot moments like that, most notably the micro-second before a punch broke my nose at a packed Damned/999 gig I was promoting at Chelmsford Chancellor Hall on 6th November 1977. Happy daze…
Hello Jim. Excellent doc. You probably don't remember me but myself and Billy Campbell used to do the odd bouncing jobs for you and one that sticks in my mind is Here & Now upstairs at the Clarendon, Hammersmith. It was about 82.
Kenny! Hello! Of course I remember you. Thanks for the kind words and I hope you're keeping well. I sometimes have to punch myself to think that all this happened nearly 50 years ago. I won't say it seems like yesterday, but certainly only a couple of years…
Effin terrible, that's for sure. Quite a bit later than what I think of, when I think of pub rock -- you know, Ducks Deluxe, Hot Rods, Feelgood, Brinsley Schwartz, etc. That lot, glad to find none of them on your list. 👍
Thanks for commenting! As I say in other videos, Pub Rock in London peaked from about 1972 to the early 1990s and I'd say it was more popular in the "second wave", after 1979/1980¬
Friday night early 1980’s ‘Trashy Virtues’ ‘Stork at Rest Gravesend ’ New Romantic band it was the equivalent of Duran Duran playing at the wheel tapper’s and shunters 😅 one song I remember ? looking for a rainbow looking for a smile 😊 it wasn’t a pleasant evening 😅.
Haha! Great story: thanks for sharing it! People forget that for every band that makes it, there are a thousand who fail miserably. Hopefully, they have some fun along the way. The music business always has been cruel… 😄
I heard Charlie Gillette play the demo of 'Sultans of Swing' on his 'Honky Tonk' show and went to see Dire Straits live at one of his free shows at Clapham Common Bandstand. I loved their 1st album , but nothings since. Well, I liked 'Money For Nothing' for about 5 minutes!
You've discovered my guilty secret!! These bands weren't really Pub Rock bands, they were troupes of thespians pretending to be by playing music in pubs… 😎
I lived a couple of roads down from the Robey and had many great nights there. One stand out performance was Steve Marriott. I later lived just around the corner from the Weavers and, although it was a completely different vibe there, I had some great times there also. Saw Wes McGhee several times and really enjoyed each gig. He was a real entertainer. I consider myself very lucky to have grown up in the era that I did.
Thanks for sharing your experiences! It's great to hear how much those venues and the gigs you saw meant to you. It really adds to the flavour of that era. Cheers!
@@JimDriver I lived in London for several years and went to many gigs in different venues but those two were the best for me, although the Dublin Castle was also pretty good. Thanks for stirring up some great memories Jim.
Always enjoy your videos, what a surprise that Th*tcher was instrumental in destroying live music venues and the pub industry in general, just before she was deposed too. I think our paths would definitely have crossed if the band I was in in 1986 had reached it's full potential (that's another story). The lack of live venues in London now is pitiful compared to the 80's and 90's. I still go to the Half-Moon occasionally which is still a great venue 👍.
Thanks for the kind words! There are still some great venues around - including the Half Moon, though Johnny "Jonah" Jones would not recognise it today! Cheers!
He is was a bit marmite some albums were immense some dire so for me snippits were about all i could take, no doubting his importance in developing new talent he was like a feeder musician for other bands to form out of the breakers the best of which for me was Keef Hartley Band
