Wonderful to hear a reference to Here and Now. Keith 'da Missile' was my bass playing inspiration back in the early eaighties and I must have seen every gig they ever did in the Kings Head Fulham. So if you're trying to decide whether or not to do a whole video focused on them and their strange brand of floating anarchy, I would say go for it! Loving the content by the way.
@@JimDriver It's all social history Jim and, as far as I know, nobody else is as qualified or as well suited to recording it all. Just seeing those photocopied listings from The Cricketers mentioning all those bands I had completely forgotten about is magical in itself. Keep it up mate, it's much better than visiting a museum!
I was mates with 'Kif Kif le Batteur' (Here & Now's drummer) during his later days as guitarist and vocalist in 'World Domination Enterprises'. We just called him 'KK' or 'Henry' then.
I used to drive the van for Tony McPhee and remember the Cricketers , Half moon and others. My brother Mick was on drums. Very sad when Tony died..All the best Jim. ..
Jim, what you are describing so well, and what we had back then were some great characters, in every field, not just music. Now what we have now is blandness! Cheers!
Very kind of you to say so, thanks! I must admit, even though it's the kind of thing sad old blokes say, everything did seem more colourful and more exciting back then! 😎
Listening to Jim rooting about through the old grey matter for an accurate history of those long since past crazy days reminds me of when Eric Clapton published his autobiography. Apparently to get the project started he took advertisements in four major UK newspapers saying if anybody had any knowledge of his actions, activities or whereabouts between such and such and such and such a date then please to let him know so he could write his book! As a result of that exercise he is also fond of reminding us all that you can bring together four people who were present at any notable event from that era and ask them for an account of what happened, and you will hear four different stories! So don’t you worry about the occasional detail being a bit fuzzy here or there Jim. You are doing a fine job of recreating the scene in London at the time you are describing. Also I had completely forgotten about the Here and Now Band, who were fabulous. Thanks for shining the light back on them. I think maybe I even got to see them play the Stonehenge Free Festival (sober citation needed).
Thanks! I'm so grateful for your feedback! It means a lot to me that you enjoyed and found the video relatable. And I'm glad I could bring back some fond memories of Here and Now for you. I agree: I met up with one of my colleagues from when I was Social Secretary at college a while ago and we remember things entirely differently! Stay tuned for more nostalgic content. Cheers!
Another good one!!......I knew of "Here and Now" ,i might even of seen them at "Stonehenge", but never realized what an amazing band they were,(Never too late, I suppose.)...The same goes for "Earl Okin", who i did see but had forgotten all about....so thanks for that....Wishing you all the best..👍...
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…
Enjoying the pub rock videos, Jim. Also, I remember Jonah very well from the 90s when he used to take acts to the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal where I worked - he was a great bloke.
Thanks! I once went to the Brewery with him for a Blues event when I was managing Tony McPhee. I think he would have been surprised by how popular he was for just being him. His funeral and "farewell drink" at the Half Moon filled up the pub…
@@JimDriver Yeah - we had a blues festival every November and a folk one each August bank holiday; Jonah seemed to be around a lot in the late 80s/early 90s. I notice many of the bands you put on at The Cricketers and Half-Moon passed through the Brewery at some point.
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!
Saw crass at the white lion my mates dad run it we where still at school in st mark's Fulham,Think crass supported the subs that night because i definitely saw crass and would have to be home by 10 😂
Was your mate's dad Micky, who also watches these videos btw? I think that gig was before my time, when I was in Cambridgeshire running the Dog & Pheasant and putting on shows at Chelmsford Chancellor Hall.From what I heard afterwards, those gigs were put on by local squatters and I believe that night Crass asked to appear at the Uk Subs gig and turned up and played, unadvertised. I put them on a couple of times later, and other anarchist bands, like Flux, Poison Girls and Conflict. Thanks for taking part!
Fascinating all the way through , an extended vid on here and now would be great I saw them 81/82 ( hazy memory) at Stonehenge , amazing experience , I'm interested in all this cus I av a theory based on something chuck berry said about one night for no reason he did the duck walk and crowd loved it , point is when bands gig there are magic moments made at the time spontaneous creativity which gets a good feedback and round it goes creating a scene/sound that the punters want , as compared to today where it seems like the music scene evolves from market strategy , great that Jim took chances with new bands exciting stuff sadly lacking today , p.s half an apple trashing your bacon made sense to some narcotic folk of the 80s😅
Ah, the good old days of spontaneous creativity and magical moments at gigs! Haha! It's like the music scene was a wild, untamed beast back then. Today, it feels more like a well-groomed poodle on a leash. Yes, it was a different time in so many ways… Thanks for commenting so positively. Cheers!
Loving these videos Jim, I played at and visited a lot of the venues you talk about but moreover, as a promoter in London now it is interesting to see how things used to work. I still find it amazing that you actually managed to put on bands 7 nights a week, people just seem to be so reluctant to go out now. Plus the cost of renting the venues is becoming prohibitively expensive. I put on a lot at the Hope and Anchor and because of the overheads it is almost impossible to put on a night at less than a tenner a head. These days folks think nothing of paying 20 quid for a round of drinks but baulk at paying a tenner to see three bands. No wonder grass roots venues are dropping like flies.
Hello, Alan. Very kind of you to say so! Yes, it was different back then. For a start, I didn't pay rent at these Pub Rock venues, it was more of a collaboration/partnership between landlord and promoter. I had to pay for the PA and sound operator, which (at The Cricketers) I hired at first by the month, but then bought my own. I realise that if the £4 door charge for weekend headliner persisted and kept pace with inflation, it's be something like £30 now!! Very few would pay that to go into a pub these days to watch a band!!
went to pretty much every Wilko and Otway gig at cricketters between 86 and 90...plus Pirates..Lew lewis...sidebottem ....,keep these videos up Jim ..all the best
I never saw a music act at The Star & Garter, but my mates and I had lunch in there before going to support Bristol Rovers away at Fulham about 20 years ago - the only time my Mum ( who lived in Catford) came to a match with us - she wasn't impressed. Whilst we were there, Robin Askwith, star of the 'Confessions Of . . ." soft-porn films came in.
There were quite a actors who used to drimkl in the 1980s, most famous at the time (because of TV shows of the time) were Nerys Hughes (Liver Birds), Rodney Bewes (Likely Lads) and Peter Gilmore (Onedin Line)…
Great video Jim😊 did you ever come across either of these two bands: Radical Dance Faction or Thunderdogs? Both of them used to frequent the Giraffe and Duke of Cambridge along Kennington way.
Thanks very much! Yes, I came across RDF (but not Thunderdogs, I don't think) but more at the Amersham and another pub in New Cross (whose name I forget) that specialised in Space Rock. A local character called Squiddly was a great champion of them…
I worked at Wimbledon Theatre while Johnny Jones was there , shortly before he died . Did he tell you about the time he punched Paul McCartney? Haha!!!
Ollie?! I remember the name through the mists of time. Thanks for watching and for commenting. I think I remember something about him looking after Paul McCartney's children whilst Wings were on the road (with Earl Okin supporting) but not about the punch. Please remind me…
It was when he worked for fairport convention and had arranged a rehearsal space for wings pre-tour ( at the royal hippodrome theatre in Eastbourne) . I think it was a disagreement over a bacon sandwich ... legend !
Yes, indeed they did! I’ll explain it more when I do a video about Here & Now but in the meantime, they backed Daevid Allen under the name Planet Gong. Cheers!
