Have a look at the new Scunny Group site here
Last Updated 19th April 2011 Have a listen to some early group demos here
Or any Scunthorpe group i may have missed Scunthorpe Groups of the 1950s,1960s,1970s and 1980s
The 1960s was ablaze with local groups, most of
them playing locally, most working men’s club had a live act on. The pubs were
packed on group nights, the main pubs for entertainment were The Sherpa, The
Open Hearth, The Queen Bess, The Comet, The Priory, The Friendship Inn
(Keadby), The Queens, The Brown Cow, The Berkeley Hotel, The Cocked Hat and The
Crosby. Besides the clubs and pubs we had the Youth Centre and the Baths, (now
sadly gone). In addition to these were St Pauls Church hall at Ashby, the Jazz
Workshop, the Drill Hall, (terrible acoustics, but no-one seemed to bother) and
on two occasions my old group, The 4 of Clubs even played at the Old Showground
at halftime, on match day. That was an experience, I can tell you. The music
was still reverberating off the corrugated sheeting, 5 minutes after we
finished playing. I met up with Dave Churchman later, who had been working in the Crosby area that day, and he said, he had heard us in Sheffield Street. He didn't comment on how it sounded though.
The picture below is Lenny Tombstone and the Skeletons, group members were, Colin Hatton (drums), John Hill (lead guitar), Rod Clark (Bass Guitar) Lenny Radley (vocals) and Hugh Gourley (Rhythm Guitar). The pic was taken at the Friendship Inn at Keadby early 1960s.  The Friendship Inn was very popular in those days, and the Skeletons played there on a regular basis. Unfortunately it was next to the canal, and not a good place to have too much to drink, unless you were a good swimmer, as a few of us found out, to much discomfort. The Skeletons would later become The Classics, Ian King who was vocalist for the Jesters, joined the Classics and the group was renamed Ian King and the Classics. The Classics played for many years at the Priory Hotel Scunthorpe, where they had a massive following. Ian was a very popular vocalist, and being a good looking guy, attracted the ladies. Lead guitarists with the classics over the years included, John Castell (Robinson), John Hill, Les Goddard and Eddie Ashworth. Mal Turner later joined the group, on vocals. Ian King moved on to form another band with Mel Oliver & Paddy O’Connor.
The picture below is of the Classics with Arthur Goddard (lead guitar), Rod Clark (bass guitar), Hugh Gourley (rhythm Guitar), Ian King (vocalist) and Colin Hatton (drums). I remember sitting in the Britannia Corner Hotel, having a drink or two with Arthur (Les) Goddard, he sold me a Bond Mini 3 wheel car, and it had been stored in a lockup garage just off Henderson Ave for a year or so. I got it home and fixed it up, it had a motorbike engine in it, but no reverse gear. To start it up, you lifted the bonnet, climbed inside and kicked it off. We lived in a cul de sac, and the car could turn in its own length, if put in full lock. The kids used to come from miles around, just to see me spin it round and set off in the morning. My brother Hugh and I used it, to go on booking in it, when we were working as a Duo. We had a blow out on Crowle straight one night coming home. The front tyre blew, which meant the engine was actually on the road, we were doing about 50mph, with no steering and finished up, upside down in the ditch, amps, mics and guitars everywhere. Happy days. 
  
Ian King & The Classics, Hugh Gourley, Les Goddard, Rod Clarke, Colin Hatton & Ian King
The Classics 1964 Rod Clarke, Hugh Gourley, Colin Hatton and John (Robinson) Costell had a Jonathon Ross problem with his R's.One of the songs he sang was Rambling Rose, which came over as Wambling Wose, and then there was Sweet little Wock & Woller. All and all, he covered it up pretty well and not a lot noticed. On one occasion Les and I were travelling to catch the ferry to Hull. We were on his Lambretta scooter, just past Winterton we had a blow out on the front tyre,Les tried to keep control, but we finished up flying through the air and landing on the freshly laid Tarmac.This was the days before crash helmets,and being summer, we only had light clothing on. Les landed nose first on the road and i finished up beside him. We had bits of gravel stuck in us all over. Les's nose had taken the blunt of it, and was in a sorry state. When we called in Britiania snug the following day, we looked like war casalities. When asked what happened, Les with his usual dryness, replied, "I cut myself shaving". We were playing that same night, goodness knows what the audience thought of us.
 A massively popular group in the late 1950s and early 60s were, Tony and the Cadillacs. The picture below is of The Cadillacs with Keith Harrison (bass guitar), Tony Borrell (rhythm Guitar) John Hill ( lead guitar) and Dave Edwards (drums). The Cadillacs played for many years at the Sherpa Hotel, Bottesford, and always packed the place. Johnnie Dobbs would later become their lead vocalist.  On the right, an early shot of the Cadillacs, with Keith Harrison, Dave edwards, Martin Danks, Alan Harsley and Tony Borrell  
“Tony & The Cadillacs” Back Row l-r Mal Evans, John Robinson, Frank Coult. Front Row l-r Tony Borrell, John Dobbs
 
The Cadillacs recorded a demo record in the mid 1960's
The record was produced in Sheffield at the UNIT NINETEEN Studios. The performers were
Tony Borrell - Guitar and Vocals
Alan Harsley - Guitar
Martin Danks - Piano/Keyboards
Keith Harrison - Bass
Dave Edwards - Drums To Sleep Perchance to Dream 
 Tony Borrell is still fronting the Cadillacs up to the present day. Tony lives and plays with the group in Majorca. The present lineup is Mark Harskins, Tony Borrell, Seb Nadal and Dave Valintine.
The Imps Chris Ellerton - drums, Craig Austin - lead guitar and vocals Bill Gibson - rhythm guitar, Fred Havercroft - vocals Bottom left John Ancliffe - bass guitar and vocals The Imps kicked off in 1963, the original lineup was  Craig Austen, lead guitar Bill Gibson, rhythm guitar John Ancliffe, bass Chris Ellerton, drums Fred Havercroft, vocals Fred Havercroft left and Ian Mathews took over vocals John Ancliffe left to join the Dimples Craig Austen took over on bass Greg Tomilson, took over on lead guitar In late 1965 Greg Tomilson and Craig Austen left to also join the Dimples
The Imps played Chuck Berry,Hollies etc. music. They formed in 1964 and played together until  The Imps
Johnny Robinson (left) used the stage name of Johnny Castell, he worked as head gardener at Normanby Hall for many years before leaving Scunthorpe for Peterborough in the early 1970's. He was an excellent guitarist and his rendering of Chuck Berry numbers, were probably the best in the area, at the time. He played in several Scunthorpe groups in the sixties, among them were Ian King and the Classics, Mel Oliver Band and many more. A little titbit from John Hill. Johnny Robinson had and possibly still has a Hofner Club 40 or 50 guitar. He used to regularly change the appearance of his guitar by stripping down and sticking Fablon over it. He would leave practice one night, go home and re-cover the guitar, learn a new song and turn up the next night raring to go again. He used to move the pickups regularly as well, to get a different sound and apparently there were so many screw holes on the frontof it, that it was only the Fablon that stopped a big chunk of the guitar falling out. Sound a bit like Willie Nelson's guitar.
 Above, Johnny Robinson with his famous Hofner Club guitar
Johnny Robinson playing with Tony and the Cadillacs
A short memo by Mel Oliver ( pictured left) on Nicky James & The 4 Cents led by the Guitarist, Paddy O’Connor and we suddenly found ourselves with a number of arranged gigs but without a Vocalist. Our headquarters was the local Scunthorpe Youth Centre and we used to use one of the rooms to generally meet and rehearse in (as did other local Bands at that time.) Paddy happened to walk into the Youth Centre Dance Hall where he saw Nick (who had apparently just moved from Birmingham to Scunthorpe) dancing. Thinking that he looked to be a ‘cool mover’ he tapped him on the shoulder and asked him whether he could sing as well as he could dance and within a short space of time we were all rehearsing in the Youth Centre and then very quickly ‘on the road’. The Band consisted of:- Nick James - Vocals Paddy O’Connor - Guitar Self - Piano Toyne Tomlinson - Drums Tony Davies - Bass (Died some years ago) The Band name came from Paddy who took the surname (Nicholls) and converted it into Nicky. Toyne recalls that in the Youth Centre practice Room there were a couple of toy guns which someone was playing with and somehow the famous outlaw Jesse James was mentioned which ultimately probably led to Nick’s stage surname. Apparently in American currency one Nickel (Nicholl) equals 4 Cents and this is where the Band name came from ‘Nicky James and the Four Cents’. Nick developed fast and was soon an ideal front man being a good Vocalist with good looks and he was also a good mover. Many of the numbers in our set were by Elvis who was a favourite of Nicks’ at that time. What I am not sure about is how long the Band was together although I seem to think it may have been 3 to 4 years at which point Nick moved back to Birmingham and I believe he joined ‘Denny Laine and the Diplomats’ but I suspect you know the story from there. One of the things that Nick was well known for and which he never lost was his broad Birmingham ‘Brum’ accent. We played the dance hall and club circuits in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire and appeared at most of the ‘larger’ venues at the various Towns such as Town Halls etc. often supporting some of the big names at that time, such as:- ‘Nero & The Gladiators’ ‘Shane Fenton & the Fentones’ (He was later to become Alvin Stardust) ‘Vince Taylor & The Playboys’ ‘The John Barry Seven’ ‘Don Lang & His Famous Five’ The Band used to go down very well with the crowds and this was of course primarily due to our front man, Nick. I honestly can’t remember what led to the Band splitting up, certainly I don’t remember us having any serious arguments or disagreements and I know we always got on well together, so I assume it probably just happened by mutual agreement? Mel Oliver 
Nicky James and the 4 cents were another late 50s early 60s group. I never got to see them perform, but was told they were very good. Nicky James came along on one of the Jesters (my old group) bookings, he got up and sang several songs with us. i remember one of the songs was, Presley's 'One Night With You'. He stole the show, he was an excellent singer, great voice. After leaving Scunthorpe, Nicky moved back to Birmingham where he had a successful recording and songwritting career   Nicky James & The Diplomats (Birmingham group) There was a story that Nicky James had to attend an interview. There were adverts, tickets and things that the Inland Revenue had collected as "evidence". Nicky was casual in his approach and reasoned that there were loads of 'Nicky James' who turned up at gigs and sang with any band that cared to go under the name of the 4 cents on that night.  The Sunspots were a late 50s group, who would later evolve into the Cadillacs, the members were Johnnie Dobbs, Tony Borrell, Richie Underwood, Barry Garner and Keith Harrison.  The Worrying Kind 1969. A Barton on Humber based group with a huge following About 1967 the Worrying Kind morphed into the Monday Morning Glory Band. The line up was Andy Boyd, lead guitar Martin (Tweedy) Street, bass Alan Beasty, drums Dave Waterland, vocals Bonk Johnson, keyboards Brian Hayes, sax & flute Rowdy ??? trumpet Colin Baysford, trumpet The band were on the go til approx 1970, They played Soul type music 'Blood Sweat & Tears',Georgie Fame etc. They did an audition for a Birmingham management team, which they passed with flying colours. They recorded two songs at the Marque Studios, London. Grinning Frank Andy Boyd left 'Monday Morning Glory Band', in 1969 to form 'Grinning Frank' The line up was Andy Boyd, lead guitar Martin (Tweedy) Street, bass Jed Cox, drums Spud Ruddock, vocals They played 'Blues Rock type music, Rory Gallagher etc. The group were together until 1971. On one occasion, they were playing at the Oswald Hotel, Scunthorpe,in 1970, unfortunatly, it was also the day England was playing West Germany in the Mexico world cup and the match was on in the Bar. Midway thru the act, someone pulled the plug out on them and told them to shut up, because they couldn,t hear the match. Moral is, never get between a man and his football. Andy later moved on to join 'Roller Coaster'. Wall Street Crash started about 1973. The line up was, Andy Boyd, lead guitar Mick Boyd, rhythm guitar Pete Boyd, bass Jed Cox, drums Brian Gazi, vocals The band play mostly soft rock music, Status Quo, the Who,etc. They played outside the Bell & Anchor pub when it first opened in 1973 or 74. The group disbanded in 1975. Later members were Jed Cox (drums) Graham Boyd (bass) Dave Dent (guitar) Brian Hayes (flute) Keith Mullard (guitar)  The Kraakans Dave Roe guitar/vocals Nigel Hodgson drums Steve Bird guitar/vocals Cliff Chappel bass The band did harmony numbers, Everly Bros, Hollies,The Beatles and The Stones. They started in 1963 when they were 14 and 15 years old, playing The Sherpa and The Queen Bess. They later branched out, to play all over Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. They played at the first Beat Contest at The Baths.Dave Roe left the band in 1966 to go to university, the band carried on for a short time as a trio before disbanding. 
The Kraakans , members
consisted of Dave Roe, Nigel Hodgson, Steve Bird and Cliff Chappel,  'The Relations' with Frankie Ray were at one time considered one of the best groups in Scunthorpe. The lineup was Mac Adams and Winston Matheson on steel drums, Winston Jaffier on organ, Chester James on bass, Winston Lewis on drums and Frankie Ray as vocalist. The were star turn at The Sherpa in sept 1967.  The Peighton Checks The Peighton Checks started up about 1965 or 1966. The groups first booking was at the Dog and Rat at Broughton, They played mostly Mod music and Soul. They would open up with, 'Something you,ve got Babe', which i think was a Moody Blue's number. The original name of the band was Pleighton Checks, unfortunatly Nick Cole got the spelling wrong on his Steelbeat column, and the new name stuck. The line up was Eric McHutchion,drums Mick West, vocals Charlie Gillis, guitar Bobby Chappel, rhythm guitar the late Alan Tinkler, lead guitar (Alan went on to join Roger Blooms Hammer) later members were John Parker, vocals Colin McArthur, drums Paul Spears, bass. Peighton Checks 1967-68 drums, Colin Mcarthur bass, Paul Spiers rhythm, Charlie Gillis lead, Alan Tinkler vocals, John Parker and later Graham 'chalky' White After Eric McHutchion left the group, he went freelance and session drummer playing for lots of out of town groups. He started up again with The Gloria Mayne Trio, with Hugh Gourley, and Keith Ashley on guitar. Gloria's daughter Allison played keyboards for them at a later date. Other members of the 'Gloria Mayne Trio'in 1970 were, John Vessey,drums, and Cliff Batty, guitar.John Vessey left in 1971 to form 'The Soundbreakers' with Stef Chriyinski. John rejoined the Trio in 1972.  “The Gloria Mayne Trio” Allison Mayne, Gloria Mayne and John Vessey  Triangle, consisted of Rod Clarke (bass), Don Lee (Drums) and Hugh Gourley (lead guitar), Roy Emmerson sang with Triangle for a while Don had a short spell on drums with the 4 of Clubs. I remember he had a small bubble car, which we were fascinated by. The biggest problem with them was, if someone parked in front of you, it was impossible to open the door.  The Alpine Trio in 1977 featured Bob Short as vocalist/comedian Mick Harriman on guitar and Irving Brundell on bass Tina & Tomorrow 1977 Tina & Tomorrow featured Maureen ?? on vocals Mick Harriman on guitar Gordon Brundell on bass and Pat Bryant on drums  Mustard 1978 Mustard featured Steve Jackson on vocals Steve Wright on guitar Gordon Brundell on bass and Roger Gammidge on drums The Turnabouts  Ernie Boynton (Gtr), (Front l-r) Mick Cowling (Trpt/Vocs), Paddy O'Connor (bass). The Turnabouts were 1960s Scunthorpe group, whose members included the legendary Paddy O’Connor (bass guitar), Ernie Boynton (lead guitar), Mick Strangleman (drums). I believe my old buddy Dave Churchman, had a spell with them. Ernie had a beautiful blonde Hofner Guitar, which I believe was a Hofner Committee and which he played exceptionly well. We (the 4 of Clubs), played in a group competition at the Baths, the winners were the Bad Ladds and the Turnabouts came third, Ernie was so disgusted, he refused the prize money, which was very unusual for him. He was known to be extremely careful with money.
The judges had really been right in their choice, as the Bad Ladds evolved into a truly super group, as time has proven. I saw them at one of the Mega Bash nights at the Baths, and they were brilliant.   The Turnabouts called it a day in early 1967 Purple Sand  Purple Sand 1971/74 Alan Harsley, lead guitar, Dave Edwards, drums and Thomas John (Cody) Cope , bass They played their first booking was at Grafton House Lincoln on 6 Feb 1971 and their last booking at the New Inn Killingholme Haven on 5 May 1974. Purple Sand Alan Harsley and Tom (Cody) Cope met first at the Blast Furnaces on App Frod steelworks. After several long conversations they decided to form a trio. Dave Edwards (drums) was ready for a change and was invited to join them. They started out being a run of the mill trio, playing their first gig at Grafton House Lincoln. They started doing comedy to brighten up the act, and found this went down with the audience very well. Among other things they did a very funny version of the Nancy Sinatra/ Lee Hazlewood number 'Did You Ever', with Cody doning a wig and singing in falsetto while singing some lewd lyrics to the song. They started doing the current chart numbers of the time and got very proficient at three part harmonies, with songs by the Beach Boys, like Good Vibrations. Memo by John Hill They formed early 70's, probably even as early as '70. The founder of the band was the late Tom (Cody) Cope, a big guy with an equally big sense of humour. He seemed to arrive from nowhere after leaving the army and was soon scouring the local area to put a band together and was adamant that it would be a brilliant band, and ambitious/confident enough to say they would soon be playing places like the Baba and Kiki clubs, Sprotborough social and the the other big Yorkshire venues. The lineup was Cody on bass and vocals, Dave Edwards on drums and vocals and Alan Harsley, guitar and vocals. They became very proficient on vocal harmonies and covered a lot of current chart material, which was going through a really commercial period with stuff like "Knock 3 times" "Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep" and threw in a bit of comedy stuff like Benny Hill's "Ernie" and a particularly naughty take on Donovan's "Catch the wind" They were an excellent trio who turned pro for a period.* I reckon they must hold the record for most gigs in a day, which was a noon and nighter at a Grimsby club with a kid's Christmas party in the afternoon and the midnight spot at Oaklands country club on the way home. 4 gigs in a day ain't bad! Info by courtesy of John Hill The Rebels (sorry no pics, can anybody help) The Rebels 1963-65 featured Andy Mayers, bass, Mick Gravelling,lead, Keith Burdett, drums and Rick Laughton on vocals. They won the 1965 Battle of the Bands contest in Scunthorpe.,, They changed their name in 1966 to Moderation  Adaptation, with Hugh Gourley, Len (kip) Herring and Pete Swift. Venue unknown. Adaptation in several different formats were. Len (kipp) Herring (drums), Pete Swift, the late Keith Ashley, Alan Smith. Later members were Mike Verran, Hugh Gourley and Terry Huish.  Adaptation Mike Verron, Terry Huish, Kip Herring Pete Swift, Hugh Gourley about 1971  Adaptation Pete Swift, Hugh Gourley, Kip Herring, Terry Huish.  Adaption new lineup Alan Smith, Pete Swift, Len (Kip) Herring, Keith Ashley 1968/69 The Rock'n'Roll Revival Show, was another group of the late sixties, Mally Halsall (later Raving Rupert) was the Lead vocalist,  Dennis Lonsdale, Steve Wright, Malcolm Halsall, Trevor Mitchell & Irving Brundell. 1970  The Rock n Roll Revival Show Lionel Sargeant, Trev Mitchell, Mally Halsall, Keith Mullard & Irving Brundell. 1969  The Rock n Roll Revival Show Gordon “Irving” Brundell, Malcolm Halsall, Keith Mullard & Trevor Mitchell. Nov 69 enroute to Denmark Pete Swift of Adaptations and Shelley, was telling me how he first met Keith Mullard. 'My memory of Keith goes back to around 1968, when a few assorted music fans used to come around to my house on Chaucer avenue for a bit of a jam. There was Kip Herring, Keith Ashley, Keith's mate Alan Smith and a girl called Sharon, who worked with me at Bartle's the printers. Kip just used drummer's brushes on various trays and things, Keith (Ashley)played guitar (he knew hundreds of songs), and Alan, Sharon and I sang. Alan had a great ear for harmony and we did quite a few Everly Brothers numbers. Another cousin of mine started coming along just to listen, and one week he said he would bring along a guy he worked with, who, apparently, played guitar. He turned out to be a very talented, but rather wild guitar player called Keith Mullard. He came along to our "jam sessions" for a while, but then I think he found a band more suited to his style, and the next time I saw him I think he was with the Rock'n'Roll Revival Show'. Other musicans of the time were, drummers Dennis Lonsdale and Trev Mitchell. Trev went on to hold several records for marathon drumming, one of these marathon was held at the old Brown Cow in Ashby, in the seventies.  “Vince & the Velocettes” Jim ? from Hull -Guitar/vocals, Trevor Mitchell-Drums, Dave Jackson- Bass/vocals At “The Brown Cow” about 1986    Trev Mitchell (above) during his first attempt at a world record drumming marathon in 1971   Other bands were Circle of Least Confusion, Dennis Lonsdale played with them. They changed their name to Taskas Dynasty in June 68. and worth a mention were 'Guvmint Catchem Fellas',  Maureen and the Freeways, popular Scunthorpe Group, member were Don Lee, Rex Garton, John Steveson, Kevin Landrick and Maureen (Goodley).  They were weekly performers at The Sherpa and Queen Bess Hotels in front of packed audiences who used to queue up at the doors to squeeze in. Maureen's rendering of Lulu's "Shout" was guaranteed to bring the house down. In early 1965, Don Lee left the Group and was replaced by Jack Pearson. They went from strength to strength, performing at venues throughout Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire including Sheffield City Hall, the Mecca Ballroom Grimsby, and the huge working mens' clubs in Yorkshire. The make up of the Group remained the same until around March 1966 when Rex had to take the decision to leave in order to study for and take his "A" levels.The Group have been on the same bill as the Moody Blues on 8th May 1965 and was also supporting group to Cliff Bennet and the Rebel Rousers later that year at Cleethorpes Winter Gardens. Although less well known, they also supported Tommy Quickly at Retford. John Stevenson and Maureen are brother and sister.   Contest at the Baths, with a couple of audience shots. On the left, the line up for the contest   Maureen & The Freeways supporting act to The Moody Blues at the Scunthorpe Drill Hall Some "moonies" antedotes, from John Hill's group playing days.. Way back in time, while playing with the Cadillacs,and returning from a Grimsby gig, we were overtaken by Maureen and the Freeways'van on the stretch between Barnetby top and Wrawby. As their van pulled alongside, we were treated to the unspectacular view of John Stevenson's rear end, pressed tightly against the nearside window, For one heartrending moment we thought it was Maureen, but no such luck. More impressive, however, was the night when the Martin Brothers were travelling on the M62 on our way to a gig (in daylight if you please) and a police 12 seater pulled alongside and we were treated to moonies in each of the side windows. Another night we were travelling south on the A1 when a coach hurtled past us. This was obviously a men's night out as the TV screen was showing a blue movie. Jed put his foot down, but we struggled for miles to make much headway. Trying to view a 16" screen from a distance is pretty near impossible so we were relieved to reach a long downhill section where we made good progress, but were thwarted at the last moment. As we inched towards the back of the coach and the screen came into focus we had reached the exit where we needed to get off the motorway  The Overtones featuring Terry Pitchfork, Ann Hilder, John Cuthbert, Tony Bee and Chris Jones In 1966 The Overtones the lineup featured John Hicks on bass John Cuthbert on drums Terry Pitchfork on rhythm Tony Bee on lead   Jimmy Ryder and the Knightriders were another
major group of the late 50s and early 60s. The line-up consisted of
Jimmy Ryder
(lead guitar), Toyne Tomlinson (drums), Mal Turner (rhythm guitar), Pete
Hornsby and Pete Fenwick, Paddy O’Connor also had a spell playing Bass.
They
later teamed up with Jimmy Crawford to become
Jimmy Crawford and the Shantells. The line-up consisted of Jimmy
Crawford (vocals), Jimmy Ryder (lead guitar), Mal Turner (rhythm
guitar), Pete Hornsby Photo above Pete Johnson, Jimmy Ryder, Jimmy Crawford and Pete Hornsby
 
Left, a picture of Jimmy Crawford taken in 2008
 
I recall Jimmy Ryder accompanying the Jesters (with whom I played Rhythm guitar), on a booking to Doncaster Co-op Club, I was belting out our wild version of Lucille, when Jimmy rushed on the stage and joined in the singing. Everyone thought it was part of the act, so he stayed on and finished the spot off. Ian King came along that night as well. We finished off the night with sausage sandwiches all round at the Red Barrel Café in Donny. Rock a Billy Rebels 1978 The lineup was Phil (Eddie) Birkitt on vocals Irving Brundell on bass Dave Jackson on Guitar and Malcolm (Tees) Ford on drums Oakie Boogie Malcolm Jackson on drums Phil Birkitt and Dave Jackson Country Ramblers 1982 The group featured Maggie McGee on vocals Mike Steel on guitar Ken Wood on steel guitar Pete Jackson on drums and Gordon Brundell on bass  Roller-Coaster (mid seventies) Al Whelham bass, Dennis (big den) Lonsdale drums, Spud Woodward vocalist, Keith Mullard guitar. 'Somebody's People' started up late 1967. The line was Ian McKay (vocals), Pete Mitchell (vocals), Dave Krynicki (drums), Mick Harrison (lead guitar), Irving Brundell (rhythm guitar) and Bill Cunningham bass).  original members were George Milton (drums) Ivan Tate (vocals) Steve Wright (lead guitar) Gordon Blundell (bass) Mick Harriman (rhythm) later members were Dennis Lonsdale John Brady Trevor Mitchell and Ian McKay They later changed their name again and became Kaleidoscope. They were to disband within a short time, after being ripped off by people who were supposed to be helping them. A familiar story.  Kaleidoscope Irving Brundell, Steve Wright, Dennis Lonsdale, Trevor Mitchell and John Brady – in Central Park. 1969  The Colestreamers, a 1960's danceband, over the years, the personel consisted of Jack Tugby, saxophone Frank Reeves, piano Bob Duck, saxophone Don Torrie, trombone Barry Bradley, drums Stan Corp, piano Colin ??, drums Jack Spafford, drums and Keith Nicholson, saxophone The 'Skyliners' were a fifties dance band, they played at the Crosby Hotel. They would later morph into the 'Continentals'. The Continentals had a residency spot at the Priory Hotel. The band featured Tom Ellis, tenor sax, Tony Watson, alto sax, Dave Howsham, alto sax,Bob Johns, piano, Dave Stocks, bass and Pete Thornton on drums. Bayliss Thomas later replaced Pete on drums. Shortly after Bayliss joined, the band became 'Lou Lewis and the Stardusters'. They played all the big venues of the time in Lincolnshire, Corn Exchanges and Town Halls etc. Bayliss Thomas would later join up with Johnny Mann and form the 'Johnny Mann Quintet' other members were, Trevor Wheeler, piano, Don Ross, guitar and a bass player.They played the Baths Hall, the Bridge and the Priory hotels. Another dance band of the sixties were the Milestones. The band featured many musicans over the years among them were Tony Watson, alto sax, Dave Stocks, bass, Cliff Swinney, piano, Will Freear, Piano, Nev Chapman, bass, Trevor Leaning,trumpet, Jimmy Walker, guitar, and Roy Frary, on vocals.  The Southlanders were a Scunthorpe Group that
turned semi pro, in the line up was a fellow countryman of mine Chuck Curtis
(vocals), Terry Huish (bass), Jack Pearson (drums) and Paul Davidson ( whom I remember as a excellent guitarist, on lead guitar, I recall being at his house with Terry Huish and he showed us some chords to 'Everyday' that even Buddy Holly hadn't thought of). They spent many months down
south, playing and rehearsing, hoping
for a recording contract which unfortunately never came before disbanding. Paul Davidson played with Maynard Fergusans band in america , had various periods writing music for many people ,then he ended up as a professor of music at Paul Mcartneys Acadamy in Liverpool.Chuck Curtis worked as a solo artist after leaving the 'Southlanders'in 1967, He made a demo record with 'The Chills' just before the band disbanded. He later emigrated to Australia, where he sadly died, about 10 years ago This is a demo The Southlanders made in the early 60's, unfortunately it will only play in Firefox internet browser, but you can download it from the Demo page  Paul Michael Davidson 1981   Dave Krynicki on drums and Pete Humberston on vocals. Pete Swift joined when Pete Humberston packed up, and over the next ten years or so there were several different line-ups, including Mel Oliver, Terry Huish, Pete Swift and Malc Hatton/ Stu Smith/Colin Hatton on drums, with quite a few well-known guys 'temping'. Mick Strangleman, Mal Evans, Pete 'Fenwick' Johnson, Malc Hamilton amongst others. “Shelley” - Mel Oliver, Pete Swift, Mal Hatton, Terry Huish  Shelley 1970's Pete Swift, Mel Oliver, Terry Huish and Malc Hatton  Mel Oliver on a gig with Shelley with the mandatory facial hair of the period  Terry Huish and Mel Oliver Another group on the go in 1985 (name forgotten) featured John Stevenson (of Freeways fame) on guitar Ian (Mash) Baxter on vocals Irving Brundell on bass and Roger Gammidge on drums John Stevenson went on to reform the 'Freeways' in 1986 The lineup was John as guitarist/vocalist Roger Gammidge on drums and Gordon Brundell on bass Triple Standard 1989 The group featured Shaun Shepherdson Gordon Brundell on bass and Steve Wright on guitar    Phase 5 (photos taken in 1967) Richard Brady (Bass), Dave Kryniki (Drums), John Brady (Vocals), Billy
Cunningham (Guitar) and Irving Brundell (lead guitar). Irving would later switch to bass guitar, which would be his instrument of choice in later groups. The lineup in sept 67 was Paul Ellerton (lead), Richard Brady (bass),David Krynicki (drums), William Cunningham (rhythm) and John Brady(vocals).   The Pip Welsh Foursome consisted of Pip Welsh (vocals), Mick Strangleman (drums), Pete Hornsby (bass) later members were (on right) Don Lee (drums), Rod Clarke (bass), Eddie Ashworth (lead Guitar) Pip (Gloria Dene) (vocals)   The Jesters, Dereck Hodson, Angie Tidswell, Jim Gourley, John Gouldthorpe Dave Churchman The Jesters John Gouldthorpe, Dave Churchman, Angie Tidswell, Jimmy Shields Dereck Hodson, Jim Gourley  The Jesters used to run a dance and perform at the market hall at Crowle in the early sixties.They ran the venture for several months, but could not generate the crowds needed, to make it profitable. I guess Crowle wasn't ready for Jester's Rock n Roll,or maybe we were worse than we thought. Dereck went on to play in several local bands including Quatrz and The Dolphins Dave Churchman joined a new group after the Jesters. The group was called Blues Syndicate and consisted of Martin Danks (piano),Alex Moore (drums), Alan Ardsley (Lead guitar) and Dave on Bass guitar. Dave later moved to South Yorkshire, where he played in several major bands including a showband called Shimmer and several Soul bands We (the Jesters) were setting up our gear, getting ready to play at a dance hall, i think it was somewhere near Bawtry. Dave our bass guitarist was standing near the front of the stage with both mine and his guitars,which were still in their cases. Someone asked Dave to check the lineup of amps and gear, not thinking he stepped back and fell about 5 foot off the stage. There was an almighty thud and the guitars went flying in opposite directions across the ballroom. Dave was spark out on the floor, I jumped off the stage, stepped over Dave and went after my guitar. Luckily it was not broken, just a bend machine head, I then went to the other corner of the hall and checked his, which again luckily was ok. By this time Dave had woken up and was back this earth, i walked over to him and said, 'no damage done mate, the guitars are ok'. I don't think he saw the funny side of it. On another occasion we (The Jesters)were playing a noon and night booking at Bel Isle Club,at Leeds. The resident drummer at the club, was a bit of a character, he asked us if we would play at a nightclub in Leeds, after we finished our night spot. We agreed a price and arrived at the night club about midnight. It was up a small alleyway, with the usual door with a hatch, after the customary 'Louie sent me', we were allowed in. We had been to some weird places before, but this took the biscuit, every kind of weirdo was there, ACDC,BBc,DVD and MP3, you name it they were there.I have never seen so many misfits in the one place before. The drummer we had met, was also the croupier there, and he showed us why we should never ever play cards again.He could do any thing with those cards. We played our spots and then got the hell out of there. You live and learn, or do you. The Tennesseans The lineup was Les Goddard lead and vocals, Frank Sikora on drums and Paddy O,Connor on bass, Paddy left in Aug 1968 and was replaced by Rod Clarke.   “Quartz” - Colin Chambers, Bernie Owen, Simon Patterson, Colin Hatton You'd get a few bob on ebay for those shirts! The Dolphins, ,, ,, Colin Hatton, Dereck Hodson Stuart Gibb (bass) and Tony and John Whiteley Colin Chambers (above) has played in numerous band, he started out with 'Mal Pennell and the Starnotes', which later became 'The Metronomes' His first pop group was 'Tandy and the Turnabouts'.He later joined 'Assortment' with Martin Danks, Ian King,Roger Gammidge, Mick Harriman and Irving Brunnel.Other groups followed, including 'Quartz' and 'The Dolphins'.  The Dolphins Dereck Hodson, Colin Hatton, Chris Whiteley and John Whiteley Misc info.1967. Mick Strangleman, Dave Churchman, Jim Gourley, Dave Stocks, Hugh Gourley and Ernie Boyton all played football for 'Britannia'. Other local musicans in football teams were, Pete Hood, Ian King, John Stevenson and Ricky Hood. Quote of the week comes from ‘The Les’ a new group in 1967, When asked what they were like, the drummer Peter Wright replied, “We’re a bit like the Beatles, but not as good”. Magic! The line up was, Peter (13) drums, Steve Hudson (14) vocals, Arthur Leaning (13) bass and John Ryall (13) lead. The guys are all from ‘Thomas Sumper ‘school. They were firstly going to call themselves ‘The Left’, but settled on ‘The Les’.They were also considering whether to grow moustaches, to keep in with the present times.  The Del Vikings now & then The band was formed in 1963 ap- prox. under the name of ‘The Vikings’ and the original line-up was Bas Brader (Gtr/Vocs), Les Stringfellow (Bass/Vocs), Colin Tucksworth (Gtr/ Keyboard/Vocs) and Pete Allison (Drums/Vocs). Photo lineup L/R Bas Brader, Trevor Gammidge, Richard Paul, Mal Smith, Les Stringfellow. The group played the usual Scunthorpe haunts the Sherpa, Queen Bess, Jazz Workshop etc. Trevor Gambridge replaced Pete Allison on drums, and soon after Mal Smith joined the line-up. Colin Tucksworth left the group in 1967 and was replaced by Roy Emerson. Roy Emerson left in 1968 and was replaced by Richard Paul, about this time the group was renamed 'The Del Vikings'. Mal smith left in 1969 and Trevor Gambridge left in 1972.Dick Paul took over Mal's guitar role and John Cuthbert took over on drums. Shortly after this last change,the band disbanded in 1974. Del Vikings misc info (1969)singer Richard Paul, stage name Paul Keene is a member of the Brigg operatic society and also plays trumpet. guitarist Malcolm Smith Plays violin in the Scunthorpe Youth Orchestra. He also plays the Buzz Horn. Guitarist Basil Brader doubles on Ryhthm as well as lead. Drummer Trevor Gammidge comes from a long line of musicans, his father was the Musical Director of the Brigg Operatic Society. Bass player Les Stringfellow is incorporating the recorder into the act.   'New Era' Redwood Country The New Era 'The New Era' formed in approx 1969, lead guitarist was Keith Grice. The other members were Ron Oakden,Rhythm Guitar /vocals Ron Blackburn,Drums / vocals and Eric Marris,Bass Guitar A later line up was Keith Grice,Lead Guitar / vocals Peter Leadenham,Bass Guitar / vocals, John Coult,Drums / vocals Ron Oakden,Rhythm Guitar / vocals Keith went on to play in "Redwood Country"with Marshall Lovell (Guitar) John Manderson(Drums) Keith Grice (Guitar) Pete Leadenham (Bass) 1978-1982 The New Era 1969   The New Era 1972 'The New Era' would reform with Keith Grice,lead/vocals, Pete Leadenham, bass/vocals, and Pete's son Tony Leadenham on drums/vocals. Phillip Green would later replace Pete Leadenham on bass/vocals and the band continued playing until 1997. They changed their name to the 'Back Beats'in 1994. They were a sixties tribute band and played 'The Cavern'at Liverpool,the show that night was to recognize the passing of John Lennon on the anniversary of his death. Keith has a website detailing the history of 'The New Era', there are also a dozen or so tracks of Keith playing instrumental hits, including a great version of 'Apache' He is also a passionate astronomer and has a fantastic site entitled 'Griceland Observatory', which is well worth a visit.   The New Era supporting group to Carl Denver Showgroup 1971 The New Era was a Shadows tribute band. Pete Leadenham replaced Eric Marris on bass and Keith Grice replaced Milton on lead guitar. Milton was still in the army while playing in the group, the guys payed for him to leave the army, and when he finaly left, he also left the group. Ron the drummer now lives in Australia near Hank Marvin. Hank called in at their Shadows club one night and remarked that The New Era were the original Shadows tribute band.... Praise indeed.   The New Era 1970 The New Era 1971 at Skegness   The New Era The Back Beats   The Four of Clubs Jim Gourley, Hugh Gourley, Colin Hatton, Terry Huish  The Four of Clubs were mainly a nightclub/workingmans club group. Although based in Scunthorpe, the played mostly in Yorkshire and Grimsby. They had a resident spot at Titos Nightclub which was at the Arrow Bowling Alley, Doncaster Road. L/R Terry Huish (bass guitar, Colin Hatton (drums, Jim Gourley (guitar) & Hugh Gourley (guitar) Colin Hatton  He started out as a pianist but then turned his hand to the drums, and this has been his instrument of choice since. His early days were spent playing at The Friendship at Keadby. My brother Hugh was in the group too, they went under the weird name of Lenny Tombstone & The Skeleton. The line-up was Colin on drums, John Hill (lead guitar), Rod Clarke (bass) Hugh Gourley (guitar) and Lenny Radley (vocals). Ian King then took over on vocals and the band was renamed Ian King & The Classics. Whwn the Classics disbanded, Colin joined The Four of Clubs and this is where i met up with him.Not only was he an excellent drummer, he also taught the rest of the group to drive. He spent many hours on long trips to a gig, sitting in the passenger seat, instructing us, and never once getting irate. Colin emigrated to Australia in 1965, we had a great going away party at his house.His brother Malcom was also a drummer of note, and he took over colin's role in the group.On his last night with us, we arranged to have both sets of drums set up on stage. If i remember rightly, it was at Redbourne Club on Cememtery road. They finished the night off, both on stage playing together, a great night. Colin returned from Australia about 1972 and joined a local band The Dolphins which lasted til the mid 80's. Later he joined another local band The Quartz which lasted until the early 90's. He has also been in The Scunthorpe Big Band and The New Trentsiders. Another of his groups has been The Ancholme River Jazz Band. Colin's brother Mal died in 2003, Mal, like Colin was an excellent drummer, we played in The Jesters and The Four of Clubs together. Colin has been a major player in the Scunthorpe Music scene and long may he be so. Well done mate.   Mal Hatton, M Evans, M Oliver Mal Hatton Mal Hatton was not just a very good drummer, he was also a very good driver. I recall, once, we (The Jesters) were travelling to a booking in Rossington, I can't remember the make of the van, but it was very large. We had all the gear packed in it, and i think about seven or eight of us as well. Mal was driving and batting on, suddenly the road just finished, blocked off by two concrete bollards, (they do things like that in Yorkshire). Mal stood on the brakes, everything, including us, went flying through the air, somehow he managed to steer us through the bollards and onto the grassed area. this was the days before disc brakes, abs, etc. etc. After giving him a good mouthful for travelling too fast, we gave him a deserved pat on the back, for an excellent bit of driving.   Pete Johnson, Pete Spencer, Johnnie Dobbs & Harry Meadows Gerry Graham & His Beat Group Tony Graham, Dave Markee, Mally Turner & Toyne Tomlinson   The Mick Hughes Band l/r Mick Hughes ( sax/vocals), Barry Garner (guitar), Stuart Webb (Drums) and Wynn Hinds (piano) The Dimples were one of Scunthorpe's premier groups of the late 60s.   The 'A' side was called 'Love of a Lifetime' The flip side was 'My Heart is Tired of You' The Dimples, Stu smith, John Jackson, Terry Wincott and John Gladwin   Stuart Smith played football for Scunthorpe United Boys, before turning professional musican with the Dimples.  The Dimples Keith Hudson used to be the driver for the Dimples his nick name was Tax  The Dimples morphed into 'Gospel Garden' in 1966 , with Craig Austin, Steve Cox, and Jeff Tindall, and in the 1970s, into ,Amazing Blondel,. They would later change again into 'Methuselah'  Gospel Garden single 'Finders Keepers released May 1968  John Gladwin and Terry Wincott had been in a couple of rock & roll bands in school together,before forming the Dimples.They then formed Gospel Garden, with Craig Austin, Steve Cox, and Jeff Tindall, before evolving into Methuselah which in turn evolved into Amazing Blondel. Amazing Blondel were a trio whose members played instruments and songs dating from medieval to Elizabethan times. The group consisted of three musicians from Scunthorpe, John Gladwin Terry Wincott and Edward Baird L/R Terry Wincott, John Gladwin and Edward Baird. Amazing Blondel    Gerry Dean & The Lincoln County Boys” (Geoff Marshall, Paddy O’Connor, Gerry Dean (Farnham) Pete Jackson, Maggie McGee, Stuart Taylor, Gordon Mumby “Gerry Dean & The Lincoln County Boys” (Pete Jackson, ????, Paddy O’Connor, Gerry Dean (Farnham) Pat Banks, Eric Day  A Few of Mel Oliver's Bands. Mel was and still is, a major player on the Scunthorpe music scene. He has been the backbone and driving force in many of Scunthorpe's leading bands. I would like to thank him for the majority of the photos on this webpage. My thanks Mel, keep up the good work. Mel Oliver, Pete Jackson, John Robinson, Greg Tomlinson  Pete Spencer - Bass Johnny Robinson - Gtr/Vocs Greg Tomlnson - Gtr Pete Jackson - Drums Mel Oliver - Piano Picture taken in 1971 the venue is Burton upon Stather, either 'The Sheffield Arms' pub or 'Westlands Club'. The band played regularly also at 'The Brown Cow' (Ashby), 'The Priory' )Ashby) and 'The Iron and Steel Club' (Scunthorpe). M Oliver, K Nicholson, T Tomlinson, A Harsley, M Evans   Trish Rickell, Jamie Huish, Terry Huish, Mel Oliver & John Medlar Terry's son, James Huish (seen above) is doing really well in Belfast N.Ireland, were he has his own Michael Buble Tribute Swing band. He is playing to packed houses, all over Ireland.  “The Cadillacs” - “Mill Road Club” - Mel Oliver, Alan Harsley, Mick Cowling, Tony Borrell, Mal Evans
 Mel and the Gang Mel Oliver, Greg Tomilson, John Ancliffe, Trev Mitchell and front Ivan (spud) Tate The Executioners I Don't know much about this group   ‘The Executioners’ (L-R) Roy Jepson (Lead Gtr), Mick Cowling (Drums), Terry Cowling (Rhythm Gtr), Ralph Beacroft (Bass Gtr), Tony Wallis The Executioners later morphed into "Ral Shaun and the Bluenotes" "Ral Shaun" was the late Ralph Beacroft. Not sure of the line up, but Mick Cowling was the drummer and a probability of Martin Danks and Roy Jepson or Alan Harsley on guitar. Mick was a really big guy back then and would take it on himself to jump around the stage from time to time. He did so one night at the Embassy ballroom in Skegness with unfortunate results. The front of the stage was covered with large mirrors and the vibration from Mick's leaping and bounding dislodged one of the mirrors, much to the band's embarrassment. Mick and Martin Danks worked together at Burton's tailoring and there were some hilarious tales of their antics there.  Johnny Mann Quintett) (L-R) Cliff Swinney (Piano), Bayliss Thomas (Drums), ??? (Bass), Don Ross (Guitar), Johnny Mann (Vibes) Below a recent photo of “Apex Jazz Band” (Allan Dickinson, Eric Johnson, Kevin Rogers, Pete Tabois, Dave Howsham, Dennis Aylwin  The Apex Jazzmen lineup in 1966 was Eric Johnson on trumpet Mike Taylor on trombone David Howsam on clarinaet Ray Hodson on drums Mike Saville on banjo Owen Moorin on bass ???, ???, Colin Chambers, ??? - Alkborough Village Hall    The New Trentsiders, Brian Cawkwell /Trombone, Kenny Blades /bass, Alan Morgan /piano Hedley Hickling /trumpet, Colin Hatton /drums, Bob Duck /sax Hedley and Bob have sadly passed on and have been replaced by Frank Tartellin and a lady called Nickie Blackburn.  Scunthorpe Youth Centre (Back l-r Paddy O’Connor, Ralph Jackson, ???, Jimmy Ryder, Pete Hornsby, Mal Turner) (Front l-r Maureen Ford, Margaret Hickson)   Paddy O'Connor has been involved in many local Bands, ranging from the late fifties up to the present day. The bands include Jimmy Ryder & The Nightriders, Nick James & The Four Cents, The Turnabouts, The Shantells and The Lincoln County Boys  Photo taken in 1956 on their way to The International Youth Festival at Lincoln. Scunthorpe Youth Centre Group Photo (l-r Mal Turner, Snowy Wright, Johnnie Robinson, Phil Targett, Tony Graham, Pete Hornsby, Howard Bycroft, Tony Roddis, John Quickfall, Ken Smith, Frank Dexter. Front Trevor Wilson, John Espin)  Tangled Garden “Tangled Garden”. The guys being (left to right) Jim Gash - acoustic Gtr & Lead Vocals, Andy Tinkler – Lead Gtr & Vocals, Ken Gribben – Drums & Vocals, Dek Strong – Bass and Mark Kiddle Rhythm Gtr. The Band came together in 1976 and played original soft/ progressive rock. They played local venues such as “The Priory” “The Berkeley” and also the Folk Club in Brigg. Previous to this Band, Jem had won “The Melody Maker” Folk Section award in 1974/5 with his friend Mick Walker. The Band broke up in 1978, when Ken decided to travel around Europe. Ken is currently playing in the classic country band “The Lincoln County Boys” Tangled Garden  Scott-Davies Orchestra (‘Crosby’) – 1946 (Front L-R) Geoff Cheeseman (Piano), Les Markham (Guitar) (Back L-R) Bayliss Thomas (Drums)  “The Ambassadors” - Alan Kirkby (Drums), Basil Richardson (Bass), Winston Hind (Sax), Bernard Snelling (Alto), Audrey Emerson (Accordian), Freddie Fidell (Piano)  - Pete Johnson, Dave Stocks, (Piano?), (Sax)? Dave Stocks was a regular at my old drinking hole, the Snug in Britania Corners, we spent many hour there, sorting the world out. (we didn't do a very good job sorting it though, it's still in a bit of a mess, oh well)   A young Jimmy Ryder and Pete Hornsby   The multi talented Pete Hornsby (Brennen) Pete Hornsby started of his musical career in the late fifties, singing Everly Bros style harmony with Jimmy Ryder. They later transformed into Jimmy Ryder & the Night Ryders with the addition of Paddy O'Connor, Tony Sumper and Toyne Tomlinson. Pete later changed to playing bass guitar and the group line-up changed to Jimmy Ryder, Mal Turner, Pete, and Toyne Tomlinson. Once again they changed, this time to the Shantells with Pete Johnson Taking over from Toyne on drums. Eventually they teamed up with Jimmy Crawford to become Jimmy Crawford and the Shantells. Mal Turnerhad moved on to pursue a solo career. Over the years Pete performed in other bands, including The Pip WelshFoursome, he also toured as a solo multi instrumentist/vocalist and comedian. Another great artist.  Jimmy Ryder and Pete Hornsby  ‘Black Beauty’ (Concert Room) – (L-R) Mal Hamilton (Gtr), Stuart Taylor (Gtr/Vocs) , Mel Oliver (Piano) A little snippet of info from way back.... Lysaght's steelworks was a breeding ground for musicians in the early days. How about this for a line up of people working in the central engineering workshops all at the same time. Paddy O'connor, Mel Oliver, Martin Danks, Tony Borrell, Mick Cowling, Ralph Beacroft, Greg Tomlinson, Dave Edwards and John Hill. There was also a guy who used to manage a couple of groups, Frank Conroy I believe. Johnny Dobbs and Keith Harrison were in different departments as was "Little Eddie", the original singer with the Freeways, who unsurprisingly went by the name of Little Eddie and the Freeways before Maureen joined them. The Cadillacs were booked to play at the pipe section dinner/dance one year and Tony completely forgot about it and took a booking somewhere else. Imagine the stick he got at work the following morning. Memoirs of The Martin Bros. John Hill and Jeb Westby We arrived at a shack called the "Ivy Leaf Club" which I think was in Retford. We got the gear set up, ordered a pint and started to take stock of the venue, noting that the lamp shades round the edge of the ceiling were in fact plastic buckets. The concert chairman told us the roof was a bit dodgy and these buckets were strategically placed to best combat any rain, adding "I hope you're not too loud, we had a trumpet player here last week and every time he hit a high note, a bit more fell off the ceiling". Talk about bringing the house down!!! The gig went fine and the audience was wonderfully appreciative. We were loading the van at the end of the night and the steward put the till and takings into his car boot after hiding some of the bar stock. He didn't live on the premises but confided that the back door of the club wouldn't lock and that anyone could just walk in........adding that they may not make it that far without being stung to death by the nettles which were growing up to 5 feet tall out back. Wonderful night.   John Hill played with the Classics, Tony & the Cadillacs and the Johnny Ballad Group. At that time Frank Coult was drumming, Barry Garner on rhythm, Mel Oliver piano, Johnny Ballad (Dobbs) vocals, Mal Evans on Bass plus John on lead guitar. John later went on to join up with Jed Westby in the early 70's to form the Martin Bros. I received this response from John Hill, who after reading my tale of woe on the 'Early Groups 'page, about The Four of Clubs van, decided to tell his own experiences on a Bedford Van That article on the Bedford brought back some memories which are just as
funny. The Martin Bros got a roadie with a Bedford shed for about 6 months and
we had similar experiences. The guy was always having to bodge up to keep us on
the road and a regular thing when he picked us up was to give a rundown on what
repairs he'd had to do. He arrived one night with the apparently mandatory mole
grips acting as gear lever and they only fell off twice during a round trip to
Leeds. Our door fell off at a roadside cafe about 1-30am .....with a load of
hairy arsed bikers peering through the cafe window. There was a hole in the
floor sort of in front of the passenger's feet. We were going up the M62 and Jed
Said pull off at the next exit. Bill reckoned we didn't want to be off yet, but
Jed insisted. Pull over, said Jed. What's up??
The bit of rag that was stuffed in the hole in the floor was right above
the exhaust and Jed calmly announced that "Der van's on foir"
One Sunday the sob story was the radiator was fkt, they didn't have one in
the scrapper, so he'd used one from a Ford Anglia but had to burn the hose
connector off one side, weld it up, then burn a hole in the opposite side and
weld the connector on. He had pronounced the job"Good as new", which it appeared
to be until we got as far as Crowle roundabout on the way home. Not having to
use the can of water earlier, we seemed in luck until it transpired that there
was no can of water. Anyway, being close to the canal it didn't seem to be a
huge problem. We could just scoop water out of the canal in a container and be
on our way. Except there was no container of any description in the van, on the
van, under the van or anywhere near the van. Jed solved the problem admirably.
"Who's got the biggest feet?" Bill admitted it was him. The
Irish brogue disturbed the still, traffic free, bright moonlit night "Den ya'll
haf at fill yer shoe a few toyms an' pass it up ta me" There was always a can of
petrol and a can of water after that night.
Happy days, happier nights, like walking alongside the van in thick fog,
advising left a bit, bugger.. Not that far. Or believing outright lies like
"It's always got a quarter of a tank when it shows empty" John
 My brother Hugh can't recall the name of this group from the early seventies can you help? Just been told they were called The Stuart Taylor Band I thought, The Jolly Sailorboys would have suited them better Stuart (Taylor); Malcolm Hamilton; Peter Jackson; Hugh Gourley   The Badd Ladds "Badd Ladds" Left to Right) Graham 'Chalkie' White - Trumpet / Vocals Mel Oliver - Piano, John 'Boot' Ancliffe - Bass / Vocals Steve Rickell - Guitar, John Cuthbert - Drums, Dave Lee - Sax / Vocals (Front) Ivan 'Spud' Tate - Vocals Mel Oliver, Toyne Tomlinson, Alan Harsley, Tony Borrell   Toyne Tomlinson Toyne has been involved in the Scunthorpe music scene right from the early days. He kicked off by playing in a skiffle group. He later joined 'Jimmy Ryder in the Nightryders', playing drums. The line up was, Jimmy Ryder (lead guitar), Mal Turner (rhythm Guitar), Pete Hornsby (bass guitar) and Toyne on drums.He then went on to join Nicky James and the Four Cents. The lineup was Nicky James (vocals), Paddy O'Connor (guitar), Mel Oliver (Piano), Tony Davis on Bass and Toyne on drums. Following that he had a spell with 'The Johnny Ballad Group'. A short spell with 'The Apex Jazzmen'followed. He then joined 'Gerry Dean and The Lincoln County Boys', before joining 'The Mel Oliver Band'. All and all, a very busy and versatile drummer   Paddy O'Connor, Toyne Tomilson, Nicky James, & Tony Davis Nicky James & the 4 Cents L/R Mel Oliver, Paddy O'Connor, Toyne Tomilson, Nicky James & Tony Davis Nicky James 1963  Steve Wright, Rupert (or Vince Lauderdale as he was known then), Dennis Lonsdale on drums and Irving Blundell. Cocked Hat late 60's Raving Rupert (real name Mal Halsall), is well worth a mention, he has been on the music scene since the early sixties and is still going strong today. One of his early groups was, an early version of the Rock n Roll Revival Show, Mal went under the stage name of Vince Lauderdale, other group members were Steve Wright (lead Guitar), Dennis Lonsdale (drums) and Gordon (Irving) Blundell on Bass. The music was 1950's rock n roll, with a huge accent on Elvis Presley songs. They performed at the Cocked Hat Rock n Roll Club in the 1960's. Raving Rupert and the Rock n Roll Revival Show took off big time in the late sixties, when they managed to secure a London based agent. This resulted in major bookings at home and abroad. The band members over the years were,Mal Halsall (Rupert), Irving Blundell, Keith Mullard, Trevor Mitchell, Dennis Lonsdale,Steve Wright and Lionel Sargeant. The massive amount of travelling and touring, took it's toll and Irving Blundell left the band in 1971. After the band disbanded, Rupert carried on with several different bands, still doing his 'Elvis' act. Rupert married Maureen of Maureen and the Freeways fame, they are still touring today, Rupert as a Elvis impersonator and Maureen as a tribute act for Tina Turner. He now holds The longest running Elvis Presley tribute in the world, from the early 1960's til the present day. Gotta be a record.    Raving Rupert as he is today, performing in Spain, 2010   Members left to right Gordon Blundell, Mal Halsall, John Brady Keith Mullard and Trevor Mitchell. Enroute to Denmark 1969  “Hybrid” - Chris Whiteley, John Vessey, Roly Smith, Terry Pitchfork & Kevin Oades about 1981 Southbank 1977 Southbank featured John Vessey, John and Chris Whiteley. Ocean Blue 1978 Ocean blue also featured John Vessey, John and Chris Whiteley. Red Hot 1980-1981 Red Hot featured Keith Mullard on lead guitar,John Vessey the well know drummer on bass The late Roy 'Animal' Allenby on drums,the vocalist was Spud Woodward from Grimsby. The band played good old Rock'n'Roll, they had an unusual drum solo, in that, having two drummers, John would swap with Roy during the drum solo in 'Wipe Out', Spud would then take over on bass to finish the number off. On 'Shadows' numbers, John would play lead guitar and Keith would take over on bass. One night 'Spud' couldn't make it for a booking at Stainforth, Jock McKay stood in, he did as little singing as possible,but had the audience thrilled with his banter and jokes. On another night, John Steveson stood in and went down great as well. So good when you can talented backup like that, Scunthorpe has always been awash with lots of talent. Contact Four 1983? Contact Four over the years featured Paddy Oconnor,bass, Roly Smith, vocals, Toyne Tomilson,drums, Trev Mitchell, drums, and Frank Cornish,bass.  Go to Scunthorpe Groups part 2 |
