Scunthorpe Groups page1

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Help to keep the memories alive.

If you have any old 60s, 70s or 80s scunthorpe group photos (scans), titbits, stories or general information,they would be most welcome.

contact me on email address, Musiclincs@gmail.com

I am still looking for info about

Daleks, Southbank 1977, Ocean Blue 1978, Contact Four 1983?

The Colorados 1964, Dave Crab and the Claw, Opaque Circle.

The Blackhawks 1965, Jonny and the Boys 1964, Craze 1965(imps),

Tony Diamonds and the Demons 1960, Rebels, Strangers 1961, Wally Stewart and the Tornados 1960,

Eddie Falcon and the Tremulos 1961.

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).

Ian King and the Classics

Bond Mini 3 wheeler

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.

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.

“Tony & The Cadillacs” Back Row l-r Mal Evans, John Robinson, Frank Coult.

Front Row l-r Tony Borrell, John Dobbs

An early shot of the Cadillacs, with Keith Harrison, Dave edwards,

Martin Danks, Alan Harsley and Tony Borrell

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

1966. The group featured Chri Ellerton, drums, John 'boot' Ancliffe, bass, Bill Gibson,rhythm,

Craig Austen, lead and Fred Havercroft, vocals. Craig Austen replaced John Ancliffe on bass and

and Greg Tomilson took over on lead guitar.The group played all the usual Scunthorpe pubs

and clubs, including the Jazz Workshop in Ashby. The name was taken from the famous Lincoln

Imp.Ian Mathews took over from Fred Havercroft on vocals, Ian would go on to have a successful

recording contract with Mathew Southern Comfort.

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.

Johnny Robinson playing with Tony and the Cadillacs

A short memo by Mel Oliver ( pictured left) on Nicky James & The 4 Cents

Back in the 1960’s I was 16 years old and playing in a local Band which was

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 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 songwriting 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 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

“The Turnabouts” (Back l-r) Mick Strangleman (Drums), Mal Turner (Gtr/Vocs),

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.

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.

Scunny Groups part 1 - Gourley Family Site

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

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.

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.

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).

The Freeways started life as 'Little Eddie and The Freeways'. Little Eddie being Eddie Ashworth. Rex Garton joined the Group in the summer of 1964 after Nick Cole, who used to write "Steel Beat" in the Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph told him that Little Eddie and the Freeways were looking for a rhythm guitarist.He auditioned with the Group one Saturday afternoon at the Teen Beat Club and they took him on. Maureen (Godley) was also joining at the same time. Soon after, (Little) Eddie left the Group and it changed its name to "The Freeways with Maureen" but that soon changed again to Maureen and the Freeways.

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.

The freeways playing at the Big Teen

Contest at the Baths, with a couple

of audience shots.

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

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).

'Somebody's People', later to be called 'People'

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 Mccartneys 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

"Shelley" originally consisted of Terry Huish, Mick Harriman,

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.

Scunny Groups part 1 - Gourley Family Site

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.

Phase 5 (a change of personnel)

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

playing at Gainsborough Drill Hall

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.

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'.

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.

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 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 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)

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.

They released their debut record in dec 1966

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

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

Gerry Dean & The Lincoln County Boys”

(Geoff Marshall, Paddy O’Connor, Gerry Dean (Farnham) Pete Jackson, Maggie McGee, Stuart Taylor, Gordon Mumby

Mel Oliver,

Pete Jackson,

John Robinson,

Greg Tomlinson

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.

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’ (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.

Colin Chambers, - Alkborough Village Hall

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

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

The Stuart Taylor Band

I thought, The Jolly Sailorboys would have suited them better

Stuart (Taylor); Malcolm Hamilton; Peter Jackson; Hugh Gourley

"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

Nicky James & the 4 Cents L/R Mel Oliver, Paddy O'Connor,

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.

The Vince Launderdale Rock n Roll Revival Show

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.