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If you have any old Grimsby Big Bands or Jazz Bands photos (scans), titbits, stories or general information,they would be most welcome.
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Click on the links below for Scunthorpe or Grimsby Groups Sites
Colin Chamley Band, New Sound, at The Gaiety Ballroom 1967/68
back row left to right : Roger Chamley, keyboards, Clive Winters, Bass, Pete Birtles, Drums (deceased) Dusty Rhoades, Trombone & Guitar,(deceased) ex. Sandra & The Boyfriends
front row left to right, Ken Woodthorpe 2nd Trumpet,(deceased), Lionel Gingell, 1st trumpet, Colin Chamley
Sandra Browne Vocalist, Bill Lord, alto sax (deceased), Dennis Haughton, Tenor Sax.
Sounds Easy
Jazz Aces
Moss Loyatt, trumpet, Fred Everett clarinet, Bill Powell, valve trumpet
Jim Smith, ronto, Owen Campbell drums and John Humberstone on bass
Jazz Aces 1994
This is an article written by the late John Humberstone about the music scene of the 1960's and 70's some of the places mentioned have since gone; namely the Winter Gardens, etc.
John has played in many jazz bands going back to the 1940's and up to the present day, he was a member of the original Riverside Jazzmen.
In the period, 1960's to mid 1970's musical tastes changed, influenced
heavily by the output of radio and \tv stations promoting groups
which in the main consisted of guitars, bassguitars and drums,
plus vocals. 'Beatle Mania' reigned supreme. we also began to see
the advent of discos. The pop music industry aimed its marketing at
the younger element and the whole culture they created was based on
league tables of record sales (charts). This and the additional
air time devoted to records created a situation whereby 'Live' music
lost out to the 'canned' variety. To this day events using actual
musicians are described as 'live'.
Locally the dinner dance business was in decline. This coupled with
the use of discos and groups meant employment for local players began
to dwindle, Many of the larger firms, Golf Clubs etc. still held their
annual dinner dance but this business was mainly captured by the
Winter Gardens and the Bechcomber, each of which had a resident band.
The company owned clubs were still popular and employed musicans
Courtaulds Club used various players usually booked by the Carrol
Agency. Birds Eye featured the Colin Monk Trio who completed over 23
years in this residency. RossGroup also had a regular resident band
The Gaiety eventually went to the great God Bingo, but the Winter Gardens
Carried on with the famous or infamous Wednesday Night Dance,
(the Bags Ball). It was a fact that salesmen used to arrange their calls in
order to stay over in the town and try their luck at the Winter Gardens.
The Winter Gardens is today still the main venue for dinner dances
and hosts the popular Sequence Dances on a sunday evening..
The Pier went to a 'group' policy in the early 60's, but over
a period of time and a number of owners is at present one of the many
'clubs' which form the entertainment scene for the younger elements
today
The dance band scene slowly wound down. It was a combination of
'anno domini' and the result of heavy promotion of recorded music on
Radio which, in it's turn, caused the situation whereby young people chose
not to learn 'real instruments' Saxaphone, Trumpets etc.They tended
to copy their idols by taking up guitars, drums etc.
Ballroom dancing in the hands (or feet) of the older generation
and the local schools of Ballroom Dancing faded away.
The mid '60's to 70's saw the advent of the very large cabaret
clubs. Locally they never reached the scale of those operarating
in the big cities of Yorkshire, Sheffield, Leeds etc. These clubs
were on such a scale they could attract, and pay artistes of world
wide stature. Batley Variety caused a sensation when they booked
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong for a week. Names such as Tom
Jones, Lulu, Dusty Springfield appeared. For the first time the man in
the street could dine and drink and be entertained at reasonable prices.
Locally we were fortunate to benefit from the enterprize of the
Would family who already run Beachcomber Holiday on traditional
lines with entertainment program headed up by Alan McBride.
This was extended and developed into both the Beachcomber and the
Flamigo putting on cabaret and also employing local musicans once
again. The Flamogo also held a gaming licence. Professional bands
were booked at these two venues. The Bobby Quin Set, The Hawaiins
an Italian Band and, 'dor a time', an African steel band, Wally King
also took in an 6 piece band consisting of ex Bob Walker players.
I had the pleasure of playing with Graham Cullum and Roy Lee doing the
accompanying fir the visiting artistes. Many top names appeared at the
Beachcomber and Flamingo. Anita Harris, Bob Monkhouse, Ray Ellington,
Frank Carson, Jon Pertwee to name but a few.
The highlight of the year was the Press Ball. Two name bands and
top cabaret artistes. I remember the Sid Lawrence and Ken Mackintosh
bands being features. The Beachcomber is still a venue for dinner
dances but the Flamigo, after changed of ownership was demolished
some years later.(The Flamigo gained a reputation among visiting
artistes as being somewhat of a 'tough room'. Sometimes the audience
was a little unkind to the act. It was said they 'left no turn unstoned').
Presently most functions were catered for by discos and two
man bands using backing tapes and electronic equipment. Six piece
Dixieland Bands are still in vogue for weddings etc. and the Winter
Gardens still kept the ballroom dancers happy with their Sunday
night sequence dancing.
I have dwelt mainly on the dance scene in this piece but
in my next, I will try to re-capture what was happening on the jazz
arena.
The Originals
The Originals, J Ide, Mo Dale, Eddie Heslop, Ken Aitkan and Fred Cook
practising in the front room (lucky neighbours).
Scunthorpe's Apex Jazz band
“Apex Jazz Band” (Allan Dickinson, Eric Johnson, Kevin Rogers, Pete Tabois, Dave Howsham, Dennis Aylwin
misc info
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
Scott-Davies Orchestra (‘Crosby’) – (Front L-R) Geoff Cheeseman (Piano), Les Markham (Guitar) (Back L-R) Bayliss Thomas (Drums)
Les Markham went on to form The Les Markham Sextet. They had a long Saturday
Night residency at the Berkely Hotel ballroom. The Pianist Geoff Cheeseman had
a barber shop in Ashby, where we all went to have our quiffs and sideburns trimmed
in the sixties.
Another band of the time was The Arcadians, they had a residency spot at
The Royal Hotel, Scunthorpe. One of the regulars on trumpet was ?? Nicholson,
father of Saxophonist Keith Nicholson.
Scott-Davies Orchestra (‘Crosby’) – (Front L-R) Geoff Cheeseman (Piano), Les Markham (Guitar) (Back L-R) Bayliss Thomas (Drums)
Les Markham went on to form The Les Markham Sextet. They had a long Saturday
Night residency at the Berkely Hotel ballroom. The Pianist Geoff Cheeseman had
a barber shop in Ashby, where we all went to have our quiffs and sideburns trimmed
in the sixties.
Another band of the time was The Arcadians, they had a residency spot at
The Royal Hotel, Scunthorpe. One of the regulars on trumpet was ?? Nicholson,
father of Saxophonist Keith Nicholson.
The Ambassadors
“The Ambassadors” - Alan Kirkby (Drums), Basil Richardson (Bass), Winston Hind (Sax), Bernard Snelling (Alto), Audrey Emerson (Accordian), Freddie Fidell (Piano)
Johnny Mann Quintett) (L-R) Cliff Swinney (Piano), Bayliss Thomas (Drums), ??? (Bass), Don Ross (Guitar), Johnny Mann (Vibes)
John Humberstone (above)
John wrote the following article about the music scene in the 40's and 50's
The years after the second world war were a bonanza for
local musicians due in the main, to a period of celebration and
eurphoria as we got used to a peacetime existence.
Many local musicians had served in service bands during
their time in the forces, and looking back, the age group was
rather high compared to the scene in later years.
There really were two factions in Grimsby music. The
'Dance' players and the developing 'Jazz' fraternity. It was fondly
believed by each section that the 'Dance' performers could not do
the 'Jazz', and vice-versa. This was true to some extent but there
were notable exceptions.
For at least 10 - 12 years after the war the Dance players
enjoyed a high demand for their services as every type of club
and organisation held it's annual Dinner Dance and there were
dozens of venues in which to hold them.
Music and singing was not allowed in the pubs in Grimsby
due to a by-law created during the war years. However Darley's
Hotel, under the management of Ted Newby, obtained a dispenstion
to feature a piano, cello and violin trio to play light classical selections.
The room was heavily festooned with notices saying 'No Singing
Allowed'.
Apart from the dance halls with resident bands, many venues
were available. Many people will remember some of the more little
known rooms:- The Wellington; Earlys in David Street; Tudor Cafe;
Church House etc. Some of these places were not licenced to sell
alcohol. A few Hotels boasted ballrooms, for instance, The Yarborough;
The Dolphin and The Royal. It will seem amazing in the present day
to learn that the big and popular dance halls, such as The Gaiety,
The Cafe Dansant, and The Pier, were all 'dry'.
Many dance programs were 50/50, which meant dances were
half modern and half old time. Another feature was the use of Masters
of Ceremonies; they were thought necessary to organise the sequence
of the dances, give away spot prizes and supervise various games.
They were often in conflict with the bands who regarded them as not
being qualified to run anything.
All in all, the dance scene was very ordered, there was no trouble,
and people enjoyed the simple formula, and it seemed as if this
situation could go on forever.
The four resident bands were the Redoubtable Bob Walker's at
The Gaiety; The Winter Gardens Orchestra run by Tommy Hopkins;
The Gerry Fitzgerald Band at The Cafe Dansant, and The Sid Kay
Band of the Day at the Pier. In the gig and non-resident bands there
were such names as Sis Wheeler, Billy Jackson, Cyril Mashford and
The Stockton Brothers to name a few. One of the more successful
gig bands which in time became a resident was that of Colin Chamley.
After a number of seasons at The Embassy Ballroom, Skegness,
he took a band into The Gaiety, (now owned by Mecca).
Colin still puts on Big Band charity events at The Winter Gardens
from time to time.
Many of the gig bands were 'pick up bands'. That is to
say players varied from gig to gig as personnel was often
the result of a few telephone calls; much work for local
musicians was generated by the late Don Carroll Agency.
Don was also no mean saxophone player himself and
played for Bob Walker at the Gaiety. One of the plum gigs
of this period was at the two U.S. air bases at East Kirkby
and Sturgate. Here we would be well fed and were able to
buy cigars and cigarettes at low prices. One local musician
who shall be nameless completed a set of every size of
drinking glasses bearing the Canadian Club Whisky Logo;
(courtesy of USAF gigs), I believe he had half a dozen of each.
The Dance Halls themselves were interesting places.
The Gaiety, for instance, had a long passageway running the
whole length of the room. It was known as 'Passion Alley'.
The popular story at the time was... 'I went every Saturday for
three months before I discovered it was a dance hall'; the Cafe
Dansant had leaks in the ceiling and decorative buckets were
hung in strategic places to catch the rainwater. The p[roblem
with the Pier was that the sea air and mist affected the innards
of the piano which had to be tuned every week and had an
electric bulb left burning in it day and night. Even then during the
evening's playing some of the keys went down and stayed down.
Grimsby was a very strong Musicians Union town. The
local secretary was Harold Whitchurch and he handed over to
Eric Taylor who is still Hon. Sec. to this day. The rates were laid
down by the union and in the major halls the hourly rate was 7/6d
(37.5 p), and in the lesser halls 6/0d (30p). After midnight the
rates were increases slightly. Engagements from 8 til 1 in the
morning were common and a 2 oclock finish was not unknown.
Don't forget we had to be at work the morning after including
one or two people who had to be on the fish market at 7.30am.
So much for the 'commercial' section of Grimsby music.
In the late forties and early fifties we see the beginning of what
developed into the town's strong jazz scene; again many
players had been in the forces and had been inspired by listening
to the American Forces Network on the radio and had also bought
records on the 'V.Disc' label. These were produced during the
war for the U.S. Armed Forces and featured all the big swing
bands and solo artistes usually playing in a concert style. Also
the arrival of the 1947 Bunk Johnson set of recordings sparked
of the revival of New Orleans music which later attracted the
label of 'Trad'.
Aspiring jazz musicians were indebted to jazz archivist/
record collector/ drummer Freddy Cook whose tiny front room at
64 Hildyard Street was always packed with listeners to his latest
collection of 78's and later it also became the venue for the
rehersals of the Original Riverside Jazzmen.
Many of you of a certain age will remember the Sunday
night concerts by The Riverside Jazzmen at the Cafe Dansant;
1/6d (7.5p) admission and a cup of tea at the interval. The
Riverside Jazzmen went on to become quite well known in the
north of the country, notably coming second to Mick Gills
Nottingham Band in the 1951 National Jazz Contest at the
City Hall Sheffield, and where they shared the bill with the
Humphery Lyttleton Band.
Up to the 1950's bands had not yet gone electric, discos
had not been invented and be-bop was still considered a
novelty. The next ten years would see great steps forward
in music generally and in Grimsby in particular.
The New Trentsiders
Mal Pennell Band
Grimsby Mecca resident band early 70's
Riverside Jazzmen about 1955
Riverside Jazzmen abt 1955, Mo Dale, Ron Winter and Eugene Dixon
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