The Temebeats

Pipeline concert in London in 1997

So I decided to make a website about The Temebeats which was the guitar band I was in as a kid in the 90s and after all I did have people coming up to me at school on occasion saying I saw you in the newspaper last night, I didn't know you were in a band....

It is something positive I did as a kid to look back on...

Oh, and the band name comes from the River Teme in Worcestershire.

Tunes performed by The Temebeats

1. Zephyr Cove – by Duane Eddy (all played lead)

2. Cannonball – by Duane Eddy (all played lead)

3. Station Six Sahara - by The Eagles (Dominic lead / Mike middle-eight lead).

4. Pipeline – by The Chantays (Ben on lead / Mike middle-eight lead).

5. The Frightened City – by The Shadows (Mike on lead / Dominic on backing lead at later concerts).

6. Walk, Don’t Run – by Johnny Smith (either Mike or David on lead, can’t remember, leaning 60% towards Mike. Our version was more like The Ventures and Shadows versions)

7. The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt – by The Shadows (Mike on lead).

8. Diamonds – by Jet Harris and Tony Meehan (Mike on lead / David on middle-eight lead).

9. Jessica – by The Allman Brothers Band (Top Gear theme tune) (David on lead).

10. F.B.I. – by The Shadows (Mike on lead).

11. The Man Who Sold the World – by David Bowie (covered by Nirvana) (Dominic on lead / David on backing lead at later concerts).

12. A Design for Life – by Manic Street Preachers (David on lead).

13. Australia - by Manic Street Preachers (David on lead).

14. Widow McMurphy’s Cat – by Clive Webb (David and Ben on lead).

15. Sleep Walk – by Santo & Johnny (Dominic on lead).

16. The Truffle Snuffler – by Clive Webb (Mike and David on lead).

17. Time is Tight – by Booker T. & the M. G.’s (David lead on verses and Mike lead on choruses)

18. Clive Webb composition which I can’t remember the name of, but I can still remember how to play, mostly (Mike on lead).

Concerts performed by The Temebeats

My memory of the concerts is blurred so the following information is only approximate and I have probably not got them all in the right order either:

1) Martley Primary School Assembly, early 1994 when I was still in year 5 and Dominic was in year 6. I seem to remember playing the middle eight on tune 3 on my steel string acoustic guitar and Dominic playing the main lead on an electric guitar that was possibly one of Clive’s. We also played tunes 1 and 2. I think the school had just over 100 pupils.

2) Worcestershire County Hall, National Music Day, 25 June 1995. I seem to remember playing an electric guitar here, probably one of Clive Webb’s, and we could have performed maybe tunes 3, 4 or 5. There were lots of children from other schools here who were watching and performing. Probably about 100 people.

3) Martley Village Memorial Hall, in June 1995, when David and I were in year 6, raising money for the playground according to the two newspaper cuttings below. I think Rob Bradford, editor of Pipeline magazine, saw us here as he mentions seeing us in June 1995 in issue 33 of the magazine. As I remember the concert at Martley Village Memorial Hall, the audience was upwards of about 200 people and we got a really loud applause from them for every tune we played. It was maybe the second biggest audience we played to. According to Pipeline magazine issue 33, we played Zephyr Cove, Cannonball, Diamonds (which I have some memory of), Time is Tight, Pipeline, Station Six Sahara, and The Frightened City. After The Temembeats set I did a solo performance of the Alton Towers theme tune from the well known TV advert that was around at the time with Clive Webb on backing guitar. However, as mentioned above my memories of the concerts is somewhat blurred and I could be confusing this with concert number 7 listed below which was at the same venue and which is referenced from the below newspaper cutting from 1996.

4) 1995, I have some recollection of playing on a stage in Martley Village Playing Field, possibly for the annual Music in Martley event. There were a lot of people walking around the field while we were playing as there was some sort of village fete going on at the same time. I think we just played acoustic guitars.

5) 1995? Possible concert at Bishop Perowne High School fete where David’s Dad taught, I remember being there but not playing the concert. Maybe we just went there for the fete.

6) 1995 or 1996? Wichenford Village Hall, we may have been experimenting with drummers around this time who were ex members of the guitar club but it did not work out. The crowd here was mostly only the parents of the guitar players and drummers.

7) February 10, 1996, Martley Village Memorial Hall, Guitar Fest. Referenced from the below newspaper cutting from 1996.

8) June 15, 1996, Countess of Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Guitar Fest. I’d say the audience was only about 50 people. Apart from tunes 1 and 2, and possibly 3 which was also at some point dropped from the setlist, the rest are all likely contenders to have been performed at this show, but not all of them were actually played. I remember introducing tune 10 at this concert. My Dad did the audio tape recording of the Huntingdon Hall show but he gave the tape of The Temebeats performing to David and gave the tape of Clive Webb’s band performing to me which I still have.

9) Gannow Middle School Assembly, Birmingham, 1996? where Clive Webb was teaching at the time. I remember we ended the set with tune 7 and that as a joke someone had turned the volume level up to full on my distortion pedal without me knowing which I only usually kicked on the G chord before descending into the lead. Maybe a crowd of 100 school children.

10) Worcester Carnival, 1996? We had a float in the form of a lorry provided by Taylor’s of Martley which was the haulage company owned by Ben’s Dad and we played as it was driven around the city. Techincally the biggest audience we played to but most people only got a brief glimpse of us as we were driven past.

11) Busking on Pump Street, Worcester, 1996? We earned around £120-130 which was split five ways. We plugged into a battery powered amplifier. Pump Street runs between the High Street and The Shambles and we played when it was very busy and got a positive response from members of the public. Techincally also one of the biggest audiences we played to but most people were just passers by although some did stop to listen. I remember one passer by being particularly enthusiastic about tune 5 and was happy that us youngsters were performing it.

12) Pub in Bromyard, late 1996?, possibly The Rose & Lion, I was paid £10 if I remember rightly. Probably about 20-30 people in the pub.

13) Pub in either Knightwick or Whitbourne, possibly The Live and Let Live, 1996? I was paid £10 if I remember rightly. The audience gave us a lot of appreciation and we ended with tune 5 if I recall. Probably about 20-30 people in the pub.

14) Chantry High School Hall, 1997. This was not a concert performed in front of the school but to an audience of the general public on a weekend at the annual Music in Martley event after it had been taken over by the school’s new music teacher. We only played about four songs and ended with tune 7. We played on a stage that was constructed in front of the permanent school stage here but the setup was not entirely of the crowd sat facing us but there were people sat around tables and people milling around while we played. Probably at least 200 people there. This could have actually been after the Pipeline concert listed below but I can't remember which of these concerts we played first.

15) Pipeline Instrumental Rock Convention in London, March 30, 1997. This was our biggest show, with an audience of at least 328 going by the official seating configuration that was full, but there were more people standing as well. Footage is on Youtube. The crowd were all 1960s instrumental enthusiasts. I can’t recall if we played any concerts after this but possibly number 14 as mentioned above.

I think I joined the guitar club in year 4. After leaving Martley Primary School, David and I in the same year, Dominic in the year above and Ben the year below, band practice was usually either in the Martley Playgroup building or at David’s house. There was also a demo tape with about four tracks on it, recorded at David’s house, and with one tune not listed above with Dominic on lead if I remember rightly. David and Dominic were also interviewed by BBC Hereford & Worcester one morning.

The newspapers

Newspaper articles from the Worcester News and Berrows Worcester Journal below from 1995, 1996 and 1997. Circulation of newspapers was much bigger then than it is now the internet has taken over.

Berrows Worcester Journal and Worcester News from 1995

Worcester News (then called Evening News) from 1996 reporting just before the show at Huntingdon Hall. This photo of us was taken in Martley Playgroup building

Worcester News (then called Evening News) from 1997 just after the Pipeline concert in London

Rock School

At Rock School which was a different guitar group I was also in, the company is now called RSL Awards, I only learned three instrumental tunes for Grade 1 which I passed, but there were lots of other technical exercises. After I did Grade 1, the guitar teacher at Rock School wanted me to skip Grade 2 and go straight to Grade 3 which I did, but ultimately did not do the exam, my elder brother having previously done Grade 2 in piano. The Rock School lessons took place at the guitar teacher's house in Malvern, Worcestershire. There were three other boys in the class and they all went to the high school where the Rock School guitar teacher was the music teacher, Dyson Perrins in Malvern. I went to the Chantry High School in Martley with Dominic and Ben from The Temebeats and David went to Bishop Perowne High School in Worcester because his Dad taught there. All four of us in The Temebeats had gone to Martley Primary School together where the band formed from teacher Clive Webb's lunchtime guitar club.

I have posted my reports for 1995 and 1996 at Rock School below, this was not the grade for the exams but just the grade for the guitar lessons. I have also posted the certificate for the exam below as well. Regarding the guitar teacher referring to the 'Big Occasion' and the 'next time around' in the 1996 report, I think maybe he was subtly referring to the Pipeline concert in London in 1997 with The Temebeats. I was given a grade of B2 each year, which was quite good.

Rock School 1995 report for the Grade 1 lessons. Final Grade: B2.

Grade 1 Guitar certificate from Rock School in 1996

Rock School report from 1996 after the Grade 1 exam and at the start of the Grade 3 lessons. Final Grade B2. Note the 'Big Occasion' and the 'next time around', I think that maybe he was subtly referring to the Pipeline concert in London in 1997 with The Temebeats....

Pipeline concert in London in 1997

So it did not work out that well at Rock School but some of the best guitarists in some of the most successful rock bands in the world did not have any grades in playing guitar and some did not have any guitar lessons at all, teaching themselves... Pete Townshend and Noel Gallagher just to name two. I have to say though that I think RSL Awards current guitar grades are easier than they used to be. My reason for this is that now one of the songs you can choose to learn for Grade 3 is Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" which I could play with my eyes closed and to perfection at the age of 12. The things I was learning at Rock School back then were far more technically complicated than this.

The Pipeline concert with The Temebeats was a success. It may not have been our best performance; I think we all had the off moment including myself if I am honest, but this was the biggest concert we played and I think overall we all played really well. At International Students House near Great Portland Street Station in London, the official seating arrangement is for 328 people but I remember the hall was packed with no empty seats and people crammed in at the back who were standing. Maybe we had been over-hyped... The Pipeline Instrumental Rock Convention as it is properly known was held by Pipeline Magazine also known as the Pipeline Instrumental Review. Speaks for itself, instrumental rock bands, but mostly with a focus on the 1960s when instrumental rock was at its peak of popularity. At the 1997 convention, Bruce Welch was the guest of honour and he made a brief appearance in the crowd after our performance of The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt.

They did features on The Temebeats in issues 33 and 34 of the magazine which were from before the concert, as well as in issue 36 which was after the concert. In issue 37 there was a review of the VHS tape of the concert which does not sound great because my middle eight lead on the tune called Pipeline was drowned out by the rhythm section even though it did not sound like that at the concert. On the VHS tape my lead guitar on the Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt was slightly drowned out and again it was not like that at the concert. However, in issue 72 from 2006 there is a review of the DVD of the concert which sounds perfect and you can hear all of my lead guitar parts really well. In the review of the DVD it says "Apart from the convenience of the disc format, there is also a gain in quality as two generations of tape copying are removed from the chain". Back issues are available from the Pipeline Magazine website here: http://www.pipelinemag.co.uk/

The below videos were taken from the DVD of the concert, although one tune we played, Widow McMurphy's Cat, which Ben and David played lead on, was not included on the VHS tape or the DVD of the concert but Pipeline magazine kindly sent me a separate DVD of it cut from the original master tape. The audience were all 1960s instrumental enthusiasts. None of us were expecting to be playing in front of such a large audience and when the curtain was pulled back on the stage we were all taken by surprise...

VHS tape of Pipeline Instrumental Convention 1997

Top: DVD of Pipeline Instrumental Convention 1997. Below: DVD of Widow McMurphy's Cat from Pipeline Instrumental Convention 1997

The videos

They sound best if you cast to a TV which you might only be able to do from Youtube itself.

And finally, The Temebeats Live at Pipeline Convention London 1997 full cut from original master tape unedited. This is the same source that the above single music video for Widow McMurphy's Cat is taken from which is the original first generation footage copied to a DVD and uploaded to Youtube. The other six single music videos above were taken from a second generation edit which in turn had been copied to a DVD and uploaded to Youtube. This is the full set in one video from the first generation footage. It sounds best if you cast to a TV and I think this is the best sounding footage available for The Temebeats' set at this concert.

There was a slight glitch in the bridge section of The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt because the footage came in two separate files on the DVD that was sent to me from Pipeline magazine and although it plays perfectly in my Blu-ray player and TV, when it came to merging the two files into one on my laptop which had to be done to upload to Youtube as one video, using the free ClipChamp software did not work very well. However, I was mostly able to solve this with a subscription to Clideo.

When I play the DVD in my Blu-ray player and TV the footage comes up as widescreen and fills the screen, like with the single video for Widow McMurphy's Cat but when I did the above with Clideo it returned it to a square which was how it was originally filmed. Changing the canvas to widescreen or to fill on Clideo does not resolve this. If I had the footage in one file then I would not need to put it through any video editing software before uploading it to Youtube and it would probably appear as a full widescreen video on Youtube.

Right at the end of this footage you can hear me playing the opening lead guitar notes to The Shadows' tune F.B.I. which was going to be our encore but there was not enough time for us to play it and I don't think we could have topped The Frightened City. Are we rolling...

All of the Pipeline Conventions were filmed by Ray Liffen of Intec Services who has given me some insight into how the 1997 event was filmed. There were only two video cameras; one on the right hand side of the stage when facing from the audience and one at the back of the hall high up on the wall. The one by the stage was on an extendable arm and was the only camera that recorded the sound. The other camera at the back of the hall which Ray borrowed from his employer, the BBC, recorded only the footage and not the sound. Both cameras fed into a mixer and recorded onto a Super VHS tape which apparently was the best quality VHS available at the time and this was the original first generation master footage. Next, a second generation edit was made where things like people tuning guitars etc were cut out and the footage of Big Ben and London were added in at the beginning. This was known as the "master video" VHS. Every time an analogue tape is copied to another, be it VHS or cassette tape, the copy will lose some quality. The VHS tapes that were sold back in 1997 were in turn copied from the "master video" and so are actually third generation copies. Ray knew someone who had a "shed full" of copiers who did this. Only about 80 copies of the 1997 commercial VHS tape were sold. There was demand for the older conventions to be available on DVD and so in 2006 Ray used the "master video" to make the DVD copies. It sold in small numbers. As DVDs are digital media in theory there should not be as much loss of quality when the copies are made including if being copied from an analogue tape to a DVD.

So the above full length video was taken from a DVD copied from the original first generation master footage and six of the above single music videos were taken from a DVD copied from the second generation "master video". In theory the first generation master footage should be better quality but given that it was more than 25 years later when I received both of the DVDs then it could depend on how well each version has been stored, preserved and what condition they were in when the DVDs were copied from them all these years later.

Website for International Students House Venue 1 where the Pipeline concert took place in 1997: www.ishvenues.uk/venue-1/

Some shots from the after show footage

Official Pipeline Instrumental Review binder containing the issues of the magazine I have collected, the above mentioned three DVDs, and a data stick with the The Temebeats set from the DVD of the concert, the VHS footage of the concert, and Widow McMurphy's Cat taken from the above mentioned DVD.

Pipeline Instrumental Review Wikipedia page

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse