Something good

I watched Forever Young on BBC 4 on Friday night. Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits was featured. He revealed that he was only 15 when they had the hit single 'I'm into Something Good'. The summer I left my junior school we were all invited to the summer fair at our new secondary school, Adelphi in Salford. The school building is now part of the University of Salford. I think it's their media department. Herman's Hermits were booked to play in the gym and they were fantastic. We were smitten with Peter Noone's boyish good looks! Within a month I was listening to 'I'm into Something Good' on Radio Luxembourg. I think they were from North Manchester. Some years later one of my friends claimed to have been 'sacked' from the band just before their successful first hit.
It's still a song that brings a smile to my face, infectiously optimistic, full of life's promise.

Reggae got soul

BBC 4 has been doing some fantastic reggae related programmes over the last couple of weeks including Reggae Britannia.
My Boy Lollipop was probably my introduction to Jamaican music - we all thought Millie was wonderful, and she wasn't much older than us. Then came the skinhead/ska era, and Desmond Dekker's The Israelites in 1969. I still have an old ex-jukebox copy of a Prince Buster single. Like soul and Tamla Motown it was part of my musical background, but through my later teens I became a bit of a hippy and took to bands like Love, Traffic, Derek and the Dominoes, Captain Beefheart and others too numerous to mention. By 1973, at the age of 19, I was part of a rock n roll revival band in Manchester, and my musical horizons were expanding once more. My friend Tony Wilson ( later of So it Goes and Factory Records fame)told me to go and see a band called the Wailers if I got the chance - he had seen them in London in the late summer of '73. I was about to start an English degree at Leeds University, and as luck would have it, the Wailers were booked to play at Leeds Polytechnic early in the term.
I am so pleased that I saw them at that Catch a Fire moment. Their later success was fantastic for them, but there was something very special about them at that time.
I never got the chance to see them again. Some years later when I lived in Morocco there were always rumours of Bob Marley playing a concert there. Sadly it never happened, and by the time I came back to England he had passed away. He was a truly international artist - Bob Marley and Manchester United were topics of conversation wherever I went in Morocco!
Watching Reggae Britannia reminded me of some of the great musicians I saw in those few years - Culture (2 7's Clash, not Club), Burning Spear (at the Hacienda believe it or not), the Cimarons, Steel Pulse, Aswad,possibly Big Youth and/or U Roy - some of it gets a bit hazy as you might imagine.
I have just heard a bit of Bob Marley's last ever concert on the radio - a number one album in the States at the moment apparently.
Lively up yourself!

Box of Rain and the Grateful Dead

Listening to Bob Harris' radio programme on Friday night, I had fallen asleep to the sound of the wind and rain outside. Wild weather continues this week, though I have just seen the glimmering of a faint rainbow across the valley outside. I woke from my half conscious state to hear him play the Dead's Box of Rain. What a wonderful sound. I was transported back to other half conscious times I'd heard that lovely blend of psychedelic country folk. In fact much of my favourite music now is of that genre - Vetiver and Devendra Banhart come immediately to mind. I know I saw the Grateful Dead twice, but I'm not sure I was really concentrating. Bickershaw Festival in May 1972 was the first time. More rain than would fill a box there. I was working in On the 8th Day's Joe's Cafe. We were pitched between the stage and Caroline Coon's Release tent. A great spot. We were constantly busy serving rice and veg, muesli and hot drinks. There was an element of a disaster area about the site, though it was an amazing festival. I have clear memories of Dr John, Hawkwind and Captain Beefheart - and of course the man who did a high dive into a tub of water!. If the Dead's set really lasted as long as they say on the websites, I probably did a couple of shifts and slept a few hours during the time they were on.
So many friends were Dead heads back in the day . I remember someone's motorbike petrol tank painted with the American Beauty album cover design.
In September 1974, whilst I was at Leeds university, and newly married for the first time, a group of us went to Ally Pally for one of the three nights of concerts. Again, it's a bit of a blur. I do remember the panic on the M6 on the outskirts of Manchester. The conversation had turned to who actually had the tickets in their possession - and of course they had been left at home. We still made it to the concert. Happy days.

The Durutti Column

I have just got tickets for the Durutti Column at the Bridgewater Hall on April 30th. I can't remember how many times I have seen or heard them in the distant past, but I think this will be the fourth time in the last ten years or so. Many years ago my former boyfriend was their roadie. A few years later I lived next door to Bruce Mitchell and Vini Reilly with my former husband. The band would occasionally rehearse at home - very civilised, Bruce would come round to let us know, and it was always during the day. The houses were semi detached, so Vini's room shared the wall with our bedroom. I had my two older children at home in that house, and when I was giving birth to Vicky, Vini was playing guitar next door, unaware of what was going on. It's 26 years ago on January 26th! Unbelievable. The midwife who attended me was very impressed - her son was a big fan. As Vicky and Jamie grew up, they discovered the Durutti Column and I was able to tell Vick this story. We moved from that house in 1987, but they have met up with Vini at one of his concerts. The Durutti Column name came from an anarchist group known as the Movement of the 24th January, according to Tony Wilson - another connection, as that's my birthday! I'm looking forward to seeing them at the Bridgewater Hall - it will be an interesting venue.

Burundi drummers in Halifax

Last week I went to listen to a talk a neighbour was giving to a local WI group. She runs a small charity in Rwanda in her spare time, raising money for very practical projects. Her talk was illustrated by some great photos. I hadn't realised that Rwanda was a green and very pleasant land - lakes, forests and hills. One photo looked just like the Peak District, until I realised the earth was a deep dark red. Burundi used to be part of Rwanda, and I guess the landscape is similar. Many years ago I saw the Burundi drummers play in the courtyard space at the Piece Hall in Halifax. It was a surreal and inspiring experience. I had first come across their music on Joni Mitchell's Hissing of Summer Lawns, possibly my first experience of world music in the west, though I do remember that John Peel occasionally played unusual tracks from far flung places.
On that fine summer evening the distinctive rhythm of the Burundi drums echoed through the galleries of the Piece Hall and round the hills of Halifax. I appreciate now that the landscape of Calderdale may not have seemed as alien to the performers as I had imagined.

Terry Reid

I knew inspiration would come thick and fast for this particular blog. I have scrawled pages of band names and associated memories in a big notebook, so I don't forget who I want to write about. A song heard on the radio by chance, news of an untimely death, buying tickets for gigs in Spring 2011, connecting with old friends - it's all going to prompt me.
Last week my old friend C P Lee posted a link to Terry Reid's new Irish tour on Facebook.
In the mid 60s there was a fantastic run of package tours in Manchester. A theatre was a more respectable venue for a young teenage girl to visit- I didn't hit the basement dives until I was about 15. My friends and I saw an amazing range of artists including the Small Faces,the Beach Boys, Gene Pitney, Roy Orbison, Dave Dee etc, the wonderful Walker Brothers ( oh how we screamed for Scott). On one of the package tours, at the Odeon as I remember, there was a band with a great young singer - Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers. The singer was Terry Reid. The single was The Hand don't fit the Glove, and he was unforgettable. In the early 70s I rediscovered him as a solo artist, and some years ago ( before Spotify, Youtube and even Amazon) my lovely children tracked down River on CD for me for Mothers' Day.
I'd like to try and see him again this year.

Stuck in the Middle

I had a feeling that events might prompt memories, and sadly it's a death that has prompted this one. Gerry Rafferty died earlier this week, and even the Today programme played Baker St. I first came across him as a member of the Humblebums with Billy Connolly - such a daft but happy name. When Stealers Wheel were touring the university and college circuit in 1972/3 I went to see them at Salford University. At the time I was part of a hippy dance troupe, formed by Allan Prior. By day he was a computer wizard, working for ICL. By night he was an idiot dancer, leading a group of like minded in his wake. Small, round, with a red beard and longish hair, he looked like a character from the Hobbit. I don't think he had any academic background in computer studies. He had just grown up with them. I believe he eventually got a honorary degree, possibly from one of the Manchester universities. He enthralled us with his visions of a computerised future - the idea that sound and vision could be combined - computer driven light shows - all too much! He had six children - where are they now? - and sadly he died of cancer mid to late 70s. Thanks to him, as his dance troupe we were on every guest list for every gig or concert in the Manchester area. Salford University gigs on a Friday night were particularly good. I can remember seeing Wings and Curved Air there among others.
For some reason when Stealers Wheel played we shared a dressing room! Our status as dancers may have been to do with how amazing we were, but you have to remember this was a time when the audiences sat cross legged on the floor, nodding their heads to the music. So a group of hippy dancers were worth watching - especially Juliet Begley!
Someone from the band told me to listen to Pharaoh Saunders, so I did. This is how you learnt about music in those days. Luckily I worked at Salford Library at the time, and they had a record lending section. You had to take your stylus in to be inspected, and if it made the grade you could borrow LPs.
How times have changed.....