Musical memoirs of the British music scene in the '60s & '70s

DECEMBER 1963: ORCHESTRAL ENCOUNTERS OF A NEW JAZZ KIND.

Almost 60 years ago now, in a South East London jazz club called the "Jazzhouse", a bunch of young, mostly semi-pro, musicians got together and formed a rehearsal band. The original idea was the brainchild of baritone saxist Clive Burrows, co-leader of the club's house band with his fellow leader tenorist Ian Bird. After several weeks of  hard work rounding up the 15 musicians to join the band, writing arrangements and rehearsing them, Clive and the band were keen to show their progress before a live audience. Appearing as the "Bird/Burrows Big Band", they played two gigs; the debut appearance, naturally enough, had to be at the "Jazzhouse" Blackheath, where the 'home crowd' gave them a wildly enthusiastic reception. Then 4 months later, they played a fund-raising concert at the Widmore Hall, Bromley, which, though it was to a much smaller crowd, was almost as warmly received. After this promising start, there came a bit of a bombshell, when Clive announced that he had decided to accept an offer to turn 'pro' with Zoot Money's Big Roll Band. This, of course, meant that that he could no longer continue with his pet project and the band suddenly found itself leaderless (Ian Bird having dropped out earlier). At this point, there was considerable doubt that the band could even survive, but after just a few weeks, composer/arranger Neil Ardley, a self-confessed disciple of Gil Evans, was invited to be the band's musical director and, as neither 'Burrows' or 'Bird' were any longer involved, a name-change was necessary. After toying with the somewhat pretentious names like 'Neoteric', the band members democratically settled on the "New Jazz Orchestra", not so much because the music was particularly new...more that the band's existence was.

The NJO, as it became generally referred to, was to play an important role for many young British musicians of the time, as it provided an opportunity for them to gain experience of reading arrangements and ensemble playing, which would be useful in advancing their jazz careers. Indeed, several of its members did go on to a degree of fame, if not fortune, including Ian Carr, Michael Gibbs, Jon Hiseman, Barbara Thompson, Trevor Watts, Henry Lowther, John Mumford, Dave Gelly and legendary pianist/composer Mike Taylor, to name but some. There were some other well-known names who played (or sang) with the NJO on and off over the ensuing years, including Jack Bruce, Norma Winstone, Don Rendell, Harry Beckett, Michael Garrick, Frank Ricotti and the redoubtable Dick Heckstall-Smith. Being the NJO's musical director also contributed to Neil Ardley's reputation as a composer and arranger of note, which would ultimately lead to him becoming something of a cult figure in the history of British jazz.

As it turned out, the NJO's existence was relatively brief, lasting less than 10 year. It  started off promisingly enough, with them winning the somewhat grandly named 'All England Jazz Contest', held as part of the 1964 Guildford Jazz Festival This was followed by being 'runners up' the National Amateur Jazz  Contest, held under the auspices of the National Jazz Federation, at Richmond the same year .

                                                 
                                            Marquee gig 1965

These achievements brought them to the attention of the musical press, especially Melody Maker, who gave them valuable editorial support with some great write-ups.  Further 'rave' reviews from other very impressed music journalists led to more gigs at clubs like the Marquee, London...Mother's Club in Birmingham, as well as several universities and colleges up and down the country. The concerts were fairly well paid, but as the fee was shared by approximately 18 to 20 participants, nobody took home more than a couple of pounds. 

The band did, however, manage to record two albums during those few years. The first, "Western Reunion", was recorded in the Spring of 1965 at Decca Studios, West Hampstead before an enthusiastic live audience. The second album, "Le Dejeuner sur L'Herbe"  was recorded at Pye Studios few years later. Both stand the test of time and still give much pleasure to the discerning fan of British jazz.

For the next few years they continued playing occasional concerts until 1970, when someone had the inspired idea of pairing the orchestra in concert with Colosseum, at that time one of the premier jazz/rock groups in the UK and led by Jon Hiseman, the NJO's original drummer. The Colosseum/NJO debut concert was at the Lanchester Arts Festival, Coventry in January 1970, which sold out so quickly that a matinee concert was quickly announced by the Student Ents Committee, tickets for which were also rapidly snapped up.

The shows opened with the NJO playing the first half, then Colosseum came on and played their normal set, with the NJO musicians returning to join them for the final two numbers, which Neil Ardley had scored for the whole ensemble, with "Valentyne Suite" closing out the evening.  Not surprisingly, both shows received wildly enthusiastic receptions, prompting thoughts of more such combined concerts and plans were soon made for another six. These took place in May of that year and included an appearance at the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Hall London; Fairfield Hall Croydon and an one at the Camden Arts Festival. This last concert differed from the others in that it was officially an NJO gig and, for that reason, the programme was comprised entirely of NJO music. However, as the date fell in the middle of the main tour, Neil decided to invite Colosseum members Jon Hiseman, Dave Greenslade, Dick Heckstall-Smith and Clem Clempson, as well as Tony Reeves (the NJO's original bass player and a founder-member of Colosseum) to take part. All these concerts were resoundingly successful and offers for the NJO to combine with other rock groups were received.  Only one, a short tour with Eric Burdon, actually happened and that didn't really work out too well musically...prompting saxophonist Don Rendell, who was with the band at that time, to comment "I don't really want to do this kind of thing...it isn't why I joined this band".

Ironically (and sadly), only one of these gigs was recorded - the Camden Arts Festival appearance and then only because Neil Ardley wanted it for his personal archive. The tapes remained there until 2008 (four years after his rather premature death at only 66), when they were 'cleaned up' and released as a CD on Dusk Fire. As seven of the tracks are from "Le Dejeuner sur L'Herbe", only recently released on CD, it is of considerable interest to anyone unable to afford the approx. £300 required to buy the original vinyl LP. 

One other, slightly unusual, event happened when Keith Emerson, who was on a break between finishing the latest ELP album and starting another tour of America with them, decided to take the opportunity to record some tracks for a solo album. He wanted a big-band sound, so asked Jon Hiseman if he could round up the NJO musicians to back him. Jon also took care of booking the recording studio (Olympic) and getting Neil Ardley and Alan Cohen to write some arrangements.

The titles recorded were: "Au Privave", a Charlie Parker tune, arranged by Neil to include an eight theme Parker medley - "Honky Tonky Train Blues", arranged by Alan Cohen, which later became a minor hit for Keith (requiring the band to appear on 'Top of the Pops'! A 'first' and a 'last'!).   Finally, with a little time in hand, they laid down a blues by Gary Burton, called "Walter L". This track and "Au Privave" were eventually released as part of Keith's album "Off the Shelf" in 2006.

After this relatively busy phase, gigs became more sporadic and when Neil Ardley decided to start recording under his own name, albeit using several of the NJO musicans, things kind of fizzled out for the band.

During those ten years or so, the New Jazz Orchestra made just two albums under its own name*. The first: "Western Reunion", produced by Ray Horrocks, an experienced producer working for Decca, was recorded 'live' before an invited audience, at their West Hampstead Studios in March 1965 and released in May to considerable acclaim.

Melody Maker album review.

                                                                                                  Programme    

Some four years later, the orchestra recorded their second album, "Le Dejeuner sur l'Herbe" (featuring Jack Bruce playing bass) which was released on the Verve label. Both of these original vinyl albums are now highly sought-after collectable LPs commanding substantial sums of money, if in near mint condition. "Western Reunion" was released as a CD in 2006 by Vocalion, but it must have been a limited run, as it is no longer generally available. 'Dejeuner' remained unreleased on CD (for somewhat obscure reasons) until 2014, though the title track was included on Gilles Peterson 'Impressed 2' CD in 2004

As previously mentioned, there were other records that featured many of the NJO's musicians, but recorded under Neil Ardley's name. The first such was "Greek Variations" released in 1970 on Columbia, then re-released as a CD in 2004 by Universal.  Then in 1972 came "A Symphony of Amaranths" on Regal Zonophone, which featured an unusually large ensemble of 27 instruments (including a 5 piece string section led by Jack Rothstein) . One fascinating track on this album has Ivor Cutler reading "The Dong with a Luminous Nose" (an Edward Lear poem, set to music by Neil). Another is an interesting musical setting of the Lewis Carroll poem "Will you walk a little faster" (The Mock Turtle's Song),  impeccably sung by Norma Winstone.  Once again, these albums are desirable and highly collectable in their original vinyl format. Then in 1976 came "Kaleidoscope of Rainbows" (inspired by Balinese gamelan music), followed in 1978/9 by "Harmony of the Spheres" featuring an eclectic line-up which included vocalist Norma Winstone again and noted folk musician John Martyn.

The NJO did get together one more time, in 1993, for a celebratory 30th anniversary concert at the Barbican Centre, London. The line-up included many of the original members, as well as veteran saxophonist Don Rendell and Harry Becket on fluegel horn. The concert was a great success, giving rise to hopes that more such concerts would follow, but sadly nothing came of them.

So the NJO slipped slowly into the annals of British jazz history. There are still quite a few loyal fans (now probably 'senior citizens') that have fond memories of the band...especially if they saw them play live. One of the main things that made the NJO so remarkable was the unbridled enthusiasm of the young musicians who joined primarily for the pure enjoyment of playing with a big band.  The NJO may not have sold as many records or become as well known as, say, the Johnny Dankworth or Harry South orchestras, but it certainly played an important part in developing the musical lives of many, now legendary, British jazz musicians.

* The Camden Arts Festival CD was released as "Neil Ardley's New Jazz Orchestra", with the members of Colosseum being listed as band members..

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------     CODA

 Jazz musicians are known for their somewhat off-the-wall sense of humour and the guys in the NJO were no exception. I have fond memories of a gig at Goldsmith's College, New Cross, S.E. London when some of the band whiled away the interval in the band-room (a classroom) by coming up with titles of songs for the 'Indian Hit Parade' and writing them on the blackboard. I often wonder what the students thought when they saw the list the following day.

Anyway, here are the ones I managed to recall:

"Chapati's Over",  "Paperback Raita"  "Dhansak in the Dark",  "A Pilau to Dream On";  "The Sari with the Fringe on Top";  "My Poppadum Tol' Me";  "Livin' Dhal";  the slightly dated Scottish ballad "I love a Lhassi";  the unavoidable "Curry me back to ole Virginia";  and (a touch of class here...), the operatic aria "Nessun dorma" or "Naan shall sleep".

Of course, Balti dishes weren't around back then, or more could surely have been added to the list. ("Balti-more Oriole" for one).

 

 

 

1963 was quite a year...and not just for the Beatles!

This was the year when times definitely were 'a-changing' in Britain. The year when the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and a few other aspiring groups, were setting the UK music scene alight; while in America, pop idol Elvis was about to be launched as a Hollywood film star in a series of rather dubious musicals.

Meanwhile, at a large Edwardian pub in Blackheath, South East London, a small group of avid jazz aficionados were hatching big plans. They had been running a pretty successful jazz club called the "Jazzhouse" in the first floor 'banqueting suite' of  the Green Man public house, an imposing early 19th century building at the top of Blackheath Hill (long since demolished to make way for an apartment block). It opened every Sunday evening and featured a resident band of five or six semi-pro musicians led jointly by saxophonists Ian Bird (tenor sax) and Clive Burrows (baritone sax), with 3 other guys taking care of the management side.  After operating successfully for a while, they had decided to up the ante a bit by featuring a 'star' guest each week.  Some of those names are now legendary - saxophonists Ronnie Scott, Tubby Hayes & Joe Harriott, for example.  Other 'name' musicians, though well known on the jazz scene, wouldn't get much recognition outside of the relatively small, but fervent, followers of modern jazz.  Talented musicians like Don Rendell, Ian Carr, Shake Keane, Bob Efford, Tommy Whittle, Jimmy Skidmore etc. could all be relied upon to draw an enthusiastic audience of....oh, around a hundred fans.  Not exactly big-time, but it meant that the club could afford to pay the guest musician a reasonably competitive (at that time) £5 fee; hand over £3 rent to the pub landlady and pay for a small ad in Melody Maker each week. This usually left around £1.50 each for the house band and the club managers...one of whom was me.

After a while, we decided to open a second club, in nearby Bromley, at the Hackwood Hotel, but this venue turned out to be much less successful and folded after just a few weeks. Another venture, this time a bit further afield, at the Hilden Manor Hotel in Tonbridge, initially went quite well, but then some severe winter snows put the 'kibosh' on attendances and it too folded.  These disappointing events put a bit of a dampener on the 'big plans', so we re-grouped and decided to concentrate on building up the original Blackheath club. This was helped indirectly by the timely intervention of Manfred Lubowitz, a local jazz pianist in the process of morphing into a pop-star whose group was collectively known as Manfred Mann. Starting out as a jazz/blues group called the Mann/Hugg Blues Brothers, it soon changed musical direction to join the rapidly burgeoning rhythm & blues movement, (though ultimately, real commercial success wasn't achieved until later, when they became an out-and-out pop group). Anyway, Manfred turned up one night with a  suggestion that we open an R&B club on a Friday night, which would feature his band every other week, alternating with similar outfits like the Graham Bond Organisation (at that time featuring Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker), Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds, Alexis Korner, the Downliners Sect etc.  So confident was Manfred that it would be a success, he offered to play for a straight 50% of the door take, with no guaranteed fee. Initially, we were  slightly sniffy about the concept and didn't jump at the idea right away, but his suggestion came at a time when we had been thinking of forming a rehearsal big-band to give young musicians a chance to gain experience of reading parts and ensemble playing.  If we could make a bit of money from the R&B night, with its wider audience appeal, it could be used to help fund the project. 

   To cut a long story shorter...we did open the club and yes, it was a success and actually made money, as Manfred predicted. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, it had to close after just a few months.  Nevertheless, in the brief time it existed, we banked enough money to get the rehearsal band up and running.  After several sessions, the members of the band felt so confident of their progress that they were ready (and eager) to present their music to a live audience. This eventually took place at the afore-mentioned Jazzhouse on the 22nd December 1963...and thus, the New Jazz Orchestra was born. The rest is history - albeit a relatively brief one.  Initially, the band went on to greater things...with well-received performances at the Richmond Jazz & Blues Festival, Guildford Jazz Festival and many other venues. They also recorded a couple of (now very sought-after and collectable) albums: "Western Reunion" in 1965 and "Dejeuner sur l'Herbe" in 1969. Then, in 1970, they performed a ground-breaking concert in combination with jazz-rock group Colosseum at the Lanchester Arts Festival, which was so successful that it was followed by a tour of several more concerts around the UK, all to critical and audience acclaim.

But I digress.  The main point of this story is that the responsibility of booking those other groups for the short-lived R&B night fell to me, which meant my having to contact the various Agencies who represented them. In order to do this successfully, I had to learn how to negotiate fees with the bookers - percentage deals whenever possible, as they reduced the financial risk to the club.  This eventually led, in April 1965, to one of them (the London City Agency) offering me the opportunity to get into the music business as a 'booker', which I jumped at.

A relatively small operation run by two ex-trad jazz band leaders, Johnny Jones and Barry Dunning (London City Stompers), their main artist was a well-respected R&B band called The Artwoods. Though not a big name themselves, they did include a future star in the line-up, namely Jon Lord (Deep Purple etc). They also brought over American legends-to-be like John Lee Hooker, Chuck Berry, Jesse Fuller for tours, so it's possible that they were a little ahead of their time, in a way.

Anyway, after learning the ropes, I took to the role of booker like the proverbial duck to water, quickly developing a good relationship with most of the other agencies and, more importantly, with the many club promoters as well as the Social Secretaries at the colleges and universities around the country. During that time I developed an especially good rapport with one promoter, Art Chisnell, who ran the very successful club at Eel Pie Island in Twickenham three nights a week, eventually persuading him to appoint me his 'sole booker'. This was an extremely valuable coup, as it meant that every band that played the venue thereafter had to be booked through me...much to the chagrin of the other agency bookers, as they had to split their 10% commission with our agency!

However, after about 15 months or so, out of the blue, I got an offer to move to the Rik Gunnell Agency, a much bigger, more successful agency, where I would be booking out better known artists like Georgie Fame,      Geno Washington, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Long John Baldry, Zoot Money's Big Roll Band etc., as well as the very first dates for Fleetwood Mac, at that time an out-and-out blues band. The time I spent working there helped to establish my standing among the other agencies.

Then, around the end of 1967, I was offered the position of General Manager at the prestigious Bron Organisation, which was an agency, management and publishing company representing international stars like Gene Pitney, the ubiquitous Manfred Mann (hello again!), who by now had a string of chart hits under their belt; the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Uriah Heep, Osibisa, Gentle Giant and jazz rockers Colosseum, with whom I had a personal involvement, due to my long-standing friendship with drummer and founder-member, Jon Hiseman (RIP).

My career continued through the rest of the '60s and into the '70s, including four great years (1972-'76) working as International Manager for Charisma Records, an independent record label run by Tony Stratton-Smith, who was something of a music biz maverick.  (I have written about this episode in a separate 'post'). 

My last few years in the music business were spent as a freelance journalist, working mainly for European magazines, interviewing a variety of interesting artists like Harry Nilsson, Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Johnny Winters, Spencer Davis, Bob Weir, most of Genesis and Lalo Schifrin (an eminent composer of film scores), all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. However, following the birth of a daughter early in 1979, I decided I'd had enough of the nomadic music biz life and took the family westward, away from London, to the beautifully scenic and peaceful Wye Valley, where, for the next 20 years, I ran an antiques and collectables business, which didn't exactly make a fortune...but it was less stressful, quite enjoyable and thus gave my cholesterol levels a chance to return to normal!

So, to recap...1963 was most definitely a momentous year...not just for those four 'mop-topped' Liverpool lads, but also for a naïve young music-loving South London boy who  always wanted a career in music, but never dreamed that it would become a reality for him!

                          ======================

CODA: Do I miss the music biz? Yeah, a bit.  But, as the Rolling Stones once sang: "It's all over now..."

 

 

 

 

 

Paul McCartney interview at Abbey Road 1980

 

Now I see the 'point' of Paul McCartney!

 

In May 1980, towards the end of my "journalist" days, I got an invite to the EMI press

reception for Paul McCartney's solo album, "McCartney II", at Abbey Road studios. I was

one of about 80 scribes from all parts of the globe and the set up was very efficient...a dozen or so oblong tables, each with 8 chairs and the plan was that Paul would move from table to table, spending exactly 20 minutes at each.  I managed to get one of the end chairs,  so that I would be facing the star when he sat down...yes, I was that pushy!  

 

When our turn came, I opened the session with what I hoped was some humorous banter, thus getting Paul's attention for when the real questions started.  It seems to have worked. (Hey, all's fair in love, war and journalism!). He must have found the whole experience pretty onerous, but needs must etc. He was a rock star and had an album to promote! So he was good-humoured and casual,  giving the impression that he was actually enjoying the occasion.

 

There was quite a lot of background noise from the other tables, but you can still hear Paul's voice with a fair degree of clarity.

 

So, take a listen...but please don't judge too harshly! I was just 'doing my job' as best I could, bearing in mind that my journalistic experience at that time was minimal.  

 

Paul McCartney Interview at Abbey Road Studios

 

 

 

 

Harry Nilsson - now there was a nice guy!

I

It's fair to say that Harry was probably my favourite of the many musicians I interviewed in my brief 'journalistic' career. He was certainly the most entertaining.

Back in 1978 I was a 'newbie' journalist working for a German musicians' magazine, similar to International Musician (but with much smaller cirulation). I'd been a long time fan of Harry's music (had all his albums etc etc) and was keenly interested to meet him personally. The interview had been arranged via one of those 'friend of a friend' situations. The initial contact at my end was an old colleague from my time as International Manager at Charisma Records, who seemed to know 'anyone who was anyone' in the music biz. The conduit in L.A., I seem to recall, was Don Reo, the TV writer and producer (M.A.S.H., Golden Girls etc) who was a close friend of Harry's.  Anyway, I called Don on my arrival in California and he duly set up a meet at the famous Ambassador Hotel (sadly no longer in existence), where I often stayed on my frequent visits to LA-LA Land.

We met in the bar (where else!)...the one that was featured in "The Graduate". I thought it might be a good idea to wear my 'Whodunnit' T-shirt, with a knife dripping blood on it, (as Harry had recorded a song called "Who could have done it?") and he picked up on it right away, so it was a great 'ice-breaker'. Drinks were promptly ordered and the first thing he informed me (sotto voce) was that he had gotten laid on the roof of the hotel some years earlier!  So, where do you go after that, I thought!  Well, Harry didn't have a problem..., I switched on my tape recorder and just let it roll.  We talked for an hour and a half (one story he related lasted about 20 minutes!) just rapping about his career, life, marriage (to his British wife, Una who, I believe he met at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, in London) and so on. All the while, the drinks kept flowing, with me trying hard to make it appear that I was matching him drink for drink (impossible, if I wanted the interview to be reasonably coherent!). It was just a great experience, like conversing with an old friend who happened to be a very talented guy as well as being a natural-born raconteur.  His parting gift was the $1 check (pictured below) which I still have and which remains one of my fondest pieces of music memorabilia.

The disappointing thing is that the interview never did get published, partly because of its length and partly because the magazine's editor didn't think there was sufficient technical interest (instruments, recording, amps etc) for his readers. I wasn't too worried...for me it had been a 'blast'!  A memory that I will long cherish.

 

Harry's "payola" cheque.

Colosseum's appearance at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music, June 27th1970

 

Colosseum's performance at the 1970 Bath Festival was a major step in their rapidly growing reputation as one of the best jazz/rock bands around. Approximately 150,000 fans gave them a standing ovation as the sun went down on  the first day.

 

 

Extract from Jon Hiseman's (RIP) biography: "Playing the Band" by Martyn Hanson.

It was the summer of 1970 and the festival season was in full swing. On the 27th June Colosseum returned to Bath for their second appearance at the popular festival, with Louis Cennamo on bass. The day hadn’t got off to the best of starts, as Dick had managed to leave his saxophones behind at the hotel, but in spite of having to play on borrowed instruments, he still managed to make his usual fine contribution to what would turn out to be one of their best gigs ever. The typically British summer delivered a mixture of sun, wind and rain, which one musician wag christened; ‘cold Bath with showers’. In fact, some of the showers were quite violent, with lots of electricity in the air, prompting Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane to comment anxiously to Chris Charlesworth of Melody Maker: “It’s too wet and we’ll get electrocuted. They don’t have summers like this in New York!”

The two day event had an impressive list of over 20 acts, including Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa and Jefferson Airplane. It turned out that the promoters had seriously underestimated the size of the crowd, which resulted in the approach roads being congested. This delayed several of the groups that were appearing, including Colosseum, who were eventually rescued by a farm vehicle trundling across the fields to escort them to the backstage area! These delays had the knock-on effect of rendering the on-stage timetable virtually obsolete, but in any case Jon had developed a savvy strategy for festivals, as Colin Richardson explains: "Jon asked me to try and ensure that they went on around 4.30pm and as the promoter Fred Bannister liked Jon, he was happy to agree.”

 

 

 

 

Read my Harry Nilsson 1978 interview! Courtesy of the "For the love of Harry" website.

..the drinks flowed, as did the conversation.

 

"For the love of Harry" website published the full transcript of my 1978 interview with Harry...

after cleaning up the sound of the 32 year old tapes (with the help of my good friend Trevor Teasdel) and many more hours spent checking and editing the draft transcripts provided by Willard, the site's organiser. There is also an short audio excerpt from the enhanced CD. To read the interview, click on this link:  http://fortheloveofharry.blogspot.com/2010/04/harry-nilsson-unpublished-interview.html   Enjoy!

 

 

Four years in the 'Strat'osphere...my time at Charisma Records.

                                                                                                              

                                                        

I worked for Tony Stratton-Smith (known generally as 'Strat') at Charisma Records for four years - from 1972 to 1976, most of that time as International Manager. This meant that I travelled a lot, mainly around Europe, liaising with the various label licensees and their press/promotion departments. I also made several trips to America, once with the boss (more of which later). The label's main artist at the time was, of course, Genesis...who were just beginning to take off when I joined in June 1972. These were exciting times and I thoroughly enjoyed working with Strat, as I had a lot of respect for his way of operating, which was often bold, frequently unpredictable and sometimes risky...but always interesting. His musical (and business) maxim was "anything good of its kind" and he gave many artistes a chance who wouldn't have been given the time of day by most of the other labels. Because of this policy Charisma released many 'off-the-wall' albums, like those by Sir John Betjeman (Banana Blush, Late Flowering Love etc.); Bo Hansson's "Lord of the Rings", as well as the quirky albums by Vivian Stanshall of Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band fame, plus, of course, those hilarious offerings from  Monty Python's Flying Circus, . It was great to have the opportunity of working with such a variety of original and unusual artistes, especially the last two, as our paths had already crossed back when I worked at Bron Artiste Management ('68-'71). In particular, I have very good memories of touring Germany with Genesis, ably supported by the Phonogram press and promotion staff on many of the lesser known Charisma acts like String Driven Thing, Capability Brown and the multi-racial South African band, Jo'burg Hawk (I had a bit of a tussle with the Musicians Union to persuade them to allow the band their work permit).  

Melody Maker ad for the move to Old Compton Street, Soho - Summer 1972

Working with Genesis was both interesting and exciting during those years, as their star was already in the ascendant at that point, albeit mainly in the UK. However, word of their original and ground-breaking theatrical stage show was already beginning to spread further afield, with Italy being the first foreign audience to recognise their unique talent. Part of my brief was to extend that breakthrough to the other European countries, in particular Germany, the most important European market as far as record sales were concerned.   So, I broached the idea of a Charisma Tour package to Strat, which would feature Genesis, Lindisfarne and Capability Brown. I had to stress that we would need to obtain some serious financial support from licensee Phonogram for it to be viable, as no German promoter would be prepared to take on such a expensive and risky venture, given that none of groups were exactly well-known there back then. Strat agreed the project without hesitation...typical of his readiness to back his acts with hard cash. I then took the idea to Germany's top tour promoters Lippman and Rau, as I knew them well, having worked with them a few years before (with jazz-rock band Colosseum) and rated them highly for their experience and professionalism.

A brief tour of four German dates was quickly put together, which opened on 13th January 1973 at the Congresshalle Hamburg and a sell-out crowd got the tour off to a good start. The following day we travelled to Heidelberg, where they were to play the Stadthalle on the 15th.  However, soon after our arrival, Fritz Rau came to me with some surprising information. A message had been awaiting him at the hotel from the producer of an important German TV show that was being filmed in Frankfurt that evening as part of "British Week". It transpired that the featured group had pulled out suddenly for some reason and he wanted to know if Genesis could take their place.  Fritz hardly needed to impress on me the importance of such a TV show and what a lucky break this was for them. I quickly related all this to the group and they immediately agreed that it was too good an opportunity to miss...so off we went. The show was being filmed at the Festhalle and they performed two numbers - "Watcher of the Skies" & "The Musical Box", both of which went down well with the live audience. The next day Genesis rejoined the tour for the Heidelberg concert and the two remaining dates - the 16th at the Stadthalle, Offenbach and the 17th at the Philipshalle, Duesseldorf. They then had a couple of days off before starting the Italian dates at Reggio Emilia Palasport on January 20th. 

 

Pause for  a 'heads up' on arrival at Milan airport.

It was some time later when I heard that a couple of the guys in Lindisfarne were a bit miffed that the TV spot hadn't been offered to them, especially as they had a couple of UK chart successes under their belts, which Genesis at that time hadn't. I tried to explain that unfortunately, their UK hits didn't count for much in Germany and that the producer had specifically asked for Genesis.  I think they eventually understood that I couldn't have played it any other way and didn't hold it against me.  For Genesis, the TV show was a very important step toward their eventual breakthrough in the German-speaking territories and they went on to play many more concerts and TV shows in the following years, thus building an incredibly strong and loyal following, which remains today.

I suppose it could be said that Genesis, at that time, weren't very "rock 'n'roll", in that they took their music extremely seriously and worked hard finessing their stage performance, both musically and theatrically.  Though they appreciated the value of promotional activities like press receptions, interviews, photo shoots etc., they didn't much concern themselves as to whether they were perceived as 'stars'. Thus, it can also be said, that parties and room-trashing weren't high on their list of priorities either. Indeed, I don't know of many other groups that usually took their wives and girlfriends with them on tour or requested to go skiing, as they did on one snowy visit to Oslo, Norway.  

I have many other good memories of my time at Charisma . One is of a Scandinavian tour with Lindisfarne (which I write about in another post) and a slightly manic promotional visit to Copenhagen with the two Terry's (Jones and Gilliam) from the Monty Python team. I also remember TV shows in Zurich, Switzerland with Clifford T. Ward, where the Phonogram label manager, Louis Spillman treated all the Charisma bands royally, whatever their status. Another TV show, this time in Amsterdam, with Gary Shearston, whose hit "I get a kick out of you" brought forth requests from the show's producers for Gary to dress up in a 1930s 'Noel Coward' style clothing, plus cigarette holder! Requests that Gary politely (for an Australian) declined.

                                                                                                                                       'STRAT'

However, I think one of the best memories of my time at Charisma has to be the trip I made to New York with the boss...Tony Stratton-Smith, when we were trying to forge transatlantic relationships with record companies, management and agency execs. and the music press.  Strat being Strat, he insisted that we did it in style! Forget seats in Economy Class...we flew First Class to New York on Japan Airlines.  He also decreed that we book a Suite at the famous Algonquin Hotel, partly because of its literary connections (it was the  site of the famous 'Round Table' where the legendary "New Yorker" writers James Thurber, S. J.Perelman, Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker met for their editorial meetings). He also suggested that I get the hotel management to set up a well-stocked bar in our Suite, so we could entertain (and impress) our music biz guests, who came in their droves.  I have no idea how much (or indeed, whether) the trip influenced subsequent events with regard to any actual deals being done, but we certainly had a great time!

In the summer of 1976, however, I sensed that things at Charisma were changing somewhat. Strat didn't seem to be around quite as much and eventually it became apparent why this was. One day he brought the Charisma team together and announced that he was planning to bring in someone to be 'him' on a daily basis, as he wanted to spend more time on his other love - horse-racing.  Now, this didn't sit too well with me, as I couldn't see how I could run the International Dept. the way I felt it ought to be run if I had to report to anyone but Strat.  So, to cut a long story short(ish!) - around this time I was approached by Bruce May, who was managing Bert Jansch (a Charisma artiste at that time) as well as Ralph McTell, John Martyn and a string of other less well-known singer/songwriters. He invited me to join his company in a similar role to the one I had at Charisma and after a couple of meetings to discuss details, I decided that maybe the time was right for a move.  Strat understood my reasons for leaving and was very encouraging.. saying that Bruce and I would make a good team!  So, after four incredibly interesting and pretty exciting years, it was with much sadness that I left Charisma...the most original and unusual record company around.   Do I regret my decision? Well, yes and no.  As time went on, later events occurred that would probably have seen a parting of the ways anyway.  However, I will never forget working for Strat's maverick label...nor do I regret a moment of my time there.

                                                                     

 

LINDISFARNE...a canny bunch of lads, as ever there was!

Another in the series of 'memories that have stayed with me'.  This one was prompted by a recently renewed contact with founder-member Rod Clements, bass-player and all-round nice guy. In fact, of all the bands I worked with, I found Lindisfarne to be one of the easiest to get along with, though lead singer Alan Hull could be a bit prickly on occasions.

During 1972, I accompanied them on a tour of Scandinavia, possibly their first I think. It was certainly my first time on the road with them, as I hadn't been with Charisma for very long at that point. Anyway, we arrived at a hotel in Sweden (something is telling me it was in Malmo, but I can't be sure about that) and after checking in, some of the band discovered that the hotel had an indoor pool in the basement, so they decided to take a swim.  After a while I went down to check on them and organise where we were going to eat and found them sitting around the edge of the pool, chatting.  A couple of them thought the acoustics had an interesting echo and then, quite spontaneously, they started harmonising on "Clear White Light" from their first album "Nicely out of tune". Hearing their slightly rough-edged 'a capella' harmony in such unexpected surroundings  was just electrifying! I can still hear them now, in my head, nearly five decades later!  It was one of the most unforgettable moments in my lengthy music biz career....and there weren't many that compared to it.

                                                   

 

 

Colosseum with the New Jazz Orchestra plus Jack Bruce & Friends at the Lanchester Arts Festival 1970. (Excerpt from Jon Hiseman's biography.)

A Giant Leap for Colosseum (An Extract from "Playing the Band" by Martyn Hanson, Edited by Colin Richardson))

 

“This remains one of the best gigs I was ever involved in. I was so proud that all my old mates from Tamworth were there to see it.” Clem Clempson on the Lanchester Arts Festival"

The first few days of 1970 found Colosseum back on the road doing TV and live dates in Europe, including their first gigs in France…2 shows at the famous Paris Olympia, where they received a standing ovation from a euphoric audience. The feeling of satisfaction at having acquitted themselves so well in such a prestigious venue was slightly tempered by having to be up and away early the following morning in order to make it to the next gig, which was at the Winter Gardens, Weston-Super-Mare. Back to earth with a bump!

The heavy work schedule continued, but with a slight difference. Wearing his agent’s hat, Colin Richardson was the booking consultant for the Lanchester Arts Festival, a student-run, mixed media project in Coventry… a role which, the following year, would give him the opportunity to bring off something of a major ‘showbiz coup’…the first ‘live-on-stage’ appearance of Monty Python’s Flying Circus…three shows at the Belgrade Theatre as part of the 1971 Festival programme. For the current year though, he had already booked the UK premiere of Jack Bruce & Friends, featuring American stars Larry Coryell and Mike Mandell, together with ex- Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell. Also on the bill were Colosseum and the New Jazz Orchestra, playing live together for the first time…an idea that partly stemmed from the NJO brass and reed sections playing on the studio version of Butty’s Blues. Given the close musical relationship that had always existed between Neil Ardley and Jon Hiseman, it was a naturally symbiotic combination, which would prove to be both musically satisfying and exciting. For Jon it was all part of the plan, as he told Melody Maker: “When I formed Colosseum I was consciously trying to create an environment in which we could involve a band of this size.” His real ambition went even further: “The ultimate goal is to produce a 20-piece band whose members are individually as well-known as Colosseum. It’s impossible, of course”.

On the night, the New Jazz Orchestra opened proceedings with Dick, Tony and Jon in their ‘big-band’ roles. The Lanchester College newspaper reported: “The Mike Gibbs composition Rebirth, showed what a ridiculously accomplished set of musicians they were, while Dusk Fire, by Michael Garrick, had Tony Reeves playing the best bass solo I’ve ever heard”. The Guardian and Melody Maker echoed this praise in their reviews, MM going on to report: “Jon Hiseman swung beautifully through every number giving one of the most tasteful displays in drumming and stamping his style memorably on everything”. Ronald Atkins of the Guardian was equally impressed: “Few drummers in this country can touch Hiseman for sheer technique, and he obviously takes every chance to vary his patterns.”

This NJO gig was also something of a milestone for Barbara Thompson as she got her first chance to play a solo in public, in a duet with Henry Lowther. Jon recalls: “She played on Mike Taylor’s Study a very hypnotic slow ballad and it brought the house down. I learned the big lesson that night that you didn’t have to go in with a sharp stick to get an audience reaction. I couldn’t apply it to Colosseum as I always had trouble in keeping the tempos down, but I applied it to Barbara’s later career. She was fantastic that night, I was so proud of her.”

After the NJO left the stage, Dave Greenslade and Clem Clempson came on and Colosseum played their set. They kicked off with Lost Angeles, by now considerably longer than the studio version, followed by the old Graham Bond staple Walkin’ in the Park. Next came The Machine Demands a Sacrifice, which featured Jon’s drum solo, inspiring the college paper to write: “For those of you who saw the first solo, the second was even better and for those who saw the second, Jon had been on stage for over six hours when he started”. It’s quite likely that most of the crowd were there to see Jack Bruce, but already they were experiencing some seriously powerful and memorable music…but the best was yet to come! the NJO musicians returned to join Colosseum for the final two numbers, the first of which was Butty’s Blues, featuring some forceful playing from Dick, but the highpoint of the performance was always going to be the closing piece, Valentyne Suite, scored for the augmenting musicians by Neil Ardley. At one point during the performance, Dave Greenslade was suddenly aware of the significance of the moment: “This was amazing for me Jon and Tony, as we had seen all those great big bands all those years ago. And I found myself playing Hammond in the middle of this great brass section - it gave me a great buzz.” The suite’s climactic ending prompted lead trumpet Bob Leaper to hurl his trumpet high in the air, deftly catching it on its return flight. It was a fitting climax to a memorable collaboration. Jon congratulated Clem after the show saying it was the best he’d heard him play and the college paper also singled him out for his outstanding performance. There was good reason for Clem to be so fired up and playing so well that night: “This remains one of the best gigs I was ever involved with. I was so proud that all my old mates from Tamworth were there to see it.” Colin Richardson concurred: “It was an amazing concert…without doubt, one of the highlights of my music biz career.” The Guardian’s Ronald Atkins was amazed by the crowd’s good humour, as they sat shoulder to shoulder in stifling heat: “No one grumbled and no one collapsed; they sat quietly while the music played and clapped and cheered when it stopped. As a veteran of FA cup ties and smoky jazz clubs, I offer them my envious congratulations.”

Dick also considered it a milestone for Colosseum: “Of all the outrageous things to attempt – the NJO incorporated in the set, playing Neil Ardley’s arrangements to some of our recorded numbers. The hall was packed to the rafters and the reception we got started off as enormous and ended up gargantuan.” The Lanchester college paper went into overdrive: “But then, back came the NJO for the final 40 minutes of the best music I have ever heard here…words cannot do justice to the reality. Quite simply, it stopped the show.” The last word is from Jon: “Lanchester was just amazing. We played to a total of 5000 people in the two shows. Dave Gelly told me that was more people than he’d performed to all year.” The success of this collaboration ensured that there would be further such joint concerts later. Jack Bruce’s set was also well-received, with Jon joining the audience to dig it, enthralled by the drumming of Mitch Mitchell. “He was just wonderful that night – his was a talent I much admired but I think he got lost somewhere along the way.”

Monty Python's first ever 'Live on Stage' performance took place 50 years ago on Sunday 31st January 1971 at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry. This is the story behind that momentous occasion!

 

"Live Python found at Belgrade Theatre, Coventry!"

And now for something completely different...

The 1971 Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University) Arts Festival bill included many well-known artistes on the 10 day programme of events, including Elton John, Ralph McTell, Caravan, blues legend Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup, Leon Russell as well as Andre Previn (conducting the London Symphony Orchestra) and jazz legend Ronnie Scott; but the high point of the student-run mixed media festival that year was, without doubt, the first 'Live on Stage' performance of Monty Python's Flying Circus. 

So, how did a modest little Polytechnic in Coventry come to be favoured with such a major coup?  Here's how it came about:

I had already been the Festival's booking consultant for the previous year, working closely with Ted Little, the student entertainments organiser. We made a good team, as he was always open to my ideas and suggestions, though quite firm of mind when it came to making final decisions as to which acts were selected. I guess he must have been satisfied with my efforts, as he retained my services for the following year.

At some point during the planning of the 1971 programme, he asked if it would be possible to book a couple of the Monty Python team to perform a couple of sketches from the cult TV show, as they were immensely popular with the students.  I was pretty doubtful, since none of them, as far as I knew, had ever made any live appearances as Python characters hitherto and I was fairly sure that they only produced their unique humour for the TV show.  However, I promised that I would try to find out if any of them might be interested in performing at the Festival. I had no idea who their agent was, but, as luck would have it, there happened to be an indirect conduit to one Python ear. It went like this: I had a little band going at the time...a quintet playing jazz and dance music around the club/college circuit and we had an American singer by the name of Jean Hart.  She happened to be the girlfriend (and later, wife) of  the comedian Bill Oddie who had, on one occasion, 'sat in' with the band, singing (if memory serves) a credible version of "Summertime". He knew most, if not all, of the Python team, so I asked him (through Jean) if he knew how I could go about contacting their representative.  Word came back from Bill with, to my astonishment,  an offer to introduce me to Eric Idle and in due course a date was set to meet with him at his apartment.  Being something of a fan myself, it was with considerable trepidation, awe and downright nerves that I presented myself on the day, but Eric very quickly put me at my ease with his relaxed and friendly attitude. He asked a few searching questions about the Festival's organisation, its history, what dates we had in mind etc. I mentioned a few 'names' of artistes that had already been booked for that year  as well some of those who had appeared in the previous 2 years and described how well-run it was. At this point, I was expecting him to indicate who, if anyone, might be up for taking part, when he said something that made me struggle to contain my excitement.  It was along the lines of: "Well, your timing couldn't be more fortuitous (he might even have used the word 'serendipitous') as we've been talking about the possibility of doing something live on stage and, if we did, it would definitely be somewhere away from London,  in case it didn't work for us. Now, if you can find out whether the Belgrade Theatre is available for, say, a 3 night run, that would certainly increase the odds of us agreeing to do it, as we've all worked there before and know that it would be an ideal venue to try out a live show."

 

Where it happened.

In something of a daze, I promised to get back to him a.s.a.p. then left. I called Ted Little right away, to give him the astounding news.  He didn't seem to take it in at first and kept asking which of the Pythons was I talking about. I told him "All of them...the 'tout ensemble'.. the whole "Flying Circus!"  After they brought him round, he immediately checked the Belgrade's  available dates and phoned me back to say that he could get the Sunday 31st January, Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd of February, just a few days into the Festival. I passed this on to Eric and, quite quickly, the dates and the deal were agreed. For the life of me, I can't remember the fee or any other contractual details, except that the shows would start at 12 midnight and that the fee was extraordinarily reasonable. In a cloud of euphoria, I passed the good news on to Ted.  Tickets went on sale a few days later...and all three nights sold out in about 20 minutes!

Needless to say, every show was a fantastic success.  The student audience was ideal, as they were a proven fan base which already knew most of the sketches, sometimes word-perfect. Not that this in any way diminished their noisy enjoyment of them. I recall vividly that, on the first night, the entire front row of the gallery was wearing 'Gumby' style knotted handkerchiefs...to the astonishment of the first Pythons onstage.

An interesting coda to this story is that, a couple of weeks before the premiere, I received a phone call from the plummy-voiced P.A. of an illustrious music biz heavyweight (no names, no pack-drill!) who, after ascertaining that I was, indeed, the person responsible for this 'showbiz' coup, informed me that Mr. ******** would 'like a box, for the first night' !  After a deep breath and summoning my most innocent of tones, I asked: "What kind of box would he like? Orange do?".  Well, that went down like the proverbial lead balloon.  A few moments of silence, then: "You do realise that it's Mr ******** we're talking about?" To which I politely replied: "Even if it was the Queen Mother, I still couldn't get you a seat, let alone a box. It's completely sold out."  A gasp of incredulity and frustration, followed by the crash of the phone being slammed down at his end.   I have to admit that I got a degree of quiet satisfaction from the exchange, which just added to my immense feeling of pride at helping to bring about the very first 'Live on Stage' appearance of Monty Python's Flying Circussss!   

1971 Lanchester Arts Festival Programme