Killing Joke. Excellent band. At the Albert Hall on Sunday. I’d have fancied that except I’ll be at the O2 seeing the Zac Brown Band. And the entire Country to Country Weekend as it happens.
I did play guitar in bands for many years and stopped a few years ago. Started in Nottingham with a school punk band playing the Imperial, the Hearty Good Fellow, the Sandpiper Club; the Ad Lib (became the Garage) wonder if @Wendoverman remembers any of those venues.
Then Norwich with a student band, playing all over East Anglia and down to London - The Rock Garden, Dingwalls, The Sir George Robey etc. Supported The Thomson Twins, Aztec Camera etc. The Higsons and Farmers Boys were good mates in the ‘Norwich Scene’.
Met John Peel in The Golden Lion pub in Norwich and our band ended up recording a session for his Radio 1 show, produced by the drummer from Mott The Hoople.
Our final gig was supporting A Flock of Seagulls at UEA.
@Forest_Blue Aaah. Happy memories. Though never reaching the heights you describe, I played bass in a couple of bands that played those venues. A heavy rock group when I was at Bilborough College...well as heavy as sixth formers can be...and then a New Wavey style band. We supported Gaffa (as everyone did at some point) twice at the Imperial and Fatal Charm a couple of times. Got a track played on Radio Nottingham and did a session for Graham Neale's Rock Show on Trent. High points were having an interview with Virgin Records: 'You need to stop being the Cure (We were nothing like the Cure) and more like The Thompson Twins...' was the dismissal and we played the Rock and Reggae Festival on the Forest before all having to accept Uni was calling. When in Manchester I did drunkenly ask Steve Diggle if I could join Flag of Convenience in a pub one night. The answer was no. And auditioned for a band which included Jilted John's original guitarist...as no-one else auditioned I got the job...but I realised I was far too limited a player to learn a set to play the following night so very wisely turned it down. Oh, and my brother is a professor at UEA. What a small world we live in.
Sadly, or perhaps fortuitously, my music career never came to much, my brothers & I played in a highland pipe band based in High Wycombe when we were in our teens (If my fading memory is right they were called The Southern Youth Highlanders & we practiced somewhere up Micklefield Road, I played bass or tenor drum, my next brother down played side drum & the one after that played the pipes).
A little later in my teens I got into bands like Gong & Rush & with some school friends we started trying to write songs/start a band, but a combination of illicit substances, procrastination & frankly truly awful lyrics (mostly written by yours truly) & a general inability to play our instruments meant it never got off the ground. In hindsight it was probably a really good thing as I am unsure the music scene in South Bucks could have coped with us & our post pubescent rock opera offerings.
I relistened to Gong's Flying Teapot & Camembert Electrique earlier & wonder why I thought it was something I could or ought to try to emulate.
@Erroll_Sims at the time you are gutted that your brilliance was never given a wider audience, while now you thank God you'll never turn up gurning and yelling pretentious lyrics tunelessly in a BBC documentary. Or is that just me?
I remember when one of my more talented guitarist friends (i.e he often actually got paid) was auditioning people for a band...he had one very cool bass player turn up who asked what sort of music it was going to be.
My mate said 'Rock music'
Cool guy; 'Well if it's 3 minute Rock music about sex, cars and drink I'm in. If it's elves and dwarfs in eight minute 'suites' you can **** off!'
If that's not a maxim for life I don't know what is...
@LDF it is but its about 10 years old now, I am currently still sporting my lockdown beard (makes me look a bit like a cross between Captain Birdseye & one of those WW2 pilots with the twiddly moustaches)
Ah Gong. I never quite got there with Gong. I felt I should due to my love of Pink Floyd and other prog but they never did it for me. Although I may have seen a band that had former Gong members in it in a tent in a field in the 90s. All a bit blurry that one.
When (in May last year) @Erroll_Sims described the suit he intended to wear for the playoff final as having light and dark blue checks, I had a clown-like image in mind and thought what a brave soul he was to wear something so outrageous. That image now has to be put completely out of my mind and replaced by one of the cool, sveltely attired dude he turns out to be. Definitely should be playing tenor sax. Forget tenor drum. Save that for Micklefield.
I think it would be a good idea for other Gasroomers to put headshots in their profile pictures. On iPhones they have to be expanded with that thumb and index finger thing, of course. A little while ago I thought I could see a picture of @Manboobs but when I expanded it, it turned out to be one of the tastiest looking steak pies I’ve seen for a long time. For those of you going to Burton, one like that and a pint of ale would go down a treat. Don’t forget to take a plastic knife and fork though.
@micra due to rather too many tasty pies, I can no longer fit into most of my suits and jackets but having seen @Erroll_Sims here, I could never hope make mine look that good. Some have it and some don’t.
Comments
Crikey, so Elvis would be 86 now. As my dear Irish wife would say, “Aah, sure, he would never have lived that long”.
So good to have @Wendoverman back. Look at him blushing.
Killing Joke. Excellent band. At the Albert Hall on Sunday. I’d have fancied that except I’ll be at the O2 seeing the Zac Brown Band. And the entire Country to Country Weekend as it happens.
Great thread, only just switched on to it.
I did play guitar in bands for many years and stopped a few years ago. Started in Nottingham with a school punk band playing the Imperial, the Hearty Good Fellow, the Sandpiper Club; the Ad Lib (became the Garage) wonder if @Wendoverman remembers any of those venues.
Then Norwich with a student band, playing all over East Anglia and down to London - The Rock Garden, Dingwalls, The Sir George Robey etc. Supported The Thomson Twins, Aztec Camera etc. The Higsons and Farmers Boys were good mates in the ‘Norwich Scene’.
Met John Peel in The Golden Lion pub in Norwich and our band ended up recording a session for his Radio 1 show, produced by the drummer from Mott The Hoople.
Our final gig was supporting A Flock of Seagulls at UEA.
@Forest_Blue I’m guessing you may be a year or two later, but I saw the Higsons a few times.
When were you around in Norwich? I was going to gigs regularly round those parts from 1977-1982.
And the UEA was a pretty good venue back then
Is Charlie Higson's brother still lecturing at UEA? Andrew wasn't it?
He's up here in York these days I believe.
@Forest_Blue Aaah. Happy memories. Though never reaching the heights you describe, I played bass in a couple of bands that played those venues. A heavy rock group when I was at Bilborough College...well as heavy as sixth formers can be...and then a New Wavey style band. We supported Gaffa (as everyone did at some point) twice at the Imperial and Fatal Charm a couple of times. Got a track played on Radio Nottingham and did a session for Graham Neale's Rock Show on Trent. High points were having an interview with Virgin Records: 'You need to stop being the Cure (We were nothing like the Cure) and more like The Thompson Twins...' was the dismissal and we played the Rock and Reggae Festival on the Forest before all having to accept Uni was calling. When in Manchester I did drunkenly ask Steve Diggle if I could join Flag of Convenience in a pub one night. The answer was no. And auditioned for a band which included Jilted John's original guitarist...as no-one else auditioned I got the job...but I realised I was far too limited a player to learn a set to play the following night so very wisely turned it down. Oh, and my brother is a professor at UEA. What a small world we live in.
By brother in law teaches at UEA!
New York, London, Paris, Munich, Nottingham, Wycombe, Norwich all the famous places...
We are massive.
There’s enough musicians on here to form a band…
Imagine having to listen to that every week.
In my case it's 'musician' @bluntphil and you would not want to hear me play any week.
Sadly, or perhaps fortuitously, my music career never came to much, my brothers & I played in a highland pipe band based in High Wycombe when we were in our teens (If my fading memory is right they were called The Southern Youth Highlanders & we practiced somewhere up Micklefield Road, I played bass or tenor drum, my next brother down played side drum & the one after that played the pipes).
A little later in my teens I got into bands like Gong & Rush & with some school friends we started trying to write songs/start a band, but a combination of illicit substances, procrastination & frankly truly awful lyrics (mostly written by yours truly) & a general inability to play our instruments meant it never got off the ground. In hindsight it was probably a really good thing as I am unsure the music scene in South Bucks could have coped with us & our post pubescent rock opera offerings.
I relistened to Gong's Flying Teapot & Camembert Electrique earlier & wonder why I thought it was something I could or ought to try to emulate.
@Erroll_Sims at the time you are gutted that your brilliance was never given a wider audience, while now you thank God you'll never turn up gurning and yelling pretentious lyrics tunelessly in a BBC documentary. Or is that just me?
I remember when one of my more talented guitarist friends (i.e he often actually got paid) was auditioning people for a band...he had one very cool bass player turn up who asked what sort of music it was going to be.
My mate said 'Rock music'
Cool guy; 'Well if it's 3 minute Rock music about sex, cars and drink I'm in. If it's elves and dwarfs in eight minute 'suites' you can **** off!'
If that's not a maxim for life I don't know what is...
New York, London, Paris, Munich, everybody talk about pop music.
Is that a picture of you, @Erroll_Sims ?
@LDF it is but its about 10 years old now, I am currently still sporting my lockdown beard (makes me look a bit like a cross between Captain Birdseye & one of those WW2 pilots with the twiddly moustaches)
Great picture. So we have got some cool fans: well at least one.
@LDF here is on from last season's play off final, with beard & dark blue/mid blue micro check suit
I think I'm in love, 😍
Me too - what a dude! You look like you should play sax, @Erroll_Sims.
Let’s get the band back together! @Erroll_Sims is in for sure.
Ah Gong. I never quite got there with Gong. I felt I should due to my love of Pink Floyd and other prog but they never did it for me. Although I may have seen a band that had former Gong members in it in a tent in a field in the 90s. All a bit blurry that one.
Looking sharp!
When (in May last year) @Erroll_Sims described the suit he intended to wear for the playoff final as having light and dark blue checks, I had a clown-like image in mind and thought what a brave soul he was to wear something so outrageous. That image now has to be put completely out of my mind and replaced by one of the cool, sveltely attired dude he turns out to be. Definitely should be playing tenor sax. Forget tenor drum. Save that for Micklefield.
I think it would be a good idea for other Gasroomers to put headshots in their profile pictures. On iPhones they have to be expanded with that thumb and index finger thing, of course. A little while ago I thought I could see a picture of @Manboobs but when I expanded it, it turned out to be one of the tastiest looking steak pies I’ve seen for a long time. For those of you going to Burton, one like that and a pint of ale would go down a treat. Don’t forget to take a plastic knife and fork though.
@micra due to rather too many tasty pies, I can no longer fit into most of my suits and jackets but having seen @Erroll_Sims here, I could never hope make mine look that good. Some have it and some don’t.
Can someone please wake up @Gary@glasshalffull ?
This was an entertaining and enlightening thread, it would be a shame to see it just stop in mid-flight
For some reason this won't let me delete @Gary (sorry) but not meant for you as we are waiting on Mr Parry@glasshalfempty @glasshalfempty
Having a nightmare here !!!!!!
Ok try again, can someone please wake up @glasshalffull ?
This has been an entertaining and enlightening thread, it would be a shame to see it stop in mid-flight.
Yay ! Success !
Sorry guys only just seen this message. Give me some time and I will give you my picks.