Ho ho ho......
Hello Brummies and 60's music lovers of the world.
Me and Mrs Bob have had our booster shots and flu jab and are all prepared for this festive month despite the worlds attempts to blow itself and us to pieces. They all need to sit down with a warm mince pie and glass of port and have done with it all.
In the meantime here's some possible Christmas gifts for you music lovers and particularly those with a leaning towards the panoply of talent that emerged from the great and gritty City of Birmingham during the golden days of Brumbeat..
GET BACK
BOB the 60's INFLUENCER Strikes again!! Tony Iommi Smells!
Yes I repeat Fragrance, that's a posh word for perfume! It's called "Scent of Dark" a clever move by the left hander there, appealing to not only his female following.
Now this is probably hearsay but I've heard this perfume contains some of his own Brummie testosterone in every bottle?
It's a limited edition so get buying now for Christmas , if you've got the dosh. If not you can hang on for my own "Smooth Out Man" range at £5 per Jerry can.
SLIPPIN AND SLIDIN'
Now here's a little something that would be a nice gift for the guitarist in your life for under £30 and will have them playing with this useful accessory for a few hours at least.
Playing slide guitar is an art but it's also something that limits what you can do on the fretboard because of having one of your fingers stuffed permanently into a metal or glass tube. Not now though because this AXYS reversible slide means you can put this half pipe slide onto your finger and spin it around to play slide then spin it back round to enable playing of fretted notes as normal. Another facet is that it comes with 3 plastic ring inserts for different finger sizes. I bought this for a guitarist friend last year and he said it works really well. Shop around for prices however because this is one time I don't recommend you getting it from Thomann who levy a massive €15 postage charge, not good Thomann!!
BRUMMIES ABROAD
I haven't featured any of the Brumbeat players who have moved to distant shores for a couple of years now so for our first port of call we are winging our way to Hawaii and the home of the cuddly
GRAHAM ASHFORD.
Vocalist for The BRUMBEATS in the 60s, Graham did all the famous Brummie gigs and then as a bit of a brainwave the band rode on The Beatles coat tails into America by releasing an LP of Beatles covers calling themselves the Mersey Boys which got a lot of plays in the USA.
So it wasn't strange for him to move to the states permanently where he made a good life for himself and now splits his time living in California and Hawaii where he has a band and plays live gigs.
Graham is also a good artist and has recently had some success with an exhibition and sale of his artwork which is also in keeping with the Hawaiian land and seascapes.
As if there is no end to his cultural escapades he accompanies his wife Caroline on stage with her Hawaiian dance routines. Although it has to be said that the Covid situation has had a bit of a negative affect on performances these days there is also the adage "Once a Performer" and Graham embraces any opportunity to get it on.
Melakaliki muka is definitely the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day with these two.
Happy Christmas Graham.
From Hawaii it's a hop over to The beaches of Ventura, California where the next Ex Brumbeat performer calls home.
JOHN FINCHAM.
Born and raised in Sparkbrook John had been the bassist for The Chantelles with his Beatlesque appearance and probably one of the best vocalists around.
He later joined TRICKSTER and toured the US supporting ELO and later with BOSTON then to quote him "I just kind of stayed here" and frankly who wouldn't want to stay in the California sun.
A couple of years back he had to have a quadruple heart by pass but in true Brummie style and with massive support from his lovely partner Debbie, he fought his way back to playing gigs again. The TOSSERS are playing but due to Covid are restricted to outdoor events only. However it has not stopped him making a CD of traditional Christmas songs alongside Jerry Breiner, his cohort in the Tossers, which is available to download now on iTunes. So Gracious is the time.
WILLIE HAMMOND.
He played some gigs with other bands before , joining the RAF, toured the world, got involved in a couple of wars and a secondment with the Foreign Office where he worked behind the Iron Curtain in Soviet occupied Poland as a member of The British Embassy in Warsaw.
Willie and his wife Linda moved to the interior of Spain in 2003 following an appearance on "A Place in the Sun" where he rekindled his passion for live performances and got a hard rockin band together again successfully getting onto the club and festival scene with a good following. With the covid in Spain rearing its head the music scene came to a dead stop, all bars and music halls were closed down and although there was a steady improvement and gradual easing of restrictions for music events it has not got back on its feet again and even now I read that the Govt are imposing anew, the restrictions to protect against the recent Variant. "Its not the best situation but I am hopeful of getting back on stage as soon as possible".
Happy Christmas Will, Fingers crossed for the New Year.
However it's not all doom and gloom for Willie or for the fans of Brumbeat as this very week has seen the release of a CD box set from Cherry Red records called "Once Upon a Time in the West Midlands". With CDs of all the best Bands from the W Midlands and DISC ONE of the set is my favourite especially the artwork
So that's another Christmas gift for the lovers of Brumbeat and Brum Rock too.
OGGIES CARD
I have hardly missed a year when I have sent a blog Christmas card to old mate Oggie, it has tended to be girls with little clothing on but this year I thought it more appropriate to include a photo of Oggie himself. He lived in America for more years than I can remember and then lived in Thailand for a few years too where he played in a Thai band and here is the man resplendent with his Levinson Blade strat having a great time........that's what playing music is about.
Happy Christmas Oggie, even though he hates Christmas. Keep breathing mate.
GRAHAM EDGE RIP.
It's a sad thing to announce the passing of Graham Edge, drummer for The Moody Blues. Graham gave some real power and force to the best R&B group I saw live in the early to mid sixties before their radical change of musical direction that took them forward to their zenith in popularity during the latter part of the decade.
My condolences go out to his family and friends.
FINALLY
Happy Christmas to all you readers and especially to John at BRUMBEAT.NET who has put in so much work to keep the History of Brumbeat alive, Bob Styler for his help with several things over the year and to the Skiffle King who helped start all this Rock and Roll.
Bob
Copyright: BullsheadBob
Contact: Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com
