Hello My Darlings!! Hello Brummies, and especially all the West Midlands bands of the 60's who were a part of that original Brumbeat Sound.
As an aspiring 12/13 year old guitarist with a natural ear for music and a thirst for knowledge I set myself targets to achieve. I had done the whole Shadows and Ventures thing and was looking for inspiration. I got that from seeing local bands, that's where the real excitement was, that teenage atmosphere and I learned my stagecraft by watching great 'stage moves' and delighted in the effect they had on audiences and one guy who had that musicality and stage "Prescence" aplenty was the great
DENNY LAINE
Denny was an 'electric' and 'fully wired' performer then with his gritty supercharged voice fronting The Diplomats, a fine example of a Beat Group. He rose to his best forming the original Moody Blues line up and his performance at The Ritz with Go Now topping the charts was incredible, the place was jammed and the adrenalin was flowing as he and the band blasted out their Rythm n Blues set, I was in awe. I have admired Denny since those days a lot and still do and am pleased to see that he had a successful one-man acoustic tour in the USA in Feb. Denny has an Offical Facebook page with links to further information about gigs and Songs. So "Go Now"...... sorry about that, Dad joke.OLDBURY NEW OPEN MIKE NIGHT.
As 60's teenagers we had an abundance of youth clubs to go and play at, we played for nothing to begin with whilst we assaulted young audiences ears with our, less than mediocre, attempts at being a band . You've got to start somewhere!! and playing live is the first step. These days, what happens for the thousands of adults who love music and have nowhere to play and display their talents? Open Mic nights are the answer and luckily for those in the Oldbury area a new "Open Mike (sic) Night" is
starting at Fridahs Hall, Dudley Road, Tividale B69 2PJ, where you can arrange a chance to strut your stuff, individually, as duos or bands.
The new venue is being hosted by none other than the great Bob Styler who is well aquainted to gigging in the Black Country and has been playing with Brummie bands since the early sixties, in all sorts of line ups, so not only is he well qualified to run the Open Mike but is also the right man to seek advice from. All round good guy!!There is also a licensed bar with one free drink per performer, a back line
of amplifiers, drums, a great PA system and stage lighting is also supplied which is so good in providing a warm ambience to play in. So not much kit to take with you, this is a Win - Win situation. Bring your friends along it's a great social occasion too, make your partners proud.
If you're interested you can make contact with Bob via his Facebook Page 'Frida's Open Mike Night' where a phone number is available for you to book a spot on stage or send him a message. The next event is 17 March starting at 7.00 PM with the first hour dedicated to Bob's band The Blue Badges. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.WHO THE HELL IS CHAS NEWBY?
I'll tell you who he is, he's the bass player who joined The Beatles as bass player for two weeks in 1960 shortly after they had returned from Hamburg leaving Stu Sutcliffe behind. He played with them for four gigs, before he quit the band to go to university to become a maths teacher. Pete Best was still the drummer at that time and the world has always kind of sympathised with him by the manner in which he was dismissed before they took the world by storm. With the release of the Beatles anthology Pete got his long awaited financial reward for which I'm very pleased.I think that Chas Newby has probably had as many sleepless nights as Best did asking himself "What was I thinking?". Can you imagine the amount of times he said "I was in The Beatles" to people before getting the normal two word reply "Piss Off!!"
Coincidentally he is a left handed player like Macca. These days Chas plays gigs with The Quarrymen who all Beatle fans would have heard of. I'm glad he's still playing!!
SPINAL SABBATH.
A Happy Birthday to the lovely Tony Iommi, 75 and not a grey hair in sight, he truly must have some real Black magic going on there.
In 2021 he released his own perfume accompanied by the aroma inspired recording "Scent of Dark" ooh spooky?? That got my thoughts going, picturing sweaty Sabfans at a festival covered in fragrance whilst smoking weed and drinking cider by the gallon.
And now as if from the script of Spinal Tap itself there is going to be a Black Sabbath ballet staged by the Birmingham Royal Ballet Company....."What!!! How Black will that be? "The blackest of Black" that's how much. Alright you lads on yer toes. I'd love to see the line of Sabbath fans queuing up for the event smelling like a Turkish Brothel and kitted up for the night in the above anticipated Merch.
In all honesty I would love to see this, it will be a fabulous event. I imagine there will be some balletic fireworks for sure from this incredibly dynamic company.The event runs from 23 to 30 Sep 23 but is unfortunately already sold out. Support the Arts.
YOU DONT KNOW YOUR KLEMPT FROM YOUR BINSON BOB!
In march 2017 I wrote a blog about Italian guitars Galantis etc and in that blog, showed a picture of a KLEMPT P.A. System wrongly saying it was a BINSON, which I knew was wrong but was kind of thinking I'd get away with it because I was in a rush to get the blog finished.........WRONG!! How could I believe I'd get away with that? It even says KLEMPT on the amp and echo? for goodness sake. I've always meant to correct it on that page but never got around to doing it and would like to thank all those who have contacted me and one day I will correct it. It's very nice to know you care! Have a nice day to you all and thanks for your visit here's a cyber hug..
FINALLY
Spring is approaching and we will all feel better emerging from the cold and damp so let's try and be optimistic if we can.
On that note I shall conclude this months fol-de-rol, which I thought informative but brimming with wit and jolly japes, for your delectation.
Toodle Ooooo
Bob
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Contact Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com
