BULLS HEAD BOB Apr2013 - BRUMMIES ABROAD. THE UGLYS, THE BRUMBEATS, THE CHEETAHS, LEE STEVENS. GOODBYE TO THE RITZ. THE BULLS HEAD WITH ALVIN LEE.

What Ho you Brummies,

So here we are again for the annual pilgrimage across the seas to see what's going on with some of our old Brumbeat band of brothers who quit these shores for adventures new.  Those are, the ones I'm in touch with.  I'm sure there are other muso Brummies Abroad in that category who aren't in contact with me so it would be nice to know how they're "gooin' on" too.  

HAWAII - GRAHAM ASHFORD (THE BRUMBEATS)
The Brumbeats were one of Brums good bands during their day, fuelled by some canny name changing that got them more attention, and that was really what it was all about then, rolling with the changes and getting the gigs.

Wafting breezes, beautiful sun, sea and palm trees.   It sounds just so idyllic
so there's no reason to ask former Brumbeats vocalist Graham Ashford just why he chose those shores to move to.   Graham is still active in the music world and regularly performs with his band or solo at many events across the State.  He was a recent guest on Radio KKCR Hawaii when he talked for 2 hours about Birmingham, it's bands of the 60's, the Beatles etc....- and the station played 8 of his own ,more recent songs.  Graham was pleasantly surprised to find that during the show they received lots of calls about Birmingham bands from all over the US.

Graham is also the vocalist with the Hawaiian group 'Pono Kane' who play regularly at the Tahiti Nui which is a bar featured

(At the Nui)

in the George Clooney Film The Descendants.



As if that weren't enough, Graham is an accomplished artist and when not in his musical guise he hones his artistic skills with Hawaiian scenes and landscapes

(copyright Graham Ashford)

CANADA - NORM CRANDLES (LEE STEVENS and The Satelites)
Lee Stevens and The Satelites were a good rockin' band who packed em in at all the usual places like The Carlton but Norm aka Lee Stevens legged it to Toronto, Canada to seek his fortune.  Norm is retired and celebrated his 73rd Birthday last month....... these days gets his kicks on the golf course and also puts himself through the mental torment of following the ups and downs of the  'Mighty Villa'. Though Norm isn't singing now he managed to dig out a great photo of himself in the early 60's when he was a part of the Brumbeat scene for us to see,... Norm....

(Lee Stevens copyright Norm Crandles)

"This was taken at Nechells and the discerning buyer will note the Victorian brickwork with it's original window frames and delicate paving, leading onto a full lawned garden with decorative pathways and symmetrical line posts, strategically positioned to frame the trees and adjacent properties.  The perambulator is an avant garde planter with a touch of whimsy.  The large garden gnome, centre stage is not included in the sale price".  

Yeah Norm, it's great to see his Brummie sense of humour remains and this is a really nice photo, evokes some distant clothing memories for me too.   

USA - BILL BONHAM THE CHEETAHS, TERRY REID
California is the home of Walsall's ace organist Bill Bonham

Bill sent me some nice photos of his recent visit to the NAMM Show where he got to hook up with some old friends from both the world of music and Film audio too,

(Bill and buddies at NAMM)

including Alicia Previn, daughter of Andre Previn with whom he jammed later on in the day.

Now you would have thought it was day in Tipton for example because of all the people that were there, Bill got a nice surprise when he bumped into ex Finders Keepers, Deep Purple bassist and singer Glen Hughes.  It's a far cry from Saturday night at The Woolpack.

(Bill and Glen Hughes)

"We hadn't seen each other for years and it was great to have bumped into him again".  

FAIRFIELD SKY
When Bill joined The Cheetahs they changed their name to Fairfield Sky, and also changed their image by glamming it up a tad!

The interesting news about FAIRFIELD SKY is that the songs they had recorded are about to be issued on a CD in Europe in June of this year and seemingly they are compiling material for another release later in the year.    Fairfield Sky are pictured here, Bill Bonham,Nigel Wright on Guitar,Matt Bridger on Bass and Dave Hynds on drums.

Here is a link to two acetate tracks that will form part of the upcoming release.
Very trippy and great hammond organ sounds
prevail. 

Click Here FAIRFIELD SKY






SPAIN  - WILL HAMMOND  THE UGLYS
Over to Europe now for an update on Will or Willie Hammond, The Uglys.
I don't really need to say much about The Uglys, a band that has always been
talked about.  

(Will Hammond in action copyright Amparo)

Having taken to the backwaters of Spain for the quiet life, it was only a matter of time before Uglys guitarist Will Hammond found himself lured back on stage bashing out R&B far away from the madness of the coastal resorts.   "There's a kind of California feel to this part of Spain, with loads of artists and musicians of great quality".  

Will too has been conducting interviews and playing live sets on the Radio as well as performing a workshop on songwriting at The School of Performing Arts and a blues masterclass at a Museum of Culture which attracted almost 200 guitarists along with his live gig commitments.   "There is a really cool place in the country called La Huerta Sonora

(Gene Garcia,bassist Alvaro Carazo, drums Luis Carlos Gamez, Will Hammond copyright Paco Gamez))

(The Sound Garden) it's a recording studio and a place where artists and musicians congregate every full moon to play music or stage events and I was an honoured 'invitee' along with three other excellent Spanish Blues and R&B musicians, Gene Garcia who is a mean harp player and vocalist and the great Alvaro Carazo who is a phenomenal bassist, he growls along!"  

"I'm just loving playing good music with

my own band too who are really up for it, the live gigs are full of energy, and the fantastic audiences too, of all ages,I don't really like to compare it with the old days, but it's not far off.





Willie sent me a clip of his band in action at a gig in Merida, Spain.

Click Here:  THE WILL HAMMOND BAND

THE UGLY'SWhilst on the subject of The Ugs I have to say that there are more search engine hits for The Uglys than any other Birmingham band on Bulls Head Bob either personality wise or Uglys records.  

It is also an interesting fact that, there are more musicians still playing live today, like Will Hammond, who were a part of The Uglys than any other Brumbeat era band.  Just thought it worth a mention.





All of the above musicians Played at:

THE RITZ, KINGS HEATH
Well it burned down last week and in a way it's probably the best thing that has happened to it, it never looked right as a Pawn shop, and it's importance for Brummie musicians has been diluted by solely being referred to as as a place where The Beatles played, with all those wonderful Brummie players and bands practically ignored.  A sad end to a fantastic place where the younger generation of musicians from the West Midlands but particularly Brummies learned their musical trade and we got to see some incredible acts there, not just the more famous faces either.  

THE BULLS HEAD - ALVIN LEE
We recently said goodbye to Alvin Lee, guitarist for Ten Years After, Alvin Lee was not a Brummie but another Brummie, John Byrne, wrote to me with his memories of seeing this great guitarist at The Bulls Head on the Coventry Road.

"I first saw Ten Years After at Mothers, Erdington and was amazed how good Alvin was, even tapping out tunes on the guitar with a drumstick.  Later on the band did a gig at The Bulls Head, Coventry Road supported by none other than a band called Earth, later known as Black Sabbath.  It was at this gig I'm sure that turned the fortunes of Sabbath.  I saw Alvin 'Heads Down' with the lads from Brum and not long after this gig, a name change and more optimism saw Sabbath improve and we all know the rest of that story.  Let's not forget Alvin's Woodstock fame either.  RIP Alvin Lee".

DENNY LAINE
John Woodhouse has written a nice article on Denny Laine, go to the Pie Stand page for more details.

and Finally...

There's been a whole lot of people die last month who formed a part of the world we grew up and lived in on a daily basis.  "Ain't it Funny, how time slips away......."

Tut tut Anon.


Bob

copyright Bullsheadbob
Contact: Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com

BULLS HEAD BOB Mar 2013. BULLS HEAD BOB EXCLUSIVE!! 'ANON THE COMMENTEER' AND THE FENTON-WEILL CONTROVERSY!!, Could Bob be Stripped of Award??, More shocking than other shocking things!! JOHN ENTWHISTLE, STAN CURTIS and GUY MACKENZIE SPEAK OUT

Hello Brummies, Folks, Folkettes, Drunks and Drinkers

It's with a heavy heart and a slight 'niggle' that I have to report that my recently awarded 'Golden Dibber' has been suspended, not literally of course, that would just be cheap humour and, as you know, I'm not that sort of chap/chapette.  It is true to say though, that I find myself under a BBBCGLM investigation for "heartlessly annoying a sensitive guitar freak" when, with my usual crass eloquence, I dared to suggest that this guitar:

a Fenton Weill,  was awful, thereby 'wilfully annoying a reader', contrary to sub section 12a of the BBBCGLM statutes for award winners.

YOU'VE DONE IT NOW BOB!
 "I'VE NEVER HAD SUCH A DELUGE OF BAD COMMENTS" shouted His Eminence, The Lord High Editor-in-Chief of BRUMBEAT,  J Woodhouse.

"YOU'VE OVERSTEPPED THE MARK THIS TIME BOB!!!!" ...."I'M REPORTING YOU TO HENRY TROUSERS!!" he yelled down the office upon the receipt of a second 'anonymous' comment being received through the 'cybernetic contact device'................  WHO IS THIS FENTON WEILL ANYWAY???

'Anon The Commenteer' as he shall be known, was obviously upset enough by my opinion of this inferior thing to feel compelled to send two comments about how great they were and how wrong and bonkers I must be.   Mrs Bob would say he was being a 'Stirrer', I think I agree.

I thought I had been quite the gentleman in my first reply to 'Anon' having covered the ground with some reasonable acknowledgement of this here geetar', given it's early days but it appears my actual wording was, or is now, the centre of the complaint.  It's like guitar nurd PMS.  In answer to 'Anon The Commenteer', who appears intent on trying to get me to break my news years resolution... 

"No, I don't mean it's not a looker...., I mean it's soddin' awful and if I had the choice of any early guitar, it wouldn't be a Fenton Weill.

I mean look, who wants to get into a row about something that I think was rubbish?, not me, I just happened to mention it in the context of early guitars. I'm pretty sure you're all old enough to make your own minds up?  Simply because it's old doesn't mean it's good either or because of the Jim Burns connection.  His association with Herr Weill didn't last longer than a bat's fart and frankly I'm not surprised, I can just imagine the conversation between them.   

Jim.   "Good God that's bloody awful, I'm off to build my own guitars"...
Auf Viedersen".  
Herr Wiel......."Pig!"

Burns Sonic

... off went Jim and indeed, built some lovely, quality guitars, but the small bodied style of the first Burns sonic model, which I've highlighted before, is similar in shape... end of similarity.  It must be remembered that Guyatone and others were also producing small bodied guitars at the same time so it really was a fashion and moreover, a lot of these early models were all made at the same factory and used some of the same parts. Burns would change this style radically with their huge bodied range of models.

A Fenton Weill is not a Burns........It's like all those guys who say "I jammed with Jimi"........so what? wordplay inferring that he too was a genius and had been touched by the hand of God are far removed from the truth.   At the Cedar Club in Birmingham I saw local guitarists jam with Jimi too and also at clubs in London like the Bag o' Nails, none of whom are, or were later guitar heroes themselves....fame by association means sod all.

It is what it is.

Lets Leave it Up to Others!
I am a man with an open mind, or as Mrs Bob refers to it, 'that large void, capable of engulfing what's left of the Arctic"', so I went further afield as I did with the Award Winning investigation exposing the Brumbeat vote rigging scam of The Strollers and sought out other serious and reputable sources who may have voiced their opinion on the subject, and who better to start off with than, the world famous:

STAN CURTIS 

Stan Curtis? yes sir, world renowned sound engineer and hi-fi guru, I guess he knows something about circuitry and sound. Stan owned more than one of these guitars and at one time actually owned the Brand name itself, so I doubt if I could find a better source.  He was a bass player and probably still is.

Quote: "They weren't very good guitars to play"

http://www.stancurtis.com/FW.htm

JOHN ENTWHISTLE
Probably the UK's most thunderous bass player of all time had a Fenton Weill once.
Here is a short piece reproduced from the John Entwhistle 'Gear' page on The Who's website which is a good read

http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/bass/bass6066.html

"Fenton Weill, a guitar manufacturer with a factory in Chiswick, made oddly shaped but serviceable guitars.  For a fiver (about 12 dollars), Entwhistle convinced someone who worked for Fenton Weill to smuggle out a body for his next instrument. A second factory had put on all the other parts.  Peter remembers this bass sounding "pretty good".  John Entwhistle swore it was "diabolical".

FAMOUS GUITARISTS
Here is a list of all the other famous guitarists that have either owned or liked the Fenton Weill:

hair balaclava and glass jug on left,
ugly slab of wood on right

The bassist of Mungo Jerry... who had a summer hit with 'In the Summertime' which featured a 'blown' glass jug playing the bass line.  Coudn't find any more.  

Hey I've just noticed they're all Bass Players as well, that explains it all.

You fashionistas will be more interested in guitarist Jerry Dorsey's 'hair balaclava'.

so no guitarists then!!


EDITOR BRUMBEAT.NET
When asked for a comment by the worlds press, the Editor of Brumbeat said  " Fenton Weill is a TV Ventriloquist isn't he?".
HENRY TROUSERS, CHAIRMAN, BBBCGLM

Henry Trousers, Chairman of the BBBCGLM had this to say.  "Well I have to say that I've never seen a Fenton Weill but I've been told they were capable. These days though, I personally prefer a Spear and Jackson No5 spade, with a composite handle mind you!, it's sharper edge really cuts through the sod..... I don't actually know if a FW had that??".


"Regarding the suspension of Bobs Golden Dibber, it is true that he is currently under investigation and as soon as our Sparkhill representative, Seamus O'Tarmac, reports back to us we will convene a general meeting of the Brotherhood and, if found guilty, Bob will be ceremoniously de-capped at Villa Park and his name expunged from The Shed of Fame".  

Previous De-capping  ceremony picture supplied by Albert Trousers (centre, wearing grey )

GUY MACKENZIE
Guy Mackenzie is the other person I found who thinks Fenton Weill are great and collects them!!  So at the very least I may have helped one soul mate find another, you could get together, I bet the hours would fly by.

You other serious guitarists are not obliged to look at the following link if, like 'Anon The Commenteer' you're 'touchy' and only like to look at EKO's for example.  I guess Anon will be rushing over there as we speak.

www.collectors-club-of-great-britain.co.uk/Features/Collecting-guitars/_ft25 

.... but I can tell you straight away that collector Guy is a drummer!!!! and buys Fenton Weills to hang on the wall.  He reports on his web page that his most desired guitar is yet another Fenton Weill (belonging to his best friend) and added that his wife thinks he is mad and has moved into the spare room.  

MRS BOB
To be inclusive gender wise, I thought Mrs Bob would fit the bill nicely especially with my growing feminist fan base and when asked the question "Mrs Bob, what about a Fenton Weill?"......she replied "Oh shut up with your sex talk and have a digestive", then followed up with "Wait a mo', wasn't that the guitar that all the fret wire used to drop out of the neck????..... 
How would I know, I never owned one?

Thats why I love her, she's a storehouse of knowledge about those little things that I have no interest in, you know me?  I'm not the sort of person who goes on about things, she just feeds me facts...  Her proper name is Lucy but I call her Mrs Bob, especially when she's being coquettish after fish and chips on Saturday night and you know, there's something about the smell of stale vinegar and mushy peas that set's her afire.... at the moment, as an added delight, she's taunts me with derogatory facts about Villa's current goal deficit, she's a a real temptress that one, whew! a blood boiling 15 seconds of non stop passion.

There you have it, I haven't made any of that up?  Those are some other peoples opinions on Fenton Weill.  So Anon the Commenteer, with the exception of John Entwhistle who can't answer back, why don't you go and bother them with your "Not wanting to get into an Argument" argument.  I await judgement by the league of flat capped peers.

It has just occurred to me that Anon the Commenteer could have led a miserable life until one day and quite by chance, he stumbled across an old delapidated warehouse and there in the corner was a secret door.  On opening the secret door he  found it to be stuffed with boxes marked 'Old 60's Guitars'. he must have thought "Yahoo!!! Bonanza!!  I'm gonna be rich".  I can't imagine how disappointed he would have felt to find they were all Fenton Weills but, ever the optimist, he set out to corner the EBay market until Bob Investigates blew the lid off his aspirations. 

That's just a maybe of course, and any implication that Anon was entering an old warehouse, without wearing the appropriate hard hat, would have been foolish on my part as this suggestion would be a further breach of the Statutes for Winners mentioned above and would incur an immediate debagging and decapping punishment.

It would have to happen this year, the very year where I promised to be a bit nicer to people?.......bollocks to that then!.  I can just imagine the shame of having to enter the boozer without my jauntily placed flat cap, tackle akimbo, and having to look at the empty space behind the bar where my Golden Dibber would have been standing proud.  I know that Doris the barmaid loved to give it a daily buffing. 

The next thing you know is that someone is going to disagree with me about the plastic nightmare that was the Hagstrom Futurama!!...no, no-one is that thick or geeky.   Oh what a disaster!.  I notice that even Stan Curtis agrees with that too, we're like peas in a pod, Bob and Stan, we could form a double act and visit homes for nervous guitarists, you'd probably have to pay the travel costs though Stan cos' I'm a musician and ain't got no dough.  These are just my 'hands on' recollections of these guitars, I do this for some fun.

As usual all comments are welcomed and, like this one, will be answered in full.
................................................................

So anyway on with the Motley.  This months blog was going to be the annual update on Brummies abroad which I really love doing to see what's happening with the Brummie muso's across some 'ponds'....until 'Anon the Commenteer'  distracted me from my normal peaceful existence, so now I am hiding away in the cyber shed worrying about my public image. What will Lanky Len say when he hears?  He's been working away creating the Bob T Shirt, he phoned the other day and said he'd worked day and night for three days and had a grand total of 4 small ones.  "How come so few?" I said, it was then he told me he had a small problem with his printing set-up, allied to a rare form of sleeping sickness but promised to update me on his Bob Campaign at the next meeting at the boozer, after the darts.

The Brummies Abroad will now appear Next Month and jolly good it will be too, full of the most interesting snippets and actual photographs! that you won't want to miss.

BOBS FAVOURITE PICTURE!!
Ho Ho....it's another year and accordingly it's my favourite Brumbeat picture time again.  Just love it, always worth reproducing again and again if you've missed it.

THE VICTORS

copyright Ken Reeves(right)

Just wonderful, it's really representative and captures the youth and fun of being a musician in a band back then.  Life was so much simpler.  Two beautiful Gibsons, would have been a great sound.

It's a bit like the Brumbeat Mona Lisa to me.   "I wonder what the drummer is thinking, with his inscrutable smile?"  Maybe something like "I wonder if they would like the idea of having matching Fenton Weills??", it's definitely the way a drummer would think.  Well the Lead guitarist looks like he knows the answer to that particular thought, and probably, so do the other two! I also see the guitarist has chosen the chord of C sharp7 for the pose, most unusual, perhaps he thought it was exotic? 

It kind of irritates me that the drummers shirt collar is sticking out of his jacket too, I think I'm getting fixations.

My eternal thanks to Ken Reeves, who is the only bass player on this page with a truly beautiful, high quality guitar, for sending in this wonderful gem, just fantastic.

I have yet to see a better picture, that is unless you have one that you would like to be seen occasionally, normal contact address.

OK, that's that and this is this:

THE REDCAPS- Talkin' bout you....
this was the real sound of beat groups during the brumbeat days,
and there were few better than The Redcaps, if any!! definitely not that tinny and soul-less 'Dial' Brumbeat LP Hollick and Taylor recording.....The Redcaps also 'passed' on the Fenton Weill owners opportunity..... which will only increase Anon the Commenteer's belief of how wrong we all were then.

have a nice life, love your wife and see you next month.

THE REDCAPS
http://youtu.be/Hl8PiFok_Aw


finally.....
just noticed that Stan's website is down.  lets hope it's just a glitch.
RIP Cleotha Staples............'People Get Ready there's a train a coming'.

Older couple sought for journey to Mars........"Mmmmmm Mrs Bob?"

Tara'
Bob

Come on Villa!!!
copyright Bulls Head Bob
Contact Bobsbullocks@GMail.com

Bulls Head Bob Feb 2013. BULLS HEAD BOB WINS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD TWICE!!. TEMPLE OF BRUMBEAT, THE BULLS HEAD, COVENTRY ROAD. PRISTINE VOX CONTINENTAL FOR SALE.

Watcha!! You Lucky People,

BULLS HEAD BOB WINS SECOND TOP AWARD
I just can't believe it!!!  How could it possibly happen?  For the second year running I find myself awarded the prestigious BBBCGLM Golden Dibber award.

Henry Trousers (with Dibber)  and voting committee
showing their approval of Bobs Award. 

At a fun packed gala shed event, I was presented with the award by Chairman, Henry Trousers. 

"We, the BBBLCGM present this Golden Dibber to Bob".
"Oh ta very much" said I. I don't believe in long drawn out speeches

Later that night at the boozer , The Gang of Four held several impromptu rounds of celebratory drinking during which, Nobbers Brother-in -Law, 'Lanky Len' was co-opted into the brotherhood as 'associate member and publicity manager based on his relationship to Nobber'. His first idea was to buy everyone many drinks or twelve, which I loved, before announcing his intention to 'sign me'......."wait a soddin' minute" I said,  "Why would I want to be signed to a council house painter for??", it's a fair question, I'd been managed by a Cowboy before.

Anyway, he said he was going to have a T shirt printed but wasn't going to bother messing around with companies that actually make them for a living, but will utilise his own printing set-up to reduce overheads.  This act of frugality struck a chord with us perpetually broke old muso's and we raised a hearty cheer to his suggestion. "More pints" we said....... We await his offering??. 

DA-DAH. A NEW BULLS HEAD PHOTO. HOORAY!!!!
A great thankyou goes to the very nice Lee Tonks for sending me this.  I hope your son is over the shock of entering a library Lee!!

Oh, isn't that great?  It brings a lump to my throat, much better than the one I cobbled together from a half burned postcard print........Yes sir, The Bulls Head, Coventry Road in all it's glory, I loved playing here, the dance hall ran the whole length of the upper floor, with the stage at the far left hand end and the bar at the right hand end, and anyone who was anyone in Birmingham in the 60's, gigged here.  John Singer was the promoter.  What a great old building this was, look at the size of those outdoor lamps!!  

For the not too observant of you, the Landlord can be seen standing in the Main doorway looking for his cellarman thinking, "I'll bet he's got his dick in his hands again?"  Mike Sheridans potato cart can be seen departing down the lane on his way to pick up Roy Wood.

FENTON-WEILL EARLY GUITARS
Thought I'd better respond to the comment received regarding the early guitars blog I did two months ago, specifically about Fenton Weill, with the Anonymous 'commenteer' saying how fine they were and he had FIVE of them.

So that's who bought them all!! 

In honesty, they do have a connection with Burns guitars, which I believe I mentioned and I have no doubt that they would have used roughly the same type of electrics but they just look so bloody awful and I have said before that the Vibra Sonic wasn't one of my favourites either, certainly not a design classic.  I stick by my words because it's all a matter of taste you guys but thanks for the comment.

GIRLS ALOUD DISAPPOINTED BY TICKET SALES............ Hooray....that's just such good news, I've been smiling all week.     

RECENT EBAY SALES
In the last blog I highlighted some guitars from the Brumbeat days that were for sale on EBay on one day.  I like to be inclusive, so for you organists and drummers, I looked for organs and drums this time.

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL VOX CONTINENTAL 
For all you organ fetishists here we have a fabulous example of the much loved, beautifully styled and gorgeous sounding VOX Continental Organ in pristine condition, recently sold on EBay.

This brings back some memories, it came with the original cases and footpedal. It reminded me of the day my mate bought one and we all gasped at it as he was unpacking it.

The lucky new owner of this paid 1,350 pounds for it and I bet it's worth every penny.  I can almost hear it playing.  "I put a spell on you...."

DRUMS DRUMS 
I am a guitarist but also half a drummer, that is I can play all the basic stuff but not the stuff where you need to have octopus arms!!  I recall however, turning round on stage at various times during my 60's days and seeing the drummer playing these 2 sets, the first being:

TRIXON
They don't look much compared to todays kits but they were a good kit during their day and  I was surprised to see that they didn't carry much value.  This kit sold for 400 quid.  This drum make was used by Clem Cattini on Shakin All Over.

LUDWIG
This set is from 1959.  This was a very loud and tight sounding kit and identical in colour to the one used by our drummer.  I recall long journeys in the van with  him going on and on and on about buying a set of Ludwig drums, and as annoying as it was, it was nothing compared to the way he went on and on and on to his Grandad until he coughed up the dosh!!!   This kit was for sale at 2,500 pounds.

Just a few last bits and bobs.  

Next Month, Annual Brummies Abroad.
The last of The Andrews Sisters died this week, simply wonderful.

Cheerio then,
Bob
copyright: bullsheadbob
contact Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com

BULLS HEAD BOB JAN 2013. EBAY SHOPPING FOR BARGAINS OR NOT? HARMONY, VOX, FENTON WEIL, ANTORIA, EGMOND LUCKY 7

Watcha Brummies, Muso's and surfers of the web.

Happy New Year and all that stuff.  Spent Christmas in Manchester with my lovely daughters family, nice vibe I have to say and despite the odd shopping argument, myself and Mrs Bob thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas festivities, food, chocolate etc etc etc.  So then, on with the motley...

Can you get a good deal from EBay? are the prices realistic?  With two days to go and no blog written, I took a cyber stroll through the ether on your behalf.

EARLY GUITARS VALUES.
VOX LYNX BARGAIN OR NOT?

Cruising through ebay I happened to notice that there was a VOX Lynx guitar for sale and also a Watkins Rapier 33.  The asking price for the Vox was a staggering 995 pounds and for the Rapier 395 pounds.  Now we all know that Vox guitars were not very good, it's not a secret.  If not for Brian Jones using a Teardrop model with the Stones during the sixties I think the brand would have died on it's feet and these days the only Vox models that attract good prices are for the Teardrop and the Lozenge so from a design point of view Vox did something right there. 

The Lynx appears to be in good nick but I can never recall any musician liking this model and it's looks can't be considered appealing as it is a cross between a Hofner Verithin and a Guild, awful scrathplate design too that makes it look like a bat has landed on your guitar!  Now I'm sure there are Vox collectors but I'm talking about the whole package, great sound, desirability and aesthetics, none of which this guitar possesses for me. On the other side of the coin,

I remember buying my first Gibson Les Paul junior from Ringway Music in 1962 or 3, it was 63 guineas, I'm not sure if the case came with it.    Today I have looked at this one that is on sale for 2,295 pounds and just looking at one again transported me back to another time and some really happy days.  It has some dings and knocks but I just know what that lovely little guitar is going to sound like when you plug it in and crank it up, I wish I owned one right now. 

I then checked out all the other guitars I had owned as I guess we all do from time to time, saying "Cor, if only I'd hung on to that", I kept going back to the little Gibson though.  

I got to wondering what the value of that 63 guineas represented in todays economy and by some devious mathematical jiggery pokery I came up with the figure of about 650 pounds.  So, realistically, how could a Vox possibly be worth 995 pounds given that it's appeal can only be subjective?    

What could I buy for that amount of money today??  Well I looked for other guitars 'of their day' that would finish their sales that day or were offered as a Buy it Now option on EBay

Right off the bat I could have bought this 'buy now' for 850, a little bit cosmetically unperfect but that can be easily rectified, there is one thing for sure though, its history is steeped in the Blues and British R&B and we know it sounds great.  I drooled over this beauty wow!!:

HARMONY ROCKET:

ARIA TWINCASTER AND EKO CHEAPIES

Both of the following two guitars were manufactured in the early 70's.  The Aria is on sale for 225 pounds (unsold) or an EKO semi for 450, another lovely looking period guitar that would be a preference above the Vox for me:

If it was simply authenticity that is on sale then I could have bought two historic guitars in one day for half the money of the Vox.  The first being an Egmond Lucky 7, this is a real early guitar with the cheap option of the day of externally adding the electrics.  Egmond then rebranded the guitar as Rosetti and there was a solid body variant called the 'Rosetti Lucky 7 Solid' which Paul McCartney used as well as many Brummie guitarists of the day.  It was enormously popular because of it's price.  This Egmond Lucky 7 also had it's original case by the looks of it.  It was on sale for 135 pounds and didn't sell!!

The other peculiarity that went for 260 pounds was a FENTON WEIL, The Deluxe I think, although the seller had no idea what it was, other than an old guitar.  The brand logo had been removed from the headstock but it's small body and giant headstock were instantly recognisable but I'm probably wrong about the model.  I thought, at first it was a Guyatone because of the headstock but have now re-convinced myself it is a FentonWeil:

It's not a beauty by any measure but it is an authentic early solid body guitar, incidentally this guitar sold for close to 40 pounds in 1961 which would have made it pretty expensive back then, it always has the appearance of being made from old War Stock electric components to me.   I think that someone has changed the body shape or perhaps I'm totally wrong.  I would never buy it in a month of Sundays but I think the buyer of this would be pleased with it's price.  By the looks of the fretboard, it's seen some action so it's nice to see that some enthusiast has it now.

I could quite easily have bought any amount of very nice modern USA Fender Strats and a couple of nice 2000 Gibson SG standards for around the 600 pound mark along with a Fender Telecaster Hot Rod 52 or a Gibson Les Paul 50's Gold Top re-issue each selling for 800.    It really is incredible what value people put on an oldish instrument irrespective of how good it is and, by the same token, there are bargains out there if you are a history buff or, if like me you would be happy to pay for a piece of your past, that is, if you have any dosh left after Christmas or if your Grannie has given you some money for being a good boy.

Get searching.  I'm pretty sure that I could have found many more astute bargains but decided to just stick to EBay and shop on one day.  Here's one last guitar that I would quite like to have bought, the Antoria ES175, I never thought much to Antoria guitars as rock guitars in those days but they did make some very nice semi acoustics and this is one of them. 

This is a nice thing and some lucky person got it for around 500 quid, nice one, congratulations to you!!

CHRISTMAS IN MANCHESTER  

Now I'm sure that we Brummies are justly proud of our City and still regard it as the UK's 2nd City.  We can buy anything we want from the shops and we get to see the greatest concerts.  However at a local retail outlet in Chorlton,

where I spent Christmas, the shop assistants appeared to be providing the

clientele with a Seasonal Extra I hadn't seen in the confines of Hall Green!!

I wasn't brave enough!  

So anyway my friends, do have a Happy New Year, keep playing, keep healthy and keep young.  It's the morning of New Years Eve and I'm starting the celebrations early today.  Tomorrow I wake up a new man, devoid of malice I will make it my desire to love everyone just a tad more....

Things have gone quite at the Holt End .........mmmmm!!

Toodle oo

Bob

copyright: Bullsheadbob

contact:  Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com

BULLS HEAD BOB. DEC 2012. BOB'S CHRISTMAS PRESENT GUIDE. FENTON WEIL GUITARS. TIPTON AT CHRISTMAS.

Welcome Brummies, Brummies Abroad, Ladies, Gentlemen,Teenagers and even the odd Jock!  My Christmas thoughts also offer a warm embrace to my friends in 'fringe areas of sexuality' too so Hooray!!  It´s Christmas and I love you all. 

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS
Buying the right present is always a daunting affair and especially

if it involves buying a musical instrument.  You´ve probably been hinting to the missus what you´d like in your stocking but just in case you hadn´t thought about what you´d like here´s a hint or two:

THE FENDER GOLDCASTER
If you´re a Tele person this guitar is the one for you, it is the only gold guitar ever made and is yours for One Million of your British pounds.  I bet it´s a real nightmare removing fingerprints from the body, my mate Oggie would love to own it just for the sake of cleaning it.

If you find that the Goldcaster doesn´t fit into your household budget, you could always suggest having an ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE

It looks like a PRS but when you flip the guitar over you will be astounded to see it´s constructed of Carbon Fibre and will only set you back 6000 pounds.
I have no idea if it sounds good but it can go from 0 to 120 notes an hour
in 8 seconds.   I can't imagine anyone seriously wanting one of these. 

EARLY GUITARS UPDATE
This is the 'other side' of the Good guitar coin.  Last month I featured guitars that could be found in the music shops of GB during the early 60´s.

There was however one glaring omission because I forgot to include one of the ugliest and worst of guitar brands that were available to us musicians, it was a very short lived company, the guitar make being,  FENTON WEIL.   This was a London based guitar manufacturer/importer who had earlier had a short partnership as Burns-Weil.  I think it fair to say that there are a couple of similarities in
the small bodied Burns sonic range.  

Anyway there was a short range of guitars and they were all horrible beyond belief, I don´t know how I forgot to include these guitars designed probably by Mr Magoo.

If you happened to have owned one of these horrors and wish to re-visit your nightmare
take a trip to www.vintagehofner.co.uk
who have some fine pictures of most of the FENTON WEIL range on their lovely website which is always a pleasure to visit.

The headstock on this is bigger than the body. Oh what a dreadful thing it is.   I knew a bassist who used one of these - well he was bass player after all.   

There are probably some folk who are possibly drooling over the thought of owning one of these early guitars but, before you drool your life and your savings away, let me say this, ''There were only a few solid body guitars in the shops for us to choose from and even then the majority of us musicians with only half a brain, gave this make a sharp swerve''.

LITERATURE
I was given a few books last Christmas including one that I thought I'd pass on to you.  Without fear of being proven wrong let me tell you that this is definitely the WORST book ever writtten.  It is absolutely dreadful, so if you were thinking of buying something for someone you don't particularly like, but HAVE to buy a present for them, then get them this:

You won't regret it - BUT they will!!

OGGIES CARD
It wouldn´t be Christmas here on the blog without Oggies card but this year he said he wanted to avoid naked women and wanted something to show what Christmas in the Black Country is like.  So here´s a picture of Tipton at Christmas, they know how to throw a party there alright.

FLYING WITH YOUR GUITAR?
Well Brian Nicholls has done it again.  He just sent me a nice story and here it is, we all like a winner.

A musician named Dave Carroll recently had difficulty with United Airlines.

United apparently damaged Daves treasured Taylor guitar worth 2500 pounds

during a flight and Dave spent 9 months trying to get United to pay for damages caused by baggage handlers to his custom Taylor guitar.  During his final exchange with the United customer services manager, he stated that he was left with no choice other than to create a music video for YouTube exposing their lack of co-operation.   The Manager replied ''Good luck with that one pal''.

So he posted a retaliatory video on YouTube.  The video has since received over six million hits.  United Airlines contacted the musician and attempted settlement in exchange for pulling the video.  Naturally his response was
''Good luck with that one pal''.

Taylor guitars sent the musician 2 new custom Taylors in appreciation for the product recognition from the video that has led to a sharp increase in orders.

Here's the video and it just goes to show that a great song speaks volumes:

http://youtu.be/5YGc4zOqozo

AND FINALLY:
The planned Blue Plaque for Mothers at Erdington seems to have been put on the back burner for a while but I shall try and bring you any news that may be forthcoming soon.

Myself and the Boogie Band shall be gigging this weekend so I may bump into one or two of you.  The day after I´m going up to Manchester to spend the festive season with my beautiful daughter.    So it only leaves me to wish all you folks a Merry Christmas from myself, Mrs Bob and the Gang at the boozer and to say thanks to those who have helped contribute to this blog during the past 12 months and lastly of course a big thankyou to all the readers.   

Take Care
Bob

copyright: Bullsheadbob
contact:   Bobsbullocks@GMail.com