Bulls Head Bob Aug 2023. A Bit more Ringway Music. Some Brumbeat bands 1965

 Hello you Brummie Musos,

It's hot, Hot, Hot my friends but it is the holiday season so we shouldn't really complain.  

A BIT MORE RINGWAY MUSIC.  

Its 1965, Ringway Music has opened, only a small shop but as it is run by musicians we all flock there, I buy my first Gibson from there. It has since been consigned to the Brum history vaults as one of the greatest shops there was and us Brumbeat musos look back on it with great affection.  One of those aficionados, namely Bill Lovegrove, has kindly sent me a picture of that very boutique to refresh our memories and make us feel good inside.  

1965

The year of 1965 was one of mega activity for Birmingham bands and this is what was happening with just a few  Birmingham bands at that time starting appropriately with.

THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP

The Spencer Davis group have had their first hit with 'Keep on Running' and are doing some promotion leading up to their second chart success "Somebody Help Me'.  I guess they are promoting the shop or the new Burns "Fully Transistorised" Orbit amplifier as Spencer is sat on one although I can't remember them using it on stage.  

I guess Steve Winwood is inside getting a free coffee.  At the time several bands tried this amp, I've even seen a picture of Clapton using one on stage.  I used one for one night and it was a lifeless pile of poo!

On the music side of the coin this was, hands down, the best Rythmn and Blues outfit in the country and a very young Steve Winwood was a teenage heartthrob, as well as being brilliant at everything else he did.

Dont you just love the way Spencer has a couple of pens in his top jacket pocket, he did work at Aston University prior to the bands success so it was a funny way of looking important back then.  Anyway just another peek at this much loved shop at the best of times.

THE APPLEJACKS

The Applejacks had been the first Brummie band to get a chart hit in 1964 getting to Number 7 in the charts with 'Tell me When' and had a good follow up with the Lennon and McCartney penned 'Like Dreamers Do' and their final single 'Three Little Words', the latter 2 both getting to the 20's in the charts.    Record companies in those days were wankers and would try and foist some inapropriate song or other on bands who had scored a hit and The Applejacks were no exception.  DECCA wanted them to record 'Chim Chim Cheree' from Mary Poppins for their next release, the band argued that it wasn't  a song they should be doing and basically refused to record it.  They found themselves put on the back burner by DECCA for a further 6 months and it was 1965 before they released another single, by which time, interest in the band had flagged and they returned to playing local gigs in Birmingham before getting a lucrative deal to play on the cruise ships....for years and years.

THE MOODY BLUES

The Moody Blues scored the second chart entry of a Brummie Band with the classic  "Go Now" reaching No 1 in 1964.  Their light shone bright for a short period as an R and B band, touring with The Beatles but they were royally robbed of any earnings by Tony Secunda and their production company.  In 1965 two of the band left, namely Denny Laine and Clint Warwick.  The Moodies found themselves doing local gigs back in Birmingham before resurrecting themselves in the psychedelic progressive rock genre achieving phenomenal success.

THE UGLY'S

The Uglys got a record deal with PYE and in 1965 released their self penned single "Wake up my Mind" which didn't do too well in the British Charts but bizarrely got to Number 1 in Australia and Number 10 in New Zealand in August of 1965.  The same year they released "Its Alright" and got lots of pirate radio plays of Tony Blackburn and Simon Dee and touring and headlining all the best venues.   The record was selling 750 copies per day and the band featured on Ready Steady Go, it looked as if they were going to chart but fell foul of greater success owing to a strike by the record distribution industry so, with no records available at the point of sale, other music had replaced yesterdays favourites when the strike finished.

They were lined up to tour Australia with The Rolling Stones in early 66 but the Australian Musicians Union wouldn't permit another British Group on the tour despite them having hits there.  This band got some really bad breaks in 1965 and beyond.

FINALLY  

In 1965 I was playing some of the usual places like the Hen and Chickens and The Mermaid and venturing out to Stratford on Avon and a great nights at Walsall Town Hall having the best days of my life with a great group and a great group of friends too.

In 1964 there were two BRUM BEAT LP's issued.  The first was released on the Dial label that comprised of the bands managed by the Reagans who ran a lot of venues in the city, notably The Ritz in Kings Heath and a second LP on DECCA featuring bands on the Decca label at that time.  These are still around on Ebay.

I heard that there was a reunion planned for those who were on the Reagan bands version organised by Keith Powell (and the Valets) saying that members of five of those bands would be present. Sadly I received the news too late to publicise it.

So anyway if you're holidaying this month, enjoy yourselves and put on lots of tanning lotion.

Take care

Bob

Copyright Bullsheadbob 

Contact  Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com

Bulls Head Bob July 2023. Glastonbury 2023. MACCAS New Book. Rock Birthdays. Where and how it all Started

 Hello My Lovelies,

GLASTONBURY 23

Well that was another great Glastonbury Festival.   The weather

lifted everyone's spirits and it was a party atmosphere.   There were great highlights with the Foo Fighters appearing as the surprise act on the opening night and just how great were they?

The world of music is a better place thanks to Dave Grohl with his unending dedication to his craft and as an all round champion for supporting all music.  But let's get back to the 60's.

CAT STEVENS

I don't know whether Cat Steven's spot on the Legends stage on the Sunday afternoon was a blessing or not.  His set was pretty lifeless and the crowd became subdued or bored and, although he tried, he just didnt seem to have any connection with the crowd and when someone shouted "Let's Go!!" he kinda lost his temper and replied "What do you mean "Let's Go", "what do you think I'm doing?". 

I knew what he meant though.  Cat Stevens wrote some great songs but it was a pretty boring set.  As an aside, back in the 60s when he was a little more animated, he was backed by a Brummie band called ZEUS featuring Sprike Hopkins and the Canadian Pilling Brothers.

The positive side to his act was that we all couldn't wait for Elton John, who by contrast set the place on fire, always the consumate performer, he got down to business straight away and had the crowd in his hands, the place thundered and roared their approval to the man who stole the whole show.  

The size of the crowd to see Elton was F*****g staggering, I'd never seen the like. It was reported that there were 120,000 people just watching him.  He announced that it was definitely his final performance but he's done that before a couple of times already so it's not necessarily so.

DANGER RED ALERT!   After the event, whilst reading about the festival in the national press, I came across a piece of news that I feel obliged to share with the world of the BHB Blog, in order to give you plenty of time to make holiday plans for next year during the festival dates.   

And it came to pass that one Mel C, the 'almost a singer' of the Spice Girls had been doing a set at Glastonbury too.  She was on the Avalon Stage,  generally known for folk acts.   She said  "All the Spice Girls are up for a gig here next year on the Legends Stage".    Since that announcement I've read that Ryanair flight bookings for the Sunday of next years event have completely sold out and that the biggest auto tune desk is being manufactured as we speak.

PAUL McCARTNEY NEW BOOK.

A book by Paul McCartney has been released featuring many "never before seen" photos he took during 1964, coincidentally the year I left school, and the year The Beatles rose to mega stardom.   All the teachers at the school must have known I was destined for fame because they all cheered as I walked out of the school gate, they really loved me.

Anyway for Beatles fans it's a must.  It is Number 1 on Waterstones book charts and retails at £45 pounds. 

It would be a great gift as a 'buy early' present for christmas.

Paul has recently celebrated his 81st birthday.   Who'd have thought that The Beatles would have lasted so long?

ROCK BIRTHDAYS 

Other significant 1960's rock star birthdays in June/July include.  BRIAN WILSON, Beach Boys. RAY DAVIES , The Kinks.  GEORGIE FAME.  RONNIE WOOD and CHARLIE WATTS, The Rolling Stones.  RONNIE LAINE, The Small Faces. IAN PAICE, Deep Purple. 

RINGO STAR and MICK JAGGER.    Luckily for me I got to see all these old timers when they were young studs, giving it LARGE!!!!

WHERE AND HOW IT ALL STARTED.  It didn't start with the Beatles or the Stones but their popularity has carried the music till today.  But, who were their influences?  It was the first Rockers who started at the 2i's coffee bar in London.

We all copied these acts on their first Rock and Roll tour.  There are still some of these guys around today, some of whom I have the pleasure and honour of knowing.

FIRST ELECTRIC GUITAR WITH 'BALLS'

Here we have a picture of the absolute first real rock guitar going through development with its creator, the incredible and ground breaking Mister Les Paul When he bolted two halves of an acoustic guitar body to a single slab of wood fitted with pick ups.

His genius was not only producing an electric guitar, it was producing a guitar with sustain, something that growled when it was powered up.

He then further engineered it to be used in recording studios with in built effects.  Something that Brian May and his father latched onto when building May's own individual guitar many, many years later.

Some of you may have been misled by the sub title when I referred to the 'first electric guitar with BALLS'.  I was not referring to the self proclaimed Birmingham Supergroup who got together, never played a gig, never released any recordings and all but one of the line up were sacked by its leader within 3 months, what a joke.  What a waste.

FINALLY

So there we are, the present day with its mega festivals from the first days of Rock in variety theatres in one go.  Long may it reign.   So lets keep music live, never say die.  It doesn't matter how old you are, you only have to please yourself so

KEEP PLAYING!!

Take care of yourself and the ones you love and they will take care of you.

Bob

Copyright: Bulls Head Bob

Contact:    Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com 

Bulls Head Bob - June 2023. THE MIGHTY VILLA! GUILD SCORE AN OWN GOAL. HERE COMES THE NIGHT - BERT BERNS

 Howdoo You Brummies

Its June,  it's sunny and I'm feeling Happy which, given the state of the world, is surprising but what can be the cause of this nice feeling??

I'll tell you what, it's THE MIGHTY ASTON VILLA!!   Being a Villa

fan has been very difficult to live with for all these years but now we stand proud.  At the beginning of the season we were truly on a downward spiral with nothing to look forward to except an impending exit from the Premier League. 

A lacklustre attitude with bad results week after week and then we got a Proper Manager with discipline, vision, dreams and expectations.   Unai (pronounced Oonaye) (for my friends in foreign climes) Emery has turned my frown upside down alright! and we will be playing in Europe next year.  

Mrs Bob who has no idea about the Villa or football in general thought his name was 'One Eye'.  That hilarious supposition had me and the gang in stitches when she tried to join in the celebratory conversation at the pub!  I love her, she's the the girl for me!! UTV....

NAMM 2023.  GUILD GUITARS SCORE OWN GOAL.

Up till a few years ago the blog readers were treated to a report

from The NAMM music show by our old mate and US resident Bill Bonham.    Sadly Bill passed away but every year when its announced it reminds me of Bill and what a loss to the music world he was but on the positive side it serves to remind me of happier Brumbeat Days when he was on the scene with his Hammond B2 growling away.

I had a cyber check on this years show and particularly Guild Guitars where they displayed their latest offerings and, as usual, their acoustic models are gorgeous and the Solid body offerings look like Russian pieces of crap, devoid of design ethics as shown in this picture of their Surfliner selling at  £475.00.  There is also a Surfliner deluxe with a Tremelo for £725. 00.  Pictured below.

I think "clunky and unattractive" and "could do better" is my take for this retro looking guitar.  

It reminds me of the pre 60's days looking in guitar shops and this would be the one  hanging on the wall that nobody wanted to try.  Guild should have studied the sleek, sensuous lines of the gorgeous looking METEORA from Fender, or perhaps they did and decided that Clunky was the way forward in filling their retro niche for those who have no style.   I am sure it's built well but, really?

Fenton Weil were one of the worst guitars built in the late 50's.  Bits would drop off them and the fret wire wasn't even inset into the neck but at least they looked good.   Dear me Guild are certainly consistent.

CLASSIC 60'S HIT.   HERE COMES THE NIGHT.  BERT BERNS

I just love this song and remember playing it with my first band at those 60's gigs in Brum.  I believe that the public think that 'Here Comes the Night', the 1965 hit by Them was written by Van Morrison.  Well not only was it written by another guy, namely Bert Berns, but had been previously released in 1964 by Lulu with a slushy, soulless arrangement full of strings courtesy of Mike Leander that did nothing on the charts.  The recording, released a year later by 'Them' was a different kettle of fish and Morrisons gravelly, earthy voice gave it some urgency which was offset by some melodic guitar phrases supplied by Jimmy Page.

Bert Berns, also known as Bert Russell was a contracted songwriter in the famous Brill Building in New York.   He famously co wrote "Twist and Shout" with Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers who released Twist and Shout prior to The Beatles famous rendition and wrote 'Baby Let me take you Home' by the Animals  and later co wrote 'Hang on Sloopy'by the McCoys.

He wrote many more hits but didnt achieve any success as an artist himself.

 

A double DVD about Bert Berns was released. Called "BANG, the Bert Berns story". I  haven't seen it myself but imagine it is interesting.  I'm not sure if it's still available but probably worth a view.

Ok guys, thanks for dropping in to the blog.  Its music history with a touch of irreverent humour, always worth a visit.

Take Care of the Ones you Love. 

Bob

Copyright:  Bullsheadbob 

Contact:  Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com 

  

Bulls Head Bob May 2023. NEW VANS FOR OLD. PASSPORT. WEE WILLIE HARRIS RIP.

Good Day Brummies, Brummies Abroad, Brummie musicians and mates.

IT'S A NEW DAWN, IT'S A NEW DAY, 

 IT'S A NEW, OLD VAN!

What goes around comes around they say but I never imagined that, in these days of high tech and design innovation, the British motor industry would revert to producing a van that, in the 60's had become a van that a band could buy, second hand, for around £15.00 at the car auctions once the post Office had finished with them and drive it till the engine fell out or simply rotted away.   This van wasn't pretty, in fact if you were in a band you'd probably have felt embarrassed pulling up at a venue in it.  With a registered, unloaded, top speed of 53 mph and fuel consumption of 22 miles to the gallon, it would have taken 2 hours to drive the 16 miles in a fully loaded group van to a gig in Wolverhampton from my house in Birmingham avoiding steep hills on the way.    

Here is a photo of the original vehicle, this one being the top of

the range model with windows and ONE windscreen wiper.  The Van is a MORRIS J type and I wouldn't have been seen dead in one of them.   

However I wrote a 'special' blog about group Vans back in August 2014 and do have photographic evidence of one in action with the group THE INCAS who must have been a bit strapped for cash, moreover I find it hard to believe that the band would have wanted to be seen in or on it!! and here it is.  Look away if you're squeamish!!

There we are, absolutely dreadful, just the rust holding it together.   Production of this van ceased in 1961.

So, someone, presumably a person who has no design ethic, no concerns for aerodynamics and has never read the classic August 2014 Bulls Head Bob Group Van's of the 60's thought it would be a must to produce an up-to-date, electric powered, version starting its production in 2024 and here it is in all its glory.  Now renamed the:

 MORRIS JE VAN

Gone is the split windscreen but still looking like a pile of poo, they've even adopted the colour.  Now here's the really fun part, it's made of carbon fibre!! I'm staggered, perhaps they think it will be a must for F1 drivers wives?  Can you imagine how much it would be to repair?

It's all electric with an option of 3 battery packs giving a driving distance of 150 to 250 miles.    Hang on to your wallet though, this thing costs £60.000 pounds!!.   They obviously dont want poor muso's to own one. 

I do wish the new Morris team every success in their venture but do wonder who has got that sort of cash for a novelty?  I believe that's it's been launched to take on the new VW Buzz van but the VW is a little cheaper and stylish so Morris will have a battle to win the share of the market.

PASSPORT

My friend and owner of the BRUMBEAT.Net website, the worlds

best and most informative website of the 60's Brumbeat musicians, is a Brummie Abroad.  

John Woodhouse lives in Canada, Oshawa to be exact, the same town that gave birth to heavy metal legends ANVIL, famous for not being famous!!

John is a good bass player and over the years has been in bands on an "off and on" basis, one of those bands being Passport.  He has now renewed his musical passion and the band PASSPORT are gigging again but this time with a more  focused drive, energy and business approach.  They have a brand spanking new website which you can visit here  PASSPORT BAND.

I was stunned by the amount of songs in their set list.

So all my friends in Canada, if you live in Oshawa or that neck of the woods keep your eyes open for this band and their BRUMBEAT specialist, John Woodhouse   Go and chat to him,  if you are a follower of the great 60's BRUMBEAT days or simply go and enjoy some good rockin music.

WEE WILLIE HARRIS.  RIP

We've all got to go sometime and that sometime arrived for Rock and Roll legend Wee Willie Harris a couple of days ago.

Here's a link to a blog I did in 2019 about this fabulous performer, one of the stars of the first televised Rock and Roll show, the great 6.5 Special.   God Bless.

WEE WILLIE HARRIS

FINALLY

Its BBQ at the Bob house this week, lots of people coming, the whole family will be there for the first time since Covid.   Really looking forward to the day and getting back to some kind of normality.

So, look after each other and KEEP PLAYING!

BOB

Copyright: Bullsheadbob 

Contact: Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com 

Bulls Head Bob Apr 2023. April 1963 Rise of The Beatles. The Merseyboys. Keith Reid RIP. Open Mic Night.

Hello Lovers of the greatest music decade ever, from the Greatest City in the UK.. "Come on you Brummies".

It's Spring!!  the first of April, the smells of Rose, Jasmine and sweet Fresia assailing my memorial olfactory glands with heady aromas.  Flower Power at its finest.

60 YEARS AGO.  

April 1963.  The rise of The Beatles.

The first week of the charts in April 1963 saw Cliff and The Shadows were still the major force in British pop music with

The Shadows 'Foot Tapper' occupying the No 1 slot and Cliff Richard at No 2 with 'Summer Holiday' and the film of the same name doing extremely well in the cinemas.  It was Cliff and The Shads second film.   

The incredible Billy Fury held the Number 3 position with 'Like I've Never Been Gone'.   

It was the last hoorah of the "old guard", that first flush of teenage stars, who brought Rock and Roll to the British public  and although they didn't know it yet they were about to be classified as yesterdays news.  The Beatles had their first chart success with Love me Do in Oct 62 and their second single 'Please Please Me' had reached no 2 in March of 63 and was now heading out of the top 10.   

I was a dedicated Shadows fan and tried to stay loyal to Hank and the boys but The Beatles massive popularity was too much to ignore, they were causing a tidal wave of excitement.  It wasn't just their music that changed things, Liverpool was now seen by the record trade as the epicentre of popular music and scousers Gerry and the Pacemakers were riding up the charts heading to the Number 1 slot with "How do you do", their next 2 singles also went to number 1.   There was a great rush by other artists to record a Beatle song, making Lennon and McCartney a vast amount of cash in a little time.

The next three 1963 Beatle singles all went to number 1 in the UK.  They were unstoppable. 

In a years time they occupied the top 5 places on the American charts, an unbeaten record and what is more, they were on 4 different record labels too!  

It was only in 2019 that Ariana Grande came close when she held the top three places in the US charts.

BACK IN BRUM 

The Brumbeats aka The Merseyboys.   

Merseybeat became the buzzword for the 60s beat group sound of Liverpool and in Birmingham "Brumbeat" became our own identifier along with the band The Brumbeats.  This band had the foresight to imitate the Fabs and recorded an

LP of Beatles songs and re-released them on the VJ Label under the name of The Merseyboys.    These days there are only two of the Brumbeats still around, saxophonist Paul Carter and vocalist Graham Ashford, now a US resident who is still performing and regular blog contributer too, thanks Graham.  

This vinyl LP can still be found on Ebay etc should you feel the urge.

KEITH REID - RIP.

"We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels cross the floor".   I don't believe there can be a music fan alive who doesn't know that opening line to  'A white shade of pale", the song that really defined the psychedelic Summer of Love.  Not only did he write the lyrics to that masterpiece but the rest of Procol Harums output too. The magnificent "Salty Dog", "Homburg" and the inspirational "Grand Hotel" rate highly amongst my top favourites of that time and all time.  Keith passed away on 23 March aged 76.    Just superb to have been around at the same time.

The Moody Blues "Go Now" produced by Alex Wharton also ranks in my top favourites both as a song and it's earthy, soulful production so it's no wonder that Denny Cordell who had been Whartons office boy at that time should have produced Procol Harum with that same magic formula he had learned from his boss.   

OPEN MIC

FRIDAHS HALL 

I told you, last month, about a new open mic night at Fridahs Hall.   The first opening night was unfortunately on St Patrick's day when most people were partying.   So just a reminder that the next night will be on 14th April.  Book yourself a spot.   Its a great venue, great host and a free beer for each performer!!!!

Finally

Easter is on the horizon so get the one you love a nice Easter Egg for a surprise gift, it's only a small gesture but will warm the heart of the recipient.!!

Happy 78th to the wonderful Eric Clapton.

Have a good un'

Bob

Copyright: Bullsheadbob 

Contact:     Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com 

 

Bulls Head Bob - March 23. Denny Laine on tour. Oldbury New Open Mike Night. Chas Newby? Tony Iommi at 75, Black Sabbath Ballet?? Wtf!! I Dont Know my KLEMPT from my BINSON!

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

Copyright  Bullsheadbob 

Contact    Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com 

Bulls Head Bob - Feb 2023. David Crosby, Jeff Beck. Birth of Motown - Barrett Strong

 Hello you guys n' gals and musical pals,

February is a month I enjoy because it's nearly Spring and my old bones will start warming up and most importantly it's my and Mrs Bob's 49th wedding anniversary which means an outing somewhere, a nice hotel and a slap-up meal. 

I said last month that the friends and faces of our youth are now all disappearing to the great dance hall in the skies and January  was a real downer saying farewell to 60's icons Jeff Beck, David Crosby and the first Motown star Barrett Strong.  So although there is some sadness at their loss it is also a time to celebrate  their lives and achievements.

JEFF BECK

Jeff was THE best guitarist in the UK bar none, pure class.  In

the 60's I had followed and been amazed by his guitar antics with the Yardbirds and learned some of the sounds he had conjured up on hits like Heart Full of Soul and Over, Under, Sideways, Down, he was a real technician and got sounds from his guitar that none else could.  I was lucky enough to be on the same bill as the Jeff Beck Group at some university or other whilst Rod Stewart was the vocalist and Hi Ho Silver Lining was in the charts and that band were fantastic, hard and loud with Jeff ripping through some amazing solos.   

Some years on and his work with Stevie Wonder on "Talking Book" left me breathless at the maturity of his playing and note selection, his solo and fills particularly on the track "Looking for Another Love" are sublime, just a handful of notes chosen and played impeccably.  It is still one of my favourite solos that I go back to all the time.  Stevie Wonder wrote "Supersticious" for Jeff specifically to record but liked it so much that he recorded it himself although Jeff did record it with Beck, Bogert and Appice.

There is a YouTube Clip of Jeff playing at Ronnie Scott's and he managed to get Eric Clapton on stage and do a couple of songs with him, the first being "Little Brown Bird" and it was the first time I saw Clapton showing signs of nerves as he and Beck traded solos and for me Jeff came out on top because of his ability to play in so many styles.  Jimmy Page was in the audience and had to sit squirming through Eric and Jeff playing the next song, Willie Dixons "You Need Love" that Led Zep had stolen and renamed it as Whole Lotta Love.  

Funnily, I was never a fan of his instrumental covers, just a personal choice because his best work was being let loose to amaze us lesser mortals.

Anyway, sad to say, he's gone but has left a massive legacy behind. God Bless. 

DAVID CROSBY

So as I was going through the throes of sadness at Jeffs passing, David Crosby upped and died too!

"Hey Mr Tambourine Man" was the song that introduced The Byrds to the British public and its members.   I recall learning it at a practice session with my first group and for the first time we sang 3 part Harmonies.  We had sung the Everly Brothers stuff which was 2 part and this additional voice opened my eyes.   The Byrds did one tour of the UK which didn't impress the public at all, however it did result in Roger McGuinn writing "Eight Miles High" about their British experience.

David Crosbys voice was his greatest asset.  He was the coolest of the cool and had an individual sense of fashion.  This Baby faced musician soon became the girls favourite and he hung out with The Beatles, elevating his status even more.   When you're young and fame flies into your face and you find yourself with a load of cash it changes your life, Crosby, already self opinionated, became a horror to work with and The Byrds sacked him, the press said he was sacked for musical differences but he said he was sacked for being an asshole!  

The Byrds were yesterdays news anyway and he looked for

another fresh avenue of creativity which came along from his friend Stephen Stills.    It didn't take long for the duo to realise they sounded great together.   Then Graham Nash showed up on the scene and WHAM! the vocal triad came to be the biggest act around for a long time.    The delicate, almost imperceptible, intricacies of Crosby's harmonies would lodge themselves in between the melody line of Stills and the high harmony of Graham Nash adding a thickness to the sound and one could almost be forgiven for thinking there were only two voices singing.

He wrote some wonderful songs too, the hauntingly beautiful "Guinevere"  to the mundane "Almost cut my Hair" which, despite the subject matter being inconsequential became his song of revolution, his hair being his "freak flag".

The whole story of CSN was one of volatility mainly between Stephen Stills and Crosby and there were many fights between them all too.  His Drug addiction ruined his life and those of his friends, Graham Nash stood by him though, even when Crosby was thrown into jail.  He had spent every cent he earned, his hair was falling out and had incurred the wrath of the whole music community of LA.  On his release Crosby and Nash went out on tour and recorded some good stuff along the way, in particular the song "Out of the Darkness" a song whose melody had been written by the bands keyboard player Craig Doerge.   He gave them a recording of the melody line and Crosby and Nash wrote the lyrics in 20 minutes in the back of a car on the way to a gig.  It's a song I still listen to and one I recommend  to you, fabulous soulful slide guitar too courtesy of David Lindley.

Anyway, his own arrogance was his own undoing, even Nash fell

out with him for good after he had made disparaging remarks about Neil Youngs relationship with Darrel Hannah.   He had reverted to that baby faced member of the Byrds who had become an unforgivable asshole.   So love him or hate him, it was still a shame that the end of his extremely talented musical life should have been tainted by his ambivalence towards the people he had partnered along the way.

I read his 1988 book Long time Gone in which he details his own rise to fame and also his ultimate failings.  He could never seem to escape his demons.  Some people are wired that way.   Read it if you get a chance.

BARRETT STRONG.  THE BIRTH OF MOTOWN.

There are many great artists who we think of as the stars of  Motown and, generally speaking, the name of Barrett Strong doesn't feature at all but he influenced and wrote some of the classic songs of Motown and had the first hit record released on the label in 1959 called "Money".

You are never too old to learn and until I read of his recent demise I had never heard of him as an artist and the first time I heard "Money" The Beatles were singing it with it's great intro, quite heavy for it's time.    Actually, I think I heard Denny Laine and The Diplomats singing it live in Birmingham prior to The Beatles?

Barrett had a couple more hits but his real talent was that of a songwriter/lyricist and he provided some of the very, very best songs to the biggest Motown stars of the day like Marvin Gaye - "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" and "Wherever I lay my Hat" which unbelievably was a B side track!!  He then wrote "War" for Edwin Starr and practically every song by The Temptations including the brilliant "Papa was a Rolling Stone" and the psychedelic"Ball of Confusion".

He left Motown and tried his luck again as a performer releasing 2 albums but not achieving great success in that area.

"Do what you do do well" is the lesson there but I doubt he had too many regrets in his life.  He was 81 when he died.  A remarkable talent.

FINALLY

Although this blog may be a tad depressing, talking of the deaths of these people of our youth it is also a record of the quality of the acts that we 60' teens grew up with and saw at the many venues in Birmingham for the price of a pint or two of beer!!   We really had the best of times. 

Take Care of each other,

Bob

Copyright: Bullsheadbob 

Contact: Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com