My wife spotted the letter from Jim Eaton in the Southend recorder, November 19th, 2010. We didnt get away from the club until after 1am and had to leave for the studios by 5.30am. Brian informed us that our days as resident band at Tiffanys were probably numbered. Behind every dream is the dreamer. The Whirlwinds guitarist Bert Pullen achieved great sounds from his Fender Jazzmaster and their singer Ron Gent did a mean impression of James Brown. 2:, that has Is it Right and What Would I Do on. Are you still alive? It was one of the premiere south London nightspots of the time, with Glenn Miller, Audrey Hepburn and Charlie Chaplin among the top names to grace its stage. I remember having an important gig to do but our equipment was very sad, and when I mentioned this to Brian, he said Thats OK you can borrow our equipment I was yet again over the moon. seabrook grays harbor county, wa, united states I became friends with Brian and we found we had two common interestsguitars and girls. I am dedicated to making this site a center for research about '60s music scenes. Yes, I do live in Vancouver on Canadas Pacific Coast. Regarding the Mustangs, heres an article from the Southend Standard that Phil Thomas sent to me in 2009 along with the Monotones article thats posted above. We live in Surrey but my wife hails from Exeter and her sister is a keen dancer and regularly attends Rock n Roll evenings at Beverley Park, Torquay. Another local venue was The Halfway House pub (if I remember the name correctly) by the sailing club at Thorpe Bay on the Esplanade. Fridays and Saturdays featured an assortment of pop acts such as Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages etc. I am Pat, was Harper,praps you remember me from Bridgewater Drive. Im not a good flyer but perhaps one day Christine and I will take a slow boat ! I read your information above What about your final rendition every evening MONEY !! I didnt get to Alexanders as by that time I was in the states. Enoch Power sold pet food (Fido Meat) in the arcade next to Tiffany's night club / disco and Wimbledon Theatre. I remember the floor was packed with youngsters, who all melted away when the band returned. Problem was, how could a then little known group fill the venue, on a Thursday evening when it was in any case competing with the London? More of a music venue than a nightclub, The Atalanta ballroom in Woking, or The Ata as it was also known, was famous locally for its sprung dance floor, which was . Search for stock images, vectors and videos, Available for editorial use only. Copyright Chris Bishop, 2022, except where noted otherwise. In 1965 we became busier than ever and played several gigs at The Basildon Locarno as the support band to many chart bands. My excuse is that it adds to the nostalgic atmosphere and if like me you lament the passing of visual, hands-on music collections, at least you will have a solid version to hold and feel ! If youve ever seen Michael Apteds 1964 documentary Seven Up! The drummer and vocalist (also from Selmers) was John Bell. It later turned into Tiffany's in the '70s, complete with fake palm trees and loads of disco balls, before finally becoming Tropicana, which closed in the late '80s. "A blend of mature British Wine and Fine Malt Whisky" no wonder my head hurt. If you have information on a band featured here, please let me know and I will update the site and credit you accordingly. Student Athlete at Dartmouth College majoring in Psychology and Brain Sciences. This record enjoyed limited air play as Radio One didnt start until 1967. Ted has visited the London and seen how much beer was shifted on a Thursday and wanted some! If you get this message you can contact me on awbarcelona@yahoo.com All the best. This was to prove important in the future as he was adept at seeking new opportunities and with Pete as lyricist wrote several of our initial recordings. This proved to be very tiring for us, as we had to be on set at Boreham Wood before 8am every weekday for two weeks. Hi Colin,I was interested in your submission re the monotones.I still see Nigel each year in Australia and regularly see Brian and Pete.Most of your article was correct with the exception of Gus Chesney. Thanks for the memories. Irene Donovan and her colleague Josie watched us nervously perform a cross section of our repertoire, which included ballads, four part harmonies and rock. As supporting band to the likes of Billy J Kramer, Brian Poole, the Platters, Kenny Ball, Acker Bilk and Chubby Checker we also got to play at some great venues such as the Savoy Hotel, the Cafe Royal and the Talk of the South. Towards the end of 1973 Mecca were releasing more and more live bands in favour of DJs. I too was at the Palace when Johnny Kidd and the Pirates did their gig I can remember some of the local guys getting jealous because the local girls were in love with Johnny, and they started to chuck hapennies and pennies onto the stage. you may have wondered what song the kids are dancing to during the party scene towards the end of the film. He is going to the Dr. tomorrow cos he cannot breathe properly nor swallow.Fi phoned. Following the release of California My Way in 1968 we did not release another record until Mississippi Valley in 1970. Am not at all surprised that he was commercially successful. And a belated thanks for all the great music. The original bass player was, I believe, Graham Davidson (or Graham Dee), a friend of mine. Jim. rutland regional medical center trauma level; ac valhalla store codes; kssa council of superintendents; oven baked french dip sandwiches; sammy gravano son; tiffany's nightclub wimbledon. He always had time for everyone. You could get my telephone number from her via her sister and give me a call. Drugs / Tobacco / Alcohol. I was responsible for his stage nameThurston Crane. We had just began to get together, as he lived just around the corner from me. I still live in Rayleigh and go past the Elms on many occasions and never fail to remember those days and nights. We recorded this at Abbey Road Studios with I Remember, a song written by Brian, on the B side. A Pavlov Dogs learned behaviour situation. There have been several reunion gigs of the mustangs in the last few years, which I attended, and one coming up this August, 2010. Dino Coccia, a session drummer and occasional dep, took over. I recall being on a circular stage with The Joe Loss Orchestra and as they disappeared, around we came singing our first number. The manageress told us that the room was needed for business and told us to wait in the hall, it was only then we realised we had booked into a brothel! He played at the Elms and The Halfway House and also with Jo Loss and his Ambassador Band. Originally, there was Maxine & Geoff singing, Rod Nolan on drums, Ian on bass (for a short while), Richard Bainbridge on sax, John Spinx on Vox Continental organ later we added baritone sax & trumpet. Condolenses to Marks family and relations. When I collected it from the Elms to take on the gig, it was all covered in beer stains and quite battered, so I spent the next day cleaning it all up and gluing back the bits of covering that had come off the amps, an when I returned it you all thought I had brought back someone elses gear. This was a great article and brought back so many memories of the 60s when i was in such bands as the flowerpots with wilko johnson,the krestas,my first band,and the spooks,great days. Great times! As you know I played with The Monotones / Treetops at The Elms and Tiffanys in Wimbledon in 1965/66 and Mark was a good friend and a great chap. Raducanu appeared to be in fine health while at British Vogue and Tiffany's annual fashion and film party in London last week, suggesting that the bout of illness set in at the last minute . I remember being part of the crew that practised in Brians garagemainly Everly Brothers numbers at the time. I have asked him to add any comments to this web page to bring everyone up to date on his life since leaving The Treetops. worry worm printable poem. We also ran dances at the Southend Cliffs Pavilion and would support invited hit parade bands and solo artists who did guest appearances. But Britain's Daily Telegraph reported Friday: "All expectations suggest that the AELTC will lower the . Went to his house.Train was late had to wait hour. If ever your down this way would be great to catch up and exchange a few memries. Join Leeds Retro on facebook. Tiffany's was a nightclub that was at the end of the road from where I lived. Unfortunately, one young guy over-tuned on beer decided to misbehave and after Lionel had warned him a couple of times, this fool decided to get physical: rather large and stupid mistake. Billy, if you contact Chris, the webmaster, will pass along your info to me or Jill so Rod and I can get in touch. I was friendly with the Whirlwinds when they were Johnny Gale and the Whirlwinds playing at the Kursaal on Saturday nights.Sid Plappert was playing guitar with them at that time. We played The Great Room at the Grosvenor Hotel in Park Lane. Are you able to act as agent or alternatively give me his email address ? They had a song I liked. Good memories. Invariably forgotten is Pete Wilsher, probably Europes leading exponent of pedal steel guitar and later the manager of Sound City in Shaftesbury Avenue, in the West End and the emporium every aspiring rock musician would gravitate to and drool and dream. At the time, there was no other rock n roll on locally so me and my girlfriend had to endure the Howard Baker Band just to get a short shock of rock n roll. Im sure Gary Broker played keyboard with them at one time and played a superb version of Canned Heats On the road again and well remember Thurston Crane singing vocal after Basher a throat operation. Bev phonedSam phoned. Mecca had already indicated that they didnt like The Monotones name ( I dont blame them ) and as we were an all male group, some managerial genius decided we were to be called Les Garcons, the French for The Boys. 48 ratings [SFM] fredina's nightclub. I am in the process of putting together a history of the Monotones/Treetops to include a few funny things that happened to us all along the way.Dont hesitate to contact me if you need to know anything about your great uncle. We would attempt to play hits of the day and I am sure that some of the sounds coming out of that garage would have been painful for the neighbours. He wrote to me: I received and played the record yesterday and it is definitely us. as the times, they were a changing. Play over 320 million tracks for free on SoundCloud. Office Hours; University. I havnt got your Instamatic memory but you certainly rattled my recollection-box. Stop laughing. Amp on 11. Share. In 1975 Tiffany's opened. I was struck by the artwork and how creative it was then. I lived just round the corner from Nigel was Brian the Brian Clarke who had the second hand shop next to Nigels house? The home of Tennis on BBC Sport online. Hi Jim, My memories go back to when I was a teenager at school, and going home, having to pass The Elms, I could hear a group practicing, and having just taken up the drums at that point, stopped and tried to look under the rotating front door of the dance hall at The Elms. Brian knows I am looking for some visuals and so I hope he wont mind me getting in touch in this way! Much more information about the band came when Jim Eaton and Peter Stanley left detailed comments about the band. July 16, 2022 by Alan Esdaile. The Monotones and The Whirlwinds later to become Force 5, were the two bands everyone looked up to. Most of working life has been in aviation but now looking after sheep. He was a fanatical weight lifter and the star of the old Estuary Gym: his party trick was tying knots in six inch nails, with his bare hands: I kid you not! hehehehe ) Also ,I would be very interested in your compilation CD of the Monotones/Treetops/Mark Lloyd,as my partners son wants to know the music of my teenage years.He used to attend the Arts Education school in Chiswick and is now studying politics at Canterbury Uni. If you wish to contact me through Chris (rchrisbishop@gmail.com) you may be able to help me out. Thanks for the kind mentions on this page. But his voice will live on in collectable vinyl , That ensures his heart and souls survival . I used to see you also at the old London Hotel for the Barracudas gig on Thursday nights: everyone really was there, cos Teddy Knot and the boys were the leaders of the pack at that time. We had a long chat and I sent him my latest CD and wondered why he had not replied and it was only Tuesday of this week that I heard the bad news. club xl harrisburg capacity; pivotal group snapnurse; what happened to sofia's daughter in john wick 3; rachel lavine robbie kaplan; Blimey! I often stayed with him and his parents as I didnt live in the Southend area. Thanks to Phil for sending in the article from The Southend Standard, January 2006 and to Jim Eaton for his help with songs, photos and information for this page. He used to be billed as Britains Strongest Teenager at local fetes and carnivals. Dinner at Tiffany's, by Ed Waiter, Editor of Cuisine In order to finance moving from Edinburgh to London, Ian was offered and took a job playing in an Edinburgh nightclub called Tiffany's. In contrast to all the bands he had been part of in the past, this was well paid! After a few months I noticed all the dust on my band trousers, it was gradually falling apart and that was the end of our Hawaiin session. Brian had three other venues Scotts in Croydon. Magnolia, TX. But all the other rocknrollers came thanks to the plugging by the new English groups. Georgia or was that the SMJQ? Its surprising what you suddenly remember at 3 in the morning whilst spending a pennyand not always the good things.in fact a bit of a nightmare from a performance at The Elms!! Got up at 8.00 am.Sam called for me at 9.00 am.Went to Liverpool. Little did I realise that I would be working there for another six yearsbut thats another story. Jubilation/The Shark Club. I actually went to school with Gary Nichols, now sadly no longer with us, and also with Robin Trower. Playing a piece many times over bored me and the more you play it, the less likely is that you can make an improvement. So Rock On Tommy!!! Unfavorite. Just discovered your blogsite here and its amazing. For several years after 1967 we also had three girl backing singers known as the Mustang Sally (Jane Gordon, Barbara Moorfoot and Doreen Martin). Dave Brown was an amiable person who loved reggae and soul. I decided to buy a Hawaiin guitar, which would suit the setting. It was so sad to lose Gary, I had only been back in Southend a few months before he died. I do remember you joining us for a few numbers and also working the door with my brother. BW Mick. Hi Bill I share your enthusiasm for the blogsite and was delighted to read you had Somethings Hurting Mewhich we recorded in 1965. We left Southend in 1966 and went to play at Tiffanys night club in Wimbledon.Our name was changed to The Treetops and we released several records under thet name ( these regularly appear for sale on e-bay along with Monotones records ). We had a lot of fun and accomplished a lot during my tenure with The Treetops and I have many fond memories from that time. When I left Tiffanys I went to New York and ended up working for United Nations joined UNICEF which spawned a fantastic career as an aid worker working all over the world culminating in 10 years in China in the 80s. He had been a Japanese POW. R.I.P Bash and entertain the great manager in the sky with your rendition of Jezabel. I am sorry to hear of Garys death and I hope Nigel is well nowhow amazing he lives in Sydney.small world.Please say Hi to the boys when you see them.and if there is ever a reunion I would love to be there! Hi Pete, I was interested in your comments about our supposed recording of When will I be Loved and as I am pretty much house bound at the moment due to the snow etc. The blog makes no mention of the White Hall gigs and St Cedds. Not without a continent and ethnicity change , I too went to westcliff high school and left in 1960. Somebody did a website on me a couple of years ago. So many of us have been driven nearly crazy for years trying to identify that song from that very (repetitive) scene. Thankfully, we could no longer be called Les Garcons and as there was an upstairs bar in the club called the treetop bar, we decided that The Treetops was an appropriate name. From the very beginning of me buying records I always looked at the words in brackets under the song titles. Got home at 6.30.Phoned J and Bev.Sam phoned at 6.40. The Monotones had two U.S. releases on the Hickory label, one of which, When Will I Be Loved / If You Cant Give Me All was not released in the UK. It later became the Cat's Whiskers club, the Ritzy then Caesars Nightclub. I remember this had 4 strings but an unplayable bottom E. Peter always turned up for practice knowing the bass line of any new song. Before 1973 two dance spots existed as separate venues both owned by club entrepreneur Peter Stringfellow. We were all very lucky to experience and enjoy the 60s ! )Hopefully I shall be visiting family in Chalkwell and Leigh-on-Sea in the next few weeks and endeavor to take a nostalgic look down memory lane at the beecroft ( as long as they,re not hung in the ladies!! Rod often asks about you and whether you still lived near The Worlds End. Apache..with the daft dance steps Chubby Checkers Twist Again Anybody seen my gal? It was a rich and much missed era of genuine live sound and great gigs, now smothered in miming, electronic sound manipulation and image above ability. Hi Jim Still trying to contact carol hopefully will be successful and be in touch. In those days these studios, which were situated at The Holborn, were popular with many chart artists including The Stones and Jimi Hendrix who recorded his massive hit Hey Joethere. This was the reason for the very last change of a group member. We were under the impression that we may have to attend another audition, as the candidates for the job were whittled down. This caught the attention of the headmaster who informed me that I was probably in the wrong job, he was right and I left. And that does remind me.You left out one of our major appearences..namely the Darby and Joan Fete at Chalkwell Park where we represented the local beat-comboplaying second billing to the Billy Cotton Band [ Wakey Wakey!] I am easy to find as the only Payze in NSW! What a shock when he went. I believe our first attempt at recording in a professional studio was around 1963 at The Regent Sound studio in Denmark Street. I opened my eyes and there he was looking me in the face and I hadnt seen him for 20 years. To Gentleman JIM , my gracious Good- Bye , He was just EATON at Westcliff High .