Coventry Music Museum Proposal 2003

At long Last (and thanks to the huge efforts of Pete Chambers) Coventry now has a Music Museum championing the City's huge musical history). This post (re-posted from the original Hobo Vox blog) has an early proposal by Trev Teasdel.

A Coventry Music Museum Proposal from 2003 - Via Hobo Magazine

The Background
In 2003 I took my kids back to Coventry to visit relations and we had a walk around the city centre. They were busy redeveloping things and were establishing a History trail - sites relating to ecclesiastical history around the Cathedral area - the Car Museum etc but where was the music?? In the Herbert Museum and Art Gallery there was one small display cabinet dedicated to Two Tone and that seemed to be it!

I had a case full of material relating to Coventry's vibrant music scene in the 70's and early 80's for the the Broadgate Gnome (run by Ian Green and Paul Leather) and sent them the Hobo A to Z of bands info from the early 70's, most of which they had no information about. They were well received but they only uploaded material as far F and no further work was done on the site - no doubt they were busy with work commitments but it was a disappointment.

Coventry Music Museum 2013 - photo Paul Kennelly

days i was involved in the Coventry Arts Umbrella Club and ran Hobo magazine and Workshop. My first thoughts were to put the material on line and then campaign for a physical museum. I did a search on line and found that the earlier Coventry underground magazine The Broadgate Gnome) had established an A to Z of mainly Coventry bands from the 1969's and some from the early 70's and they had mentioned my magazine Hobo. It was a brilliant site (and still there) and so I contacted the

Through their site I found two other similar sites - Rex Brough's A to Z of Coventry bands which was stronger on bands from the late 70's and early 80's but also hand info on earlier bands two and Tim James site which was more of a personal site about his musical influences and interactions but still a great contribution to building the huge archive of Coventry music. I had wanted to do the Hobo site for a while but hadn't got the html skills to achieve it so began by contributing the band info to the existing one by Broadgate Gnome and intended to work on getting a site built to house all the band cards / cuttings and other material that is now on the HOBO sites here. By the end of 2006, Vox Blogs had started up and the sites were easy to use without html knowledge and could house text / graphics / audio and youtube. It was idea and from the the Hobo site developed, bringing together many of the former Coventry musicians on line and which helped to launch a number of new projects including the Gnome Label with Broadgate Gnome and helping Peter Chambers with the Coventry Music Exhibition at the Herbert - from which Pete went on to establish Two Tone Central and the brand new (as at 2013) the Coventry Music Museum (at last).

However, when I got back from Coventry back in 2003 no of this had been established and i wrote a

Two Tone Central

proposal for a Coventry Music Museum and circulated to the various A to Z sites and and other contacts and that early proposal is posted below. A few years on after Pete Chambers had published his book Godiva Rocks and he wrote a column for the Coventry Telegraph mooting the idea of a Coventry Music Museum. I have no idea if Pete saw this earlier proposal, but Pete's enthusiasm and drive for Coventry music was such that he probably thought along similar lines and so i sent him a copy of the tract below and it so happened that he was in negotiation with the Herbert Museum and Art gallery to established a temporary Coventry Music Exhibition for the anniversary of Two Tone in 2009 and invited me down to Cov for the meetings. The minutes of those meetings are posted on this site also

Pete Chambers Coventry Music Museum 2013

(transferred from the original Hobo Vox site). The Exhibition was a huge success and from that basis Pete went on to establish the brilliant Two Tone Central Museum at Coventry University and then on Ball Hill, Walsgrave. Last month they widened the remit to create a Coventry Music Museum to reflect the fuller spectrum of Coventry Music. I've yet to go and see it but well done to Pete Chambers for his dedication and determination to see it to fruition. I'm pretty sure it covers most of the ground I envisioned in this early proposal 10 years back and more. Without Pete's hard work, this wouldn't have happened. There will be a separate feature on Pete's new Museum  (seen in the photos here and worth a visit) but here's my proposal from 2003 (re-presented from the original Hobo Vox blog).
Trev Teasdel

Visit the New Coventry Music Museum opened 2013 by Pete Chambers

join them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/Covmusic/?ref=ts&fref=ts

COVENTRY MUSIC MUSEUM

(A proposal from Trev Teasdel 2003 and circulated at the time to contacts in Coventry)

Notwithstanding Homer Simpson’s adage that “good things don’t end in ‘eum’ ” I have a proposal! The proposal is the above title but much more. Ok - to appease Homer think-a-likes we can change the title and put the above in parenthesis. Coventry is being re-developed again, with a sense of heritage inflecting city center walkways. The Skydome is being erected for state of the digital arts concerts. The car museum is getting a new space-age frontage and possible a refurbishment. Cars are Coventry but like Motown (Detroit) so is music. So what evidence do we see along the heritage trails of that rich musical lava flow that threw up Two Tone, Pete Waterman, Dando Shaft, King and others that erupted on the world’s stage? Not much I think! In Liverpool they have the Beatles Story Museum. Not much to it – I took a group of WEA students and they were through to the other side in minutes. Disappointing given what the Beatles represent to popular culture and the creativity it spawned! The time has come, I think, to put that rich musical lava flow on the heritage map with the musicians and artists of Coventry being the idea architects and storyboarders. SO WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA THEN? There are 8 main elements to the idea, all of which will be discussed separately. Museum (audio/visual/interactive) Venue Restaurant Entertainment Record Production / Store Merchandise / shop Education Programme / Workshops Meeting / rehearsal space Conceived as a tourist attraction / heritage venue and creative outlet for today’s musicians and artists, the main idea of course is the museum. Perhaps this § Might trace the history of music in the city from earliest times in context, § Dedicated rooms/areas to the biggest names /attractions – Two Tone / Waterman etc. § Local Bands and music in decades – 50’s /60’s 70’s / 80’s etc up to present It might include posters / band cards / instruments and equipment / simulated discos / record shops etc/ records / clothing styles / oral transcripts / relevant music / videos / computer simulations / art work / poems / etc etc It would span rock / pop / ska /punk /folk / poetry / discos / festivals etc. Timelines and group family trees / photos / montages etc. It would have a restaurant area and venue. During the day it would be there for visitors / tourists. Lunch time, local bands / poets / singer songwriters would perform and it would aim to attract people working in the city centre for their lunch with local entertainment. This would provide a cool facility and income generation to develop and maintain the museum. In the evening, it could act as a venue for local bands etc. Perhaps theme nights that fit in with the museum – 60’s ‘80’s etc, mixed media nights / discos / folk nights / ska night – whatever. It would aim to provide a venue like many of the pubs have for local band in the past. There would be space on the walls for local artists to display and even sell their work. Merchandise might give work for local artists / crafts people as well established merchandise related to established artists. The usual suspects I suppose – T shirts / mugs ….If much of it was made by local artists this would fit in with the spirit of the local music and arts scene and enable them to earn a living from their artistic leanings. It would also be about income generation for the development of the museum / paying local bands / publicity / employment etc. Good economic arguments. The museum would have a good Education Programme for visiting groups – schools – student / community groups. Songwriting workshops / Guitar / keyboard workshops / relevant talks and demonstrations etc. Weekend schools / writers and artist workshops. Rooms could be available for meetings and rehearsal space / artists studios for hire at artist affordable rates, An exciting proposal would be the Record Production / store element. The record store would of course sell discounted records by the big names – Two Tone / Hazel O’Connor / SAW and so forth as well as other bands who’ve made records – Indian Summer / Dando Shaft / Sent From Coventry / Singles by Lieutenant Pigeon / Sorrows and so forth. But also special CD’s could be made to be sold only at the museum (or via its website) e.g. outtakes / remixes of Two-Tone records – rare unreleased alternative takes. Another good reason to visit the museum and income generation as well as interest value. Also compilations of groups who have made singles – regardless of whether they hit the charts or not. Also many groups never cut a record but may have good taped material home or live. With today’s digital equipment some of them could be digitally enhanced. Where justified, some groups may get whole albums, other may have only one or two tracks usable. E.g. 70’s group Wandering John made a live album tape. There were faults with it and the band split up. However they me one or two tracks that could be salvaged with today’s technology and any instrumental imput needed. It would be great to have a compilation of some these past groups on CD. People such as Roger Lomas might be interested in this, knowing many of the groups and with his great recording / production knowledge. This could create quite a bit of excitement. So how do we get this started then? I’m e-mailing some of the people with Coventry music websites with a view to getting feedback on the idea and forming an initial steering group. As some, like myself, no longer live in Coventry, communication could be by e-mail with maybe a periodic meeting in Coventry if practical and needed. The ideas could be developed / shaped up into a formal proposal and presented to the Coventry Museums / local authority. I will make some enquiries. This group could act as the steering / advisory group but as most of us are busy enough, the local authority would possibly take charge of the project, identify an venue for it, include it in its heritage trail / tourist plans, find funding, employ researchers etc. the new Coventry websites for local bands – Broadgate Gnome / Rexbrough / Tim James / The Black Room and the forthcoming Hobo site could be starting points for the research with their data bases on the local band scene and the contacts they have with local musicians. So what do you think? Is there anyone you think should be involved / informed of this? You can pass this on to them and they can e-mail me with any feedback. I’ll keep you informed of any progress on it. Note - as the Gnome have pointed out - while the Coventry big names are important and will be what draws in the wider interest and demonstrates the achievement, the museum should reflect the whole of the music scene in Cov, whether bands made it or not or even those whose rejected the music business as an ambition for their muse. Trev Teasdel 2003 ................................................................................ Comments transferred from the Hobo Vox Site I went back to Coventry a few years ago for a journalism course. I had been trained as a tour guide in the City so agreed to take a couple of groups around essentially to see the sites. The people were more interested in my stories of the music scene and such , even though there was very much to be seen in relation to them. This broke the first rule of guiding,,"Dont talk about anything that isn't there!" The Culture of the 60s and 70s can be interesting. The more usual facts ,,Chuck Berry recorded in the Library, The Italian Job filmed there, John Lennon planted an acorn, are important;; but its the background of everyday life that people relate to I think its important that some effort goes into collecting and recording the memories of those that were there, even though they may not have achieved anything by modern day comparative standards.

Posted by: BroadgateGnome | 02/11/2007 at 03:06 PM




That's good feedback Gnomes - Yes the context is important - not just on a superficial level - the clothes and cars (and cars are important to Cov of course) but the different mind-sets - the search for alternative life-styles, concerns for the environment, emergent feminism, the radicalism etc etc against the industrialism and materialism. All of which affected the music. Ok some were pure pop - but much of the music was inflected by the idea that things were changing and it was possible to change the world, make a difference, create something which added more depth to a lot of the music. Of course there were contradictions involved and the world went a different direction. But that kind of context would need to be explored and yes some kind or oral voices project might help with that. DISCUSS.....(or add your own threads to the discussion!)


Posted by: HOBO - Coventry Music Magazine | 02/11/2007 at 03:42 PM

Friars Promotions

Friars was started by Vince Holliday (later Vince Martin) of  The Vampires (one of Coventry's earliest Rock n Roll bands started Friars Promotions. The Vampires were legendary and written about on the A to Z of Coventry bands.

Vince with Wee Willy Harris

From Pete Chambers BBC Coventry Pop into the Past  " Members came and went and as this new musical form (Rock n Roll) began to grow so did the industry that would inevitably surround it. Vince began handling the bands bookings, on the occasions they were booked for a certain date, Vince would contact other bands to see if they could fill the booking. 

After a few months of this a bright shiny light bulb began to glow above his head, and that shiny bulb had a pound sign-shaped filament. Vince was getting a little tired of all the hectic gigging and the idea of getting paid for booking bands instead of doing it for free became too appealing to miss. So Big Three Enterprises was born.

Local bands like the Sorrows, The Matadors and The Mighty Avengers were all on their books. They

soon began to branch out even further and they became Friars Promotions based in Albany Road and their clients were to include a young pre-Move Carl Wayne (and his Vikings), the fore-runner to Alvin Stardust, Shane Fenton, and the colourful Wee Willie Harris."

Even Lulu and Cilla Black were on the books, though Vince was to miss out on a young welsh singer called Tom Jones (wonder what ever happened to him?)"

They were tied in with the Cortina Club, managing a number of venues in the city and local and top stars including Shane Fenton (later Alvin Stardust).

Pete Waterman worked for them running discos and gigs at the Walsgrave and the Mercers Arms among others. I had no direct contact with Friars Promotions but did the door for Pete Waterman at the Walsgrave on the Tuesday night progressive music nights for a while in 1970 / 71. 

Later in an unpublished version of Hobo Magazine August 1974, we reported that "Reports reach Hobo that Friars Promotions have gone bust.." 

Pete Clemons on Friars Promotions from Coventry Telegraph.

Here's a transcript - 

Pete plucks out Twanging times of city dances; YOUR nostalgia.

COVENTRY rock fan Pete Clemons is working on an archive of the city's music scene.

Here, Pete, a regular Telegraph contributor and member of Coventry's Wall of Fame steering committee, recalls the city's Twang Dances of the 1960s.

ASK anyone of a certain age and I bet they would have attended, or at the very least known about, a Coventry Twang Dance held during the early to mid 1960s.

Let me take you back to late 1962 when a PR company called Friars Promotions, who specialised in putting rock 'n' roll/beat/pop acts on at local pubs and other venues and were run by local lads Mick Tiernan and Jack Hardy, operated from Whitefriars Street.

Also at that time Vince Martin, who had left his band The Vampires, and moved into promoting bands through his latest venture VM rock groups.

Friars had sorted out a deal with local brewers Mitchells and Butler where they would put on bands at the larger sized M&B public houses that had their own function rooms. Basically, in return for the door charge, Friars would put on a band and DJ while M&B took the bar sales.

This turned out to be an incredible success for both parties as Friars set up dances at pubs not only in Coventry but also Birmingham and even as far away as Wales and Scotland.

So successful were they in fact that it got to the point where there were more venues than bands.

To deal with the increased demand something needed to change. So at the turn of 1962/63 Friars promotions and VM rock bands joined forces and became known as Friars Promotions and Agencies. They also left their respective offices and moved to new premises on the corner of Albany Road and Broomfield Road in Earlsdon.

By all accounts Mick Tiernan was an incredibly forward thinking person and was always looking for ways and ideas to keep his dances fresh and to keep them in the public eye.

He had a pet name for the guitar-based bands that he was putting on and that name was the Twangers. And so it followed that, from early 1963, Friars dance nights became known as Twang dances.

The Twang name quickly spread and was soon being attached to all kinds of dances.

For example if Friars put on a dance for Coventry City FC the poster advertised it as a Sky Blue Twang.

If a band such as The Matadors were performing then the evening was advertised as a Twang night with The Matadors.

For verification of the term Twang I have recently asked several prominent local musicians from that period where the word originated and to a man they all confirmed it was indeed coined by Mick Tiernan.

By mid 1963 the word Twang was rapidly spreading and was even being used by Andy Anderson, the prominent pop guru of the former Coventry Standard.

Andy, though, was using the word in the context of the dancers and a particular dance.

In September 1963 he describes a dance where the dancers, or hipsters, are 'shaking their heads and swinging their hips.' He continued that 'Not many knew why the dancers' hands spent so much time behind their Beatlemoded backs. Well believe it or not but the posture was inspired by the Duke of Edinburgh for whom the youngsters have great respect'.

Another article I found in the Coventry Standard from early 1964 and again written by Andy Anderson describes how exciting it was twanging in the new year at The Orchid Ballroom (better known nowadays as The Kasbah) with bands such as The Avengers, The Matadors and The Xciters. Apparently, hundreds of twang enthusiasts hippy shaked their way into 1964.

At their height Twang nights were being held seven nights a week at venues such as The Walsgrave, The Red House, The Mercers Arms, The New Inn at Longford, The General Wolfe, The Heath Hotel and The Newlands.

There was, however, a problem with Sunday dances because back then licences were not issued for these to be held in pubs. This problem

was solved by effectively turning the pub into a club and that the paying customers were charged accordingly and given a membership. Another of Mick's innovations to keep his dances in the public eye was to add the following wording to his posters and flyers 'No Free Beer and No Free Entrance.'.The word 'no' being in a very tiny print so at first glance it looked like the punters would be getting Free Beer and Free Entrance.

By the mid to late 60s the Twang term simply began to disappear and new labels such as Mods and Rockers and progressive rock nights began to appear.

But that was not to be the end of Friars. Far from it in fact, as they were now putting on early gigs by bands such as The Who, The Nice, Manfred Mann and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac at venues such as The Swan at Yardley.

They continued to thrive throughout the early part of the 1970s. Vince, now in his mid 70s, is incredibly still promoting bands and organising functions like his annual Call Up the Groups. Sadly both Mick Tiernan and Jack Hardy are no longer with us. But what a legacy and what memories they have both left us.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Pete+plucks+out+Twanging+times+of+city+dances%3B+YOUR+nostalgia.-a0277753159

Colin Richardson Interview Part 7 (Artist Management, Charisma, Music Journalism)

08/09/2009 Visit Colin Richardson's blog http://colinrichardsonjazz.typepad.com/blog/

Colin Richardson Interview Part 7

AFTER COLOSSEUM - EMA
When Colosseum folded at the end of October 1971, I left the Bron Organisation to set up the London office of  EMA, the Swedish tour promoters that I had been working with on all of Colosseum's Scandinavian dates. I had a very good working relationship with Thomas Johansson, one of the directors, and he had broached the idea when he heard that Colosseum were breaking up. I liked the proposition and we agreed terms. I then had to find offices, organise equipment and furniture etc. Luckily, I had persuaded Jan, my incredibly efficient secretary/p.a. at Bron, to come with me and she helped with all the logistical stuff that had to be got together in very short order. We got some music press coverage and this brought forth a few record company contacts asking if we could manage their artists..Nat Joseph at Transatlantic and Dave Howells at MCA come to mind. Our main role though, was to effect the Musician Union's exchange requirements for the British name bands that EMA were importing, i.e. a 5 piece group playing 4 dates = 20 man/days, which had to be matched by a 3 piece Scandinavian group (like "Made in Sweden") playing 7 dates/21 man/days. This wasn't easy, as these bands were completely unknown in the UK, so would be working for very low fees, thus the cost of the tour invariably exceeded the income and this shortfall was covered by the Swedish company as an 'overhead'.
After getting things set up and running as smoothly as possible, I began to realise that the cost of running the office, together with my and Jan's salaries, was quite a burden on the parent company and there wasn't much in the way of income either, About this time, I was approached by Tony Stratton-Smith, boss of Charisma Records, who asked if I interested in joining the label. So I suggested to Thomas that costs would be greatly reduced if I handed everything over to Norman Haines, who had been working with us while managing "Gringo", an MCA artist who had conveniently just broken up. I knew Norman could easily run things from his own apartment, which would save on office costs, plus he would be quite happy with a lower salary than EMA were paying me.
So the transfer was effected and I joined Charisma..

MY CHARISMA YEARS (1972 -76) AND MY SUBSEQUENT RETURN TO ARTIST MANAGEMENT
I spent 4 years with Charisma Records, most of them as International Manager, which meant that I travelled

a lot, mostly around Europe, liaising with the various label licensees and their press/promotion departments. I also made several trips to America, once with the 'boss', who insisted we flew First Class and took a suite at the Algonquin Hotel, where the famous "New Yorker" writers (James Thurber, S.J.Perelman, Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker etc etc...) met for their 'round table' meetings. The main Charisma artist at the time was, of course, Genesis...who were just beginning to really take off when I joined in June 1972. They were exciting times and I thoroughly enjoyed working with Tony Stratton Smith. I had a lot of respect for his way of working, which was often bold and sometimes risky, but always interesting. His musical maxim was "anything good of its kind" and he gave a lot of artists a chance who wouldn't have got

James Thurber

the time of day from most other labels. Charisma release many 'off-the-wall' albums, like those from Sir John Betjeman and Bo Hansson's "Lord of the Rings", not forgetting the fabulous Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band / Vivian Stanshall and Monty Python releases. It was good to have the opportunity to work with such a variety of artists, especially the last two, as our paths had already crossed back in my Bron days. I have fond recollections of touring in Germany with the Bonzos and a flying promotional visit to Copenhagen with the two 'Python' Terrys (Jones and Gilliam) to do some press interviews.
After 4 years though, I sensed that things were changing somewhat. 'Strat' wasn't around quite as much and eventually announced that he was bringing in someone to be 'him' on a daily basis, as he wanted to spend more time with his other love; 'horse-racing'.

Right about this time I was approached by Bruce May (brother of Ralph McTell), who suggested that, if  I

Colin Richardson interviewing Ralph McTell

joined his company, working with people like Bert Jansch, John Martyn, Ralph etc...I would also have the freedom to bring in other artists of my choice. At the time, Neil Ardley, my old friend from the NJO days, had just recorded his best and most commercial album to date "Kaleidoscope of Rainbows" and I saw a chance to be involved with getting Neil a recording & publishing deal, if I accepted Bruce's offer. So I did. At first, it seemed that I had made a sound choice. My first job was to fly out and join Ralph McTell on his Australia / NZ tour, which was a fantastic experience, the climax of which was his appearance at the Sydney Opera House. The Ardley album eventually came out on Gull, a newly formed label run by two guys I knew when they both worked at MCA..Derek Everett and David Howells. They were enthusiastic jazz buffs and were very keen to release Neil's album. It garnered some amazing reviews (for a jazz album), Melody Maker comparing it to a jazz version of "Tubular Bells". High praise indeed. It sold well enough, but its market was always going to be fairly limited. It did, however, establish Neil as one of the most innovative composer/arrangers around.

Colin Richardson with Neil Ardley and musicians from "Kaleidoscope of Rainbows"

But, after being there almost a year, I began to feel that perhaps it might not have been such a good decision after all and when a US tour for John Martyn hit problems with the support funding promised by his American label boss..I found myself in an impossible situation, which ultimately led to my parting company with Bruce May Management.
It wasn't great timing! The record industry was going through tough times on the back of the oil crisis and the resulting vinyl shortage. No-one was hiring and nobody in a good executive position was moving! I was also pretty unimpressed with the new wave of "punk" bands that seemed to have blown all the established rock groups temporarily out of the water! So, I considered my position for a while, thinking "something will turn up". Well, after about a year...something did. An old friend from my earlier association with Phonogram, Ralph Mace, who was now working at RCA, phoned me and offered a 3 month consultancy position covering the up-coming European tours for David Bowie and Jefferson Starship. It appeared that their International Manager had departed suddenly leaving them with no-one to ride 'shotgun' on these two important tours. 

THE "JOURNALIST" YEARS
Almost at the same time, a German promoter that I had worked with briefly (well, one booking of the Who, actually) tracked me down and asked what I was doing. I tried to put the best possible 'spin' on my situation...but ultimately, I had to admit, I wasn't doing anything much! He then told me that he was, in fact, the publisher of a major German musician's magazine called "Fachblatt", which he compared to International Musician in the States, in that it was about the technology..instruments, amps, PAs etc. and would I be interested in working as a journalist for the magazine. He ignored my assertion that I wasn't, and never had been, a journalist, saying that, with my background and experience, I could get to the kind of musicians that he wanted interviews from and all I had to do was ask the right questions...which he would brief me on, to start with. Well, I decided to give it a try, but explained that I couldn't start right away as I had already committed to the 3 month stint with RCA, . So, I worked the 3 month contract, which I will gloss over, as it could almost be another book in itself! Then, ironically, I was offered the job permanently, but I decided to stick with the journalist plan and, somewhat regretfully, passed on the RCA offer. 

Colin Richardson Interviewing Harry Nilsson at the Algonquin Hotel

So, using a few of my contacts, I very quickly got interviews with people like Pete Seeger, Harry Nilsson, (see more about Nilsson interview here)  Mark Knopfler of  Dire Straits and old mates like Manfred Mann and Dave Greenslade. Then Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks of Genesis were enlisted and a bit later on, an Abbey Road interview with Paul McCartney! I also persuaded another old mate, Jon Hiseman, to contribute a regular drum column. Things had got off to a pretty good start. I continued getting good interviews, some in Germany and then I made a trip to the States, where I brought off what I thought was a terrific coup. A photographer I was using for pictures to go with the interviews, told me that International Musician had secured an exclusive interview with Keith Richards. As it turned out, I knew a guy at IM from the time he had worked at Atlantic Records in L.A. I made contact and asked if Fachblatt could buy the German language rights to the article. He invited me up to meet the Publishers and negotiate directly with them. I got the deal for $500, which I thought was a 'steal'. Following through, I then negotiated an running option to reprint any interview printed in International Musician and the sister mags, Contemporary Keyboards and Frets, on condition that they didn't appear until 3 months later. What I hadn't realised at the time was that, this deal effectively rendered my role redundant, a fact which eventually dawned on Fachblatt's publisher. At that point, I was history! So was my 'journalist career'!

Colin Richardson interviewing Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins

By this time, I was thoroughly disillusioned with the whole music biz... its shallowness and cynicism..its lack of any entrepreneurial foresight and the prevalence of "suits"; (accountants and lawyers) who seemed to be calling all the shots. I had had enough!

Colin Richardson interviewing Paul McCartney at Abbey Road

Colin Richardson's unpublished interview with Paul McCartney at Abbey Road, May 1980. Listen to it here.
http://a2.typepad.com/6a0133f3fc567f970b0134871d6e62970c-mp3

Read more about the interview on Colin's blog - here 

http://colinrichardsonjazz.typepad.com/blog/2009/10/paul-mccartney-interview-at-abbey-road-1980.html

Colin Richardson Interview Part 6 - Monty Python at the Belgrade, Coventry

08/09/2009 Visit Colin Richardson's blog on Typepad http://colinrichardsonjazz.typepad.com/blog/

Monty Python's First Ever Live Performance - Belgrade Theatre, Coventry 1971 as part of the Lanchester Arts Festival.

PART 6
'Live' Python found at Belgrade Theatre, Coventry!
By Colin Richardson

1971 Lanchester Arts Festival included many well-known artistes on the 10 day programme of events,

including Elton John, Ralph McTell, Caravan, blues legend Arthur Big Boy Crudup, Leon

Russell and Andre Previn (conducting the London Symphony Orchestra), but the high point of the student-run mixed media festival that year, was without doubt, the first 'Live on Stage' performance of Monty Python's Flying Circus. 

How did a modest little Polytechnic in Coventry come to be favoured with such a prime coup? Here's how it happened.

I had been the Festival's booking consultant in 1970, working closely with Ted Little, the student organiser. We made a good team, as he was always open to my ideas and suggestions, though quite firm of mind when it came to final decisions as to which act was chosen. I guess he must have been pleased with my contribution, as he retained my services for the following year.

At some point during the planning, he asked if it would be possible to book one or two of the Monty

Python team to perform a couple of sketches from the cult TV show, as they were immensely popular with the student fraternity. I was doubtful, as none of them had ever made any live appearances hitherto and I was pretty sure that they only produced their unique humour for the TV cameras. However, I said I'd see if there was any chance of one or more being interested. I had no idea who their agent was, but, as luck would have it, there fell into my lap a circuitous conduit to to one Python ear. It went like this: I had a little band going at the time...a quintet playing jazz and dance music around the club/college circuit and we had a singer by the name of Jean Hart, who was an American living in London and she was the girlfriend (later wife) of the comedian Bill Oddie. Bill would occasionally 'sit in' with the band, singing a credible blues. He knew most, if not all, of the Python team, so I asked him (through Jean) if he knew how I could go about contacting their representative. To my astonishment, he offered to introduce me to Eric Idle (it's possible that he was sharing a flat with him at the time, though I'm not certain about that) and eventually I got the summons to attend his presence. Being a bit of a fan myself, it was with some trepidation, awe and downright nerves that I presented

myself, but he very quickly put me at my ease with his relaxed and friendly attitude. He asked a few questions about what dates we had in mind, the Festival organisation, its history etc. I threw as many 'names' of artistes that had already been booked, or who had appeared in the previous 2 years and described how well run it was and he took it all in. I was expecting him to indicate who, if anyone, might be up for taking part, when he said something that had me almost fainting with inner excitement. It was along the lines of: "Well, your timing couldn't be more fortuitous (he could even have used the word 'serendipitous') as we've been discussing the possibility of doing something live on stage and, if we did, we would definitely do it outside of  London, in case it didn't work for us. If you can find out whether the Belgrade Theatre is available for a 3 night run, that would certainly increase the odds of us agreeing to do it, as we have all worked there before and know that it would be ideal for us".

In something of a daze, I promised to get back to him asap and left to find a phone to call Ted Little and

give him the astounding news. He didn't seem to take it in at first and kept asking which of the Pythons was I talking about. I said "All of them..the tout ensemble', the whole damn Circus!" After they brought him round, he checked the Belgrade's availability and phoned me back to say that we could have 3 nights, bang in the middle of the Festival. I passed this on to Eric and, soon enough, the dates and the deal were agreed. For the life of me, I can't remember the details, except that the shows would start at 12 midnight and that the fee was extraordinarily reasonable. In a cloud of euphoria, I passed this incredible news to Ted. Tickets went on sale a few days later...and all three shows sold out in about 20 minutes!

Needless to say, the shows were a fantastic success, the student audience a proven fan base who already knew most of the sketches, not that this in any way diminished their noisy enjoyment of them. I recall that,on the first night, the entire front row was wearing 'Gumby' style knotted handkerchiefs...to the astonishment of the first Pythons onstage. An interesting coda to this story is that, a couple of weeks before the premiere, I received a phone call from the plummy-voiced P.A. of an illustrious music biz heavyweight (no names, no pack-drill!) who, after ascertaining that I was, indeed, the person responsible for this 'showbiz' coup, informed me that Mr. ******** would 'like a box, for the first night' ! After a deep breath and summoning

my most innocent of tones, I asked: "What kind of box would he like? Orange?". Well, that went down like the proverbial lead balloon. A few moments of silence, then: "You do realise that it's Mr ******** we're talking about?" To which I politely replied: "Even if it was the Queen Mother, I still couldn't get you a seat, let alone a box. It's completely sold out." A gasp of incredulity and frustration, followed by the crash of the phone going down at his end. I have to admit that I got a degree of quiet satisfaction from the exchange, which just added to the enormous pride that I felt at being the guy who helped facilitate the very first 'Live on Stage' appearance of Monty Python's Flying Circussss!

..................................

From Comment from Chris Applebey via Facebook

" One of the most memorable weeks of my life! I was a reporter for the Nuneaton Observer and had press tickets for all events. The stand out moments for me were Elton John's performance in the Lanch Hall - he'd just switched from the Burn Down the Mission style stuff to the screaming up and down on top of his piano bit - and then his dressing room afterwards where he was very kind to my, then 17 year old, sister Sue. He was a sweetie to her. The same week I saw Monty Python's first live show at the Belgrade. I was in a press box, right next to the stage and Cleese stood in front of me, glaring and shouting "Albatross! Albatross! Gannet on a stick! Tern ripple." I was crying with laughter as he just stood po-faced in usherette uniform as I clung to the balcony legless with laughter. I interviewed him afterwards, I am tiny and he's huge and I was very star-struck and young. All I can remember was him saying how great it was to see so many people had come such a long way to see them, from somewhere up north, all dressed as "Gumby". It was an incredible coup for the Lanch to get so many big names that year, who were just hitting the big wave of their careers. I guess free tickets made it a very good deal. On the price of tickets, I remember seeing in the Sheffield newspaper (I was on a course there as part of my journalism training) that Marc Bolan was refusing to perform if venues charged more than a pound for tickets. Good for him."

The Gay Gannet, Broadgate, Coventry early 70's

In Michael Palin's Diary, he recalls the 1st ever Live performance of  Monty Python's Flying Circus at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry under Sunday January 31st 1971 in these sample pages of the diary on Google Books. HERE

He recalls their surprise to the response to their performance with over 1000 people in attendance. The next morning (Feb 1st,) having stayed at the Hotel Leofric in Broadgate, he describes how the went across Broadgate island to a café called 'unbelievably' The Gay Gannet' for breakfast!

Colin's story was covered by BBC Coventry and Warwickshire Radio in October 2009

10/10/2009

Monty Python at the Belgrade Theatre - BBC Coventry Report
HOW COOL!
BBC RADIO COVENTRY COVER THE COLIN RICHARDSON MONTY PYTHON STORY

http://www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/content/articles/2009/10/08/monty_python_feature.shtml

This is the link to the BBC Coventry page following Colin Richardson's broadcast along with David Partridge who was in the audience at the Belgrade. It was featured on the Annie Othen show.

You can listen to the broadcast with Annie, Colin and David here.

http://a6.typepad.com/6a0133f436b043970b0133f436bf6e970b-pi

The Monty Python team

Hannah Tobin of BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire got in contact with Colin Richardson after Hobo had






Annie Othen's Show on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
uploaded an interview with Colin, part of which dealt with he's scoop of bringing the Monty Python team to the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry for the first ever live performance in 1971. Colin and also David Partridge (who was in the audience) were interviewed on BBC Coventry Tuesday October 20th 2009 on the Annie Othen show. Thanks to Rosie King at the BBC for allowing us to relay the interview on the site.

Colin Richardson with Paul McCartney at Abbey Road.

Colin Richardson Interview Part 5 ( Formation of Colosseum and the Lanchester Arts festival)

07/05/2009 Follow Colin Richardson's blog here on Typepad http://colinrichardsonjazz.typepad.com/blog/

Colin Richardson Interview Part 5 -
Formation of Colosseum

THE FORMATION OF COLOSSEUM
by Colin Richardson

A few months after joining Bron Artiste Management, July I think, I got a call from Jon Hiseman to tell me that he was forming a band and asked if I was interested in being the manager. Dick Heckstall-Smith had left John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in early June, but Jon Hiseman had stayed on with Mayall for several more weeks. Dick and Jon had often talked about forming a band together...and this was their 'window of opportunity'. Dick apparently had said to Jon: "If we're ever going to form this band of ours, it's got to be  right now!" So, after mulling things over,Jon decided to 'bite the bullet' and let Mayall know that he was also leaving He then told Dick it was 'game on' and set about getting the other musicians. Tony Reeves, who had also been with Jon and Dick in the Bluesbreakers had left at the same time as Dick and he was Jon's first choice for bass. Then Dave Greenslade was recruited... he'd been with Geno Washington's Ram Jam Band for the past 18 months and was ready for a change. So, now the main part of the group was set. Perhaps it should be explained at this point, that Jon, Tony and Dave had known each other since they were teenagers growing up

in South East London. Jon and Tony had played together many times at the Jazzhouse in Blackheath, which I wrote about in an earlier section. Dick, of course, had met Jon when they were both in the Graham Bond Organisation a few years earlier. Jon and I had also known each other quite a while, having worked together during the Jazzhouse days, both musically and when I was one of the club managers, as well as the early days of the New Jazz Orchestra. This was probably the main reason he approached me to manage the new band, which he had named Colosseum. I was flattered...but had to explain that, as I had a family and a hefty mortgage, I couldn't afford to take that kind of risk. I could, however, talk to Gerry Bron and see if I could get him interested in signing them and that way I could still be involved, but from within the organisation. That way they would benefit from the agency/management/publishing expertise of the company. I told Gerry, who was impressed with their pedigree and agreed to go and hear them when they had some material ready. Jon was happy with that option and a few weeks later announced that they were ready to show what they could do. We took ourselves down to the rehearsal room and listened as they ran through a few numbers. We were both blown away by the sheer musical ability of the guys and

Gerry signed them up without a moments hesitation. He then proceeded to set up a bank account for them, with a hefty overdraft facility and they were off and running within a week, with gigging scheduled to start in October, a couple of months later. They were well received by both fans and the music press and over the next 3 years played all over Europe and America (though never really cracking the latter), released 3 strong selling albums...the last of which was a 'live' recording, which was probably their best. They folded in November 1971, when they ran out of new material (and steam), the catalyst being guitarist Clem Clempson's departure to join Humble Pie. Amazingly, the group re-formed in 1993, over 20 years later, with the exact same line-up as when they broke up! They made several more records (CDs now, of course) and made frequent tours of the German-speaking territories. Dick Heckstall-Smith died in December 2004, aged 70.

Available here on Jon Hiseman's site - The biography http://www.cka-net.com/acatalog/info_TM-PTB.html

January 24th 2010 marked the 40th anniversary of the historic performances by Colosseum with The New Jazz Orchestra and Jack Bruce and Friends at the Lanchester Arts Festival in Coventry 1970.

I was lucky enough to have seen that concert at 18, sat squat legged on the floor of the Student Union main hall and Colin Richardson who i have interviewed here (unbeknown to me at the time) was just a few yards from me on stage with the band. In addition to interviewing Colin, I suggested the title of Jon's book which was a quote from one of Jon's interviews and seemed to sum up his approach not only to drumming but to his life in general. He doesn't play the drums, he plays the band - there's a huge difference!

Colin, who edited Jon's book, gave permission to use this chapter from Playing the Band which focuses on Colosseum's momentous gig in Coventry at The Lanchester Arts Festival in 1970, which Colin also arranged both as the Bron booking agent and as Colosseum's manager. The concert features The New Jazz Orchestra and Jack Bruce and Friends.

From the chapter - A Giant Leap for Colosseum - Martyn Hanson writes -

Jon Hiseman with author Martyn Hanson


“This remains one of the best gigs I was ever involved in. I was so proud that all my old mates from Tamworth were there to see it.” Clem Clempson on the Lanchester Arts Festival"

A Giant Leap for Colosseum (An Extract from Playing the Band)
“This remains one of the best gigs I was ever involved in. I was so proud that all my old mates from Tamworth were there to see it.” Clem Clempson on the Lanchester Arts Festival"

The first few days of 1970 found Colosseum back on the road doing TV and live dates in Europe, including their first gigs in France…2 shows at the famous Paris Olympia, where they received a standing ovation from a euphoric audience. The feeling of satisfaction at having acquitted themselves so well in such a prestigious venue was slightly tempered by having to be up and away early the following morning in order to make it to the next gig, which was at the Winter Gardens, Weston-Super-Mare. Back to earth with a bump!

The heavy work schedule continued, but with a slight difference. Wearing his agent’s hat, Colin Richardson was the booking consultant for the Lanchester Arts Festival, a student-run, mixed media project in Coventry… a role which, the following year, would give him the opportunity to bring off something of a major ‘showbiz coup’…the first ‘live-on-stage’ appearance of Monty Python’s Flying Circus…three shows at the Belgrade Theatre as part of the 1971 Festival programme. For the current year though, he had already booked the UK premiere of Jack Bruce & Friends, featuring American stars Larry Coryell and Mike Mandell, together with ex- Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell. Also on the bill were Colosseum and the New Jazz Orchestra, playing live together for the first time…an idea that partly stemmed from the NJO brass and reed sections playing on the studio version of Butty’s Blues. Given the close musical relationship that had always existed between Neil Ardley and Jon Hiseman, it was a naturally symbiotic combination, which would prove to be both musically satisfying and exciting. For Jon it was all part of the plan, as he told Melody Maker: “When I formed Colosseum I was consciously trying to create an environment in which we could involve a band of this size.” His real ambition went even further: “The ultimate goal is to produce a 20-piece band whose members are individually as well-known as Colosseum. It’s impossible, of course”.

On the night, the New Jazz Orchestra opened proceedings with Dick, Tony and Jon in their ‘big-band’ roles. The Lanchester College newspaper reported: “The Mike Gibbs composition Rebirth, showed what a ridiculously accomplished set of musicians they were, while Dusk Fire, by Michael Garrick, had Tony Reeves playing the best bass solo I’ve ever heard”. The Guardian and Melody Maker echoed this praise in their reviews, MM going on to report: “Jon Hiseman swung beautifully through every number giving one of the most tasteful displays in drumming and stamping his style memorably on everything”. Ronald Atkins of the Guardian was equally impressed: “Few drummers in this country can touch Hiseman for sheer technique, and he obviously takes every chance to vary his patterns.”

This NJO gig was also something of a milestone for Barbara Thompson as she got her first chance to play a solo in public, in a duet with Henry Lowther. Jon recalls: “She played on Mike Taylor’s Study a very hypnotic slow ballad and it brought the house down. I learned the big lesson that night that you didn’t have to go in with a sharp stick to get an audience reaction. I couldn’t apply it to Colosseum as I always had trouble in keeping the tempos down, but I applied it to Barbara’s later career. She was fantastic that night, I was so proud of her.”

After the NJO left the stage, Dave Greenslade and Clem Clempson came on and Colosseum played their set. They kicked off with Lost Angeles, by now considerably longer than the studio version, followed by the old Graham Bond staple Walkin’ in the Park. Next came The Machine Demands a Sacrifice, which featured Jon’s drum solo, inspiring the college paper to write: “For those of you who saw the first solo, the second was even better and for those who saw the second, Jon had been on stage for over six hours when he started”. It’s quite likely that most of the crowd were there to see Jack Bruce, but already they were experiencing some seriously powerful and memorable music…but the best was yet to come! the NJO musicians returned to join Colosseum for the final two numbers, the first of which was Butty’s Blues, featuring some forceful playing from Dick, but the highpoint of the performance was always going to be the closing piece, Valentyne Suite, scored for the augmenting musicians by Neil Ardley. At one point during the performance, Dave Greenslade was suddenly aware of the significance of the moment: “This was amazing for me Jon and Tony, as we had seen all those great big bands all those years ago. And I found myself playing Hammond in the middle of this great brass section - it gave me a great buzz.” The suite’s climactic ending prompted lead trumpet Bob Leaper to hurl his trumpet high in the air, deftly catching it on its return flight. It was a fitting climax to a memorable collaboration. Jon congratulated Clem after the show saying it was the best he’d heard him play and the college paper also singled him out for his outstanding performance. There was good reason for Clem to be so fired up and playing so well that night: “This remains one of the best gigs I was ever involved with. I was so proud that all my old mates from Tamworth were there to see it.” Colin Richardson concurred: “It was an amazing concert…without doubt, one of the highlights of my music biz career.” The Guardian’s Ronald Atkins was amazed by the crowd’s good humour, as they sat shoulder to shoulder in stifling heat: “No one grumbled and no one collapsed; they sat quietly while the music played and clapped and cheered when it stopped. As a veteran of FA cup ties and smoky jazz clubs, I offer them my envious congratulations.”

Dick also considered it a milestone for Colosseum: “Of all the outrageous things to attempt – the NJO incorporated in the set, playing Neil Ardley’s arrangements to some of our recorded numbers. The hall was packed to the rafters and the reception we got started off as enormous and ended up gargantuan.” The Lanchester college paper went into overdrive: “But then, back came the NJO for the final 40 minutes of the best music I have ever heard here…words cannot do justice to the reality. Quite simply, it stopped the show.” The last word is from Jon: “Lanchester was just amazing. We played to a total of 5000 people in the two shows. Dave Gelly told me that was more people than he’d performed to all year.” The success of this collaboration ensured that there would be further such joint concerts later. Jack Bruce’s set was also well-received, with Jon joining the audience to dig it, enthralled by the drumming of Mitch Mitchell. “He was just wonderful that night – his was a talent I much admired but I think he got lost somewhere along the way.”

Barbara had, in fact, played in Coventry on another occasion. In the early part of 1969 she had formed the Barbara Thompson/Art Themen Quintet. Art Themen was a very talented tenor saxophonist who had known Jon and Dick Heckstall-Smith for many years (he’s also Arthur Heckstall-Smith’s godfather). They played at the Belgrade Theatre and Melody Maker reported: “Opening with John Coltrane’s Promise they played some interesting modern jazz with Barbara and Art both blowing fluent tenor, soprano and flute.” The audiences tended to be on the small side, but Barbara enjoyed the artistic freedom. She told Melody Maker: “Musicians have got to get the idea they can make a living out of jazz out of their minds…it’s a pipe dream,” In spite of this remark, since her Cabaret experience, she had made the decision never turn down the opportunity to play jazz just because it didn’t pay. Barbara always kept several projects on the go, including composing music and writing arrangements. She also seems to have had a thing about drummers, as she also played on Keef Hartley’s album Battle of North West Six. To promote it, Hartley had performed a John Peel ‘live special’ with a 14 piece big band, which featured Barbara in the sax section. Two days after the memorable Lanchester Festival gig, Barbara made her first public appearance with Colosseum on Beat Club a German TV show, filmed in Bremen. Colin Richardson was a good friend of the producer/director, Mike Leckebusch having previously booked Manfred Mann and the Bonzos on the show. Barbara remembers she wore a strange outfit: “It was the time when the Indian Squaw look was really in, and the make-up department at the German TV station went to town on me.”

Barbara reprised her flute playing on The Machine Demands a Sacrifice which she had performed on the Valentyne Suite album. Clem, who had by now settled in and had gained in confidence, gave an inspired vocal performance.
1970 had certainly got off to a good start, but unfortunately, another crisis was already looming on the horizon! "

Martyn Hanson (From Playing the Band)