Music archaeology

[Staffan]

While going through my 60s stuff trying to systematize my own musical youth and my artefacts from the times, I went through the music magazines with Fairport connections - I am a librarian after all   .There I found this ad (Melody Maker, September 23 1967 ) making known that Fairport Convention shared this coming Monday's bill with Doc K's Blues Band.The name seemed familiar and my memory told me that I'd read somewhere that this was the name of one of many bands that Ashley had formed or played in before Fairport. They seem to have an all-nighter together, maybe Ashley played in both bands and never left the stage the whole evening.    Or was he just kind and offered the support slot to old chums?    Or have I remembered totally wrong and Doc K has no connection whatsoever with Ashley.
It's great fun to stumble across things like these in the archives sometimes....



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[jude]

Doc K's Blues Band was definitely a band that Ashley played with, but it was a loose arrangement of local musicians.

There is more about it in Ashley's biography The Guvnor (pp25/26)  

[Staffan]

Thank you, Jude.
I picked down Ashley´s book from the shelf and reread about Doc K. On page 26 Ashley says: "Then I met Simon and Dr K came to an end!"
But the two bands shared stage at least once!  

[Mike Rowbottom]

Ah, what an opportunity to reminisce, though.  I was living in rural Bucks at the time of Middle Earth but was close enough to London to hear about it.  It was a mythical place - Tolkien aside - and somewhere the cool kids from school got to because they had transport and a few quid. The stories I heard!
So, in my other role as an annoying, cloying camp follower, I'd latched on to a band based in Leighton Buzzard whose name I've completely forgotten, but who regularly would play a weekend gig before getting in the Bedford van to drive to Covent Garden for the all-nighter.
One night they played just such a gig in Woburn before heading down the M1, with me in train, to see The Brian Augur Trinity - remember them?  It was the only time I ever went and I regarded myself briefly as the most sophisticated youth in Edlesborough - near Aylesbury.  The following weekend it was back to the farmyard and my part time job there where my attempts to explain to my fellow workers what a paradise I'd visited were met with guffaws.
Little did they understand what an incubator for the next generation of music was there, little would they have cared, either; why should they, it wasn't going get the harvest in!  It's quite hard being a poet amid the dung-heaps.
But your wonderfully unearthed ad brought it all back.  Look at it! Apart from FC there's Graham Bond, Tyranosaurus Rex etc..
Now, if anyone can turn uop an ad for Les Cousins in Greek Street,  which I frequented much more often a year or so later, it would be fun.  Those were the days of Al Stewart, Davy Graham and, of course, Ralph!
Xome on, it's a rain-sodden Sunday on a bank holiday weekend with the peospect of the test being delayed!  memories are more fun that getting wet.

[Staffan]

One night they played just such a gig in Woburn before heading down the M1, with me in train, to see The Brian Augur Trinity - remember them?  ()
But your wonderfully unearthed ad brought it all back.  Look at it! Apart from FC there's Graham Bond, Tyranosaurus Rex etc..
Now, if anyone can turn uop an ad for Les Cousins in Greek Street,  which I frequented much more often a year or so later, it would be fun.  Those were the days of Al Stewart, Davy Graham and, of course, Ralph!
Xome on, it's a rain-sodden Sunday on a bank holiday weekend with the peospect of the test being delayed!  memories are more fun that getting wet.

"This Wheels On Fire" must be one of the best Dylan covers after Hendrix´Watchtower. Auger/Driscoll/Trinity!
Browsed through some MM, couldn´t find ads but the music calendar. Feb-68 maybe is more up your street?
Had problems with getting it into TAW- I´m not good at technical stuff and computers- but I hope it´s readable!  

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[jude]

Oooh! All my old stamping grounds there.

The Starting Gate for one, that was my 'local'. That was one of the pubs that ran different 'nights ' on different nights.
I saw Clarence Ashley there once (with his red braces) on the folk night.

And Rufus Thomas ('Just a-walking my dog') on the Blues'n'Soul night

and I'm pretty sure Ashley was there watching as well

and the Enterprise at Hampstead..

heavens!

[Malcolm]

Blimey. My old mate Jack King was on at the Troubador. Used to work with him, haven't seen him in years! Owned a lovely Martin, decades old.

[Staffan]

From the same MM in Feb 68, Fairport will be playing Middle Earth in a week´s time:
(I think this is great fun   )

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[jude]

And here is next week... I hope

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[davidmjs]

And here is next week... I hope

Hell's teeth - not a "double equal bill", eh?  

[jude]

And here is next week... I hope

Hell's teeth - not a "double equal bill", eh?  

That's what it said! and all for the princely sum of 55p...

[Staffan]

I could have recieved a FREE MEMBERSHIP on application, had I been there and found my Happening 44 card. But I wasn´t there and the card...??  
I still  have my TILES membership card, though!  

[jude]

Trader Horne and a bit later and possibly too small to read but.....

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[PLW (Peter)]

And here is next week... I hope

Interesting spelling of T Rex there.

[jude]

And here is next week... I hope

Interesting spelling of T Rex there.

That's what they were called when they started out, I think they became T.Rex when Marc went electric!

I always used to think 'lard' when I saw T.Rex written anywhere (showing my age )

[davidmjs]

And here is next week... I hope

Interesting spelling of T Rex there.

That's what they were called when they started out, I think they became T.Rex when Marc went electric!

I always used to think 'lard' when I saw T.Rex written anywhere (showing my age )

I think PLW is pointing out that the spelling on the advert is wrong... Tyrannosauras as opposed to Tyrannosaurus Rex

[Staffan]

On the morning of June 25th 1967 I left Gothenburgh on the ferry to Tilbury - it took 25 hours so I missed The Beatles TV show- to spend a month on a language course in New Malden, Kingston-upon-Thames. Included in the course fee was a month's railway ticket to London, Waterloo. Did we use that? Into town after morning class, back for dinner and then back for London nightlife.It was a fantastic month in every way, but had I then known what I knew later, I would have gone to Middle Earth, Electric Garden and other smaller, more obscure music places and not only to clubs like Marquee, Tiles, Flamingo etc. I would have passed the Fairport track earlier, now that didn't happen until two years later. But I listened to loads of music and bought all these music magazines. This one is from my "London 1967" file.  
Enjoy

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[Staffan]

P.S. The Librarian wants to be accurate about the source info: Melody Maker, July 8, 1967 D.S.

[PaulT]

One night they played just such a gig in Woburn before heading down the M1, with me in train, to see The Brian Augur Trinity - remember them?  ()
But your wonderfully unearthed ad brought it all back.  Look at it! Apart from FC there's Graham Bond, Tyranosaurus Rex etc..
Now, if anyone can turn uop an ad for Les Cousins in Greek Street,  which I frequented much more often a year or so later, it would be fun.  Those were the days of Al Stewart, Davy Graham and, of course, Ralph!
Xome on, it's a rain-sodden Sunday on a bank holiday weekend with the peospect of the test being delayed!  memories are more fun that getting wet.

"This Wheels On Fire" must be one of the best Dylan covers after Hendrix´Watchtower. Auger/Driscoll/Trinity!
Browsed through some MM, couldn´t find ads but the music calendar. Feb-68 maybe is more up your street?
Had problems with getting it into TAW- I´m not good at technical stuff and computers- but I hope it´s readable!  

And look who was appearing at Croppies (top right of clipping)... Linda Peters! Future CD title there, I think: From Croppies to Croppers  

[jude]

. This one is from my "London 1967" file.  
Enjoy

I do remember that Electric Garden gig.

It was the first time I heard 'Say You Don't Mind' sung live and it was brilliant