The Rezillos made a long awaited and welcome return to High Wycombe on Friday 18th August 1978, playing to a near sold-out Town Hall with support advertised as punk poet Patrik Fitzgerald and local band The Vents.
Rezillos August 1978 Tour montage – featuring Friday 18th August 1978 at High Wycombe Town Hall – created for wycombegigs.co.uk
The Rezillos had played The Nag’s Head just over a year previous as a relatively unknown punk outfit from Edinburgh. By the time of the return to High Wycombe in August 1978 they had released their first album ‘Can’t Stand the Rezillos’ (July 1978) and had just secured their first real chart success with their ‘Top of the Pops’ single.
Promoter Ron Wattshad been looking to bring the band back to High Wycombe for several weeks and an original date of 14th July 1978 had been booked (with Sore Throat support) but the gig was cancelled, along with the rest of a proposed Rezillos tour, due to unrest amongst the band.
Their eventual return on 18th August 1978 came just over a week since their Top of the Pops debut – Peter Powell introducing a track that was essentially slagging off the programme.
Here’s a quick extract from the lyrics
Does it matter what is shown
Just as long as everyone knows
What is selling what to buy
The stock market for your hi fi
Take the money, leave the box
Everybody’s on top of the pops
A packed house at the Town Hall witnessed a manic set that included all The Rezillos favourites – they also threw in a 100mph version of ‘Ballroom Blitz’ – The Sweet classic from 1974.
Two weeks after their Town Hall appearance they were back on Top of the Pops as their record of the same name hit the top 20. A follow-up single, ‘Destination Venus’, was released in October 1978 but for reasons what are described as ‘growing tensions in the band’ led to an eventual split by the end of 1978 (all very well documented via the links below).
Please get in touch or leave or comment if you have any memories of The Rezillos gig at The Town Hall – including any more information on local support band The Vents.
For your listening and viewing pleasure:
The Rezillos – Top of the Pops – BBC Top of the Pops – August 1978
I understand that lead singer Faye Fife was wearing something similar at The Town Hall?
Cherry Red records, announced as new shirt sponsors for Wycombe Wanderers in July 2018, launched a competition shortly afterwards.
Singin’ for Wycombe is asking for followers of the Club to record a song for Wycombe Wanderers, upload it to YouTube and/or Soundcloud and share it. The best efforts will be offered the chance to release their track on Cherry Red Records as part of a digital compilation.
Singin’ for Wycombe – Cherry Red and Wycombe Wanderers search for a new Club song
The press release at the launch said: “The football club and record label will listen and select their favourites in December 2018. Those that make the final cut will be compiled in to a digital compilation which will be made available across iTunes/Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube Music, Deezer and all the other legal digital platforms that Cherry Red distribute music to in early 2019.”
The news item also suggests the winner may get the chance to perform the song live at Adams Park.
So there you, dust down those guitars, keyboards and drums, loosen up the vocal chords and belt something out in the name of the famous Wanderers from High Wycombe.
A new live music Club was launched at High Wycombe Town Hall on Friday 14th July 1978 with the ‘Peppers’ Club promoting a ‘New Wave/Punk’ night featuring London’s The Lurkers, Damned exile Rat Scabies’ White Cats and local band The Vents.
Peppers appears to be joint venture run between local promoter Ron Wattsand Wycombe District Council, with the aim of offering membership to gig goers in a similar way to the much longer running Friars Club at Aylesbury. Punters attending the Lurkers gig were given free membership cards with the promise of cheaper admission at subsequent Town Hall gigs.
The ‘Club’ idea was also intended as an attempt to prevent violence at gigs. The principle being if you caused trouble you would have your membership revoked and thus not admitted to future gigs under the Peppers name.
The Lurkers supported by White Cats – High Wycombe Town Hall Friday 14th July 1978 – Rezillos coming soon too! – Bucks Free Press advert from the wycombegigs.co.uk archive
The opening night for Peppers took place midway through a year that had slowly been taken over by music related blockbuster films ‘Saturday Night Fever’ and ‘Grease’. By mid-July 1978, ‘You’re The One That I Want’ by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John from the ‘Grease’ soundtrack had been at No.1 in the UK singles chart for five weeks. In the album charts, ‘Saturday Night Fever’ had been sitting at the top for 11 weeks!
The live music scene at the time was about as far removed from this summer of cheese as you could imagine. A gig at the Town Hall proved a welcome relief from the increasingly nauseating Travolta based music being inflicted via national radio and TV… and the ‘Disco’ nights at the same venue on Tuesday evenings!
The Lurkers, headliners for The Peppers opening night, had formed in West London in the latter part of 1976. They played some of their first gigs at the iconic Roxy Club venue in early 1977. Gigs later that year saw them support the likes of The Jam, Eater and Slaughter and The Dogs. In November 1977 they also made a headline appearance at High Wycombe’s Newlands Club.
They released their first record on Beggars Banquet – a track titled ‘Shadow’/’Love Story’ in July 1977. A second single, ‘Freak Show’/’Mass Media Believer’ followed in October 1977, both with limited success. Their third single, ‘Ain’t Got a Clue’/’Ooh!, Ooh! I Love You’ was released in May 1978 and proved to be their biggest hit – reaching 45 in the UK singles chart. Their debut album, ‘Fulham Fallout’ was released in June 1978, while another single, ‘I Don’t Need To Tell Her’/ ‘Pills’ was released in the same month as their High Wycombe Town Hall gig and earned them an appearance on Top of The Pops on 3rd August 1978.
Their line-up at the time of the Town Hall gig is believed to be Howard Wall (vocals), Pete Stride (guitar), Nigel Moore (bass) and Pete ‘Manic Esso’ Haynes (drums).
Ain’t Got A Clue – The Lurkers Front cover of their 1978 single of Beggars Banquet – with free GOLD flexi-disc
Meanwhile, The White Cats and been formed around January 1978 following the latest split-up by punk originals The Damned – drummer Rat Scabies (real name Chris Miller) recruiting Kelvin Blacklock (vocals), Eddie Cox (guitar) and Steve Turner (bass). Blacklock had been a member of early early punk band London SS. The White Cats played as headliners at The Nag’s Head on 6th July 1978 and clearly had impressed promoter Ron Watts to bring them as support for The Lurkers – it was perhaps a role that they didn’t enjoy?
I’m indebted again to a couple of friends who kept diaries during 1978 and both attended The Lurkers event at The Town Hall. First up, ‘Buzz’ recalls The White Cats set as being ‘very aggressive’ and added: “I wasn’t impressed by their performance, and it seemed neither was anyone else. They got absolutely no reaction from the audience whatsoever. The White Cats were pi**ed off, and called one song ‘Bollo*ks to Wycombe Town Hall’. No-one seemed to care.”
Meanwhile, ‘Tapps’ also recalls the attitude of The White Cats and confirms they introduced their final song of the evening as ‘Bollo*ks to Wycombe Town Hall’.
The White Cats were fairly short lived as they struggled to find their own identity. Their set included The Damned’s ‘Stab Your Back’ and another Damned song in the making, ‘Second Time Around’. The latter appeared on The Damned 1979 album ‘Machine Gun Etiquette’, but renamed as the title track. Other songs in their set-list that night would most likely have included ‘Escalator Love’, ‘Teenage Dream’, ‘Junkyard Angels’, ‘Detectives’, ‘Here I Go Again’ and ‘Shotgun Lovers’ – all recorded for John Peel Sessions in April and August 1978.
‘Buzz’ also recalls The Lurkers in his 1978 diary, saying: “The Lurkers played a fast, exhilarating set to a larger audience, some of which may have been their fans from London. From start to finish there was a massive area of pogoing and we all really exhausted ourselves! There was no violence at all.”
So the Club idea appeared to have worked, at least for this gig?
A review of Town Hall gig also appeared in ‘Rock On’ magazine and I include the complete text below as it collaborates with the memories from ‘Buzz’ and ‘Tapps’ :
“The hall was half full and the atmosphere wasn’t exactly electrifying either, which was disappointing when an exciting band like the Lurkers are appearing.
First on were a young band called the Vents. A lack of aggression and attack produced a rather timid less than ordinary performance. The only memorable thing was the contorted expressions worn by the lead guitarist.
Next on were White Cats. With the inimitable Rat Scabies. Their performance was an improvement on the Rainbow showing, but only just. Vocalist Kelvin Blacklock was a poor shadow of Billy Idol, and proceeded to act the fool throughout. There was a good performance of the Damned’s Stab Your Back, but that apart, they were predictable, and when trying to be nasty, merely irritating.
Finally, on came the Lurkers, and alter a disastrous start when Pete Stride’s guitar strings broke during Ain’t Got A Clue, they proceeded with a superb rock ‘n’ roll performance.
The set included Be My Prisoner, Shadow, Then I Kicked Her, Total War, and the new single, Pills. Howard Wall was brilliant, and Esso gave a stunning performance on drums during the unexpected break. All in all a memorable gig, confirming their brilliance on stage and album. But the Lurkers apart, the evening was a pretty poor one.”
For your listening and viewing pleasure:
The White Cats – Second Time Around – audio – demo 1978
The Lurkers – I Don’t Need To Tell Her – Revolver TV show 1978
The Lurkers – Shadow – live video – Red Cow, Hammersmith 1978
The Dashfest annual charity music festival takes place from Friday 13th July 2018 to 15th July 2018 at The Dashwood Arms, Piddington. As usual the event will feature live music acts on the Friday evening, with a full day of bands on the Saturday. The event will conclude with a selection of music acts on the Sunday afternoon and early evening.
Dashfest 2018 – 13th to 15th July 2018 Dashwood Arms, Piddington, near High Wycombe
In addition to the bands, there is a variety of other entertainment, including: Bucking Bronco, Bouncy Castle, Face Painter, Slush Machine, Ice Creams, Sweets, Pimms Bar, BBQ/Hog Roast, Vegan and Vegetarian Food.
Day tickets are £3 each, with weekend wristbands available for just £5.
Proceeds are in aid of Berks/Oxon/Bucks Air Ambulance and Animal SOS Sri Lanka.
FRIDAY 13TH JULY
7PM TO 7.50PM THE KULT 45’s
8PM TO 9.15PM THE LARGE PORTION…
9.15PM TO 12PM CARTEL
SATURDAY 14TH JULY
1PM TO 1.50 MISS KILL
2PM TO 2.50PM DOCTORS ORDERS
3PM TO 3.50PM TINY TINA
4PM TO 4.50PM RED HERRING
5PM TO 5.50PM BIG AL AND THE BLISTERING BUIKS
6PM TO 6.50PM TONY GOFF AND THE BROKEN COLOURS
7PM TO 7.50PM STRANGE FOLK
8PM TO 8.50PM KONTRABAND
9.15 UNTIL LATE THE WAY BACK
SUNDAY 15TH JULY
12.30 TO 1.15PM THE FANDANGO BROS – ACOUSTIC
1.15 TO 2PM STEVE MCCORMACK
2PM TO 2.50PM THE MOTS
3PM TO 3.50PM THE SKIN AND BLISTER BAND
4PM TO 4.50PM THE MIGHTY TRIPLE O BAND
5PM TO 6PM STEALWORKS
Also keep an eye on the Dashwood Arms facebook page for any changes due to World Cup matches taking place on Saturday and Sunday.
Scottish punk/new wave band The Skids played their first gig outside of Scotland or London on Friday 30th June 1978 (*) with a date at a Ron Watts promoted night at The Nag’s Head.
Skids – Return To London (and make first visit to High Wycombe) advert from Record Mirror – June 1978
(*) I’ve seen the date of The Nag’s Head appearance documented as both Thursday 29th June 1978 and Friday 30th June 1978. – The Thursday date was certainly the originally intended date and would tie in with the usual Thursday ‘Rock Night’s under Ron Watts’ promotion. The music paper listings for that week show Thursday 29th June but I was delighted (and more confused) to discover the above tour advert in The Record Mirror showing The Skids ‘Return To London’ dates with The Nag’s Head appearance indicated the 30th June. My theory on why it might have been moved is below.
The Skids had been formed in 1977 in Dunfermline by then 19-year-old guitarist Stuart Adamson. He recruited Bill Simpson (bass), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and a 16 year old Richard Jobson on vocals. They played their first gig in August 1977 and released their first record in February 1978, the Charles EP on the No Bad record label (Tracks: ‘Charles’, ‘Reasons’ and ‘Test Tube Babies’). The EP was championed by John Peel and led to a rapid rise in their popularity away from their homeland.
Skids 1978 – Bill Simpson, Richard Jobson, Stuart Adamson and Thomas Kellichan
The Skids subsequently made their first journey ‘down south’ during April 1978, playing well-known London venues; including The Rochester Castle (Stoke Newington), Red Cow (Hammersmith), Hope and Anchor (Islington) and The Nashville (Kensington). The trip coincided with a record deal being signed with Virgin Records.
Their return south in June 1978 followed a first John Peel session recorded on 16th May 1978 and first broadcast three days later. The tracks were: ‘Of One Skin’, ‘Open Sound’, ‘Contusion’, ‘Night and Day’ and live favourite ‘TV Stars’.
The tour dates show The Skids playing a 28th June 1978 show at The White Hart in Acton. Listings show this gig with the Scottish lads supporting Tubeway Army (Gary Numan’s electronic band in the making). By some accounts it was a violent evening at a venue famous for its ‘punk’ nights. I also noted a couple of other interesting gigs from the same weekly listing. The Clash made their Aylesbury Friars debut on Wednesday 28th June 1978 in front of a sell-out 1,000 plus crowd – they had played the Nag’s Head in November 1976 in front of barely 100 people! On Thursday 29th June 1978, David Bowie played before around 20,000 fans at London’s Earl Court. He had made a very early appearance in High Wycombe during 1966 – also playing to less than 100 people. Perhaps the original date was moved to avoid clashing with The Bowie date? Members of The Skids were big fans of Bowie? Meanwhile, if you stayed at home to watch Top of The Pops on the Thursday night, you could have seen Dave Lee Travis presenting a typical show for the year – culminating in John Travolta and Olivia Newton John’s – ‘You’re The One That I Want’ video being shown for the third consecutive week. It would remain at No.1 for a further seven weeks! There was hardly a ‘punk’ revolution storming the top of the charts in the summer of 1978!
Back at The Nag’s Head the crowd for The Skids was also around the 100 mark. Promoter Ron Wattsrecalls the evening in his 2006 autobiography – 100 Watts – A Life In Music, saying:
“The Skids [were] yet another band with obvious massive potential. Richard Jobson was a dynamic singer, not blessed with the greatest of voices but he could handle a crowd. They also had Stuart Adamson, a guitarist who went onto even greater things with Big Country before sadly committing suicide in America. That was a real tragedy; Stuart had so much talent, yet he couldn’t cope with the situation.”
Success for The Skids would come relatively quickly following their Nag’s Head appearance. Within 12 months they had recorded three further sessions for John Peel and released a trio of singles that would propel them into the limelight. Their debut on Virgin, ‘Sweet Surburbia’, was released in September 1978, while their ‘Wide Open’ EP released in October 1978 featured the storming lead track ‘The Saints Are Coming’. Both singles had minor chart success but that was blown out of the water with the release of ‘Into The Valley’ in March 1979 – reaching No.10 in the UK charts and earning them regular appearances on Top of the Pops. The track was taken from their debut album, ‘Scared to Dance’ – released in February 1979. In November 1979 – less than 18 months after their Nag’s Head show, they had sold out The Rainbow Theatre in London.
For your listening and viewing pleasure – starting from the era The Skids played The Nag’s Head
Skids – 1st John Peel session for BBC Radio One – recorded 16th May 1978
The Saints Are Coming – The Skids – BBC Top of the Pops – November 1978
Into The Valley – The Skids –BBC Top of the Pops – March 1979
Local band Public Service Announcement returned to The Phoenix Bar in High Wycombe on Saturday 7th July 2018 for a FREE entry gig, including two support acts.
Public Service Announcement plus Crossways and The Meantime Collective Phoenix Bar – High Wycombe – 7th July 2018
They have recently added around six self-penned new numbers to their set, complementing cover versions of ‘Tommy Gun’, ‘Staring at The Rude Boys’, ‘I Fought The Law’ and ‘Ready Steady Go’. Their set also typically includes two or three Basta Roc favourites as a throw-back to the days of the band that featured current band members Pete Colverd and John Fleming.
Support act Crossways are described as an ‘alternative indie rock band’ from Chesham, while The Meantime Collective get the tag-line ‘blisteringly fast, ska infused punk rock.’ They are a three-piece from Brighton.
Read more about the bands via their respective Facebook pages:
County Durham’s favourite punk band, Penetration, played a headline slot at High Wycombe Town Hall on Friday 2nd June 1978. Their appearance was during a break from their support slot on a national tour with Buzzcocks. Support for Penetration at The Town Hall was originally billed as London based Reggae Regulars but was changed closer to the date of the gig to a selection of more local bands. Although not particularly well attended, the evening was a chance to catch a band that were gaining ever increasing positive reviews and attention through the national music press.
Penetration – montage of memorabilia from High Wycombe Town gig – 2nd June 1978 – created for wycombegigs.co.uk
Penetration had formed towards the tail end of 1976 with a line-up of Pauline Murray (vocals), Robert Blamire (bass), Gary Smallman (drums,) and Gary Chaplin (guitar). The band was named after a Stooges’ song. They released their first single, ‘Don’t Dictate’ in November 1977 on Virgin Records and the follow-up, ‘Firing Squad’ was released the month before their visit to High Wycombe.
Their tour with Buzzcocks had seen them take in another date in Buckinghamshire – Saturday 6th May 1978 seeing them support Manchester’s finest punk export at Aylesbury Friars. However, the High Wycombe date was a rare chance for Penetration to headline at a decent sized venue outside of a major city.
By the time of their Town Hall appearance, original guitarist Gary Chaplin had left the band – departing in March 1978 and being replaced by Penetration fanatic, 19 year old Neale Floyd. Chaplin had written the entire band’s music to date, with 20 year old Patti Smith fan, Murray providing the lyrics. During my research for this article, I found a Sounds interview from the 27 May 1978 issue. It reveals that Robert Blamire had just ‘discovered’ his first song – saying: “I came up with the bassline at a soundcheck.” Pauline Murray added that the song proved to be an ‘inspiration’ and she eventually added lyrics, including the following:
Caught up in the scheme/Mixed up in a moving dream
Music in the motion/Rhythm just repeat, repeat
Echo multiplies and waves of sound are lost in space/Motion in the wheels
And pulling all the strings
The song would become ‘Movement’ and get an airing at High Wycombe Town Hall and in Phil Sutcliffe’s Sounds article, the journalist states: “‘Movement’ is probably the crucial song in Penetration’s development, the convincing assertion that they are far more than punk buzzsaw merchants.” He added: “The vocal and and words feel just right with Pauline embodying actual power and potential rather than the impotent, straight-jacketed aggression which characterised early punk. This is the mood of ’78 (I hope), action instead of self-pity”.
I’m grateful again to my long-time friend Buzz who not only attended the gig but also wrote his immediate thoughts in his 1978 diary. The listings for this gig in the music press had the support line-up down as The Ventilators, Vice Creams and The Yonkers. However Buzz confirms via his diary that the latter two bands didn’t play and were replaced by The Mystery Girls. A band of this name had been due to play at The Newlands Club in October 1977 but they never appeared. I assume they were a band from the High Wycombe area? I have no more information at this stage, so if you are able to add any background, please get in touch.
Meanwhile, The Ventilators were a High Wycombe based band consisting of far more familiar faces at the time. They were Kris Jozajtis (guitar and vocals), Kevin Smith (guitar and vocals), Mark White (drums) and Carlton Mounsher (bass). Jozatjis, White and Mounsher had originally played together during the latter months of 1976 and early 1977 in Deathwish. Later in 1977 they regenerated into The Pretty and then The Party. Buzz recalls that the trio were still at school at the time of the Penetration gig in March 1978 and their new band were introduced by promoter Ron Watts before coming on stage as: ‘one of the best bands to come from Wycombe for years.’
Buzz’s diary recalls the performance of The Ventilators as ‘excellent’ but also commented that he was, “dismayed by the astonishingly small audience”. He added: “By the time Penetration started, the audience was still smaller than the group deserved but at least everyone came to the front of the stage and thus created a reasonable mass of people.”
The small audience can be attributed to a number of factors, including the chaotic and violent scenes at the previous Town Hall gig – the 28 April 1978 appearance by Siouxsie and The Banshees – an evening where the moronic actions of those playing up to the stereotypical ‘punk’ and ‘skinhead’ factions, ruined the enjoyment for the vast majority who had come along to simply enjoy the music. In an attempt to try a fool the ‘thickos’ (as described by gig promoters of the time), details of up and coming concerts were kept low-key. Outcome, the ‘thickos’ struggled to figure out when and where the gigs were. While ‘music-lovers’ (i.e. those who could read), turned up as normal. Result, smaller audience and no trouble but bands and promoters were left wondering whether it was all worth the bother.
My friend Buzz can thankfully be included within the ‘music lovers’ group and commenting on the sounds he heard that evening, he wrote in his diary: “Musically, Penetration were very good – though they seemed to have surprisingly little equipment. Also, the three blokes had very little stage presence, but this was compensated by Pauline, who was excellent. Despite demanding a second encore we only got one.”
Penetration line-up – May 1978 – as published in Sounds 27 May 1978
Songs played by Penetration on that evening on June 1978 would have most likely been drawn from the following:
Race Against Time
Money Talks
Never, Never
Don’t Dictate
Firing Squad
Movement
Life’s a Gamble
Future Daze
Stone Heroes
Silent Community
Lovers of Outrage
Vision
Nostalgia (Buzzcocks cover)
Free Money (Patti Smith cover)
VIP
Silent Community
They would recruit an additional guitarist in July 1978 when Fred Purser joined. A first John Peel session was recorded the same month and in October 1978 they released their debut album, ‘Moving Targets’. A headline performance at Aylesbury Friars followed in November 1978 and a second album, ‘Coming Up For Air’, was released in September 1979. They split-up the following month to concentrate on separate projects. However, in 2001 they reformed with original members Pauline Murray and Robert Blamire. They were later joined by former Buzzcocks drummer John Maher.
For your listening and viewing pleasure
Don’t Dictate – Penetration – live Manchester – August 1977
Note classic example of ‘Thicko’ being dealt with by ‘Music Lovers’ at around 1:20.
Firing Squad – Penetration – audio of single – released May 1978
Life’s A Gamble – Penetration – live Reading Festival – August 1978
The 4th annual ‘No More Heroes’ punk festival took place in High Wycombe on Saturday 23rd June 2018. There was a change of venue this year, with the slightly bigger ‘Wycombe Arts Centre’ in Desborough Road, taking over from The Phoenix Bar in Bridge Street.
The event kicked-off at 11am and ran right through until midnight, with close to 20 bands taking to the stage throughout the day.
The running order was expected to be the following:
The Nag’s Head hosted an early appearance for folk/prog rock giants in the making Jethro Tull on Friday 24th May 1968. The band, formed in late 1967, had released just one single at the point of their Nag’s Head appearance and their debut album had yet to be recorded. Less than a year later, their first vinyl long-player had hit the top 10 UK album charts and by the early 1970’s they were touring the world playing huge arenas.
Jethro Tull adverts from The Bucks Free Press for gigs at The Nag’s Head and The Crown, Marlow – May 1968
Promoter Ron Watts recalls the gig in his 100 Watts – A Life In Music – autobiography, where he claims he trialled an admission charge increase method.
“The normal price of admission was six shillings, but rather than reduce the price for an unknown band as Tull were then, I charged 6/6 (32 ½ p). I gambled that people would think that the higher price meant Tull were well-known, and potential customers would be too embarrassed to admit to their friends that they’d never heard of the night’s star attraction. The gamble worked, the place was full and Tull did a great set.”
The original band members had met in Blackpool. They found success after moving south to base themselves in Luton and settling on the name Jethro Tull. Scottish born Ian Anderson on lead vocals and flute was a main focus, with other band members at the time of their High Wycombe appearance being Micky Abrahams (guitar), Clive Bunker (drums) and Glen Cornick (bass). They released their first single, “Sunshine Day/Aeroplane” on MGM records in February 1968, although it was miscredited to ‘Jethro Toe’.
Following their appearance at The Nag’s Head, on 29th June 1968 Jethro Tull played the first ever free concert at Hyde Park, along with The Pink Floyd, Roy Harper and Tyrannosaurus Rex. Footage of the concert was filmed by Pathe news and has since appeared in documentaries about the band. In August 1968 they appeared at the National Jazz and Blues Festival at Sunbury-on-Thames and by most accounts, this was the point they became recognised by the national music press and their career blossomed as a result.
Support to Jethro Tull on 24th May 1968 were The Nag’s Head houseband Dynaflow Blues. They would also share the bill with Jethro Tull at the National Jazz and Blues Festival at Sunbury-on-Thames in August 1968.
Watts also promoted a Jethro Tull gig in Marlow the following week, with a show at The Crown. Watts added in his autobiography: “Six months later Tull’s first album, This Was, had made the top ten album charts and the band had been the hit of that summer’s festival circuit. People were coming up to me in awe, saying, “You booked them, and they became stars.” It was nothing to do with me, I’d hardly heard of Jethro Tull when they played the Nag’s, but they helped me to get a reputation for being able to spot up and coming acts. That meant people were happy to see bands they didn’t know, because they thought that a few weeks later they’d be watching Top of the Pops and telling everyone that they’d seen all those performers playing at the Nag’s.”
It doesn’t appear that Jethro Tull ever returned to play High Wycombe again but there is another connection with the area as Ian Anderson moved to live in Buckinghamshire for a number of years from the late 1970’s through to the early 1980’s – residing in a farm house in Radnage – a village about 7 miles from High Wycombe. Footage of the farm (with recording studio added), plus the 1968 Hyde Park film, appears in the YouTube clip below.
For your listening and viewing pleasure
Fish ‘n’ Sheep & Rock ‘n’ Roll – Ian Anderson documentary – Channel 4 1987
Hyde Park footage is from 1:30 – filmed 29th June 1968 Footage at Radnage is from around 27:30
With three live appearances in High Wycombe behind them in 1977, the Tom Robinson Band released their debut album, ‘Power in The Darkness’ on 19th May 1978 on the EMI record label. Produced by Chris Thomas and Engineered by Bill Price, the album was dominated by political messages and tailed by the title track where Robinson mocked politicians.
Power in the Darkness – montage of memorabilia – including stencil
TRB appeared twice at the Nag’s Head in 1977 (August and October) and then at a near sold-out Town Hall in November 1977 as the success of their sing-along debut single, ‘2-4-6-8 Motorway’ threw the band into the media spotlight. The follow-up EP, with lead track ‘Don’t Take No For An Answer’ and the ‘Sing If You’re Glad to Be Gay’ anthem was more true to the Robinson’s beliefs but was less successful. There was also a conscious decision not to include any of the previously released tracks on the album. It perhaps made the album less accessible to the masses but on the other it made the messages contained within less diluted by the lighter side of the band.
TRB may never have been as ‘cool’ as the likes of The Clash or The Sex Pistol but writing this piece some 40 years after its release, the content is as relevant now as it has ever been. They chose not to die their hair, swear on TV, or turn their image into a circus act but their attitude was as ‘punk’ as it came. The album even came with a stencil, ‘not for use on public property’!
40 years later Tom Robinson was playing the entire album again on an anniversary tour. It was a shame he couldn’t find a High Wycombe venue to fit into the tour but perhaps there will be time in the future?
For your listening and viewing pleasure – a couple of stand-out tracks from PITD
