391 entries.
FREDDY MACK: It was interesting to read Nick's memories of his short time with Freddy Mack. I am busy compiling a complete gig list of the group and members (very complicated history) and Melody Maker actually lists all of the acts that played at the Upper Cut in January 1967. It looks like Freddy Mack opened for tonnes of famous acts from about 21 December 1966 to early February 1967. You can see all of the artists listed in Melody Maker's classified section at the back in the British Library at Euston. It looks like Ged Peck was there at least until late March/early April 1967. Dave Tedstone told me that he went to see Freddy Mack play at Eel Pie Island (the date was 4 April) and it was one of Roger Truth's final gigs. The guitarist, he said, was Stuart Taylor not Ged Peck. Stuart could have been a temporary fill in because Dave Tedstone joined that day and played his first gig in Birmingham on 5 April. He joined Jimmy James & The Vagabonds later that year before briefly working with Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band (check out Acid Jazz recordings).
FLOWERPOT MEN: Reading through Nick's story, I wonder if a gig that I found on 23 September 1967 at the Floral Hall in Southport featured Nick or an earlier backing band for The Flower Pot Men. For anyone that is interested, the show on 23 December 1967 also featured support acts Sun Dial and Sound Society. I also found a missing gig in Derby Evening Telegraph, which lists the band playing at King's Hall, Derby on 14 November 1967.
NEW PIRATES POST-JOHNNY KIDD: Reading through Nick's story, I can tell you that the drummer that rehearsed with The New Pirates in early-mid February 1967 after Roger Truth decided to stay with Freddy Mack was Jimmy Smith. He had played in Poland with John Carroll in a group called The London Beats (See Strange Brew website article for full story). Mick Stewart apparently alerted his old friend Ron Thomas, who was playing in Hamilton and The Movement that Jimmy didn't want to take up the offer to join The New Pirates and he replaced Phil Wainman in Hamilton and The Movement instead. That's when John Kerrison came into The New Pirates. Incidentally, I found a gig in Melody Maker showing that the New Pirates played at the Upper Cut in Forest Gate on 17 February so this was before the Cornwall tour that Nick refers to in his story. Also, looking at Nick's gig list, the show on 25 February at the Plaza Ballroom in Newquay was actually the Blue Lagoon Club (source: West Briton & Royal Cornwall Gazette). Moving forward to the end of the New Pirates, it's interesting that Nick says the band members met on 1 May 1967 and decided to go their own ways as John Carroll had briefly joined Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band the week before and played a series of shows before Dave Greenslade took up the organ spot on a permanent basis soon after. However, it doesn't appear that the New Pirates story ends there! I found in the West Briton & Royal Cornwall Gazette that the band was booked to play the Blue Lagoon in Newquay on 2 July 1967 for a week. I can only assume than Mick Stewart was on guitar but I wonder who else was there? Certainly not Nick who was with Billie Davis. It's quite possible that Roger Truth was the drummer as guitarist Dave Tedstone told me that Roger played one of his final gigs with Freddy Mack in early April 1967. Unless of course, it was John Kerrison on drums? When Nick Simper was recovering from the car crash in late 1966, the New Pirates used a guy called Johnny Holiday on bass so it's possible that he was there too. It would be interesting to hear what others think! Incidentally, the band must have split by September 1967 because Mick Stewart had joined Jimmy Smith in Hamilton & The Movement before spending a short time in The Flowerpot Men's backing band alongside John Carroll (long after Nick Simper had departed to form Roundabout).
RENEGADES-DELTA 5: I was talking to bass player Ray Brown, a musician from Hayes, Middlesex who went on to play with Jeff Curtis & The Flames, The Kool and Magic Roundabout in the 1960s among others and then Easy Virtue and Crackers in the 1970s. He told me that he played in a short-lived group with Nick Simper when Nick was on lead guitar. He remembers going to Nick's house to rehearse and remembers a gig at the Ealing Club. This must have been between the break up of the Renegades and the formation of the Delta Five. Incidentally, Nick's friend Ray Soper was also in Jeff Curtis & The Flames and it was this group that landed the brief job with Johnny Kidd before The New Pirates were formed. It was their drummer, the late Pete Burt (brother of Mick Burt from Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers) who was window cleaning and arranged for the Flames to do a few gigs, including a show at Chatham Naval Docks in late April/early May 1966.
Another missing gig from the Bobby Hebb list is a show at King Mojo, Sheffield on 3 December 1966 with The Eyes of Blue, A New Happening and Chapter 5 (Sheffield Star listing)
Found a gig that might be of interest:
Bobby Hebb played at the Palais de Danse in Leicester on 13 December 1966 (this is not part of Nick's list so not sure if it happened)
Mr. Simper, Just sitting down looking at my Deep Purple collection and viewing MK 1 # CDs. You really rocked. Those 3 releases are by far the best. Hope all in your life is good. A fan from Canada, take care...
Hi Nick, Been talking to my friend Colin Pryce-Jones about you doing a few Johnny Kidd numbers with them a few weeks ago. I have been trying for years to get some JK video and only just recently got about 50seconds of mute black and white footage which is better than nothing.
I asked Geoff Barker to put out for me on air about the gig you did with JK that was filmed in Devon just before the accident. So far no one has come forward but this film should be somewhere ?
Do you remember any more about this filming than what was written in the JK book ? This would be great to see.
Cheers Roger
www.saturdayclub.info
Hi Nick..its Mickey Hawkins son..me and dad was chatting over dinner last night and your name popped into the conversation..i know he lost contact with you and i thought id try and get you two back together for a meet up after all these yrs..cheers mate Nigel
When do you come back to Brazil? Peace, health.
Nick,
I've been a bassist since the early 60's myself and had to tell you that your bass line on Chasing Shadows is STILL one of my favorites of all time 
If you go to www.garagehangover.com and scroll down there are tonnes of gigs for venues in West London from the 1960s.
Just got the Deep Purple Songbook CD... simply amazing!!!
Happy Holidays
Merry Christmas mate,to you and the family. Lovely Jubbly!!!!!
I was amused by your description of the 1967 package tour. I had completely forgotten that we nearly blew up Tomorrow and Keith Howe in their dressing room! I do remember chasing Keith and Keith West along a high street in Ipswich chucking fireworks at them from an open-top car. Nearly got arrested for that and certainly wouldn't have made the evening gig. And then there was the incident on stage when one of the other band members came on whilst I was playing an intro to a blacked-out theatre. As I was playing some chords, the sod tried to pull my trousers down! Needless to say the chords were completely out of time. Crazy times.
Anyway, given me a ring either before or after Xmas. We must go for a meal again.
Regards
Ged
Late but not fogotten - all the best for your Birthday!
Happy Birthday mate!!!!!
For Nick - www.radiosutch.net
TWO SHOWS CANCELED! The shows in Nürnberg (10.10.) and Habach (12.10.) had to be canceled.
Still some of the best music ever, came out of the UK in the 60's and 70's whilst other countries looked on wondering what hit them, many musicians have now got together and formed a music site called Numubu www.numubu.com
