JACK THAT CAT WAS CLEAN

started going up west back in late 64 i was 15 at ...

2012-03-31T21:41:29.946+02:00

started going up west back in late 64 i was 15 at the time tagging along with my older mates, couldn't believe what i was seeing, wardour st packed with teenage mods, other mods approaching us to ask if we wanted any gear,the first club i went to was the last chance saloon, my first real introduction to RnB,the entrance was in oxford st underneath a big yellow swinging sign that had a picture of a sombrero on it with two smoking 45s, into a porchway and at the back was a narrow winding staicase that went past a cloakroom, then on down to pay the 10 shilling entrance fee and get the back of your hand marked with that stuff that was only visible under the florescent light, having done that it was on thru the swinging saloon doors and into the club where the most amazing records were being played louder than i had ever heard, temptations "why you wanna make me blue?"/"my girl", sugar pie desanto, "i dont wanna fuss" betty everitte "getting mighty crowded", i could go on, i became a regular and when things got too hot we would sometimes go walkabout maybe to see who was hanging about in ham yard,or over to wardour st which was usually heaving with teenagers all talking non-stop after taking copious amounts of blues, sometimes we would venture on over to whitcombe street and have a coke in the coffee-ann which had a great juke box by the way loads of RnB stuff on it which looking back was unusual for a coffee bar? but there again the coffee-ann was no usual coffee bar it was in excell court off whitcombe st, the entrance was just a cellar hatch like they used to have outside pubs to shoot the barrels down, the stairs were steep and very awkward but we always managed them ok, la discotheque in wardour st at no 17 was on the first floor, it was in the sunday pictorial newspaper almost every week for a while with tales of drugs and debauchery, the "scene" in ham yard led the way musically i think the other clubs followed its lead, it was a great little club but this too had its share of police raidswhich thankfully i was never caught up in, it was all so underground,exciting and going on at the cutting edge of RnB 3years 63-66 and it was all over "up west" i'm so glad i was there and a part of it

The Rainbow was above the Coop store in the High S...

2012-03-27T21:35:30.527+02:00

The Rainbow was above the Coop store in the High St of Birmingham city centre. Access was vis an arcade . Admission was 8/6 in old money. The music was reggae , Trojan . Very slick .

The Rainbow was not in the suburbs but above the ...

2012-03-27T21:33:27.844+02:00

The Rainbow was not in the suburbs but above the Coop in the High street. it had a rooftop terrace. Live bands played but everyone was there for the records where were Trojan reggae . DJs included Tubby Stan and Dave Spicer.Admission was 8/6 in old money.

Hi i used to go to the allnighters in the mid sixt...

2012-03-16T23:38:57.438+01:00

Hi i used to go to the allnighters in the mid sixties it was an old cinema you could go upstairs for a bit of quite. They had acts from the states like howlin wolf who used to wear an overcoat, fantastic stuff. They used to lock the doors at 11.30 then no one in or out. Purple hearts used to be a plenty. I used to get there on the bus. I think i was still at school. I loved the clubs. I used to go to the scene, the disc, the last chance, and many others i also liked the freight train cafe in berwick street. Great times.

Hi again Forgot to mention, if you can help me out...

2012-03-13T11:01:54.859+01:00

Hi again
Forgot to mention, if you can help me out Gil, my email is samuelhellstrom@gmail.com

all the best / Samuel Hellström

Hi again Forgot to mention, if you can help me out...

2012-03-13T11:01:38.154+01:00

Hi again
Forgot to mention, if you can help me out Gil, my email is samuelhellstrom@gmail.com

all the best / Samuel Hellström

Great pictures and suits Gil!! I want to make a su...

2012-03-13T10:59:26.630+01:00

Great pictures and suits Gil!!
I want to make a suit like your 4button! I live in Gothenburg/Sweden and just love the 60s modstyle in clothes.Could you help me out with a pattern or some general directions? Can I email you?
All the best/ Samuel H

Hi Sid Thanks for your comments it's great to ...

2012-03-11T21:51:40.165+01:00

Hi Sid
Thanks for your comments it's great to get interest. Were you & Jan at Reunion a couple of years ago at Malmaison ? We were there with Bobby & Maxine Summers.We took photo's along a lot of people looked at them and reminised about the clothes that they had.

Hi Lloyd thank-you for your comments its great to ...

2012-03-11T21:42:22.940+01:00

Hi Lloyd thank-you for your comments its great to hear other Mods memories of the time.Del's suede jacket was also brown with leather collar and pocket flaps.
There was a club in Birmingham called the Whiskey which was over a menswear shop called Chetwyns.
Del & I think it's great to have our photo's on JACK THAT CAT WAS CLEAN.

Hi Lloyd thanks for your comments its great to hea...

2012-03-11T21:31:28.317+01:00

Hi Lloyd thanks for your comments its great to hear others Mods memories of the time.Del's suede jacket was also brown with leather collar and flap pockets.There was a club in Birmingham called the Whiskey which was over a menswear shop called Chetwyns.Del & I have wanted to share our photo's for a long time.

What a fantastic write up, thouroughly enjoyed the...

2012-03-09T21:49:53.723+01:00

What a fantastic write up, thouroughly enjoyed the trip back to great times. The photos were excellent- I also had a suede jacket with leather collar and a mock croc bag. Though I was not clever enough to make my own clothes !. Thanks for sharing your memories.

I just love that era: that time, that place...

2012-03-07T15:08:45.633+01:00

I just love that era: that time, that place...

This looks very good T.... I'll read it at my ...

2012-03-05T16:54:08.794+01:00

This looks very good T.... I'll read it at my leisure.

Wooooooooowwww!!! Amazing! Mocky Dimples.

2012-03-05T10:56:29.098+01:00

Wooooooooowwww!!! Amazing!
Mocky Dimples.

Gill From brum myself, remember all this in brum b...

2012-03-04T20:13:36.241+01:00

Gill From brum myself, remember all this in brum back in the sixties, hepworths, west end, the whisket over chetwyns, rainbow sweet and bands that were on at the odeon new street Spencer Davies etc. me and my wife jan were mods ourselves and still go to do's in brum Now!!!

Great photos!...no myths there....it's really ...

2012-03-04T17:27:55.453+01:00

Great photos!...no myths there....it's really nice to hear true stories back up with photos like these...I had a suede jacket with a leather collar very similar to the one in your photos ..mine was brown suede with brown leather pocket flaps and collar...Our coffee Bar 'The Pamdor' In Hastings.East Sussex was above the Hastings branch of Hepworths and most of us went to Burtons or Hepworths for our suits...a suit cost around £12-£15 in the early 60s...thanks for showing your photos...

Am 64 now and the music heard at the Scene I guess...

2012-02-22T02:50:59.537+01:00

Am 64 now and the music heard at the Scene I guess moulded my taste in music all my life.probably 15/16 when first went there.Didnt drink,do drugs,just danced to music I had never heard before.Still remember how amazing it was to hear shirley Elliss,major lance etc years before fame.brilliant club.

What a fantastic post I have enjoyed reading every...

2012-02-17T14:23:24.852+01:00

What a fantastic post I have enjoyed reading every word of it. I have bookmarked this page and will be back for more

Hi, apparently The High Numbers (The Who before th...

2012-02-04T19:05:35.665+01:00

Hi, apparently The High Numbers (The Who before they were The Who) played here on 2nd Sep 1964. A really great bootleg recording of this nights gig exists but is credited as being from The Marquee Club (where they had a resedency every Tuesday night Nov/Dec 1964). Is there anything you can say to shed any light on wether the recording was indeed from Scene or Marquee? You can hear it on my Who radio show just released today: http://www.WhoCloudcast.com Thanks in advance for any info.

you can get the guy stevens sue recoeds complation...

2012-01-29T11:17:45.384+01:00

you can get the guy stevens sue recoeds complations-m,abye they have some of the tracks you are looking for

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments on my ...

2012-01-26T17:45:46.350+01:00

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments on my memories. I often think that the London clubs of that time, the Scene, Flamingo, La Discotheque, and the Last Chance have been rather overshadowed by the Twisted Wheel. I'm not sure when the Wheel actually started but doubt if was earlier than the London clubs. The music that was played at the Scene was in my opinion the genesis of Northern Soul.
I still go out to soul nights, including all nighters, around the country, in London these days it's mainly the 100 Club, although I retired from work last year. Does anyone else who went to the old Mod clubs still get out these days? What's the Ham Yardies things like? Do any of the old 60s Mods go to them?

Thanks to everyone who commented on my memories. P...

2012-01-26T17:31:32.176+01:00

Thanks to everyone who commented on my memories. People go on about the Twisted Wheel in Manchester and I think that the London clubs like the Scene, Flamingo, Last Chance and La Discotheque appear to have been forgotten. But the genesis of Northern Soul was laid in those clubs, don't really think Manchester was ahead of London, hope that doesn't upset anyone.
I still go out to soul nights now, even though I retired last year, does anyone else who went there still get out to hear music?

The Scene Club to this day is still really undere...

2012-01-11T05:40:11.026+01:00

The Scene Club to this day is still really underestimated in its unintentional at the time shaker and mover of fashion and music direction. I was there around then , and looking back The Flamingo ,which started something [and The Scene took the music [Tamala Motown and Soul music ] to another level .Irember seeing a band called the VIP,s at the Scene and other bands like Georgie Fame and his band .My most enduring memories of that era were the visits to "The Last Chance " which were about a year behind the other all nighter clubs in that era .However the people [faces ] made this the the place to be seen not because of the gear you where wearing but they played the best music at the time as well'
All respects to all i bumped into in those magical ,ceative and strange days .Wiliy Gillmore [King]The Irish Mafia.Terry Whelan, The Mile end boys and others who years after that time admitted to being there.
regards
jimmy

Amy must have had too many uppers/downers, purple ...

2011-12-09T03:44:03.930+01:00

Amy must have had too many uppers/downers, purple hearts or whatever!!
Does anyone remember my brother who was DJ at The Elbow Room in Aston and Mothers in Erdington?
H was a good friend of Spencer Davies and quite well known around Birmingham in 60's. He was known as Micky Twitch. He married Cindi an American lady in about 1969 and they left for the usual trail,at the time, for India. Where he was killed
A long time has passd but any information - good or bad would be welcome. I'm his younger sister known then as Betty but wouldn't expect anyone to remember me but would just love any pictures I can build of him - don't worry about anything shocking I knew him very well - he always tried to protect me from the world he moved in but I wasn't ever far behind!!

Ricky Tick Hounslow/Windsor Remember queueing down...

2011-11-04T11:58:15.326+01:00

Ricky Tick
Hounslow/Windsor
Remember queueing down Hounslow high st to see yardbirds,Gino,Georgie,Jimi,John Mayall,Animals,Zoot Money etc half a crown to get in,stamp the back of hand,half time run to Tankerville for light & bitter (the occasional purple heart tanner each),every Fri Sat,still laugh about Bob firing that starting pistol in there one night,really wound up mac the bouncer.think the Hounslow Tick was open same time as Windsor,
although it changed to the Attic then Zambizi(dissapointing)
Mick Power was the life and soul with brother Geoff at Hounslow,first day Mick gets his TV 175cc he wacks a car up the arse right outside Richmond nic gets £6 fine,,bank hols to Brighton where 200 Hounslow boys get off the train at Brighton with Mick at the front,Police one side of the barrier and us the other,total silence then Mick with his loud voice and looking this obnoxious British Rail bloke in the eye ,one from Preston Park says Mick, which was last stop when we had come from west london, and we all piled through the barrier,next day when queueing for the 100 club a black Maria pulls up grabs Mick & Geoff throw them in the wagon then up in Brighton court on the Monday and told to plead guilty and get a £10 fine,,trouble was Mick with his blonde hair was so recognisable, they both got sent to Borstal 2 yrs biggest stitch up ever,Mick a great popular bloke became a coalman had his own buisiness,his local was the Royal Oak in Brentford,he died in 2004 but never bitter,we did see the Stones at Twickenham before he died but not quite the same as the Tick and £165 a ticket?????and no purple hearts just a few pints,bit different to Granada Greenford and half a crown to see the Stones in 64,getting back to the Tick if you drive past Hounslow bus garage opposite,, above the pizza parlour there are 3 windows which was the Tick,often wonder whats in there,plenty of ghosts,had a great night with Gino Washington at Brentford arts centre a few years ago where he did a talk show about his life,we were in the bar for a long chat after,what a top bloke,also had a great night watching Chris Farlowe at Chiswick town hall in the 90s where I had a pint with Long John Baldrey and Zoot Money who were on the guest list,have a great pic of the 3 of us in foyer. thanks guys,so sad he left us,meeting the Beatles outside Twickenham studios,the Tiles Oxford st(100 club)and the old DJ saying we should not wear Levis cos we were not making an effort when every Fri round to the Launderette for 1 wash and 2 spins???cost me 3 bob every week,ben sherman,brogues from the Ivy shop in Richmond,20 Embassy light & bitter great days,now old git drawing a pension and go to see grandkids nr Brighton so have a pint in the Albion hotel nice view opposite the pier and remember,, great reading your memories,all the best.sixties pete