Strummin' Steve Jackson - Songersingwriter

Jolly Brewer, Lincoln 2007

2007-12-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

Write Note Lincoln Central Library Dates 2008

2007-11-29T04:15:00.000-08:00

Remaining Date For 2007
Wednesday December 5th (noon-2pm)

Dates For 2008
(all on Wednesday (noon-2pm)
January 2nd, February 6th, March 19th,
April 9th, May 7th, June 4th, July 2nd
August 6th, September 3rd, October 1st,
November 5th, December 3rd

Saturday Showcase Specials 2008
January 19th (10am-noon)
June 14th (noon-2pm)

A lunch- time, mid-week monthly acoustic live music session for singer-songwriters and musicians. An opportunity to try out something original or something traditional or contemporary on your acoustic instrument …
Open to both performers & people who just want to relax & listen. Why not combine it with a visit to the Library?
“THE WRITE NOTE” can accommodate around
6(8 maximum) musicians each performing 15/20 minute sets.

Contact host, Steve Jackson @ Stephen.jackson8@ntlworld.com orwww.myspace.com/sbjackson if you’d like a slot

Songs In The Key Of B Natural

2007-11-29T04:04:00.000-08:00

I'm awaiting delivery of my new CD " Songs In The Key Of B Natural" which should be here in the next couple of weeks! It's all original material. Here's the liner notes

For a long time now, I’ve wanted to gather what I feel are my best songs and put them on one disc. “Songs In The Key of B Natural” is the end result. If it all ended tomorrow, I’d be happy that this represents my creative juices.
I’ve tweaked and culled and had to call a halt, because there’s usually another song around the corner. These recordings are a combination of solo performances and sessions with occasional guest musicians and recordings with “Ploughmens Bunch” the band that relit my songwriting fuse. Big thanks to the “Bunch”, Bryan Peter Rudd at Lincoln University, “Organic” Karl Svarc, Trev Cunnington and Hugh Scullion for humouring me and helping me make this album.
I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without my wife Anne, who’s put up with my musical condition since she first came across me as a fresh faced young man! Love to you and daughters Holly and Sophie.

Tracks 4,7,9,11,14,16,18 & 19 recorded with Ploughmens Bunch. Tracks 1 & 6 feature Karl Svarc on six and 12 string guitar Everything else - Steve solo with acoustic/nylon strung guitar or the Scullion strummer.
Tracks recorded: 4,7,9,11,18 & 19 at Lincoln University 1 & 6 @t Karl Svarc’s Home Studio, Lincoln 5 & 12 @t Trev’s Shed, Caistor 3 & 10 @ Hugh Scullion’s Home Studio, Scunthorpe 14 & 16 @ the Brickyard Studio, Lincoln
8,13 & 17 Live @ Siren FM, Lincoln University

1 YOU
2 NOW
3 FISH OUT OF WATER
4 I LOST MY HAT
5 YOU CAN NEVER TOUCH THE SKY
6 A STONE FALLING MY WAY
7 I DON’T KNOW (WHERE THAT PLACE IS)
8 THE BEACH
9 TRAVELLIN’ BLUES
10 YOU FLOAT MY BOAT
11OLD CROW
12 THE MORE YOU KNOW (THE MORE YOU GROW)
13 AS THE YEARS GO BY
14 HUMBER RHUMBA
15 UPSIDE DOWN
16 EVEN THE BEST GROW OLD
17 WHAT WAS WRONG (YOU MADE IT RIGHT)
18 CROONING THE NIGHT AWAY
19 DO SI SO (TO BILL MONROE)
20 COMIN’ HOME TO YOU

Golden Eagle- Lincoln Write Note Dates

2007-11-29T03:51:00.001-08:00

Pete at the Golden Eagle on Lincoln's High Street asked me about doing a lunchtime " Write Note " session at the pub so we've agreed some dates over the next months as a bit of a trial to see how it goes. They're all on a Wednesday and run from noon-2pm (approx)

Next one's on the 19th December, then in 2008 - 21st January, 18th February, 26th March and 15th April. Musicians and audience most welcome.
We're using just a small PA set-up just for a little bit of extra volume over the clink of glasses,conversation etc!

Pete Wray,Pete Gostelow, Richard Langridge and myself played the first one on the 28th November.

Wild Flowers - Jean-Nette

2007-11-29T02:03:00.000-08:00

Lincoln singer Jean- Nette with the help of Karl Svarc has put a 7 track CD together. I'm on the opening track "Wild Flowers" playing strummer,singing a verse and doing some harmony. It's a Dolly Parton number. Other tracks include The Dance,Coalminer's Daughter,Willie Nelson,Destiny's Gate,Wings Of An Angel and Rambling Man. I think the idea of the CD is a fundraiser for a dancing club that Jean-Nette belongs.

Promo Leaflet

2007-11-13T02:25:00.000-08:00

Too small to read, click on above image for larger version. This is what I hand out at gigs. It helps when people ask me about strummers, plus the other stuff I do.
ALL LIVE DATES LISTED @ www.myspace.com/sbjackson

Golden Eagle,Lincoln Nov 2007

2007-11-12T08:51:00.000-08:00

I try to make the Golden Eagle "Open Mic" night at Lincoln when I can. It's on a couple of times each month and a small PA is provided along with a fine mix of local musicians. Nev Arthurs is usually there to write some reviews. Paul does the sound and Tracy and Pete run things at the pub. I'll usually do something on my own or grab a musician or two, in this case Steve "Laptop" Lealand on snare and Easy Bob Reid on harmonica. The glasses are courtesy of Rockin' Bob who did the preceeding spot with a couple of Elvis tunes.

Chapel Point Beach Hut Party 19th August 2007

2007-08-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

From the Skegness Standard 29th August, 2007

Greenbelt 2008

2007-08-30T14:54:00.001-07:00

Greenbelt 2007 was a little different in that for me the busking wasn't very well organised. There was only one pitch and it wasn't a patch on the busking arrangements organised for the previous year. There was the usual eclectic mix of performers from Billy Bragg to Chas and Dave, Hummingbird and Jimmy Cricket!

Brandy Wharf Folk n' Cider

2007-08-17T04:20:00.000-07:00

An afternoon with Easy Bob and Clever Trevor at Brandy Wharf. We played a couple of sets and the beginning and end of the afternoon. Joined by Karl Svarc and Richard Langridge at various points. Solo sets also by Karl and Richard plus Les Wood, Helian Keys A spot of rain meant a quick stage change to an under cover spot. Lots of good feedback so hopefully we'll be back! Big thanks to AJ (Anne) for the sound.

Acoustic Troubadours March 23,2007

2007-07-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

March, 23 2007, THE ACOUSTIC TROUBADORS at Moot Hall, Holton le Moor, near Caistor. Pics from a fund raising gig for "Raise my sail" featuring the Acoustic Troubadors who for "one night only" were Steve Jackson, Chris Treebeard and Paul Pearson, Roger Coult and the Brothers Norman, Paul and Jonathon. We all did solo spots then got together for something unrehearsed! Great roaring fire too!

AND THE REST/SET LISTS/PLOUGHMENS BUNCH

2007-07-27T00:23:00.000-07:00

Comments & Things

*Review (By Tim The Twangler)- Market Rasen Folk Club Friday 3rd November 06 (edited)

Steve Jackson was better than I have ever heard him with a good mix of his own songs and some classics getting the audience singing along and all really enjoying the guys set. Another player who can ring the changes and play several instruments.(Grrr)

As it happens, from beginning to end this was a great evening of music.But the outstanding thing for me was the way in which the audience took to the performers from the first to the last and sang and stamped and clapped the evening away.Sound was as ever superb!

On stage at Belfast City Hall ( 22nd Sept 2006)performing "Communication Blues"
Enjoyed the busking at the 2006 Greenbelt Festival (26th - 28th August) held at Cheltenham Race course, I wasn't too sure what to expect. A range of live music, speakers, arts events, food,clothes stalls (picked up some colourful shirts) and the constant sound of drumming! Busking was done in one hour time slots and over the three days I managed 4 hours of playing, At the end of this I had friction burns on my wrists! Plenty of interest in the strummer. Also managed to perform at the Winged OX Folk Club which the organisers are hoping to develop further for next year. I signed the petition to support this. Enjoyed listening to music writer Stever Turner talk about his new biography on Johnny Cash (The Man Called Cash) and bought a signed copy. Following this another highlight, an interview with artist Bill Drummond (don't call him a prankster, he doesn't like it) and his Choir 17 project.
Music wise blown away by a couple of bands I admit I've never heard of. My Morning Jacket (from Louisville,Kentucky) and Michael Franti and Spearhead (from San Francisco). All I can say is I bought albums from both when I stopped off at Nottingham on the way home. Another highlight was something called "The Rising" which consisted of a quartet of song writers on stage talking about their craft. This included the likes of Dave Sharpe, Ben Okafor, Iain Archer and host Martyn Joseph.

Jolly Brewer Check out the website at http://www.thejollybrewer.co.uk which includes a webcam. The camera is in a static position but the sound and visual quality is good There's also a weekly comment on the performers too.Best to check out the Brewer website for all the latest updates. A big thanks to Neville Arthurs who's downloaded and put a CD together of some of my performances at the venue and he's just done a Volume 2. Much appreciated Nev!
Hank Wangford plays the strummer!
I took my strummer along to a recent Hank Wangford gig at Willoughton Village Hall near Kirton Lindsey (28th April) and he had a look and a strum. I thought it might appeal to him in an old timey country kind of way. He seemed genuinly interested or maybe he was just being polite! Either way a great evening of live country music from Hank and Reg Meros!
The Scullion Strummer Roadshow made their debut at the Lincoln Folk Club at the White Hart, Nettleham on 7th April 2006. Above left to right - Mel Oysten, Hugh Scullion, Steve Jackson, Chris Wright and Steve Hindley. There's a DVD of this performance too!
I'm also a member of roots'n roll n' ceilidh band "Ploughmens Bunch" see www.pbunch.blogspot.com/ and hear us at www.myspace.com/ploughmensbunch

LIVE APPEARANCES
I have performed solo at various venues in the Lincolnshire area including the Market Rasen and Lincoln folk clubs,the Jolly Brewer, Lincoln Drill Hall, Turners Arms Wragby,The Bull Horncastle,The Farm at Anderby Creek,Salutation Inn, Near Caistor, Caistor Sports and Social Club, Black Horse Nettleham, Bargate Club, Caxton Theatre Grimsby,Golden Eagle,Lincoln,Lincoln Central Library and I can now add Belfast City Hall and the Europa Hotel in Belfast which apparently is the most bombed hotel in Europe! Plus there's Greenbelt Festival 2006. Sessions too like the Black Horse at Old Bolingbroke where they play lot's of top notch old timey stuff with various instruments including banjo,fiddle,washboard, guitar and mandolin. If there's an opportunity to play I'll do it. I'm looking to do more solo performing and am happy to play with a PA or totally acoustic.
SIREN FM
*I've been doing some broadcasting (Roots n' Boots) for Siren Radio- Lincoln University. It's one hour show on Siren Radio on 87.7 FM and also available to listen to on the internet at http://www.sirenonline.co.uk . The first programme included tracks from Hayseed Dixie, Gillian Welsh, Carter Family, Creedance, Gene Parsons,Good Old Boys, Johnny Cash, Scullian and Hindley, Jesse Fuller, and the like. Siren now have an all year round broadcast licence staring in the spring of 2007 and It looks like I'll be doing a regular "Roots n' Boots" programme plus I'm hoping to assist the station around their future launch and programming. I've called it Roots n' Boots, real music on real instruments with a stomp to it from folk, country, blues, americana, old timey, new timey and all points in-between!

Pictured right with Jolly Brewer guitar maestro and host, Bob Cairns
ORIGINAL SONGS
I appreciate it's quality not quantity but so far it's.... WHAT WAS WRONG (YOU MADE IT RIGHT) (an old timey gospel feel,played on the strummer) I LOST MY HAT (story about losing my hat in a gust of wind off the coast of Norfolk,again played on the strummer) NOW (if you want to say something before it's too late, say it now) AS THE YEARS GO BY (aimed at that time in your life when you discover your turning into your Dad, mannerisms, voice, walk, actions.....It's scary!) All the above four tracks on Ploughmens Bunch CD Hat Trick. EVEN THE BEST GROW OLD (included on Ploughmens Bunch CD - In A Field Of Our Own) (First song I wrote for the band) FISH OUT OF WATER (How I felt when I had an unexpected stay in hospital) HUMBER RHUMBA (Life on the ocean wave,or rather on a trawler in the River Humber) (Also on In A Field Of Our Own) SURFIN IN LONDON (A frantic nod in the direction of the Beach Boys) CROONING THE NIGHT AWAY (old style 78 with a Bing Crosby feel) (Included on Hat Trick CD) I DON'T KNOW (WHERE THAT PLACE IS) (Skiffle meets Johnny Cash) (Opening track on Ploughing On) IN A FIELD OF OUR OWN (Also on Ploughmens Bunch CD - Ploughing On) UPSIDE DOWN, DO-SI-DO TO BILL MONROE (homage to the bluegrass veteran) (On Hat Trick) OLD CROW (On Ploughing On) PEEL ACRES (INSTRUMENTAL) (one for John Peel- noodling away on the strummer, John Peel's face was featured on the front of the NME - a striking image following his death-it was on my music stand so he was looking at me as I played - one of the good guys so I named it after him) Now has a spanish/mexican feel when performed with the band. YOU FLOAT MY BOAT (inspired by watching Mutiny on the Bounty- the Clark Gable/Charles Laughton version - on the strummer) THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES ( a single I recorded in 1981) COMIN' HOME TO YOU - On the Uke, needs a good foot stomp. BORN TO STRUM (what it feels like to pick that super strummer up!) TRAVELLIN' BLUES (playing on the back porch with friends and a cold drink and dreaming about where you might want to travel) (On Hat Trick) SOAKIN' UP THE BLUES, PUTTIN' SOME OIL ON THAT RUSTY OLD WHEEL (in Don Williams mode) MAN ON A TRAIN WITH A PIZZA (a true story about a guy who got on at Birmingham Station and ate a pizza sitting next to me) THE MORE YOU KNOW, THE MORE YOU GROW (about life really) THE BEACH - a ragtimey ode to the seaside. YOU CAN NEVER TOUCH THE SKY - about your heros/influences,from whatever perod in time/history AIRBRUSHED FROM HISTORY ( work in progress, usually two sides to every story, depends who tells it!) STOMP AND DELIVER - a new instrumental on the strummer. You - a new slightly bluesy ballad in progress- STONE FALLING MY WAY - a story song based on the impact someone speaking can have on you. YOU - a new melodic ballad which so far has been well received.

RECORDINGS/DISCOGROPHY
Above- my 1980 single "Fiction" & "The Man With the X-Ray Eyes" recorded at the Studio Playground, Wragby in Lincolnshire. The musicians were Paul Johnson on lead guitar (sadly no longer with us), Ivan Codd on bass guitar and Ray Perry on drums. I sang and played rhythm guitar on the tracks. We spent a Sunday recording the two songs and I remember having to drive drummer Ray Perry back to the Sands Club in Cleethorpes in the late afternoon for an evening gig where he was part of the house band and then straight back to the Wragby Studio.
Highpoint was a play on John Peel's BBC Radio One Show!
The single and picture sleeve are on the left. Paul Johnson took the photograph in the back room of my Mum and Dad's house in Lestrange Street, Cleethorpes. OK, that was the look at the time!

PLOUGHMENS BUNCH
I've recorded 3 albums with Ploughmens Bunch "In A Field Of Our Own", "Ploughing On" and "Hat-Trick". "In A Field Of Our Own" was the band's debut release recorded at the Brickyard Studios in Lincoln. A couple of my original songs were included, "Even The Best Grow Old" which was the first original song the bunch tackled and "Humber Rhumba" which is also used as the music to accompany a swiss roll snake like dance at our ceilidhs! To keep the rural image going Allan Johnson put a bluesy tune together and I added some words for "Tractor Blues" It's a spontaneous album, mostly recorded live with a few overdubs.
"Ploughing On" was the band's second release which again was a mix of original and traditional songs and instrumentals. It kicks off with I Don't Know (Where That place Is) a skiffle country number with a shuffling beat, the kind of thing I wrote with someone like Johnny Cash in mind (well I can dream!) "In A Field Of My Own" was to segue into an orchestral fade out and you can see that early on I was getting ideas above my station. A big thanks to producer Bryan Peter Rudd for his efforts on the album. Old Crow was intended as some kind of work song, out in the fields under a hot sun, a break for lunch under the shade of a big oak tree and everyone would launch into song. That's a real saw we used in the recording studio!
Hat Trick is probably our best production to date. The songs are stronger and we've developed as a band. Recorded at Lincoln University again with Bryan Peter Rudd at the helm.
STRUMMER/SCULLION INSTRUMENTS ON CD ALBUMS
Hugh's put together 2 compilation CD's featuring a variety of musicians who play his custom made strummers, travel guitars and mandolins. As something of an unofficial ambassador for the Strummer, I was keen to contribute.The strummer certainly opened up my musical horizons and I'm usually approached and asked questions about it when I play. I've got a number of tracks on the two CD's. I've contibuted various tracks to the two CD's
Stringbender inventor, former Byrd,Flying Burrito Brother,Nashville West member and all round good guy, Gene Parsons tweaks the strummer at Lincoln Central Library. Check out Gene's site @ http://www.stringbender.com/

With Country Joe McDonald, a songwriter and performer who I've admired for many years, since his days with Country Joe and the Fish, the American West Coast psychedelic pioneers. He's much more than the man who put the "F" in Woodstock! Check out http://www.countryjoe.com/

I LIKE TO SEE FROGS IN MY POND!

The Write Note

2007-07-26T04:26:00.000-07:00

At the Write Note, Lincon Central Library- 2nd May,2007 - taking advantage of an abstract painting exhibition!

Music fan and real ale drinker Nev Arthurs (pictured) is fast gaining a reputation for his online music reviews. Armed with a pen and notepad you can often spot him at open mic nights jotting down songtitles and the like which he combines with his extensive knowledge of music and tropical fish! He's commented on some of my recent performances (reprinted below), cheques in the post Nev!
Jolly Brewer Open Mic Review 11/4/2007
We seem to have been waiting ages for Steve Jackson to treat us to Gram Parson's "Hickory Wind" but finally we get to hear it tonight and it's been well worth the wait. Steve follows with his own familiar "The More You Know, The More You Grow". Before taking us to the break, Steve asks Pete to cog up the echo effects as he thrills us with a fabulous rendition of Hawkwind's "Silver Machine", complete with beat box vocal effects emulating the take-off and landing. Who else but Steve Jackson would perform a 12 minute set beginning with a country classic and ending with psychedelic rock, all played on two Lincolnshire strummers? And where in Lincoln could you possibly hear it, save the Jolly Brewer? Quite superb!
Golden Eagle Open Mic Review 10/04/2007
Our next performer is the charming and admirably talented Steve Jackson. Armed with a care-worn guitar, he treats us to three self-penned numbers beginning with the ragtime “The Beach”. Steve follows with the lovely mellow “You Can Never Touch The Sky” and then ends on a more upbeat note with “The More You Know, The More You Grow”.
Steve plucks out his “duelling strummers” to treat us to his own “Coming Home To You”. There’s some light-hearted banter from a section of the audience, which of course is egg and milk to Steve who responds by encouraging a hearty sing-along of “Ring Of Fire”. The sing-long continues for Steve’s final number, Bill Monroe’s jolly “Blue Moon Of Kentucky”.

GOLDEN EAGLE,LINCOLN OPEN MIC DAY

2007-07-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

GOLDEN EAGLE,LINCOLN OPEN MIC DAY,1ST JULY 2007 , LINCOLN WITH STEVE "LAPTOP" LEALAND AND STEVE ALLEN (SPOONS). SET LIST WAS BAD MOON RISING,I LOST MY HAT,BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY,FOLSOM PRISON BLUES,SILVER MACHINE, RING OF FIRE.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARTIN McKENNA

Eco- Fest Badger's Farm nr Louth, 17th June 2007

2007-07-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

Quite an event. I was there just for the Sunday. Took part in the singer songwriters competition but didn't make the final. Plumped to perform a skiffle like version of "The More You Know, The More You Grow" for the judges. You've got to be able to handle rejection in this business! Just be yourself and do what you do. Enjoyed the open mic session where King Rollo provided some fine snare drum rhythm for my slot. As time goes on I more and more enjoy the spontaniety of having musicians join me. Bluesman, Adrian Byron Burns was also very complimentary about my strummer playing, so thanks Adrian that's much appreciated coming from a quality pro musician. The cheques in the post or maybe it's paypal!
Played Bad Moon Rising, I Lost My Hat, Blue Moon Of Kentucky and Ring Of Fire, which pretty much hits the mark every time! Well received by the audience and some grat dancing too!

Chilling out at the 2006 event, Nev Arthurs (left) Bob Cairns and SJ

BORN TO STRUM

2007-06-28T02:26:00.000-07:00

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT STRUMMERS?
Check out Hugh Scullion’s myspace site @ www.myspace.com/hughscullion

Hugh makes a range of instruments. Here’s what he has to say about strummers on his myspace site.
“A Strummer is a kind of dulcimer but held for playing like a guitar. The use of open tunings makes the sound distinctive and LOUD. These instruments can be easier to play than many fretted instruments – so a great starter instrument for beginners. However they are also being played by very accomplished players such as Sean Lakeman, the strummer being the featured instrument on the ‘Band of Gold’ track on the award winning Seth Lakeman CD ‘Freedom Fields’. Tom Bliss, superb songwriter and musician, who plays solo, performs with Tom Napper and with Piper’s Sons, is also using a Strummer for live performances and recording. Steve Jackson, a talented singer songwriter from Lincoln, who performs solo and with ‘Ploughman’s Bunch’ now, has two Strummers and a solid electric ukulele made by myself. Checkout his MySpace!”

Jolly Brewer Vol 2 CD

2007-06-28T02:19:00.000-07:00

A big thanks to Nev Arthurs for putting together a compilation CD of my Jolly Brewer performances. All via their weekly webcasts. Thanks also to sound engineer Pete O'hara and recording engineer Ben Hoe and Emma Chapman at the Brewer. Much respect!

CLEETHORPES WINTER GARDENS

2007-04-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

The End Of An Era - A Personal View By Steve Jackson

(as published in the Grimsby Telegraph Special Winter Gardens supplement 14th Feb 2007)

The end of an era is an often over used phrase, but I’d use it to describe the forthcoming closure and demolition of the Cleethorpes Winter Gardens. Live music and the Winter Gardens go together like fish n’ chips and often did as you made your way home along the sea front after a gig!
I saw my first professional rock band at the Winter Gardens circa 1971 when I went along with a friend to see prog rockers “Audience” an upcoming band who incredibly did this for a living! Unusually, they were fronted by an acoustic guitarist and in what developed into a reoccurring condition following most concerts I attended, I went out and bought one of their albums at the weekend (on vinyl), something of a collectors item today.
From here on in I was hooked. Each week I was a regular purchaser of the New Musical Express, Melody Maker and Sounds as I plotted which albums to buy and what bands were heading this way. The Winter Gardens was on the live touring circuit, the division’s one and two to the premier league. The venue attracted groups on the rise and a few who were heading in the other direction too!
The building even had its own smell; I reckon the meals cooked over the years had permeated the woodwork, mix that with the beer being served and the place had its own distinct aroma. There was also the sight of the man at the helm, Jimmy Jackson, resplendent and straight faced in his tuxedo, looking a little incongruous amongst the hairy denim and psychedelic hoards.
The bar staff were also legendary, very difficult to get a smile out of some of them and I suspect they probably thought they’d been transported to “Dante’s Inferno” for the evening. The youthful enthusiasm, loud music and drink helped us but I imagine not them, as they went about an evenings work. There really was very little trouble over the years until the onset of punk rock brought some tension to the venue.
As for the live music, everyone who was a regular will have their own special memories and favourite gigs. That first gig with “Audience” holds special memories from choosing how best to look cool (I wore an orange Jimi Hendrix t-shirt) to walking the 40 minutes or so from my house in Lestrange Street, Cleethorpes to the venue.
I saw some great live bands, The Sex Pistols, Clash and the Heartbreakers all in one night. Paul Rodgers fronting his short lived trio “Peace”, Uriah Heep, Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance with the sixth Rolling Stone, Ian Stewart on keyboards, Foxtrot era Genesis with Peter Gabriel wearing a giant fox’s head and full length red dress, Van De Graf Generator, Gardens favourites Stray and their exploding dustbins, The Edgar Broughton Band, Man, Racing Cars, The Boys, The Damned, the brilliant Deaf School who never reached their potential, The Flamin’ Groovies from San Francisco, Generation X, Amazing Blondel, The Kursall Flyers, Steve Gibbons Band, The Stranglers, Chris Spedding (with the late Grimsby musician and former T.Rex man Steve Currie on bass guitar) the list goes on and on.
Then there are those concerts, I could only wish I’d been there for. Queen, Atomic Rooster and Free, even psychedelic American West Coast band Country Joe And The Fish, post Woodstock. Dr Hook and the Medicine Show and AC/DC are a couple more on the hit list I wished I’d attended.
The Grimsby Live Aid Concert in 1985 is something I particularly remember, having had a hand in putting it together. Where else could it have been staged other than the Winter Gardens? Reformed versions of the cream of the local crop, The Rumble Band and the Brothers Band were just two of the classic Grimsby bands that got together for the event, plus others too numerous to mention, I even trod the boards myself!
An honourable mention also to Stephen Stanley, the governor at Solid Entertainments. Stan the man has gone where other promoters fear to tread. Ten out of ten for putting on Dexy’s Midnight Runners at the Gardens on the very evening they appeared on Top Of The Pops

performing their No 1 hit single, Geno. It doesn’t get much better then that, for the audience and the promoter and the venue! Stephen and I are both the same age and share an affinity for that Winter Gardens era.
Alas, it will soon be no more, time has moved on but the memories remain and I’ve written numerous Telegraph articles over the years publicising upcoming gigs. Many of the performers are gone forever but personally speaking, I’d like to see a blue plaque or some commemorative mural or large rock on a plinth, that lists the pick of the bunch, that played (in best wrestling commentary voice)…. the once mighty Cleethorpes Winter Gardens!
Ends

Guardian Article

2007-03-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

3rd December,2006
From the Guardian