The Hanwell Cavern, London

The Hanwell Cavern, London - Friday 22nd March 2024

Sometimes we have to wait ages before we can play certain gigs, they only happen at regular intervals, and we generally have a pretty full diary. We like to be doing great gigs, especially now that we are out and about promoting our debut CD album “A Triumph!” (https://thetr5s.bandcamp.com/album/a-triumph) so the Hanwell Cavern has always been on our radar. Firstly, its interior is ‘under the arches’ just like the old Cavern in Liverpool and secondly, we’re aware that these monthly events always sell out.

So, after many many negotiations with head organiser Andy, we get a date in the diary. Tickets go on sale after the previous months' event and, we’re told, sell out in record time. It seems they are looking forward to seeing us just as much as we’ve been looking forward to playing.

Ted arrives to pick me up, we’re travelling light today, just breakables for Ted’s drum kit, a couple of guitars and the mic stands for me. The sat-nav proceeds to take us fully cross-country to get there (we think it’s taken a route to avoid traffic somewhere!) but we still arrive on time. The idea is that we can unload everything into the venue before the sold-out crowd arrives and take their seats. This we do, even though the crowd has already started to arrive, and we’re shown to the storage area and offered tea or coffee. The building itself is stunning, with a brace of vintage electrical equipment (record players, radios etc) littered about, it looks really vintage and authentic.

There’s 3 acts on tonight so we introduce ourselves to soundman Michael before making ourselves comfortable at our allocated table to take it all in. First up is Flora Fiora, she’s a young singer-songwriter backed by a drummer (who occasionally plays a cahon). Flora is great and very engaging. She plays her songs with real passion and has the full house eating out of her hand. Great stuff.

Next up are NDX (Near Death Experience) who appear to be old friends of the venue and the organisers. Every time we see one of the organisers they seem to be singing along to one of NDX’s original songs. They have been here before. Naturally, they go down well though, being the charismatic and energetic performers that they are.

Then it’s our turn. Not a single soul has left the building, punters and other acts alike. Everybody is here for the whole event, which is amazing. The organisers have done very well to create a vibe where everybody who comes here wants to enjoy a full evening of live music by quality acts.

We set up quickly and run through a quick line-check before launching into our new intro of ‘Telstar’ segueing into ‘Lucille’. A great start. Since new guitarist Eddie and bassist Buzz have come on board, we are introducing great new ideas and new songs, which is freshening up our sound. Before too long the crowd are out of their seats and up and dancing around the stage with lots of gusto. It isn’t in the set tonight, but as we’re given plenty of time by Andy, I suggest we slip in ‘No Particular Place To Go’, the old Chuck Berry tune. This gives me the opportunity to jump off stage during Eddie’s blistering solos and duck-walk amongst the audience. This goes down great with several people following in my footsteps and joining in. Great fun. We also play several of our original tracks from our album (Drummin’ Man, Rock ‘N’ Roll Good Times, Let It Rock) which are received like old friends, proving that original songs, in the style that we play them, can be just as good as the oldies that we have in our sets.

We then finish our set to rapturous applause and a standing ovation. Fantastic. We’re not going to be able to leave the stage though, so our song about Screaming Lord Sutch (‘Everybody’s Screaming’) comes next. It leaves everybody dripping in sweat. Yet, still they want more. Andy comes on the mic and begs us for another song. We go for ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ and then we’re done. The noise is deafening and the atmosphere is incredible. What a buzz. We set about packing up and meeting the incredible audience. We sell plenty of CD’s and are really on cloud nine as we say our goodbyes to everyone involved (Andy, Michael, Steph, Steph’s mum!) and Ted and I hit the road, making it home a lot quicker as we’re able to use the motorway. An amazing night out.

Lucky

Music At The Pottery, Farnham

Music At The Pottery, Farnham - Fri 15th December 2023.

We’re rounding down the days of 2023 with a couple of great Christmas gigs to see us through the festive season. First up is an event that we have been trying to play since 2022 (we couldn’t make the dates work then!) It’s called Music At The Pottery, and it takes place (funnily enough!) in the glorious setting of the Farnham Pottery.

Richey arrives to pick me up at the same time as new guitarist Eddie (more about him later!) We load the car and head off. No need for a sat-nav. Although I’ve never actually been to the pottery, I know exactly where it is.

We arrive to find the door locked, a gentle tap on the window and organiser Peter Crutchfield emerges and lets us in via the main door. Doh!

We load in, and as we’re on last tonight, we’re sound-checking first, so we say hello to fellow organiser Jim and soundman Cullan before proceeding to get set up. Ted and Finn arrive not long after (Rusty will just be joining us for the set later), and we run through ‘The One After 909’ with Richey on lead vocals. Plus, we check a couple of intros for a brand new, never-played-live song and a special Christmas song, and we’re done. Eddie helps us clear the stage, and we prepare ourselves for the start of the event.

Richey heads off to get changed, and we find him staring incredulously at one of his Converse Allstar shoes. “What’s up?” I ask. “Ah, I think I’ve got a drawing pin or something stuck in the bottom, but I can’t get it out” he says. “I’ll have some pliers in my box of tricks” I tell him. When I bring them back, he proceeds to pull out what at least must be an inch-long tack!! Eddie and I look at him and are in absolute hysterics. “No wonder that was bothering you”, we laugh.

The place is packed to the rafters tonight. It sold out almost immediately when tickets went on sale. Apparently, they have even over-sold it. There are no seats left empty when the music starts. The acts that are playing all have to stand around at the back.

Peter Crutchfield is up first. He treats us to 5 of his comedy songs, including numbers about yummy mummies and there not being any music allowed in Wetherspoons. He has the audience eating out of his hand and singing along in all the right places. Great stuff.

Next up is Santa & The Elves, a one-off act featuring organisers Peter And Jim (plus soundman Cullan on lead guitar and a bassist). They play 3 Christmas songs, which go down great and have everyone clapping and singing along.

Next up is where it gets really interesting. Geoff Hiscott, Volodymyr and Natalia take to the stage. There’s a keyboard, there’s an accordion, there’s an electric guitar. There’s a lot of stuff. This is different. Volodymyr is the star of the show on the accordion. It doesn’t do a lot for us, though. Sure, the man has talent, but everything else that is going on is just a distraction from the accordion skills themselves. Shame.

Then, we’re up. We wait until the stage is cleared, and we all squeeze into the allotted area. It’s a tight one tonight. This will be fun. Peter duly introduces us, and off we go. We’re rocking and rolling, non-stop dancing around the stage, sitting on people’s laps (okay, that was just me!), playing to the crowd, and generally having the most amazing fun. The applause between songs is deafening. We play ‘Let It Rock’, an original track from our debut album “A Triumph!” live for the first time. We play “Run Rudolph Run” which we haven’t played since last Christmas. We’re buzzing.

Then, all too quickly, it’s over. We’ve had an absolute blast. It seems the crowd have, too. Such a good, fun event. Very well organised. Very well attended. We’re glad we finally got to play Music At The Pottery 😊

Lucky

International Beatleweek Day 4

International Beatleweek Day 4 - Mon 28th August 2023.

It’s our final day at Beatleweek today. We only have 3 gigs. We’ll be leaving late afternoon / early evening for the trip home.

The day starts with band members going for a walk along the river Mersey (our airbnb is very close) before we set off for our first gig of the day, vacating the accommodation altogether.

First up is the pub Ye Cracke, a pub that was John Lennon’s favourite drinking establishment when he was at art college. It’s another venue steeped in Beatles history. We arrive before the pub is open. I call the landlady, Zad, and she kindly lets us in. It’s a proper old-fashioned boozer which even has a mock blue plaque outside saying ‘John Lennon peed against this wall 47 times’. Love it! Zad shows us where to set up and we load in. It’ll be a little stand-up snare 'skiffle' set at this gig, no need for it to be too loud or full-on. We’re just gearing up for show time when, unfortunately, we realise something is wrong with the PA system. It’s only coming out in mono. We don’t have time to fix it though, the pub is filling up with punters. Many of whom we recognise. We decide to just go with it, it sounds fine and we can still put on a good show. We rock through a great set and the punters all love it, and so does the pub. We’ve filled their venue for them a couple of hours. Everyone’s happy. However, I’m getting a bit stressed though, the first time this weekend! The next gig we are due to play at The Grapes on Mathew Street have moved the goalposts of the time we were due to play. We pack up as quickly as we can to get over there and try to sort it out.

A short drive in the centre of the city and Richey and I walk down to The Grapes to try and ascertain what’s happening. The rest of the crew wait with the van. Richey and I arrive and try to speak to the landlady, her daughter says she will be down in a minute. We wait. We wait some more. Eventually, the landlady arrives. It appears she has double-booked us with a solo singer. It is a nice day so we were going to set up outside in the street but as the singer inside will be very loud (we have walked past a couple of times this weekend already) we soon realise that this just isn’t going to work. Reluctantly we decide to abandon this gig. It’s just not going to be practical. I call the crew in the van and everybody congregates outside the pub. We now have time to kill before our last gig of the weekend (the Cavern Pub) so we go for a nice band meal to relax.

After the meal we head to the Cavern Pub for our last gig of Beatleweek. The Cavern Pub is the sister venue of the Cavern Club, on the opposite side of the road on Mathew Street. It’s down a set of stairs again. We head in and again, the venue is packed. There’s a no-show from the band before though. Apparently, this rarely happens at Beatleweek so the soundman is a bit perplexed. It gives us a bit more time to set up though, so we get drinks in and do just that. When our time comes, we deliver another tight, energetic set and yet again, we spy many familiar faces in the crowd. It really has been an amazing 4 days. Great gigs, great people, great venues, great history. Just great! We head back to the van and ready ourselves for the long drive home.

Lucky

International Beatleweek Day 3

International Beatleweek Day 3 - Sun 27th August 2023.

Our third day of International Beatleweek starts a bit later than the first 2, so everyone gets a bit more sleep.

Today, our first gig is at George Harrison’s childhood home in Speke, a suburb of Liverpool. It’s currently an Airbnb, but having contacted owner Ken, he kindly says we can play a little private event in the garden while we’re in Liverpool. We have a small guest list of invited guests coming. We arrive in good time and are met by Rob, he’s looking after the house today. The weather isn’t being kind to us though, it’s starting to rain. Rob says it’s not a problem, we can play inside instead. He shows us around the house, which has been decorated and furnished to look like it was back when George lived here (he moved out in 1962). It’s lovely. Around the allotted time (1pm) our guests start to arrive and congregate in the lounge. I also spy a car pull up outside with people taking photos. I run out to tell them what’s happening and if they’d like to come in and watch they are very welcome. They do. It was a lovely bit of spontaneity, and it was great for them to join us. We play a great little fun and energetic ‘skiffle’ set and the guests all have a great time. We pose for photos, including me copying the photo of George outside the house with guitar in hand. Then, we’re off!

There’s a bit of time to kill before the next gig so I get the guys to drop me back in central Liverpool as Roag Best had kindly given me a ticket to see the ‘Audience With Freda Kelly’ event in the Liverpool Beatles Museum (on Mathew Street). I head to the show. It’s great. Freda was Brian Epstein’s secretary and set up the original Beatles fan club. She knew the Fab Four very well and would count them all as friends. She tells some great stories.

After this, I head across town towards The Adelphi Hotel, which is where we’re next playing. I haven’t eaten though and opposite The Adelphi is a Bella Italia restaurant. I head inside for a pizza. I’m guided to a table and order an alcohol-free beer. On the table next to me, I spy a lady sitting on her own browsing the Beatleweek programme of events. I say hello, she’s from California, having a great time and promises to come and check out The TR5’s over at The Adelphi. I leave her to her meal when 2 guys I recognise, and have spoken to while we’ve been in Liverpool, Graham and Mike, come in and sit at the table opposite me. They acknowledge me and ask if I’m on my own. I say am, I’ve just been to a show on my own. They invite me to join them which is very kind. I move across. They always come to Beatleweek they say, and they’re really enjoying themselves. They have seen The TR5’s a couple of times and have it marked in their programme of events that they will be coming to see our late-night set at The Cavern later on tonight. We finish our meals and Graham says he will pay for them all. I try and refuse but he won’t let me. What a gentleman. Thanks Graham.

So, I make my way over to The Adelphi, this is another gig that was organised by the International Beatleweek people meaning we just have to plug in and play. The other guys are all here, apart from Rusty who calls me from the lobby, she’s a bit lost! It is pretty huge this Adelphi Hotel (we’re playing in the Waves Bar). The previous act finishes, and half the room empties. It was really buzzing in here so that seems like a real shame. We set up in record time again (Steve the compere remarking again how good we are). Steve also says we can start early if we like. We decide we may as well. It’s at this point that the room fills up again, and then some. Wow, there’s a lot of people who have come specifically to see us. It’s hot and sweaty and we’re really rocking. Having spoken to Richey earlier about song choices we decide to mix it up a bit and throw in ‘Hi-Heel Sneakers’, a song that isn’t directly linked to the Beatles but is a great 60’s dance tune. It goes down great. There’s mass dancing and masses of fun. Unfortunately, this great gig has come to an end though. However, as we started a little bit early and because the applause is deafening Steve says we can play an encore. Great news. Again, we decide to mix it up by playing an original song, we go for ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Good Times’. It’s very well received but apparently (we find out later) it’s kind of frowned upon to play non-Beatles related stuff. Not by the organisers, but by the audience. Steve says they might receive emails. We laugh. It was just in the heat of the moment and it is a 60’s style song so we just shrug our shoulders, smile and head off to our next gig.

Our next gig is at The Jacaranda. This is the venue that was originally owned and run by Allan Williams, the guy who managed The Beatles for a little while and got them their first bookings in Hamburg. The Beatles rehearsed and played gigs in the cellar downstairs.  It’s only an open mic night that we’re booked in to play but it’s another chance for us to play another renowned Beatles-related venue. We arrive in plenty of time. There’s a guy singing in the bar. We assume this is the start of the open mic as we had been told that it takes place upstairs. We don’t want to interrupt him so we ask at the bar who we should talk to. They introduce us to the host of the open mic, Ali, who has just arrived. They say that the open mic will be downstairs tonight. Hurrah! We will be properly following the Beatles footsteps again. We load our stuff downstairs, get some drinks in and make ourselves comfortable as the open mic starts. There are some great acts, some instrumental guitar-picking guys from Argentina, Ben Owens doing his stuff and the very talented Meg. This is great. Then our time comes. Ali has put us on slap bang in the middle of the evening because we have another gig to get to later. He also says we can play 5 songs instead of the normal 3 allowed as we are a full band, and it is something a bit special. We rock out 5 of our best Beatles-related tunes and the packed cellar erupts. Another great reception. Thanks everybody. We pack up and head out in to Liverpool centre again.

Finally, we play another set on the back stage at the Cavern Club. It’s 11.30pm and the place is still rocking and packed solid to the rafters. Richey and I enjoy a drink at the bar with sweat literally pouring off us. There really is no let up from the audiences during Beatleweek. We follow a band from Brazil who have a large and very boisterous following with them. We also meet an amazingly attired band from Finland in the dressing room and I manage to spill the compere’s drink down his newly-changed t-shirt before we hit the stage, much to his and everyone's amusement. As soon as we hit the stage the adrenalin and energy kicks in and we give another high-energy set of all our Beatles-related tunes (no originals this time!). I dedicate a song to Graham and Mike for buying me dinner too! A successful end to our third day of Beatleweek. It’s going on until the early morning here but as we have more gigs to do tomorrow we head off back to the accommodation, tired but very very happy.

Lucky

International Beatleweek Day Two

International Beatleweek Day Two - Sat 26th August 2023.

Day two starts with Finn making flatbread ‘pizzas’ in the kitchen for breakfast. Great culinary skills and an excellent way to start the day. Until Ted takes a shower in his room above the kitchen that is, and it exposes a massive leak in the ceiling as water pours through. Yep, our accommodation, the gift that keeps on giving.

No time to hang around though, we’re soon on the road to our first gig of 4 today. We’re playing a little set at St Peters Church Hall in Woolton, where John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met on 6th July 1957. We arrive at the hall in good time and are greeted by the lovely Donna, who manages the hall. She shows us where it’s best to set up. A few feet away from the marked area showing exactly the spot where John and Paul sat on that fateful day (they know this because several eyewitnesses to the event have shown them). There are coachloads of people coming this morning on Beatles tours and they are on a time limit, so we set up as quickly as we can. We’re ready to go when we look up and the first coach load of people are heading out across the road to see the grave of Eleanor Rigby. We’re on a time limit as well, so we must just start. It’s at this point that the hall fills up nicely with the second coachload of people. Fantastic. Great timing. We play a short set (to protect Rusty’s voice and save time), which goes down very well. Everyone is surprised to see a band playing, so they take to us very kindly. We pose for photographs on the spot where John and Paul met before packing up and heading off to gig number 2 of the day.

Gig 2 is at the inimitable Strawberry Field, just around the corner from St Peters Church Hall. As immortalised in the Beatles song “Strawberry Fields Forever” the former children’s home is now a thriving cultural venue. We arrive and are greeted by the lovely manager Allister, who says he’s not sure where it’s best for us to play. They have a purpose-built outdoor stage, but because of noise complaints, they are not allowed any more than 8 events on there per year. So, that’s out. He says we can play outside, but that would involve a seriously long walk to bring the equipment in. We settle on a semi-acoustic ‘skiffle’ set in the café. This is where most people will be milling around anyway. That suits us. When the time comes, we burst into our set with full aplomb. Being totally acoustic and wireless means Rusty and I can run around the café singing and playing to the entire audience. It’s great fun. There are a few people here who have followed us after seeing us at The Cavern yesterday, which is lovely to see. The whole café has enjoyed our performance immensely. Great stuff. We settle down to have something to eat before we head off to gig number 3. We’re in the middle of enjoying our food when Allister taps me on the shoulder and says “Sorry to interrupt, but there’s someone here who’d like to meet you” I turn around to see that it’s Julia Baird, John Lennon’s sister. She enjoyed our music and wanted to say hello. How lovely. We have a chat and pose for some photographs. It was wonderful to meet her.

Before long we’re back on the road to our third gig of the day. This time we’re playing the front stage at the Cavern Club. This is the stage that is a replica of the original Cavern with the arches, allegedly built with bricks from the original venue. It’s very iconic and the backdrop is amazing. It’s absolutely packed to the rafters when we arrive, so we fight our way to the stage and joke with compere Steve about how we’re early this time! We set up in record time (we’re getting good at this) and take on-stage selfies as this is such a cool experience. We then launch into our set. Some of our more ‘obscure’ tracks like “I’m Gonna Knock On Your Door” by The Pete Best Four go down great. In the crush to get off the stage afterwards, so many people tell us they’re enjoying hearing different songs from us. We also meet lots of other musicians from around the world. The place is literally buzzing. Hot and buzzing. It’s a whirlwind for us. We’re loving every second of it.

Next up, we head to the Casbah Club. I’m particularly looking forward to this gig. Everybody knows about the Cavern, but the Casbah is where it truly started all for the Beatles, the first place they ever played a gig under that name. They even helped decorate the club and it is still exactly as it was all those years ago. We are supporting former Beatles drummer Pete Best & his band. The club had been started by Pete Best’s mum Mona in 1959 and what makes it even more special for us is that not every band gets to play there. Best Fest only happens once a year.

We arrive and drive straight in, next to the entrance. We’re duly met by stage manager, the lovely Luna, who guides us to the area where we are to get ready to take the stage. There’s an acoustic duo on stage at the moment (the excellent Fab Twins) so we pop down the steps and have a little look while we’re getting ready. The venue is in the cellar of a large Victorian house, and it is absolutely heaving. This is going to be superb. Our time comes and we head down, squeeze through the crowd and set about setting up. It’s just a ‘plug in and go’ gig so Finn does his best to get everyone plugged in and heard, including our special guest, Scott Gosar. He’s from Reno, Nevada and has written a song called “By Kind Permission Of Mrs Best”, which I have played on my Lucky’s Lost Beatles radio show. He told me he was coming over to go Best Fest so I had suggested to him that The TR5’s would learn the song and play it with him at the Casbah Club. It is a song all about Pete Best’s mum Mona and very relevant to the venue we are playing in. Scott is overjoyed by this fact.

Having set up we get going straight into Scott’s song. It goes down really well, and Scott receives rapturous applause. Deservedly so, to play the song in the venue of the family it is written about is very special. Scott then vacates the stage, and we continue our normal set. The sweat is literally pouring off everybody in the place and the atmosphere is absolutely buzzing. We go down a storm and are joined by another friend Rory for the last few numbers playing harmonica. He’s pretty good at it. An honour for him to play with us and an honour for him to play at the Casbah Club. With our hour-long set whizzing by way too fast we depart the stage and head outside for some fresh air. We mingle with people from all over the world and, as this was our last gig of the day, we relax with drinks bought by Scott and plenty of banter. It’s been an awesome day 2 of our gigs at Beatleweek in Liverpool. However, the heavens open and we decide to depart before the end of the evening. Another long day is ahead of us tomorrow.

Lucky

International Beatleweek Day One

International Beatleweek Day One - Fri 25th August 2023.

4 years ago (2019) I took a little trip to Liverpool by myself, to witness the fantastic event that is Best Fest at the world-renowned Casbah Coffee Club. It’s the annual event at which former Beatles drummer Pete Best & his band play a set, at the place where it all truly began for The Beatles. The Casbah is exactly like it was all those years ago, it hasn’t been moved, re-decorated or anything. The ceilings that John, Paul, George, Cynthia and others painted are exactly as they were.

It was an amazing experience. I had initially been supposed to be playing with my band at the time, but the band broke-up and we never played. I loved being a punter though.

However, it set in motion a 4-year plan that culminated with my current band The TR5’s playing a whole weekend of gigs in Liverpool as part of Beatleweek in 2023.

Firstly, we got asked to play Best Fest in 2022. The 2020 event had already been moved to 2021, then, as the pandemic continued, 2021’s bands got moved to 2022 and our booking got moved to 2023. Got that? Right, we’ll carry on…..

With the one booking in place, we decide that we wouldn’t want to go to Liverpool to just play one gig, so I set about finding us some more.

With some good research and hard work, I manage to secure us another 7 bookings at various Beatle-related venues for the weekend, oh, and a decent-paying social club gig to help us with the finances. Sorted. Or so we thought. We then get contacted by the main organisers of International Beatleweek. They take care of bookings at places like the Cavern Club / Cavern Pub and others. It’s an honour to be asked by them to play. Having been trying for years to get on their books, we have finally made it. They give us 5 gigs over the weekend which brings our total to 13 gigs in 4 days! Amazing! We’re not averse to hard work.

Finn books us a splitter van to travel in (equipment in the back, people in the front) and a townhouse in Wallasey (the other side of the river Mersey because it’s cheaper) as accommodation for the weekend and everything is in place.

We get new business cards to hand out, tour flyers printed, badges to give away and tour t-shirts printed and then the time comes for us to go and play.

We load most of the bits we need (PA, various amps) on Thursday night and then meet first thing on Friday morning to load the rest and get on the road. We leave base at 9am. Richey takes the wheel and we’re on the motorway for the 4-and-a-half-hour journey. A quick pit-stop and we eventually make it to the place where we pick up our wristbands in central Liverpool at about 2.30pm. Traffic has been awful. We’re running a bit late.

After picking up our passes we head through the Mersey tunnel for the first time to get to our accommodation and Finn utters the classic words “Can you get a receipt?” when we pay the toll. Being a business owner, he says he can claim tax back. We laugh. It becomes tour joke #1.

When we get to our accommodation, it is somewhat disappointing. The beds haven’t been made, the bins haven’t been emptied and it isn’t anything like you would expect. We don’t have time to hang around though, Finn calls the owners, we get changed and we’re back on the road to our first gig of the weekend.

After frantically finding somewhere to park we make our way to the Cavern Club back stage just in time to walk on, set up and start playing. It’s a good job we know what we’re doing. Compere Steve ribs us for turning up just on time. We rib him back. The banter has started already. We love this place. We then proceed to play a rip-roaring set to a packed-out venue. What a great start to the weekend.

We don’t have much time to revel in the glory though, we’re straight on to our next gig at the social club. We must stick to the itinerary. Cue tour joke #2. At the social club we meet up with our friend Scott Gosar from Reno, Nevada. He’s written a song called “By Kind Permission Of Mrs Best” that we have learnt and are going to play with him tomorrow at the Casbah Club (all will be revealed why). He’s here to rehearse it with us in the soundcheck. We set up quickly, run through the song with Scott and then follow that with 2 sets of high-energy skiffle and early rock ‘n’ roll, which goes down great. The locals are very friendly and loving it. Richey even wins in the raffle at half time, and we give the prize away to the best dancers in a best dancing competition in the second half. It’s been a real hoot. We sign autographs. Day one complete.

Lucky

Vintage Nostalgia Festival

Vintage Nostalgia Festival – Sunday 4th June 2023.

Hello viewers!

It’s been a while! What have we been up to since I last popped in?

Well, we recorded 4 video tracks for the awesome Bopflix Sessions people. The first track released was “Everybody’s Screaming” (a song we wrote about Screaming Lord Sutch). It has been viewed an astonishing number of times on YouTube and the numbers continue to grow. If you haven’t seen it yet you can check it out here - https://youtu.be/n6262baVMs4

We’ve also had some fantastic gigs, including a return to Gaz’s Rockin’ Blues in Central London plus our debuts at WildFest, Nells in West Kensington and The Boogaloo in Highgate amongst others.

That leads us to this, our second festival of the season, the brilliant Vintage Nostalgia Festival in Stockton, Wiltshire.

The day before the festival we get together at another gig’s soundcheck to run through some new songs we’ve been learning. One of which is specifically for festivals. A modern song that we’re doing a cover version of (we do a different one every year for festivals). This year it’s “New Shoes” by Paolo Nutini. A great song that also fits the vibe of us all wearing Converse All Star trainers. A band must have some unifying look, right? The rehearsal goes brilliantly, everyone having learnt their parts beforehand. We’re ready for the summer.

The day of the festival arrives, and Sandy and I head off nice and early with our beloved Poppy Popstar doggy. Traffic is okay on the A303, just a slight build-up of cars going into the Thruxton Motor Circuit. Even the traffic past Stonehenge is flowing nicely so we arrive in plenty of time.

However, there are no signs anywhere for artists so Sandy and I head to the normal car park where we assume someone will point us in the right direction. Wrong. Upon reaching the car park, one lone parking attendant rejoices “I know what you’re going to ask me!” when we stop to see how close to the stage we can get. We can only get as far as a gate at the corner of the car park apparently. We don’t think is right, but we don’t have too much to carry so we grab what we can and set off on a long walk through the entire site. We stop to say hello to our friends Gary and Debbie though! They were the kind souls who introduced us to this great event.

Having found the venue (the main marquee) we find out that we have indeed parked in the wrong car park, we should have followed the sign for exhibitors! Doh! That wasn’t particularly clear when we are, in fact, artists! Oh well, no drama, we move the car.

After a look around and a coffee, the rest of The TR5’s all arrive in convoy. Bang on time.

We set up backstage in the huge marquee that we are playing in. It’s very warm. There doesn’t appear to be too many people in the marquee watching the act before us though. That’s a bit concerning. They are very good, so maybe it’s just too hot!

When it comes to our turn the soundman is very thorough and does a fabulous job getting us all set up and line-checked. It’s all running about 15 minutes late but that doesn’t seem to be an issue.

“We should play outside when we start, to attract everyone in” Finn says to me as we kick into our set opener “Twenty Flight Rock”. “Great idea” I say, so off we go. Finn and I climb off the stage and wander around the dancefloor and at the opening of the tent. We needn’t have worried about the tent being empty though, because out of nowhere floods of people come in and fill the place up. The dancefloor is full too. Awesome!

We continue through our set with gusto, it’s hot but we endeavour to keep the masses entertained and on the dancefloor. “New Shoes” goes well and despite being a modern song we can see the audience singing along. Chuck Berry’s “No Particular Place To Go” goes very well too, despite tiring me out when I go onto the dancefloor for a full-on duck walk.

Then, as is always the case with these things, we reach the end of our set all too quickly. Our last song being the original “Everybody’s Screaming”. It’s always so great to see the dancefloor full and people singing along to one of our songs. It’s very humbling.

Having had such a great set and been received so well we depart the stage to rapturous applause. What a great event this is! However, despite running behind time (somewhere before our set they must have lost some time) we get called back for an encore and run through a rip-roaring version of “Roll Over Beethoven”. The dancefloor stays full, and we all leave the stage beaming from ear-to-ear. It’s been such a great gig!

We relax backstage as the next act prepares to get ready for their set and when we look out from behind the stage, we see that the marquee is now empty again. All those people had explicitly come to see us. We must be doing something right!

Thank you thank you thank you.

Lucky

Music In The Vineyard, Farnham

Music In The Vineyard, Farnham – Sunday 26th February 2023.

Having not gigged too much in December and January for a couple of reasons (the football World Cup and illness) it’s been really nice to get back into a steady stream of gigs in February.

After a great social club evening in Winchester and a fabulous event in Bordon we arrive at this council run event in a lovely church hall in Farnham firing on all cylinders, we’ve been playing well.

Sandy and I head over early to set the PA up (Valentine is laid up elsewhere today), well, we have a bit of a false start before we get going actually! The battery has died in Sandy’s car. We look at each other not knowing what to do and I then run in to the pub opposite our house where landlord Dave happily agrees to come and help give the car a push to get it bump started. Phew! Thanks Dave. We get going.

Upon arrival in Farnham, we are greeted with huge traffic jams, it appears there has been a farmers’ market in town this morning which is coming to an end just as we arrive.

However, Sandy and I arrive at the venue just as some other event is kicking out. I look around for someone in charge but can’t seem to find anybody. No matter, I can see the stage, so I set about bringing all the equipment in.

As I clear the stage and am moving some bits and pieces out of the way a guy approaches me as I manoeuvre an old guitar amp off the stage. “That’s mine” he says, “Oh sorry” I say “I was just moving it out of the way”. “Oh don’t worry, it’s fine” he says “I’m getting rid of it actually, I don’t need it, do you want it? You can have it”….. and with that we load it into Sandy’s car. Thanks mister. Sandy then heads back home to look after Poppy Popstar, our lovely Cavapoo.

With plenty of time I set about setting up the PA and am just about done when the rest of the band turn up, perfect timing.

While everyone is setting up and getting ready a familiar face walks in. “Hello Lucky, I was in the area today so I thought I would pop in”. Wow, I’m shocked, it’s Rod Davis from The Quarrymen, John Lennon’s pre-Beatles skiffle band!! I interviewed Rod for one of my radio shows a couple of years ago. We kept in touch, and he’s been meaning to come along and play with us. I’m gobsmacked. Rod says he would like to play a couple of numbers with us today. Of course, we agree and continue to set up while Rod goes off for something to eat.

Soundcheck quickly and painlessly finished we all head off to the coffee and cake stand (oh yes, we’re so rock ‘n’ roll!) Finny 2-Cakes outdoes everyone though, he must be hungry!!

Rod returns and we discuss which 2 songs he would like to play with us and in which keys. We’re adaptable so it’s all agreed. He wants to play at the end of the first set so I quickly get on to Sandy to ask her to come back early so she can photograph and video the moment Rod joins us on stage.

A bit of juggling with the rest of the songs from the first set and we’re off. Straight in to “Slow Down”. We’re playing well again, great sound and great fun. Our new original song “Living Without You” gets an airing in front of its co-writer James Slingo which is a lovely moment. Then it’s time for Rod. I introduce him and you can see the shocks on a lot of people’s faces as they reach for their phones to take photos and videos. Without any rehearsal with us at all we go into “Maggie Mae”, Rod starting slowly, and we all just join in. Fabulous. Despite Rod giving Richey a solo when there isn’t a guitar solo in that song it goes brilliantly. The crowd have loved it. Next up we play “Twenty Flight Rock”, the old Eddie Cochran song, again with Rod leading the way. Again, it goes without a hitch. What an awesome end to the first set. We pose for photos with Rod (and the mayor!) and mingle with the crowd during the interval. The staff here have been photographing and filming everything and inform us that there will be a write-up in the local paper coming. It’s all good publicity as far as we are concerned!

After the short break we head in to the second set with plenty of vigour and excitement. It goes brilliantly too and we end with one of our new original songs “Everybody’s Screaming” (about the late great Screaming Lord Sutch). There has been dancing in the audience from the band, mass singalongs from the crowd and plenty of dancing from the crowd too. It has been an incredible afternoon.

With thanks to Farnham Town Council, for organising such a brilliant event, we pack up and head home. Exhausted but happy.

- Lucky

GSMC Awards Evening, Bracknell

GSMC Awards Evening, Bracknell – Thursday 26th January 2023.

Back at the tail end of 2022 we were astonished to be nominated in the Best Band (Original) category of local promoter Graham Steel’s GSMC Music Awards for 2022/23. It was a real honour for us as it was based on the original material we have in our sets (of which there is more being added all the time). Also, as it was a public vote it meant that we could ascertain just how well our original stuff is going down with the wider world.

We make a couple of announcements and share the news about the awards on our Facebook page and we keep everything crossed.

The night of the actual awards ceremony comes along, and Richey and I decide that we will head over there to represent The TR5’s. Plus, our friends the fabulous Nefarious Picaroons are appearing live tonight, and we want to see them.

After some difficulty finding somewhere to park, we make our way to the venue in the freezing cold. We are greeted by Graham Steel at the door and after being crossed off the guest list we make our way into the venue to find that it is already very busy. Straight away we bump into the Picaroons as well as our friends from the music scene Vic Cracknell, StEm, The Hedge Inspectors, Neil Wells, Peter Crutchfield and Barbara and the guys from Atomic Rapture. It is a fabulously social atmosphere so we grab a drink just as the live music starts.

Graham introduces 3Times7, a new act to us but I’m immediately taken by their powerful and soulful take on the blues. Fabulous performance, and not an ipad or music stand in sight! (Have I ever told you that these things are one of my biggest bugbears of live music?) There’s only 2 of the band playing here (they are normally a full band) but they are just as captivating. We’ll look out for them. I corner singer Jenny and tell her how impressed I am.

Next come the announcements of the winners of the first 4 awards. Everyone claps politely when the nominees are read out. It’s a lovely atmosphere here. A couple of the winners are absent (gigging elsewhere it seems) but the winners who are here make short thankful speeches and all appear to be very grateful.

2 more live music interludes take place (in the forms of Tu-Kay & Ryan and The Marc Woosnam Band) interspersed with more awards, clapping and speeches. Apart from it being very cold in the venue (Richey takes to drinking coffee to try and warm up) this is a very enjoyable evening in the company of fellow musicians and friends.

Then we come to the last set of awards being given out before the Nefarious Picaroons round off the evening. The last award is for Best Band (Original). This is the one we have been nominated in! Fully not expecting to win I am preparing myself to congratulate whoever the winners are, when, to mine and Richey’s amazement Graham reads out “And the winners of the Best Band (Original) are………….The TR5’s!” What! I’m sure Richey and I laugh out loud. But then we realise what we’ve just heard and stumble towards the stage to collect our award! We’ve won!

The crowd congratulate and cheer loudly as Graham hands me the microphone on the stage. I’m not prepared for this. I think I actually said that! I also say thanks to Graham and to everyone who voted. I think I did anyway! I also say how much of an honour it is for us because we’re just a skiffle / rock ‘n’ roll band that doesn’t use tricks, masses of effects pedals, ipads (I did tell you about my bugbear didn’t I?) and then it’s over. I’ve mumbled my way through some kind of acceptance speech! Richey and I then head back to our table with much back-slapping and congratulations from the Picaroons, Hedge Inspectors et al. What lovely friends we have on the music scene. We love how some people support each other at each other’s gigs, for each other’s achievements etc. It’s so nice not to be surrounded by musicians who are all “me, me, me”. We grin from ear-to-ear and settle back to watch the Nefarious Picaroons play their set.

They play a blinder (despite some overpowering, unwanted feedback in the middle of the set from Tina’s violin booster) with their great blend of stomped-up pop. “Circles In The Sand” stands out as an excellent self-penned tune. I feel a bit bad that we’ve just beaten them in the Best Band (Original) category!!

Meanwhile, I look around and am disappointed to see that many of the other acts who were here to collect their awards (or see if they have won!) have left before the Picaroons even started. It just shows you that there are unfortunately still a few “me, me, me” acts around. Thankfully we haven’t been surrounded by too many of them here tonight though. It’s been a wonderful evening and Graham rouses the crowd in to giving the Picaroons an encore before Richey and I head off with our award under my arm. Incredible!

- Lucky

Happy new year 2023

2022 Round-up. 2023 Preview.

Having had such a great 2022 I thought I’d do a little round-up of what The TR5’s got up to, and what we have got to look forward to in 2023.

So, here goes……

2022 started for us with a little low-key gig at Finn’s local pub. It was standing room only with some unfortunate people not being able to squeeze in and see us. It was a great start to the year though and a sign that we were destined for bigger and better things. Next up followed gigs in Farnham (where over-excited people danced on the tables), Basingstoke (where we arrived early to rehearse up several new songs for our sets), Woking, Liphook, Woking again (with our friends Nefarious Picaroons supporting and Little Al DJ’ing) before finishing the first 3 months of the year with a packed-out support slot to the wonderful The Hawkmen at The Star in Guildford. We were growing all the time, in stature and indeed in confidence.

April saw us gig in Blackwater before a little road-trip down to Hastings to play at the magnificent Hastings Beatles Day event at the lovely (and big!) White Rock Theatre. This was memorable for Roger Daltrey from The Who being in the audience. As we came off stage the organizer bounded into the dressing room to exclaim “You’ll never guess who’s in the audience and has been intensely enjoying your set, Roger Daltrey from The Who!!” Sure enough, when we had packed up and got out into the main auditorium there he was. What an honour to have him watching us rock. We then continued with gigs in Badshot Lea and Binfield (where we fought with a ‘disco’ in the room next door!!) before April came to a finish with a support slot to The Jam’D at the world-famous 100 Club in London. An amazing venue and such a great feeling to take the stage there.

In May we recorded some new tracks at a studio in Bracknell for forthcoming vinyl releases on Ridgemount Records (out in 2023!) and we played gigs in Tadley (with the amazing Johnny Marvel’s Blues Groove) and returned to the club in Farnham where we had played our debut gig in 2020. We started June and the festival season with main stage festival appearances in Grayshott and Merrist Wood before squeezing in a care home gig and finishing the Jubilee bank holiday weekend with a main stage headline set at the Bracknell Festival which saw a whole field of dancing (including yours truly!) June then finished with a main stage appearance at the Rock Bottom Festival in Marlow where our whole set was broadcast live on Marlow FM.

July continued with main stage festival appearances in Haslemere, Bisley and Aldershot intertwined with marquee gigs in Churt and Farnham (another event with a lot of dancing on tables!) By this time, we were really in our stride and wooing audiences wherever we went. Next came a little gig before an outdoor cinema for Rusty and Lucky and continued with fabulous festival appearances in Newbury, Tilford (possibly the largest and best crowd we have played to so far) and Farnborough with an impromptu set at a private party in Normandy in there as well.

Then came a support to our friends The Jexit (all the way from Japan), another festival in Tilford (followed straight after by an awesome photoshoot with some vintage cars) and a rabble-rousing set at a Princes Hall charity night in Aldershot before returning to Basingstoke and an outdoor Harley Davidson event in Reading. Then came a festival in Tongham and a social club in Guildford as we drew September to a close.

By this time, we were writing more original songs and adding them in to our sets to great acclaim. Another step up for The TR5’s! In October we were delighted to play at the awesome Gaz’s Rockin’ Blues night in Wardour Street, London. A club that has now been running for over 40 years and has been played at and attended by everyone from Meghan Markle to Paloma Faith and Jarvis Cocker. A night that normally only has 1 band on saw 3 bands take to the stage (friends of Gaz’s being added to the bill) so it was almost 1am when we took to the stage but that didn’t put anyone off, the place was still packed and rocking. What a night! We also played the main room of a great rock ‘n’ roll club in Shepperton in October.

As the end of 2022 drew nearer, we again played with The Jam’D (at the lovely Harlington in Fleet) and were delighted to play on board Paul McCartney’s recently refurbished 1972 Wings Tour Bus, when it was exhibited for the first time at the NEC in Birmingham. What a day that was! The year finished with another jam-packed gig (excuse the obvious pun!) supporting The Jam’D in Southampton. It was a fitting finale to a fabulous year!

So, what does 2023 have in store……

Well, a return to Gaz’s Rockin’ Blues, a support slot to the mighty Dr Feelgood in Guildford, a club gig in Winchester, great music events in Bordon and Farnham, a pub back-room gig in Tongham, a festival gig in Winchester, a 60’s night in Bracknell, a support to another Jam-tribute in Kensington, a community café gig in Woking, an all-day Ukrainian Fundraiser in Reading, Alfold Rock & Blues Festival and a festival in Elvetham Heath. We then head to Liverpool for a whole weekend of gigs in August as part of the incredible International Beatleweek. This will see us support former Beatle drummer Pete Best & his band at the Casbah Club as well as playing several gigs at the Cavern Club, a party at George Harrison’s childhood home, the barbers in Penny Lane and whatever else we can fit in while we’re there. Our accommodation is booked and we’re chomping at the bit to get there. The culmination of 4 years hard work.

We then have a beer festival in Sherfield-On-Loddon and a gig at the prestigious Dublin Castle in Camden (supporting our friends The Collective AKA) in September and October to look forward to.

So, at the time of writing that is what we have confirmed for 2023.

The vinyl releases will emerge this year on Ridgemount Records, so that is something to look forward to. We will also be shooting a video for the popular Bopflix Sessions on YouTube, which will see us reach a huge amount of new people. There will be more gigs as well…… we still have possible gigs with John Lennon’s original Quarrymen, a Smiths tribute band, more Jam-tribute bands (their audiences seem to like us) and returns to some of the great festivals we played in 2022 yet to confirm. It is sure to be another fabulous year for The TR5’s.

Happy new year. See you out there!

- Lucky

Wings Bus, NEC Birmingham

Wings Bus, NEC, Birmingham - Saturday 12th November 2022.

Back in the days of the first UK lockdown (2020) I was trying to think outside the box and look at different ways to promote the band. We had only really started just before the lockdown (doing a few gigs) before everything ground to a halt. I didn’t want the band to lose the small amount of momentum that we had built up with our first few gigs.

So, when I read an article online about Paul McCartney’s 1972 Wings Tour Bus being rescued from rotting away, I was most intrigued. The person who had bought it (the wonderful Tom Jennings) fully planned to restore the bus to its former glory and get it back on the road. There was a postal address in the article. I decided I would send a nice letter and a CD of TR5’s tunes expressing our interest in the bus and offering our services to play live music at any events the bus goes to. I didn’t think much would come of it.

However, not long after sending the letter I received a phone call from Tom, he was overjoyed to receive the CD and personal letter and he loved what The TR5’s is all about. We talked for ages, mainly about his plans for the bus and how he was going to have a stage on the top deck for live music at events. Perfect. We kept in touch.

Fast forward 2 years and Tom has been keeping me up-to-date with the progress of the restoration of the bus. He tells me it will be ready to be exhibited at the NEC in Birmingham and he would very much like The TR5’s to be a part of the event and play on board the top deck. Fantastic. We agree on which day we will be playing and the ball starts rolling.

We start the advertising and as the day nears, we’re contacted by our friend Logan Paul Murphy-The Beatles Boy, a very talented 16-year-old lad from Cumbria who I have played on my Lucky’s Lost Beatles radio show several times. He’s had the foresight to contact the bus owner to ask if he can play on board as well. Tom says it’s okay with him but he needs to check with us first. We say this is absolutely fine as the times he wants to play won’t interfere with ours and he can even play a song or 2 with us if he likes. We discuss ideas for songs he can sing and settle on at least one great choice. We’ll rehearse it on the day we say.

The day arrives and Richey, Finn and I set off nice and early with a car load of equipment. We’re taking some PA bits just in case. Tom has told us that there is a PA there but we want to be sure nothing gets left to chance. A very painless and full-of-banter 2-and-a-half-hour journey ensues (with only one comfort break) and we arrive at the NEC. Eventually. After being sent from one entrance to another we finally make it to the door in which we can unload right near the bus.

Ted has arrived at the same time as us and Rusty is already here so we set about quickly unloading and saying our hellos to Tom and some of the bus restorers. Everybody is really nice. It’s quickly noted that we won’t actually use our speakers although we can plug our mixer in to what is already there to play through that. We set about setting everything up.

With everything plumbed in and fully working we have a quick run-through downstairs with Logan of the song we’ve decided to play with him and then we’re on. After months and months of hard work from all concerned, we’re off and running, playing live on top of Paul McCartney’s 1972 Wings Over Europe open top tour bus! We’re loving this.

But……….then we’re told to turn down. There are other exhibitors nearby and as it wasn't possible to do a soundcheck we have to be considerate with the volume. It takes a little while, but after a few adjustments the sound is balanced, the band settle in and we are told that the sound is perfect, so we go a'rockin' and a'rollin'. We’re playing 3 sets today of all songs that are related to the Beatles, be that actual Beatles songs or songs that they covered in their early days. People are stopping to listen, to dance and there are literally thousands of people milling about. This is great fun. We reach the end of the first set and Logan steps up to sing “The One After 909” with us and what a great job he does too. Excellent.

We then clear the stage and Logan does a set on his own while we’re having our photos taken around the bus by our resident photographer Mark. We do actually get to watch some of Logan’s set but it’s clear he’s having trouble projecting the sound from the top of the bus because of the volume restrictions. It’s a bit different with a band but his guitar and voice are just getting lost on their own. He battles on though, and the crowds love him. He takes a break.

He then decides not to do his second set on top of the bus, instead he serenades people who have come to see him standing next to the bus. Up close and personal. This goes down great and he generates a crowd of people all singing and clapping along. Great stuff.

Logan then heads off to another gig and we chill out before our 2nd and 3rd sets. Well, I say chill out, we’ve actually found some Triumph stalls so we set off to have some photos taken with the only TR5 in the building. They’re rare y’know!

Then it’s back to sets 2 and 3 and now that the levels are all sorted, we get on with doing what we do best, having fun on stage and putting on a show. We play longer, just because we can and because the crowds are stopping to appreciate what we do. Tom even tells us afterwards that some people who had sat downstairs during our set had remarked “This bus is really rocking!” However, all good things come to an end and before we know it, we’re done.

We mingle around the bus before we start packing up and we meet people from all over the world – Wales (Swansea), Australia (Perth) and from all corners of the UK. We get asked for a lot of business cards as well, so we duly hand them out. So much good is coming out of today, we’ve had an absolute blast playing on board this historical bus, we’ve been honoured in fact. We do like to do things a bit differently and the memories of this fab day out will linger for a long time.

Richey, Finn and I then enjoy more banter on the journey home, still buzzing from everything that has happened.

Thanks to all concerned. Definitely a day out The TR5’s won’t forget.

- Lucky

Weyfest, Tilford

Weyfest, Tilford - Saturday 20th August 2022.

Sometimes when you’re a gigging band everything falls into place. It’s so lovely when it happens. This gig was one of those occasions.

Weyfest has fast become one of our areas biggest and best festivals with its family friendly, dog friendly ethic with a wide array of local and international talent on offer across several stages. Not to mention the great range of food and drinks stalls.

Last year we were lucky enough to be asked to play the indoor Rustic Stage (essentially an acoustic stage) by acoustic curator Vic Cracknell. We had an absolute ball closing the Saturday night. They even had to turn people away from seeing us.

Fast forward to this year and we are delighted to have been upgraded and booked to play on the larger outdoor Old Kiln Stage. This is a delightful stage tucked into the woods.

Sandy and I arrive first on the day with honorary TR5'er Poppy Popstar (our 14-month-old Cavapoo). We have a little mooch around, grab a coffee and a copy of the programme and proceed to set up seats in front of the mixing desk in the Old Kiln Stage area. It’s pretty busy.

The rest of the band arrive and we share Zeros (alcohol-free beers) while we wait to get set up and play. The quality of acts at Weyfest is always good and Jana Varga, who plays while we set up backstage, is no exception. A fabulous voice.

Then it’s our turn. We set up in the blistering sun and we’re ready to rock. By this time the crowd in front of the stage has swelled to bursting point. It’s absolutely packed! We start early so as not to keep the crowd waiting and boy, are we glad we did.

The crowd just goes for it, right from the start! There’s singing and dancing as far as we can see and it’s no exaggeration to say that everyone in the field is grinning from ear-to-ear and enjoying what we do. Us included. We’re on cloud nine.

But then disaster strikes! Richey’s amp goes down. He’s fiddling with it and several tech guys appear from everywhere trying to help out but it’s not coming back to life. Thankfully the band that are playing after us offer to lend Richey an amp. So, while he’s getting that in place Rusty pulls out an off-the-cuff acapella version of Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz” to keep the momentum going. To say she has the crowd eating out of her hand would be doing her a disservice. The crowd simply watch in awe with spontaneous clapping starting to take place. Finn and I join in with that while the amp is swapped. Then, when Rusty has finished the applause is deafening.

Sometimes when equipment fails it can break a gig, but Rusty’s quick thinking and great vocal powers has absolutely made this one. The audience are totally on our side.

We finish our set and the cheers and applause seem to ring out forever. There’s no time for an encore unfortunately, but we have had simply the best gig so far of our short career.

Playing the long game while we are building up our following and the awareness of The TR5’s is proving very fruitful 😊

- Lucky

100 Club, London

100 Club, London - Saturday 23rd April 2022.

As followers of The TR5’s will know, I host 3 different radio shows on 2 radio stations. Whilst doing this I get sent and get to hear some great new music now and again. This happened with a studio project called Bus Stop Lovers. I got sent the first album. This is the originals project of one Dave Fletcher, lead singer of Jam tribute band The Jam’d. I played some Bus Stop Lovers on my radio shows, I played some Jam’d too. Dave and I got talking. I saw that The Jam’d had a gig coming up at the legendary 100 Club in London. “Any chance The TR5’s can support?” I asked, it being a very prestigious venue that we would love to play at. Dave checks out our Facebook page and comes back straight away, “Yeah, I don’t see why not” he says. We’re in!

Valentine kindly agrees to give me a lift to Finn’s house on the day of the gig. We load up and head to the rendezvous point. Upon arriving we are greeted by Finn in his work clothes. “I’m off for a quick shower” he says. Valentine and I unload his car and he heads off. Richey arrives soon after. We start to load his car up and Finn arrives back, fully dressed and gig ready. We’re just about to drive away when our exit is blocked by a local fire crew. They’re investigating the huge fire on the ranges behind Finn’s house. They say it’s significant but they have it under control. That explains all the smoke outside my house 2 miles away!

We hit the road and despite the odd recalculation of the Sat Nav we’re soon on the familiar route of the A3 in to London. The journey is smooth and painless until we get nearer to the centre of town and then we just slow right down to a crawl. The joys of driving in Central London! It takes us about an hour and a half all told but eventually we find the stage door entrance to the venue. We’ve arrived just after Ted too.

We’ve already been warned about the 3 flights of stairs to get down to the venue so we know what to expect as we unload the cars. Richey and Ted head off to their allotted car parking spaces as Finn and I lug the stuff down. The Jam’d have finished their soundcheck so we say hello to soundman Phil and set about setting stuff up around The Jam’d’s gear. The stage is nice and long so we decide the best place for Ted to set up his drums is at the end. We’re taking a break from our normal 3-1-1 formation to go for a 4-1 set-up with Finn just behind.

We really are walking in hallowed footsteps at this venue. I chat with the guys from The Jam’d and it really is such a pleasure to meet another band who like a bit of banter and who have a great sense of humour. We love that! Within 5 minutes we’re all taking the mickey out of each other! This is going to be such a great evening.

Rusty soon arrives and we run through a couple of quick songs to soundcheck. Straight away the sound is great. Phil clearly knows what he is doing. With everyone happy we take the chance for photo opportunities. We pose on the stage in front of the big 100 and then outside the front door under the 100 Club sign. Ricky and Patti take the photos and we’re well chuffed with how they look.

There’s still an hour before show time so, as everyone else decides to go for food, Richey and I decide to head to a local pub for an alcohol-free beer and to keep an eye on the football scores. His team is playing. They draw 0-0. My team had won 3-1 earlier in the day so I am happy. The pub we’re in is heaving but it was good to find a seat and chill out away from the venue for a bit.

Richey and I then head back to the gig. We’re greeted by a queue of people waiting to get in. It’s not quite time for the doors to open yet though. We sheepishly walk past them and make our way down the stairs and in to the venue. Security guys greet us and furnish us with wristbands and we head to the bar again before hanging out in the dressing room briefly for more banter with The Jam’d (honestly Dave, I didn’t turn your fan up to 2!) Not really ones to enjoy hanging around backstage we head out front again to witness a steady stream of people coming down the stairs and in to the venue. Before we know it, the place is packed.

With everyone back and fed and watered it’s time for us to take the stage. We go straight in to ‘Hello World’ and we are really rocking. I look around from the stage to a sea of people smiling and loving what we do. Each song we play is greeted with huge roars of approval. There’s lots of dancing too. The Jam’s music was inherently built on 60’s sounds so it is no surprise that the audience are loving what we’re doing. We’re loving this too!

With time running out I realise that we’re going to need to drop a song from the set, the last thing we want to do is overrun our time. I shout across the stage “Let’s go on to ‘Do You Wanna Dance’ “. Ted just looks at me blankly. Ah, of course, he’s got his ear plugs in. I sidle across the stage and explain the plan. Everyone else is made aware too. ‘Do You Wanna Dance’ really rocks, the whole place is rocking now and the applause at the end of each song is almost deafening, even with ear plugs in!

We finish our set with ‘Slow Down’, it’s an old Larry Williams song that The Beatles covered (we play their version really!) but The Jam recorded it on their debut LP as well. It’s a real crowd pleaser. The place is really rocking. I’m dripping in sweat too (No, Dave from The Jam’d, I didn’t turn your fan up to 2!) but that’s it! It’s all over. We’re on a tight schedule tonight so there’s no time for an encore. We depart the stage to huge cheers of approval.

With everything packed and out of the way, we settle down with more alcohol-free beers to watch The Jam’d. Many people approach us to say how much they enjoyed our set, we’re really buzzing, this whole place is really buzzing.

The Jam’d hit the stage and go straight into ‘In The City’ and what follows is a set of Jam songs played with power and passion by a band that clearly loves the band that they are a tribute to. As the only known Jam tribute band on the circuit with a brass section their choice of songs includes some not often heard classics like ‘Tales From The Riverbank’ and ‘Just Who Is The 5 O’ Clock Hero’ (dedicated to John Weller on the anniversary of his passing). The banter in-between the songs is plentiful and the whole set has been a real pleasure to witness from start to finish. Amazing.

Richey and Ted then head off to get the cars and then we set about loading our equipment out, up the 3 flights of stairs! We’re still buzzing though, so we don’t care!

The venue has pretty much emptied out at this point so we say our thanks and goodbyes to soundman Phil and the guys from The Jam’d. “Aren’t you going to stay and help us load our gear out?” asks John from The Jam’d. “No” I say straight-faced, “We’ve done ours”. Oh yes, the banter has been good tonight!

With that, we’re out of there. Our first gig at the one and only 100 Club is done. Let’s hope we can do it again sometime. Finn and I jump in to Richey’s car and we’re back out in to the London traffic. It’s heading towards midnight now as we crawl past Carnaby Street and there appears to be an inordinate amount of people still out and about at this time of night. Many of them are scantily clad females causing Finn to remark “Blimey, it’s like Newcastle”!! We crawl past the stage entrance of the London Palladium too. Outside which there is a lot of people hanging around. “I wonder what’s been going on at the Palladium tonight” I muse in the car, “Dogging” says Richey. Finn and I guffaw and the tears of laughter roll down my face. Classic. What an excellent night all round.

- Lucky

The Star Inn, Guildford

The Star Inn, Guildford - Friday 4th March 2022.

In 2021 we had some great support slots (Dr Feelgood, Showaddywaddy, Geno Washington) so it is really good to be able to continue 2022 in that same vein. Having released our debut double A-side 7” vinyl single of 2 original tracks (Mr Lucky / Rock ‘N’ Roll Good Times) in December 2021 it was great to be announced as the support act to the superb up and coming rock ‘n’ roll / soul band “The Hawkmen” at The Star in Guildford. A great, proper venue on the gigging circuit. This was something we always felt we could do, be a functioning covers band but also an originals band with kudos as well. They seem to be blending together effortlessly currently.

In the lead up to the gig Ted puts together a banger of a 45-minute set list and we start to look forward to what we think will be an amazing gig. Lucky plays tunes by “The Hawkmen” on his rockabilly radio show too. We’re well up for this. Advance ticket sales have been very good as well.

Finn and I arrive first, just as soundman Nick pulls up too. He recognises me from many years back. It’s going to be one of those nights I think as promoter Chris and I used to put on gigs many years back as well.

Finn and I start to unload as Richey arrives and we load all our gear in while Nick goes about setting up all the stage microphones. “The Hawkmen” are already here and have set up on stage. They’re just milling about, killing time. We say hello and head off to get a round of drinks in. Finn’s friends arrive just in time to make the round and they settle down in the bar. Richey and I head back to the gig room and are soon joined by Ted.

“The Hawkmen” soundcheck and sound amazing, their live set is going to be just as amazing as their recorded stuff we think.

Then it’s our turn to soundcheck and Rusty arrives just in time. We run through a couple of numbers (with Finn having to change over leads) and then we have to abandon the soundcheck because Chris needs to open the doors. There’s a lot of people waiting to get in. We’re pretty happy with the soundcheck though. We jump off stage to greet the people filing in, there’s a few who have come specially to see us. We like that. There’s even a couple of guys here who were at our Woking ‘village hall’ gig a couple of weeks back. This is great. We’re picking up fans all the time.

Stage time comes and we go for it. With Ted’s well written set list it isn’t long before people are dancing and singing along. Opener “Hello World” really grabs people’s attentions and we have them right where we want them. Lots of great banter on (and off) stage ensues throughout the rest of the set and, despite having to cut some songs for fear of over-running, we have had the greatest time. We’ve played really well. We’re very happy. We leave the stage to huge cheers and lots of applause.

Equipment duly stored away, brows well and truly mopped and thirsts definitely quenched we relax in the audience, ready to watch “The Hawkmen” do their stuff. They don’t disappoint. 3 Very talented musicians and the fabulous lead vocals combine to create an effortlessly cool mix of rockabilly and northern soul and they leave the crowd breathless with their energy. There’s no airs and graces with these guys. They clearly love what they do (as do DJ’s like Craig Charles) and they’re very good at it. This shows. Great stuff.

Post gig we buy vinyl and cd’s from “The Hawkmen” stall and we wish them well for the rest of their tour. Tonight has been superb all round.

- Lucky