"We were playing Tiles with Crispian St. Peters and I walked up to him and said 'Hello Crisp, How's business?' The others couldn't believe it. I was only sixteen and he'd had a hit with Pied Piper..."'The Cassius Clay Of Showbusiness' did not honour Lea with a response and the band set about doing their show. During their performance, a tall freaky guy in a cowboy hat became very interested in them.
Jim Lea: Feel The Noize 1984
"We rarely played London so we weren't top of the bill. Halfway through our set, we noticed this really tall, streaky figure in the middle of the crowd. It was hard to miss him. Not only was he wearing a cowboy hat, which made him stick out head and shoulders above everyone else, he was also doing this freaky dancing."After the show he walked into their dressing room and announced that he was going to make them stars. The freak turned out to be Kim Fowley, who was a somewhat eccentric but influential guru cum producer.
Noddy Holder: Who's Crazee Now? 1999
"I'm gonna make you stars. You guys pro-ject!"
Kim Fowley
Although the group were convinced he was mad, Fowley took them to a studio in London and recorded a version of You Better Run by The Young Rascals. Fowley's attention span was short but his influence, quite effective. He failed to make them stars but he did make them recording artists on a major label, not to mention their 'celebrity status' in the Wolverhampton area.
In 1966 Jeff Dexter was host and DJ 'presenting all the soul & pop acts....' to a Mod crowd. He later started The Jeff Dexter Light & Sound Show as part of the emerging underground and psychedelic scene. When Tiles closed at the end of 1967 he took up residency at Middle Earth in Covent Garden with John Peel and later promoted and presented rock shows at The Roundhouse Chalk Farm, mainly under the Implosion banner...
Next Page
more stuff i didnt know
ReplyDeletecheers Mickey;-)
Spent all night at the Tiles dubed up listening to Workin in a Coal Mine going down down down then we wandered around London feeling crap all next day spitting white stuff off our tongues as England beat Germany at Wembley.
ReplyDeleteJohn Wickenden
That would be Friday 29th July 1966 John, a month before the 'N Betweens gig. What was the club like?
ReplyDeleteMemories
ReplyDeleteUse to go to the tiles 1967 -69.
Loved every minute, good music.
Parked the lambretta round the corner in Soho Square. Great place then.
Tiles was amazing. Used to travel up from South coast. Pilled up dancing Saturday night. Down lanes Sunday. Back to work Monday waiting for next weekend.
ReplyDeleteWas working in Liberty's in Regent Street during July and August 1967, with colleagues from Coventry college of art. We sometimes went to Tiles in our lunch hour, arriving back on the shop floor hot and sweaty!!
ReplyDeleteCarol McKee (nee Daffern).
Thanks for your comment Carol, was it just a bar at lunchtime on a weekday or was there entertainment to? :-o
ReplyDeleteI used to work at Thomas Cooks in Berkley Square. Went to most lunchtime sessions. Then back at night for evening sessions. The highlight was the Saturday nights all nighters. One thing that really stands out that the bar was NON ALCOHOL!
ReplyDeletePeter Milton
Lunchtimes at Times were superb1
ReplyDeletedennis shaw of Prim n Proper, mentioned elsewhere in text said they also followed N'Betweens to Tiles club to play twice, on one occasion, the Saturday after Otis Redding had performed there the night before. So, when was this .1966? help my ageing memory!
ReplyDeletedennis shaw
Yes Dennis, this was 1966 and I know The NB's played at least one other date in '67.
ReplyDeleteMick ;-)
I spent a night at The Tiles in 1966 maybe during April. I was in London for the school trip, end of course
ReplyDeleteThe concert was of “The Them”, Van Morrison had his trousers going down dangerously , from the stage threw carton with orange soda to the audience. I bought at the shop a steel bracelet with the name of my girlfriend. An evening that has indelibly marked my life. Regards and thanks to The Tiles
Carlo Gennari Italy
carlo.gennari@fastwebnet.it
I was very lucky to be part of the swinging 60s and Tiles. I worked at Tiles from day one.working with ex Radio Luxembourg sound engineer Stan Cohensetting up the lighting and the Marshal Sound systems which was pretty awesome for the period.The opening night group were the Animals,for those with a glimmer of memory may remember a four eyed geek, dashing around the sound box, changing the house Amps from Vox to Marshall to Fender depending on what the bands would want, the equipment was that good!
ReplyDeleteRegards to all ....Preston Morris
My Dad was one of the owners!
DeleteI was a regular at the all-nighters and got to know Jeff Dexter and sometimes we walked together to Middle Earth after his gig at Tiles.
DeleteFor a while I painted the hoarding outside in psychedelic graphics advertising who’s playing that night. Always wanted to know who it was who payed me - could it have been your father?
Loved the tiles massive place. Blocked on dubbies(blues). Often went up west from south coast blocked and happy. Great times
ReplyDeleteLoved the Tiles club and spent all night in jail with everyone else after the police raided the club one night 🥴 happy times 🙈
ReplyDeleteI played at Tiles a few times in 1966, with my band form Liverpool, The Klubs. We played an all-night gig on Saturday 9th July, headlining over The Fleur du Lys and The Eyes. The full story of the night is in my book 'A Thousand Dance Halls Later..." Priceless club. Mike Quinn and Clem Dalton DJ'd on the night. Great stuff, Noz.
ReplyDeleteI worked at Tiles during the day and used to stay nights to listen to the bands. I was very young and had just moved back to London having been away for 10 years. It was a baptism of fire but gave some insight into where my life was going to go. I remember Preston (who posted earlier) as a really decent, warm person and Mike Quinn who gave me a lift to & from the Festival of the Flower Children at Woburn Abbey a couple of years before the first Glastonbury. It closed suddenly. Like most clubs, it had a sell-by date. The next time I saw it it was a Berni Inn Steakhouse.
ReplyDeletePlayed at Tiles,on the Kenny Everett show.Our band were The Pieces Fit Kilburn based band.
ReplyDeleteYeah, used to hang with the guys in the Pieces Fit in West Hampstead -designed their first poster. Is that you Tony?
DeleteThe Tiles features in a Tom Wolfe piece (back he was a journalist, not a crappy novelist) called "The Noonday Underground," which appeared in a collection of essays titled _The Pump House Gang_.'
ReplyDeleteJohn Beeler