Express & Star: 12th December 1968
The 1st January 1969 was a milestone in the career of the band. On that day the next 'incarnation' of The 'N Betweens appeared. This time they found themselves recording for Philips. They spent time in the studio on 1st and 2nd of January and put another eight tracks down on tape which consisted of their stage act, cover material and a couple of instrumentals that the band had come up with themselves.
Express & Star: December 19th 1968
The 'N Betweens was a well known name and the changing of it was not well received. For a while they billed themselves as Ambrose Slade (formerly The 'N Betweens), mostly in The Midlands.
Express & Star: 2nd January 1969
They spread their wings as much as possible and continued to visit Scotland on a regular basis.
Chas Chandler had brought Jimi Hendrix over from America, put a band together, produced two albums in the studio and made him a household name in Britain. He'd also, to a lesser degree, produced a band called Soft Machine.
His main, overiding concern was that the group should write their own material. He was unhappy with the album they recorded at Philips which was hastily issued on their Fontana label in early May under the title of Beginnings and there is evidence to suggest that he tried in vain to stop its release. Fontana also issued a single, Genesis, from the album during 1969 but did not came anywhere close to scraping the charts. Progress on writing their own material was painfully slow.
The 'N Betweens was a well known name and the changing of it was not well received. For a while they billed themselves as Ambrose Slade (formerly The 'N Betweens), mostly in The Midlands.
They spread their wings as much as possible and continued to visit Scotland on a regular basis.
"I think people up there thought we were a Scottish group. We earned good money there... as much as £50 a night in cash, and we needed that to payoff the HP instalments on all that gear we had,"Jack Baverstock wanted Ambrose Slade to be the 'Next Big Thing'. A London representative was next on the agenda and Baverstock used his connections. To play at venues where they would get seen by the music press, they needed a London agent.
Don Powell
John Gunnell was an agent that worked out of London with his brother Rik taking care of many R'n'B acts such as Alan Price, Georgie Fame, Geno Washington, etc. The 'N Betweens had shared the bill with most of them."Jack said we needed a London agent and he knew a guy called John Gunnell who worked with Robert Stigwood.
Gunnell was in cahoots with Chas Chandler under the Stigwood banner and he brought Chas down to the Fontana studio to meet us and hear the album."
Noddy Holder
Chas Chandler had brought Jimi Hendrix over from America, put a band together, produced two albums in the studio and made him a household name in Britain. He'd also, to a lesser degree, produced a band called Soft Machine.
"I nearly shit a brick, I knew who he was... I think I was the only one in the group who actually knew his track record."
Jim Lea
Chandler was impressed by what he heard and astonished that the group had been working in the studio without a producer to guide them. He wanted to see them perform live and it was arranged by Gunnell that they would perform in Rasputin's the following night. After watching a couple of 45 minute sets Chandler's mind was made up, he wanted to manage them.
"Come down and see for yourself mon . , . Noddy Holder sings like John Lennon and ]im Lea can play a bass guitar a million times better than I could, I should know ... mon."To the four members of Ambrose Slade, Chandler was a big, brawny, brash Geordie, given to speaking his mind without any thought for diplomacy. He was their kinda man, somebody they could aspire to, respect and understand. Graham Swinnerton sums up the relationship better than anyone.
"They bloody worshipped Chas from the word go,"In the early months of 1969 Chandler was kicking his heels waiting for another talent to manage and watching over his pregnant wife Lotta. His relationship with Mike ]effrey had broken down but the payoff was handsome and Chas was a wealthy - and respected - figure on the London music scene.
"I was going to take time out to take stock of things. Then John Gunnell told me about this group in the Philips studio... I went to Rasputins to see them. They were like a breath of fresh eayer... Mon."
"There was a certain amount of amateurism about them but the main fault was that they didn't play any of their own material. I liked the arrangements they did of other people's material and I thought that if they could do that, they must be able to write as well. I made up my mind to manage them that night."Such was the speed of Chandler's resolution that he became their manager within 48 hours. The small matter of Anita Anderson's Wolverhampton agency was settled for £100 (or £300 in Holder's book) and Chandler instantly made his presence felt in Jack Baverstock's office at Philips records.
"I just told them I'd be producing the group from now on and they were very pleased ... remember I'd just produced three of the biggest albums of all time, mon. I arranged a royalty for myself without taking anything away from the royalty that the group already had."Under ChandIer's guidance a sharp degree of professionalism was instilled into the group now known as Ambrose Slade. Swin was invited to become their full time tour manager and he left his job at Woden Transformers in Bilston for the £18 a week that Chandler offered.
His main, overiding concern was that the group should write their own material. He was unhappy with the album they recorded at Philips which was hastily issued on their Fontana label in early May under the title of Beginnings and there is evidence to suggest that he tried in vain to stop its release. Fontana also issued a single, Genesis, from the album during 1969 but did not came anywhere close to scraping the charts. Progress on writing their own material was painfully slow.
"They didn't take me seriously at first. It wasn't until a rehearsal at Studio 51 in London that they realised how serious I was. They'd been back home for two weeks supposedly writing new material and when they came down to London they had two songs. I told them to go away and write five songs that night. I had to make the point"
Chas Chandler
"In those days we were all having a bash at writing. Don used to write with Jim. and Nod with me , .. it wasn't for some time' until Jim and Nod came together as the main writers. We all used to throw in ideas." Dave Hill
"Chas told us we had to start writing our own stuff and we were worried that he might drop us if we didn't. We'd have done anything to avoid that happening. That was what inspired us to write."Ambrose Slade wrote four of the tracks on Beginnings, two were published by Ashton Music and two by Flamingo Music. By the end of the year Chandler had formed a partnership with Robert Stigwood, which they called Montgrove Productions, to represent their new talent.
Noddy Holder
The group released the Beginnings album on Fontana, gained a new agent in John Gunnell and a new manager in Chas Chandler. Being on the Gunnell's rosta of artists would have opened many doors for the group , on the London scene in particular, and while Beginnings did not sell too well, it did prove the versatility of the group.
"Jack wanted us to record an album of our own stuff. That was going to prove quite difficult since we were not writing much stuff at all.
It was only after Chas took us on and made me realise the importance of writing your own material that we began seriously to write numbers."
Jim Lea
Chas told them all: agents, writers, disc-jockeys, PR's, other musicians, promoters and probably his local publican. He was their personal trumpet as well as their guiding light, they trusted him implicitly.
In the meantime the group continued to work live as often as possible and their bookings were now handled by Roger Forrester at the Stigwood office. They played a wide range of prestigious London venues like the Bag O' Nails, the Red Car Jazz Club, the Marquee, the Temple (the former Flamingo) and the Speakeasy, many of which were owned or managed by Rik Gunnell
In the meantime the group continued to work live as often as possible and their bookings were now handled by Roger Forrester at the Stigwood office. They played a wide range of prestigious London venues like the Bag O' Nails, the Red Car Jazz Club, the Marquee, the Temple (the former Flamingo) and the Speakeasy, many of which were owned or managed by Rik Gunnell
"...as Ambrose Slade we produced the single of Genesis and Roach Daddy and the Beginnings album. I suppose that album was the first one made by any Wolverhampton group."Jim Lea
On Sunday 18th May 1969 they played the Sunday Scene at Aldridge Community Centre, prior to their Summer Tour of the US. They had previously been promised a US tour as The 'N Betweens in 1966 which, to my knowledge, failed to happen. This Ambrose Slade US Tour was apparently, imminent but also never happened. It may have been arranged on the strength of Ballzy making sales but Summer seems rather early.
Chandler's first priority was to get Ambrose Slade seen by as many people as possible. He wanted to raise their profile and expose their talent. They were known in The Midlands but now it was time for the rest of the country to find out about them. One memorable engagement was at Newcastle City Hall where Ambrose Slade supported Amen Corner. a group whose fanatical teeny bopper following were bemused by the comparatively heavy show they put across.
"I remember Chas really encouraging us to get there. He kept telling us that if our van broke down we should hitch a ride.' ... he sensed that it was an important show to do. By that time we had long hair and beads and we were into the progressive look. We were playing places like the Redcar Jazz Club and the Temple Club in Soho ... the hippy underground places. There was a definite pop level and a definite underground leve1 and we belonged to the underground."
Dave Hill
"It wasn’t a tour. It was just one show. It was when we first met Chas and John Gunnell and they got this show in Newcastle City Hall. Amen Corner was THE teeny bop band and they were doing two concerts in one night. Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich were on the bill as well. We got booked up for the two shows on that particular night, but driving up to Newcastle from Wolverhampton the car broke down and we missed the first show. We got there for the second show but we didn’t have time to get our own drums out so I used Mick’s from Dave Dee and we only played about four songs, I think?"
Don Powell: Slade Archive 2009
"Amen Corner promoted a gig in Newcastle through Terry 'the pill' Slater, a Newcastle lad. At the time we employed him as a manager of Amen Corner. He encouraged us to book Ambrose Slade as support act. We agreed, great band, good choice."
Clive Taylor, Amen Corner
Their sets still relied on a curious amalgam of cover versions with an increasingly large proportion of self-penned material. Jim Lea occasionally lent his bass guitar to Dave Hill and played violin on an arrangement of The Beatles' Martha My Dear and a slow original called Pity The Mother. Then they'd switch back instruments for Ted Nugent's Journey To The Centre Of Your Mind and a raucous version of Born To Be Wild complete with police sirens fed through their PA system by Swin.
What set them apart from other groups was their affable showmanship and the volume at which they played. By now they were using double amps on top of massive WEM speakers that were so tall, Dave Hill needed a chair to reach his amp.
"We had great piles of equipment, speakers piled on top of each other:' says Jim Lea. "Dave is small and he sometimes couldn't reach the volume control on his amp ... it was too high on top of the two Vox speaker cabinets he had."
“We were terrifyingly loud, nobody slept or walked out on our act. We pinned audiences to the wall with, what Johnny Steel used to call our ‘G’ force.”
Jim Lea
“It were loud tonight mon, the ‘G’ force was forcing back the skin on my face. Mind yoos, I was at the back of the hall.”
Johnny Steel, Ex- Animals
“We had this attitude that the kids took in those days. If it’s too loud then your too old. When Nod joined he was playing lead guitar and I played bass as if it were lead. Dave opened up and we had three strikers up front. We created a solid wall of sound in front of us and Don provided the wall behind us. Every time we went on stage we would make it an event.”
Jim Lea
Media supplied by Chris Selby, the man, the myth, the legend. #
Ambrose Slade
1969
Wed 1st January -Studio sessions
Thurs 2nd January - Studio essions
Fri 3rd January - Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
Sat 4th January - Belfry, Sutton Coldfield-Cliff Bennett
Sun 5th January - Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Mon 6th January - Memorial Club.Brownhill
Tues 7th January - The Caves, Walsall
Wed 8th January - Holland
Thurs 9th January - Holland
Fri 10th January - Quarry Club, Gornal
Sat 11th January -400 Club, Torquay
Sun 12th January -The Oasis Club, Wolverhampton
Mon 13th January -Highfields Club, Stafford- Light Fantastic
Tues 14th January -T.V.Recording, Elstree
Wed 15th January - Mackadown Club, Birmingham
Thurs 16th January - Scotland
Fri 17th January - Scotland
Sat 18th January - Scotland
Sun 19th January -The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton-Evolution
Mon 20th January - Wolves Social Club, Wolverhampton
Tues 21st January -Hen & Chickens, Langley
Wed 22nd January - Wednesfield Tube, Wednesfield
Thurs 23rd January - Belfields Restaurant, Dudley
Fri 24th January - BlaizesClub, London
Sat 25th January -Terry Heaths, Wellington
Sun 26th January - Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Mon 27th January George Hotel, Walsall
Wed 29th January -Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
Thurs 30th January -The 64 Club, Bilston
Fri 31st January -Scotch of St James, London
Sat 1st February - Le Metro Club, Birmingham
Sun 2nd February - Community Centre,Aldridge
Thurs 6th February - Castle Hill Discotheque, Dudley
Sun 9th February - Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Fri 21st February -Pensnett & Bromley Memorial Club, Pensnett
Sat 22nd February - Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Sun 23rd February -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Mon 3rd March -George Hotel.Walsall-Heart & Soul
Fri 7th March -The Hub,Clydebank
Sat 8th March -Grand Hall,Kilmarnock -Flowerpot Men
Sat 8th March -Carioca,Bearsden
Sun 16th March -Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Fri 21st March -Pensnett & Bromley Memorial Club, Pensnett
Sat 29th March -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton-Colour Supplement
Sun 30th March - Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Mon 7th April -Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Thurs 10th April -Steering Wheel Club,West Bromwich
Mon 14th April -West End Working Mans Club, Wolverhampton
Thurs 17th April -Bassett Hotel,Southampton
Fri 18th April-Civic Hall,Wolverhampton-Spooky Tooth/Raymond Froggatt/Revolver/Evolution/Jug
Sun 27th April -Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Wed 30th April -Mackadown Club,Kitts Green,Birmingham
Tues 13th May - Maxis Club, Cannock
Fri 16th May - George Hotel, Walsall
Sun 18th May -Community Centre,Aldridge
Sat 24th May - Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Sun 25th May - Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Fri 30th May -The Caves, Wrens Nest Dudley
Sat 31st May - The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton- Frosty Moses
Tues 3rd June -Blaises,London
Fri 6th June - City Hall, Newcastle-Amen Corner/Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky Mick & Tich
Sun 8th June -Whisky A Go Go,London
Mon 9th June - Queen Mary Ballroom, Dudley
Fri 13th June - Park Hall Hotel, Wolverhampton-The Montanas
Fri 14th June - The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton-The Silvrons
Tuesday 17th June -Whisky A Go Go,London
Tues 24th June - St Giles YC,Willenhall
Fri 27th June - George Hotel , Walsall
Sat 28th June -Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Sun 29th June - The Ship &Rainbow, Wolverhampton
Fri 4th July -Goldsmiths College,London
Fri 11th July- Polesworth WMC, High St Poleworth
Sun 13th July - Alton Towers-Marmalade
Fri 18th July -Park Hall Hotel,Wolverhampton-Fraser Nash
Sat 26th July -Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Sun 27th July -The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton-The Piltdown Skull
Fri 1st August -Park Hall Hotel, Wolverhampton-The Californians
Thurs 7th August-Annabelles,Sunderland
Fri 15th August -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Sat 16th August -Tofts,Folkestone
Fri 22nd August -The Place,Hanley,Stoke on Trent
Sun 24th August -Community Centre,Aldridge
Sun 31st August -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Mon 1st September -Park hall Hotel, Wolverhampton-Sight & Sound
Sun 7th September -Queen Mary Ballroom, Dudley
Fri 12th September -USC Bilton
Sat 13th September - Il Rondo,Leicester
Fri 19th September - The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton
Sat 20th September - The Ballroom ,Margate-JJ Jackson
Sun 21st September -Rendevous Club,Margate
Mon 22nd September -George Hotel,Walsall-Breadown
Fri 26th September -Whiting Hall,Arran
Sat 27th September -Whiting Hall,Arran
Sun 28th September -Whiting Hall,Arran
Sat 4th October -Alton Towers,Stafordshire- The Consortium
Sat 5th October- The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton
Sun 12th October -Club Lafeyette,Wolverhampton
Sat 18th October -Links Pavillion,Cromer
Sun 19th October - Community Centre, Aldridge
Mon 20th October - George Hotel, Walsall-Under Milk Wood
Fri 24th October -Annabelles,Sunderland
Sat 25th October -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Mon 27th October -Park Hall Hotel,Wolverhampton
Fri 31st October -The Royal, Tottenham
Sat 1st November -Mossley Youth Club, Bloxwich
Fri 14th November -USC,Bilston
Sun 16th November -Pavilion, Bournemouth-TheRoom
Sun 23rd November-Baths,Bloxwich
Fri 28th November -George Hotel, Walsall
Sat 29th November - Baths ,Bloxwich
Sun 30th November -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Fri 5th December -Olympia,East Kilbride
Sat 6th December -Bearsden
Sun 7th December - La Bamba,Falkirk
Fri 12th December -Club Lafayette,Wolverhampton
Fri 12th December -USC Bilston
Sun 14th December -Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Sun 21st December -Bolero Club,Wednesbury
Thurs 24th December - Melody Rooms ,Norwich
Fri 26th December -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Sat 27th December -Park Hall Hotel,Wolverhampton
Sun 28th December -Queen Mary Ballroom,Dudley.
Thurs 2nd January - Studio essions
Fri 3rd January - Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
Sat 4th January - Belfry, Sutton Coldfield-Cliff Bennett
Sun 5th January - Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Mon 6th January - Memorial Club.Brownhill
Tues 7th January - The Caves, Walsall
Wed 8th January - Holland
Thurs 9th January - Holland
Fri 10th January - Quarry Club, Gornal
Sat 11th January -400 Club, Torquay
Sun 12th January -The Oasis Club, Wolverhampton
Mon 13th January -Highfields Club, Stafford- Light Fantastic
Tues 14th January -T.V.Recording, Elstree
Wed 15th January - Mackadown Club, Birmingham
Thurs 16th January - Scotland
Fri 17th January - Scotland
Sat 18th January - Scotland
Sun 19th January -The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton-Evolution
Mon 20th January - Wolves Social Club, Wolverhampton
Tues 21st January -Hen & Chickens, Langley
Wed 22nd January - Wednesfield Tube, Wednesfield
Thurs 23rd January - Belfields Restaurant, Dudley
Fri 24th January - BlaizesClub, London
Sat 25th January -Terry Heaths, Wellington
Sun 26th January - Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Mon 27th January George Hotel, Walsall
Wed 29th January -Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
Thurs 30th January -The 64 Club, Bilston
Fri 31st January -Scotch of St James, London
Sat 1st February - Le Metro Club, Birmingham
Sun 2nd February - Community Centre,Aldridge
Thurs 6th February - Castle Hill Discotheque, Dudley
Sun 9th February - Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Fri 21st February -Pensnett & Bromley Memorial Club, Pensnett
Sat 22nd February - Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Sun 23rd February -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Mon 3rd March -George Hotel.Walsall-Heart & Soul
Fri 7th March -The Hub,Clydebank
Sat 8th March -Grand Hall,Kilmarnock -Flowerpot Men
Sat 8th March -Carioca,Bearsden
Sun 16th March -Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Fri 21st March -Pensnett & Bromley Memorial Club, Pensnett
Sat 29th March -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton-Colour Supplement
Sun 30th March - Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Mon 7th April -Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Thurs 10th April -Steering Wheel Club,West Bromwich
Mon 14th April -West End Working Mans Club, Wolverhampton
Thurs 17th April -Bassett Hotel,Southampton
Fri 18th April-Civic Hall,Wolverhampton-Spooky Tooth/Raymond Froggatt/Revolver/Evolution/Jug
Sun 27th April -Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Wed 30th April -Mackadown Club,Kitts Green,Birmingham
Tues 13th May - Maxis Club, Cannock
Fri 16th May - George Hotel, Walsall
Sun 18th May -Community Centre,Aldridge
Sat 24th May - Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Sun 25th May - Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Fri 30th May -The Caves, Wrens Nest Dudley
Sat 31st May - The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton- Frosty Moses
Tues 3rd June -Blaises,London
Fri 6th June - City Hall, Newcastle-Amen Corner/Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky Mick & Tich
Sun 8th June -Whisky A Go Go,London
Mon 9th June - Queen Mary Ballroom, Dudley
Fri 13th June - Park Hall Hotel, Wolverhampton-The Montanas
Fri 14th June - The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton-The Silvrons
Tuesday 17th June -Whisky A Go Go,London
Tues 24th June - St Giles YC,Willenhall
Fri 27th June - George Hotel , Walsall
Sat 28th June -Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Sun 29th June - The Ship &Rainbow, Wolverhampton
Fri 4th July -Goldsmiths College,London
Fri 11th July- Polesworth WMC, High St Poleworth
Sun 13th July - Alton Towers-Marmalade
Fri 18th July -Park Hall Hotel,Wolverhampton-Fraser Nash
Sat 26th July -Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Sun 27th July -The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton-The Piltdown Skull
Fri 1st August -Park Hall Hotel, Wolverhampton-The Californians
Thurs 7th August-Annabelles,Sunderland
Fri 15th August -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Sat 16th August -Tofts,Folkestone
Fri 22nd August -The Place,Hanley,Stoke on Trent
Sun 24th August -Community Centre,Aldridge
Sun 31st August -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Mon 1st September -Park hall Hotel, Wolverhampton-Sight & Sound
Sun 7th September -Queen Mary Ballroom, Dudley
Fri 12th September -USC Bilton
Sat 13th September - Il Rondo,Leicester
Fri 19th September - The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton
Sat 20th September - The Ballroom ,Margate-JJ Jackson
Sun 21st September -Rendevous Club,Margate
Mon 22nd September -George Hotel,Walsall-Breadown
Fri 26th September -Whiting Hall,Arran
Sat 27th September -Whiting Hall,Arran
Sun 28th September -Whiting Hall,Arran
Sat 4th October -Alton Towers,Stafordshire- The Consortium
Sat 5th October- The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton
Sun 12th October -Club Lafeyette,Wolverhampton
Sat 18th October -Links Pavillion,Cromer
Sun 19th October - Community Centre, Aldridge
Mon 20th October - George Hotel, Walsall-Under Milk Wood
Fri 24th October -Annabelles,Sunderland
Sat 25th October -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Mon 27th October -Park Hall Hotel,Wolverhampton
Fri 31st October -The Royal, Tottenham
Sat 1st November -Mossley Youth Club, Bloxwich
Fri 14th November -USC,Bilston
Sun 16th November -Pavilion, Bournemouth-TheRoom
Sun 23rd November-Baths,Bloxwich
Fri 28th November -George Hotel, Walsall
Sat 29th November - Baths ,Bloxwich
Sun 30th November -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Fri 5th December -Olympia,East Kilbride
Sat 6th December -Bearsden
Sun 7th December - La Bamba,Falkirk
Fri 12th December -Club Lafayette,Wolverhampton
Fri 12th December -USC Bilston
Sun 14th December -Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Sun 21st December -Bolero Club,Wednesbury
Thurs 24th December - Melody Rooms ,Norwich
Fri 26th December -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Sat 27th December -Park Hall Hotel,Wolverhampton
Sun 28th December -Queen Mary Ballroom,Dudley.
No comments:
Post a Comment