Phillips Studio

December 1968, London

Philips Records
Stanhope House
Stanhope Place
London
W2 2HH

Express & Star: December 7th 1968

The group had a couple of recording sessions in December 1968. The 3rd December is yet to be confirmed but on the 8th. they were recording for a radio broadcast (possibly the BBC) and a few days later on the 11th they recorded four tracks for their album. More would follow in January 1969.

It is known that Irving Martin recorded four tracks with The N'Betweens but I failed to ask him which studio he used. He recorded The Californians at Decca Studios (Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, North London).

The N'Betweens went into the studio and recorded with Roger Wake

As Abbey Road was to EMI, so the ‘In -house’ studios at Stanhope Place, Marble Arch was to Philips. Situated on the cusp of London’s heart and above the central line – a faint rumble could be felt as the tube passed below – during it’s 30 year existence, the Philips studios would easily rival America’s Stax studios or London’s Abbey Road as a ‘Hit factory’.

The list of those who recorded there is eclectic and comprehensive, and includes practically everyone who was anyone, chart wise, between the 50’s and early 80’s.

At 60ft long, 20ft wide and 25ft high, the main studio, ‘Studio One’ has been described as ‘cramped’ by one engineer who routinely recorded full orchestral and choral sessions there and as ‘vast’ by The Who’s Roger Daltrey who recorded there as part of a four piece.

“The studio was a little bit confined, long and narrow and the control room had like a narrow walkway at the back where we used to stand and listen, you know.  So it was a bit restrictive, with all the orchestra and brass, percussion and singing groups…it was really crammed in”
Alan Parker: Session Guitarist 1965.

Entrance to the studio reception was down a stairwell via the street, in through a side door, turning left to go up.  The actual recording space was on a raised level but the guts of the studio were typical of the time.

Roger Wake, then a teenage tape Op’ remembers the studios specifications with a boffin’s clarity.

“Physically the set up was this; there was the studio, then the control room, and then a separate machine room, where the tape machines were.  The control room had big windows so that Johnny (Franz-producer) and Peter  (Oliff –Engineer) could look out and see into the studio and from where I was, in the machine room, we had a little window about 3ft square, so I could see into the control room. We also had a set up so that I could hear what was going on in the control room.  If Peter wanted to speak to the studio or me, he had a talkback button for both.  So I’d be in the control room with all the tape machines, the multitracks and the stereos and big huge patch panel, which we would have to operate.  And Philips then had a totally different patching system to other studios such as Abbey road.  Huge plugs - send and return within the same plug.  The patch panel was about seven by four feet.  Of course, it was all valves back then.  The first Neve console was transistorised but (in the mid 60's) it would have been on an old German valve console.  On four track.”

I stole much of this information from Anthony Reynolds wonderful story 'The Impossible Dream: The Story of Scott Walker and the Walker Brothers' which is available on Amazon. It is the definitive story of the group and should be read by anybody with a slightest interest in the music of that period. Roger Wake did happily speak with me but no new information was forthcoming. He is happy with the original quotes being reused, for which I am very grateful.

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A Beatles Number

Express & Star: 13th February 1969

Ambrose Slade new single, a Beatles number, is being recut. Could the fact that Roger Allen has been seen in the company of Paul McCartney recently be anything to do with it? Single is now to be released about halfway through March.

The Montanas, the present set-up, that is, recorded on Monday for the Dave Cash Show, to be broadcast next week. Tomorrow they do a Radio One Club broadcast from Plymouth, and three weeks later comes their appearance at the Club Lafayette Radio One show.

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Ambrose Slade

London, 1st January 1969

"The 'N Betweens are now to be simply called Ambrose Slade"
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.

"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,"
Don Powell

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.

"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

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.

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."
Noddy Holder

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.

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

"...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.

Walsall Observer: Friday 27th June 1969

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

Disc: July 12th 1969

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

The summer of 1969 saw Ambrose Slade , drop the Ambrose and they became The Slade, probably in an attempt to lose the psychedelic image they'd had. They were still gigging as Ambrose Slade after this date, probably due to prearranged commitments.

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Media supplied by Chris Selby, the man, the myth, the legend. ^#So sayeth 'Feel The Noize' by Chris Charlesworth from whence much of this section was taken. Thanks due to 'Marmalade Skies' for helping me look in the right direction, another essential site to be preserved.

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.

Irving Martin

Wolverhampton, 1967

Irving Martin has Black Country connections, if not roots. One time A&R man for CBS, Martin was paid to headhunt talent for both Jack Baverstock at Fontana and Decca Records. He scoured the country searching for potential talent and would record demos for possible hit makers. Irving confirms he 'discovered' Finders Keepers, Montanas and the Californians. After leaving CBS he spent a lot of time in the Midlands searching and producing local talent.

"He is responsible for some of the best UK pop productions in a variety of styles; Pop-beat, Harmony Vocal and dramatic Spectorian Productions, to name just a few."
Martin Roberts 2003

In 1967 he was invited to Wolverhampton by Roger Allen to look at five groups, including The Californians, Finders Keepers and The 'N Betweens. Martin remembers Roger Allen as a typical Northern agent, loud and brusque but sincere and genuine.

He produced both the Californians and Finders Keepers on a variety of records. The Californians actually made eight records between 1967 and 1969. John O'Hara describes the experience of recording as follows:

"Irving Martin used to send me brown envelopes regularly containing demos of numbers which he felt we should consider doing."

"Going into a studio was amazing. It was like entering another world. You lost all sense of time and space. You could be in there for hours, even days, and you would have no idea when you came out if it was going to be day or night or what day it was. I loved it."

"Decca No.1 studio was as big as the Civic Hall. It could house orchestras of 40 or 50 players. I've been in there laying a backing track for a record for hours. It all had to be done live because of Musicians' Union requirements. Once you got the nod that that was a take, the musicians would leave and then you would carry on with the engineers for more hours. It was quite exhausting but also exhilarating."

"Despite all the time we took I was never properly satisfied with the records we made. In many cases I felt the records were over-produced by A&R men like John Stewart or Irving Martin."

It was in 1968 that The 'N Betweens recorded with Irving Martin, in his early twenties at the time. He remembers two studio sessions, possibly a third. 

On one occasion they were accompanied by a member of The Move, Chris 'Ace' Kefford, who had recently tried to commit suicide and still had his wrists bound. He was believed to be a friend of Noddy's. Martin recalls that he sat reading a copy of Auto Trader throughout the session. 

"I remember recording three tracks, a raucous rock number, an upbeat instrumental ('Blues In E') and another vocal track I think?"

Martin sent his productions to Jack Baverstock (a good friend at the time.) Jack told him the group was rubbish and he had no interest in signing them. He found out later that Baverstock had gone behind his back. 

Jimmy Lea explains:

"Jack Baverstock had heard our version of Journey To The Centre Of Your Mind, the Ted Nugent number, and another instrumental which we called Blues In E. Irving Martin had produced both tracks for us. Jack rang up and told us he wanted to make an album with us. We just could not believe it. Apparently it was the instrumental he rated as quite distinctive because of the stomping sound."

Unknown to Martin, Jack Baverstock contacted the group directly. This 'robbed' Martin of a 2% royalty on future productions, (he believes Baverstock got 3%). At the time Martin could not afford to sue Jack financially or professionally. He knew that he would be perceived as a troublemaker within the industry, essentially putting an end to his own career. He has always believed that, in his own words, 'the truth will out'.

"There was Jack Baverstock and this big guy (Maurice Jones). Baverstock was not a nice man but I thought he was a friend. He screwed me and he screwed Roger Allen. I spoke to Jack's wife many years later and she admitted that he took a backhander." 

Martin wasn't green to the cut-throat business, he'd worked with Carter Lewis in the mid 60's, who were signed to Robert Stigwood's agency. Irving Martin was in the building when Don Arden.  Arden turned up with his henchman and hung Stigwood from the balcony. Although he was not directly involved, he would later find himself on the receiving end of Arden's wrath.

Martin's colleague Vic Smith was considering an offer to work for Don Arden. Smith asked Martin what he thought and Martin advised caution considering Arden's reputation. Shortly after, Martin received a call from Arden, who threatened to maim him. Meeting him again some years later, Arden claimed it was nothing personal, just business. I'm told Dick Leahy (George Michael's publicist) can confirm this. 

He recalls that Noddy & Dave were both ambitious, 'by any means necessary' guys while Jim wasn't that bothered and Don was just quiet. Later when he met Jim Lea, Jim remembered him and had the good grace to be embarrassed but spoke to him. 

A couple of times he said he wasn't sure whether Chas Chandler knew about it or not but he did say "Chas was not good." Chandler may not have been aware since he wasn’t involved with the band until the Spring of 1969. When I asked why he thought Chas was not good he said, "He didn't let the band develop musically." 

Personally, I agree with the statement but it would appear that there are still a few wrinkles to iron out.

My thanks to Irving Martin for his time. More info about Irving Martin Productions 

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The 'N Betweens 1968

Wolverhampton 1968

Another hectic year for The 'N Betweens, kicking off at the Woolpack in Wolverhampton on the 2nd. Playing with their usual circuit buddies like The Soul Seekers and The Californians and new name Hari Kari which featured Billy Bonham on keyboards. 1968 brought the Jimmy Cliff Explosion in January, The Herd in February, Amboy Dukes in March and John Mayall's Bluebreakers making one of their last appearances in April, this time with Peter Green, at Willenhall Public Baths. In July they would split up for 15 years?

Maurice Jones was managing their affairs and the Astra agency considered them to be a strong enough group to compete with the better known bands like The Cream, with whom they were often booked. The group got the opportunity to hone themselves into a four man steamroller during a stint overseas.

 Express & Star:  May 16th 1968

On the 20th May 1968 the group left the UK. Maurice Jones had found them a dream booking – a one month residency in The Bahamas. None of the lads had been anywhere exotic, in fact, there only experiences outside of the country had been less than positive. Suddenly, here they were staying in a luxury hotel and told to order anything they wanted on room service and put it on the club owner's tab. As Noddy Holder relates...

Express & Star: May 23rd 1968

"On the first night, the promoter took us to a club which was part of the hotel complex. It was really posh, full of tourists and fabulous suntanned women. There were a few locals, but mainly it was English and American holidaymakers. 'Is this the sort of place we'll be playing?' we asked the promoter and he nodded. We thought we had died and gone to heaven.

The next day, we came back down to earth with a bump. The bloke took us to our real venue which was right on the other side of the Island, in the black area. It couldn't have been more different from the club we had visited the previous evening. It was in the middle of a field and it looked like a big shack"

The club proved to be little more than a shack in the middle of nowhere and they had to play several sets every night, of which the first was a selection of pop songs for tourists.

"Our set started at 9pm. For the first three hours, we had been told, the audience would be made up mainly of white tourists. We decided that was when we should play our pop songs. We were pretty sure that only chart hits would go down well. 'There's a curfew at midnight,' the promoter told us. 'That's when all the tourists have to return to their hotels. After that, the locals come in. We were terrified when we heard that."

"It was the later set we played to the locals after midnight that really scared us. We were four white kids in funny gear trying to please the local black gangs who were into Calypso and Ska. We decided to give them our James Brown soul selection and we could not have made a better choice because unbeknown to us Brown was considered a god in The Bahamas and four white kids playing soul music was some novelty.

"We also had to become versatile and adapt to provide backing for local entertainers like limbo dancers, fire-eaters and_transvestite go-go dancers. One of the big attractions was called Silver Man. He sprayed himself all over in paint and did a wild Voodoo dance"

The compère was a gay bongo player called Eric who used to give Nod a drink out of his special rum bottle each night, which he had secretly laced with marijuana. Nod couldn't understand why it had such an effect on him for some days. Eric overran on his bongo solo regularly, once he was on he was hard to get off. One evening Silver Man sweated in the wings until he eventually collapsed and passed out. Nod managed to revive him by washing his paint off, but it was like that pretty much every night.

"We ended up with the most bizarre show you can imagine. The idea was that we would not only play our own music, but also back a lot of other local acts, which included limbo dancers, a couple of fire-eaters and a transvestite go-go dancer in a cage. It was like an Acid-inspired cabaret show. We were rocking our socks off with loonies every night."

One night they found William Bell in their dressing room. He had just had a huge hit with Judy Clay called 'Private Number'. He sang with The 'N Betweens as his backing band.

"Another night, we had to support a girl group called The Twans who were three gorgeous black girls with a choreographed dance routine. They launched into Aretha Franklin's 'Respect'.

What no one knew was that the lead singer had lost her voice between the rehearsal in the afternoon and the show. The backing gals went “Woo”, after which she was supposed to sing 'What you want'. Instead, there was silence. The girls went “Woo” again. Still nothing. She was opening her mouth, but nothing was coming out. Suddenly, this bloke in the front row of the audience shouted, 'Sing it like it is, sister.' We just collapsed. The girls were still doing their dance, but the four of us were on the floor, laughing."

"After a couple of weeks in the Bahamas, Dave had made friends with a load of American and English girls. One afternoon, they took him to a fashion show, which was happening at one of the other hotels on the island. Dave ended up as one of the catwalk models wearing a dress. He came back to the club that night in it. It was a full-length floral thing, all pink and white. He wandered in with his girls, boasting that his picture was going to be in the Bahamian newspaper the next day. 'I'm keeping the dress on for the show,' announced Dave. Jim hit the roof but it got a great reaction. We hadn't been on stage two minutes when a girl in the audience stormed up to Dave. She was furious because Dave was wearing exactly the same outfit as her."
Noddy Holder: Who's Crazee Now?

Don's first close call seems to have happened at this time. Andy Scott, who would later join The Sweet and score significant success as a top glam rock band, recalls an incident that clearly took place during this residency.

"I first met Slade about 45 years ago, long before they were famous, on the Bahamas. Slade were playing on one side of the Island, and the band I was with were playing on the other side. I remember myself and Don were swimming and got dragged out to sea. We had to hang onto a lilo, we almost drowned."
Andy Scott: 14th November 2012

Half way through this Bahamas rock circus residency, disaster struck and the club owner disappeared with thousands of pounds, leaving them stranded with a massive hotel and bar bill unpaid. The hotel moved them into the equivalent of a broom cupboard and when the club re-opened under new management they took half of their wages until the outstanding amount was paid off. The 'N Betweens had to slog it out for three months, working like musical slaves until they were able to leave the island.

"The new owners were Americans and they demanded we pay the bill for the suites and the food and everything.

Of course we couldn't pay ... so they kept us on working every night for next to nothing to payoff the debt. They put us in a one room staff apartment."

For the next two months The 'N Betweens lived in each others' pockets and Jim Lea, for one, considers this to have been a major factor in welding the group together. Letters to the Astra Agency begging for money were ignored and all determined to put every spare penny towards the cost of flying their equipment home. Nod took charge again and sorted out their financial difficulties. He was always the one who had to budget their money when they needed a new tyre on the van or replacement equipment.

"We made friends in the Bahamas with a lot of local kids who were from American families. They brought lots of records with them which had yet to be released in England, like Steppenwolf's 'Born to Be Wild' which we worked into the stage act."

"We couldn't believe our luck but the owners told us they were going to re-decorate the discotheque and that it would be closed for a week. They actually asked us to move our gear out which is what we'd been wanting to do for weeks. So the next morning ... very early ... we drove out to the airport, put our gear on a plane and caught the next one to London."

During those weeks in the Bahamas, the group got their personal gripes out of their systems, which helped them later down the line.

"We discovered that we were four very different characters. The others realised that none of them would get the better of me in an argument.

Jim was probably the most argumentative, he could also be really insulting although half the time he didn't even realise it. We never knew if he was trying to insult people or if he just didn't think, but after spending so much time together, we got used to it. We learnt that, in a band, you couldn't take each other too seriously or you'd just split up."

It was that crash course in survival in The Bahamas that pulled them together and forged the band's strong camaraderie. They returned to England on the 29th August being hailed a success. On the 7th September at Park Hall Hotel, Wolverhampton:

"This Saturday: The return of Wolverhampton's top group from a successful season in the Bahamas"

Express & Star: September 12th 1968

The episode caused further unpleasantness between The 'N Betweens and the Astra Agency and the group switched their allegiance to a rival outfit run by Nita Anderson who later managed the record label Heavy Metal Records. It was Anderson who was to act as the catalyst in a chain of events that led to The 'N Betweens' fortunes taking a crucial turn in the early months of 1969.

"While we were on the Bahamas we never had any help from Astra so when we came back we decided to leave and we went with Nita Anderson."
Don Powell: The Slade Forum 2011

Jack Baverstock was head of A&R at Philips. He was a man hungry to find The Next Big Thing and a little bird had whispered in his ear that Wolverhampton had it. That little bird was Roger Allen who was Nita Anderson's business partner. Allen was also a close friend of Irving Martin, who carried some influence with Baverstock. Allen told Baverstock that it would be in his best interest to invite The 'N Betweens down to London for a studio audition.

Express & Star: November 21st 1968

Baverstock felt that The 'N Betweens implied an element of homosexuality. There had been some talk of the new name being Nicky Nacky Noo (the group's own idea according to some?).

"Baverstock thought that The 'N Betweens was a crappy name, and he said that he wanted us to be called a name that we had said in the studio. Well, we'd been talking about hotels, something about us having said in the poshest place since the Nickey Nackey Noo. And he thought that Nicky Nacky Noo would've been a good name for us! I said that I was going to leave if we were going to be called that:

Anyway, sometime later he rang up Roger AlIen and said that he'd come up with the name Ambrose Slade. I thought it was a crappy name, but as we didn't want to lose his recording deal we decided to call ourselves that."
Jim Lea: Fan Club Interview April 1980

In December 1968, The 'N Betweens spent a whole day in the Phillips Studio at Stanhope Place near Marble Arch in London where they recorded four songs with, recording engineer, Roger Wake. Baverstock was impressed enough to offer them a contract with two suggestions. One was the name change and the other was London based management.

"Jack said he didn't like the name. 'It makes you sound bi-sexual' he said. We freaked out, that had never even crossed our minds. In the 60's being gay was a real scandal."
Noddy Holder

"The notion of Ambrose Slade came from his secretary having a handbag named Ambrose and a cap named Slade!"
Jim Lea

Express & Star: December 12th 1968

It was Jack who christened the group with their new name, as Jimmy Lea explains:

"Jack Baverstock had heard our version of Journey To The Centre Of Your Mind, the Ted Nugent number, and another instrumental which we called Blues In E."

"Irving Martin had produced both tracks for us. Jack rang up and told us he wanted to make an album with us. We just could not believe it. Apparently it was the instrumental he rated as quite distinctive because of the stomping sound.... He maintained that the record had this beat that was new and different. He was quite right really, because in later years the beat used on that record became our stamp."

Express & Star: December 7th 1968

The group had a couple of recording sessions in December 1968. One on the 8th. was for radio broadcast and a few days later on the 11th they recorded four tracks for their album. The 3rd December is yet to be confirmed.

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Most of the Noddy Holder quotes are from his book 'Who's Crazee Now?' Media supplied by Chris Selby after many hours of research.Thanks to Dave Kemp for some wonderful trivia.

The 'N Betweens

1968

Tues 2nd January - Woolpack, Wolverhampton
Fri 5th January -W.R.Wheway School, Bloxwich- Hari Kari
Sun 7th January -Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Mon 8th January -United Services Club, Bilston
Fri 12th January - Civic Hall,Wolverhampton-Reg Bradley & his Band/Freddie Mercer & his Band /Dual Purpose
Sat 13th January -College of Technology, Wolverhampton-Jimmy Cliff Explosion
Wed 17th January -Chubbs SC ,Heath Town
Thurs 18th January - Kingfisher Country Club -Wall Heath-Dual Purpose
Fri 19th January -Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Sat 20th January -Queens Beat Club,Erdington
Sun21st January -Queen Mary Ballroom,Dudley
Sat 3rd February - Civic Hall, Wolverhampton-Soul Seekers
Sun 4th February - Bolero Club.Wednesbury
Mon 5th February - Parkhall Hotel, Wolverhampton-The Bystanders
Thurs 8th February - Essington W.M.C, Bloxwich
Sat 10th February - Connaught Hotel, Wolverhampton-The News
Sun 11th February - Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich
Mon 12th February - United Services Club, Bilston
Tues 14th February Shelfield Y.C, Shelfield,Walsall
Sat 24th February -Le Metro Club,Birmingham
Sun 25th February - Bolero Club, Wednesbury-The Herd)
Thurs 29th February - Kingfisher Country Club, Wall Heath-The Californians
Fri 1st March - United Services Club, Bilston
Sat 2nd March -Woolpack, Wolverhampton-Lucifer Blue
Sun 3rd March -Clayton Lodge Hotel,Newcastle under Lyme
Sat 9th March -Golden Torch,Tunstall,Stoke on Trent
Sun 10th March -Queen Mary Ballroom,Dudley - Middle Earth
Wed 13th March -Civic Hall,Wolverhampton -The Plastic Penny
Thurs 14th March -W.M.C.Tettenhall
Sat 16th March -The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton-Vivid Cherry
Sun 17th March - Carlton Club ,Erdington
Thurs 21st March -British Legion,Lower Gornal
Fri 22nd March- Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Sun 24th March - Connaught Hotel, Wolverhampton
Mon 25th March - Park Hall Hotel,Wolverhampton-The Amboy Dukes
Sat 30th March -The Woolpack,Wolverhampton
Sat 30th March - Alton Towers,Staffordshire-The Merseys
Fri 5th April - United Services Club, Bilston
Sat 6th April -Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton-Lucifer Blue
Sun 7th April -The Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Tues 9th April -British Legion Club, Lower Gornal
Thurs 11th April -Baths,Willenhall-John Mayalls Bluesbreakers/The Naque
Sat 13th April -Preincess Ballroom ,Halifax
Mon 15th April -George Hotel, Walsall-Soul Syndicate
Tues 16th April -Borough Hall,Stafford
Thurs 18th April -W.M.C. Essington
Sat 24th April -Mackadown Club,Kitts Green,Birmingham
Fri 3rd May - Queen Mary Ballroom, Dudley-Soul Syndicate
Sat 4th May -Lower Green,Tettenhall
Sun 5th May - Holt Fleet Hotel,Holy Heath,Worcestershire
Sat 11th May - George Hotel, Walsall
Fri 17th May - Community Centre, Pelsall-The Gilt Edge
Sat 18th May -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Sun 19th May -Connaught Hotel, Wolverhampton
Mon 20th May - Tropicana Club,Bahamas
Fri 6th September -U.S.C.Bilston
Sat 7th September - Park Hall Hotel, Wolverhampton-Pathfinders
Fri 13th September -Bolero Club, Wednesbury-Show Stoppers
Sun 15th September -Connaught Hotel,Wolverhampton
Fri 20th September -Trafalgar Inn,Hednesford
Sat 21st September -The Ship & Rainbow, WolverhamptonSat 28th September - Town Hall,Uttoxeter-The Bubble Shop
Sun 29th September -Club Lafayette,Wolverhampton-City Limits
Mon 30th September - Queen Mary Ballroom,Dudley
Thurs 3rd October - British Legion Club, Lower Gornal
Sat 5th October - Town Hall, Bilston-The Tangerine Slake
Sun 6th October - Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Sun 13th October -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Mon 14th October -George Hotel, Walsall-The Traction
Fri 25th October -Public Baths, Willenhall- Crosscut Saw
Sat 26th October -Town Hall,Uttoxeter-The Top Shop
Mon 28th October -Queen Mary Ballroom,Dudley
Tues 29th October -Edward Street WMC,Broomhill,Cannock
Fri 1st November - Town Hall, Walsall-Simon Dupree & the Big Sound/Hari Kari
Sat 2nd November - George Hotel, Walsall-Animated Lime
Sun 3rd November- Bolero Club, Wednesbury
Tues 5th November -Holly Bush ,Wolverhampton
Sat 9th November -Le Metro Club,Birmingham
Sun 10th November -Connaught Hotel, Wolverhampton
Sat 16th November - Tall TreesClub,Newquay
Sun 17th November -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Wed 20th November -Boney Hay W.M.C. Boney Hay
Thurs 21st November -Swan,Yardley
Sun 24th November -Club Lafayette,Wolverhampton
Fri 29th November -Civic Hall,Wolverhampton
Sun 1st December -Ship and Rainbow,Wolverhampton
Mon 2nd December -George Hotel, Walsall-Small Change
Thurs 5th December -Civic Hall,Wolverhampton-Fortunes/Finders Keepers/Animated Lime
Fri 6th December - Baths, Willenhall- Evolution
Sat 7th December - Palais de Danse, Mansfield
Mon 9th December -Brownhills W.M.C.
Tues 10th December -St Giles YC,Willenhall
Thurs 12th December - Queens Ballroom, Dudley
Fri 13th December -Baths, Willenhall
Sat 14th December -Community Centre, Pelsall
Mon 16th December- Wolves Social Club, Wolverhampton
Tues 17th December - British Legion Club, Lower Gornal
Wed 18th Deember - Woolpack, Wolverhampton
Thurs 19th December- Shelfield Y.C. Shelfield
Fri 20th December -John Harper P.H, Willenhall
Sat 21st December -Holly Hall Y.C, Wolverhampton
Sun 22nd December-Connaught Hotel, Wolverhampton
Mon 23rd December -Queen Mary Ballroom, Dudley
Tues 24th December -The Woolpack,Wolverhampton-Tangerine Flake
Tues 24th December- Lafeyette Club, Wolverhampton-The Montanas
Thurs 26th December -Bolero Club, Wednesbury-Source of Power
Fri 27th December - The Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton-The Montanas
Fri 27th December - Civic Hall, Wolverhampton-Evolutio
Sat 28th December - Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton-Tangerine Flake
Mon 30th December- Mount Hotel,Wolverhampton
Tues 31st December -George Hotel, Walsall

The Man Behind Them

Midland Beat #28. January 1966 - Price 1s.

  No. 28.   JANUARY, l966.  Price 1s.

Findos Keepers  Pictures: JIM SIMPSON  The Montanas

THE MAN BEHIND THEM

Something shared by two of Wolverhampton's top groups, Finders Keepers and the Montanas, is the enthusiasm of their manager, Roger Allen, who spends as much time as possible with the groups he represents.

Roger doesn't send his groups off to Germany then sit back in Staffordshire hoping that everything goes off well for them. He makes a point of visiting the venues they are booked into to check on the conditions for himself.

Mr. Allen went with Finders Keepers to Cologne and accompanied the Monntanas to Dillsburg and Frankfurt. And he was with another of his promising groups, Sheila Deni and the Black Diaamonds, in Wuppertal.

Apart from sending his own groups to Germany, Roger negotiates appearrances for others over there, but any groups paying a visit arranged by his agency have the satisfaction of knowing that he has first-hand knowledge of the venues concerned.

"I would be pleased to hear from any professional groups interested in workking in Germany." comments Roger Allen, whose offices are at 30 Merridale Street West, Wolverhampton.

The Montanas record for Pye - their first release was "All That Is Mine Can Be Yours" - and will be having a new disc in the New Year.

Their line-up is: Johnny Jones (lead. singer), Bill Hayward (lead guitar), Terry Rowley (bass guitar) and Graham Crew (drums).

So far, Finders Keepers have only had a record issued in France and Germany, but they should have a British release soon.

They comprise: Roy Kent (lead singer), Alan Clee (lead guitar), Jake Ellcock (bass guitar), Ralph Oakley (rhythm guitar) and David Williams (drums).

No specific Slade content in this one but Roger Allen was an important cog in their wheel. This article gives him more credence and helps us remove him from the 'third rate agent' pigeonhole. My thanks to Chris Selby for tracking it down.

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Roger Allen

Wolverhampton 1960

Roger 'Mad Dog Cole' Allen (centre left)
Is it me or does he look like John Kennedy?

In January 1966 Midland Beat gave the front page over to Roger Allen and his groups. The headline used was THE MAN BEHIND THEM. The story included the following paragraphs:

’...the enthusiasm of their manager, Roger Allen, who spends as much time as possible with the groups he represents.

Roger doesn’t send his groups off to Germany and then sit back in Staffordshire hoping everything goes off well for them. He makes a point of visiting the venues they are booked into to check on the conditions for himself.

Apart from sending his own groups to Germany, Roger negotiates appearances for others over there, but any groups paying a visit arranged by his agency have the satisfaction of knowing that he has first-hand knowledge of the venues concerned.'

While he was not a member of any of the groups, he was one of the most influential and flamboyant personalities on the local music scene. It was impossible to know him and not to have an opinion of him (good or bad, but never indifferent). He began promoting in a very small way from his front room in Merridale Street West in about 1963. He saw himself as Wolverhampton's own Brian Epstein.

His earliest work was via the Social Club at Courtauld's where he did an engineering apprenticeship. His first group, the Strollers, developed out of Courtauld's. Later he had responsibility for some of the area's most successful groups like the Black Diamonds, Californians, Finders Keepers, his personal favourites, the Montanas, and The 'N Betweens.

He was one third of the PMA organisation (Perry/Maddocks/Allen). He formed his own agency with offices in High Street, Tettenhall, hiring Maurice Jones who was the original manager of The 'N Betweens.

"Astra Agency was where we were at the start, with the old bands The Vendors and The ‘N Betweens as well. What happened was that Roger Allen also had an agency in Wolverhampton and he and Astra came together and became the Astra Allen agency."
Don Powell: The Slade Forum 2011

He joined with Astra to form Astra-Allen. In November 1967 he announced he was leaving agency work because of the pressures of other business interests. Roger Allen was extremely successful in negotiating recording deals for his groups.

He managed to arrange an audition for The 'N Betweens with Fontana Records and to this day none of them has any idea how he managed it! It was just typical of 'Mad Dog Cole' as he was known to the group.

He became their agent after their unfortunate experiences in the Bahamas. By that time he was part of the Nita Anderson Agency. In January 1968 he opened the Oasis Club in Berry Street. During the next few years he was to become involved in a number of business enterprises, including time-share in Tenerife and in Israel. All very typical of someone that Noddy Holder describes as a '60s version of Del Boy'.

*Bastardised from the excellent 2002 online book by Keith Farley. 'N Between Times: an Oral History of the Wolverhampton Group Scene of the 1960s . It's certainly worth a read.

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