World Cup Ball, Mayfair Ballroom, Newcastle 14.07.66 with Alan Price Set, Junco Partners, Gas Board,The Colts Camden Council approved plans to convert the first floor into office space and six flats on the second and third floors.

December 1968 – Central R&B Club, Central Hotel, Gillingham, Kent (Chatham, Rochester & Gillingham Evening Post)Tony Hooper, guitarist, was a tenant in the early 1960s. With Dave Cousins he founded The Strawbs in 1964. He left the band in 1972 and then re-joined them in 1983. Tony didn’t tell the landlady he was in a group and she was furious when she found out. The band members met to record a demo tape and the landlady’s daughter was told to run up and down a short staircase above their room, wearing hard, wooden ‘Dr Scholl’ sandals. The dreadful noise destroyed all hope of their recording. Keyboard player Jeff Bannister lived in Holmdale Road in 1972. He had worked with Alan Bown in the John Barry Seven who had supported visiting American acts such as Brenda Lee. When Barry disbanded the group in 1965 because of his increasing film work, Jeff joined Alan in the Alan Bown Set. Jeff sang and played organ and piano on the first singles produced by Tony Hatch, and then Jess Roden became the vocalist. When the Alan Bown Set split up in 1970 Jess Roden formed Bronco and Jeff played on their first album. In the mid 70s he joined The O Band and then toured with Charlie Dore and latter Gerry Rafferty. He continued writing songs and played on Joan Jett’s ‘Bad Reputation’. He also wrote the books, The Multichord for All Keyboards, and a history of The Alan Bown Set. Jeff is still performing today as a member of The Swinging Blue Jeans, which originated in Liverpool in the 1960s. May 1964 – Pussycat Club, Bruce Grove Ballroom, N17, London with The Zephyrs (Tottenham Weekly Herald) July 1967 – Oak Leaf Ballroom, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire with The Denmen and Steve Brown Soul Sect (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette) Jordan often liked to share amusing stories about Klooks. As he tells it, one evening two Decca Records executives entered the club and asked for opinions on two songs recorded by a contract singer of theirs named Tom Woodward. One song was greatly preferred over the other, and when it was released in 1965 under the artist’s new stage name, Tom Jones, “It’s Not Unusual” went to Number 1.

Edric was a pioneering calypso singer from Trinidad who came to England in 1944. In 1951 he brought the Trinidad Steel Orchestra to the Festival of Britain. In 1952 with his band Edric Connor and the Caribbeans, he recorded the album ‘Songs from Jamaica’. This included ‘Day Dah Light’ a version of which became Harry Belafonte’s big hit, ‘Day-O’, or ‘The Banana Boat Song’, in 1957. November 1968 – Gala Ballroom, Norwich, Norfolk with Journey Within (Fabulous 208/Eastern Evening News) Equally important, if you attended any of the gigs below or played in the support band, please do leave your memories below in the comments section for future historians to use. If you know of any missing gigs, please add them too, if possible, with the sources. October 1967 – Redcar Jazz Club, Redcar, North Yorkshire with The Skyliners (Dennis Weller, Chris Scott Wilson and Graham Lowe’s book)December 1967 – Westminster Technical College, Westminster, central London with Hamilton’s Blues Messengers (Melody Maker) Lemmy’ (Ian Fraser Kilmister) and ‘Philthy’ Phil Taylor, drums, were in Motorhead. Both lived at Tower Mansions during the late 1970s and 1980s. Motorhead was formed in 1975 and they have made twenty albums. Still performing today, Lemmy is the only remaining member of the original band. Born Norman McPhail Blair, Elwin’s obit in the local paper described him as, ‘one of the most recorded artists in the world.’ He made hundreds of 78rpm recordings under no less than 30 pseudonyms. He began in his native Glasgow singing ballads, moving on to popular songs and composing. In the 1920s and 1930s he regularly appeared with the Savoy Orpheans, the hotel’s big band led by the American Carroll Gibbons. There’s a short film of the band on British Pathe, http://www.britishpathe.com The Mike Cotton Sound's 45 appearances were made mostly on Thursday where they were effectively the house band. Williams and Jordan understood the importance of marketing and creating a unique brand image for their club. Other club owners would frequently complain about the large amount of free publicity Melody Maker gave to Klooks. Said Jordan, “I made frequent trips to their editorial offices in Covent Garden with bottles of scotch. I was told by someone at the magazine that Klooks was the only club that appreciated the art of giving.”

The owners appropriated the club’s name from a 1956 jazz album by drummer Kenny “Klook” Clarke called Klook’s Clique. You’ll note Clarke’s album title is appropriately punctuated in the singular possessive, while the club’s name (Klooks Kleek) is devoid of any punctuation, to the dismay of English teachers everywhere. In the end, the economics of a small club for 400 to 500 patrons just wasn’t sustainable. The Keef Hartley Band was the club’s last performer in January 1970. At the time of the club’s closing, membership had grown to 58,000. March 1968 – Redcar Jazz Club, Coatham Hotel, Redcar, North Yorkshire with The Friendly Apple (Dennis Weller, Chris Scott Wilson and Graham Lowe’s book/Middlesbrough Evening Gazette) Olivia was born in Cambridge in 1948 and went to Australia when she was five. Her father Bryn was an academic, who became the Dean of Ormond College, Melbourne University. She appeared on Australian radio and TV shows. About 1965 she returned to England and lived in Dennington Park Road. Her first single, ‘Till You Say You’ll Be Mine’, was recorded at the Decca Studios, Broadhurst Gardens, in 1966. Towards the end of the summer 1966 she met Bruce Welch, guitarist with The Shadows. He was 24 and married at the time, she was 17. They dated from September 1966 and lived together. In 1969 they moved from a flat overlooking Lords to Hadley Common, Tottridge. She became best known for her role in the film ‘Grease’ in 1978 with John Travolta. From then on her singing career blossomed and she still tours today. August 1964 – Attic Club, 1a High Street, Hounslow, Middlesex with The Ray Clevelands (Kingston & Malden Borough News)June 1967 – Supreme Eastern Esplanade, Ramsgate, Kent with Len Marshall Show (East Kent Times & Mail) Though not nearly as well known – especially among music fans on this side of the pond – was another venerable club with the very peculiar sounding name of Klooks Kleek. December 1968 – Malvern Winter Gardens, Malvern, Worcestershire with The Basin Street Jump Band (Malvern Gazette) Yet it drew crowds from far and wide every week with a reputation for having its finger on the pulse of up-and-coming talent.

A last-minute campaign has been launched to restore the legendary Klooks Kleek venue above The Railway pub in West End Lane. Finally, it’s the drummer’s turn for the spotlight. Ric Lee never lets up throughout the Summertime intro to his signature solo Shantung Cabbage. The physically and musically impressive solo draws enormous applause from what really seems to be a “musician’s audience.” But the truth is the solo is enjoyable and impressive to anyone, regardless of their musical knowledge, taste or ability. Incidentally, the two Lees are not related. October 1966 – Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with The Rogues (Fabulous 208/Evening Star) The Artwoods “Live at Klooks Kleek” was instigated by Mike Raven, a DJ/producer on the short-lived pirate station Radio Atlanta, which had become Radio Caroline South, by the time of the recordings in late 1964. The Artwoods had been so successful as authentic blues purveyors on a dozen interval spots at the club that they stepped up to topping the bill nine times before moving countrywide. The original tapes were transferred to vinyl for availability in June 2016 in the Record Collector magazine’s Rare Vinyl series.

Recommendations

September 1966 – Top Spot, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire with Mike Starr & The Citizens (Gloucester Citizen) October 1966 – Odeon, Cheltenham with The New Animals, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band, Eyes of Blue February 1969 – Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent with Dream Police (Folkestone & Hythe District Herald) U2 were very intense and Bono was mesmerising. The small hot club with its low ceiling was claustrophobic in a good way, if that is possible. Their short set left a great impression on me…” August 1967 – Kirklevington Country Club, Kirklevington, North Yorkshire (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)