Baston Playing Field

A series of eye-catching gigs held in a 140 foot, 1,000 capacity marquee on Baston playing field between 1966 and 1971. All the gigs were organised by the local Baston Community Association made up of Percy Rous, Keith Thompson, Louis Wakefield, A Thorpe and Dixie Howlett. Bookings were made through Dawn Promotions in Stamford via Ken Cox.

The marquee had a bar at one end and had an oak wood flooring in front of the stage with the rest of the marquee on grass.

Gigs included ……..

3rd September 1966 – The Size Seven Group + Sounds Force Five

20th May 1967 – The Intruders + The Nemkons

24th June 1967 – Joey Young & The Tonics + Sounds Force Five

9th September 1967 – Ossie Lane & The Red Hot Band + The Soulmates

25th May 1968 – La Pelenero + Ian Eves & The Reformation + Blue Starlight Steel Band

29th June 1968 – The Precious Few + The Caste

3rd August 1968 – Marmalade

7th September 1968 – PP Arnold

14th September 1968 – Dave, Dee, Dozy, Mick & Tich

12th October 1968 – The Craw Dads

7th April 1969 – The Equals

3rd May 1969 – The Love Affair

24th May 1969 – Simon Dupree & The Big Sound + The Mud

14th June 1969 – The Move

28th June 1969 – Bandwagon + The Epics

19th July 1969 – Fairport Convention

9th August 1969 – Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band

6th September 1969 – Bob Miller & The Millermen

20th September 1969 – The Globe Show

4th October 1969 – Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band

18th April 1970 – Juicy Lucy

9th May 1970 – Chicken Shack

25th May 1970 – Keef Hartley & The Dream Police

29th August 1970 – Yes

11th July 1970 – Black Sabbath

10th April 1971 – Flirtations + Thin Lizzy

3rd July 1971 – St. Cecilia 

Stilts

STILTS

Dates

1979 – 1981

Members

Chris Smalley – Bass and Vocals, John Cully – Guitar, Chris Allen – Keyboards, Steve Dunmore – Drums

Recordings

Only Demos.

Biography

Formed in June 1979, Stilts played the local Peterborough music scene as well as appearing at many USAF bases. Stilts covered rock songs of the day but with a difference from artists such as John Miles, Hustler and Elton John.

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Spalding Venues

Springfields

Suzi Quatro (1972 65p), Bay City Rollers (1974), Mac and Katie Kissoon, Ace, Mungo Jerry, Billy J Kramer, Patto, Wishbone Ash (1975?), Paper Lace, Chicken Shack

Drill Hall

Dave Clark Five, Screaming Lord Sutch, The Undertakers, Rocking Berries, The Redcaps, The Escorts

Red Lion Hotel

Pink Floyd ?

Savoy, Westlode Street

Eden Kane

Drill Hall, Stamford

Twink, Screaming Lord Sutch, Marianne Faithful, Hedgehoppers Anonymous, Crispian St Peters

Lansbury Hall, Stamford

Wharf Road

Contact Josie Smith her Dad Aspro Green used to Run the Place

Walker Brothers, Pretty Things, Cupids Inspiration, Spencer Davis Group, The Kinks, Lulu & The Luvvers

Corn Exchange, Bourne

1970 ? – Thin Lizzy

20 October 1972 – Thin Lizzy

1972 – Gary Glitter & The Glittermen

1973 – Bay City Rollers

The Glitter Band (two appearances)

Suzi Quatro (booked pre Can the Can – appeared after – tried to duck out !)

Jimi Hendrix

Hot Chocolate

Geordie (with Brian AC/DC Johnson)

Hello

Smokie

Mud

Chicory Tip

Jimmy James & The Vagabonds

Showaddywaddy

Other chart bands appearing in the early 1970s included Blackfoot Sue (with their hit single, Standing In The Road – 1972), Smokey (Living Next Door To Alice- 1973), Kenny (the Bump) and Hot Chocolate (at the time of their Brother Louie single in 1973). Another chart band making an appearance was Geordie, who had two Top 20 hits in 1972 and 1973, also making several appearances on Top Of The Pops. Although now largely forgotten, their singer, Brian Johnson, was catapulted into the spotlight after replacing the late Bon Scott as vocalist with AC/DC in 1976. Black Lace, performers of such classics as Agadoo and We’re Having A Gang Bang, also appeared at the Corn Exchange. Apparently, about twenty people turned up to see them.

Also worthy of note was an appearance by Mud (or more likely, Les Gray’s Mud), who were almost the Top Of The Pops house bands during much of the 1970s. Again, establishing an exact date has proved difficult, but I remember standing next to a rather frail looking Les Gray in the Nag’s Head lounge and it was several years after the last of the major hits, probably in the early 1980s.

Possibly forgotten by many is an appearance by Chicory Tip, whose greatest hit came with Son Of My Father, in 1972. Unusually, this appearance was in Wherry’s Warehouse, which was on the east side of North Street opposite Wherry’s Lane. It took place a year or two after the biggest hit single, but they were still sufficiently well known for it to have been regarded as a bit of a coup at the time.

In recent years, one of the very few well-known bands to play here was 1970s mega-band Wishbone Ash, although with only one of the original members. With few modern teen-appeal bands playing their own instruments of making appearances, it is the nostalgic, tribute acts or rock cover bands that make up the bulk of live music at a local level. Recent live tribute bands have mimicked Queen, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzie, AC/DC, Oasis and Abba, but it seems that local music lovers are now forced to travel well out of town to see bands playing original music.

Marcam Hall, March

Artists known to have played at Marcam Hall include …….

30 March 1963 – Emile Ford and Bobby Patrick & The Big Six
6 July 1963 – Dave Anthony & The Druids
17 August 1963 – James King & The Farinas (later morphed into Family)

18 January 1964 – Mike Dee & The Moquettes
25 January 1964 – The Zephyrs and Billy Storm & The Falcons
18 April 1964 – James King & The Farinas
2 May 1964 – Mike Dee & The Moquettes
4 July 1964 – Johnny Mike & The Shades and Guitars Incorporated
18 July 1964 – Jeff Curtis & The Flames
15 August 1964 – Cyrano & The Bergeracs
29 August 1964 – The Pretty Things and The Blobs
19 December 1964 – The Hollies

22 January 1965 – Fourmost and Jeff Curtis & The Flames
5 February 1965 – Simon Scott & Five Dimensions
19 March 1965 – Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders
9 April 1965 – The Escorts and Cyrano & The Bergeracs
8 May 1965 – The Honeycombs

15 May 1965 – The Animals
22 May 1965 – The Birds

29 May 1965 – The Kinks

5 June 1965 – Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders

12 June 1965 – Adam Faith & The Roulettes
19 June 1965 – Carl Wayne & The Vikings
2 October 1965 – The Walker Brothers with Quotations and James King & The Farinas (Walker Brothers never turned up ?)
16 October 1965 – The Checkpoints and The Penny Blacks
6 November 1965 – The Yardbirds and The Walker Brothers (needs confirmation)
27 November 1965 – The Spencer Davis Group and Gary Freeman & The Contours
11 December 1965 – The Clayton Squares and The Kobalts

18 December 1965 – The Small Faces

Lulu & The Luvvers – 1964/5

15 January 1966 – Gerry & The Pacemakers (needs confirmation)
19 February 1966 – Peter B’s Looners and Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds
26 February 1966 – The Fenmen and The Tribe
5 March 1966 – The Who
21 May 1966 – Jimmy Cliff & The New Generations (straight from the Flamingo, London) with B&3

18th June 1966 – the Inkspots + Bluesology who featured keyboards player Reg Dwight !

2 July 1966 – Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band
15 October 1966 – The Alan Price Set (replaced Moody Blues who had just disbanded)

Burnt down on 1st January 1978

Tracing Peterborough’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Origins

Tracing Peterborough’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Origins

The live music scene in Peterborough in the early 1950s hadn’t changed a whole lot since the early 1900s with big band fronted dance halls being where it was at for those seeking a good night out. You can trace early dance nights being advertised at the Co-Op Dance Hall on Park Road as far back as 1907 and, thanks to a huge surge in popularity during the Great War, dancing was breaking out at organised events all over the city from the 1920s onwards.

In 1929, the local Labour Party decided to christen their new HQ on Fitzwilliam Street as the Mansfield Hall after the city’s first Labour parliamentary candidate, Alderman John Mansfield and the Hall’s organising committee moved quickly to host dance nights in their very sizeable premises which rivalled the Queens Hall Palais De Danse on Queen Street which opened in late 1932 but appears to have only lasted just over a year.

The Mansfield Hall rapidly took over as the city’s established #1 live band venue through to the war years of the 1940s when, for a brief period of time, they were rivalled by the exotically named “Dujon Palais De Danse” above the Dujon Restaurant on Market Place who boasted nightly dancing to live bands from late 1943 through to 1946.

The war years had seen a huge resurgence in big dance nights and with the demise of the Dujon as a music venue, the Mansfield Hall team jumped in to rebadge their base as the “Mansfield Palais” and even the “Peterborough Palais”, confidently proclaimed it as the “biggest and best dance hall in Peterborough”. Big band names such as Ted Heath, Cyril Stapleton, Ray Ellington and Kenny Baker were regular visitors but the best known and most popular nights featured local band Dennis Martell and his Orchestra who were the resident band from 1947 to 1957.

Back in the city centre, the lack of a dedicated live music venue was about to change when, in 1953, Wisbech based entertainments entrepreneur and impresario Norman Jacobs set about bringing his successful entertainment formula to the corn exchange on Church Street with an agreed ten year lease. Jacobs had been securing access to decaying theatres and corn exchanges around the eastern region since 1942 and had introduced his formula of live music and roller skating nights with great success.

The Corn Exchange was rapidly modified – too rapid for some authorities – and, on 5th February 1954, Billy Ternant and his Band headlined the opening dance night with roller skating following two days later. Within days of opening, other residents of the building were complaining about the noise and with local authorities anything but convinced that it was equipped for purpose, the venue was soon pruned back to one Saturday night band slot and one Monday night roller skating slot ….. none the less, Jacob pressed on with modifications to increase capacity and the crowds started to grow.

Over the pond in America, Bill Haley was starting to whip up a rock ‘n’ roll frenzy with his Comets in 1954 and in 1955 a young Elvis Presley was pouring hi-octane fuel onto the fire. Here in the UK, with Peterborough as no exception, it was all about keeping a distant watch on what must surely be a brief “fad” but with the slow but steady arrival of early vinyl recordings and the launch of a rock ‘n’ roll show on pirate Radio Luxemburg, the younger generation were starting to enthusiastically welcome rock ‘n’ roll !

On 7th September 1956, the Peterborough Advertiser carried a front page headline of “Rock ‘N Roll Has Come To Town”. The event was not a live band but the showing of the movie “Rock Around The Clock” at The Embassy on Broadway. The article claimed that youngsters were rushing out to buy the records featured in the movie as well as looking to set up a “club” in the city.

Local reviews reported audience hysteria ranging from “brief out of time hand clapping” to “ignorant louts hooting, yelling, hissing and booing throughout while clapping hands and stomping feet out of time with the music” ….. sleepy Peterborough was clearly in shock !

In subsequent days, the fallout from the movie’s showing and the arrival on Peterborough streets of rock ‘n’ rollers continued in the local press. “These people must be fugitives from Borstal institutions” was one proclamation while another observer asked “I wonder do all these ill-mannered idiots live in Peterborough or were they imported for the occasion ?” !

Norman Jacobs observed events but was standing his ground. His Saturday night big band dances were filling the Corn Exchange and he was in no mood to abandon his winning formula but, not wanting to seem out of touch, he did leak to the Peterborough Standard later in 1956 that he was in negotiations to bring Bill Haley and his Comets to Peterborough for early 1957. There was little of substance to the story and Haley never came close but the news leak whipped up great interest in where he might be going with the Corn Exchange and Jacobs was clearly keen to appear as the “go to” guy.

The big band nights continued at the Corn Exchange throughout 1956 but Jacobs was now advertising “Rock ‘N’ Roll” music slots with the latest imported vinyl feeding the in-house sound system. As for taking the big step of bringing in an actual live rock ‘n’ roll band, he wasn’t ready for that one just yet but down the road, his rivals at the Mansfield Palais were about to make the move and be the first to bring a rock ‘n’ roll band to the city.

Although they had been the long established premier dance venue in Peterborough, having a rival right in the middle of the city was never going to bode well for the Mansfield Palais and with Jacobs also bringing in bigger name bands, the crowds started to migrate leaving the Palais in trouble. Could the new “rock ‘n’ roll” be their salvation ? Well on the 6th November 1956, they gave it their best and shouted loud and proud across the local newspapers that they were hosting the first rock ‘n’ roll band to play in the city !

The problem for the Palais was that rock ‘n’ roll to the enthusiastic  younger generation was all about Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Fats Domino, Carl Perkins and more …… all from over the pond. British rock ‘n roll artists were largely made up of mediocre Elvis impersonators and session musicians “having a go”. There were very few originals daring to go their own way with only Tommy Steele threatening to make it at this stage so the Palais graced their big rock ‘n’ roll debut night with the unheard of Don Sollash & his Rockin’ Horses !

Even now there is very little known about Sollash apart from he ran a record shop on the south coast in the early 1950s and in 1957 appeared in the rock ‘n’ roll movie “Rock You Sinners” which is universally acclaimed as one of the worst British movies ever made ! The gig drew an enthusiastic crowd to the Palais but their challenge of trying to represent the new exciting rock ‘n’ roll era before British artists were ready to support it was a dilemma that was ultimately going to cost them dear. The following week they hosted Rory “Shakes” Blackwell and his band The Rock ‘n’ Rollers (see below) who had already made the claim to be Britain’s first rock ‘n’ roll band but he was no Bill Haley and already the crowds were starting to lose enthusiasm.

The next big night for the city came early in 1957 when Tommy Steele played a six night, twelve show stint at the Broadway Embassy. Steele had struck out early on the circuit, he’d already made it into the charts and he was a proper artist playing the theatre circuit ….. not somebody chancing their arm. He was also a youngster at 20 and looked the part. Local Peterborough fans were out in big numbers every night, dressed for the occasion and serving up a level of hysteria that once again had the local newspapers rapidly jumping into defensive mode !

“It seemed incredible to me how the audience worked itself up into a frenzy over nothing. All I felt after 25 minutes was a dull throbbing in both ears and a desire to hear some decent music – repeat, music !” reported the Peterborough Standard reviewer. The young fans had refuelled their enthusiasm for rock ‘n’ roll and the Peterborough establishment had once again renewed its complete rejection of the new scene !

Despite the obvious enthusiasm for the Steele gigs, coupled with the site of Teddy Boys and other fans around the city every day, Norman Jacobs remained loyal to his big band crowds on Saturday nights but, in the Summer of 1957, he did start to entertain Skiffle groups via a number of Skiffle band contests. Skiffle wasn’t exactly rock ‘n’ roll but with Lonnie Donegan having crashed the #1 spot in the UK charts twice, he couldn’t resist checking it out and at least his big band routine had now been broken.

Back at the Mansfield Palais, big problems were afoot on two fronts. A series of “unsavoury events” inside and outside the venue had not only made the venue unpopular with the authorities but also with local residents who were tired of “drunks and thugs” outside and even inside their properties after events. The venue was fast gaining a bad reputation which was putting off more law abiding punters and coupled with their failure to secure regular or attractive rock ‘n’ roll bands, the management decided it was time to bring the curtain down on the Palais and declared itself finished as a Saturday night dance venue.

But, alas, before the sun had even set on the venue, a new venture was gearing up to try and achieve what the previous organisation couldn’t. Two young enthusiasts, former Palais manager “Chalky” Ladd and “young entrepreneur” Clive Smith moved fast to the point of announcing a new, skiffle and rock ‘n’ roll club at the hall and they even had the unlikely backing of city mayor George Smith, whose enthusiasm for the venture may have had something to do with Clive Smith being his son ! None the less, he boldly spoke to the young crowd on the 1st June 1957 opening night and proclaimed “I know there are a few people who don’t believe in this type of dancing but don’t listen to them. Adjust your minds to the new age in which you live, go ahead with your ideas, go ahead with your interests and go ahead with your rock ‘n’ roll !”

Behind him on the opening night stage were the venture’s big gamble. Knowing that securing attractive British rock ‘n’ roll artists would be tough, they re-engineered the successful 1947 Palais formula of having a regular band in residence. Back then it was Dennis Martell and his band ……. now it was The Thunderbolts, a newly formed rock ‘n’ roll outfit of sound musical capability but one that was strangely recognisable to some of the regulars. That was because The Thunderbolts were actually a group formed from several mainstream dance bands and even included Sid Blyth who had been a member of Dennis Martell’s band !

Not surprisingly, The Thunderbolts were a musically solid band but to the young audience they looked wrong. They were hardly hip swivelling teen stars and seeing the same band on a regular basis once again saw the crowds dwindling. The venue rushed to find new talent and brought in American bluegrass star Johnny Duncan and his Blue Grass band who were in the country on tour. They went down a storm and filled the venue but who next ? Answer was George Fierstone, a long established jazz drummer who was backing his own rock ‘n’ roll outfit but only around 150 turned up leaving the venue more than half empty. In desperation, the venue brought in Skiffle legend Chas McDevitt and his band ….. an established touring star who played to 900 fans the night before arriving in Peterborough for his gig on 21st September 1957. Again, only 150 turned up and that was that ….. the two organisers threw in the towel and the Peterborough Advertiser carried headlines “Failure Rocks the Rock N’ Roll Promoters”.

The Mansfield Hall was never to return as the Palais with Ladd and Smith claiming in late September 1957, “it must be down to the Mansfield having such a bad name in the city that people just won’t come ….. whatever the attraction”.

With the competition eradicated, the city’s entertainment menu was now in the hands of Norman Jacobs at the Corn Exchange and, ironically if not a little cynically, he jumped to bring in the Kenny Colson Band to headline his continuing dance band nights ….. the irony being that the band was actually The Thunderbirds, the old resident Palais rock ‘n’ roll band, reverting back to type as a dance band !

It took until 15th March 1958 for Jacobs to bring in and badge up a “rock ‘n’ roll” artist when he booked little known Bobbie Breen followed shortly afterwards by Terry Dene who was more of a “name” having charted several times and featured on TV’s Six-Five Special. With a good response to his new more varied entertainment, Jacobs continued to bring in pioneering British rock ‘n’ roll artists including Wee Willie Harris, another “I was first” act made up of a six foot something eccentric performer described by one reviewer as “gyrates like an exploding Catherine wheel, emitting growls, squeals and what sounds like severe hiccupping !”.

Rock ‘n’ roll artists, mainly British, became a regular feature at the Corn Exchange during 1959 and 1960 which at least prepared regulars for the venue’s hey-day in the early 1960s and the beat band era that brought in most of the A-List artists of those times.

It’s probably fair to say that the transformation from dance bands through rock ‘n’ roll bands to beat bands was a transformation that was always going to happen in the city one way or another so to attribute that transformation to any one person or venue would be wrong …… and anyway, in reality, the greater effort in Peterborough was made to stop it happening rather than to embrace it. However, the records show that it was the Mansfield Palais who were the first to bring in live rock ‘n’ roll acts even if that move was only made after Norman Jacobs had lured away their dance fans so maybe credit all round ?!!!

The Charioteers

Dates

1962 – 1969

Members

None

Biography

A Hinckley based band formed in 1962, initially as Mark Antony & The Chariots, then The Chariots and, in 1964, The Charioteers.

The band were formed at and initially rehearsed at the Hinckley YMCA club while playing “local” weekend gigs around Corby, Kettering, Huntingdon and Oundle as well as at the Granada Cinemas at Bedford and Kettering.

The teenage band grew fast in popularity, playing gigs at the American airbases at Molesworth and Alconbury and on 6th February 1965 they came to Peterborough to play the Palais in support of Freddie & The Dreamers.

The band hit the headlines in Peterborough when a misjudged effort by a screaming fan to cut the hair of the band’s 18 year old Peter Hemsley resulted in the lead guitarist being stabbed in the hand !

In later years, the band were signed to Friars Promotions, a Coventry based agency, which saw them cover all the main venues in and around Coventry and Warwickshire. The Charioteers built up a particularly strong fan base in Corby by virtue of doing “triple gigs” in one night ….. Corby Welfare Hall, followed by the Civic Centre and then finishing off at the Crows Nest all nighters !

Occasional headline gigs included support to Swinging Blue Jeans (Hinckley), Mojos (Huntingdon), Freddie & The Dreamers (Peterborough), Johnny Kidd and the Pirates and The Zombies, (Coalville), Spencer Davies, Chris Farlow and ELO (Birmingham), Geno Washington and Ram Jam Band (Earl Shilton).

David Hemsley in 2017 remembered, “I remember a night in Kettering at a club (think it was called “The Windmill”), when we were told by the management we had to stop playing at 11:30pm, as it was a Sunday, but the crowd thought we should be on until midnight.

It caused quite a bit of aggro, especially when we went to get into our van. A lot of people from the crowd were out there but it all ended well as we had a police escort out of town. It felt like we were the Beatles that night …… but for all the wrong reasons !”

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Norman Jacobs – King of Entertainment

Wisbech born and based Norman G Jacobs is arguably the single most important contributor to Peterborough’s musical legacy, having brought just about every major artist of the era to the city during the 1950s and 1960s.

Jacobs established his Jacobs Theatre Leisure Group in 1942 and bought up many rural theatres across Cambridgeshire, converting many to dual function roller skating and dance hall use with skating during the week and dancing on Saturday nights.

In January 1954, he brought his successful entertainment formula to the city when he secured a ten year lease on the Corn Exchange on Church Street. He immediately set about preparing the 106 year old building, investing £12,000 in seating, lighting, a sound system, neon signage and a brand new Japanese maple dance floor.Despite late protests from local police officials that the venue had been rushed into use, the 500 capacity venue opened on 5th February 1954 to the sound of Billy Ternent and his Orchestra.

Midweek roller skating and Saturday night dances to “name bands” became the established formula through to the early 1960s when Jacobs grabbed the opportunity to bring in top artists from the new “beat band” scene.

Top artists to appear at the venue included Gene Vincent, The Hollies, Helen Shapiro, Manfred Mann, Swinging Blue Jeans and The Tornados but the top act were undoubtedly the Rolling Stones who played the venue on 21st September 1963.

Jacobs reign at the Corn Exchange ended when his lease expired in 1964 despite his determined efforts to save the venue as the city’s top entertainment venue. New owners Norwich Union were determined to demolish the old building and replace it with offices and shops and, after several appeals had failed, the venue’s last stand came on 23rd May 1964 when The Ivy League were one of four bands on stage.

Determined not to be ousted from the city, Jacobs bullishly proclaimed that he would open a new “bigger and better” venue in the city very soon and in just over four months, he had purchased TG Hunters Garage on Wentworth Street and converted it into the Peterborough Palais.The opening night on 29th September 1964, featuring London based chart toppers The Honeycombs, saw crowds flocking into a venue that still had builders on site adding final touches but live bands were back, as was the Jacobs formula of midweek roller skating and Saturday night dances.

In the immediate years of the Palais, just about every major chart band of the era entertained city fans on a Saturday night including The Who, The Kinks, The Animals, Jerry Lee Lewis, Manfred Mann, The Byrds, The Moody Blues, The Small Faces, Tom Jones, The Yardbirds and even a youthful David Bowie.

By late 1966, Jacobs had decided to move away from live bands and focussed instead on the Roller Skating and, by 1967, the introduction of bingo as his main attraction at the venue brought to an end his 13 year contribution to the local music scene.

In 2015, his Theatre Leisure Group remains a going concern and Jacobs still owns a number of theatres in the region albeit still dedicated to bingo rather than music but his contribution to the area’s entertainment industry and his generous charity work was not lost on HM The Queen who, in 2008, awarded him an MBE ….. worthy recognition for the King of Entertainment !