After playing in club groups and appreciating other people’s music, Jimmy was now spending more time writing his own songs. Then in ’76 New York Kings of Punk the Ramones blitzed the bop and beat on a brat. This was the catalyst to form DisGuise.
It was May 1977 when White Spirit’s drummer Crash Crallan played with me and another Hartlepool musician Peter Scott at The Queens pub in Hartlepool. On the way home in the hired van we tried to persuade Crash to join us but he remained loyal to his mates said Jimmy.
As we approached a junction a young couple in a state of intoxication were having an altercation. As we drove past the young lass stepped back and fell under the van. I jumped out and sprinted the 200 yards home to ring for an ambulance, convinced she had died, we were relieved when we found out she hadn’t.
She had a nasty cut on her head and the lads took her to hospital. The next morning we returned the van and informed the hirer that the Police might wish to check some details, but we had already cleaned up most of the blood and vomit from the van.
The gig itself was recorded by our friend Dave Emerson on his trusty cassette recorder. This was used to entice Chiswick Records into taking an interest in us. We eventually recruited Alan Scully on drums.
At the time we thought we were really good and assumed we were going to be the next Big Thing, yet one by one other North East punky type groups came up from behind and overtook us.
It was 1977 and DisGuise had a club gig booked around the time when Elvis Presley had died in the August, Marc Bolan died in the September and it was the anniversary of the death of Jimi Hendrix. At the gig we played a Bolan song and a Hendrix song, completely forgetting about Elvis.
Unfortunately, the club was frequented by a lot of Teddy Boys who quickly took exception to the DisGuise performance. A common practice at Social Club gigs was for song requests to be written on a beer mat and handed to the artist during their performance. The one handed to Jimmy said ‘play Get Off by Nobody Likes You’. The song was written in the van going home.
LINK > ‘Get Off’ : https://youtu.be/Kpy32rgX2YQ
Confidence grew among the three members of DisGuise to where they gave up their day jobs to became full time musicians.
As did our three road crew! This of course meant that we were signing on for unemployment benefit.
It was September ’77 we had a gig at Longscar Hall in Seaton Carew, we were getting paid £30. We went across the road to Max Magic shop and blew it all on little disguise type masks which we threw out to the audience. The next week we were all called into the Benefit Office and had our dole stopped for working.
On 23rd October 1977 we were at Middlesbrough Town Hall opening for AC/DC. There was no time for a soundcheck, I recall running on stage and turning my bass amp to 11 and just going for it.
Afterwards we were invited backstage for a bit of socialising, but declined because we wanted to get home in time for Match of the Day. Also, during the AC/DC set I was in the wings of the stage when their roadie came over to ask if I had a safety pin. Of course I had one in the lapel of my jacket and he used it to great effect on a running mid song repair to Angus Young’s school shorts.
On 25th February 1978 we were booked for Middlesbrough Rock Garden with local group, Giantkiller. Over at Redcar Coatham Bowl, the Sex Pistol’s former guitarist Glen Matlock’s new group The Rich Kids were supposed to play but there was a power cut. So they contacted the Rock Garden to ask if they could play at our gig. Suddenly we were relegated to being first on, but we got our mad up and played well.
Later I was watching Giantkiller’s set when Glen Matlock sought me out to tell me that he enjoyed the DisGuise performance. Mind, he then asked to borrow my plectrum and my guitar strap – which he wore side saddle, which looked cool though he had to keep adjusting it as it slid off his shoulder. The Rich Kids set finished with Pretty Vacant – of course, with a two guitar chiming intro.
In June ’78 it was one of the Newcastle Bedrock Festivals, sharing the stage with some local youngsters called White Heat. I remember watching them soundcheck doing Dylan’s Lay Lady Lay and thinking oh dear is this what Newcastle rock is all about? I was wrong of course.
After our two-dimensional set White Heat went full on 3D with show-off frontman Bob Smeaton pushed to stage front by the explosive drumming of John Miller. John later joined Disguise in 1979.
DisGuise recorded one single for Chiswick records in December 1977, but it wasn’t released until November ’78.
I think someone from the Netherlands bought a copy and then errr nothing. So, our chance at fame had come and gone. The single chosen by Chiswick who were very keen on the song, was not representative of what we normally sounded like, it being rather polite pop.
I have recently been tidying up some of the other recordings from December 1977 and made them available as the 1977 And All That album, which redresses the balance a little.
The original DisGuise came to an end in Summer 1979. There were some on and off recordings with Peter and myself up until 1985 and some of these are available on VainGloriousUK.
LINK to DisGuise live in 1982 >
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPWvRXYhU5M&t=43s
Music is still a big part of Jimmy’s life…
Since then I’ve tricked and coerced musicians into feeding the needs of my songs. Gavin Bell on bass and Jason Bell – no relation but brothers in creative rhythm, are my go-to duo every time I want to start a bunch of new recordings. I will have a rough idea, shout out some chords to Gavin and songs take shape very quickly, even my peculiar ones.
LINK to Jimmy, Gavin and Jason performing ‘Mystery Singer’ >
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlGKn_DuyJ8
The website VainGlorious UK features biogs, books & music videos by North East bands. Jimmy explains…
Yes, it’s for bands who for one reason or another didn’t get that big break. When it came about it seemed a good way to finally store all my music, of course in the hope that others may pick up on it.
Check the official site >
Alikivi June 2024
ALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK CULTURE 