Author: Alikivi

SLADE in the SEVENTIES – with author, Darren Johnson

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I was encouraged by the reaction to my Sweet book and began work on one about Suzi Quatro, another big ‘70s icon that I’ve always been a huge fan of. However, the first band I truly fell in love with was Slade said author Darren Johnson.

Originally from the North West, Darren moved to London in 1990 where he spent over twenty years working full time in politics…

My professional background was in politics and campaigning so I’d written a lot about current affairs and had various articles published in the national press – from tackling climate change to building more council housing.

After stepping back from politics Darren moved out of the capital and in 2016 based himself in Hastings, East Sussex.

When I no longer had an endless cycle of meetings to attend, one of the things I was determined to do was go to more live gigs. I started writing a regular blog, reviewing gigs and albums, the music writing grew from there. You can say I came to music writing fairly late in life.

Who are you listening to now ?

I still love all my classic rock – from glam to prog to metal and everything in between. I’ve been really getting into Barclay James Harvest lately and snapping up loads of their albums on Ebay.

I also listen to a lot of folk, too. it all depends on my mood. Newer bands I’ve been impressed with include Scarlet Rebels, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard and Toledo Steel.

What inspired you to write about SLADE ?

Early on during lockdown I woke up after dreaming that I’d written a book about glam rock band The Sweet. I felt really proud of myself for all of half a second until I realised it was just a dream.

It did plant an idea in my head though, and later that morning emailed Stephen Lambe at Sonicbond Publishing to see if he was interested – and he was.

The Sweet in the 1970s was released in 2021. In their Decades series Sonicbond Publishing have released a number of extensively researched music books from different authors, bands include Curved Air, Uriah Heep and Alice Cooper.

I was a little kid back in the early ‘70s and while I remember them from that time, it wasn’t until Slade had their comeback in the early 1980s that I really got into them.

I was a young teenager by then and the Slade revival came at the right time for me. As soon as the single ‘We’ll Bring The House Down’ came out I was hooked.

A true Geordie hero was Chas Chandler, he was enormously important to the band’s success. After he stopped working with Jimi Hendrix he became their manager and producer.

Chas Chandler was born in Newcastle in 1938 and was founder member and bassist with The Animals. He owned recording studios and labels, and was influential in bringing the 10,000 seater Arena to Newcastle.

(Link below to a snapshot of the life of Chas Chandler in Home Newcastle, posted 8th July 2019).

Unlike with Hendrix, who enjoyed almost instant success with Chandler, it was a long hard slog for Slade. They didn’t have their first hit ‘Get Down and Get With It’ until 1971, two years after Chandler began managing them.

Chas’s role in helping define not only the trademark sound of Slade but the trademark sound of glam should not be under-estimated.

When it came to recording ‘Get Down’, Chandler had the genius idea of adding foot-stomping and hand-claps to toughen up the sound.

That sound became as intrinsic to glam rock as the moment Marc Bolan put glitter on his cheeks that same year. It was a sound that other producers of the era like Phil Wainman, Mike Chapman and Mike Leander would follow.

When researching the book did you come across anything unexpected?

I was familiar with Slade’s history and was well aware of the struggles they faced in the second half of the 1970s as the glam scene faded from fashion and were no longer flavour of the month.

But until I spent time in the British Library trawling through back issues of Sounds, Melody Maker and NME, I didn’t realise how vitriolic some of the music journalists where. One Sounds reviewer wrote that if he had written songs as bad as Slade, he’d commit suicide.

But once Slade had their comeback after a spectacular performance at Reading festival in 1980 – where they stepped in at the last minute after Ozzy Osbourne pulled out – the very same papers were raving about Slade once again.

What do the members of Slade think about the book ?

I’ve interviewed both Don Powell and Jim Lea in recent years and insights from those interviews appear in the book. Along with archive material from reviews, interviews and news stories, plus reflections from individual Slade fans. I will try and make sure Noddy, Dave, Jim and Don all get a copy of the book though!

Have you any plans for another book ?

I ended up writing three books in just over two years so made a decision to wait until this one came out before thinking about any more.

Writing and researching is a hugely rewarding and enjoyable process for me but I didn’t want it to become like a conveyor belt. I thought it would be sensible to let this one come out before I started another. I’ve had various ideas but not made any firm commitments yet.

In the meantime I’ve been writing various things for my blog and doing some PR work for a number of artists. I handled the tour publicity for the recent Lust For Life Tour which brought together Glen Matlock, Clem Burke, Katie Puckrik and others to celebrate Iggy Pop’s classic album with a series of gigs, which was a brilliant thing to work on.

Are you going to any gigs soon ?

I’m seeing Francis Rossi doing one of his talk shows in Hastings soon and I’ve also got tickets for Iggy Pop and Blondie at Crystal Palace in July.

Check the Amazon official website to purchase Slade in the 1970s release date 26th May 2023.

Read Darren’s music blog at:

https://darrensmusicblog.com/

For more information about Sonicbond publishing:

https://www.sonicbondpublishing.co.uk/

Contact Darren Johnson Writing, Music PR, Campaigns & Communications Support at Crowflies Communications

@crowfliescomms 

Chas Chandler : HOME NEWCASTLE – snapshot from the life of musician, manager and record producer Chas Chandler 1938-96. | ALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK (garyalikivi.com)

Alikivi  April 2023

THE RISE & FALL OF BOBBY THOMPSON

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When it’s finally time to leave the stage all entertainers would love to go out at the top and Sunderland born comedian Bobby Thompson was no exception.

At his peak performing in North East clubs, punters were packed in like sardines and in 1985 Bobby was interviewed on BBC TV’s Wogan Show.

But is there a reminder of his achievements anywhere in the North East, and what happened to Bobby? There is a story that he had a statue given to him by The Little Waster pub in Wallsend after it closed down.

One night Bobby was broken into, cash, jewellery, and gold records were bagged, but after opening a cupboard and seeing his statue the burglars fled empty handed after realising who the house belonged to.

The life of Bobby, aka The Little Waster, features in A Private Audience by Dave Nicolson. The book is packed with interviews from fellow performers, managers and family members, with a foreword by comedian Ken Dodd…

‘To have an audience in uproar, to help them forget their everyday problems and worries, if only for an evening, is an experience to treasure’.

Former manager Brian Shelley remembers…

‘At the height of popularity his fee in the clubs was between £300-£500 a night. He did theatres for £1,000 for an eighteen minute slot. He was riding the crest of a wave. Bobby had it all going for him in 1978 with his record out’.

Some people interviewed on this site have mentioned seeing Bobby’s act or working with him. Back in October 2019, David Wood, boss of Wallsend’s Impulse studio, told me a story with a surprising ending.

I knew his manager Brian Shelley, he said Bobby is doing really well around the clubs do you fancy recording him ? I thought yeah we’ll give it a go.

We recorded him in Rhyope Club and Newcastle Mayfair around 1978. It was around an hours recording we put out and got Vaux breweries to sponsor it. Ironically Bobby didn’t drink then and there he was on a promo poster with a pint of beer.

Soon as we put the record out it took off, straight to number one in the local charts. Every shop was selling bucket loads, they couldn’t get enough off it. It was phenomenal.

With the profit from Bobby’s album the studio came on in leaps and bounds. We started the Neat heavy metal record label as an alternative to what we were doing.

We released a couple of singles then the Tygers of Pan Tang, Raven and Fist came along and suddenly we’ve got what became a New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Venom added to that and before we knew it we’ve built up a library of heavy metal singles. So yeah we’ve got to thank Bobby for Neat records.

Actor & musician Pete Peverly

In September 2019 I talked to actor and musician Pete Peverly who performs as Bobby in a tribute show. If he had a posh accent would he have appeared a lot more on TV and topped the bill on UK tours ?

His accent wasn‘t just Geordie it was Pitmatic, that’s very strong, and yes it was a barrier but one of the reasons why he didn’t make it outside the region was because I think he didn’t want to, he had everything up here.

He might have had more ambition in the early part of his career when he was doing Wot Cheor Geordie for the BBC. Maybe he thought about pushing it further but certainly not during the ‘70s.

All the other regional comics and entertainers who made it nationally were all-rounders, actors, comedians, song and dance men, Bobby wasn’t. He was a pit comedian from the Durham coalfields talking specifically to that community.

Actor, writer & theatre producer Leah Bell

One performer who worked with Bobby was actor, writer and theatre producer Leah Bell. I talked to Leah back in July 2021 and asked her what was he like to work with?

I worked with Bobby Thompson a lot, he was a nice man. His act was of its time, the poverty, the war – very funny.

We done a panto in Newcastle Theatre Royal with David Jason (Only Fools and Horses). David didn’t know Bobby Thompson at all, Bobby never rehearsed with us, there was no interaction.

So Bobby done his cabaret piece at the start of act two, and afterwards backstage would shuffle around saying hello to people.

David used to say to me ‘What a shame for that old fella, fancy having to work at his age, I’ve just given him some money for a cup of tea’. I said ‘What ! He gets dropped off in a limousine (laughs)’. 

One night David said ‘He’s never in the finale, it’s nice of the theatre to let him go early, he must be tired’. Really, Bobby was doubling up and playing the late spot at Newcastle Mayfair.

Bobby had great delivery, clear, distinctive and not draggy. It can sound like he’s just talking along but it’s not, it’s very precise. He was a one off.

Comedian, Bobby Pattinson

Another North East comedian, Bobby Pattinson, is interviewed in the book.

‘Over the years I gave him bookings at my club. I never saw him as a rival, but regarded him as a friend even though people told me he didn’t have a good word for me’.

‘Most North East comics were content to go on stage in any order, Bobby always wanted to be last, he interpreted that as top of the bill. But he wasn’t as successful as I hoped when I booked him in December 1981 and had to cancel sixteen shows’.

In his detailed introduction, author Dave Nicolson tells us…

‘Bobby had success and money through the golden years, but he also had loneliness. The last few years were embarrassing for him, empty tables and chairs told him the harsh truth. Even the examiner at his bankruptcy hearing in 1986 was kind and considerate’.

‘Having lost the company of an audience his feeling of loneliness and isolation intensified. Spending late nights at Newcastle’s Casino Royale and the roulette wheel provided his nightly stage’.

Sadly, Bobby died on Saturday 16th April 1988 in Preston Hospital, North Shields. Family and friends attended his funeral with a fellow comedian adding a one liner that summed up Bobby Thompson…

’He’s late because he’s found out there’s another funeral after this and he wants to go on last!’

Alikivi   May 2023

Research: Bobby Thompson, A Private Audience by Dave Nicholson.

Printed & published by TUPS books 1994.

Links to full interviews:

‘Take a Bow’ with Leah Bell 21st July 2021.

TAKE A BOW – writer, actress & theatre producer, Leah Bell | ALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK (garyalikivi.com)

‘Centre Stage’ with Pete Peverly 16th September 2019.

CENTRE STAGE in conversation with North East entertainer Pete Peverly | ALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK (garyalikivi.com)

‘The Fixer’ with David Wood 13th October 2019.

THE GREAT NORTH EAST METAL RAID – Satan, Raven, Tygers of Pan Tang & Mythra

/ Alikivi

Don’t know if you’ve noticed but lately Tyneside’s metal bands are warming up ready to hoy the whole kit and caboodle into the pot, taking everything with them and leaving nowt and no one behind. Are you ready for the Great North East Metal Raid?

They first plugged in around the 1970s and never in a million years did they think they would still be dancing with the devil 50 years later. So a quick update on where they are now and what they are doing is in order.

Firing off instant messages and communicating directly to followers on social media is used to full effect by the Tyneside Metal Raiders with a message from Raven loud and clear…‘The album has to be all killer no filler, no messin’ around with 19 minute epics, its smash yer face in with an ice pick. The title sums up everything we do. We wanted to tear it up, which is what Raven are all about’.

The forthcoming album from the Godfathers of Thrash, ‘All Hell’s Breaking Loose’ is released on 30th June 2023. Contact for sales, tours, photos & info: Raven | Official Raven Lunatics Website

After releasing three singles ‘Back for Good, Fire on the Horizon’ and the epic, ‘Edge of the World’, Tygers of Pan Tang officially release their ten track album ‘Bloodlines’ on 5th May 2023.

‘A week after its release we’ll be celebrating Bloodlines at the Nordic Noise Festival on 12th May in Copenhagen with our record company who are of course, based in … Copenhagen. They have promised us that the drinks are on them’.

Contact for sales, tours, photos & info: Tygers Of Pan Tang – The Official Site

After six albums and countless UK & European tours, battle hardened Satan reached out to the United States again this year.

‘After kicking off the Hell’s Decibels tour at the legendary Whiskey a Go-Go on the Sunset Strip in April, Satan had a blast touring the USA with Night Demon and Haunt. You guys were a pleasure to work with, brothers forever and a piece of my heart will be with you until the end of time’.

Satan frontman, Brian Ross

Contact for sales, tours, photos & info:

SATAN

Mythra are one of the original New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands. They recorded their legendary ‘Death & Destiny EP’ in 1979.

‘The new album ‘Temples of Madness’ is out now and has been available in Brazil and USA for a week or so. We’ve started to sell them through our on line shop and business is pretty brisk’.

Contact for sales, tours, photos & info: Home | Mythra (bigcartel.com)

Alikivi  April 2023.

FAMILY & FRIENDS – in conversation with former Southbound songwriter & guitarist George Lamb

/ Alikivi

Southbound were active around the North East in the 1970s. The Sunderland band were regulars on the workingman’s club circuit, supported New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands Raven and Tygers of Pan Tang at Newcastle Mayfair, and had a residency at the Gosforth Hotel in Newcastle.

Southbound have already featured on this site, interviews with Mick Kelly and the late Alan Burke have proved to be popular. To discover more of the Southbound story and find out what he is up to now, I met up with George at The Littlehaven Hotel in South Shields.

Growing up it was a very musical house. Although I knew that my Dad’s voice was classically trained, I never found out till late that he went to lessons for ten years. My mother used to sing and my brothers and sisters were also into music. We had a guitar and piano in the house, I took a few piano lessons and changed to guitar when I was 11 year old.

I served my time as a sheet metal worker in Jarrow and worked for another year, but it was too much with the amount of work Southbound were getting on the North East circuit.

Southbound had three sets, one all original material, then another playing Eagles, America West Coast stuff, and then more poppy stuff to get paid in the clubs. We were out regularly every week, in fact a few times we played nine gigs in one week!

The Ivan Birchall agency had us in the clubs till 10.30pm, get your gear off stage then double up and go do a night club, then a Sunday afternoon gig.

But our stomping ground was The Gosforth Hotel where we took over the residency from Sting’s band, Last Exit. Sting went to London and joined The Police, we were fortunate to get the residency.

He came to one of our shows around the Roxanne days, he had the dyed hair, the leather jacket, he’d be stood at the bar and we had a few words with him – nice fella. Playing the Hotel was good for us, it would get packed, the queue to get in would sometimes be out onto the street.

There were a few line ups of Southbound but when we were becoming popular there was myself and Alan Burke on guitars and we wrote the songs. Mick Kelly on drums, bassist was Dave Giles and Mal Troughton used to sing with the band. There is a photo of us standing against a van, this was taken around 1975 or 76.

I’m racking my brains here but Mick Kelly was great for all the names and dates, a real memory man for the venues we played. (Interview with Mick on this site – All Right Now 13th March 2019)

When punk came in 1976 the record companies saw us as old hat, they all wanted punk bands. But we still packed venues out and had a good following.

We played Newcastle Mayfair with Tygers of Pan Tang, we played with Raven and headlined there in our own right. Obviously, played the Sunderland Mecca a few times, some good gigs at Newcastle Guildhall and the Bedrock festival.

Bob Smeaton, who is a very successful film maker now and a great lad, used to be singer in Newcastle band White Heat and when they weren’t gigging he often used to jump in the van with us and help out with the gear.

Tom Noble, who manages Tygers of Pan Tang now, used to work on the Bedrock BBC North East radio programme during the 70s and 80s, he worked alongside Graeme Thomson. They managed a band I was in with Phil Caffrey called The Lions Share and then Caffrey. We got a publishing deal on the back of that band.

Graeme’s brother Steve, was engineer at Impulse Studio in those days and he recorded four songs on a Southbound demo. Actually, he released them on Cherry Red label not long ago. We also recorded at Linx studio in Newcastle.

In hindsight if we had more of our heads screwed on and business focused it might have been different, but we were just having a good time spending most of our money on brown ale and curries after gigs in the restaurants on Ocean Road in South Shields.

George and his musical brother Alan Burke at Newcastle Mayfair.

Looking back to those times we just took it in our stride and loved being with our mate’s playing music. You know Southbound never really fell out, we might have had an argument here or there but no, we were all good mates having a lad’s night out and getting paid for it.

After Southbound I teamed up with Phil Caffrey in a song writing partnership, we had a publishing deal with Axis music which was a subsidiary of EMI. We used to write songs and go down to London and record them. We were signed and managed by a guy called Nigel Thomas.

Nigel also managed the Heavy Metal band Saxon, Joe Cocker and Kiki Dee who recorded one of our songs and put it out as a single. This went on one of Kiki’s albums, Angel Eyes, with the likes of Dave Stewart and Daryl Hall, it was just nice to get our names to something like that. Nigel also managed Keith Emerson and Lynsey De Paul so we did some work with them.

It was late 80s when Saxon were recording a new album at Hook End Manor Studio in Berkshire, which had been Dave Gilmour’s house. It was a residential studio with horse stables in the grounds, a great facility, we were down there about a week. The Saxon lads were great.

Def Leppard had a huge album at the time (Hysteria, released 1987) with big sounds and plenty vocals on. The Saxon album (Destiny, released 1988) was nearly finished they just wanted to experiment with block harmonies using four male voices.

Through our manager Nigel Thomas, Phil Caffrey and I got the job, we got paid the session fee. There was another guy managed by Nigel called Steve Mann, who now plays with the Michael Schenker group.

We were waiting in the studio for the fourth male vocalist when in walked an old Sunderland friend of mine – Dave Taggart. I said ‘what you doing here?’ he said ‘what you doing here?’! I couldn’t believe it. Just a massive coincidence.

(Formerly in Danceclass, Dave now plays in the Belinda Carlisle band. An interview with Dave features on this site – Music Still Matters, 15th April 2018).

Dave told me that Stephan Galphas produced the album by Sunderland band Well, Well, Well and he had recorded some backing vocals on it. Stephan’s next project was producing the Saxon album and he asked him to come down and put some backing vocals on Destiny.

Don’t know how successful the album was but I heard the single Ride Like the Wind on national radio a few times.

Actually, we asked Dave to join Southbound at one time but he was playing with Tony McAnaney. Later I did record some backing vocals on the Jimmy Nail album they were working on, Crocodile Shoes.

What am I doing now? Well during lockdown I invested in a home recording set up, I’ve always worked with a porta studio facility writing and recording songs, but this was an upgrade to a digital studio. So late in life I learnt how to record properly and put down a lot of songs.

I originally had 50 then whittled that down to 12, I was doing  drums, guitar, vocals, all recorded solo, a one man band. I hadn’t thought about releasing them.

Then I lost two musical brothers, Alan Burke, original guitarist in Southbound and Richard Archibald, who also played in a late Southbound line up. He also played in the Big Picture, a band from Sunderland amongst others.

This made me think profoundly differently. Why not release these songs on an album and why not ask friends of mine if they want to get involved? So I did, and was absolutely blown away when they all said yes. The album is called Family and Friends because that’s who’s on it!

Family & Friends album inner sleeve.

It includes North East musicians Dave Ditchburn, Phil Caffrey, Don Airey, George Shovlin, Archie Brown, Terry Slesser, Emma Wilson and more, plus my brothers and sisters. I got some great performances.

The album got some great reviews and was in the blues charts at number two – Buddy Guy pipped me to the post!

At first I thought the logistics of playing it live would be too difficult, but after a longer think I went ahead and touch wood, after getting all our diaries synched up I’ve booked The Fire Station in Sunderland on the 10th June 2023. I’m really looking forward to it.

The Fire Station auditorium is a fabulous place. I had the tour looking on stage, checking the sound system and back stage – it’s a great place.

As a house band I’ve got ex Showbiz Kids guitarist Pat McMahon, Paul Wilson on keys, ex Circus and Lucas Tyson bassist John Taylor on bass, Jim Bullock on harmonica and not one but two drummers, Ian Hamilton and Barry Race.

Everyone on the album apart from Don Airey can make it – he’s touring with Deep Purple that night. Don’s a lovely bloke he still keeps in touch with his Sunderland roots.

Looking back at the Southbound days, we weren’t striving to make it we were just enjoying the journey, making it wasn’t the main focus. We were young kids playing in our bedrooms, wrote a few songs then took it to the next stage and it was great fun. We were just dead lucky.

I never thought in a million years that here I am 66 year old and still doing it …I still feel that I’m dead lucky!

Click here to buy tickets for The Fire Station on 10th June 2023

George Lamb – Family & Friends

To buy Family & Friends CD contact the official website at: georgelambmusic.co.uk

The album is available to stream on Spotify, I-Tunes, Apple Music & Amazon music.

Alikivi   April 2023

YOU NEED TO SAY SORRY – new play by writer & actor, Alison Stanley

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As well as being on a BBC Hot Housing writing programme, Alison has scripted Theatre in Education programmes for schools, written two short films for festivals, and also found time to tour the North East and played venues in London and Edinburgh with three of her full length plays – Hard, Bedsocks & Secrets and Life Of Reilly.

With all that you’d think Alison had enough on her plate, but added to her ‘to do’ list this year are another two projects.

Her play Life of Reilly is being produced by the Leah Bell theatre company. An interview with writer, actress and theatre producer Leah features on this site in Take a Bow, 1st July 2021.

We open with Reilly in May in the North East and then go on an autumn national tour. I’m really excited about this as it’s a great opportunity said Alison.

The old saying of if you love what you’re doing you never work a day in your life – that’s so true. My work is my passion and I’m passionate about telling stories of everyday people through writing and acting.

Alison has wrote about diverse subjects such as autism and sex workers, for her new play she has decided to tackle domestic abuse and control in relationships.

For research and during the writing process I had advice from Northumberland Domestic abuse services, Age Well Northumberland and also accounts of lived experience.

I’ve found that other plays on this subject tend to centre on younger people but my play is different as it looks at the relationships from the perspective of two people in their late sixties.

This play also looks at how they find their way around social media which is a relatively new thing for them as they haven’t grown up with it and they’re still finding their feet. This often leads them to be vulnerable, as they tend to take everything at face value.

The two characters, Viv and Bill, have met on-line and arrange to meet. Viv is conscious of keeping safe, so on advice from her daughter they meet during the day in a busy coffee shop. They get on well.

The male lead is to be confirmed soon, the female lead is played by Leslie Saint John. Leslie has acted in a number of TV roles including Byker Grove and Catherine Cookson film The Girl, but notable in her role as the glamorous Vicky in the classic TV series Auf Wiedersehen Pet. Interview with Lesley on this site at Talking Pictures 19 February 2020.

Throughout the play there are ‘flash forwards’ where the audience get to take a look into the future to see what life will be like should the relationship develop. During these flash forwards we get to see the real Bill.

The abuse starts as a slow burn with Viv cut off from friends and family. Bill controls her finances and becomes physically violent.

Whilst the subject matter is serious and dark, the real time conversation in the coffee shop is light and I hope in some instances hilarious. I want the audience to feel almost guilty for laughing at Bill.

In one episode in the coffee shop they both declare they’ve had a lovely time and will do it again. I want the audience to be almost shouting out ‘don’t do it!’

As a writer my work is observational and a lot of what I’ve seen and heard goes into this. I think this play will draw attention to older people in this situation and make people aware this is a problem not restricted by age.

‘You Need to Say Sorry’ opens in Laurels in Whitley Bay on June 22nd and runs till July 1st 2023, tickets are on sale now.

Find out more about Alison in an earlier interview on this site at Dream Catcher 3rd & 5th June 2021.

Alikivi    April 2023.

RADICAL ROOTS in conversation with Local Historian and Teacher, Peter Sagar

/ Alikivi

Peter is employed by Gateshead Council teaching one to one lessons with pupils who don’t go to school. 

He also goes into primary schools to teach aspects of local and regional history.

It’s a great feeling when a kid you have helped returns to school. One of the mothers got in touch saying two years after I stopped teaching her daughter to say that she had gone on to do A levels at Gateshead College.

From his North East history research, Peter has collected many stories and compiled them together for a new book – Radical Roots – the Human Rights History in the North East.

There are many interesting, positive stories of how people struggled for their own rights and fought for the rights of others too.

On the front cover is a picture of the Earl Grey monument in Newcastle city centre….

The writing on it is not about tea! It signifies people getting more rights to vote and the abolition of slavery because North East people have always campaigned for their own rights and worked for people across the world to get their human rights.

The fight against slavery was strong, for example in 1792 down at Newcastle Guildhall there was a petition of 3,000 signatures against slavery, which was quite a large percentage of the people living in Newcastle at the time.

We can protest about what is happening thousands of miles away or about our neighbours having to use a food bank. I don’t see a division there, it’s about human dignity and decency, where ever the person lives and whoever they are.

We can’t just fight for the rights of one group and not the other, it’s about everybody having the same rights.

My mum brought me up right, she taught me about Human Rights and in Newcastle there is an Amnesty book shop that I helped set up on Westgate Road in 2002.

We talk about women’s rights but how many Northumberland kids are taken to see the suffragette Emily Davison’s grave in Morpeth? I think it should be mandatory to learn about our history.

Kids are taught art and music from around the world which is great don’t get me wrong, but if they don’t know culture and history from their own area first, how can they relate art and music from around the world to everyday life?

In Radical Roots there are stories I think we should all know, and I’m still learning about our North East history.

We teach pupils about the Holocaust, Anne Frank and what she wrote in her diaries. But we don’t teach about the connection to the Durham Light Infantry and their role in the Relief of the Belsen camp.

I went to Hartlepool and interviewed the son of a DLI soldier whose father was there at the time of the relief and just after Anne Frank’s passing.

During the First World War, footballer and munitions factory worker Bella Reay played for Blyth Spartans, her story also features in the book.

(Bella Reay features in a play by South Shields playwright Ed Waugh, post 3rd December 2021).

I also took the presentation to a school in Cramlington. The teacher linked in the work by the Pitmen Painters, who aren’t in the National Curriculum, but linked them to the work by the artist L.S. Lowry – who is in the National Curriculum, which I thought was great that they saw the connection.

Also featured in the book is the Yemeni community in South Shields and the riot that happened in August 1930, and we discover why it happened. It also mentions over a number of years the eventual assimilation of the Yeminis into South Shields, some through inter-marriages.

I have worked with the Roma community on Tyneside. There are around 6,000 in Newcastle. If you’re a community coming into a place you have to have something to offer, rightly so, and it’s usually through their music or food.

Look at the Chinese or Indian. Bringing something goes down well because they don’t have the language.

The Irish came over to Tyneside as early as the 1850s after the famine. Jarrow has a big population of Irish. I think the Roma can look at what the Irish did with their music, while keeping their own identity.

Some of the Roma musicians that we have on Tyneside today are amazing. Perhaps one day there will be a Roma centre on Tyneside like the Irish Centre in Newcastle.

When I do a presentation about the Roma in schools, I finish with a power point picture of TV entertainers Ant and Dec. I ask people how many of you would describe them as Irish superstars? No hands. Then I ask how many would describe them as Geordie superstars? All hands go up!

But both their surnames and background are Irish and who is to say that kids from Newcastle in thirty to forty year time with a Roma background won’t be doing the same on TV?

Now I’m working in schools talking about the North East mining heritage which I think is important to remember. It is important to remember the community spirit and the great innovations, but we’ve got to keep fossil fuels in the ground now and work towards green energy and get the kids to understand that.

Hopefully we can get them to stand up in the future and shout for the North East to get more green investment, after all 20,000 County Durham miners lost their lives providing energy in the past.

It’s quite moving talking about the mining heritage, and in County Durham it’s all documented about 8 or 9 year old kids losing their life down the pit and that brings it home to kids of the same age.

I’ll also be at the Durham Miners Gala talking about this, that there was a lot to be proud of, but certainly not pointing the finger saying you caused all the problems of Climate Change.

Although we know now we need to develop green energy,  without coal in the past we might still be stuck with the same lifestyles as the 18th century.

To contact Peter and buy copies of Radical Roots – the Human Rights History in the North East

send email to: peter0462@gmail.com.

Alikivi    April 2023.

CRAMLINGTON TRAIN WRECKERS FILM EVENT with South Shields playwright, Ed Waugh

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A talk about the Cramlington Train Wreckers was held last month at Cramlington Hub, Northumberland (see post 16th March 2023).

The Wreckers were a group of striking miners who uncoupled a train full of blackleg miners in the General Strike of 1926.

Organiser & South Shields playwright Ed Waugh got in touch about the talks…

“The Wreckers meetings went great, the support for the talk was overwhelming with more than 160 people turning up”.

“The latest news about the Cramlington Train Wreckers is that we’ve secured rights to the 30-minute BBC film ‘Yesterday’s Witness’ made in 1970. We’ll be showing it this summer on Wednesday, July 26 at 2pm and 6.30pm”.

“The event will also have a speaker and hopefully songs plus more recitations – it’ll rock. Due to demand for tickets to the March 30th talks, the events are guaranteed to sell out. So not to be disappointed, I’d advise you to get your tickets early, they are only £3 each”.

To purchase tickets for Wednesday, July 26 @ 2pm or 6.30pm at The Hub, Cramlington contact:

2pm: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-cramlington-train-wreckers-a-30-minute1970-bbc-film-tickets-607220852917

6.30pm: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-cramlington-train-wreckers-a-30-minute1970-bbc-film-tickets-607187172177

Alikivi   April 2023

MAKING PLANS in conversation with former BBC/Generator/Evolution & Honorary Geordie, Sue Wilkinson

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Having taken voluntary redundancy from the BBC after 25 years, Sue’s last job was as TV Development Producer, she is now semi-retired and working freelance.

But during the 90s Sue was involved with the North East music scene working at Generator and managing bands in Newcastle.

‘I guess I’m a bit of a career chameleon’ said Sue.

Originally born in Liverpool, the family then moved to Manchester where her father was a Graphic Artist.

‘I picked up my creative side from him. At school there was a group of us reading the music press, I went from listening to poppier sounds of Cat Stevens to serious stuff like Led Zeppelin.

When I completed my A levels punk was just on the cusp and we went to see bands like Buzzcocks and The Adverts at sweaty clubs like Eric’s. I was really into the whole punk thing listening to the Pistols and The Clash.

After University I started work as a Graduate Town Planner with North Tyneside Council. I didn’t have long term plans to stay in the North East but I loved the vibe of Newcastle. Now I’m an honorary Geordie!

My patch was North Shields, Whitley Bay and Tynemouth, things have changed dramatically down the riverfront area, it was fascinating working there.

I also worked at Sunderland Civic Centre and Newcastle on the planning team – this is a weird way of starting to talk about the North East music industry. But I wanted to make a difference in terms of helping communities, living in a better environment, helping people make a better life, and hopefully did that through music.

When I left planning, I started work at Newcastle University in the Centre for Urban and Regional Development, a research unit rather than teaching. Northern Arts funded a project there called Cultural Industries Research Unit, helping communities through the arts.

My colleague James Cornford and I were asked to look at a new project and we chose popular music. Sheffield had been flying the flag providing rehearsal space and studios so we thought we could give that a go as James had been in bands and I loved music.

Plus, I had already written a published article around culture in the North East and done a lot of research around the subject. We spoke to a few hundred musicians and people who ran recording studios and record labels – small or large.

We found there wasn’t enough venues or rehearsal space for bands, they couldn’t get out on tour it would cost an arm and a leg and there weren’t any showcase gigs. Investment was needed to support DIY musicians – they needed a leg up.

We put the findings together and put forward a plan called Sound of the City. This was three events across Tyneside, hundreds of people attended which created more ideas. One was for an umbrella organisation to pull it all together, a one stop shop for support, advice and help – that’s how Generator came about’.

‘The name was perfect because the aim was to generate a profile of the North East music scene which had been non- existent up till then – apart from big names like Sting and Mark Knopfler.

As well as Generator Management Committee meetings, Dave Cross and I met several times weekly to do behind the scenes work at the Riverside live music venue. What came from our meetings was a need for showcase gigs and working with promoters to develop a venue in their area, we covered the North East and Cumbria.

Generator was there to help musicians kick start their career, we wanted to be central in supporting emerging talent and artists, or just be creative and have better facilities to enjoy what they were doing’.

The first event billed as Generator Live Music Explosion was at the Riverside in Newcastle on Saturday 25th January 1992 included Candleman Summer from South Shields, The Hangarounds from Gateshead, Procession from Teesside, Greedsville and This Is This from Newcastle.

‘The event went on all day generating a lot of press, many thanks to all the sponsors who came onboard donating time, money and facilities.

All of the bands were original not tributes, and although some didn’t get record deals the members went on to do other stuff. Dave Denholm from This Is This ended up in Lindisfarne’.

‘Around 1992 Greedsville fell in my lap (interview with  guitarist Clive Jackson on 22 Feb 2023). I loved them, very creative in their outfits especially Pete Turner the singer. One outfit was a Chinese mandarin hat and shoes with curly toes.

They had their own way of doing things and were always good on publicity and presentation getting a review in Kerrang and local mag Paint it Red. They also had the idea of slotting their cd album into tiger print bags and sending them to press and media.

By now we had been working on Generator a few years and were based in the Black Swan Arts Centre on Westgate Road. We’d publish regular newsletters promoting bands and events including tips for how to plaster your name across the media, developing a press strategy, even make sure you arrive on time for an interview on radio or TV. Basically, how to get on in the music industry.’

‘Bands would submit demo tapes and we’d choose from them what bands to have on the showcase gig, and we were becoming more ambitious adding art, design, films and music seminars.

The more events we put on the more interest we created with label scouts popping into gigs to see what we had. Rather than a regular weekly gig, we spread out the dates of gigs to make them an event’.

Northern Exposure was held 11th-19th June 1994 including Profundo Rosso, Crisis Children, Blyth Power and the wonderfully named Delicate Vomit.

The MPS and Musicians Union were involved in the seminars dealing with publicity, royalties and copyright.

‘We became good at publicity. North East music journalist Ian Penman who sadly is no longer with us, worked for Sounds and other music papers and magazines, he gave us good advice about publicity and how it needed to be spot on.

Generator were really ramping it up and had demonstrated that we were capable of delivering stuff. In 1998 the peak was Sound City, around then Jim Mawdsley came onboard.

When we became a funded organisation, Wayne C. McDonald joined Jim Mawdsley and I on the professional team. A week later we were awarded £250,000 from the National Lottery’.

Generator’s successful National Lottery bid was given massive national profile on BBC One TV’s National Lottery Show when Sue and her Generator colleague, Wayne C McDonald, appeared live in front of 16 million people. Their cause was championed by none other than The Spice Girls.


‘Wayne thought I was joking when I told him we were going to be live on stage – and thought we were just going to be sitting in the audience. When it came to the crunch, we were called on stage and he hadn’t prepared a speech – so he performed a completely improvised rap which everyone loved! 

We had spent three years talking to BBC Radio One about bringing an event to Newcastle. We worked with the Council to put a document together which included main stage, a number of venues and a Fringe festival, the BBC accepted it.

After my work at the University on the Cultural Industries project, I got some part time work as a researcher at the BBC which I combined with the Generator work.

Looking back, it was around 1999 when I left Generator, I had just run out of steam. After Sound City I went on to work on various music festivals in Newcastle attracting bigger, signed names and by the 2000’s I was at Evolution sponsored by Orange telecommunications’.

Paloma Faith (pic Sue Wilkinson).

‘Iggy Pop was on a bill, we had Amy Winehouse, Paloma Faith, Maximo Park and one year we had Public Enemy on. I remember for their rider we were sent to KFC for forty boxes of chicken – we weren’t very popular with the rest of the customers.

We ended up with expensive headliners with Generator running alongside with showcase gigs for North East bands and arranging music seminars. Evolution went on for years but our riverfront site on the Tyne was earmarked for redevelopment and we decided to take a break which became permanent. We had a great time seeing the audiences enjoying the event.  

Generator still exists today, it embraced the new digital agenda and pushed it really hard. It’s helped create long lasting partnerships and connections across the music sector.

It’s now the UK’s leading music development agency and a beacon for those looking for help with their musical ventures. Something we’re really proud of because it’s made a huge impact on musicians in the region and shone a light on the North East through showcases and events.

It’s been involved in national initiatives, helping influence arts and government policy. Has it been important? You bet’.

More information about the work of Generator at the official website:  

Generator: Business Support in music, creative, and tech

Alikivi     March 2023.

SPEED KINGS in conversation with Newcastle music tutor & former XLR8R guitarist, Ed Box

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XLR8R in 1992 Martin Douglas (top), Al Barnes (bottom), Simon Douglas, Mark Savage, Ed Box (middle).

Following on from Clive Jackson’s interview (Slice of Life, 22 Feb 2023) this post looks at the 90s music scene in Newcastle and focuses on guitarist Ed Box.

Originally born in Kendal, Cumbria, Ed moved to Newcastle in 1988 to study Popular Music – a big year in Ed’s life as he ended up making his home in the Toon.

But his pivotal year was 1979… That’s when I was drawn to music. First album I bought was Replicas by Gary Numan & Tubeway Army, while my older brother was recording songs off the Friday Rock Show on BBC Radio One.

Also that year, heavy bands like Rainbow, Motorhead and Judas Priest were getting on Top of the Pops. These were my gateway bands.

For me that was the start of heavy metal and then NWOBHM formed. The passion and energy in the music was a window to the outside world to a boy from out in the sticks in Cumbria. Then I got a guitar for Christmas 1980 – and away I went.

With some friends from Newcastle college, we formed XLR8R (pronounced Accelerator), and started writing songs. I knew it would take a lot of patience, practice and dedication but I was prepared for that.

We started to gig regularly around the Newcastle area. A buzz was going around and the gigs were getting packed out. We were members of North Tyneside Music Collective at Buddle Arts Centre in Wallsend, they organised gigs at venues like the Old Eldon Square during the summer.

Every band around then were doing demo tapes, Greedsville, who you interviewed a few weeks ago, were busy in the studios. XLR8R recorded three, one of them got demo of the month in Kerrang and a bit of interest from a label but that fell through. So we put our money together, made an independent album and got it pressed on CD.

We heard there was a music collective over in Deckham village in Gateshead that had a studio so we joined up. A guy called Gary Clennell ran that and set us up on a cheap studio rate. £30 per day was a lot less expensive than the others charging over £100 a day.

We spent six days doing four tracks. They were all done on reel to reel half inch tape, I think it was a 16-track desk. We designed our own covers and used the Print on Tyne shop for typesetting. We would make fold out covers with pictures and credits on, just trying to make the tapes look interesting. Pretty naïve, but a start.

Our next tape was recorded in Linx Studio, that was run by Tony Bray (Venom drummer) and Eric Cook (Venom manager) previously owned by Brian Johnson (Geordie, AC/DC). They had a 24-track using two-inch tape. This was a step up in quality, the engineer was Kev Ridley who also sang in Newcastle bands For Gods Sake and Skyclad.

Our third demo was in Trinity Heights, what happened was Tygers of Pan Tang manager Tom Noble got us a deal recording in the studio with the owner Fred Purser, who was ex-Tygers guitarist.

Linx studio was good but Fred’s was another step up, with his experience of being in the band and working in studios in London gave us a lot of confidence and pushed us on. After we had recorded the first track, we played it back and it sounded great, really polished, really pleased with it – if you’re reading this, thanks Fred!

Arch Stanton album cover.

In 1996 I was still in XLR8R when ex-Greedsville guitarist Clive Jackson got in touch. He had made a three-track solo demo and was offered a radio session on BBC Newcastle. There was also label interest but they were looking for a band not just a solo performer.

So, Clive got a band of solid musicians together who we knew had been on the 90s Newcastle scene. We went in and played the session at the BBC, then recorded a few more tracks and done a gig as Arch Stanton.

Things were coming together when Sue Wilkinson from local music agency Generator got involved, Sue was also Greedsville manager. She got us some Lottery funding to go into a studio and make a four-track demo.

Sue also got us some local TV coverage on BBC North East News and a brief clip on the National Lottery Show. Another band around then called Undergroove, got a slot on East Coast Main line.

Over a two year period we done around 15 gigs, we played on the Twang Nights at The Bridge Hotel which was promoted by music agency, Bright Orange Biscuit, I remember they also did work with Uncle Sam’s Studio in Newcastle.

Sadly, Arch Stanton came to an end, but I’d developed my guitar and vocals a lot. I was in my late 20s by then and felt I was playing better than ever.

130R album cover.

The last album I worked on is out now, it’s called 130R. The name came from Formula One racing that I was into, the hardest corner on the track in Japan is the 130R.

The idea came at the time of Covid lockdown when I wasn’t doing much guitar teaching because of restrictions. I put together a few demos then asked mates to get involved, it was totally organic.

It built from there and we added a few more tracks until we had a full album. I sing on a couple of tracks but the main singer is Newcastle based Ian Humphrey. We might do some gigs in the future but we are really happy being studio based.

130R

A lot of the rock and metal bands that I saw many years ago are still recording and gigging especially with the Festival circuit around Europe. The NWOBHM bands can make great recordings with the studio equipment and access to technology that is available now. It’s still alive and kicking.

Guitar playing has been my passion for over 30 years. Across that time I’ve been running a number of guitar lessons in schools and workshops playing Rock, Pop and Jazz, to Country, Blues and Metal, I always learn new things when teaching – you’re never too old!

For more information about Ed Box check his official website:

http://www.edwardbox.com

Alikivi   March 2023.

WHO WERE THE CRAMLINGTON TRAIN WRECKERS?

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South Shields-based playwright Ed Waugh is appealing for anyone to contact him if they have any information on the Cramlington Train Wreckers.

Ed, whose latest play was the hugely successful Wor Bella, said

“The story is one of high dramatic tension and has become an important part of British history, although largely forgotten”.

“The event happened on March 10, seven days into the 1926 General Strike when striking miners uncoupled a rail on the mainline Edinburgh to London railway” explained Ed.

“The intention was to derail a blackleg coal train they felt was undermining the strike. Unfortunately for the perpetrators, they derailed a passenger train.”

With 281passengers onboard, the volunteer driver had been warned of trouble and slowed down, meaning when the engine and five carriages were derailed, no-one was killed.

“The only injury was minor, most people were treated for shock and bruises” said Ed.

“Were the Cramlington Train Wreckers terrorists or workers trying to defend their livelihoods, family and community against an economic onslaught that took place after the General Strike ended?”

In the magistrate courts eight Cramlington miners were each sentenced for up to eight years, but were released early due to pressure from the trade union rank and file, politicians and the judiciary itself who saw the original sentences as too harsh.

Ed continued “The leader of the wreckers was Bill Muckle who was born in Westoe in December 1900. His father looked after the pit ponies. They lived here until 1902 when they moved to Cramlington. I’d be interested to know if older generation Muckles worked at Westoe”.

A crane lifting the Merry Hampton engine back on track. Photo courtesy of Brian Godfrey.

Such is the interest in the subject, Ed and historian Marie Dooley will address more than 120 people at a public meeting on March 30. Top North East actor/folk singer Jamie Brown will perform songs and recite from Ed’s new play.

The Cramlington Train Wreckers’ meet at The Hub, Manor Walks Shopping Centre, Cramlington, Thursday, March 30, at 2pm and 6.30pm. Info and tickets only £2 via Eventbrite.

For more information contact Ed at the official website: ww.wisecrackproductions.co.uk

Alikivi    March 2023.