SOUTH SHIELDS

HELLO TOMORROW: Changing Face of South Shields in photographs (4)

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For the past 10 years I’ve set myself a documentary project capturing the changing face of South Shields. Included are a small selection of the photographs.

April 2013
May 2013
June 2013

This is the seafront harbour where the river Tyne meets the North Sea. The new Littlehaven Promenade replacing an old path and car park. Previous posts feature other area’s of the town.

July 2013
August 2013
September 2013

In 2013 South Tyneside Council proposed a very bold £100 million regeneration project for the town, and public consultations were held. Progress on different phases of the regeneration is ongoing as more developments are planned.

December 2013
June 2015

So far the council have delivered – Hello Tomorrow is not just a slogan on the posters.

Gary Alikivi  April 2020.

HELLO TOMORROW: Changing Face of South Shields in photographs (3)

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For the past 10 years I’ve set myself a documentary project capturing the changing face of South Shields. Included are a small selection of the photographs.

February 2013
March 2013

This is Harton Quay next to the river Tyne, the ferry landing, the BT building and The Customs House theatre & arts venue. It’s also next to The Word and the Market, two area’s that have benefited from the 365 Town Centre Vision regeneration. Following posts will feature other area’s of the town.

May 2013
April 2013

In 2013 South Tyneside Council proposed a very bold £100 million regeneration project for the town, and public consultations were held. Progress on different phases of the regeneration is ongoing as more developments are planned.

April 2013
October 2013

So far the council have delivered – Hello Tomorrow is not just a slogan on the posters.

Gary Alikivi  April 2020.

HELLO TOMORROW: Changing Face of South Shields in photographs (2)

/ Alikivi

For the past 10 years I’ve set myself a documentary project capturing the changing face of South Shields. Included are a small selection of the photographs. This is the 250 year old market at the top of King Street and next to The Word featured on the last post. Following posts will include other area’s of the town.

August 2015
August 2015

In 2013 South Tyneside Council proposed a very bold £100 million regeneration project for the town, and public consultations were held. Progress on different phases of the regeneration is ongoing as more developments are planned.

August 2015
September 2015

So far the council have delivered – Hello Tomorrow is not just a slogan on the posters.

October 2015
November 2015

Gary Alikivi  April 2020.

HELLO TOMORROW: Changing Face of South Shields in photographs (1)

/ Alikivi

For the past 10 years I’ve set myself a documentary project capturing the changing face of South Shields. Included are a small selection of the photographs. These are from The Word which replaced the town centre public library. Following posts will feature other area’s of the town.

April 2015
August 2015
August 2015

In 2013 South Tyneside Council proposed a very bold £100 million regeneration project for the town, the 365 Town Centre Vision, and public consultations were held. Progress on different phases of the regeneration is ongoing as more developments are planned.

September 2015
September 2015.
March 2016

So far the council have delivered – Hello Tomorrow is not just a slogan on the posters.

The Word, National Centre for the Written Word. October 2016

Alikivi  April 2020.

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND – snapshot of musician & teacher Jack Brymer (1915–2003)

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A post last summer featured professional jazz musician Kathy Stobart (link below).

The post highlighted her link from being born in South Shields to playing residencies in London, New York and Los Angeles to sharing a bill with Radiohead. But what about a link from South Shields to The Beatles via Dracula ?

A few weeks ago, I received a message from a friend ‘Have you heard of Jack Brymer ? He used to live in South Shields. He was a famous musician’.

I hadn’t come across the name so checked him out and was surprised to find he was a session musician who played on Hammer horror movie soundtracks starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.

I got a bigger surprise to find he appeared on The Beatles track A Day in the Life.

Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus pandemic the Local History library in South Shields is closed, and I would usually check details there, but this is what I’ve found using Ancestry, Musicians Gallery, and various BBC interviews and video clips on You Tube. Facts were checked as much as possible.

In 1911 John and Mary Brymer lived at 92 South Woodbine Street, South Shields. They had two children, then on 27th January 1915, John was born, later to be known as Jack.

John senior was a house builder who played clarinet, and with no formal instruction, his young son attempted to play the wind instrument.

Throughout his young life Jack appreciated listening to a wide range of musical styles from jazz to brass-bands. He later insisted that all these genres had been of great value to him professionally.

In a BBC interview he said ‘Playing the clarinet was a natural thing because after all I can’t remember not playing it. From the age of 5 I can’t remember life without the clarinet’.

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Jack trained as a teacher and joined the teaching staff at a school in Croydon. He taught the odd combination of physical education and musical appreciation. In his spare time, he played in amateur musical ensembles.

During the Second World War Jack served in the Royal Air Force. After basic training he was promoted to corporal as a physical training instructor.

After the war he returned to his teaching post, and in 1947 on the recommendation of professional musicians, Jack received a surprise telephone call from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra inviting him to audition.

At first Jack thought it was one of his friends winding him up. But he went along and after playing, badly he recalled, a call came in next day – and a contract.

Throughout his career Jack enjoyed an interest in mainstream jazz and performed as a soloist with many of the leading British and American jazz players.

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He said ‘I don’t think musicians should just be musicians. I’m quite sure having a university degree in Physics is going to make you a better musician. You know more about life, it must make you a better musician. Admittedly academic knowledge is not the be all and end all, but it must have a reflection on your whole outlook on life’.

He was a frequent broadcaster, both as a player and presenter, and made recordings of solo works with orchestras.

He also played in both BBC and London Symphony Orchestra and was professor at the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Military School of Music.

Now to the recording of A Day in the Life by The Beatles during January and February 1967. The song appeared on Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and was recorded in Abbey Road Studio.

I watched the music video for the song and there he was, at 13 seconds in, laughing with a colleague while putting his coat over a chair.

The song crescendo features forty musicians selected from the London and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras. Producer George Martin said that Lennon requested ‘A tremendous build-up, from nothing up to something like the end of the world’.

Martin added ‘When I went into the studio the sight was unbelievable. The orchestra leader, David McCallum, was sitting there in a bright red false nose. He looked up at me through paper glasses. Every member of the orchestra had a funny hat on above the evening dress, and the total effect was completely weird’.

The recording for Jack was surely a highlight from a very distinguished career, did he think it would be one of The Beatles greatest songs and still listened to over 50 years later ?

To celebrate his 70th birthday the LSO paid Brymer tribute with a special concert, and another to mark his 75th at the Barbican Hall, London. He published two volumes of memoirs and a book about the clarinet. Sadly, Jack died at the age of 88 in Redhill, Surrey.

He didn’t do too bad for a builder’s son from South Shields, who had many day’s in his life to remember.

 Link to Kathy Stobart feature:

https://garyalikivi.com/2019/06/25/all-that-jazz-snapshot-of-the-life-of-professional-musician-kathy-stobart-1925-2014/

 Alikivi   March 2020

HUMANITY & COURAGE – South Shields Historian & Photographer Amy Flagg (1893–1965)

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Front cover from one of the pamphlets.
Amy Flagg.

The previous post was a snapshot of the life of Victorian photographer Frank Meadow Sutcliffe. Another photographer featured on the blog is South Shields Historian Amy Flagg (links below).

This post highlights the photograph’s Amy produced during the Second World War. She took some of the most devastating images of South Shields in the 20th century. When the bombs dropped, she captured the scars with her camera.

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Page from inside the pamphlet.

When researching a documentary about Amy (Westoe Rose, 2016) I came across detailed records that she had made of German air raids that revealed the amount of suffering the town endured. 

The Ministry of Information and the Chief Press Officer gave permission to produce Humanity & Courage, pamphlets featuring some photographs that Flagg had taken of war damage to her town.

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Detailed record of air raids over South Shields.

More images are available on the South Tyneside Library website

https://southtynesidehistory.co.uk/

Included here is a picture story from The Shields Gazette showing her friend and Librarian Rose Mary Farrell standing next to a display of Amy’s photographs.

They were shown in an exhibition at South Shields Library. The report is dated August 1968, three years after Amy died.

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Links to previous Amy Flagg posts:

https://garyalikivi.com/2018/07/19/westoe-rose-making-the-documentary-about-historian-and-photographer-amy-flagg/

https://garyalikivi.com/2019/07/11/westoe-rose-the-story-of-amy-flagg-south-shields-historian-photographer-1893-1965/

https://garyalikivi.com/2019/12/21/history-lives-amy-c-flagg-south-shields-historian-photographer-1893-1965/

https://garyalikivi.com/2019/12/28/amy-flagg-holborn-the-mill-dam-valley/

Alikivi   March 2020

THE MAN WHO FELL TO SHIELDS – from Tinwhistler.

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Stories were recently posted about Billy Roberts who was homeless in South Shields during the ‘70s and ‘80s. (Billy’s Story Dec.13th 2019).

I remember Billy hanging around the town centre and judging by the high number of readers a lot of other folk in Shields remember him – for good or bad.

The memories were from a Shields resident going by the name Tinwhistler, recently they got in touch again telling me about another character from Shields, this guy I can’t recall, but this is Tinwhistlers story of Arthur -The Man Who Fell To Shields.

The developing crazy world of Arthur was to most of us, intriguing, humorous and somewhat bizarre. He could disappear for months then return with more tales beyond the belief of mortal man.

Many of us gathered to play football on a Sunday morning on the Marine College field, then Arthur would show up.

No, he hadn’t turned up after being in London playing football for Spurs then coming to sign up for his beloved Sunderland, it now looked like his soccer career had come to an end and he decided his future lay in coal, briefly at Westoe pit.

There were other characters present at these games such as Fig Roll, Hat, Egg man and a particularly good player called Wavis. Away from football, music was a passion for most of us, Arthur expressing his taste in a variety of bands and acts varying from Elvis, Stones and Conway Twitty.

Wavis had the beginnings of something that developed later but he started a combo that was a non-musical affair – The Borestiffers. It consisted of him, me and Fig Roll.

Frequent rehearsals culminated with a gig at Bolingbroke Hall in Shields. Wavis had written some good songs which were put to a non-musical backing and performed in front of a more than expected turn out, who had each paid a nominal sum for a ticket but could only gain entry if it was presented with a slice of bread as this was a charity gig for the ducks of South Marine Park.

After the gig Fig Roll left due to non-musical indifferences in order to follow a career with the Royal Mail which his mother said would keep him off the streets.

Wavis’ ideas were novel, and I was put on percussion involving moving most of my mother’s kitchen – pots, pans, two wooden spoons, tin trays, roasting trays etc.

A young person called Tube was strumming a Bullworker physical exercise apparatus and the coup de grace, Arthur.

This was where we could maybe turn the world upside down because if Arthur now told people he had been up on stage in front of an audience and they didn’t believe him, it could now be proven otherwise.

Arthur was there purely as ambience and to play a board game with Tube called Mad Hats on the stage floor while I held a steady rhythm on the kitchen kit and Wavis held the front stage.

Three rolls of the dice later and Arthur wanted the mic and the crowd went wild.

It is now circa 1977 and as I am working, earning and drinking, Arthur tags along buying a round every thi​rd​ or four​th​ time. He tells me again of his prowess singing in some of the bars of Shields and he took me on my first visit to the Turks Head on the Lawe Top.

The atmosphere was warm, welcoming and we could hear the sound of people enjoying their Saturday evening. A chant started We want Arthur, we want Arthur.

That was it, he motioned me to follow him through, ‘Ha’way son, I’ll have to get up they want ‘is’. Arthur referred to each of us as son and we all reciprocated by calling him Fatha!

A couple of years later Wavis had entered the music business and mentioned more than once about his fatha who was able to destroy any standards and classics. A stage name was sought and as Adam Ant was prominent Arthur settled on Teddy Anteater.

He sang along to a recorded tape, songs he knew wearing headphones. The guitar was left-handed turned upside down, a Jimi Hendrix of the antimatter world.

He got a couple of gigs supporting local band The Letters and then got the opportunity to hit the big time.

Wavis had contacts with a label called Anti Pop and one of their acts was Arthur 2 Stroke & The Chart Commandos. They became aware of him and had heard some of the Teddy Anteater that Wavis had played them.

I arranged an introduction and accepted title of road manager. His next gig was to be with them at Newcastle University. Their manager, Andy Inman visited me at work, and I got the necessary details.

The acts on the bill were formidable consisting of a talented jazz quartet, a geordie poet called Nog, a hunched back illusionist/magician who went under the name Johnny Neptune and a scantily dressed Hot Gossip type dance troupe.

Teddy’s set was filmed and is now on YouTube under ‘Teddy Anteater – Newcastle University 1981’.

The brothers Viz, that is Chris and Simon Donald, were there, this before their mag went corporate. Simon was the on-stage compere and Chris was selling the Viz to enthusiastic students.

Both were amazed at the Teddy Anteater act, so much so that he was featured in their next issue under a heading Not many rock stars can claim to take penalties with their heads but Teddy Anteater is not many rock stars.

This was a reference to one of his many fibs regarding his footballing prowess, along with his claim that he could take a corner, get into the middle to head it and then get on the goal line to save it.

The Student Union magazine reviewed the whole show and decided that Teddy was the best act of the night. The Teddy Anteater experience really ended shortly after not before the surfacing of another bizarre act known as Jarrow Elvis.

This became a road show involving names like Hebburn Cliff and Pelaw Pitney. I suggested maybe Arthur might want to join this and to do so he could learn some Roxy Music songs. He didn’t care for Roxy so that was the end of him appearing as Shields Ferry!

Another story brought to you by Tinwhistler.

Edited by Alikivi     February 2020.

FILL YER BOOTS – It’s no mean feat for a Tyneside charity champion

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The blog is read in countries around the world including USA, Brazil, Japan and Russia, along with ex pats checking in from Australia, France and Spain – the stories travel far and wide.

But closer to home a number of Tyneside residents have sent in stories about working class characters they remember.

Geordie Pantsman, Tinwhistler and Dan Green have contributed, and this memory from Archive the Noo is the latest.  At their request I am posting it today as it’s the anniversary of the death of the big man who is featured.

My memory of him was when drinking in South Shields pubs in the ‘80s you would often come across this guy – believe me you couldn’t miss him.

It was on a hot sweaty Friday night we piled into a packed Scotia pub and saw he was at the bar for last orders.

With his big white bucket at his feet he had been collecting for the miner’s strike. I could see he was getting frustrated and angry as the barmaids refused to serve him shouting ‘Time’s up’ as they rang the bell.

He was sweating heavily, gritting his teeth and with tears in his eyes, he gripped tightly on the handrails of the bar, stamped his feet, let out an almighty roar and led his fellow drinkers to… ‘Sing yer hearts out, Sing yer hearts out, Sing yer hearts out for the lads’.

Hollered out like a defiant last breath – he only wanted a pint man.

So who was he ?

Featured today is a story from Archive the Noo and his memories of one of Tyneside’s Charity Champions, Big Hec…..

If you were approached by a 6 foot 8 inch 20 stone Geordie, lurching from side to side, asking you for money with that characteristic gap between his front teeth, I wager you’d most likely think about handing it over.

You might be a bit confused by the sight of him carrying a bucket and wearing gold painted boots (size 18). But in time you would realise you’d just had a close encounter with Tyneside resident Brian Dowson, known as Big Hec.

Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s Big Hec, raised in approximation of £1million pounds in the name of charity, walking around Tyneside pubs, shops, metro trains and collecting donations in his bucket, taped over at the top with a slit.

He also made a cover version of Nancy Sinatra’s song ‘These Boots are Made for Walking’….

Recorded in 1990 at Brian Johnsons  (AC/DC) Lynx Studios in Newcastle, ex-Angelic Upstart Mond Cowie was studio manager and let Big Hec have the studio for nothing because it was for a charity record.

There are many endearing stories surrounding Hec. In the mid ‘70s he worked as a glass collector at the Kismet Club in Laygate and after a few beers would take to the dance floor producing incredible shapes and moves, a wondrous sight to behold.

I recall being a tad bit envious when he managed to meet his very own hero, the Dynasty starlet Stephanie Beacham, at a charity presentation.

Apart from the fact that Hec was for me a true character beyond criticism and a charitable legend worth a movie about (one of his favourite charities was the NSPCC), the essence of Big Hec is contained in my fondest story.

He once set out to beat the existing world pie eating record, held at the local Hintons supermarket store. Local TV were there and when the cameras began to roll, he was presented with a tray of pies.

He complained that they were too hot, so filming stopped and restarted after a period of cooling.

Commencing, he ate only a few and then gave up, blaming it on the big tea he had before coming out. He then burst into singing Elvis songs.

Brian had a short and colourful life, passing away from natural causes, some say a heart attack. He was born in 1957 and sadly died on 13th March 1996. May he, buried in his boots, rest in a well-earned peace.

Brought to you by Archive the Noo.

Today if you go to the Laygate area of South Shields there is a plaque on the wall of Lloyds Bank – a memorial to Big Hec’s charity work. (pic. Kennie Chow)

 Edited by  Alikivi  2020.

OUR LAYGATE – in conversation with Ann Ahmed

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In research I came across an article which said Laygate was the best example of integration in Britain. And it was. It is one of our best examples, so why haven’t people heard about it ?

I would just like to do it justice and spread the word about the unique area where we lived. I would like other theatres to see it and try and play it to a wider audience. I’ll push it as much as I can. The story deserves to be told. said Ann.

I met Ann at The Word in South Shields just down river from Laygate, an area where she grew up…..

I was raised in the community of Laygate after the Second World War and seamen settled in the area after the war. It had Arabs, Africans, Somali’s, Malaysians, it was a very tight community. The area wasn’t looked upon fondly by some people outside that community.

My grandfather and step grandfather where from the Yemen, so my dad was really dark. My mam was from Scotland, she had a terrible time from her family because she was married to a black man. She was ostracised from them.

He was a seaman who was away for two year stretches and the money wasn’t there. No Social Security or Health Service then.

Not long ago somebody asked me ‘Did you really live in Laygate ?’…I said ‘Well I wouldn’t lie about it would I’. It had, and sometimes still has, for whatever reason, a bad reputation, but it was the friendliest, welcoming, community spirited place you could ever go.

Nothing has been written about the community from this angle. Most stories are about the Arab riots, but I wanted to show what a great place it was to grow up in.

I’ve been thinking about it for a long time and I still see most of the people that lived there. I bumped into one of the girls I know and we got talking about Laygate, and she said ‘All of that will be lost, all those stories, those memories, you should write it down’. So I went away, thought about it and started writing things down.

My friend’s dad had a Somali cafe, well it was a sitting room with chairs and tables in. He would get a chicken, kill it in the backyard, and we would pluck it’s feathers out.

Once I remember coming from the shops with some bread and I was walking up our back lane when Hanratty was there with his horse. He would collect scrap or old clothes with a cart and horse.  He often gave out balloons to kid’s who got him scrap.

Well, I was desperate for a balloon, so I gave the horse the bread. When I got in the house, my mam went mad, she nearly killed me, because she had four kids to feed.

So, with more stories like these I rang Ray Spencer, Director at The Customs House and asked him would he be interested, could he see it playing at The Customs House ? We met up and after reading through them he said a definite yes.

What is the play about ?

It’s about how we got on, the relationships we had, the abuse we suffered sometimes from outsiders, and it’s mostly based in our back lane, Laygate Place, with other scenes in our sitting room and Holy Trinity School.

I wanted to show how we lived together in that community, you could say from a woman and child’s perspective. Not just my family, but the Arabs at the top of the street, the Somali’s down the road, the Arab cafe just along the way.

We may have had our fights and arguments as kids, but at the end of the day we are all still lifelong friends. Some I’ve known for 60 years.

How long did it take to write the play ?

About five to six months, but with re-writing and editing, it has taken nearly two years. I got together with Susan Evans, she wrote a play for The Customs House, and she showed me the format she uses, which was a great help.

How many characters are there ?

We’re looking for actors for the play. We need 14 in all with seven of them being able to play children so they should be about 16-18. It’s hard trying to get a Somali actor locally, so if anyone feels like auditioning, contact me via Facebook.

Because of cost’s involved I’ll be fundraising for the production. If people would like to donate I’ve got a GoFundMe page  gf.me/u/wz89xz   or they can contact me through Laygate Play Customs House on Facebook.

We’ve also got a fundraising Batty Bingo night at Armstrong Hall on 18th April 2020.  The last one we did had a great turnout, great tributes and the tickets for this one are selling fast as well. It’s £10 a ticket but well worth the money !

‘When the Boat Comes In’ written by Peter Mitchell has recently played at The Customs House, will it have a similar look ?

It is the same as being set in the North East and we all have Geordie accents but that play dealt with unemployment, strikes and an affair. This won’t, it’s centred on a small community.

What is your family background ?

My mam had a really tough time bringing us up. We had to rely on family and friends. But, during the ‘50s and ‘60s nobody had anything, so it didn’t bother you as much as today when they want the latest games or trainers.

Having nowt we did feel it, but you just got on with it. We eventually had to leave Laygate when the Housing Act came in because it was classed as a slum. That is where the story finishes, 1968.

Where you sad to leave Laygate ?

Yes and no. I think if our house had an indoor bath and toilet I would have liked to have stayed, but it was classed as a slum. If you wanted to go to the loo you had to go down the backstairs and into the yard.

We had the blackest backsides known to man because of the newspaper we used as loo roll (laughs). We were moving to a house that had an indoor toilet and a bathroom. It was like a palace to us!!

While I was writing the story, I organised a reunion at Trimmers bar with all my friends and people from Laygate. I told them what I was doing and that I wanted to include some stories about what they did as kid’s.

We finished by asking what was Laygate like for them growing up, and they all said it was the best time, it was lovely, it really was. We’re all proud to be from Laygate.  It was great bringing back all those memories.

It’s called ‘Our Laygate’ because to us, the kids of the ‘50s and ‘60s, when it was mostly an integrated community, it is ours. I know it’s still integrated today and it’s still a great, vibrant community – but to us, that era is ours.

Our Laygate is on at The Customs House 14th & 15th July 2020. Tickets £12.50

Interview by Alikivi   September 2018.

WHAT’S COOKIN’ with Les Tones and Arthur Ramm former guitarists with North East band Beckett.

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Arthur Ramm
Les Tones

I first interviewed former Beckett guitarists Les Tones and Arthur Ramm in April 2018. Recently, Arthur and Les got back in touch with more stories from their days in Beckett….

As we all know time passes so very quickly. It’s been 50 years since the conception of Beckett and all the experiences of the Beckett years now tend to fade from memory.

Every Sunday evening if we are not gigging, Les and I usually meet with friends at the Vigilant Inn, South Shields where we can watch a local band perform and enjoy a good natter over a beer.

When you’re in good company, sometimes these stories and experiences return. The next stories which we have submitted to you are an example. Who knows, there may be more that come to light. Let’s hope so.

Where did you rehearse Les ?

We used to practice in Porchester Street, South Shields in a prefabricated hut. We’d start about 11am and finish around 4pm. Sometimes I’d go to Arthur’s parent’s house in Fulwell Avenue, South Shields, and the two of us would rehearse.

What can you remember about playing live Arthur ?

We used to play regularly at nightclubs in the North East. The stage area was usually upstairs and extra help was appreciated. At one particular nightclub as the band were setting up the gear on stage, a friend of the band wandered into the restaurant kitchen and noticed some uncooked beef steaks on a plate.

He realised there were no staff present in the kitchen and removed some from the plate and hid them inside his coat. In the dressing room he revealed the steaks to the band, and they told him to return them to the kitchen immediately.

He decided otherwise, and wrapped the steaks up in paper towels. Well the band used to use Vox AC30 amplification, which were designed with an open compartment in the back of the cabinets.

The culprit decided to hide the steaks in the backs of the amplifiers so that he could retrieve them after the gig.

However, during the performance when the amplifiers started to get hot, the band members on the stage could smell the aroma of cooking meat. Thinking this was coming from the kitchen, they thought nothing of it.

All was revealed when the amplifiers were put back in the van. The consequences for the band would have been quite severe if found out! He was never invited to any gig again. Who got the steaks? We don’t know.

It put a new meaning to the expression ‘The band was cooking’!

What are your memories Les ?

Beckett had an afternoon gig at Jarrow ex-Servicemen’s Club during the miners strike, playing to a mainly male audience – all the blokes in their duffel coats.

We were also booked to play at the club in the evening to a mixed audience, and we went to Wetheralls nightclub in Sunderland after that to play another gig.

Between ‘69 and ‘71 a guy called David Walker worked for the BBC and arranged for us to play live on Radio 1. We hadn’t played on radio before. When we arrived at Hartlepool Town Hall for the gig, the place was crammed.

The strange thing was that they told us to turn our backs to the audience, and turn our amplifiers and speakers round as well so the audience were behind the band.

We asked why we needed to do that and the BBC sound engineer said ‘Forget about the audience, we’re only interested in the 12 million listeners on the radio’, which made us panic!

The DJ Stuart Henry introduced us and the gig went surprisingly well. David Walker had a professional recording made of the whole gig, and passed a copy on to us.

Are you still playing Arthur ?

I am privileged now to front a band with Val Hansen, called Justuzfor. The band played it’s first gig on 24th March 2013. Since then, some of our musicians have changed. Val joined the band in 2015 and the band is still going strong.

We always try to play every week and upcoming gigs can be found on our Facebook page.

We have videos on You Tube and on Twitter https://twitter.com/justuzfor.

Read the first interview on the blog with Arthur Ramm & Les Tones in April 2018.

Edited by Alikivi   March 2020.