Long Gone

Recently Chris Youlden, Mel Wright,  Bernie Pallo and I met up in Soho for our regular drink session, but instead of using the Blue Post behind the Hundred Club, we reconvened at our old haunt in Greek Street, The Coach and Horses.  Mel Wright and I were the first to arrive and Mel mentioned that he had been by one of our old gigs, Les Enfants Terribles which was about to be demolished. Mel said he’d taken a photograph of the place but couldn’t get access to the interior. He suggested doing a piece about it for the web site. There is access to that now on the site plus another photograph of myself and the late Rod Price, our guitarist at the time, who later joined The Black Cat Bones and then the successful american arena band Foghat. Perhaps I’ll persuade Mel to do more on the past events we shared. When Chris arrived, he offered to search out an old interview he did, so perhaps we can get that on site too.

We hadn’t been there long before Brian Neville wandered in. He arrived just by chance as he was meeting friends in the area later. Brian has worked in my band in the past and of course with Big Joe Louis. among others. He is currently working with Little George Sueref, another of Big Joe’s colleagues. Brian joined us for a while and mentioned that he was due to do a gig at the Wenlock, but he’d heard that this pub was changing and might be yet another gig going to the wall. We’ll just have to wait and see.

The following Sunday we did our regular gig at the Inn on the Green, but Chris was ill again and  couldn’t make it. Normally Jon Taylor might have joined us but he was busy gigging at the Oval Tavern. It meant that Jim Mercer and I shared the vocals between us. To think that I used to do the whole stint vocally. Can’t wait for Chris to get well again. The gig was quieter than usual but I put this down to the post New Year blues that prevails at this time of the calendar. Let’s hope so anyway. However one of the audience was guitarist singer Gordon Smith, whom we dropped off afterwards on the way home. He’s been pretty busy lately, so the scene isn’t too quiet.  Well, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoy the piece by Mel Wright.