Sold Date: February 15, 2019
Start Date: May 22, 2017
Final Price: $22.00 $15.00 (USD)
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Back in May 1964, the centre of the Mod Universe was of course the West End in London. Clubs such as The Flamingo were pulling hip young kids in to see the new R&B acts. The biggest home-grown act of them that Mods took to their hearts was Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames. Fame’s act incorporated all that the new breed wanted to hear and dance the night away to: R&B, Soul, Jazz and Ska.

Whilst London dominated, it wasn’t alone, and across the South East, clubs had dropped ‘jiving’ and ‘Merseybeat’ nights in favour of the new sounds that had surged out of America and Jamaica. In nearby Berkshire, towns such as Windsor, Slough and Reading provided fantastic live acts from the London circuit thanks to promoters such as Leo de Clerk (Leo’s ‘Cavern ‘evenings) or Philip Hayward and John Mansfield (Ricky Tick events).

As Slough was so very close to Windsor they soon built up a legion of fledging Mods who were out to have a good time. They certainly had enough going on. Slough had the Adelphi which had already put on The Ronettes and The Rolling Stones at the start of the year. There was ‘The Galaxy Club’ held at the George Hotel on the Farnham Rd whose opening night in April ’64 had The Animals playing to around 500 youngsters. The Carlton Ballroom on the High Street had ‘the Marathon’ every Sunday between 3pm till 11pm which involved top records, and then there were the small clubs such as evenings at Burnham Village Hall and other local halls that went under the banner of ‘Flamingo Clubs’ and were advertised as ‘Mod centres’. These little clubs had first advertised themselves as welcoming both ‘Mods and Rockers’ but soon saw the trouble that could happen.

The Slough Observer on 22nd May 1964 reported: ‘While 400 Mods danced the ‘Blue-Beat’ inside the Carlton, manager Mr Patrick McHugh stood on the steps barring the way to the black leather-clad Rockers who crowded around him.’

Clubs were soon either Mod or Rocker hangouts to avoid trouble. In nearby Windsor the only place to be if you were a Mod was The Ricky Tick which had just moved to a large mansion called Clewer Mead by the banks of the River Thames.

The main Rocker hangout in Windsor was the Cellar Café by the bridge. Crossing the bridge by scooter could be a perilous journey, and many a Vespa and Lambretta would be tossed in to the river by an unforgiving gang of Greasers.

Any trouble at ‘the Tick’ was soon swiftly dealt with by the bouncers, Mick and Tony, who spent most of their energy on breaking up territorial bust ups between the likes of the Reading Mods and the Britwell Estate boys.

Once inside the club, parkas, full length suedes and leathers were handed over to Eileen and Janet who worked the cloakroom. Then inside to that huge dark room with black painted walls and the creepy giant Negro face painted white. Lampshades made out of tin cans painted black spat out the little light available in the refreshment area. But it was the music that you went for, and the music was the best.

Martin Fuggles was a twenty year old Mod from Slough. He had the clothes, a Lambretta GT200 and more importantly, the records. He learnt his trade having spun records at the Slough Carlton Ballroom since around May ’62. He’d started attending the Sunday afternoon sessions between 3-6pm as a punter, but when DJ Phil Jay got a job DJ’ing elsewhere in the evening, he asked Martin to take over from 6-11pm.

Having built up a healthy stash of American R&B, Soul and a few Ska singles from David’s Record Store in Slough, Martin knew what the Mod crowd wanted to hear. In April 1965 he got his big break and was offered the DJ residency at The Ricky Tick. The first thing he had to do was take a fifty percent pay cut, as his pay at the Carlton was two pounds a night and the Tick only offered a quid, but it was the kudos of playing there that appealed to Martin. This was the best Mod hang out, besides which, he got offered Saturday nights too, so the money kind of evened out.

The first Saturday evening Martin played, a certain Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames were topping the bill. Fame was certainly a crowd puller. When he made his appearance at the club that night, he was fresh from having just finished touring with the first UK Tamla Motown revue. Georgie had been added to the bill at the last minute to boost numbers on the tour that included The Supremes, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and The Earl Van Dyke Six. The promoters, Harold Davison and Arthur Howes, knew that Fame could pull in the Mods, as he was one of the most respected white artists amongst this most discerning crowd.

“Georgie would be the biggest draw at the Tick by far” remembers Martin. “He would keep that record all the time I was there and it wouldn’t be until nearly two years later that Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band may have stolen his title.”

Ricky Tick flyer cards for April ’66 reveal Fame’s popularity. Whilst Zoot Money, John Mayall and Arthur Alexander would cost you 7/6d on their nights there, Georgie Fame was 10 bob. Philip Hayward was certainly a shrewd operator.

Around the same time Georgie was interviewed for Rave magazine. “Since rhythm and blues came in it’s done a hell of a lot for honesty in music” he declared. “Young people today are cooler. They’re looking for the good things in life. The whole scene is very much healthier in the past year or so. If you start off looking for truthfulness and meaning and maturity you’re starting on the right track.”

Well said Georgie. Get on the right track baby!

-          Paul ‘Smiler’ Anderson. April 2016.

Georgie Fame

and THE BLUE FLAMES

Side One

1.      NIGHT TRAIN

2.      YEH YEH

3.      GREEN BACK

4.      LET THE SUNSHINE IN

5.      LIL' DARLIN'

6.      WALKIN' THE DOG

7.      POINT OF NO RETURN

8.      IN THE MEANTIME

Side Two

1.      LET THE SUNSHINE IN

2.      GET ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY

3.      IN THE MEAN TIME

4.      YEH! YEH!

5.      WALKING THE DOG

6.      DO RE MI

7.      LIKE WE USED TO BE

8.      SICK & TIRED

9.      ROCKIN' PNEUMONIA

Personnel:

Georgie Fame, vocals and organ; Eddie ‘Tan Tan’ Thornton, trumpet; Peter Coe, Glenn Hughes, saxes; Colin Green, guitar; Tex Makins, bass; Speedy Acquaye, percussion; Bill Eyden, drums.