RAPIERS ARE GO!

What You'll Be Sitting on at The Rapiers' 25th (That Is, If You Aren't Dancing the Night Away)

A U.S. presidential election draws nigh, the subprime loans quagmire is stinking up the worldwide economy, and hey it's Super Bowl Weekend, but the breaking news out of the Amersham Rock 'n' Roll Club, where The Rapiers celebrate their 25th year in business, 22 March 2008, is clearly more sobering:

"Due to YOUR fantastic support since we started nearly 18 months ago, the Club has bought brand new comfortable chairs, upholstered in a royal blue material and with a gold trim, for this year's shows. We've always said that if you support us, we will put the money back into bringing you the best shows we can and into refurbishing the Club to make it more attractive for the audience and the artists. We've put in new ladies toilets, a dressing room behind the stage—and now the 'Buckingham Palace' chairs!"

Bum-tastick!

OT Video Triple Play: Albert Finney, an Angry Young Man

Trailer for Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)

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Albert Finney and Norman Rossington in the jungle

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Playing Billy Liar and Shakespeare

All the Way From Sicily to Memphis

"Italian by birth, Sicilian by grace of God", pronounces rockabilly rebel and Rapiers partisan Jumpin' Peter, 39, from Sicily, Catania, Italy. 'Twas he who graced our MySpace comments section with the good Union Jack above.

Sniffin' 'round Pete's profile, I wince, noticing he's one more European who's made the pilgrimmage to Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee (see cool cat shot below), shaming this Yank Elvis fan no end. Shucks, closest I've been to Rock 'n' Roll Ground Zero is a cold Greyhound Bus station somewhere on the outskirts of Memphis, February 1982, en route from California to New York City. One day, I'll even the score with Peter.

Post o' the Week: BackBeat Support

Hello, Rapiers:

You may not remember me, but we know you.

I play in a band called BackBeat. Some years ago, we saw you supporting The Bootleg Beatles at the Brentwood Centre, Essex. Your rhythm guitarist was Neil [Ainsby], the redcoat from Butlins at Bognor. You sounded great then so you must be fab now. You also supported Brian Lee and The Leaders (Elvis Show) when I played double bass and electric bass for him.

It would be great to support your show! Please check our website and let us know what you think.

Clayton Stocker
BackBeat

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In any decade, fab suits and gear do the men make. BackBeat's MySpace bio informs that these lads all hail from Essex, notched almost 200 performances in 2007 and "have long shared a mutual admiration for '60s music and The Beatles".

Some Things Just Stick in My Mind

Brush With Disaster: The shot's vanished (at last check), but Nathan J. Hulse's Natjag photo blog a few weeks back had a candid he took of rehabbing singer and "real-time train wreck" (per the Toronto Star) Amy Winehouse on her way into legal proceedings in London... Will 2008 Be the Year of Joe Meek?: Filmmakers Howard Berger and Susan Stahman's years-in-the-making documentary on the rise and fall of Britain's first independent pop producer, A Life in the Death of Joe Meek, had its world premiere this week in Portland. One eyewitness review: "The film is wonderful, a well-balanced respectful multi-layered look at a fascinating person. I can't believe how much Joe Meek affected the sound of popular music, and how little I knew about him until tonight." Later this year, actor Nick Moran's Meek biopic Telstar debuts too. Hopefully, The Rapiers' cameo roles survive the editing room... January Blues: Sad farewells in the past fortnight to two golden voices of the '60s, Fortunes lead singer Rod Allen, and The Kingston Trio's John Stewart. Had I room for only 10 songs on a journey to the stars, You've Got Your Troubles and The New Frontier would make the cut. The first notes from the first group at my first concert on my first visit to English soil came from Rod's Fortunes, Christmas time 1988, Brighton.

CP-J Looking Forward to Stick-Free Necks & Long-Time Runaways

Surveying The Rapiers' next gigs and his planned attendance at Pipeline 2008, Colin Pryce-Jones dished out this comment, funny (Italian grime) to pretty much no comment (Amersham's set list).

• Music Palace, 3 February, Crouch End. "It's our first appearance at an all-out rock 'n' roll club in London in about six years."



• Festival Surforama 2008, 16 February, Valencia, Spain. "Like the Italian show last year in Senigallia, the promoters are providing the equipment, so we can travel light. Hopefully, the instruments are playable. When I got to Italy, I forgot to clean the back of the guitar I was given. Its neck was so sticky, I couldn't move my hand—my thumb just stuck! My own guitar neck is always like glass, so my thumb skates across. Grime stops your thumb like glue! I'll bring a cleaning rag to Spain."
• Rapiers Silver Anniversary, 22 March, Amersham. "We'll do things we haven't done in a while, we'll see how it goes."

• Pipeline 2008, 23 March, Bushey. "I'm looking forward to seeing The Runaways for the first time in 15 years." NB: This Kent-based, Shadows-influenced combo celebrated its own 25th anniversary last year and have loaned their rhythm guitarist and founder Tim Adam for spot duty on various Rapiers gigs.

The Ghost of Old Bond Street

Burlington Arcade, near the London-luxe intersection of Piccadilly and Old Bond Street, was "Britain’s very first shopping Arcade, opened in 1819 to great acclaim and now recognised as a historic and architectural masterpiece", says its home page, labeling it the "longest covered shopping street in England and possibly the most beautiful".

During daylight, its bright corridor and emporia beckon tony patrons, Sloane Rangers, WAGs, et al., with jewelry, antiques, silver, fashion and perfume (cf. promo scene above).

Come nightfall and sans shoppers, the mood swingeth. And to a Rapier with a new toy for his camera effects box (a Lensbaby, to be precise), Burlington Arcade takes on another dimension, as if time and space are out of phase. Explains Nathan J. Hulse: "There is no real focal point in the shot, but I like the mono feel about it, the dreamy out-of-focus area."

The Age of Steam

"It's a heck of a milestone for a group who's never had a record in the Top 20. I'm very proud."

That's Colin Pryce-Jones, genuflecting Saturday about The Rapiers' upcoming Silver Anniversary performance on 22 March at the Amersham Rock 'n' Roll Club. "You just carry on and then, all of a sudden, you're at 25," he says. "Last year, I wondered if anyone would be interested in the anniversary. But then enough people said we should do it. Even if no one turns up, we'll mark the occasion."

Fat chance on an empty hall.

Two months out, I've already had "I'll be there!" posts from Rapiers stalwarts Chris and Jim Burgess, Barry and Julia Gillam, George Geddes, Jacky Cain, Keith Bateman and others. That ought to be a balm to Colin's occasional melancholia: "John [Tuck] and I were talking before Christmas about how hard it is to stay in a group, even a well-loved group, that is always trying to maintain full steam without the wheels slipping. But we're still here."

NB: No word on Amersham's special guests or if former Rapiers bassists Roger Cover or Brad Dallaston can be coaxed back to the fold for one night. But expect both Dave Lawes and Neil Ainsby to share a stage for the first time, says Colin.

Post o' the Week: Cornwall Days

Dear Colin:

It's been a long time since those Grampound Road days and I was so pleased to find you on YouTube this afternoon—and still playing what looks like the guitar you bought from me 40 years ago! I remember you coming to my house with your Dad to strum to the ads on the telly.

I still treasure my Shades records and memories of that band. The clips on YouTube are fantastic and it's lovely that you are still touring and doing well. My passion for music has never abated and I have spent many happy years running security for festivals and gigs and now the Eden Sessions.

Trevor Mannell

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Grampound Road means Cornwall, home base, as I recall, for Colin Pryce-Jones's pre-Rapiers combo The Shades. To sample the YouTube vids that probably tickled Trevor, click here and here.

Calendar: Totton Sold Out, Solo London Set, 25th Anniversary & Pipeline 16 Go Together

Perusing The Rapiers concert diary, I see Southamptonians just snatched up the last ducats to the annual Rapiers party (this one with John Leyton) at Totton's Empire Hall on 2 February. Full marks to single-minded promoters Ann and Colin Green.

Shut out? Fear not, that same weekend sees our lads invading a North London rockers club, Crouch End's Music Palace, booked by Cliff Edmonds from The Avengers, a combo that, by gosh, once featured a pre-Rapier Brad Dallaston on bass and now boasts drummer Terry Earl, another early Rapier. "Apparently, we are on quite early, about 6 p.m.," says Nathan J. Hulse of this Sunday date, which happens to fall on the 49th and 41st anniversaries, respectively, of the passings of rocker Buddy Holly and producer Joe Meek. Doubtless it's a fine chance to see a solo Rapiers show near their home turf.

Finally, need I remind you to reserve seats now for our lads' Silver Anniversary Concert, 22 March, at the Amersham Rock 'n' Roll Club? Heck, while you're at it, why not make it a super-deluxe rock 'n' roll weekend and also book for the 16th Annual Pipeline Convention the following day not far away at the Bushey Sports Club near Watford, featuring eight hours of instrumental twang, echo and reverb from the likes of The Jets, Runaways, Silhouets, Los Fantasticos and Stingrays. As Jan and Dean sang, "they're coming from all over the world..." And, for Rapierspotters looking to rub shoulders with the lads, Colin Pryce-Jones and John Tuck can usually be spotted in attendance.

Ray Knew Bob When

UK videographer Ray Liffen, who makes a habit of documenting '60s confabs like the annual Pipeline Convention, wrote in over the holidays, inspired to comment after seeing a Rapiers "then and now" composite featured in our post about the band's upcoming 25th Anniversary show...

Interesting to see the "nascent Rapiers circa 1983 with Bob Burgos, Dave Lawes, Colin Pryce-Jones, Roger Cover". Bob has been a mate now for nearly 40 years.

Back in 1968, the band that I was in lost our drummer so we put a "Drummer Wanted" ad in the local paper, the Croydon Advertiser. A 17-year-old Bob turned up for the audition with his drums in his motorcycle sidecar—and he got the job! It turned out that he'd been having lessons but we were his first band. Of course, Bob went on to greater things with Matchbox and (for a time) The Rapiers. He is still gigging and recording regularly.

NB: Among Ray's other credits is the July 2005 Concert for Wayne and Jackie Nicholls memorial at the Wyllyotts Theatre in Potters Bar, which remains unreleased to this day.

Very Top: Famous Bob Burgos, far left.

The Savage Blue Moon

Last night I dreamt of Hank Marvin live on stage.

Don't ask if he was playing solo or with The Shadows. Don't ask what guitar or strings or shirt he brought. I remember Hank coming to the wicked solo in The Savage and, instead of breaking into his mighty surf-styled runs, changing moods, down shifting and gently picking... Blue Moon, the Elvis version (after all it was the King's birthday yesterday).

"This won't last too long," I thought, fingering my Stratocaster (erm, security blanket?) I'd brought to the foot of the stage. For some reason, I glanced to my right and noticed a reflection, a doppelganger: another stage hugger, carrying his guitar, too. Did he notice me? I hope not.

Now Hank decided to play with feedback, shoving his guitar toward his amp, then back, conjuring a dreamy hum and a nice segue from Blue Moon I thought. But if he ever made it back to The Savage I can't say; my 7 a.m. alarm stopped the show.

Fiesta del Surforama!

Let there be surf, Shads-style instrumentals, exotica gogo's y mas loco-ness in Espana next month.

Si! Los Rapiers headline night two of the 2nd Annual Surforama (or Surf-O-Rama, if you prefer) Spanish Surf Music Festival at Valencia's muy swinging Wah Wah Club. Los Coronas? Los Twangs? Que bueno! Sounds like one wild winter weekend on the Mediterranean. Details here.

Busted Down in Street

Ye-haw!

New Year's Eve found The Rapiers in the Somerset town of Street, near the gateway to Avalon, Glastonbury, entertaining at a "country weekend-type thing", says Nathan J. Hulse, who staged this faux mug shot of confederate Neil Ainsby, "arrested for being too funny" on the night.

As for the s***-kickin' party-timers at the Wessex Hotel, "we thought playing to a country music audience wouldn't go down too well," Nathan adds. "We needn't have worried. After the last chord of our opening number Shadoogie, the crowd of 150-200 cheered! We had a great night. Thanks, too, to Muscles and Curves [GO: Um, the mind boggles!] for letting us use their PA and drum kit."

Post o' the Week: Putting on the Style

Dear Rapiers:

Have a great New Year and hope you all had a brill Christmas! See you in Totton—I've got my '60s black and white outfit all sorted!

Ellen Holbrook
Southampton

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A twentysomething with all ages rock 'n' roll taste and fashion sense to match, Ms. Holbrook looks after rocker Mike Berry's website when not making the '60s scene and chasing our lads' Big Beat—over the seasons, I've exchanged How'd ya do's with the dashing Miss H at Rapiers gigs from Shadowmania to Bournemouth to Amersham.