Ever so fittingly, The Rapiers revisit the scene of their spectacular 25th Anniversary celebrations in 2008 (and a royal 2009 birthday party for yours truly), the Amersham Rock 'n' Roll Club, on 2 July 2011, to remember the late great Jet Harris.
Sources say members of Jet's family, including his sons, are due to attend.
Danger lurks around every chord change for Rapiers running on a tight-turn stage while doing Rossini justice. Just ask Colin Pryce-Jones, who recently admitted how close he came to calamity during the band's opening set closer, William Tell Overture, at September's Shadowmania 2008 at the Lakeside Center, Frimley Green, Surrey.
"I hadn't really looked until we did the number how close I was to the edge of the stage, and of course it's pretty dark out there where the audience is," he says. "When I turned to the left and started to do our gallop, I naturally took off at full pace—only to spot that I was in great danger of running straight off the stage and into the audience!
"I don't know how I did it, but I just managed to pull up in time without wobbling; because of course with a number like that you have to keep a firm grip on the position of the guitar and what you are doing.
"At our 25th Anniversary Concert at Amersham we had the side walls of the stage to work off, but at Lakeside you could end up in the audience with a huge crash!"
You be the judge whether Colin courted fate; frankly, from the comfy safety of my office, I don't see it. However, I've sourced three (!) differing angles of his near nightmare, courtesy Shadowmania attendees Richard, Gillian and Kitty. Two are YouTube-posted, the third a Windows Media Player file.
From stage left (1):
From stage left (2):
William Tell OvertureFrom stage right, elevated:
Now, that's what I call the Best of British!
Posing backstage at the Amersham Rock 'n' Roll Club on 22 March 2008 are, from left, Fentone Bill Bonney, Rapier Colin Pryce-Jones, Shadow Bruce Welch and singer Danny Rivers. Ah, the tales these men could tell. Thanks to Nathan J. Hulse for supplying the image.
WHO DIDN'T MAKE AMERSHAM: For weeks, rumours had me glad all over that Dave Clark Five bassist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Rick Huxley might attend the party, take a bow or join The Rapiers for a number; no word why he begged off (well, it was snowing o'er Britain that Easter weekend). Also no-go, alas, on Kaiser George Miller. Meanwhile, John Leyton sent a classy note, reprinted belatedly here: "I should like to pass on my congratulations to The Rapiers on this their 25th Anniversary in the music business. Unfortunately family committments have made it impossible for me to be with you this evening but I'm sure that this special Anniversary Concert will be a great night for yourselves and your many fans. Congratulations and Best Wishes."... DAVE RAVES: "I have to say that I really enjoyed playing with two rhythm guitars on the last few numbers, a sort of mini-Phil Spector-ish, Sounds Incorporated-ish load of noise!" says Dave Lawes. Speaking of rhythm, I'm glad Colin Pryce-Jones fondly remembered the late Wayne Nicholls from the stage... DO THE NEIL: Finally, the more I watch Neil Ainsby's ultra-zany dash about as "Bootleg Freddie Garrity" on Short Shorts, the more I'm convinced the band should make it part of their stage show, light comic relief at its heaviest!
Amersham attendee Barry Gillam has the knack for catching Rapiers mid-kick, trouser creases just right. Says Barry: "We sure had a great time, the place was really rocking and it was just great to hear all those songs and tunes we don't hear live very often, plus all the usual favourites."
Bassist Bill Bonney, who guest starred with The Rapiers at Amersham last week, presented this gorgeous, hand-engraved mug to the band in recognition of their Silver Anniversary.
Nathan J. Hulse: "A big thanks from all the guys to Bill for a really kind thought." Colin Pryce-Jones: "I didn’t know that Bill was a skilled engraver. It's beautiful, we will treasure it."
By the way, for more on Mr. Bonney's illustrious career as an original Fentone behind '60s singer Shane I'm a Moody Guy Fenton, who later morphed into glam rocker Alvin Stardust, visit Adrian Barrett's fantabulous site. Still recording, Bill is part of a cool instrumental duo called Bonney and Buzz with partner Peter "Buzz" Miller, whose CV includes lead guitar for Peter Jay and The Jaywalkers—they hit the UK hit charts in 1962 with Can Can 62, produced by Joe Meek. At Amersham, Bill told me a second B&B CD is due soon. Their first, Rock-Ola [Double Crown Records, DCCD20, 2005], continues to knock me out with majestic creations like Bandido and The Sunburst Kid.
Bournemouth's Barry Gillam left his seat to bag this colourful quartet of Rapiers images from their Silver Anniversary concert.
Top to bottom, from upper left: 1) Billie Davis offers sweets for the lads (long-time fan Jacky Cain at right), 2) Neil Ainsby, Dave Lawes and Nathan J. Hulse sync into a red triangle during the final set, 3) The entire front line put an emphatic exclamation point on The William Tell Overture, 4) Colin Pryce-Jones and Roger Cover "put it there" on a job well done.
Sentiment drawn from the Amersham Rock 'n' Roll Club guestbook.
Roger White: What a superb evening last Saturday. First time my wife and I have been to the Rock 'n' roll Club. Not that we haven't been to the hall before, but you forget what a friendly place it is and the super atmosphere. We went to see The Rapiers and that was a first too. Fantastic band with a brilliant and gifted leader in Colin. Jet Harris, Bruce Welch in attendance. Mike Berry, "Cliff", Billie Davis, just a non-stop electric night. We are both 60, but on the night, we were 21 again. Well done to all.
Len Williams: My compliments on the excellent sound at your venue. The Rapiers show was what my son would call "awesome". Great band with a great sound. Bruce Welch, Jet Harris, etc. It was truly a star-studded night and you get a five-star rating for putting on such a wonderful concert.
Yvonne Radcliffe: Agree with what others have said about Saturday's show—FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!! So looking forward to the June one with Steve Ellis and New Amen Corner. I hear Steve is still in great voice. New Amen Corner are just superb. You certainly put on some wonderful shows.
Ben White: Just got home from a great weekend away that included a first visit to your superlative show with The Rapiers and their guests. What a memorable night. They're a magnificent band and Jet Harris was spectacular. Bruce Welch in the audience. It was like a dream, but true! I wish you every luck and even though I live a long way away I will be back. So good to see you doing so much for charity too. Bravo.
Karen Middleton: Great great great show on Saturday. I didn't know about The Rapiers but my husband and I decided to give it a chance because your shows are always so good. Well we were just amazed at what a talented band they are and so much energy. It was like WOW. Jet Harris had us spellbound. It was a fantastic experience to see a Shadow up there. And then we met Bruce Welch. What a lovely man. Mike Berry, Billie Davis, it was just an awesome night. Thank you all. We're booking this week for New Amen Corner and Steve Ellis and for the October show at the same time with Chip Hawkes. How do you do it? These shows at those prices are nothing short of excellent value for money and they're always more exciting than other places we've gone to.
You're never alone with a packet of Walkers Crisps, eh, fellas?
Snowy Easter Sunday, the afternoon after their Silver Anniversary party, found John Tuck and Colin Pryce-Jones enjoying the 16th annual Pipeline Magazine Instrumental Convention at the Bushey Sports Club, run by Rapiers historian J.C. "Dick" West. Wisely, the venue's bar stocked our lads' favourite snack food.
Shadow Bruce Welch (below with Colin) made the scene as well, honoured as combos galore—e.g., Los Jets, Silhouets, Runaways—peppered their sets with Shads tracks. The affable host of the all-instro-no-vocals affair was Glaswegian George Geddes (bottom, chatting with my missus and John).
Meanwhile, during my five-night London holiday, SKY3 TV had the Walkers Routemaster ad in rotation thrice hourly. Anorakishly, I videoed the spot off my hotel telly for posterity. Here 'tis.
"A truly magical evening, a fantastic 25th."
That's how Dave Lawes summarised The Rapiers' Silver Anniversary concert the morning after, adding tongue-in-cheekily: "We have just recovered from doing The William Tell Overture, our last number, for the first time in years!"
On a serious note: "Colin, John, Nathan, Neil and I would like to express our gratitude to all our friends and fans who made the effort to attend the show (completely sold out) and to the musicians who made a special trip to support us: Bruce Welch, Jet Harris, Mike Berry, Billie Davis, Danny Rivers, Roger Cover, Bill Bonney, to name but a few."
What about the future? Believe it or not...
"We have already spoken about our 30-year anniversary as being the next milestone," Dave said. "Don't know what we'll do for that yet, but God willing we'll all still be here."
AND ON BASS GUITAR: Nathan J. Hulse (with camera) and Neil Ainsby check Dave Lawes, John Tuck and Colin Pryce-Jones rehearsing with legendary ex-Fentone bassist Bill Bonney—bow down, this man played on giant early '60s tracks like "I'm a Moody Guy" and "The Breeze and I". Bill flew from his home in Canada especially for the show, joining The Rapiers in their opening set for instrumentals "The Mexican" and "Just for Jerry", plus Eddie Cochran's "Somethin' Else".
GATHER ROUND: Colin, Bill B., Dave, his wife Alex, and Neil admire Pipeline Magazine's Summer 2004 Rapiers special backstage at the Amersham Rock 'n' Roll Club.
Oi! You're not hallucinating, dreaming or seeing double. That's Dave Lawes and his successor Neil Ainsby playing live side by side for the first time in Rapiers lore, a sea of Stratocaster red.
And now some lead guitar showing off, on Right Behind You Baby, as Dave and Colin did back in the day.
Laughter and pain, precision and risk taking, merriment and reunion. A once-in-a-25-year-lifetime evening. A triumph. A sold-out hall as witness. There's much to tell and show...
At the climax, taking their final bows, I counted six assembled Rapiers, including two generations of rhythm guitarists and bassists, on stage last night at the packed-out Amersham Rock 'n' Roll Club.
Below, from left: Dave Lawes, Neil Ainsby, Nathan J. Hulse, John Tuck, Roger Cover (in original Rapier black) and Colin Pryce-Jones. If Dave and Neil look positively knackered, well, hours of rehearsal plus three lengthy sets (back to back to back)—capped by a stormingly monumental sprint-in-place through the breathtakingly rare William Tell Overture—would floor any guitar-wielding mortal.
"Thanks, chum!" Here Colin introduces the lads, one by one, then gets the homilies turned on himself courtesy wise-cracking Neil:
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