Local duo John Otway and ‘Wild Willy’ Barrett hit The Nag’s Head stage in late April 1977 for a performance that pre-dated their brief rise to fame later in the year.
Cover of debut album by Otway and Barrett – re-issued by Polydor in 1977. Partly produced by Pete Townshend
Both born in Aylesbury (around 25 miles from High Wycombe), the eccentric performers were starting to ride on the coat-tails of the nationwide ‘punk’ explosion. Otway (aged 24) had been performing since he was a teenager and had previously graced the High Wycombe stages as a solo artist. ‘Wild Willy’ (real name Roger John Barrett) was two years older that Otway and had a then unique guitar style that could easily be described as ‘grunge’ –if that term had existed at the time.
The set list at The Nag’s Head gig would have included:
Really Free
Geneve
Beware of the Flowers (‘cause I’m sure they’re going to get you)
Cheryl’s Going Home
Racing Cars
The duo signed to Polydor records shortly after their performance at The Nag’s Head in a three year deal for a reported £250,000. Early in the year they had signed The Jam for just £10,000.
In a interview with The Independent in August 2006, Otway said:
“It was a relief to me when punk started, with its reckless behaviour and musical incompetence. Because that was what I’d been doing for years. Suddenly I fitted in. The trouble was that eventually even the punks learnt how to play.”
It was their performance on BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test later in October 1977 that attracted the attention of TV bosses. Check out the YouTube clip below for the full performance.
Really Free hit the singles chart shortly afterwards but proved to be their only success. Otway would eventually concentrate on his solo career and would return to The Nag’s Head during the early 1990’s for a weekly residency to help out promoter Ron Watts. Otway was quoted on the back of Watts’ biography ‘Hundred Watts – a life in Music’, saying:
“I had a perfectly good job as a dustman before I met Ron Watts. He put paid to that and I haven’t done a sensible say’s work since.”
Do you have any memories of Otway and/or Barrett at The Nag’s Head?
Thursday 21st April 1977 – Little Bob Story – Nag’s Head.
French Rhythm ‘n’ Blues outfit Little Bob Story returned to the Nag’s Head for another headline performance. Front by Roberto Piazza (AKA ‘Little Bob’), the band were formed in 1974 and released their debut album, High Time, in 1976. Two further albums followed in 1977 (Living In The Fast Lane and Little Bob Story).
Gig listings show they played had previously played at The Nag’s Head on 10th October 1976 and 10th February 1977 – this and the two previous shows were promoted by Blues lover Ron Watts who continued to put on his favoured brand of music alongside the steady stream of ‘punk’ and ‘new wave’ acts.
Bucks Free Press advert for gigs at Nag’s Head – April/May 1977
The Bucks Free Press advert for the gig shows Nuclear Rouge as support to Little Bob Story, while forthcoming gigs include John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett, Lew Lewis Band and the return of Bees Make Honey.
However, while Ron Watts’ was embracing the resurgence of the live music scene by promoting gigs at The Nag’s Head, the nearby Town Hall still had its doors shut to ‘rock concerts’. It seems from another BFP advert that more popular at The Town Hall were the Wrestling events.
Bucks Free Press advert – Wrestling at The Town Hall – April 1977
On the same evening that Little Bob Story powered out their Blues riffs down The Nag’s you could have gone to a ‘Girls, Girls, Girls…Tag Thriller’, featuring Miss Mitzi Mueller and Sexy Suzy Perkins versus The Irish Colleens. While the main event was The Horrific Masked Mummu?
If you favoured The Nag’s Head entertainment that evening, the YouTube clip below provides a taster.
Support for Wayne County is billed as Rock Street Boys plus a ‘world debut’ of The Flobs.
I’ve been unable to trace any information on these two support acts. ‘The Legendary Flobs’ were a band formed in High Wycombe around 1979 but this 1977 version appears to be unrelated. If you know any more please get in touch.
Local band Crossfire played on one of the regular Thursday ‘rock’ nights at The Nag’s Head in April 1977. They went on to play a couple of support dates at Aylesbury Friars later that year and were described in an Friars Newsletter from July 1977 as ‘High Wycombe and Chesham legends’, after finishing third in the Friars poll for ‘Best Local Band’ of 1976.
Bucks Free Press advert April 1977
The line-up for the Nag’s Head gig is believed to be Chris Dennis (lead and slide guitar/vocals), Chris Oldham (lead vocals/guitar), Roger Batchelor (bass/vocals) and Dave Gaylor (drums). Band members Dennis and Batchelor were also connected with High Wycombe Music shop Sun Records (on the Oxford Road and next to where Scorpion Records would pop up later in 1977). Dennis’s guitar style was likened to Eric Clapton. They also finished 6th in the 1977 Friars ‘Best Local Band’ poll.
Friday 1st April 1977 – The Adverts, supported by The Rats – Nag’s Head
Iconic punk band The Adverts played The Nag’s Head on 1st April 1977. A crowd of less than 100 would see lead singer T.V. Smith burst on stage with his band and claim “This is the real thing”.
Support came from The Rats, a US based Stooges influenced outfit doing the London circuit. The low key advertising for the gig would mean their audience numbered around 30 at a time when the punk scene was still very much underground in High Wycombe.
The Adverts – 1977
Formed in late 1976 after front man T.V. Smith and partner Gaye Black (both 20 years old at the time) moved from Bideford to London in order to part of the growing punk scene in the Capital.
They played their first gig at The Roxy, London on 15 January 1977 as support for Generation X. Their second gig at the same venue four days was recorded and the track ‘Bored Teenagers, was included on the live compilation album, ‘The Roxy London WC2’.
Another early gig was supporting The Damned at The Roxy and they signed for Stiff records shortly afterwards. In March 1977, they supported The Jam and Wayne County – again at The Roxy – a venue they played at ten times inside the first three months the iconic venue opened.
Their appearance at The Nag’s Head on 1st April 1977 is believed to their first outside of London but there is a possibility that they supported Wayne County at The Nag’s Head on 6th March 1977.
The March and April outings pre-dated any official studio recordings by a few weeks. Later in April they would record the first of four sessions for the John Peel show, while their debut single, One Chord Wonders’ was released on Stiff on 29 April 1977.
The Nag’s Head gig also came just four days before T.V. Smith’s 21st birthday, while the slightly younger Gaye (now Gaye ‘Advert’) was set to become one of the first female punk icons – with her very familiar ‘panda’ eye makeup and black leather jacket.
Other members of the band during what is believed to be their only appearance at The Nag’s Head were Howard ‘Pickup’ and Laurie ‘Driver’.
The gig was reviewed in punk fanzine of the time ‘The New Wave’, where the audience number is recounted as being barely 50.
The set-list includes: ‘One Chord Wonders’, ‘New Boys’, ‘Quick Step’, ‘On the Roof’, ‘New Day Dawning’, ‘We Who Wait’, ‘Bored Teenagers’, ‘Gary Gilmore’s Eyes’, ‘Bombsite Boy’ and ‘Great British Mistake’.
Part way through the set Smith tells the audience what he thinks of their lack of life. However, in an interview after the gig Smith admits:
“A few people enjoyed it tonight”, adding: “What I didn’t like were the people standing at the bar, who were more interested in their pints than what was going on”. Drummer Laurie chipped in: “Why pay 60p to come here and drink?”
Smith went on:
“Go and drink in another pub if you don’t wanna hear what’s going on. People aren’t prepared to listen to anything that isn’t exactly what they expect. That’s the problem – it’s gonna take time. It’s not an instant thing…”
It may not have been instant but T.V. Smith’s song writing ability soon became a major factor in setting them apart from other ‘punk’ bands of the time. ‘Gary Gilmore’s Eyes’ quickly became a stage favourite but there was controversy when the story behind the lyrics was revealed – Gary Gilmore as a convicted US murderer who offered his eyes for medical science after his execution. I wonder if Noel Edmunds knew this story when he introduced their appearance on Top of the Pops shortly after the track was released as a single in August 1977?
A quick word about support act, The Rats. Not much about their history on the internet at the time of this post but they appear to have hailed from Brooklyn (USA) and included Soer (vocals), Mike Williams (guitar), Fred Wilde (bass) and Mouth (drums). The New Wave fanzine commented: “The Rats don’t sound like any of the English New Wave bands – they draw most of their influences from The Stooges”. Their set-list included ‘Sick Friends’, Iggy cover, ‘Search and Destroy’, ‘You’re so dead’ and ‘Havoc’.
Thursday 24th March 1977 – Bees Make Honey – Nag’s Head
Reformed, early 1970’s ‘Pub Rockers’, Bees Make Honey were booked to play The Nag’s Head in March 1977. Formed in London in late 1971, their original line-up included Barry Richardson (bass), Deke O’Brien (guitar and vocals), Ruan O’Lochlainn (piano, guitar and sax) and Bob Cee (drums). They were managed in their early days by Dave Robinson (then Manager of Brinsley Schwartz and later, founder of Stiff Records). They released a single for EMI in the summer of 1973 called ‘Knee Trembler’. An album followed shortly afterwards but the band broke up in 1974 after further recordings were rejected by the record company.
Bees Make Honey
The inspiration to reform in 1977 may have been due to the knock-on effect of the growing punk scene? The 1977 line-up included Richardson (sax and vocals), Mick Molloy (guitar), Rob Demick (bass) and Paul Atkinson (drums) and Stan Grieg (keyboards). They also played a few London dates at the time of their March 1977 Nag’s Head appearance and it also followed a December 1976 live recording of a gig at The Nashville Rooms in London.
They would return to the Nag’s Head for another performance in May 1977 but after a few more London appearances, appeared to have called it day later in 1977.
Perhaps most interesting during my brief research for this page, was the discovery of a YouTube clip of Bees Make Honey performing their track ‘Caldonia’ during a gig said to be filmed at The Nag’s Head, circa 1973. This may bring back some memories of the sadly lost venue.
London pub rockers, The 101’ers, led by a 23 year old Joe Strummer played The Nag’s Head in what would turn out to be one of their final live outings before Strummer ‘saw the light’ and joined The Clash.
Formed in May 1974, The 101’ers progressed to be one of the top London ‘Pub Rock’ bands of the time, along with Dr Feelgood and Kiburn & The High Roads.
The trip to High Wycombe appears to be a rare venture outside of the capital – with their regular jaunts usually taking place in West London pubs.
The 101’ers, with Joe Strummer, at The Elgin pub, Ladbroke Grove – photo from http://www.theclash.org.uk
Their recorded output was limited too. A few days after their Nag’s Head appearance they put the final touches on their debut single – ‘Keys to Your Heart’. By the time the single was released a couple of months later, The 101’ers had split.
It was at a 101’ers gig a couple of weeks after their Nag’s Head appearance that Strummer saw the band that changed his life. The support band for their appearance at The Nashville on 3rd April 1976 were The Sex Pistols. When the audience didn’t respond to the output from The Sex Pistols, the Pistols’ followers in the audience, including Sid Viscious, started a fight. Strummer was suitably impressed with both their attitude and their music. The 101’ers would see The Sex Pistols support them again at The Nashville on 23rd April 1976.
Commenting later, Strummer said:
“When I saw [The Sex Pistols] I realised you couldn’t compare them to any other group on the island, they were so far ahead. And I knew we were finished. Five seconds into the first song, I knew we were like yesterday’s papers. I mean we were over!”.
In the audience the night Strummer first saw The Sex Pistols were Mick Jones and Paul Simonon (both 20 years old). A few weeks later Strummer was invited to join The Clash. Strummer would replace High Wycombe’s Billy Watts in a pre-gigging version of the band. The Clash would make their live debut in July 1976 and Strummer would return to High Wycombe to play with his fast rising new band in November 1976. Exactly one year after The 101’ers appearance at The Nag’s Head, The Clash would release their first single, ‘White Riot’.
It was not all ‘punk’ down The Nag’s Head during 1977. Shucks were High Wycombe’s contribution to the ‘County’ music scene during the 1970’s. They consisted of Paul Sharman (bass, lead singer), Spike Jones (guitar, banjo, vocals), Pete Sharp (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Bob Walker (drums, vocals), George Ricci (sax), and Steve Darrington on piano, harmonica, accordion, clarinet and vocals.
Shucks – High Wycombe’s contribution to the Country Music scene in the 1970’s
I’m grateful to Gary Jones for providing the following for wycombegigs.co.uk: “The band was formed from the remnants of a country band featuring Spike Jones and Paul Sharman which had a regular Friday night slot at The George pub on the approach road to Slough. Prior to this Spike Jones and Steve Darrington formed an acoustic blues duo with a regular spot upstairs at The Coach and Horses (formerly in the High Street, High Wycombe). A relatively-unknown Paul Simon used to gig there. I remember talking to him at the bar. His big song at the time was ‘I am a rock’ [circa 1965].”
Meanwhile according to Steve Darrington’s website, Shucks ‘played on the same circuit as AC/DC, Dire Straits and top pub rock bands of the time’. Shucks member Spike Jones will also be remembered for his time with The Blues Shakers and The Boogie Band.
Nag’s Head poster March 1977 featuring forthcoming gigs for Generation X & Deathwish, Shucks and Bees Make Honey
I’m sure there must be people out there with memories of these gigs?
The live music scene in High Wycombe during 1967 appears to be generally centered around the Town Hall. But for whatever reason, as the year progressed, other venues appeared eager to grab a piece of the action. These are some key dates and venues from January 1967:
Montage of press cuttings from the Bucks Free Press – January 1967
Friday 6th January 1967 – No Urging Action (Disco) – Nag’s Head
The Nag’s Head in London Road was not a current live music venue back in January 1967 but there were efforts to bring some sort of ‘scene’ to the East of the Town with the opening of a new Friday Discotheque night. ‘No Urging Action’ was an ’18 and over’ event debuting in the first week of January 1967 with a crowd of around 50 turning up. Organiser was Ian Tilbury, whose plans were said to include fashion shows and top American artists in ‘guest appearances’. Were you one of the Disco goers at The Nag’s Head?
Tuesday 10th January 1967 – Amboy Dukes – Town Hall
A band by the name Amboy Dukes was around in 1967 and included a young Ted Nugent. They were a US based band. However, this gig was by the closer to home, mainly Reading based band of the same name. Admission was 6/- (30p) with Don Jordan playing ‘Top Discs’ at the regular Tuesday ‘Dance Night’ at The Town Hall organised by Ron Prior.
Saturday 21st January 1967 – Force Four – Needham’s Bowl
Needham’s Bowl was on Desborough Road, High Wycombe and on the same site on what would later become the Chiltern Rooms (opened in 1972). Not much background on Force Four – although they appear to have supported Geno Washington in Dunstable on the Friday evening before they were billed to perform in High Wycombe.
Sunday 22nd January 1967 – Al Stewart – Rose & Crown
This appears to be the debut of what was billed the ‘Folk Chamber’ at the Desborough Road/Mendy Street pub. Al Stewart went on to become a renowned artist – best known for his 1976 Year of the Cat, album and single. Glasgow born Stewart was 21 at the time of this advertised appearance in this small pub in High Wycombe. Did he really play The Rose & Crown in his early days?
Tuesday 24th January 1967 – Small Faces – Town Hall
The visit of The Small Faces to High Wycombe in January 1967 was quite possibly the highlight of the month for the local gig-goers of the time. However, technical issues marred the night with The Small Faces forced to abandon their set 30 minutes into their planned 40 minute slot due to £300 worth of their amplifiers going, according to press reports, ‘phutt’.
Speaking to the press after the gig. Small Faces front man Steve Marriot said:
“We just lost four amplifiers out there. But apart from that it was great. We’ve played before the Wycombe audience before and we went down well then, but tonight was good, yes it was really nice”.
Directly after the gig The Small Faces went to Barnes where were due to start work on their new LP, with songs written mainly by members Marriot (still a week away from his 20th birthday at time of the gig) and Ronnie ‘Plonk’ Lane (a couple of months short of his 21st birthday).
At the time of the January 1967 gig The Small Faces had already penned classics including ‘All or Nothing’, ‘Sha-La-La-La-Lee’ and ‘Whatcha Gonna Do About It’.
Admission was 8/- (40p) with support advertised as Respect.
Saturday 28th January 1967 – Jay Brothers – Needham Bowl
Advertised as ‘Cabaret Night’ down The Desborough Road venue with entry 2/- (10p) for Members and 4/- (20p) for Non-Members. The additional tag line of ‘Saturday Moonlight Bowling’, suggests that the Ten-Pin bowling venue kicked into life after the band had finished?
Tuesday 31st January 1967 – Spencer Davis Group – Town Hall
Once again 8/- would gain you entry to see one of top UK groups of the time. Spencer Davis Group had been formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis, Steve Winwood and his brother Muff Winwood. They had signed to Island records in 1964 and at the time of their January 1967 appearance at The Town Hall had just enjoyed enourmous chart success with their single ‘Gimme Some Lovin’. It reached No.2 in the UK charts in November 1966 and had only just dropped out of the Top 50 by the time they took stage at The Town Hall.
Thursday 10th March 1977 – Generation X/Deathwish – Nag’s Head
Generation X make their second appearance at The Nag’s Head ahead of signing a record deal. Support comes from Deathwish, the only locally based ‘punk’ band at the time.
Nag’s Head poster March 1977 featuring forthcoming gigs for Generation X & Deathwish, Shucks and Bees Make Honey
The day of the gig coincided with the day The Sex Pistols pulled the publicity stunt of signing their new record deal with A&M records outside Buckingham Palace. The group arrived at 9am, jumped out their car for the waiting media shots, and were then on their way back to Regent Palace Hotel for a press conference. The signing-on fee is reported to be worth £150,000. Less than a week later they were sacked following a culmination of various incidents, including an altercation with BBC’s Bob Harris.
Deathwish consisted of Kris Jozajtis (guitar and vocals), Carlton Mounsher (bass) and Mark White (drums) who had formed the band during the heatwave summer of 1976. The trio had then seen The Sex Pistols at the September 1976 gig at The Nag’s Head and the ‘year zero’ moment for the punk scene in High Wycombe was set. Deathwish debuted at a chaotic gig at Liston Hall, Marlow on 30th October 1976 before gigs at High Wycombe’s Desborough Hall, Nag’s Head and SU Bar before the end of 1976. They too were mostly chaotic.
Deathwish Left to right – Mark White, Kris Jozajtis, Carlton Mounsher Thanks to Kris for this rare photo of Deathwish
Also associated with Deathwish at the time was 16 year old roadie Dylan Jones – a former pupil at Great Marlow Secondary School. He later attended Chelsea Art School and then Saint Martin’s School of Art in London, before a career in journalism, including time with i-D, Arena, The Face, and culminating as editor of GQ magazine in 1999. He was awarded the OBE in 2013 for services to the publishing and British fashion industries.
“We supported Generation X at the town’s infamous punk venue the Nag’s Head, and the excitement convinced me to take to the stage again. And having experimented with various (awful) punk groups (the Un, for instance, and a white reggae motorcycle band called – I kid you not – Bob Harley), I finally joined a British version of the B-52’s, 18 months before the B-52’s actually existed, who played Motown covers, primeval ska and a selection of ‘original’ material (most of which sounded like punked-up Motown B-sides).”
The band were called The Dads – they never quite made it and Jones eventually went down the journalism route.
For Deathwish, their support slot for Generation X was to be their last gig before re-incarnating as The Pretty in the summer of 1977. Deathwish songs at the time included: ‘Destruction’, ‘Ballad of The Blank Generation’, ‘AD 2001’, ‘Pain’, ‘Domestic Nightmares’ and ‘You’re So Keen’.
Meanwhile, headliners Generation X were returning to High Wycombe having first played in January 1977 (their 9th ever gig and the first outside London). The March 1977 appearance was still only their 16th ever gig for a band still finding their feet but also just starting to attract the attention of record companies.
Photos of the Nag’s Head gig have been posted to the excellent Generation X Facebook page but they can be difficult to find, so I have posted one below:
Generation X – photo from Generation X Reunion Now Facebook page – said to be from Nag’s Head 10 March 1977
The Nag’s Head appearance goes off without too much fuss but their appearance the following night at University of Leicester, at the Clare Hall Easter Ball, is marred by an ever growing problem at the time. Halfway through the set, guitarist Bob ‘Derwood’ Andrews is hit in the head with a full can of beer. The show is stopped so that Derwood can be taken to the hospital for stitches. The troublemakers are reported in the music press as ‘Led Zeppelin’ heavies – the growing phenomena being violence between rivals ‘tribes’ of music followers, with the young ‘punks’ generally being the ‘easy’ targets .
There is also some 1977 live footage of Generation X available on YouTube.
Both clips will give you idea of the energy on stage at The Nag’s Head back in March 1977
First clip from Don Letts’ Punk Rock Movie
Second clip, later in the 1977 from The Marquee
Generation X would return to The Nag’s Head twice more in 1977 – each time the queues to get in would get longer as the ‘punk’ scene in High Wycombe began to take off.
