BOOK LAUNCH & GIG

[TerryMurphy]

no Colin,do not seem right to me,our live album was recorded in april 78, and we did a album with the roll ups i will check the dates but i think it was a november date,may have been1978 or 79 so that puts the july date out of it,If it is one of my recording I  will have a copy somewere,did perry say it was at the bridge house.
But it dont matter really all them guys played the bridge ,wether KIETH  played again with Lea i would dought,who knows,Who is Perry anyway is he a member of our forum.
Regards Terry M

[rappo]

OK. This tape is as I said with McAvoy, Shepherd, Johnson, Sampson, Stratton and Edwards on the two tracks.

So, Perry, can you check the date. You gave me The Roll Ups Farewell Gig At The Bridge House - Recorded Friday 21st July, 1978.

Terry, yes Perry is on this forum....................................

[TerryMurphy]

Colin the Roll ups Album was our 4 th , mods mayday was may 1979 then McAvoys so the Roll ups would be november 1979 or later.T.M

[Steve Fisher]

Perry also worked at the pub for a while as potman around '78 and was at the gig, we were at school together and it was the first time we've seen each other since then.

Saw Paul Airey last week, who is doing well just back from a world tour sourcing the highest grade valves for his guitar amps.

[pelbetty]

Hiya all,
I can assure you that the dates I gave Colin are correct. I have checked and also found old press cuttings from the local rags and the NME. The farewell gig was the one where a million (slight exaggeration) people were crammed into the Bridge. Colin, during the tape you will hear Barry say that 'Last Night' May be the track issued on the Bridge House album!!
Roll-ups line up for the farewell was as stated. They came back as Lea Hart a little later with Rob Green etc which was the line-up used on the High Dives album. If you all remember correctly the farewell was for the old line-up with Barry, Jeff, Paul and Rick.
Steve Fisher is correct that I was at the Bridge for a while as a potman. For info Colin, the main voice heard blabbing away during my Roll-ups tape is that of Steve - we were standing together with Ian Ritchie and Tony Scott.
Hope the above clarifies a few bits.
Regards to all
P.

[TerryMurphy]

Hi Perry,well i am still not convinced,Of course i rmember the final night,it really was jam packed,we videod it that night,and after the rehearsal, the video engineer went home with the keys,read about it  in the book(old stage).They folded that night and book a gig the following week for the comeback,there was another name they use for i week then the came back with,bay city rollers member,that was much later on the new stage 1980,there was another name they used?,could the night you are talking about july 78,be Slowbone final night,because they recorded the Roll ups Album in november 1979,if you have some,N,M,E dates thats final,we need dates for the dairy page so post them for us,Thank for taking part  Perry ,get Colin to send me a c.d  of the gig,Were did you get the recording from.did i give it  to you,? Colin you started another questionare?T.M

[Steve Fisher]

Hi Chaps,

was it that the Roll Ups returned as Lea Hart - the blonde bombshell - and the Roll Ups a couple of weeks later, but when the album came out it was as a Roll ups album, the Lea Hart bit being dropped again? This is my memory of events, but I could be wrong.

The band Lea was in with the Bay city roller was La Rox, I wish I had a picture as I remember the image being a little on the Rocky Horror show side.

Perry your memory is something else, but then if you've been cursing me for talking all over your tape for 29 years I can see how you would remember who was there. 

[rappo]

Don't remember La Rox but .........................

The multi talented Hart is known as an industrious figure on the British Rock scene having fulfilled roles as producer, singer, songwriter, manager and British music ambassador internationally.

Originally a member of The Roll Ups who had released a single, 'Blackmail', on the Bridgehouse label in 1979 and an album entitled 'Low Dives For High Balls' the same year.

Vocalist Lea Hart supported JUDAS PRIEST on their 1979 'Killing Machine' British tour with the group that boasted a line-up of bassist Jeff Peters, drummer Rick Andreo and keyboard player Paul Airey. An album was recorded, but this was never released and Lea then formed the LEA HART BAND which evolved into YA YA.

Hart quit YA YA  prior to their second album.The man joined FASTWAY as vocalist, replacing Dave King, and released two albums with the band. Whilst a member of FASTWAY, Lea busied himself on promoting British bands in the former Soviet Union. Indeed, he also produced the London based FIRST STRIKE's demo in 1989 to boot.

Further afield Hart would lend his vocal talents sessioning on Japanese act AIR PAVILION's 'Kaizoku' album.Hart featured on many top name Rock albums as a backing vocalist or guitarist, including JOAN JETT's 'Bad Reputation', BAD COMPANY's 'Holy Water', GIANT's 'Last Of The Runaways' and FOREIGNER's 'Unusual Heat'.  In 1988 Lea found himself in the formation of TRUE BRITS together with ex IRON MAIDEN guitarist Dennis Stratton and drummer Clive Burr for a Japanese released album.Lea's 1991 issued solo album, 'Trapped', was released only in Japan. The album featured such notables as drummer Gary Ferguson, of the GARY MOORE band, THIN LIZZY guitarist Scott Gorham, SAXON's Nibbs Carter, Biff Byford and Nigel Glockler, ex IRON MAIDEN men Dennis Stratton and PAUL DIANNO, Tino Troy of PRAYING MANTIS and PAUL SAMSON.

1994's 'Ready To Rumble' did get a European release and the album once more featured associates in Ferguson and Carter with guitarists Ray Callcut and STREETFIGHTER and CANNES man Dave Senczak.

The versatile Hart showed his hand once more in 1997 producing and co-writing ex GIRLSCHOOL vocalist JACKIE BODIMEAD's solo album 'Don't Believe In Love'.The 90's has seen Hart turn into a one man tribute industry having overseen production of numerous homage albums for the likes of IRON MAIDEN and THIN LIZZY

[Oggy]

I have a note here that i saw lea hart jr at the bridge in 1979, not listed as the rollups.
 Oggy

[rappo]

Here's a bit about Sweden Rock on June 9th this year :-

FASTWAY

After being kicked out of Motörhead Fast Eddie Clarke put out a string of classic albums with his new band Fastway, initially featuring also ex-UFO bassist Pete Way. The band quickly rose to dizzying heights of success back in the early to mid '80s, but towards the tail end of the decade, however, Eddie was in a bad shape and after two more albums with the ex-Roll Ups frontman Lea Hart at the helm the band disbanded in the early '90s. As for this new '00s lineup, the singer, Toby Jepson, formerly of the Little Angels, is a respectable frontman with a good voice. The same can not, however, be said about the rest of the band and even Eddie, while still playing like a god, seemed a little stiff in the joints, but perhaps that's just the fifteen years of laying on one's laurels showing. Still, Fast Eddie has probably much left to offer the world of rock, so let's keep our fingers crossed for a new album and more shows.

[Steve Fisher]

La Rox

The search for a new guitarist ended with the arrival of Lea Hart, formerly of Slowbone and the Roll-Ups, while a second drummer, Kim Wylie (aka John Towe), was recruited from a virtual who's who of classic punk bands (Chelsea, the Adverts, ATV, Generation X) and the band returned to Japan. That fall, however, the Ian Mitchell Band determined to try and break Britain, reinventing themselves as a softcore glam band and blitzing the capital's pubs and clubs. "It was," Wylie later mused, "quite a comedown."

Attempts to land a record deal failed, although Hart, Honey, and Wylie alone scored a minor U.K. hit in April 1981, "Small Ads," with the novelty band of the same name. Two months later, the Ian Mitchell Band changed its name to La Rox and recorded Hart's "Photograph" as their own potential first 45, for the tiny FM label. The departure of Jay (for the Hitmen) that fall saw that track scrapped; with new bassist Murray Ward (ex-Downtown Flyers and the London Cowboys) on board, they cut a new single a new version of Slowbone's "Can I Bring You Love." It did nothing, however, and the band began to crumble. Hart departed in early 1982, Honey and Towe followed. Mitchell and Ward continued working together for a time, but the magic of La Rox was never rekindled -- at least by the band's own members. Looking back, however, Mitchell is in doubt that "we certainly paved the way for the likes of Hanoi Rocks and Girl to break through, and all those other nice, clean rock groups who were frightened to take a chance."

[pelbetty]

Hiya all,
Blimey, I didn't realise my tapes would start off such an in-depth debate concerning lea hart/Roll-Ups etc........
Terry - I will look out my old clippings from NME, Newham Recorder etc. They feature mainly slowbone/Roll-Ups but there are also bits about the Warm Jets, Dogwatch etc. When I've got them together I will contact you again and arrange getting copies to you if you would like. The Roll-Ups tape I sent Colin was recorded by me on an old hand held Phillips cassette recorder as all of my Bridge House tapes were.
Steve - Thanks for the compliment concerning my memory - always was a sad git for trivia and making lists etc. Great to see you again by the way.
Colin - if you remain in doubt about the dates I gave you please listen to Lea at the start of the second set of the Roll-ups farewell. He says that the only stuff they've got coming out is two tracks on the live Bridge album thus putting the date prior to the album launch.

[rappo]

Perry, I've got no doubt about the date. I only asked for confirmation and it looks like it snowballed. Slowbone, Roll Ups, Lea Hart, whatever, broke up, reformed, changed names so often I couldn't keep up with it. In those days and at present I drunk too much of the Dark Stuff..................

Out of all of the muscians at the BH, Barry was the only one that pissed me off, much to Jeff and Ricks surprise, and after that I never took much interest in all of his drama. In fact, that was part of the reason I moved on when an opportunity arose.

Anyway, I've started recording these tapes. I am finishing off my current photo assignment this week, so I'll start putting my recordings through the mixer pretty soon and see what I can come up with.

[rappo]

Here's a reply that I got from Keefy Shepherd :-

"Hi Colin, sorry about late reply, as for that farewell gig, can't say I remember it well, as all those jams etc were all good nights. It was strange really how so many good muso's used to get down the bridge and somehow get on so well together without too many ego's spoiling the "fun".

It was also good that if any band had any success other bands were very quick too acknowledge thier achievement and congratulate them, in all they were bloody good days.

As for the Slowbone era, well it should be documented as far as I am concerned, it was too a point put out on record sleves and in local press, I have some copies of these but not really enough to try and run a complete biog of the band.

I have no idea of Jeff Peters whereabouts, I have heard that he too lives in the states, but what he's doing or where, I have no idea.

Barry Hart or Lea as he later became now manages Paul Di'anno ex Maiden, he tours all over with him, but still lives in East London. I met him about 12 years ago when I was playing with Dennis Stratton in a covers band called "Storey" we were at the John Bull in Roman Road and he turned up, we had a bit of a talk but bassicly said bugger all if you know what I mean.

As for Jim Hunter, I had'nt seen him since he left the band in '74. He went and worked with an old manager of ours selling music gear in Cambridge, they then went on and opened a shop in Germany and he went over there. I had tried to trace him but to no avail, then all of a sudden he turns up on Friends Reunited, so sends him a message and we're in contact again.

I now play in a R&R band and we are doing reasonably well, not really my bag but we have plenty of work and I am still very much enjoying myself. Well we played at a R&R festival in Germany last May so I arranged to meet up with Jim, christ did we get slaughtered or what! We had agood two days together and we still keep in touch.

So mate thats about it, I will try to upload an old pic I found on a Dutch web site and name the band members, may ring a few bells, any thing else I can come up with will try to do likewise, Be Lucky, Keefy. "

It's interesting that he pointed out that the musicians got on so well together. I think that completely changed when the younger crowd started putting bands together. The camaraderie seemed to disapear.............

[Steve Fisher]

I wouldn't say the camaradie diapeared, it just split into two groups, the older guys didn't like the punk/new wave bands, who they thought couldn't play, getting gigs at all, with some noteable broader minded exceptions, but stuck together.

The younger bands weren't so keen on the older bands, but stuck ltogether in much the same way, and from what I've heard of the who's not talking to who amongst the older lot these days, I think we made a better job of getting on with each other 30 years on!