Mellotronists

>Hi John,
>I didn't know that anyone would be interested, but here goes:
>It's a long story, so make yourself comfortable.
>I met Robin Lumley (of Brand X fame) on a TV shoot for a potential 
>jazz series that wasn't followed up (typically, given the state of 
>music on British TV. Some things never change!). I recognised him 
>not only from Brand X days, but also from the fact that we're both 
>Railroad modellers (as is Justin Hayward, amongst others). We got 
>chatting and a few days later  he rang up and said 'I'm putting 
>together a fun jazz rock group, do you fancying playing in it?'. 
>'Yes sure, who else is in the band?'
>'Me, Rod Argent, Morris Pert from Band X, Graeme Edge, and a session 
>guitarist called Foggy Little'.
>GULP! I was in serious company.
>Robin booked a date at the Bass Clef club in London, and we met for 
>the first time on the fatrenoon of the gig at the Club.
>It was the easiest gig of my life, as all these guys knew their 
>stuff, the musical ideas just flowed, and it grooved mightily.
>Rod was/still is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, and 
>astoundingly inventive as a player. He had so much fun that night he 
>went off to form a band with (I think) Peter Van Hooke, and we never 
>saw him again!
>Robin got in Gary Brooker (of Procol Harum fame) who was a guy with 
>a superbly dry wit; he'd come out with a one liner dead pan and 30 
>seconds later you'ld break up as you'ld just got the joke. You never 
>knew what he was going to say next. We rehearsed at Graeme's house 
>at Cobham , Surrey (near the Threshold Records office), and did more 
>gigs at the Bass Clef. I met Patric Moraz (one of my heroes) and 
>Steve Howe (another hero) at the Bass Clef when Patrick and Bill 
>Bruford (aka god) played their when their 'Flags' album was 
>released, and Patrick came to the club to se us in action.
>Oh yes-the name of the band: 'Loud, Confident and Rong' (sic), named 
>after a listing on Brand X albums for guitarist John 'Loud, 
>Confident and Rong' Goodsall). Robin came up with that one!
>Foggy was a great guitarist with a fund of session stories; some of 
>them may even have been true!
>
>We had a bunch of fun on the gigs, adding a friend/protege of 
>Graeme's called Pam (I forget her surname now) on vocals; she would 
>sing lead vocals on some tunes, and duet with Gary on others. We 
>played the Marquee club in London, with Dave Clem Clempson on 
>guitar, as Foggy had to go into hospital for an operation. Clem 
>played the material like he'd been playing it for years, which was 
>somewhat of a revelation.
>Gary went off to tour, so I got Peter Skellern's phone number and 
>invited him over to play with the band. He fitted in right away, and 
>we went to Gateway studios to record four track of demos in one day, 
>which all went well. I was playing bass, moog bass and organ, Robin 
>on electric piano, Peter on pianos and synths, Foggy on guitar, 
>Graeme on drums, and morris on percussion. Unfortunately, despite 
>the names and the lineup, we couldn't get arrested. I've still got 
>the 1/4" master of the session.
>Robin fell ill a few months later, so I tracked down Kerry Minnear 
>from Gentle Giant (another hero); Graeme went on tour for 'The other 
>side of life' tour, so the last few gigs the lineup was: Me, Petere, 
>Kerry, Foggy, Nigel Pegrum (Steeleye Span -a long standing friend ) 
>and Tony Fernnadez (Rick Wakeman) on percussion.
>I was hoping we'd get some interest but nothing happened and we all 
>went our separate ways, which was rather a shame, 'cos the band had 
>terrific potential.
>
>I'll tell you later about how I managed to teach Graeme Edge how to 
>play reggae, and a few years ago I came across John Verity (of later 
>Argent fame) who told me of his Spinal Tap moment: he's gone off 
>stage to change cloths while the band were playing on (all part of 
>the show). Unfortunately the stage lift got stuck and he couldn't 
>get back. Argent had to play the same riff for about 15 minutes 
>until he appeared!
>
>Best wishes,
>
>Dave.
>
>
>
>
>>Dave,
>>
>>Err, could you pretty please spill some stories about that jazz 
>>rock band with Robin Lumley, Rod Argent, and Grame Edge and 
>>yourself?  What was the name of the band?  Are recordings 
>>available?  Did Rod ever mention the show at the Silver Dollar 
>>where the lighting crew kept cutting the power to the stage and 
>>Russ Ballard quit the band in the dressing room afterwards?
>>
>>John McIntyre
>>mcintyre@...