Nightshift

(c’91-’95) Paul Dreczko (keyboards), Robin Tunnell (guitar/vocals), Barney Godfrey (guitar), Donny Spinks/Shaw (drums) and Graham Hill (bass).

This Guildford 5-piece blues band played locally and had a mascot called Gilbert. The band played mainly pubs around Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset.

The Abinger Arms, Abinger hosted the band on 27 August ’91 and the next month, on 13 September, the band were just up the road at The Compasses Inn, Gomshall. A trip out to The Royal Oak, Passfield followed on 26 October ’91.

The band kicked of ’92 on valentine’s day back at The Abinger Arms, and returned to The Royal Oak eight days later, on 22 February ’92. They rolled into The Cricketers, Westfield on 4 April ’92, before hitting The Abinger Arms once again on 2 May. The White Hart, Frimley was also visited that month, on 21 May. July caught the band back at The Royal Oak (4 July ’92) and The Abinger Arms (11 July ’92) once again. A drive out to Ockham’s Black Swan, aka Mucky Duck, on 12 September, was followed by another return visit to The Royal Oak on 30 September ’92. A trip toward the big smoke on Halloween, saw the band performing at The Grey Horse, Kingston on 31 October ’92. In the lead up to Christmas ’92 the band appeared at The Abinger Arms. Abinger with Rex Goldsmith on drums and Steve “Whitestrat” Wilkie on guitar.

December 1992: Selway (bass) and Wilkie (guitar) at Abinger Arms. Picture courtesy of Paul Dreczko

Also, in ’92, they recorded at the BBC’s Technical Music Studios, Shepherd’s Bush using “Good Light” and “Rain” from that session on a demo cassette. The demo was released in early ’93 and received positive feedback in local rags but typecast the band as a pub/club outfit. The band lived up to this specific characterization appearing at the Hockey Club, Guildford on 16 January ’93 and The Ranmore Arms, Ranmore Common later that month, on 29 January. Just the one gig in February found the band at The Three Lions (Scratchers), Farncombe on 26 February ’93. A month off was suspended by a gig at The Red Lion, Milford on 2 April ’93, then a month later a re-booking at The Abinger Arms on 1 May. There were three more gigs later that May: The Parrot, Frimley Green (23 May), The Red Lion, Milford (28 May), and The Ship Inn, Fordingbridge (29 May). Consecutive gigs at Scratchers followed on 7 August and 22 September ’93, with the band wrapping the year up at Abinger Arms on 6 November ’93.

Nightshift c’93 (L-R: Hill, Shaw, and Tunnell. Source: Paul Dreczko

Nightshift started ’94 where they finished ’93, at The Abinger Arms on 15 January ’94. The next month, on 11 February ’94, they were back at Scratchers which was followed by along sabbatical. On 16 July ’94 the band played at Hallams Court, Blackheath; then more, now regular, appearances at The Abinger Arms on 24 September and 6 December ’94. The band were fading in ’95, and we only have two recorded materializations, both nautical. The first was on a boat that travelled along the Thames from it’s dock in Surrey to the Thames Barrier and back on 2 July ’95, and the second back at The Ship, Fordingbridge on 8 July ’95.

16 July 1994: Nightshift at Hallams Court. Picture courtesy of Paul Dreczko

Dreczko, who’d previously replaced Philip Joseph on keyboards in La Maison du Chants, would later audition to join Sweetlife, but didn’t; and had been in Kamaleon before Nightshift. Hill was first spotted in The Vulgar Bros c’79. Renowned for his pink kit, Spinks was also in a showband called Abacus and did some session work with Womb.

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