Luvaduc

(c’71-’73) Steve Fardoe (sax/clarinet), Bill Bath (bass), Mike Puckett (vocals), John Mansfield (drums), Grant Clifton (guitar) and Robin Foster (sax/clarinet).

Luvaduc were a rebranded Grant’s Tomb, when joined by members of Cryptic Evil, and hit the news in ’72 and well as appearing on TV. They were also signed to the Bob Potter International Entertainment Agency.

The band became famous, or rather infamous, in ’71 thanks to an incident at The Reading Beer Festival – although it is not clear if they were still going by Grant’s Tomb or their new moniker at the time. Sir Helenus Patrick Joseph Milmo, the Supreme Justice of the Peace at the time was in session at Reading Law Courts for a hit and run case. The band were told to stop playing until Milmo went to lunch, but the festival organizers, believing this had happened, instructed Luvaduc to start again. They had observed the wrong judge and Milmo was not amused, sending the police to ‘restore the peace’; a fact recorded in The Times – making Luvaduc the first ‘pop band’ to be headline news at The Times. Over the coming days all the tabloids followed The Times’ lead.

Jerry Lee Lewis was still drawing crowds when a street cleaner from St Albans rushed onto the stage at the Palladium, London on 23 April ’72. Lewis waved security away and allowed “Cuddles” Osborn to duet with him. Cuddles renown grew from there and he signed a deal with Pye Records for just one single. The band tagged to back Cuddles was Luvaduc, who were rehearsing in Farnborough when they got the call to get to Thames Television studios pronto. The Woking based six-piece were there a matter of two or three hours later and appeared on the “Today” program hosted by Eamonn Andrews behind the stage invader. The show is now most commonly remembered for Bill Grundy’s interview with The Sex Pistols a few years later. Sadly, there was nary a mention of Luvaduc on the show or the 45 that was released in the UK, The Netherlands, and Spain.

At some point bassist Joe Breitenfeld, who’d been in Feast and Grant’s Tomb, was in the band. We later found Breitenfeld in Redwood and Lakesiders. Drummer Mansfield was not the same John Mansfield that co-promoted the Ricky Tick, Guildford.

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