The Rivals

(c’64-67) Stuart Reffold (lead vocal / harmonica), Pete Oliver (lead guitar / vocals), John Enever (drums), and Joe Dunn (bass / vocals).

Oliver responded to a notice in Anderton’s saying that ‘The Rivals’ needed a rhythm guitarist. After speaking with drummer Nick Doggett (who lead the band at that time) he attended a rehearsal on 11 July ’64. The only respondent, he joined the relatively new band that consisted of Doggett, Reffold, Bruce Bunting and a bass player all from the Godalming area. Rehearsals were at the Baptist Church Hall on Queen Street, Godalming on Sunday afternoons.

Two gigs were secured, the first on the 5 September ’64 at a wedding in Elstead; the second, on 12 September ’64, was a short interval slot of half a dozen numbers, at the Wilfred Noyce Centre, Godalming. The bands amp was insufficient, and Doggett called Paul ? from The Cutaways, asking to borrow their equipment. Not knowing how to use the borrowed kit, it still didn’t go well.

Doggett and Oliver were both working in London, meeting occasionally. They discussed getting the right gear to be taken seriously and one lunchtime went to Jennings (JMI) on Charing Cross Road and left a deposit on a reconditioned Vox AC30. However, lack of practice and cohesion eventually eroded the original line-up. A new notice was placed in Anderton’s for a rhythm guitarist and a bass player. Within a few weeks Roy Norris (rhythm guitar) and Dunn became members of The Rivals. Dunn hadn’t even played bass at this point and only knew a few guitar chords Enever had shown him. That’s where it all really began.

Dunn picked up a cheap bass, a 50-watt Linear Conchord valve amp and constructed a loudspeaker cabinet with the help of Norris. Oliver helped Dunn pick up the bass and taught him some songs The Rivals played. But they’d lost the Queen Street rehearsal venue. The Youth Club, Farncombe gave them a home for a couple of afternoons before they too closed their doors. The Rivals were about to fold when Dunn’s parents came to the rescue and let the band use their dining room at Cranmore Cottage on Cranmore Lane, West Horsley for practice. An all-day rehearsal there was scheduled for 28 December ’64.

David Cawson, a friend of Dunn, dropped by and offered The Rivals the chance to play a party at his parent’s house in Kiln Lane, Ripley on New Year’s Eve ’64, which went well. Dunn was the band’s only license holding driver, and things would not have progressed without him doing the driving. The band acquired a second-hand, light blue Bedford Dormobile van through Dunn’s brother Mike for £25, who went on to become the band’s unofficial manager and occasional driver. The van had the group’s name displayed on the side and gradually acquired adoring messages in lipstick as well. The regular rehearsals and new lineup saw the band move away from relying on commercial sheet music to playing from memory, adding flexibility and freedom.

By March ’65 the bookings were picking up. Initially they mostly played Guildford’s Cygnet Coffee Bar, Tunsgate Club, and Harvest Moon Club. About this time manager Dunn took the band to Moffat’s, Guildford and kitted them out in white polo neck shirts and glittery gold and black striped jeans – a look that didn’t last long. In early ’65 the band (Reffold, Oliver and Dunn are credited) wrote their first song called “Now I’m Gone”, which was recorded at Cranmore Cottage by Three Counties Recordings. They played the number for a while without attracting any great attention. Their first foray outside the local area was the Great Eastern Hotel, London in March ’65.

In May ’65, Enever replaced Doggett; then in November Norris left the band. Enever, and his brother Nigel, had met Joe Dunn the previous Summer – digging a swimming pool manually for Mrs. Jefferies of Worplesdon. The Rivals would later come and watch Enever play in his brother’s band at the Village Hall, Merrow; with the next stop rehearsals at Cranmore Cottage. The band went from strength to strength. They auditioned at numerous London night clubs, sometimes getting booked and re-booked. They appeared at the Ricky Tick Club, Guildford and became the established, de facto, house band at the Harvest Moon from September ’65 where we know they were supported by The Tekneeks on 18 March ’66, the night after John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, featuring Eric Clapton, played.

A couple of months later (May ’66) they were at The Ram Jam Club, Brixton. They performed covers of the Yardbirds “Too Much Monkey Business” and Burt Bacharach’s “Please Stay” akin to Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band’s version. After one Sunday session at the Ram Jam they picked up some girls who had never been outside London, as the band van sped back to Guildford through the Surrey countryside they marveled at the cows in the fields. Simpler times!

The Rivals developed a healthy local female following, with some bringing homemade ‘gonks’ to the shows – The gonk was a fad toy in mid 1960s Great Britain, and ’65’s ‘Gonks Go Beat’ movie featured the Nashville Teens. They all had daytime jobs, but playing music quickly became a full-time job, and they had to buy equipment and meet up regularly to practice. Dunn upgraded to a Selmer amplifier with loudspeaker and also a second-hand Höfner Violin 500/1 bass for about £45. Later this was stolen from the van whilst parked at Guildford station yard, near to The Harvest Moon. Luckily Nigel Enever spotted it in a second-hand shop next to the Onslow Street bus station. The Surrey Constabulary were hot on the case after Nigel called manager Dunn, who in turn called the boys in blue.

They also played the renowned Shoreline Club (home of the South coast beat scene and oft awash with substances) at The Caribbean Teenage Hotel, Bognor Regis in June ’66. They auditioned at the Marquee Club on the 25 June ’66, but after getting their kit on stage first, a three number audition, that started with “If You Live”, did not lead to a booking; but they did use the rest of the day for band photos in London, taken by manager Dunn. They also appeared Sunday nights at The Tunsgate Club with its £6 fee!

In the Summer on ’66, Dunn suggested mounting flashing and colored lights on top of the PA speakers and built them to good effect. He also proposed stringing sequences of songs together to make a continuous 30-to-40-minute set with no breaks. The band built two such sets over several rehearsal sessions, with the first beginning with the intro and outro of James Brown’s “I’ll Go Crazy” leading into “Hold On, I’m A Coming” by Sam and Dave. In their repertoire, in addition to their own songs, were “On Broadway” (The Drifters), “Play with Fire” (Rolling Stones); and “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” (Yardbirds). The bands version of the Stones “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” could stretch to 15-20 minutes at least.

They’d started out as a R’n’B band a la Chuck Berry, Little Richard, The Animals (House of the Rising Sun); and early Rolling Stones. As the bookings swelled so did their scope, adding The Downliner Sect, The Yardbirds and John Mayall. After that they drifted away from R’n’B to include Mose Allison with “If You Live” and “Sticks and Stones”; a few pop numbers like “Things We Said Today” (The Beatles); morphing into a Soul band performing Sam Cooke, Sam and Dave, Marvin Gaye and Wilson Pickett numbers. As things progressed, the whole band upgraded to a more modern Rootes ‘Commer’ van, and Mike Dunn became the official manager. The Rivals spent some time at the multi-track R.G. Jones Studios, Morden recording “Sola”, “You Talk Too Much”, and Special Girl”. They put the recordings onto the studios label, Oak Records.

But just around the corner was The Rivals’ final gig on 11 February ’67 at The Harvest Moon Club, Guildford. Whether or not this played a part is unknown, but around February ’67, several similar venues were being taken over by London club ‘operators’. On one occasion, The Rivals had been booked by the Harvest Moon; but when they arrived East London based pop / rock band Pussyfoot were already playing. The local management knew nothing about the booking and were not intending to pay Pussyfoot, assuming they’d been sent by a London agency. The Rivals were asked to come back later that evening and to start at 11pm.

Dunn’s interest in music moved towards studio recording; working at Gateway Studios, Clapham; a pastime that he continues to this day. He next played with a band in 2011 at The Crazy Elephant in Clarke Quay, Singapore. Reffold and Enever teamed up with ex-members of The Whiskey Ring to form 5-piece combo The Switch. Enever went on to become a professional musician for a time, appearing in Lady Jayne. Reffold later formed Poker, and in ’82 was the vocalist on the Chestnut Studios, Churt recorded “The Fishing Song” – the theme for “Go Fishing with Jack Charlton” issued on EMI [5286], and in 2000 was in a band called The Fugitives. The Rivals had a reunion in the Summer 2020.

Links:
Read Pete Oliver, Stuart Reffold, John Enever, Joe Dunn, Mike Dunn, and Nigel Enever’s full recollections of The Rivals: http://www.hunterdunn.com/Images/Rivals%20Story.pdf

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