Our Soundscene

For anyone who vaguely recalls the Woking / GU postcode area music scene.

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  • Zugang

    Zugang

    (c’82-’84) Ian Lamble (drums), Julian Bundy (sax) Tim Richardson (bass) Kevin Phillips (vocals/guitar), Joe Heath (guitar), and Mike Eales (keyboards).

    Godalming based alternative dance / funk band 6-piece, Zugang played many local venues in their short-lived existence. On 24 February ’84 the band appeared at Borough Hall, Godalming with Kalibre and Cow at a charity gig in aid of the Red Cross. The band also performed at Chichester Hall, Witley.

    Richardson was bassist for McMingo Juice in the early 90’s.

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  • Krakatoa Youth Club, Farnborough

    Krakatoa Youth Club, Farnborough

    Based at Cove County Secondary School the Krakatoa Club ran from ’60 to ’88. It was probably better known for its discos and sports (mixed basketball, 5-a-side football), but it also encouraged and hosted live bands.

    All five members of Farnborough covers band Big G and the Go-Gets attended Cove County Secondary School and played regularly at the Krakatoa Club in ’64/’65. John Randall, the popular leader of the club, left in ’68 with an event that featured his favorite folk group The Halliard, supported by Alec Burbridge of Farnborough Folk Club. Randall wass presented with a copy of The Hilliards LP “It’s the Irish in Me” and a record player on leaving.

    19 May 1978: Quotations at Krakatoa Youth Club, Cove School. Picture courtesy of Mick Hughes

    Keith Johnson took over leading the club and on 19 May ’78 the Quotations also played the Krakatoa. The club took a break in the early ’80’s starting up again in ’88.

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  • Habilis

    Habilis

    (c’73-’74) John Butcher (keyboards/sax), Peter Coker (guitar), John Brown (bass) and Gordon Wellard (drums), and Sue Round (violin).

    Comprised of University of Surrey, Guildford students, this Habalis band performed at the Surrey Free Arts Festival in ’74. Mark Rudman played in the band for a gig or two, and Ian Gibson was also briefly involved as was Dion Barker, who took a spin on keyboards. Habalis covered the likes of Frank Zappa’s ‘King Kong’ in addition to playing their own original material.

    Butcher, who was studying physics at Surrey went on to a Ph.D in Theoretical Physics at Imperial College in ’77, with “Spin Effects in the Production and Weak Decay of Heavy Quarks” published in ’82. While at Imperial he joined Burn’s Jazz Ensemble, winning the 1980 “BBC Big Band” competition, and toured with London Contemporary Dance Theatre, New Arts Consort, and Extemporary Dance. He is now famous in the free improvised jazz scene. Wellard now runs his own Jazz Messengers band and led The G.S. Wellard Septet, as well as running the ‘Jazz in Schools Project’ c’99. Barker was also in Moonmouse, and along with Wellard, Gibson and Rob Kelly formed The Brains Trust.

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  • Sherrington & Douglas

    Sherrington & Douglas

    (c’70-’71) David Sherrington (sax) and Mick “Mickey” Douglas (guitar).

    Two familiar names with the local music community the pair collaborated in late ’70, early ’71, releasing a single on Concord [CON 014] titled “Smile from a Stranger“, backed by “It All Depends on Love“, in November 1970. Both tracks were penned by the duo and produced by Philip Ward. The next year the single was released on the Astor label in Australia.

    B-side of Sherrington & Douglas’ “Smile from a Stranger” 7″ single.

    A second 7″, again on Concord [CON 017], carrying “He Still Believes in Dream” / “I’m Standing on My Head” was issued in early ’71. Again, produced by Ward and published by Campbell, Connelly & Co., it was arranged and directed by Des Champ, whose work with Chicory Tip would top the UK pop music charts for three weeks in early ’72.

    A-side of Sherrington & Douglas’ “He Still Believes in Dreams” 7″ single.

    Sherrington had been a saxophonist with the The Stormsville Shakers and Circus. A period that saw him co-write “J.C. Greaseburger”, with fellow Shaker Michael Riddle, which landed on the B-side of Phillip Goodhand-Tate‘s Parlophone’s Demo “A” label [R 5547] release “You Can’t Take Love” in ’66. Sherrington was a founding member of Jackie Lynton’s Happy Days Band in ’76 and did time in Poker. Ex-The Tropics, The Bandits and Crescendos guitarist Douglas went to Germany with The Pete Chester Combo in ’61, going on to tour Israel for three months with the group. At some point he played with Five’s A Crowd at Hamburg’s Big Apple Club. He backed Adam Faith on a single and contributed to Sandie Shaw’s first single in ’64. Also, in ’64, Douglas ‘temporarily’ picks up the axe, standing in for Ivor Shackleton, in The Stormsville Shakers. From ’65-’67, he was a member of The Hi-Fis. In the Spring of ’82, Douglas took on Brian Robinson’s role in Grapevine. Latterly, Douglas formed a Bill Haley tribute band called Razzle Dazzle with ex-Natural Gass drummer Chuck Pengilly and Richard Hodgins, who’d both played in Threewheel; and is currently playing in The Rocking Rogers and Nick of Time. Sherrington has sadly passed.

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  • Lady Jayne

    Lady Jayne

    (c’73) David Sheppard (guitar/vocals), Maggie Older (vocals), Roger Thackray (bass), Les Green (guitar), and John Enever (drums)

    We know that Lady Jayne performed at the Civic Hall, Guildford.

    Sheppard, who had been in Natural Gass prior to Lady Jayne, went on to join Touchwood in ’76. Enever, who’d been in The Rivals, had also been in The Switch with Thackray. Green was reportedly still playing in Blue Haze as of 2016.

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  • Moonmouse

    Moonmouse

    (c’72 – 76) – Dion Barker (keyboards), Tim Mulley (drums), Chris Bayliss (guitar), and Sean McGowan (?).

    This University of Surrey, Guildford based progressive rock band played numerous support gigs at the university, including for the likes of Barclay James Harvest and Camel. On 21 February ’75, the university’s Great Hall rang to the sounds of popular French progressive rock band Ange – popular in France anyway – who were supported by West German krautrock group Ash Ra Tempel and Moonmouse.

    They also played other local colleges and a notable Steeleye Span ‘support’ slot at Hammersmith Odeon on 26 April ‘75, the result of reaching the finals of the ‘Tartan Brewery Students’ National Rock and Folk Contest Finals 1975. They competed against Al Hughes from Dundee, Lancaster Polytechnic’s Alive & Smiling, and Sky’s Crying from Portsmouth Polytechnic. By this point the band were 100% instrumental and came with a light show organized by Andy Collier and Rank Strand, securing the runner-up spot.

    Barker also appeared in Habalis at the same time, and along with Gordon Wellard, Ian Gibson and Rob Kelly formed The Brains Trust.

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  • Farnham Country Blues Club, Farnham

    Farnham Country Blues Club, Farnham

    The Farnham Country Blues Club was organized by Jeffrey Kime and Jerry Gilbert and ran for just under two years, from ’69 to ’70.

    In ’68, Gilbert had put on the first major British country blues festival in Farnham, and this was the impetus for a Country Blues Club. The club met fortnightly at The Albion Hotel, Farnham and consistently drew greater than capacity crowds. There were also special events, such as when Delta Bluesmen visited Britain. One such event went down on 28 February ’69 when the club hosted an event at Church House on Union Street, Farnham that featured Mississippi Fred McDowell with Ian Anderson’s Country Blues Band, John James, along with Mick Moffett and Pete Taylor.

    28 February 1969: Ian Anderson’s Country Blues Band at the Farnham Country Blues Club event. Source: Ian Anderson via Historic Farnham Town and Surrounding Villages

    More recently, in 2007, the club gets a passing mention in Roberta Freund Schwartz’s book “How Britain Got the Blues: The Transmission and Reception of American Blues Style in the United Kingdom.”

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  • The Frotteurs

    The Frotteurs

    (’81-82). Nigel Higgs (guitar), James Perrett (drums), Nigel Woodger (bass / vocals), Alan “Frid” Fryday (guitar / vocals).

    This short lived 4-piece band, based mainly in Guildford, played their first gig at the Lower Bar, University of Surrey, Guildford in May ’81 and then went on to gigs at The Robin Hood, Standford. There were also a few gigs at The Wooden Bridge, Guildford, including a CND benefit gig on 7 November ’81 headlined by Drowning Craze, co-supported by The Frotteurs and Ferrari Red. The following month, on 23 December ’81, they joined Human Beings at their Christmas Party, held at The Wooden Bridge; the lineup that night was augmented with Dylan Cole from the UBz on guitar, Graham Melrose on sax and Gus Garside – who contributed to Barbed Wire – on Trombone.

    23 December 1981: The Frotteurs at The Wooden Bridge, Guildford. Image courtesy of James Perrett

    Once labeled, by a fanzine, as Guildford’s best punk band, they played their last gig where they started at University of Surrey in early ’82. They did release a very limited-edition eponymously titled cassette album that carried 19 tracks. Two of the songs from that cassette LP: “Tourist Town” and “So It Goes” appeared on side 2 of Airship Records compilation “Listen to Me” [AP417] in ’82.

    Inlay card for The Frotteurs cassette album. Image courtesy of James Perrett

    Later in ’82 a revised lineup of the band supported the Human Beings at The Grange Centre, Midhurst under the name ‘The Secret Seven’ who later turned into ‘100% Polyester’.

    Higgs later performed with Phoenix, Drums and Wires, The Sid James Experience, Innocent Bystanders and Willie Austen. Perrett is based in Hampshire and has been working with independent bands and labels since the ’80s. He spent time at Watershed Studios, Portsmouth where he engineered the likes of The Lovelies; and help compile a CD for Station 360. His recent clients include Detour Records, Cherry Red Records, and Curious Fox.

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  • Pineapple Tribe

    Pineapple Tribe

    (c’94-present) Colin Davies, Ben ?, G. Armitage, and Chris Jackson.

    Out of the free party scene of the early 90’s came the Woking / Guildford area electronic / trance crew Pineapple Tribe. The crew’s first outing was to a boarded-up property in Colgate, near Horsham, in ’94, after which they began DJ’ing at The Britannia Inn, Guildford and The Abinger Arms, Abinger, and on 6 October ’95 they also appeared at The Stoke Hotel, Guildford.

    18 May 1994: Pineapple Tribe’s Chris Jackson at The Brittania Inn, Guildford. Source: Pineappletribe

    They would subsequently become a regular feature at Notting Hill Carnival and had a presence at the Glastonbury Festival. They self-released a number of records on the Pineapple label. The 12″ ‘The Pineapple Tribe EP‘ [PINEAPPLE 001] carried “Anxiety” on the A-side, with “Supersonic Rainbow” on flip. There was a second 12″ [Pineapple 002] ‘Pineapple Tribe Vs. Pushanco ‎– Untitled‘ that lent further into breakbeat / progressive house. The three tracks – “Shank“, and two versions of “Pfp” – were all written by Armitage, recorded at Path Studios, and mastered at Keith “Jah Tubby” Swan’s mastering studios, JTS Studios.

    Pineapple Tribe’s New Year Eve bash at Francis Corner. Source: Pineappletribe

    Along a section of the North Downs Way, Francis Corner sits above the village of Shere. On 31 December in ’95 or ’96 party goers travelled the tracks built by the Canadian Pioneer Corps during WWII, for Pineapple Tribe’s New Years Eve ‘rave’. On 15 February ’97, The Farnham Fusion Festival, at The Maltings, Farnham, featured Pineapple Tribe in The Coalition Dance Emporium along with Fish Pig, Seed, and The Bridge.

    We can neither confirm nor deny if Pineapple Tribe were involved in an all-night rave in August ’97 at the chalk pits off White Down Lane. After keeping local villagers awake with “some sort of demonic festival”, it was broken up when police served the organisers a notice under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act at 8:30am. The Crew, well Ben at least, were on The Coalition Dance Stage at Ambient Green Picnic ’98, held in Guildford, between sets by Kava Kava and Glow on the itinerary.

    The last we heard is that the Pineapple Crew appeared at Notting Hill Carnival in 2024 and will likely be back again.

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  • The Absolute

    The Absolute

    (c’77-78) Peter Hart (drums), Clive Cook (vocals), Brian Kavanagh (guitar), and Eric Stanway (bass).

    The Absolute were formed, the Summer of ’77, by Kavanagh and Cook after a few pints in The Wooden Bridge, Guildford. Bassist Stanway was subsequently added, as was, the band’s drummer Hart. On 12 March ’78, The Absolute were billed to perform, along with Strange Cult and The Ellory Bops, with future members of The Vapors, Ed Bazalgette on guitar and Howard Smith on drums, at the Memorial Village Hall, Worplesdon, but didn’t.

    The Absolute at The Wooden Bridge, Guildford, with Ed “Who’s This?” Bazalgette in the audience. Picture courtesy of Adam Russel

    In the Spring of ’78, punk inspired The Absolute, who were “more than thrashy two-chord wonders having a pop sensibility pulled from a wide variety of influences including The Who, The Byrds, and Motown, but also with some axes to grind lyrically” were scheduled to support Crisis at the Wooden Bridge. Hart however was banned from the venue. As a result, bass player Steve Smith, who had shown an interest in drumming, was drafted temporarily to replace the band’s banned basher. Smith’s drumming created a much tighter band and temporary became more permanent. Later in the year the band played Guildford Tech or University, where the drummer was reportedly so inebriated he fell off his stool! They also appeared at most of the popular Guildford venues, often accompanied by The Ellory Bop.

    The Absolute fell apart after a disastrous Guildford Free Festival gig, with the Guildford band playing their very last gig at The Royal, Guildford. In addition to playing at The Royal, Kavanagh could also be seen ‘doing the sound’ for others at the pub. Smith would later join The Vapors, and several other local bands.

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One thought on “Home

  1. Human beings takes me back to 1981. Followed them all over the Surrey reading area for a year a great band and 3 good guys playing well written songs of the era. I wish john Tim and steve well what ever they are doing now. Should reform for a few shows just like Oasis but do the wooden bridge.

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