
PIPELINE
ANNUAL INSTRUMENTAL CONVENTIONS


POSTER FOR 2009


Here are reviews of some earlier Conventions:
12th
PIPELINE CONVENTION
by
Rob Bradford
Within ten minutes of arriving at the International
Students House
it was obvious that it was going to be another
"Twangtastic
Day"…
Within
a very short space of time I'd already spoken to Bill Bryan, Steve
& Helen
Terrell, Uncle Alan & Uncle Dave, Clive Poole, Jim Nugent,
George Geddes,
Paul Keyes, Trev Faull, Tony Hoffman, Maurice Preece, Kevin Wootten and
many
other fans/collectors from our beloved instro world. Phew!! It was
already like
an instrumental Who's Who and that was all before the enticing
CD/record stalls
which included some of those already mentioned plus MoviMusic with the
delightful Jolanda, Gerry Woodage's Ventures pitch, Shadsfax, Leo's Den
and Bob
"Bim-Bam" Thomas. OK I admit it, I am an instrumental CD-aholic.
Before the first group was onstage I'd already spent £100! The hall was
heaving
with numerous other poor souls who were similarly afflicted. Time to
form a
mutual support group, eh?
![]() |
The Theatre |
![]() |
The Guitar Room
|
It's
also great to mingle with instrumental stars past and present - all of
whom were
willing to stop and chat. Amongst the celebrities were John Barber
(Scorpions),
Warren Bennett (Vibratos), Mo Foster (session bassist to the stars),
Alan
Jackson (Vintage), Ivor Knight (Scorpions), Mike O'Neill (Nero!!) and
Dick Plant
(Vibratos). In addition, of course, the group members who were
performing that
day were also wandering around the venue.

Mike
O'Neill
(Nero & The Gladiators),
Peter Knight
(The Moontrekkers)
&
Ivor Knight
(The Scorpions)
(photo Steve Terrell
2004)
LOST
4 WORDS
As
a
new venture for 2004, Lost 4 Words took over the guitar room for the
afternoon.
Incredibly, they had agreed to play for virtually two hours with only a
very
short break. They had prepared a set list of no fewer than 52
instrumentals and
had sheaves of forms at the back of the room for fans to submit
requests. They
needn't have worried. In the event Lost 4 Words played an incredible 49
different instrumentals, which is a staggering achievement. They
decided to omit
their three Duane Eddy numbers on the basis that there was plenty of
that being
provided by the Duane Eddy Convention in general and the Twang Gang
specifically. They still played 52 numbers as they repeated a few items
for fans
who arrived for their second set.

Lost
4 Words in the Guitar Room
(photo Steve Terrell
2004)
These
guys certainly looked the part with their snazzy matching Hawaiian
shirts and
with two guitarists sporting red Fenders. Full marks to them for an
incredibly
varied set list including seldom played covers from such diverse
artists as the
John Barry Seven, The Dakotas, Joe Brown, The Rocking Rebels, Dick
Dale, The
Krew Kats, The Outlaws and many more. Matt Saunders (drums) and Tim
Izzard
(bass) always provided a rock solid foundation upon which guitarists
Paul Morris
(rhythm) and Jim Wootten (lead) built admirably.
Tim
and Paul made all of the announcements and the group banter, badinage,
asides
and wisecracks were often hilarious. They certainly seemed to be
enjoying
themselves and made sure that the audience did too. All of their surf
numbers
were uniformly excellent with the group donning cool Raybans for
exhilarating
romps through The Tornadoes' Bustin' Surfboards, The Pyramids'
Penetration and
other classics. During these numbers Paul was "surfing" on a suitably
psychedelic wedge!!
Other
highlights from their eclectic set included Hit And Miss, with Paul
cleverly
replicating the pizzicato strings of the JB7 original by playing his
guitar
through a synth simulator device, a truly rousing Ghost Riders In The
Sky (which
received a tremendous ovation) and a superb Hava Nagila (even more
resounding
response). You want more? How about a very ambitious arrangement of The
Good,
The Bad And The Ugly which Jim turned into a guitar workout tour de
force. A
fiery Wild Weekend was excellent and their original Lost 4 Words Theme
is a
tasty dual guitar item. Misirlou was a joyous out and out blasting
thrash. Also
full marks to Paul for an outstanding version of Albatross when he took
a rare
turn on lead guitar.
The
audience fluctuated between 30 and 100+ during the afternoon and really
I can't
praise the group too highly for their stamina, skill and great sense of
fun.
Thanks guys, you did a fantastic job. One final point, when will there
be a Lost
4 Words CD?
![Text Box: LOST 4 WORDS: The Rise And Fall Of Flingle Bunt / Theme From Shane / Dream Of The West / Bustin' Surfboards / Riders In The Sky / The Mexican / Tequila / The Good, The Bad & The Ugly / Walk Don't Run / In The Chattanooga Mood / Hit & Miss / Man Of Mystery / The Stranger / Sunset Riders / Lost 4 Words Theme / Miserlou / Hava Nagila / Pipeline / Magic Carpet / Samovar / Wonderful Land / Shazam / Quatermasster's Stores / Peter Gunn / Kon-Tiki / Yellow Jacket / Diamonds / Scarlett O'Hara / Apache / FBI / Wipe Out / Valley Of The Sioux / James Bond Theme / Theme For Young Lovers / Dance On / Secret Agent Man / Shindig / Sleepwalk / The Savage / Albatross / Telstar / Guitar Boogie / Theme From A Summer Place / Time Is Tight / Red River Rock / Green Onions / Penetration / Just For Jerry / Wild Weekend / Hava Nagila (reprise) / The Mexican (reprise) / Apache (reprise) [omitted numbers: 40 Miles Of Bad Road / The Marauder / Rebel Rouser]](conven3.gif)
ALAN
JONES & FRIENDS
Great
idea - take a former Shadows bassist and form a group around him with
some
really talented musicians. Yup - great idea and it worked a treat!
Alan
Jones is undoubtedly one of the UK's all time great bassists. He
started out
playing lead guitar (very good he is too!) until falling under the
spell of a
certain Mr J Harris whereupon he switched to bass. Alan became part of
the
Johnny Howard Group which led to numerous radio (& TV?)
appearances and then
on to sessions. In the 1970s/80s Alan Jones was one of the UK's leading
session
men, playing on literally thousands of session tracks including
(apparently) no
fewer than 33 No.1 hits. Between 1978 and 1989 Alan toured and recorded
with The
Shadows until a serious car accident curtailed his career and almost
ended his
life. By the time that Alan was fully recovered, the session scene was
all but
over and the Shadows had broken up. However, the genial Mr Jones was
part of
Barry Gibson's Local Heroes and is part of Bruce's Moonlight Shadows.
He is now
a regular at Pipeline and many other conventions.

Alan Jones & Friends -
backstage -
(photo Steve Terrell
2004)
What
of Alan's Friends? Ian McCutcheon has been playing guitar for well over
40 years
and he is a very accomplished player. Ian's outstanding series of
Shadows
Workout CDs provide superb backing tracks for those who wish to emulate
Hank B
Marvin. I always marvel at Ian's skill as he quite often (courtesy of
overdubbing) plays lead, rhythm, bass, second guitar etc. Drummer
Martin Verrill
is a lifelong Shadows fan and he is well known to us as Legend's
drummer. Rhythm
guitarist John Woodward is a lifelong fan of Bruce Welch and Amy Harper
(keyboards) has backed various ex-Shads as well as providing keyboards
for
numerous instrumental combos.
For
the purposes of the usual Pipeline balance, Alan Jones &
Friends were there
to provide fans with a healthy dose of Shadows instrumentals. This they
proceeded to do with considerable aplomb. A feisty Flingle Bunt set the
tone
straight away with the whole band really fired up and immediately
afterwards
they tore into Man Of Mystery complete with screaming guitar solos.
David Martin
maintains that the rhythm part for Temptation is even more murderous
than The
Savage. Well, John Woodward was more than equal to the task as the
group
delivered another top class performance.
The
affable Alan Jones made the introductions in his genuinely modest and
laid back
fashion. Wonderful Land offered the chance to slow the tempo down a
little and
also to introduce Amy Harper on keyboards. Dressed in the obligatory
black top
and black jeans, Amy sat quietly in the background - but she is an
excellent
keyboard player who fulfils her role admirably.
Ian McCutcheon demonstrated that he has excellent ballad technique in stark contrast to his fiery playing during Man Of Mystery and Temptation. A superb Gonzalez saw the group rocking out yet again whilst the tricky Thing-Me-Jig enabled both Ian and Alan to show off their respective chops. Somewhere was simply beautiful with John Woodward's tastefully crafted arpeggios underscoring Ian's super lead guitar work. John's rhythm wrist was tested again on The Savage as the group blazed away in fine style. Well done Martin Verrill for replicating Tony's drum figures on this one. Amy returned to recreate the Norrie Paramor strings on Atlantis to good effect.
Then
we were treated to I Wish I Could Shimmy… before Alan excelled himself
with a
magnificent version of Nivram. Cricket Bat Boogie isn't a simple number
to play,
but the band made it sound easy. Argentina was a tour de force by all
concerned
- a fine group performance and very moving indeed. A bouncy Foot Tapper
was
followed by a wild Riders In The Sky and that was topped by an even
wilder FBI.
Alan Jones & Friends finished with - what else? - Apache. The
rapturous
applause was testament both to the enduring popularity of Alan Jones
and the
skill, enthusiasm and commitment of his Friends. Thanks Alan, Ian,
Martin, John
and Amy - you made a lot more friends (& fans) courtesy of your
excellent
performances.
![]()
THE
PACKABEATS
Every
year there seems to be a Pipeline exclusive. This year was no exception
with an
appearance by the complete original line-up of The Packabeats who had
last
appeared onstage together in 1964! Actually lead guitarist Malcolm
Lenny was at
pains to point out that drummer Ian "Stoo" Stewart had founded the
original group and that most of the onstage line-up didn't actually
join The
Packabeats until mid-1961 after the release of Gypsy Beat. Well, the
line-up
that played between 1961 and 1964 is original enough for me!

The Packabeats -
Malcolm
Lenny turned out to be a brilliant front man as he introduced the
various
instrumentals. He mixed humorous anecdotes with laconic witticisms and
self-
deprecating personal put-downs. Not only that, he revealed himself to
be a
lead/rhythm guitarist of considerable talent. It's a mark of confidence
for any
act to start their set with their biggest hit. The Packabeats did just
that as
they faithfully re-created the chunky sound of their minor classic
Gypsy Beat.
The group obviously had high hopes of further chart success when they
signed up
with Joe Meek's RGM Sound outfit. Indeed, their single Evening In Paris
/ The
Traitors fully deserved to be a big hit. To long-standing instro fans
it remains
as one of the finest double-sided releases never to chart. This was an
excellent
live performance with the entire group on top form.
Chattanooga
Choo Choo was also splendid, being nothing like The Shadows' familiar
arrangement. No, this was highly spirited with jazzy tinges and
inflections.
Malcolm switched to a simpler, heavier style of playing to faithfully
capture
the mood of Duane Eddy's The Lonely One. In similar vein was 40 Miles
Of Bad
Road - Ian Stewart thought that the title could be updated to M40 Miles
Of Bad
Road!
Versatility
was perhaps The Packabeats' trademark as they now delivered a spirited
Walk
Don't Run which mixed elements of Chet Atkins, Johnny Smith, John Barry
and The
Ventures and yet still sounded fresh and original. With the group
lending
excellent support, Malcolm switched to a kind of simple wah-wah /
chorus effect
to come up with a lively romp through Teensville. Referring to Santo
&
Johnny's Sleepwalk, Malcolm revealed that The Packabeats always
preferred the
follow up release Teardrop. This was a beautifully crafted and
sensitive
performance of great style and charm.
By
way of contrast again, the guys delivered a truly rockin' Tennessee
Waltz which
was loosely constructed, according to Malcolm, in the style of Bill
Black's
Combo. Next up was a version of Dream Lover which was combination of
the actual
release and how the group originally envisaged it. Definitely all the
better for
that! They may have preferred Teardrop to Sleepwalk, but The Packabeats
were
obviously very fond of the latter too as they presented their smooth
and silky
version to the Pipeline audience. Ringing the changes again, the group
powered
their way through a punchy version of Diamonds, offering Ian Stewart
the chance
to showcase his impressive Tony Meehan chops.
Equally
impressive was bassist Ted Harvey's performance as he played the lead
throughout
on the bass guitar. Excellent! It seems that almost everyone who played
guitar
in the early 1960s was a fan of Buddy Holly. The Packabeats were no
exception
and they duly paid homage with a rocking instrumental version of
Buddy's Rave
On.
Equally
fine and just as rockin' was Packabeat. This was the B-side of Dream
Lover and
many people, including the Packabeats themselves, felt that "Packabeat"
should have been the A-side. Again, most fans regard the fabulous The
Traitors
as The Packabeats' finest recording as well as being amongst the upper
echelon
of Joe Meek's instrumental productions. Well… Ian, Malcolm, Ted and
Derrick
were really on fire as they blasted their way through an absolutely
fantastic
live version which received a huge ovation from the audience. The
Packabeats
ended as they had begun by revisiting Gypsy Beat.
The
group also mentioned their vocalist Tony Holland (who could not feature
at an
instrumental convention). They stressed that they were never purely an
instrumental group and always appeared as Tony Holland &The
Packabeats. Tony
has serious health problems at the moment and I'm sure that all
Pipeliners would
like their best wishes & hopes for a recovery to be passed on
to him.
The group appeared to be visibly touched by the genuinely warm response to their appearance. To be honest, I don't really know what my own expectations were before The Packabeats took to the stage. Whatever they were - they were certainly exceeded! They had a totally unique sound and style all of their own, which is quite an achievement in itself. Judging by this performance, I hope that the group don't hang up their instruments for good just yet.

"1961"
Wow,
what a musical pedigree these guys have! Ronnie Gustafsson is well
known to all
instrumental fans as a lead guitarist par excellence specialising in
that early
'60s Shadows sound. The original "1961" group was rightly hailed as a
classic instrumental incarnation. However, the group disbanded not long
after
the 1995 Pipeline Convention. Ronnie recently revived "1961" and he
has assembled a top class set of players. For starters rhythm guitarist
Stefan
Linder (a staunch Shadows fan) is a graduate of both Stockholm's Royal
Academy
Of Music and the M.I. of Los Angeles. He is a professional session
player and
guitar teacher. Drummer Roger Palm is also a top session player and
drum/percussion teacher. He has played on over 4,000 recordings
including many
of Abba's greatest hits! Bassist Jan Bergman took up the instrument in
1963,
being inspired by Jet Harris. He too is a graduate of Stockholm's Royal
Academy
Of Music and he is one of Sweden's top session players. As I said,
quite a
musical pedigree.

1961 -
Let
me say at the outset that these guys were absolutely superb - sheer
class!
Naturally they all have years of training and vast experience at the
very
highest musical levels. Because of this their performances were
ultra-tight,
spot on and (apparently) effortless! As Ronnie said to me: "These guys
read
music as easily as you or I would read a newspaper."
"1961"
opened up with the first of many, many originals from the prolific and
awesomely
talented Lennart Clerwall. He really does have the knack of writing
material
which sounds as though it dates from those halcyon days of the early
'60s.
Second Street is a close relative of The Boys and the superb rhythm
section
urged Ronnie's classic twanging lead along in fine style. Fairytale is
a brand
new Clerwall number - a lovely guitar ballad in the grand manner of the
instrumental tradition.
Sticking
to the early Shadows era, Ronnie and "1961" opted next for a fine
reading of The Stranger. Spanish Tango (another masterful composition
from
Lennart Clerwall) is one of my favourite "1961" tracks. The
fantastically tight, taut and percussive playing from bass, drums and
rhythm
allowed Ronnie to develop his flowing, romantic lead (contrasting with
stately
clipped passages) to wonderful effect in a performance of great
eloquence.
Shazam, of course, gave all of the group members the opportunity to
show off
their mini solos very slickly indeed. These guys have all taken part in
literally thousands of sessions, recordings and performances - yet
there was a
great sense of fun and stylish energy in their playing.

The
Flight To Paradise has a beginning and ending in the style of My
Resistance Is
Low whilst the middle eight is loosely based around one of those
maddening
polkas - the original title of which escapes me. (As 1950s children in
the
Midlands we used to sing it to the repetitive lyric of "You can't put
your
muck in our dustbin, because our dustbin's full!" Maybe one of our
knowledgeable readers will be able to put me out of my Oompah misery!)
Flowers,
Raki-Taki, Scary Town, My Lonely Heart and Sea Shell were all brand new
numbers
from the Clerwall brothers, Lennart and Hans. They were all quality
items and I
believe that "1961" have plans to record a new CD so hopefully all of
these tracks will be on there. By turns they were dramatic, powerful,
gently
wistful, yearning and nostalgic - and all points in between.
Perfidia
and The Frightened City were mighty fine too with the former
illustrating the
skilful use of dynamics and phrasing to masterly effect whilst the
latter was
both frenzied and technically brilliant.
Ronnie Gustafsson
- (photo Steve Terrell
2004)
Hooray For The Brave Soldiers was
splendidly played but, for me at least, it's one of Lenny Clerwall's
very few
nondescript compositions. Riding Cossack has many other titles in the
UK: Song
Of The Plains, Cavalry Of The Steppes, Samovar etc, etc. Very
atmospheric and
tasteful playing from "1961", and they rounded off their set with a
rousing FBI.
Last
year there was a poll to judge who came closest to achieving "That
Sound" of Hank and The Shadows ca.1960-1962. The main contenders were
judged to be Roy from FBI, Colin Pryce-Jones, Phil Kelly and Ronnie
Gustafsson.
Listening to Ronnie at Pipeline (and listening to my "1961" CDs again)
there are definitely times when you could swear that it was indeed Hank
playing.
Sure it helps to have the correct guitar, amplifier, echo box etc, etc.
But what
Ronnie also has is immense talent and a genuine commitment to the
music.
I
spent quite a lot of time talking the members of "1961" on the social
gathering the night before Pipeline. What struck me most was simply how
avuncular and modest they were. Great musicians and really pleasant
people to be
with. Come to think of it - what we had from every member of "1961"
was virtually an instrumental master class. Thanks guys. Oh, by the
way, Ronnie
Gustaffson is a great fan of Tommy Cooper - I just thought you'd all
like to
know that.
Two
years ago The Charades were virtually unknown in the UK, but boy they
completely
blew us away at Pipeline 2002 with devastating effect. I was an
immediate
convert and quickly wanted to obtain all of the group's recordings.
Good as they
(the CDs) are, it's surely the group's live performances that are
simply
awesome. I would agree with what many long-time fans and aficionados
said in the
blurb of their Action CD: that The Charades were simply sensational.
I
was
able to spend some time chatting to the band and their delightful
entourage
(managers, wives, partners, relatives, friends etc.) at The Bonnington
Hotel the
night before Pipeline. Like so many of the bands I have met they were
all
charming, friendly, funny, modest and enthusiastic.
Surprisingly
they were also a little worried. Worried? The source of their concern
was that
two years previously they were not headliners and there was little or
no
audience expectation, hence, to some extent, no pressure. They then
delivered
one of the greatest performances ever witnessed in 10 years of Pipeline
Conventions. Now it was 2004 and The Charades were top of the bill,
this time
around would they still be able to live up to everyone's high
expectations? I
think it's fair to say that the answer was a resounding "Yes!!"

The
Charades - Hannu & Jari -
In
2002 they pinned everyone to their seats in seconds with the opening
blast of
Hawaii Five-0. 2004 was no different as Jari Moberg again thrashed out
that
ultra fast frenzied opening drum roll (as very few players can) and the
group
tore into More in impressive style. Now, the original is a beautiful
fairly slow
tender ballad but, as ever, The Charades have turned it into a
rip-roaring
powerhouse instrumental. The Ventures recorded a fine version of
Slaughter On 10th.
Avenue, but what a fantastic version this was. As Dave Burke attests
"They
match, and sometimes even eclipse, their own
heroes." They certainly did with a vicious, thrilling
interpretation. It was their winning formula: basically the Ventures
arrangement
but simply (!!??) played louder and faster.
The
great skill of this entire band is their amazingly tight ensemble
playing. Bass,
drums, lead and rhythm are always exactly spot on, even when the guys
are
playing at breakneck speed. Hannu is an outstanding player, but he is
made to
sound even better because of the fantastic musicians providing the
backing.
Leo's rock-solid pulsating bass lays a great foundation but he's also
talented
enough to add little runs, fills and variations and he really throws
himself
into his bass playing. Drummer Jari Moberg is a powerfully built guy.
He uses
his strength allied to great technique to thrash out his percussive
barrage of
sound. It may be the wrong genre, but he's a kind of John Bonham of the
instro
world. I'm sure that his heroes are Mel Taylor, Brian Bennett, Tony
Meehan
(& probably many others). The fact is that he's fast and he's
very strong.
His playing is enormously energetic. Finally, the rhythm playing.
Incredibly
fast, tight, crisp and propulsive. Where do these guys come from? In
2002 it was
the fantastic Marko Rahikainen. Unfortunately he couldn't make Pipeline
2004 and
was replaced by Samu Wuori - who was equally impressive. Again, to
quote Dave
Burke "Together they are magnificent." Amen to that. But, back to the
music.

The
Charades -
Who
would dare to turn Shirley Bassey's gloriously kitsch, smouldering
torch song
Hey Big Spender into an instrumental? The very thought of it is simply
outrageous but, guess what? The Charades pull off the impossible. It
really did
work! The Shadows' Geronimo is seldom covered and The Charades give it
a decent
makeover in their own inimitable fashion. Changing Dimensions is a
great
original simply drenched in monstrous echo and dripping with cavernous
reverb
sounds as the group pound along in aggressive and menacing fashion.
The
Charades take many well-known vocal tracks and arrange them as superb
instrumentals with great skill and flair. In this respect California
Dreaming,
Keep On Running (great fuzz sounds), Dancing In The Street and even
Summer In
The City all turned out supremely well as exciting and exhilirating
instrumentals. Ame No Midosuji (a lovely Ventures original) gave The
Charades a
rare opportunity to slow things down and chill out. A Little Bit Beat!
A Little
Bit Go! is an original composition by Hannu in similar vein.
Occasionally The
Charades do play quietly and slowly. Yeah they can do beautiful
sometimes, very
effectively too.
Wow!
Jari's opening drum roll was probably his most fearsome yet as Hannu,
Samu and
Leo ripped through a glorious No Trespassing with a vengeance. Just how
does
Hannu achieve that high "springy" twanging effect? Action In Space and
In Motion are on the way to becoming Charades classics but, for me,
Secret Agent
Man was just out of this world. The kitsch 60s spy classic was always a
brilliant Ventures track. The Charades did it again, took an
outstanding track
and moulded it into an even more incandescent supernova of an instro.
Magnificent stuff. The Charades were back, and they didn't disappoint.
Pipeline
2004… another Instro-Fest, another triumph. The great Alan Jones and
his
talented friends gave us fabulous Shadows instrumentals. The Packabeats
were
truly unique – and what a wonderful "hidden" talent Malcolm Lenny
was. "1961" gave us superb musicianship, many original melodies and
the majestic guitar of Ronnie Gustafsson. The Charades gave us power,
skill and
exuberant vitality allied to the stunning guitar skills of Hannu
Kononen. Truly
another Twangtastic Day. Thanks to all of the artistes and a special
big thanks
to Alan and Dave, long may they flourish!

Read our reviews of the last 5 years by scrolling down below:
PIPELINE 2003
The 11th Pipeline Convention ~ London, April 20th 2003
by George Geddes
On Sunday 11th April, 1993 Alan Taylor stepped up to a microphone in
the theatre of the
International Students House, close to London's Regents Park, and
welcomed the audience to
the first Pipeline Instrumental Convention. Almost exactly ten years
later Alan was on
that same stage, albeit refurbished (the stage, that is, not Alan) to
open the 11th such
gathering. The 1993 event was a big gamble, but Alan and Dave's faith
proved justified,
and the Convention has seen a succession of instrumental acts grace its
stage. Not only
contemporary bands keeping instros alive, but some of the legendary
names from the '60s
have taken part, not for the money but simply to share the music we all
love. From that
first Sunday with The Runaways, The Scorpions and Nero & The
Gladiators, Pipeliners
have enjoyed live sets from Highway Patrol, The Surf Rats, The Hunters
(twice), The
Rapiers (twice), The Falcons (twice), The Fentones, The Moontrekkers
(twice), Nero &
The Gladiators (twice again), "1961", Sir Bald Diddley, The Cougars,
Local
Heroes (twice), The Scorpions (again), The Temebeats, The Silhouets,
The Spacemen, The
Boys, The Vickings, Brian "Licorice" Locking, Husky & The
Sandmen, Pipeline
'61, The Jaguars, Bert Weedon, The Centurions, The Secrets, The
Reflections, The UB Hank
Guitar Club Band, The Invaders, Los Jets, Lost 4 Words, Legend, The
Charades and The
Tornados. A truly cosmopolitan list. Family commitments kept me away
from the first two
events, but I have willingly endured family gripes, travel problems and
penury to be at
every one since 1995. Ray Liffen's excellent videos capture much of the
unique atmosphere
of Conventions, but in truth, you have to be there...
Following two years at the Conway Hall in Bloomsbury, the Pipeline
Convention returned to
its original home at the ISH and again shared the day and the
facilities with the Duane
Eddy Circle who were holding their 25th gathering. Circumstances
prevented the customary
Saturday night gathering of Pipeliners, so I put the time to good use
by visiting the
Prince of Wales Theatre for Cliff The Musical which featured a good
contribution from the
afore-mentioned Rapiers.
The
Duane Eddy Convention was the usual mix of
audio and video clips plus live music from the excellent Twang Gang,
who this year played
a short acoustic set earlier in the programme before closing the
proceedings with their
customary polished selection from Duane's repertoire. As usual, three
sides of the hall
had a good range of stalls with CDs and other merchandise. An
instrumental fan and his
money are soon parted! With the return to the ISH, the Pipeline Guitar
Room was back in
its own accommodation under the genial supervision of Tony Hoffman and
Eric Kingdon, and a
succession of players kept things going throughout the afternoon.
On to the live music. Only three bands this year, but a varied
selection of instrumental
sounds of the highest quality.
From Sweden, The
Goldfingers were
known primarily through their excellent debut CD Destination Moon which
offered a
selection of Spotnicks favourites plus other numbers played in
Spotnicks sound. That the
band were asked to play at a Spotnicks festival organised by former
Spots drummer Ove
Johansson speaks for itself. Alan Taylor pointed out in Pipeline 58
that a Spotnicks set
always includes vocal numbers, as their short set at the London
Palladium in March showed.
The Goldfingers, however, offered a completely instrumental collection
of numbers which
included virtually every major Spotnicks favourite. It could be argued
that The Spotnicks
only have one sound, but when it is as great as the "spacial" sound
created by
Bo Winberg and Co., what does it matter! Classic after classic came
from the guitar of
Lennart Sundberg. Special mention, too, of Tomas Persson who replaced
Hasse Strandberg at
short notice, having only two weeks to rehearse about 20 numbers. Solid
support from
Lennart Eliasson on bass and drummer Jan Andersson who also handled the
introductions. A
real treat for the Spotnicks fans among us, a fine introduction to
anyone unfamiliar with
the music of the Spotnicks, and a great start to the 2003 Convention.
I for one hot-footed it over to Tony Hoffman's Shadsfax stall to pick
up a copy of
Destination Moon. A special mention to Ake Hammerin who was
instrumental (pardon the pun)
in bringing The Goldfingers to London.
The Goldfingers: Ghost
Riders In The Sky / Spotnicks Theme /
Last Space Train / Rocket Man / Moonshot / Johnny Guitar / Hava Nagila
/ Take Five /
Karelia / Highway Boogie / Hot Toddy / Thundernest / Just Listen To My
Heart / Hang On /
Spanish Gypsy Dance / Old Faithful / Pony Express / Last Date / Amapola
/ encore: Space
Walk
During the interval, entertainment was provided by Maurice Woodcroft of
the South Wales
Shadows Club who played a selection of Shadows and Shads-style numbers.
As always there
was an opportunity to look for more goodies on the stalls, to refill
glasses at the bar,
or simply to catch up with friends old and new. The next slot on the
programme was filled
by a group from Holland with a real pedigree.
The Classics have
a number of CDs to their
credit with varying line-ups, but always with Paul Selier. Paul is a
well-known figure in
the instro scene, having also played with The Tickets, The Giants and
The (Dutch)
Dakota's, and founded Echo Records to promote the music we all love.
Joining Paul were Jon
Blonk on drums, Rob Pronk on rhythm guitar and Johan Schippers who
started the set on
bass. And a good set it was too, mixing Euro sounds with Ventures
numbers and some of the
less familiar British material. It is quite refreshing to hear a set
which combines such
varied influences. One of the instrumentals which was new to me was
Mirage, about half way
through The Classics set. This featured a drum solo, during which Paul
and Johan swapped
lead and bass guitars for the remainder of the set. Nice touch. It was
really enjoyable to
hear material from the Jumping Jewels, Rene & The Alligators
and so on.
The Classics: Ajoen Ajoen / Yellow Jacket /
Africa / Ginchy / Last Date /
Gully-ver / Good And Bad Times / Black Swan / Mirage / Gonzales / How's
M'Chicks / Boots /
Comin' Home Baby / Harlem Nocturne / Ram Bunk Shush / Alligator Dance /
Fried Eggs /
encore: Jumping Can-Can
No Pipeline quiz this year, but another set under the aegis of the
Shadsfaxers. Ian
McCutcheon is a well-known face at Shadows clubs up and down the
country and his Shadows
Workout CDs are valued by aspiring Hank Marvin stylists. Ian
entertained Pipeliners to a
variety of Shadows numbers - using his own backing track CDs, of course!
Topping the bill at this year's Convention, The
Vibratos should
have occupied that spot last year, but as Warren Bennett explained, he
and Mark Griffiths
were otherwise engaged in the backing band for "Frank Martin". Making
only their
second live appearance, their visit to the Convention was eagerly
awaited. With Warren on
keyboards and guitar and Dick Plant on lead guitar were Mark on bass
and Dave
"Robbo" Robinson on rhythm guitar. The daunting task on sitting on the
drum
stool, occupied by Brian Bennett at Shadowmania, fell to Robbo's fellow
member of Past
Masters, David Eyre, who proved to be more than up to the job. As at
Lakeside, the
Vibratos opened with a Shads number, The Rumble, followed by Brian B's
composition for The
Krew Kats, Jack's Good. An Outlaws number preceded two tracks from the
first Vibratos CD.
Warren and Dick have a great love of some of the classic British
instrumentals, and the
band gave us super versions of two of them: The Storm by The Hunters
and Rhet Stoller's
Chariot. From the latest Vibratos CD came the Theme From Department S,
then Dick's own
composition The Peacemaker. Another great, but often overlooked classic
instrumental is
Ron Grainer's Bristol Express, originally recorded by The Eagles but
given The Vibratos
treatment at Pipeline. A cracking version of Jezebel was followed by a
straightforward Joe
90, without the drum solo which the band incorporated at Shadowmania.
The set concluded
with the tongue-in-cheek Grieg and a closing Shadows number. Inevitably
there was an
encore, a Ventures-influenced version of Walk Don't Run. Once again, a
memorable set from
a band who care very much about instrumental heritage - even asking for
suggestions on the
Shadow Music website - but still incorporate a healthy degree of
originality.
The Vibratos: The Rumble / Jack's Good /
Indian Brave / Rawhide - Gunfight At
The OK Corral / Ghost Of Old Compton Street / The Storm / Chariot /
Department S / The
Peacemaker /Bristol Express / Jezebel / Joe 90 / Grieg's Piano Concerto
/ Big Boy /
encore: Walk Don't Run
As a bonus, Warren and Dick put together a Convention CD-EP which was
available from the
ever-genial Pat and John on the Leo's Den stall. Even if you were not
there, it is well
worth acquiring as it includes tracks which the band featured on Easter
Sunday and at last
year's Shadowmania.
Footnote:
As I came into the hall towards the end of the Twang Gang set, I
noticed a well-known
instrumental fan sitting in the audience wearing his slippers. The
Convention is a bit
like that, as you feel at home right away. It is worth reminding those
who attend, and
those who don't, that the Convention is run on the proverbial
shoestring by a dedicated
and enthusiastic band of volunteers, and that the bands who play every
year do so because
they want to be there and not because they make vast sums of money,
because they don't! To
The Goldfingers, The Classics and The Vibratos, the stallholders, not
to mention Alan,
Dave and the other Pipeliners backstage and front-of-house, a heartfelt
"thank
you" from this instro fan.
TWANGTASTIC DAY!
Rob Bradford reports on
Pipeline 2002
The 10th
Pipeline Convention
Within ten minutes of arriving at the Conway Hall it was obvious that it was going to be a twangtastic day. Ian McCutcheon was breezing his way through "Valencia" and I'd already spoken to (in no particular order) Bill Bryan, Steve & Helen Terrell, Uncle Alan & Uncle Dave, Clive Poole, Jim Nugent, George Geddes, Paul Keyes, Trev Faull, Maurice Preece, Pat Terrett, Zoe McCulloch, John Tuck, his brother Jeff who's also a drummer (with The Flames) and Jan & Colin Pryce-Jones. Phew! It was already like an instrumental Who's Who and that was all before the enticing CD and record stalls which included some of those already mentioned plus MoviMusic (with the delightful Jolanda), Gerry Woodage's Ventures pitch, Shadsfax, Leo's Den and Bob "Bim-Bam" Thomas.
OK I admit it, I am an instrumental CD-aholic. Before the first group was onstage I'd already spent £60! The hall was heaving with numerous other poor souls who were similarly afflicted. Time to form a mutual support group, eh?
Before long people were settling into their seats and eagerly awaiting the first ever UK appearance of Los Jets…..
LOS JETS
Time Is Tight / Walk Don't Run / Guitarra Enamorada (Lovers Guitar) / Apache / Atlantis / Walkin' / The Stranger - Kon-Tiki / Wonderful Land / Dance On! / Zorongo Gitano / Shadoogie
Rhythm guitarist and group founder Santiago Gonzalez has been playing in instrumental groups for 44 years. He still clearly retains loads of enthusiasm for the job and his playing retains a sprightly buoyancy. Veteran drummer (and announcer) Eduardo Batrina has notched up 38 years service with Los Jets, having previously formed the respected Spanish instrumental group Los Rangers. With various original group members over the years leaving, retiring and (sadly) dying, newcomers have had to be drafted in. Four years ago Santiago and Eduardo enlisted the services of Rafael Laviada (lead) and Elena Senderos (keyboards). The most recent addition has been that of Antonio Reyes on bass guitar.
Los Jets have a proud history (fully detailed in Pipeline 54) and have often been dubbed "The Spanish Shadows". In Spain and the countries of South America, they notched up no fewer than seven No.1 hits (and numerous other chart successes) during the period 1961-1965. That's quite an impressive pedigree.
From the opening bars of "Time Is Tight" onwards, it became obvious that we were in for a real treat. Elena ably demonstrated that she is a fine keyboard player during a lively romp through the Shadows' arrangement of "Time Is Tight". In fact, Elena's keyboards are integral part of the group's sound - never obtrusive, but fully meshing into the overall sound as rhythm instrument when not replicating generic string parts (as on "Atlantis", "Wonderful Land" etc.).
Although sticking closely to the Shads' versions, Los Jets' sound contains a certain edge and minor detail differences in performance to make them sound just that little bit different. "Walk, Don't Run" was given a punchy treatment whilst the Fentones' "Lovers Guitar" (which, as "Guitarra Enamorada" had been a No.1 hit for Los Jets) flowed along very dreamily. "Shadoogie" was great and was used as a vehicle for all group members to perform a series of mini solos.
Unquestionably the highlight of their set was the performance of their very first Spanish No.1 from 1961: "Zorongo Gitano". It's refreshing after over 40 years of collecting to hear a "new" track and be completely blown away, it's a superb original which was previously unknown to me. "Zorongo" has a wide dynamic range from hushed, almost silent passages to vibrant, exulting sforzandos with sonorous ringing chords. While the group provided a tight rhythmic backdrop, Rafael was free to liberally demonstrate a variety of techniques and sounds during his flamboyant solos. A thoroughly enjoyable and professional set from Los Jets and CDs of their '60s material will obviously be worthy of investigation.
In between the sets by the main groups, Tony Hoffman (genial main-man and editor par excellence of Shadsfax) had arranged for a whole series of guitarists to play along to a series of backing tracks from the UB Hank CDs or Ian McCutcheon's splendid Shadows Workout series. I didn't catch all of these Shadfaxers performances, but we owe each and every one a debt of gratitude. It takes a lot of nerve to get up there and play in front of such a knowledgeable group of fans.
Of course, some players are actually very talented and experienced (but genuinely modest). In this group I would place Hoffers himself (who has the approval of a certain Hank Marvin… you'll have to ask Tony about that yourselves) who gave us a splendid "Shindig", Ian McCutcheon (who delighted with several numbers), Sir James of Nugent (with "The Rumble" and "Scarlet O'Hara") and several other players whose names mostly remain unknown to me - but well done Lee Argent. During such a long day, fans simply had to use the breaks between acts to eat, drink, chat, buy CDs and visit other facilities. That must've sometimes made it difficult for our 'Faxer Guitarists as their potential audience sometimes diminished. Nothing to do with your playing, guys, just a matter of logistics. Thanks to all of you. Next up was a group from Eastbourne, Lost 4 Words…..
LOST 4 WORDS
Pipeline / Man Of Mystery / Bustin' Surfboards / Penetration / Hit And Miss / Just For Jerry / The Good, The Bad And The Ugly / Sunset Riders / Theme From Shane / Ghost Riders In The Sky / Magic Carpet / Samovar / Hava Nagila / Dream Of The West / Tequila / Wild Weekend / Rebel Rouser / Diamonds / Misirlou / Happy Birthday - Red River Rock / Lost 4 Words Theme / The Rise And Fall Of Flingle Bunt
These young looking guys certainly looked the part with their snazzy matching silver suits and with two guitarists sporting red Fenders. Full marks to them for an incredibly varied set list including seldom played covers from such diverse artists as The John Barry Seven, The Dakotas, Joe Brown, The Rocking Rebels, Dick Dale, The Krew Kats, The Outlaws and many more. It was an interesting contrast between them and the other groups. Los Jets were the "Spanish Shadows", The Charades specialise in early to mid '60s Ventures, Legend specialise in The Shadows' Burns era and The Tornados are unique.
Matt Saunders (drums) and Tim Izzard (bass) always provided a rock solid foundation upon which guitarists Paul Morris (rhythm) and Jim Wootten (lead) built admirably. A nifty "Pipeline" was followed by "Man Of Mystery" before Lost 4 Words turned to surf again (all donning cool Raybans) for exhilarating romps through The Tornadoes' "Bustin' Surfboards" and the Pyramids' "Penetration". During these numbers, Paul was "surfing" on a suitably psychedelic wedge!
Other highlights from their eclectic set included "Hit And Miss" with Paul cleverly replicating the pizzicato strings of the JB7's original by playing his guitar through a synth simulator device, a truly rousing "Ghost Riders In The Sky" (which received a tremendous ovation) and a superb "Hava Nagila" (even more resounding response), although Jim didn't attempt Joe Brown's guitar-behind-the-head technique (which he once told me "is actually quite easy really!").
You want more? How about a very ambitious arrangement of "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" which Jim turned into a guitar workout tour de force. Not to mention a fiery "Wild Weekend" and "Happy Birthday" (dedicated to Big Al & Little Dave for Pipeline's 10th event) interpolating with "Red River Rock". Their original "Lost 4 Words Theme" is quite a tasty dual guitar item and "Misirlou" (with Paul wielding a fake toy sax whilst playing the part on keyboards) was a joyous out and out blasting thrash. A really promising group who brought an element of real fun and enjoyment into the proceedings.
LEGEND
The Lost City / It's A Man's World / Main Theme From Rhythm 'n' Greens / Blue Sky, Blue Sea, Blue Me / Zambesi / Maroc 7 / It's Been A Blue Day / Santa Ana / Waiting For Rosie / In The Mood / Temptation / The Miracle / Genie With The Light Brown Lamp / You Gotta Have Heart / I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Arthur / Chattanooga Choo Choo / Deep Purple / Now That You're Gone / Tennessee Waltz / The Flyder And The Spy
And so we moved swiftly on to Legend….. As the group themselves say, the last year or so has been the stuff of dreams for them. The majority of the group members played in various pro and semi-pro groups during the '70s and early '80s before jobs and families put an end to their regular playing days for nigh on 20 years. Their common ground was a love of Shadows music, particularly the 1964-1968 period when the Shads were playing Burns guitars. In the late 1990s, they met up at the East Yorks Shadows Club in Scarborough.
After getting to grips with playing again via the ubiquitous UB Hank/Shadows Workout backing track CDs, David Martin (lead/rhythm), Terry Carter (lead/rhythm), Chris Jarvis (bass) and Martin Verrill (drums) gravitated towards playing live sets as a group, concentrating on the Burns era tracks. David Martin is also well known for having set up the fantastic MSN Shadows Web community Site (www.shadowmusic.co.uk <http://www.shadowmusic.co.uk>), which has done so much for aficionados of the Shads and instrumentals generally. Bruce Welch has been a great support/influence and has even joined Legend onstage as has Warren Bennett, whose friendship and input is truly genuine.
The group went from strength to strength and then came an offer from Joop and Jolanda at MoviMusic to record a CD. Legend were thrilled but initially a little uncertain. Now, here comes the Dream Come True part. Warren Bennett heard about the project. This amazing man offered Legend his services as MD, arranger, keyboard player and producer! Not only that… would they like to record the CD at Brian Bennett's Honeyhill studios and have the equally legendary Dick Plant as sound engineer! The CD was launched at Pipeline 2002 and mighty fine it is too.
Legend's 20 number set was neatly divided so that David and Terry played lead or rhythm on exactly half of the set each. They were equally impressive when playing either. As an added bonus, Trev Faull (noted author and keyboard wrestler extraordinaire) joined the group on keyboards because "Warren Bennett is abroad playing keyboards for someone else!" I have to say that Trev was excellent, beginning with the haunting "Blue Sky, Blue Sea, Blue Me" where his lush synths overlayed Terry's sensitive lead work. "Maroc 7" was superb with David Martin expertly re-creating those tremulous opening guitar figures before playing the noble theme in suitably stately style. The whole group was excellent and Trev did wonders to suggest the full orchestra on just a single keyboard. "It's Been A Blue Day" is similar to "Blue Sky…" and Terry was again on prime form as was Trev, playing a much more intricate keyboard part. Finally, what a joy to hear Terry & the boys on the magnificent, but rarely performed, "The Miracle". Again Trev's contribution was splendidly vital, but even he couldn't play the full orchestral part as well as adding those sublime harp arpeggios (so they were absent).
David Martin spoke with genuine feeling when publicly thanking Warren, Joop, Jolanda, Ian McCutcheon, Pat Terrett, fans generally, Pipeline specifically and Bruce Welch for their help, encouragement and support. In fact, Bruce was amongst us and David dedicated "Temptation" (a rousing performance) to him because "the rhythm guitar part is even more difficult to play than 'The Savage'!" Every track was sheer delight and I'm only spotlighting a few of my personal faves (one of the reviewer's few perks).
Simply great to hear the seldom performed "It's A Man's World", "You Gotta Have Heart", "I Wish I Could Shimmy…" and "Flyder And The Spy". David's beautiful leadwork sparkled on the beguiling "Now That You've Gone" and Terry gave us a beefy "Zambesi". Inevitably attention tends to focus on the lead, but I must stress that Chris and Martin were superb throughout in their supporting roles.
In fact, as the set wore on, I began to concentrate more upon these two. It became apparent just how closely they managed to recreate the sound and feel of the Rostill/Bennett bass/drums interplay of the day. It's revealed even more on the CD, because Chris Jarvis doesn't just play bass, he pays homage to John Rostill by playing bass as he would have done. So full marks to him and drummer Martin, it's quite uncanny. A marvellous example was in the group's outstanding performance of the intricate "Waiting For Rosie". Top-notch stuff. I recommend that you buy the CD as it also contains a couple of tasty Warren Bennett originals amongst the splendid cover versions. (The) Legend Lives!
And talking of legends, we then saw one in the making as onstage came The Charades…..
THE CHARADES
Hawaii 5-0 / The Pink Panther Theme / Walk Don't Run '64 / Rap City / The Savage / Lost In Waves / She's Not There / The Stranger / Theme From The Persuaders / Washington Square / Skylab / Love Potion No.9 / From Russia With Love / Besame Mucho / Inter Ceptor / Journey To The Stars / Woolly Bully / Diamond Head / Get Ready / Yozoro No Hoshi
Hannu Kononen (lead), Marko Rahikainen (rhythm), Leo Eerikainen (bass) and Jari Moberg (drums) are The Charades - yet another instrumental combo from Finland. I knew precious little about them, only their reputation preceded them. After all, "In Motion" was Pipeline's album of the year and 1,000,000 Pipeline fans couldn't be wrong, could they? I knew that the group specialised in recreating the early to mid-sixties Ventures sound and that was about it. I didn't have a copy of "In Motion" and so decided to buy a CD shortly before the group took to the stage. Then I retreated to my balcony vantage point, not knowing quite what to expect.
The curtains parted to reveal The (men in black) Charades standing coolly waiting to commence. Within a few seconds I was struck by a couple of thoughts:
1) The rhythm guitarist was a dead ringer for Mike Gross.
2) Even before they'd played a single note they seemed to radiate those somehow indefinable qualities attitude and stage presence.
3)…..
There was no 3 because the next thing that struck me was a massive sonic blast as Jari launched a frenzied attack on his drums and the group blasted into a rip-roaring "Hawaii 5-0". What a tremendously powerful yet clean sound. A simply magnificent rhythm section topped by Hannu's excoriating (and very fast) lead guitar. The group didn't need the orchestra that graced the original recording. They created their own aural Tsunami. Book 'em Danno! What an explosive start.
Next up was a fast, tight and vibrant take on Henry Mancini's "Pink Panther" in the Ventures setting. Impressive stuff. The Ventures were never slow to latch onto changing musical trends. In 1964, they decided to re-work "Walk Don't Run" in the manner of The Chantays' "Pipeline". The Charades powered through the number with belligerent panache. Urged along by Jari's fast sledgehammer drums and throbbing bass, Marko fired out those spitting rhythm runs and as for Hannu… well, close your eyes and it could've been Nokie up there.
Still no let up as the group now eviscerated one of Brahms' Hungarian Dances, better known as "Rap City", which had even more power than the Ventures original! In fact, that is what's so impressive about The Charades. They are to that early Ventures sound what our beloved Rapiers are to the classic British instros. Viz: they take the style and the sound, lovingly study and recreate it (technical perfection and accuracy is a must) and then improve upon it. The Charades have an enormously powerful sound, formidable technique, class and style. Plus, their ensemble is almost telepathic. Quite remarkable.
"The Stranger" is, of course, from Borodin's "Psolotvian Dances". Back in 1955 several of its themes were "borrowed" for the film "Kismet", and "Stranger In Paradise" became a massive hit for no fewer than six acts simultaneously (with Tony Bennett taking his version all the way to No.1). The Ventures turned it into an exciting instro. Incredibly The Charades again manage to eclipse the original. The arrangement is identical but simply played faster and louder with vicious energy.
"The Savage" is the Ventures arrangement. Very well played too (though I still think that the Shadows' original is unsurpassable). "Lost In Waves" is a superb original swamped with reverb and dripping with echo. Maybe I can pay no higher tribute if I say that it could easily be mistaken for one of those Wilson-Bogle-Edwards-Taylor originals which frequently resided on those sixties albums.
Hey, remember how The Ventures used to cover vocal hits and turn them into monster instros? Well, boy do The Charades demonstrate just how this was done with great style and flair. "She's Not There", "Love Potion No.9", "Woolly Bully" and The Temptations' "Get Ready" were all delivered as brilliant instrumentals by The Charades. Look, I could go into detail about every track, but I'm beginning to run out of superlatives. The Charades are simply sensational. I notice that only six tracks from their amazing live set at Pipeline are on "In Motion". I hope that they'll get around to releasing another CD PDQ!
I'm glad that I picked up "In Motion" before The Charades' set because when I got to their table five minutes after they'd finished, every single one had sold out! I've got lots of versions of the brilliant "Journey To The Stars" and "Diamond Head" by other groups but (apart from The Ventures themselves) I've never heard them played better than The Charades played them today. I now want: a) to dig out my Ventures CDs and play some of the tracks again, and b) obtain more recordings by The Charades.
Alan and Dave maintain that they got the best reception of all of the many groups that have graced Pipeline's ten conventions. They are certainly most impressive and I'd like to hear them again very soon. I've just thought of one word to sum up their performance: Compelling!
Headlining this year were The Tornados…. Instead of the customary introductions from either Alan or Dave, a guest announcer appeared. It was none other than Bruce Welch. It's wonderful that artists of his stature lend their support to the Pipeline Convention. Bruce has been a regular visitor down the years. Bruce was really there, as he explained, to meet his old friend Clem and to introduce The Tornados. In fact, Clem and Bruce have remained good friends since they first met at the 2 I's way back in 1958. "Back in the 1960s" explained Bruce, "we regarded The Tornados as just about our only serious challengers in terms of instrumental hits."
In the pantheon of British instrumental groups The Tornados are amongst the all time greats. Under the aegis of legendary producer Joe Meek they cut some fabulous instrumentals. "Telstar" is undoubtedly one of the greatest records ever made with global sales currently estimated at 11 million copies. It should have made Joe Meek and The Tornados very wealthy. As many of you know, because of a whole series of appalling and wretched circumstances, that didn't happen. The music industry was (and still is) littered with stories of rip-offs and deception. Unfortunately The Tornados were blighted by these problems. The music was great though.
In a recent Gandy Dancer poll there was a category something along the lines of "Group Most Wanted To Reform". I think that The Shadows were at the top of that chart (someone please write in to correct me if I'm wrong) and at No.2 were The Tornados. From the original line-up both Alan Caddy and Heinz Burt have sadly died, Roger LaVern has had surgery on his hands and now only plays occasionally, and George Bellamy made it clear many, many years ago that his Tornados days are a thing of the past.
But there is one very special person who is still there, namely drummer Clem Cattini. Clem is very modest, but he is definitely one of the finest drummers ever to emerge from the UK. After he left The Tornados in 1965, Clem became one of Britain's top session drummers. Amongst his numerous achievements is playing on literally hundreds (if not thousands) of chart hits. It's been confirmed that he has played on 42 No.1 hits (beginning with Johnny Kidd's "Shakin' All Over" in 1960). In fact, he's probably played on over 50 No.1s which is simply incredible. He's even played the Conway Hall many times before (backing David Bowie on one occasion). In fact the venue was the scene of his professional debut with Terry Kennedy's Rock 'n' Rollers back in 1957. More importantly for us, Clem was a founder member of The Tornados and played on every track that they recorded between the end of 1961 and the beginning of 1965.
Clem and Roger LaVern are the legal owners of the Tornados name. In 1989 Clem decided to reform The Tornados but with the addition of female vocalist Lynne Alice (who tragically died just over a year ago). The emphasis was mainly on vocals with only three or four instrumentals regularly featuring in their shows. Nevertheless, we should all be grateful that Clem has kept The Tornados going for the past 13 years.
Guitarist (and fine singer) David Graham has been with Clem since 1989. For tonight's special all-instrumental set (something that many of us have dreamt about but never thought that it would ever happen) Clem enlisted the services of Derek (Del) Griffiths on guitar. Del has played with such luminaries as The Artwoods and Keef Hartley, so his musical roots go back to our Golden Era. Bassist Colin Farley (formerly with '80s hit makers Cutting Crew) joined The Tornados after the departure of the long-serving Dave Harvey. Bip Weatherall (who also notched up over a decade's service) was replaced on keyboards by Kevin Earl. However, I noticed that Kevin was absent and a gentleman by the name of Brian Miller was on keyboards, of which more later.
Clem's intricate drumming patterns introduced "Jungle Fever". Normally this segues into another track after about thirty seconds in the group's normal set, so it was great to have a full performance. The group was immediately into its stride with Brian expertly recreating Geoff Goddard's idiosyncratic stylings, particularly on the stabbing/staccato passages. It was impossible to recreate Joe Meek's overdubbed exotic jungle FX, but it was still great to hear this track played live in full. Next up was the bubbly "Globetrotter" which was a huge jog-along hit despite a) having passages almost identical to "Venus In Blue Jeans", and b) the group absolutely hating it. Clem (with self deprecating humour) related the anecdote of him daring to tell Joe Meek that he despised the track, thereby invoking the notoriously volatile Joe's wrath. Clem fled downstairs rapidly followed by a dangerously heavy tape deck hurled at him by the apoplectic producer!
Everyone (and subsequently fans too) felt that "Globetrotter" should have been held over in favour of George Bellamy's fantastic "Ridin' The Wind" which is a glorious guitar/organ led opus. Brian Miller was outstanding on keyboards and Del & Dave combined to faithfully recreate Alan Caddy's atmospheric twanging solos. "Robot" worked a treat with drums, organ and guitars combining to achieve the effect of those clanging chords at the opening of the original, whilst "The Ice Cream Man" exuded all of the rinky dink, ice rink Mr. Softee charm of the 1963 cut. Strange how some tracks simply evoke the feel of a bygone era. Although "Life On Venus" may have been dubbed "Son Of Telstar", it was still too good a track to have been buried on the B-side of "Robot".
It was at this point that I thought of the danger of taking all of this for granted. What a superb job Clem and the group were all doing in their professional yet inimitable (apparently) laid back style. "Dragonfly" represented a change of direction back in 1964, with the usual organ/guitar roles being reversed. Del had done his homework as he stylishly reeled off his superb solos. Like "Jungle Fever" (which it was partly based on), "Hot Pot" was missing Joe's bizarre FX but the group captured the weird overall sound admirably. The next track, "Exodus", was a real highlight. Jimmy O'Brien had been the organ soloist on both the 1964 single and the live recording from Blackpool. It was O'Brien's own arrangement which made it such a great single. Brian Miller was superb, he captured both the sound and every nuance of O'Brien's dramatic, swirling patterns during a performance of convincing grandeur and integrity with Dave Graham providing the brief, but stinging guitar passages.
"The Man With The Golden Arm" was not a Tornados number, nor was this version related to Jet Harris's 1962 classic. No, this was unique as The Tornados harked back to Elmer Bernstein's 1950s score and added some original touches of their own. Very fluid and jazzy with everyone in fine form, particularly Colin deploying his bass as the lead instrument. "Wipeout" likewise became a sort of Surfaris/Saints hybrid. Clem gave a masterly display of how less is more during the drum breaks. Ron Wilson would've been proud as Clem, as David Graham wickedly put it: "A legend of the 60s, now in his 60s", played with all the energy and enthusiasm of a youngster only with the added advantages of years of experience and brilliant technique.
Max Steiner's beautiful "Theme From A Summer Place" was popularised by Percy Faith. The Tornados never played the track live and it was sheer delight to hear it. Alan Caddy had borrowed his solo from a certain Mr. Chet Atkins and Del Griffiths was in outstanding form during a most mellifluous performance. Again The Tornados didn't record Booker T's seminal "Green Onions", but what a superb version this was. Really slinky, smouldering and brooding as the band stoked up the atmosphere and upped the ante little by little including a biting guitar break by Dave Graham. Instrumental playing of the highest calibre by all concerned.
"Love And Fury" was The Tornados' first release and was a tribute to Billy Fury. All of the ingredients of the Tornados sound were present and correct. It deserved to be a hit. Again, the 2002 Tornados were on top form from Clem's rapid snare rhythms to Del's eerie sounding metallic lead breaks. The ultra rare "Swinging Beefeater" (amongst the first tracks recorded with Joe Meek) was also superbly played by Del on lead and he later performed heroics on the jazzy "Earthy". "We sometimes needed titles for instrumental tracks" recalled Clem, "Alan Caddy wrote 'Earthy' so he named that one. 'Swinging Beefeater', I don't know why it was called that. Nothing to do with the Tower Of London. I think it was just because Alan loved beefburgers!"
THE TORNADOS
Jungle Fever / Globetrotter / Ridin' The Wind / Robot / The Ice Cream Man / Life On Venus / Dragonfly / Hot Pot / Exodus / Man With The Golden Arm / Wipeout / Theme From A Summer Place / Green Onions / Love And Fury / Swinging Beefeater / Earthy / Telstar
And so to "Telstar", which still has an emotional charge even after 40 years and over 500 cover versions. That is the mark of a truly great original. Referring back to Bruce's opening remarks, Clem related that the music press tried to fabricate rivalry between The Tornados and The Shadows. "There was rivalry, but on our part (i.e. the respective groups) it was always friendly. In fact when 'Telstar' reached No.1, The Shadows sent us a congratulatory telegram." The 2002 convention closed to the majestic strains of the immortal "Telstar" and, for an encore, the Tornados were obliged to play it again. A fitting close to a brilliant day.
Here I must congratulate the remarkable Brian Miller. On Wednesday evening, i.e. only three working days before Pipeline, Brian received a call from Clem to say that Kevin Earl had broken his arm. Could Brian help out by deputising and playing keyboards on 18 numbers, 17 of which he'd probably never heard of before, and there was no sheet music available! As Brian had known Clem for over 30 years, they met up whilst backing Dana as well as playing together on numerous sessions, he said yes. On Thursday Clem sent him some Tornados CDs. Brian listened to them and spent two days transcribing the arrangements.
Following that he had just one rehearsal before the show. Let's face it, virtually every Tornados number depends on the organ as lead instrument. Now, he could have just played through the set and that would've been an incredible achievement in itself. But he went further by listening carefully to the different playing styles of Geoff Goddard, Roger LaVerne and Jimmy O'Brien. Not only that, Brian recreated different organ sounds by a combination of loading in some old Vox samples and constantly adjusting assorted echo and reverb settings. What a lovely guy too. He was very modest about his playing, but did confess that he'd played in West End shows, including "Cats" for over 20 years.
Derek Griffiths was equally modest and affable. He told me that he desperately wanted to get as close as possible to Alan Caddy's guitar sound (which was frequently enhanced by Joe Meek on recordings) and had spent hours experimenting with different amps, echo boxes and settings. We should all applaud the dedication of these people to their art, and indeed all of the acts because it shows their total dedication and the fact that they care. In this day and age, that's quite something.
Last but not least a big heartfelt thanks to Alan Taylor and Dave Burke (plus their dedicated wives, children, other close relatives and helpers) because without them none of this would happen at all. There are numerous other folks to thank too, but those dedications should come from Alan & Dave themselves and not me. For those of you couldn't make it, I hope that this write up and the forthcoming video will suffice.
Guys, here's to the next Twangtastic Decade.
Below are reviews of the last 3 PIPELINE Conventions
PIPELINE
2001
an instrumental odyssey by George
Geddes
It was always going to be a rather different Convention this year. The customary venue, the International Students House near Regents Park, was undergoing refurbishment, and both sets of organisers were reluctant to commit themselves to using it in case the promised completion date for the work was not achieved. (Ed's note: It wasn't.) The Duane Eddy Circle opted to hold their event south of the Thames at the Oval, and for a time it looked as if Pipeliners might join them there, but Dave and Alan decided that the risk of repeating last year's visit from the local Environmental Health Officer over noise levels was too great. So it was that we gathered this year at the famous Conway Hall in Bloomsbury.
Although the lack of a suitable venue meant no Saturday night pre-Convention glass of orange juice, there was an informal gathering at the Bonnington Hotel, attended by the Scandinavian contingent and sundry other Pipeliners. The obvious disadvantage of the relocation was that attending both events was not possible, but on the plus side there was an earlier start and an earlier finish for Pipeline, and more time for the changeover between groups.
The Secrets
The Secrets have been a hit at those Saturday night pre-Convention sessions for the last two years. This year, they had the responsibility of getting the Convention itself underway, and they coped with the task ably. With well-known instro fans such as Pipeline co-editor Dave Burke on drums, author and CD compiler extraordinaire Trev Faull behind the keyboards and writer / reviewer Jim Nugent on guitar being joined by Pipeline's video supremo Ray Liffen (also on guitar) and Pete Walter (bass), this is a band with a good pedigree. However, their set showed that they can also deliver the goods.
It is almost impossible to write about the quintet without using the word "eclectic" to describe a repertoire which ranges from John Barry to the Ventures, via the Shadows, Chris Watts and Bert Weedon. All the tracks they played are featured on their first CD Top Secret. The music is treated with respect but not reverence, and the group do not mind adapting particular tracks to suit themselves. Particularly enjoyable were the finger-busting El Cumbanchero with Jim on Fender Bass VI, Bird Rockers, for which he switched to a Fender XII, and the arrangement of George Martin's Theme One. Only one original, the Nugent-Walter collaboration Spy Society, but a fine set with a good mixture of the well-known and the not-so-familiar, indicating how varied the world of instrumentals can be.
The Secrets
Hit And Miss / Saturday Night At The Duckpond / Saturday's Child / Ginchy / Man From Uncle / Spy Society / Secret Agent Man / Custer's Stand / Tales Of A Raggy Tramline / El Cumbanchero / Bird Rockers / Pipeline / Theme One / Peter Gunn
This year, there was no separate Guitar Room, but once again Tony Hoffman had ably organised a team of Shadsfaxers to provide music in between each act, utilising a "mini-stage". First up were Tony himself, David Martin and Joey Dee - joined on bass by Hoss Van Hardeveld, of whom more later.
The Reflections
The curtains re-opened on the main stage, as the young Norwegian band began a programme of Shadows influenced music. No strangers to the UK, having played at Shadsfest and been the opening act for Shadowmania in both 1998 and 1999, the group have also played at many other Shadows events through Europe. It was a slightly different line-up, with new rhythm guitarist Ole Reidar Gudmestad joining lead guitarist Svein Arild Tjemsland and the Brekken brothers, Arild and Kjetil, on bass and drums. The Reflections set was based mainly on Shadows material, but in recent years they have been adding to their repertoire. At Pipeline 2001 they included Lennart Clerwall's Gypsy Woman, the Spotnicks Old Spinning Wheel and an impressive version of Exodus which saw Svein Arild drawing varied tones from his Stratocaster, against changing rhythms from the rest of the band. For the guitar-spotters, Ole swapped his Stratocaster for a Jazzmaster (still red, though!) to give a different rhythm sound on a couple of numbers. With a polished presentation, this foursome get better and better.
The icing on the cake for Shadows fans was a guest appearance by a familiar figure. Just prior to the Convention, it was thought that Arild Brekken would be required for national service in Norway. Who better to take his place than Alan Jones? However, Arild was able to make it to London, but Alan came along in any case, and played bass for Shadoogie, Temptation and Blue Sky, Blue Sea, Blue Me. As always, a consummately professional performance. In addition, both bassists took solos in Nivram and Alan returned to the stage for FBI and the encore Apache.
The Reflections
Shazam / Chattanooga Choo Choo / Brazil / Tonight / In The Mood / Gypsy Woman / Old Spinning Wheel / Lara's Theme / Shadoogie '83 / Temptation / Blue Sky, Blue Sea, Blue Me / Nivram / The Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt / Exodus / Quartermaster's Stores / FBI / Apache
Ian McCutcheon took over for the Shadsfaxers, playing along with his latest Shadows Workout CD, which maintains the high standard of its predecessors.
The Moontrekkers
Variety is an essential part of the Convention experience, so the main stage was turned over to The Moontrekkers who were paying a return visit to Pipeline. This was a slightly different line-up from the one I had seen at the 3rd Convention in 1995. Joining Peter Knight on keyboards and Steve Trounce, who had switched from rhythm guitar to bass, were Paul Mitchell on lead guitar and Max Knight, drummer with one of the later incarnations of the original band. As the set-list shows, their own singles were interspersed with classic instrumentals. Peter commented that, having heard a beautiful version of Exodus from the Reflections, we were about to hear an ugly one! It wasn't ugly, though, just different, since it featured keyboards rather than guitar. This was the first time I had seen Diamonds played on a four-string bass - though probably that could only be done on a Rickenbacker with its characteristic trebly sound. Several numbers featured Peter Knight playing the clavioline - a highly temperamental instrument - actually used on the original version of Telstar. A little bit of history, and a link with the golden days of rock instrumental.
The Moontrekkers
Nut Rocker / Peter Gunn / Battle Hymn / Red River Rock / Rebel Rouser / Exodus / Sleepwalk / Telstar / Drums Are My Beat / Bogey Man / Diamonds / Night Of The Vampire / Green Onions
The Shadsfaxers maintained the high standard of their contributions while we waited for the next band, and a return to Shadows-influenced sounds on the main stage.
The UB Hank Guitar Club Band
The UB Hank Guitar Club Band have only existed for just over a year, but their fine performances at Shadows fan events throughout Europe had been noted by the Convention organisers, and this, their first British appearance, was eagerly anticipated. Opening with Main Theme - one of their signature numbers - the five-piece line-up gave a slick professional performance, with the music punctuated by Radio Luxembourg jingles and advertisements which brought knowing nods from those of a certain age.
The UBHGCB line up as Martin de Liefde and Gerard Burgerhout on lead guitar, Walther Veenstra on rhythm guitar and keyboards, Hoss van Hardeveld on bass and Henk Doove Jr on drums. Gerard, Walther and Henk were all members of The Fellows, and Hoss is a veteran of FBI, Black Albinos and, like Walther, the (Dutch) Dakotas. Although the quintet's repertoire is based on the music of the Shadows, they have worked hard in the choice of numbers and the arrangements to ensure constant variety and maintain interest for the listener. Hoss and Henk provide a firm foundation for the music, but the group's strength is in having two lead guitars. Martin and Gerard can add greater depth to familiar numbers, harmonising or contributing counter-melodies, then adopting traditional lead and rhythm roles if Walther moves from rhythm guitar to keyboards. It would be difficult to select highlights, but we got Walther's James Bond impression preceding a cracking Goldfinger, a great Slaughter... with Gerard on acoustic and Martin on electric, and Gonzales which hit like a musical sledgehammer. Neglected tracks such as Fandango, Tennessee Waltz and The Flyder And The Spy help to make the band stand out from the crowd. Bruce Welch has been sufficiently impressed by the band to book them for Shadowmania 2001, along with The Reflections, and he knows a thing or two about Shadows music!
UB Hank Guitar Club Band
Main Theme / Wonderful Land / Goldfinger / Somewhere / Another Night / Slaughter On 10th Avenue / Some Are Lonely / Fandango / Atlantis / With A Hmm-Hmm On My Knee / Tennessee Waltz / The Drum Number / Saturday Night At The Duckpond / Gonzales / Flyder And The Spy
More from the Shadsfaxers, with Joey Dee playing tracks from his excellent new CD, before Alan Taylor provided the answers to the Golden Anorak quiz. In some ways, your intrepid scribe was quite relieved not to be one of the prize-winners, though I continue to be slightly disturbed by the amount of trivia that I do know! The last band of the 2001 Convention had some hard acts to follow, but again, this was a band with a pedigree.
The Invaders
The Invaders from Sweden had Kurt Froberg and Tom "Rocker" Olsson alternating lead and rhythm duties on Strats, P O Alm behind his Ludwig drum kit (making his third Convention appearance with as many bands!) and stand-in Ejje Pettersson from The Ryders toting a Fender Jazz Bass. Kurt looks after the Shadows-style numbers and Tom specialises in Spotnicks and a bit of country picking.
Listening to the band, you do wonder why such a cracking track as Pistoleros could remain virtually unknown for so long. Also nice to hear the Eagles Bristol Express getting an airing; later in the set The Phantoms' Eldorado was well received too. The band dabbled in the classics for Adagio and rocked up the traditional Vem Kan Sigla with some country picking in the middle. A poignant moment came as The Invaders dedicated their treatment of Golden Earrings to the late Brian Parker who had appeared with The Hunters at the previous Convention. Dakota was based on the Jumping Jewels version, and Ghost Riders was in Spotnicks style.
The Invaders made worthy bill-toppers, with a classy performance and a good balance of well-known and less familiar numbers. Many of the tracks played are on The Invaders' recent Live CD which is highly recommended. A fitting end to a successful Convention - though the nearby Bonnington once again was the venue for a little post-Convention gathering.
The Invaders
Amapola / Moonshot / Bristol Express / Pistoleros / Adagio / Caravan / Golden Earrings / Ebb Tide / Wildwood Flower / Ven Kan Sigla / Dakota / Big Boy / Pony Express / Last Date / Eldorado / Svansjon / Ghost Riders In The Sky / Walk Don't Run / Dance On
Once again, sincere thanks to the organisers, all the bands, and to the stall holders - including regulars Bim-Bam, Dave Peckett, Gerry Woodage, Maurice Preece and Leo's Den - who are only too happy to allow us to stock up on instrumental goodies! There were plenty of opportunities to mingle with like-minded fans, and at various times during the day you could have rubbed shoulders with all of the musicians involved, Bruce Welch, Colin and John of the Rapiers, Luc from the Vickings, Indra from Park Avenue Connection, Roger from Pipeline '61, Mike "Nero" O'Neill, Alan Holmes from Sounds Inc, Jem Penney from the Surf Rats and former member of The Boys Johnny D'Hondt. Like everybody else, they are fans of the music, and it is worth stating again that Alan, Dave and the others who keep the magazine and the Convention going are volunteers. At one point during the afternoon I glanced at the inscription above the stage: "To thine own self be true". Quite appropriate really, as folks like Alan, Dave B. and Dave P. have been true to their passion for instrumental music and have helped to ensure its survival. Next year sees the tenth Pipeline Convention so, if you have not made the trip to London at Easter before, why not think about it for 2002?
PIPELINE 2000
THE EIGHTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL
ROCK INSTRUMENTAL CONVENTION
Taking instrumentals into the
21st century!
by George Geddes
The first Pipeline Instrumental Convention of the 21st Century, and the eighth to be held. I have been fortunate to be at six out of those eight, but I looked forward to this one with a mixture of nostalgia, anticipation and curiousity. Nostalgia because I had fond memories of seeing The Falcons open the third Convention in 1995 which was the first I had been able to attend. Anticipation because I had missed seeing The Rapiers and The Hunters in 1994. Curiosity because The Centurions promised something a little different from the guitar and keyboards based bands which have tended to dominate Convention bills.
Although the basic format of the Convention has remained the same over the eight years, there have been some changes. Introduced in 1995, the informal Saturday night get-together in the bar of the International Students House is a good chance for those staying or living near London to have a chat over a glass of lemonade. Two years ago a couple of guitars and a Vox amp appeared. Last year Pipeline house band The Secrets played two sets, with guest appearances. This year the venue had shifted downstairs to the Portland Room, which had the advantage of offering more space for band and listeners but the disadvantage of being further from the refreshments! A good crowd saw The Secrets once again work their way through a variety of instrumentals including a couple of originals. The band were noticably tighter than last year, and their eclectic repertoire meant that there was some thing for everyone. And they didn't invite everyone to sing along with Spanish Eyes!!
The interval spot attracted guests from as far apart as Brazil (Eliano D'Antoni), Scotland (George Geddes and Ken Irving) and Essex (Ross Edwards), not to mention probably the most expensive guitar of the weekend, Ross's gorgeous blue PRS. Yes, I did say Brazil by the way. Sergio Haussmann do Nascimento and his party were this year's furthest travelled Convention attendees.
The Secrets: Pipeline / For Your Love / Ginchy / Time Is Tight / Saturday Nite At The Duckpond / FBI / Tequila / Telstar / Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt / Scarlett O'Hara / Spanish Eyes / Tales Of A Raggy Tramline // Hit And Miss / Bird Rockers / Spy Society / Peter Gunn / El Cumbanchero / Man From Uncle / Saturday's Child / Custer's Last Stand / Secret Agent Man / The Chase / Because They're Young / Theme One
Sunday afternoon kicked off with the Duane Eddy Convention, but once again no sighting of their main man. The Twang Gang rounded off that part of the day with their customary polished run through examples of Duane's repertoire, then it was time for the Pipeliners to take centre stage. Running in parallel with the Duanefest, though, was the Guitar Room set up in the afore-mentioned Portland Room. Tony Hoffman was the man in charge this year, and as well as stalls selling echoboxes and other bits and pieces, there was plenty of live music. Joey Dee acted as Master of Ceremonies as well as wielding a mean Strat himself, a fact borne out by his CD. Well known faces taking part included David Martin, Dave Buckley, Nick Kellie, Zoe McCulloch and Richard Langstone who also had his new CD on sale. Martin and Hoss from Holland were persuaded on to the stage, but who let that other pair from Glasgow play Ventures stuff amidst all the Shadows numbers?! it was a busy afternoon, putting everyone in the mood for the main event.
The usual selection of stalls lined the walls of the theatre, with vinyl and CDs, sheet music and such like to tempt the purchaser. The familiar face of Davy Peckett was missing this year, but it was good to welcome Pat and John from Leo's Den with their selection of Cliff and Shadows related merchandise.
The lights dimmed and it was down to the serious business. Opening the proceedings was a band with a new title, The Centurions, but one with some well-known names. I might be wrong, but I suspect that when Dave Gibbons and Martin Waller from the Twang Gang joined The Scorpions on stage on trumpet and sax at the Convention a couple of years ago, a little light bulb flashed above Mike O'Neill's head. With Mike behind the keyboards, Dave on trumpet and guitar, and Martin on sax, they were joined on stage by Pete Godding (also on sax), Vic Cross on bass and Scorpions Ivor Knight (drums) and John Barber (guitar). They treated us to a short set of instrumentals which mingled Mancini and Mongo Santamaria with Justis and Markeys. The audience took to the big brassy sound and the set seemed all too short.
However, all was not as it seemed. As the curtains closed, Alan Taylor promised the audience a little surprise. While we were waiting, we were treated to a sneak preview of two tracks from the forthcoming Ventures album Acoustic Rock: The Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt and Man Of Mystery. Alan did hint that the surprise had a Roman connection, and sure enough the curtains re-opened to reveal Mike with Dave, Vic and Ivor in full Roman regalia as Nero & The Gladiators.
The Centurions: The Monkey Farm / Yeh Yeh / Raunchy / Beatnik / Last Night
Nero & The Gladiators: Trek To Rome / Bleak House / Czardas / Tovarich / Hall Of The Mountain King / Light Cavalry / Hoots Mon / Entry Of The Gladiators / Boots
With Dave on guitar, the quartet provided a selection from the Nero & The Gladiators repertoire, before the rest of The Centurions returned to close this first part of the show with another choice batch of brass-led numbers. Most enjoyable indeed.
It is perhaps wrong to single out any one musician from all the bands that Sunday, but if the Convention had had a Man of the Match award, Dave Gibbons would have been a strong contender. Having been a stalwart of the Twang Gang with Martin and Mike, he played both splendid trumpet and guitar in the Centurions set.
A break in the proceedings allowed legs to be stretched, glasses to be refilled, CDs to be browsed and friends to be greeted. Apparently, too, the Guitar Room was still in business. Back on stage, The Falcons were ready to supply their brand of music. This provided a link to my first Convention, although only Mike Beddoes of that 1995 line-up was on stage. Andre and Gary were now responsible for drums and rhythm guitar and, in the absence of Gord Kearney, none other than Bill Bonney of The Fentones stood in on bass. Again this was a reminder of that earlier Convention, as The Fentones had been on the same bill - and with Mike Beddoes filling in on rhythm guitar. With a new CD just about to be released, it was no surprise that several tracks were featured. Equally, at a Pipeline Convention it is expected that groups acknowledge their roots so the Falcons gave us their version of Apache.
With Bill on stage, The Fentones' Mexican was also featured, but once again with The Falcons trademark sound and style. Gary was featured on lead guitar on Jokers Wild, and Andre paid homage to one of his influences in a drum feature Half Nelson. This is an instrumental group which remains aware of tradition but has a style and sound of its own, showcasing the guitar skills of Mike Beddoes. Queen Of Diamonds was popular with Pipeline readers, and Rebel Jukebox is eagerly awaited.
The Falcons
Hell's Gate / Wake Up / Apache / Rebel Jukebox / Jokers Wild / Moonlight /
Half Nelson / Highway 99 / The Mexican / Shadowland / Buccaneer / Cruel Sea
Another break, and I slipped back stage for a moment. What was this? A Gibson Les Paul and a Godin MIDI guitar in The Hunters line-up? With three original members plus Billy Kuy of the Outlaws on bass, a traditional sixties set was expected. The group kicked off with their own classics Teen Scene and How's M'Chicks, as well as including The Storm later. However, Brian & Co. broke away from the sounds expected of a four-piece guitar and drums formation, with Brian coaxing brass and even accordian sounds out of the Godin. Another Pipeline first would be a Thelonius Monk offering, as Brian sat at the front of the stage to play 'Round Midnight.
A brave attempt to do something different, and a contrast with both the real brass sound of the opening group and the pure guitar-based sets which preceded and followed their own show. A nice touch was the appearance of Dave Sampson to provide some extra percussion in Tequila.
The Hunters
Teen Scene / How's M'Chicks / Swinging Shepherd Blues / The Storm / Golden Earrings / Petite Fleur / Medley: Moanin' - Green Onions / 'Round Midnight / Tequila / Runaway / Teen Scene
Last chance to raid the stalls, but most importantly, the traditional Pipeline quiz, with Big Al as the genial inquisitor. This year there was a four-way tie for first place, so it was down to a tie breaker with Ken Irving just pipping Nick Kellie to take the winner's rosette. Well, a bundle of CDs actually. None of the four went home empty-handed in any case.
And so to the top of the bill. Although I had seen The Rapiers on a number of occasions, I had never seen them play an all-instrumental set, which they did for the first time ever on their previous Convention appearance. The Rapiers have an enviable reputation, but it is one which is completely justified. They manage to exhibit a high degree of professionalism, but at the same time display visible enthusiasm for the music. At this year's Convention their set was built around Shadows numbers, but they incorporated enough material from elsewhere to keep most Shadophobes happy. After a brace of Shads numbers, a stylish Husky Team and the pre-Shadows Driftin', the guys produced their first surprise in the form of Barney's Blues, the jazz number which was the precursor of Nivram. For the second time in the evening, homage was paid to the legacy of Jerry Lordan in Apache before we heard the A-side of the Rapiers' only 45, the gorgeous Closing Theme. Now that should have been a hit...
The mood changed with John Tuck's solo on Wipe Out, and the surf influence continued with Pipeline. This produced a classic moment when Colin sneaked in a snatch of Hall Of The Mountain King. Neil responded with the James Bond Theme, so Colin played Riders In The Sky which was followed by Walk Don't Run from Neil. Colin replied with Diamonds and so it went on! You've got to be good to do that,
Another change of pace with an instrumental reading of a Buddy Holly number which pre-dated Hank Marvin's treatment of the same piece. To watch Colin's subtle use of the Strat tremelo arm combined with 'violining' the volume knob was an education - no need for fancy foot pedals here! After a driving guitar version of the Tornados classic and a Latin flavoured Shads LP track - possibly the latest non-original instrumental the band play - it was time for the finale. Not William Tell this time, but a storming Saturday Night At The Duckpond. Even after encores of two Shadows classics, the audience were still shouting for more. Alas, the Convention witching hour had arrived and the music was over for another year.
The Rapiers: Shadoogie / Dance On / Husky Team / Driftin' / Barney's Blues / Apache / The Closing Theme / Wipeout / Pipeline / Raining In My Heart / Telstar / Bossa Roo /
Saturday Nite At The Duckpond / FBI / Gonzales
It is always difficult to sum up the Convention experience in a few words. There's live music of a high standard, played by enthusiasts. The Guitar Room proved attractive to players and non-players alike. There is an opportunity to stock up on CDs, vinyl and other goodies supplied by specialist dealers and fellow fans. You can mingle and chat to some of those who play your favourite music. As well as the featured groups, the audience included members of FBI, The Vickings, Husky & The Sandmen, The Silhouets, The Surf Rats, Counterpoint and Pipeline '61. Mo Foster, bass player and author, is a regular attender and it was particularly good to see Bruce Welch in circulation again.
Those of us who attend the Convention owe a debt to the performers, and all the backstage and front-of-house volunteers who keep the whole thing going. If you were not there, the Convention video does give a flavour of the experience. However, if you are an instro fan within travelling distance of London at Easter, there's only one place to be.....
PIPELINE 1999
THE SEVENTH ANNUAL
INTERNATIONAL ROCK INSTRUMENTAL CONVENTION

Trev "Mr Instrumental" Faull
reports.....
Photos by Steve Terrell
The
pre-Millenium Convention was a little
different this year with three groups hardly known in this country plus
a nostalgic nod to
the gentleman of the electric guitar, Mr. Bert Weedon. Everything
started an hour earlier
than usual with The Duane Eddy Convention kicking off at 11.30 am. It
was their 21st
event, quite an achievement and as usual the main man kept his distance
- but Arthur had
plenty of video clips and the Twang Gang seem to get better every time
I hear them and
this year was no exception.
~: HUSKY
&
THE SANDMEN :~
Ecstasy / Arabian Nights / Four Stroke Stomp / Suki Yaki Stomp / Malibu
Run / Tube Surfer
/ Big Cyclone / Batcave / Hukilau Moon / Distrainer / Green Invasion/
Ridin' The Wild Surf
/Flyin' Hi And Lo / Stormin' Bomboras / Firewater
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|
HUSKY
& THE SANDMEN |
They kicked off the
evening and anyone who has witnessed
their debut CD/10" album "Arabian Nights" from 1996 will know what to
expect. This surf quartet from Finland left their keyboards at home and
relied on an all
guitars affair and kick off they certainly did. Their album was a 14
tracker (only 10 on
the limited vinyl release) mostly of original material with occasional
covers of Ventures
and Link Wray lesser known tracks. Their Pipeline set followed a
similar trail, their 15
tracks incorporating music from their CD plus newer material in a
similar vein.
They appeared on stage neatly dressed in Hawaiian shirts and got down
to business
immediately. Confident, short, sharp originals are their forte and they
perform such
numbers well. They even dressed up the old Japanese pop hit "Suki Yaki"
in a
stomping style. As the set continued, three youths walked to the front
of the audience and
proceeded to mimic the art of dry surfin'.
Lead
guitar (Teemu Liukkonen) duties were some times
handled by the rhythm player (Ben Engblom) who came into his own on the
exciting original
"Batcave". With their Fender equipment (Jaguar, Jazzmaster &
Precision bass)
they had the right tools for the job too.
A slow ballad "Hukilau Moon" was the only hint of The Shadows and the
group
offered new material which will hopefully appear on a second album. A
fast, urgent, rocker
known as "Distrainer" was one of them, followed by a happy beater in
the style
of the Astronauts "Baja" but moodier and with more changes. "Ridin' the
wild surf" incorporated all their best ingredients and as an encore
they attacked my
favourite Astronauts track "Firewater", closing as they began, on top
form. I
look forward to their
second release and more of their lively organ sound that was sadly
missing from this set.
~: PIPELINE '61 :~
Revenge Of The Rockers / Pipeline / The
Savage / Ajoen Ajoen / Roller's
Express / Black Eyes Rock / Teen Scene / Walk Don't Run / La Comparsa /
Wipe Out / Man Of
Mystery / The Cruel Sea / Theme For Young Lovers / Dark Town Strutters
Ball / Dakota /
Zambesi /Saturday Nite At The Duckpond / Telstar / Guitar Boogie
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|
PIPELINE '61 |
Here was a tight, professional quartet
from Holland who normally do a mixed vocal/instro set but their 19
strong instro delights
displayed just how versatile they were. General spokesperson was Harold
(the bass player)
who dished out the between-tracks information.
Impeccably dressed in glittering silver/grey suits, with two red
Stratocasters plus a
sunburst bass and not forgetting the winkle-picker shoes! These guys
presented a superb
mixture of Indo-Rock material (much favoured in Holland), a few Shadows
covers plus some
familiar instro hits. Guitarists Haico (lead) and Roger (rhythm) work
off each other well
and opened with the only original in their set "Revenge of the
Rockers". This
track was available on their 4 track EP being sold on the day which
included another fine
instro piece known as "Brainstorm".
Of course they played
"Pipeline" and their three Shadows
numbers were performed with ease. Drummer Harry maintained a full sound
throughout whilst
on "The Savage" the guitars went for the jugular with that ferocious
rhythm
guitar keeping perfect time.
If you are familiar with the Indo(nesian)-Rock scene, which often
relies on
traditional-type melodies, you will surely know the originals. "Ajoen
Ajoen" was
a popular hit for Willy & His Giants whilst the Tielman
Brothers recorded "Black
eyes rock" during the late 50s although this track is more often linked
to Electric
Johnny. The Pipeliners gave a good performance of this exciting track.
By contrast, a
beautifully winding ballad, full of rich, melodic runs known as "La
Comparsa"
was originally a good seller for ZZ & De Maskers, it was played
with superb feeling
and sensitivity.
The Jumpin' Jewels inspired
"Dakota" (best known in the UK
as by the Shadows but originally cut by composer Tommy Reilly) was a
catchy number that
somehow had all the trappings of 1963, the year it was written. The
other Indo-cover,
"Roller's Express", originally by The Rollers was a twitchy 12-bar with
superb
beat and neat phrasing. After an infectious Hunters cover the group ran
through "Walk
don't run" and "Wipe out", the latter giving a brief nod to the
Routers'
"Let's go".
You may recall Joe Brown singing a cockney song about Strutter's Balls
early on in his
career but here it was performed minus the lyrics and it sounded great.
They also covered
the old South-African hit "Zambesi" by way of the Shadows sound. For an
encore
they captured the authenticity of the Tornados "Telstar" without using
an organ
and they climaxed with "Guitar boogie" shakin' like the leaves on a
tree.
Pipeline (the event) were extremely lucky to find Pipeline (the group),
now all we need
next is an instro CD to complete the picture.
~: THE JAGUARS :~
The
Rumble / Walk Don't Run / The Munster's Theme /
Goofin' Around / Subject In Orbit / Perfidia / The Rise And Fall Of
Flingel Bunt / Flying
Blondini / Flotte Biene / Genie With The Light Brown Lamp / The Mexican
/ F.B.I. / Wipe
Out / Man Of Mystery
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|
THE JAGUARS |
This group hail from the Kent area and
once released a vinyl EP housed in an eight-inch sleeve (which resulted
in the problem of
where to store it!) but it included the excellent "Flying Blondini"
track that
they were to play live. They do have a current CD release called "Git
it" with a
ration of 8:1 vocals against instros. Also looked the part too in
matching suits, shirts
and white shoes. They normally have to perform a mainly vocal set but
relished the
opportunity to go all-instrumental.
Opening with the Shads
well-known "The Rumble"and a
heavily echoed Ventures cover they sparkled through the much-loved
Munsters TV show, even
Herman would have grooved to this! They turned the clock back for an
affectionate homage
to Bill Haley's Comets for the boogie number "Goofin' around" which is
seldom
performed these days. It was almost into jazz by the middle section
where the bass and
drum provided some tight interplay.
The Shadows were paramount in their set with the cha-cha beat of
"Perfidia", a
straight "Flingel Bunt" plus a very pretty "Genie with the light brown
lamp". Switching to the Spotnicks to perform "Subject in Orbit" which
has
shades of "The savage" about the urgent rhythm.
A stab at the Fentones "The
Mexican" was brave but the
crowd pleaser had to be "Wipe Out", where the rhythm player took the
drumstool
whilst the drummer removed part of his kit and proceeded to play it
flat on his back, on
the ceiling and in all manner of unnatural positions! To thunderous
applause they closed
their excellent set with "Man of Mystery".
Mention must also be made of two of Clive's originals. A driving 12
bar, "Flying
Blondini", and "Flotte Biene". Yes, the name has a special significance
to
Clive (though he didn't reveal it to me afterwards) and it's full of
Russian vodka fumes -
this very strong melody is surely worth an official release? Perhaps
they may now consider
more instrumentals in their regular set, did I mention the matching
white Fenders?
(Thought not.)
~: BERT WEEDON :~
Oh Boy! / Apache / The Blues / Rocking
Guitar (medley) / Sleep Walk / Bye
Bye Love /Can't Help Falling In Love / Oh, Lonesome Me / Gimme That
Jive /
It Doesn't Matter Anymore / Heartbreak Hotel / This Ole House
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|
BERT WEEDON |
Bert is now in his
late-seventies, the gentleman of the
electric guitar who provided the evening with a nostalgic trip through
his many years in
show-business. Between melodies (backing from the Jaguars) Bert
recalled some of his
famous little stories about the business. He only plays occasionally
now and has a
modified Stratocaster which uncannily sounds just like Bert Weedon and
nothing like the
general Fender Strat sound !
He opened with a cover of a Buddy Holly song (he would return to Buddy
later on) and then
his own arrangement of "Apache". Bert's fingering is light with spartan
use of
the tremolo arm but of course he is better known for playing a Guild
guitar. Introducing
"Guitar Boogie Shuffle" probably confused the audience totally as what
Bert
actually played was a medley he recorded for Polydor back in 1977 known
as "Rocking Guitar". This utilises
pieces of his hit "Guitar boogie shuffle" but then adds "See you later
Alligator", "Shake rattle and roll" and "Rock around the clock"
(plus more on the disc).
A
couple of blues numbers didn't go amiss, "The
Blues" was a straight 12-bar and midway I caught phrases from Gene
Vincent's
wonderful "Be-Bop-A-Lula"! The second blues was a fine tribute to the
Graceland
Gangster, Elvis, on "Heartbreak Hotel". Bert cut a cracking version in
1970 for
his comeback rock'n'roll album "Rockin' at the Round House". Bert also
played
the flipside of his single "Gin Mill Guitar", the ballad "Can't help
falling in love". Less familiar was "Gimme that jive", a traditional
tune
in "Sorry Robbie" mould. Surprisingly Bert recalled it only sold 12
copies upon
release, but where or when did this happen? I've certainly never seen
it documented.
Bert also tackled Santo & Johnny ballad Sleep Walk and when he
went into a lilt for
the old country hit song "Oh, lonesome me", several members of the
audience
could be seen singing along! The set closed with his slowed-up version
of Shakin' Stevens
"This ole house". Bert never took an encore so there was a sense of
anti-climax
after he had gone, but he should be fairly judged at a nostalgic level
- I mean the guy
doesn't have anything to prove anymore does he?
Looking
back I believe the evening was a success and
we can only hope that the Pipeline Convention can enter the Millennium
with renewed
vigour, carrying the torch for instro music through to another century.
Now that's one
heck of a thought, isn't it !
~: SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS HOUSE :~
Alan Taylor reports on the
pre-Convention instro night out....
No, it doesn't quite
have the same ring as Saturday Night
At The Duckpond does it! But for those who had travelled from afar and
were staying
overnight, and those of us who turned out to help them drink the night
away, we sure had a
ball. Apart from talking instros, we were thoroughly entertained by
members of The
Secrets. They lined up as Jim "Mr Guitar" Nugent on lead guitar, Ray
"It
was a Burns once" Liffen on rhythm, Trev "Mr Organ"(?) Faull on organ,
Pete
"Pogo" Walter on bass, and Dave "Hitman" Burke on skins.
They played two sets and even drew in a few of the students to marvel
at their musical
perspicacity. Barely pausing for a break, they were joined midway by
the Scottish branch
of FOAT in the form of George Geddes and Ken Irving on guitars. These
two intrepid
travellers nobly performed despite the third member of their planned
trio chickening out
and fleeing to America at the last minute. That was true "the show must
go on"
spirit lads. Or was it the beer? Anyway, another bold fellow was Luc
Kennis of The
Vickings who reminded us of the great set they performed for us last
year with another
quick-fingered display.
A big thank you to all those who made it such a fine start to our
instrumental weekend.