The Early Days Of Bakerloo Blues-Line 1967-1969
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I passed the eleven plus in 1960 and attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School Tamworth Staffordshire.
1965 I went into further education at Sutton Coldfield School of Art and Nottingham College of Art & Design becoming a graphic artist.
I funded my further education with summer jobs and playing gigs in and around Birmingham.
At 17 I met Dave " Clem " Clemson a fantastic child prodigy pianist who discovered the guitar in his early teens and set about mimicking Jimmy Hendrix and Eric Clapton with tremendous dexterity.
We ended up forming an " underground " blues band that we agreed to call Bakerloo Blues Line( my advertising skills from art college being put to some use! )
As a trio we had a succession of drummers all became outstanding players at some point during their careers. ( some already were when they kindly agreed to put up with me and Dave.)
Bakerloo review eBay April 2012
Click here to see scanned images of the Bakerloo Gig diary from 1968 to 69
John Hinch ( Judas Priest )
Tony O'Reily ( The Koobas )
Bob Lamb ( Steve Gibbons Band )
John " polly " Palmer
Bill Ward ( Black Sabbath )
Pete York ( The Spencer Davis group )
Keith Baker ( Uriah Heep )
This was the "egos and acne" period for Bakerloo
but my research has turned up some amazing gig lists for the band. I have photocopied the pages.
Make up your own mind!!
John ( Jinx )Jeffries was our road manager, he had a prosthetic leg because of a serious motorcycle accident. A lovely guy who we later found out was gay, because of the clubs that he frequented on our bookings in London!
I lived in Tamworth during the "Bakerloo Years " but we were almost the resident band at the Marquee Club in Wardour Street, " crashing at " friends " flats & houses in London on a regular basis.
We had a manager throughout this period Jim Simpson a jazz trumpeter and founder of Big Bear Music.
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Together with Jim we decide to create our own Blues Club where we could play our music and gather a fan base.
We rented the upstairs function room at the Crown Pub Hill Street Birmingham and called it
" Henry's Blues House "
All sorts of musicians turned up for impromptu jam sessions including Robert Plant John Bonham Rory Gallagher and Earth ( later to be renamed Black Sabbath )
1969 was the time to record our one and only album " Bakerloo " Jim secured a record deal with EMI Harvest Label and we recorded the album at Trident studio London, just around the corner from the Marquee club.
Gus Dudgeon produced the LP and all the tracks were recorded in two or three takes as the cost of the studio was £30 an hour a small fortune in those days.
For some " acne & ego " reason we didn't have a drummer at the time of the recording date and I believe that " Drivin Bachwards " the first track that we recorded was covered by a London session drummer who was a friend of Jerry Salisbury. ( Trumpeter on that track )
Dave patiently showed me the base line for this piece as unbeknownst to both him and me I was an undiagnosed dyslexic, hence unable to read sheet music!!!
Keith Baker came to the rescue and the album was made on time.
In September 1969 Dave was enticed to London by
Jon Hiseman ( Colosseum )
It was only a matter of time before Dave's talent would be captured by the musical premiership league of the day.
Bakerloo being the resident warm up band at the Marquee Club gave Dave and me some wonderful stories that he told me that he sometimes " dined out on "
Led Zeppelin's "opening night"
Canned Heat's "opening European Tour"
King Crimson
Jethro Tull
Ten Years After
This Worried Feeling
Bakerloo Gig Diary
Check out our gig diary from 1968 to 69
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