COLIN GROVES - Disappeared 1970. Either living with Lord Lucan or wearing concrete boots!
RAY SELLEY - Whereabouts unknown - Word is, he has left the Planet.
RON COBB - Still alive getting old disgracefully.
The Jag replaced the '61 Ford Zodiac that we had totalled after hitting a truck head on at 70 along Shefford High street. After bouncing off the truck we demolished a wall & landed in a monumental stone masons yard. Ray declared the Ford a 'write off' and cut it up that night with a blow torch.
The Jag was OK but the tyres kept melting - well they do when you are in your teens ! Car radios were better then. A push button Radiomobile with a knob at each end. Sam & Dave never sounded so good !
The Clapping Song by Shirley Ellis was responsible for most of the dents in the roof & Booker T's Green Onions did'nt do the floor on my side any good either.
OLD FARTS READ ON ~
If you can remember it, were you really there in the sixties ? Well I can remember the early bit & to me that was the best time. Fortunately for us lot in the British Isles we didn't get dragged off to some god forsaken place to kill people. We took our aggression out on each other & many a battle was fought at the good old British sea side & generally a good time was had by all - what side was you on?
I could go on & I probably will soon !
The Bikes! The Ace Cafe, The Busy Bee, Jacks Hill (on the old A1), The Skating Rink....
The Cars followed... firstly a Hovis Bread van, a Willys Jeep to Buick Riviera, the early Vettes into Sting Rays, ancient Lagondas & smokey Lamborghini's. The write offs.... The Police chases - maybe......
All comments Welcomed/Filed/Binned/Reviled or may be even published. - NostalgiaEmail
Hi to all my old mates Past/Present/Interned/Certified/Buried or still on a distant planet.
Ken Browne....(complete with halo) One for the ladies if you are still looking for him here he is! Ken Browne circa mid sixties on his 1963 Vespa GS160 Hair dryer. One of the Brighton/Wembley mods. Ken still has a Vespa along with his full size Dalek & ride on model Train running around his garden.......
What can I say?
Readings from your web on Sunday morning brought back all the mid sixties, just great. I was a budding mechanic then 16 years old, renting a tin shed for 10 shillings and loveing every minute of it. Repairing motorbikes, scooters and cars, my oldest bike was a 1932 600 Sunbeam and my favourite was a Ariel 600 single 1952 combination. I've just retired early to spend time playing with my three toys, a 1940 military M20, and a 1958 Mk1 Jag 3.4 also not forgetting my combination. No not an Ariel, I made this one from a collection of bits. I can drive from the sidecar or ride the bike, it makes me laugh and amuses people who see me driving. I have used it for raising money for charities, sometimes I will have a skeleton riding the bike, me driving from inside and once I had a big fibreglass pig riding the bike. Now there is a 6 foot blonde sitting pillion so for the first time I can ride or drive. Boys never grow up. Great web. John Lewis.
Inspiring!
Jacks Hill Cafe & Eric Clapton. From Ray Marron.
Just Had to relate this little story re jacks hill cafe. The time mid 60's possibly 1965.I was driver/roadie for my cousins group who for the sake of embarisment shall remain nameless,as they only ever made one demo record,even though they were pretty dam good at four seasons /beach boys harmony stuff,which isn't the easiest stuff to sing.With hind site I can now see that they were singing the wrong stuff,but thats another story,On the night in question we were retuning home from a gig in the early hours and stoped off at jacks ,as we had done a few times before,when who should stroll in(sorry not strolled in,strutted) but Eric Clapton, attired in RAF great coat and knee length leather boots,accompanied by ginger baker and jack bruce(Cream) and of course their driver,For a few moments you could have heard a pin drop as the place fell silent,as if in homage to this guitar god,such was his presence.A while later as we were proceding home down the A1 ,probably doing about 45-50mph in our j2 morris van ,who should come swooping past at about 80mph in what looked like a 1950's cadilac with a ford transit van ( with their equipment in)close behind but Clapton & co.He was going places,and it noticed even then.Thats my memory of Jacks Hill Cafe,but I'm sure it must have seen many other famouse faces.It would be nice to hear other peoples stories. Regards Ray.
Ray, I saw 'The Cream' live at The Hermitage Halls in Hitchin in September 1966. Tony Avern ran 'The Herm' and some great groups performed there. Many did go to Jacks Hill afterwards as did other groups travelling up & down the A1. Other close by venues were in Stevenage, 'The Mecca' & 'Bowes Lyon House' Where I saw The Rolling Stones, The Who, Zoot Money & The Big Roll Band, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Geno Washington, Jimmy Hendrix to name a few. After an evenings entertainment we would ride our bikes over to Jacks Hill for a meet up. Quite often in would walk one of these up and coming groups. When we queued for a cup tea we ate as many pies and doughnuts as we could before reaching the till. The tea was always bright orange with a layer of grease floating on top - lovely!
