After The Animals took the world by storm in 1964 it was a long time before another Newcastle band would make a sizable impression on the record buying public. It…
Author: Roger
Roger’s first bands
I started playing saxophone at the age of fourteen while I was still at school. When I first took up the instrument it wasn’t because I wanted to play in…
Scallywag
By 1971 things were starting to change in the local band scene. Whereas a few years earlier, bands had been happy to emulate their favourite artists by covering their material,…
The Sect
In the sixties there weren’t many Newcastle bands that made it to the top. After the Animals in 1964, there was a long gap of 6 years before Lindisfarne achieved…
Sneeze
In 1966 I’d been been a member of the Jazzboard when the band had opened for the Who, the Small Faces and Cream. Could anything top that? Well nearly. In…
Spyda
During the late sixties and early seventies, while I was playing in Newcastle bands, I would occasionally come into contact with two Newcastle musicians; vocalist, Brian Goulden and his brother…
The Technique
By the beginning of 1968 soul music was losing popularity in clubs and dance halls and bands playing the standard Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding and Eddie Floyd…
Toby Twirl
Toby Twirl was one of a modest number of northeast bands in the sixties to win a record deal and, in addition, achieve some degree of success as a cabaret…
The Village
During the time I was gigging with the Technique in the early months of 1968, Mike “Alfie” Larkin was busy recruiting musicians for his new band. In addition to himself…