THE WHITE LIGHTNING BLUES BAND

Contributed 2 tracks to the Stoke Musicians Collective’s album CRY HAVOC – Neat Scenes, & Shake It Again. The band wrote these notes for the booklet that accompanied the album.

“Stoke’s R & B band – 4 years of various line-ups playing electric blues to fairly empty rooms over rather ramshackle pubs. In the end even a love for the music wasn’t enough.These are the last offerings from a phantom band. One and a half highly untypical band songs indicating the direction just before the apocolypse of Oct 80. A lot cleaner and more funky than most will remember. A kind of coda and another dull thud in the history of British Blues.”

Line-up at the time of recording was JIM GILLESPIE – vocals, DAVE BOULTON – guitar, JOHN STONIER– guitar, DAVID SIMPSON – bass, & TIM SIMPSON (ex BEYOND THE WALL) on drums.
Former members included BOB HILDITCH, TONY EVANS, RANO, TREVOR PINSON, ROBERT PERRY aka PERCE, JANET AHMED, & ED LANE.
TIM SIMPSON later joined THE KILLJOYS. JOHN STONIER went on to play with THE HEADSET, and THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS.
JIM GILLESPIE, JANET AHMED and ROBERT PERRY also played with PERCE & THE PENGUINS, and GILLESPIE fronted THE GILLESPIE BLUES BAND.
BOB HILDITCH committed suicide in 2000.

Live at the Cry Havoc gig, Victoria Hall, 1981

WALTER MITTY

GRAINGER REECE aka ED COLI – vocals, piano, synth, ROGER McINTOSH – percussion, KEVIN JERVIS – drums, CLIVE BUTTLE – guitar, and PATRICK REGAN – tenor sax . Recorded Screaming Till The Sun Goes Down at Penkhull’s Bumble Studio in 1980, it featured on the STOKE MUSICIANS COLLECTIVE’S album CRY HAVOC released on SLIP in 1981. The band performed at the CRY HAVOC concert.

Grainger Reece

 

 

GRAINGER continued working under the name ED COLI, SONS OF MONKEYS and also THE EMPTY PIANOS. PATRICK & CLIVE also worked under the title “THE CATALECTIC PARAGOGE”.

VERMILION HAIR

Formed in Feb’80, took their name from a hairdresser’s shop in Crewe, from where the band originated. Very much of the times, futurist influenced band. Participants in the early “Battle Of The Bands” competitions organised by The Stoke Musicians Collective, and recorded a session for Peter Powell’s Radio 1 show. Five piece, with a female singer – BEV CLARKE, a female synth player, & 3 guys on gtr/bass/drums, one of which was a guy called ADRIAN, who went on to play with LOWLIFE. Contributed 2 tracks to the Stoke Musicians Collective’s album CRY HAVOC – Private Eye, and Hidden Meaning.

THE UNINVITED

Sandbach punk band in a kind of Ruts style – ROGER GIBSON – vocals & gtr, MARTIN EDWARDS aka RIVER WATERS – gtr & backing vox, ADRIAN BUCKLEY – bass & backing vox, STEVE BARNES – drums & backing vox. Contributed the song Doing The East Berlin to the Stoke Musicians Collective’s album CRY HAVOC. Added a seperate lead vocalist some time in ’81.

TIME OUT

Based somwhere in Cheshire, these pop/disco/funksters were: SEAN ‘ALBATROSS’ COLLINS – gtr & vocals, PHIL ‘ALPHONSO’ JOHNSON – bass, MARTIN ‘ SUGAR LIPS’ BROOKE – gtr, GARY ‘G-MAJOR’ MINOR – percussion. Contributed the track Still On Ice to the Stoke Musicians Collective’s album CRY HAVOC.

STRATE ANGEL

Market Drayton based heavy rockers, comprising SHED – guitar, SHAUN GREEN – bass & vocals, WITT – drums. Contributed the track Rock-o-la to the Stoke Musicians Collective’s album CRY HAVOC. Split in 1981.

THE PLATINUM NEEDLES

Punk band formed late 1979 in Market Drayton, the original line up of SHANE HENDERSON vocals, GARY SEWELL gtr, STUART MUIR bass, & SHAUN EVANS drums, recorded 2 tracks for the Stoke Musicians Collective’s album CRY HAVOC – Organised Disruption, & Telford. Bass player MUIR left after these recordings, to be replaced by KEVIN YALE. Various line-up changes occured, including the arrival of CONRAD TRACY on bass, and ROCKO on drums from the band K-OSS. A full history can be found here: http://www.platinum-needles.co.uk/

SEWELL formed the punk trio PLUTONIUM in 2017.

THE LEMMINGS

Four-piece punk/pub-rock band, formed sometime around 1979 in Hanley by JOHN BLAKE, who had previously performed under the name JOHNNY OATCAKE. JOHN handled lead vocals & guitar, other members were JOHN’S brother PHIL BLAKE, also on guitar, GREG on bass, & KEN BECKETT on drums. GREG & PHIL started out as THE HUMAN CABBAGES.
The band gigged just about everywhere around the area for at least 10 years, and are sort of still together now. Contributed a track to the Stoke Musicians Collective’s album CRY HAVOC – Young At Heart.
THE LEMMINGS occasionally gigged under the name 48 HONEYS (while dressed as women!)
KEN BECKETT joined THE INKERMAN STREET RHINOS.
The bass player in THE SKALINSKIS, ROOSTER, was in the original line up of THE LEMMINGS, before PHIL & GREG joined. DEAN BRINDLEY, father of AGENT BLUE’S CALUM MURPHY, was manager at some point.
KEN BECKETT died in 2004. PHIL BLAKE died in 2015.

THE HEATERS

Formed in 1979 in Congleton, the remnants of an abortive jazz-rock band. Contributed the reggae-influenced song Expensive Jeans to the Stoke Musicians Collective’s album CRY HAVOC. The track, recorded at Manchester’s Smile Studio, featured STEVE JONES – gtr & Vox, IAN JONES – bass, SIMON MELLOR – drums, and SEAN McALLISTER on piano.

THE DECKS

5-piece “new-wave” act, based east of the Potteries, comprising TONY PALMER / vocals, PHIL WINSTANLEY / gtr, PETER GORDON / gtr, GEOFF PRINCE / bass, HOWARD BATES / drums & vocals. Contributed 1 track – Drowning In The Airwaves – to the Stoke Musicians Collective’s album CRY HAVOC.

WINSTANLEY started out on bass in a Stone based band called Estate in the early/mid 70s (pictured).