On the early Stoke Musicians Collective/Battle Of The Bands scene.
More information required.
Category: Stoke Musicians Collective
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.
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 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.
STRANGE BROOD
A 4 piece rock band, heavily influenced by late sixties British R & B/Psychedelia, eg The Pretty Things, although they were actually in existence around 1979/80. Described themselves as avant garde blues. Veterans of the STOKE MUSICIANS COLLECTIVE Battle Of The Bands Scene. 
Members included DAVE PARKS aka DAVE WITNEY, bass & vocals, he went on to play with FREUDIAN LIGHTSHIP, THE HEADSET, & THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS; NIGEL MACHIN, lead guitar, ROBERT JENNINGS, drums, and ANDY STUBBS, rhythm & vocals; he later played in THE INKERMAN STREET RHINOS. Gigged under the name OASIS in 78/79!
THE STAND
Involved with the STOKE MUSICIANS COLLECTIVE in the very early days.
More information required.
SONS OF MONKEYS
More of a collective than a band, fronted by GRAINGER REECE, main man behind the STOKE MUSICIANS COLLECTIVE.
REECE had previously been part of WALTER MITTY. SONS OF MONKEYS recorded two songs – Maxwyn Is An Architect, & Bells – which were released on a double A-side single with DECADES BY NIGHT’S Life Spiral. The band performed at the S.M.C.’s CLAP HANDS concert. THE SONS OF MONKEYS were for a time known as THE WESTERN TRIO.
GRAINGER also worked under the pseudonym ED COLI, and gigged with an outfit called THE EMPTY PIANOS.
STOKEBEAT 