Just a few months ago we lost Maria Hall, one of the best female vocalists I ever knew or had the pleasure of working with. Always known as Marie, she had been married for many years to the late Tony Hall, one of the country’s best saxophone players. Originally from Ireland, Mary had three children before meeting Tony and eventually joining his excellent jazz/rock band called Redwind. She was gifted with an amazing voice, being equally at home with raucous rock ‘n’ roll as she was with big ballads and country music.

Marie had an enormous catalogue of songs to draw on, a useful asset when called upon to stand in with other bands. Famous for her irreverent sense of humour and easy-going nature she was also tough enough to see off the occasional heckler who dared to interrupt her performance! During the 70s and 80s Marie joined forces with ace drummer Carlo Little and together they enlisted some great musicians, producing some excellent songs under her recording name Heddy Power. Sadly, none of these records made the impact that they deserved. Undaunted, Marie carried on performing with Redwind, Tony always by her side, her amazing voice always impressing the audience.

I was proud to have played bass for her on many occasions and to have enjoyed her great company. Eventually with Tony Hall spending more and more time on the road as a session player, Marie finally stopped performing. If anyone deserved success it was Marie who really should have seen her talent carry her to the top. Sadly, it was not to be, but the memory of her great voice and the fun that we had will stay with me for ever.

The recent unexpected death of bassist Dusty Hill was a huge shock to the music business and fans worldwide. I have followed the career of ZZ Top since the early 1970s, feeling that this was the most worthwhile band to listen to since my other favourites, Vanilla Fudge. In those days I would have bet a large sum on their remaining obscure, so no one was more surprised and pleased at their meteoric rise to superstardom, which they richly deserved. Having cut my teeth in power trios I immediately understood how important Dusty’s subtle yet strong bass playing was to the band. For half a century they continued to experiment and evolve whilst still retaining a great sound, and also understanding along the way the importance of a strong image and visual stage show. I was very lucky to work on the bill supporting ZZ Top with my band Nasty Habits at a huge festival in Austria several years ago. When Dusty arrived, he treated everyone like a long-lost friend and it was an honour to meet and chat to a likeable man who will always be remembered as one of the best vocalists and bassists in the rock and roll business! Thanks for the music, Dusty. Sleep well.

I recently heard of another sad event, the death of Dave Langston,  affectionately known as “Cy”,  short for Cyrano. Dave joined up with his close neighbour and school friend Keith Dyett to form a group during the early 1960s. Making a play on Dave’s prominent nose, they dubbed themselves Cyrano and the Bergeracs, after the legendary French figure who is always depicted with a very long nose. With Dave singing and playing guitar and Keith playing bass, they added a succession of excellent West London musicians to become one of the best groups in the area, soon attracting a strong following. During the start of 1965 two members of the outfit in which I played (Buddy Britten and the Regents) departed to join the Bergeracs. Ray Soper on keyboards and Roger Pinah on drums were both great musicians and so I made several visits to see the band play. I was very impressed with them, and particularly with Cyrano who was a good front man and very able lead guitarist. Those who have read Chapter 6 on this website will already know the story of my own departure from the Regents and the surprising invitation from Dave to join him on lead guitar.

Although extremely rusty, I took over using Dave’s Eko guitar until I managed to borrow a Stratocaster from a friend. Without the encumbrance of a guitar Cyrano proved to be an even better front man than before. We toured the country with great success in the clubs and ballrooms and all felt that the Bergeracs had a good future ahead of them. When our old boss Buddy Britten offered Roger and myself a contract for a summer season in Jersey, where he had a huge following, the lure proved too much and so we left the Bergeracs in April 1965.

Cyrano and co. soon recruited two more excellent players. but after a short time, for reasons unknown to me, the band split and went their separate ways. Later in the year, on hearing that I had left the Regents for good, Dave Langston offered me the bass job in his new and we began to rehearse in earnest. However, in spite of Dave’s constant enthusiasm it soon became obvious the chemistry wasn’t there, and so we unanimously decided to call it a day. Cy was immediately recruited by another top outfit called Gary Farr and the T-Bones, so it was a shock to everyone who knew him when he suddenly announced his intention to quit playing to become road manager for local band The Who, already starting to become successful at that time. Most of Dave’s friends and associates felt that he could have made it as a musician, but determined to stick with it he soon became an indispensable member of The Who’s entourage, forging an excellent career for himself. He specialised in the field of recording and engineering and still kept up his guitar skills. During the 1980’s, I bumped into Cy after many years whilst visiting Shepperton Studio Complex where the Who had interests. We cheerfully reminisced for 15 minutes or so before parting company. Sadly, I was never to see him again, although I always retain fond memories of my time with him in the Bergeracs. So yet another of the Hanwell Marshall set has departed. A talented man and above all, a nice man, he will be sadly missed. Rest in peace, Cyrano.

It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of Ali McKenzie on the last day of April 2021. I was privileged briefly to get to know Ali when I played with his band “The Birds” for a couple of gigs in the mid sixties, when bassist Kim Gardner was off sick. I immediately hit it off with Ali and guitarist Ron Wood, and was particularly impressed by the sheer energy that Ali and Ron exuded during their stage show which made it a very exciting spectacle indeed. Sadly The Birds never reached the heights they were aiming for and folded up not long afterwards. I didn’t see Ali for some years until he became a regular visitor to gigs by the Good Ol’ Boys and we were able to rekindle our friendship. He would often get up and sing a couple of songs with the band proving that he hadn’t lost the ability to perform, and was quite capable of sitting in a couple of times when the band’s vocalist Alan Barratt was unavailable.

Although no longer a professional he retained an impressive vocal knowledge and proved time and time again that he could please an audience. Finally, in more recent years he began to gig regularly once again with his own band with great success. His passing has diminished the dwindling group of musicians that we know as the “Marshall Set” who got to know one and other during the heady days of the 1960’s when Jim Marshall opened his first shop in Hanwell. Ali always demonstrated a good reliable vocal ability, with a quite amazing knowledge of different songs. He was always good company and a pleasure to be around. Thanks for the memories Ali, I’ll miss you !